Let Go

Berghorn is a German composer, arranger and keyboardist. This is his debut album. The album features instrumental music with live performances on the cello, saxophone, trumpet, and flugelhorn, guitar, oboe, flute, harp, strings and percussion.

The huge range of instruments gives the 22 songs on the album a full rich sound. There’s a depth of feeling and alive-ness that is sometimes lacking in New Age music. Some of the songs would be better described as Adult Contemporary Jazz instrumental music; others are neo-classical. The music is soft, gentle and melodic, great for relaxing.

Berghorn utilitizes his opportunity to display a substantial range of compositional ideas and instrumental blends. Track 2: Piano Reflections 1 features a languid saxophone lead on a soft jazz song. Track 5: Looking Back blends strings and a flute in an inspirational neo-classical song. The tempo gets kicked up a notch on the lively Track 7: Egyptina with Middle-Eastern melodies and rhythms.

Track 9: Once Again features a lush cello melody in a romantic neo-classic elegy. Track 10: Wind is a New Age ballad. A rich blend of strings creates an ethereal, floating melody that’s a lovely meditation piece.

This is an enjoyable debut album. The variety of instrumental groupings and compositional ideas keeps the sounds fresh and interesting throughout the CD. I found myself anticipating what kind of musical treat I was going to hear next! Berghorn demonstrates the range of his skills as a composer-arranger and the variety of musical genres that he can produce while still retaining continuity from song to song.

~review by Elizabeth Hazel

Artist: Christoph Berghorn
2019, Capitol Sound Records
22 tracks, 71:10 minutes
CD $15.45, Mp3 $9.49