A specially remastered collectors' edition with the bonus live performance of Madre de la Tierra.

In 1709 in Florence, Italy, a harpsichord builder named Bartolomeo Cristofori completed work on what is regarded as the first piano. He replaced the harpsichord's plucking mechanism with a hammer action that allowed keys to respond to varying degrees of pressure, resulting in a sound that could range from soft to loud. He further refined the instrument in 1726, installing knobs at both ends of the keyboard which became a forerunner to the soft pedal. Cristofori's work elicited little notice in his home country, where opera dominated public interest, and he died without fanfare at the age of 76 in 1731.

"I cannot imagine the world without the piano. In my mind, it is the most divinely inspired instrument on earth, and Cristofori's work produced quantum-leap advance in its development. For the first piece on this album, I imagined Cristofori in his workshop late at night, putting away his tools and blowing out his candles after a long day of work, wondering to himself how his new instrument might sound. He drifts off into a deep sleep and in a dream he finally hears the depth and beauty of our modern piano. We all owe Cristofori a debt of gratitude, and this album is dedicated to him, a great inventor whom history has overlooked. May his 'dream' live forever."

- David Lanz

"Dedicated to Bartolomeo Cristofori, the inventor of the piano (1655-1731), Lanz performs some of his best work to date, starting with the album's title track, a feeling composition that portrays the beauty and dynamics of the acoustic piano; Cristofori, wherever he may be in the Universe, is paid the highest homage and his invention is played lovingly by this contemporary piano virtuoso. Lanz composed six of the seven cuts on the album, with the last track being a reincarnation of Procol Harem's A Whiter Shade of Pale with the original group's own Matthew Fisher playing the Hammond B3 Organ. This album is a masterwork and it deserves the #1 slot it earned on Billboard's New Age Chart. Treat yourself to it!" Tom Benford, New Jersey Harold, November 1988
 

Laura Sullivan:

Feast of Joy & Love

Tingstad & Rumbel: Homeland

Gary Stroutsos: Oru