A darkly sublime suite of seven pieces for cello and piano performed by the LA-based composer and noted new-music cellist Derek Stein. As the music...

A darkly sublime suite of seven pieces for cello and piano performed by the LA-based composer and noted new-music cellist Derek Stein. As the music unfolds, the listener is drawn into a highly nuanced, lyrical sound world. Fink’s characteristically reductive but expressive style is evident throughout, as the set’s quiet intensity builds to a muted ecstasy and then returns to a more serene state. Fink’s music has been described by the Los Angeles Times as “lustrous” and “metaphysically tinged.” the LA Weekly has written that his music is “of ethereal simplicity...refined...spare...distinctly his own.” This CD is an 18-minute CD EP/single. (Fink’s music has appeared on seven previous Cold Blue releases.) Derek Stein is a member of the Los Angeles new music groups wild Up and gnarwhallaby. “From a Folio is the perfect title for this CD. Each piece is one of a series of brilliant jewels as if cut from the same stone…. music that is simple, yet essential—an elegant vessel of deep expression.” [Sequenza21] “I have come to love this music for a number of reasons…. Nothing is what it seems at first, and yet it does not change from listen to listen. You do. Thank you Derek Stein, cello, and Maestro Fink, piano, for these beautiful performances. And Maestro Fink for the considered musical vision. Very recommended.” [Gapplegate Classical-Modern Music Review] “It’s quite haunting.” [La Folia] “From a Folio is a work as typically Cold Blue as they come: misleadingly simple, and gorgeous like contemporary music has no business to be.” [Monsieur Délire’s Listening Diary]