"I chose Alec Wilder as the subject for this album," says Roland, "for several reasons. Some of his music, the better known standards, I had been familiar with since I was a kid. Then I was sent two books of his music and was impressed by their freshness and melodic quality. Another curious thing is that I found Wilder used some of the same compositional devices I have employed in my own writing."
"The song that I really fell in love with while I was recording the album," says Hanna, "is The Starlighter. It’s a little lullaby type thing and it reminds me of poems I heard during my childhood. Another song I love particularly is Remember My Child, which fascinates me because of its musical intervals."
Summing up his feelings about this unique album, Roland Hanna observed, "What makes me happiest of all is that Alec Wilder really liked it when he heard it. That was a special source of pleasure to me." It now becomes your turn to share in the pleasure of Wilder and Hanna."
-from the original 1980 liner notes, by Leonard Feather. |