Karen Salicath Jamali, an award-winning composer, pianist, and multi-disciplinary artist, is here delivering a collection of conceptual, solo piano compositions that drip with a soulful lightness, an air of elegance and a haunting mystique. Inspired by her dreams, Jamali’s compositions for Archangel Haniel are an auditory sight to behold.
Based in Winter Park, Florida, Karen Salicath Jamali is a veteran of many arts, with music being her relatively new brainchild with a career that started only in 2015. Having found a passion to start creating music somewhere around an accident that caused head trauma and a near-death experience back in 2012, Jamali spent the next 3 years learning the piano after having never played before and emerged in 2015 a fully fledged musical artist. If that is not a clear indication of Jamali’s dedication and perseverance, then nothing is.
Angel Hanael, also known as Archangel Haniel, is the angel of joy, who serves as protector of souls, inspiring people to fulfill their purpose. Jamali composed Angel Hanael’s Song and set to record its 9 different chapters each at 5 AM, on her Steinway piano, before they got sent to Bryon William Harris, sound engineer and president of BWH Music Group, for mastering. The album is basically one song divided into 9 acts, with each act subsequently picking up where the last one left.
The music on the album is decidedly whimsical, with potent traces of inquisitive curiosity and melancholy. Jamali’s compositional style is easily emotive. Opting for pronounced melodies on top of wandering arpeggios of haunting chord sequences, Jamali’s music ends up feeling very potently stirring. If you feel the melody is bright, then the whole piece will be incredibly light and uplifting, and on the other hand if the melody carries a slight hint of darkness, then you’ll feel an ominous mood descending as the piece progresses. ‘Angel Hanaels Heart’, the album’s middle piece is an example of the latter, which is the far more prevalent mood throughout the 9 compositions.
Jamali’s pacing is impeccably uniform. The 9 compositions sound harmonious and uniform, not a moment too slow, or too rushed. A delightfully touching listen, and a pleasant introduction to a vividly colored world of a well-rounded artist, Karen Salicath Jamali’s music is well worth the time.