Elements (Ludovico Einaudi album)

Elements is a studio album by Italian composer Ludovico Einaudi released on 16 October 2015 (2015-10-16).[1]

Elements
Studio album by
Ludovico Einaudi
Released16 October 2015 (2015-10-16)
Ludovico Einaudi chronology
Taranta Project
(2015)		 Elements
(2015)		 Seven Days Walking
(2019)

Overview

The album takes inspiration from elements of nature, with each track evolving from a small gesture or motif, evoking a journey through fragmented thoughts and feelings. Einaudi says: "I saw new frontiers — on the edge between what I knew and what I didn't know — that I had long wanted to explore: creation myths, the periodic table, Euclid's geometry, Kandinsky's writings, the matter of sound and of colour, the stems of wild grass in a meadow, the shapes of the landscape…"

The title track "Elements" epitomises this exploration of organic growth. The opening begins with small, understated gestures: the "heartbeat" of the bass and electric guitar, coloured with the Rhodes motif. This gradually builds through waves of energy as each element develops, eventually incorporating the full, momentous force of the string orchestra (recorded on the album by the Amsterdam Sinfonietta). This piano solo arrangement remains faithful to the original impression, with each layer growing from the opening fragments. The unique accompanying backing track supports the soloist and reproduces the same invigorating energy as the album recording, providing a chance to delve into the music and immerse yourself in a truly exhilarating experience. The opening keyboard loop of "Night" forms the identity of the song, which develops gradually with gentle cross rhythms from the piano, blended with rich harmonies and scalic fragments from the strings.

For the first time in his career in anticipation of the album release, Einaudi made available piano scores of two tracks, "Elements"[2] and "Night",[3] complete with the free original backing tracks.

Einaudi discussed the themes of "Elements" in a September 2015 podcast with The Mouth Magazine.[4]

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Petricor"6:34
2."Night"5:30
3."Drop"5:00
4."Four Dimensions"4:42
5."Elements"6:05
6."Whirling Winds"5:58
7."Twice"5:21
8."ABC"3:05
9."Numbers"4:35
10."Mountain"6:13
11."Logos"6:23
12."Song for Gavin"3:18

Bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
13."Drop Variation"3:48
14."Elements Variation"3:39
15."Twice Variation"5:25

2012 project

On 22 September 2012 Einaudi performed a project called "The Elements" at the Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome as a tribute to his mentor, Luciano Berio, inspired by the four classical elements of air, water, earth, and fire.[5] One piece from the project, "Newton's Cradle", appeared on his 2013 release, In a Time Lapse.[6]

The track "Four Dimensions" from this album was also, for the most part, recorded live from the 2012 project's performance.[7]

Charts
Chart (2015) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[8] 66
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[9] 23
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[10] 5
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[11] 29
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[12] 6
French Albums (SNEP)[13] 101
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[14] 17
Irish Albums (IRMA)[15] 31
Italian Albums (FIMI)[16] 5
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[17] 22
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[18] 44
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[19] 16
UK Albums (OCC)[20] 12

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Italy (FIMI)[21] Gold 25,000*
Poland (ZPAV)[22] Gold 10,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[23] Silver 60,000

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References
  1. "Ludovico Einaudi: Elements (Deluxe) - Music on Google Play". Google Play. Retrieved 2015-08-14.
  2. "Ludovico Einaudi: Elements - official sheet music with a free backing track". Sheetmusicdirect.com. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  3. "Ludovico Einaudi: Night - official sheet music with a free backing track". Sheet Music Direct. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  4. http://themouthmagazine.com/2015/09/26/ludovico-einaudi/
  5. "Ludovico Einaudi al pianoforte presenta live "The Elements" a Roma il 22 settembre - Suoni e strumenti". www.suoniestrumenti.it. Archived from the original on 2012-09-27. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
  6. In a Time Lapse (PDF) (digital booklet). p. 4. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-10-16. Retrieved 2015-10-16. 'Newton's Cradle' partially recorded by Gianluca Mancini at the Auditorium Parco della Musica, Rome from the project 'The Elements' produced by Fondazione Musica per Roma.
  7. Elements (PDF) (digital booklet). p. 3. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2016-04-22. Four dimensions recorded by Gianluca Mancini at the Auditorium Parco della Musica, Rome from the project ‘The Elements’ produced by Fondazione Musica per Roma.
  8. Ryan, Gavin (24 October 2015). "ARIA Albums: Hillsong Lands Second No 1 Album for 2015". Noise11. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  9. "Austriancharts.at – Ludovico Einaudi – Elements" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  10. "Ultratop.be – Ludovico Einaudi – Elements" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  11. "Ultratop.be – Ludovico Einaudi – Elements" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  12. "Dutchcharts.nl – Ludovico Einaudi – Elements" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  13. "Lescharts.com – Ludovico Einaudi – Elements". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
  14. "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  15. "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 43, 2015". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  16. "Italiancharts.com – Ludovico Einaudi – Elements". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  17. "Portuguesecharts.com – Ludovico Einaudi – Elements". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  18. "Spanishcharts.com – Ludovico Einaudi – Elements". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  19. "Swisscharts.com – Ludovico Einaudi – Elements". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  20. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  21. "Italian album certifications – Ludovico Einaudi – Elements" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Select "2018" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "Elements" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Album e Compilation" under "Sezione".
  22. "Polish album certifications – Ludovico Einaudi – Elements" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  23. "British album certifications – Ludovico Einaudi – Elements". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 27 March 2020. Select albums in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Elements in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
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