Infinity (CD review)

By Karl W. Nehring

Sophie Hutchings: By Night; Slow Meadow: Helium Life Jacket; Jon Hopkins: Scene Suspended; Þorkell Sigurbjörnsson; Heyr himna smiður; Jóhann Jóhannsson: A Pile of Dust; Kelly Lee Owens & Sebastian Plano: Find Our Way; Ólafur Arnalds: momentary; Anne Lovett: Infinity; Benjamin Rimmer: In the Shining Blackness; Ola Gjeilo: Still; Stephen Barton: The Universe Within You; Nainita Desai: My Mind is Still; Hildur Guðnadóttir: Ascent; A Winged Victory for the Sullen: Atomos XI; Luke Howard: There is a Solitude. Voces8 (Andrea Haines, Eleonore Cockerham, soprano; Katie Jeffries Harris, Barnaby Smith, alto; Blake Morgan, Euan Williamson, tenor; Christopher Moore, Jonathan Pacey, bass). Decca B0034074-02,

Voces8 is an English vocal octet originally founded in 2003. They have had numerous personnel changes over the years, but have remained consistent in their overall sound. As you can see from a glance through the listing of selections on their latest offering, they have decided this time around to focus primarily on music of the current century. Unfortunately, the minimal liner sheet included by Decca with the CD provides scarcely any information other than the bare minimum beyond what we are told on the back cover, which gives us the names of the songs and composers along with the following brief statement: “Escape to another world with the soothing voices of VOCES8 in this space-inspired collection of meditative and transcendental works. Featuring six new commissions alongside brand-new choral versions of calming instrumental pieces, this album showcases the transportive power of the human voice, interwoven with soft instrumental sounds.” Well, were I not (a) already familiar with Voces8 from a couple of their earlier albums and (b) already familiar with the music of several of the composers, then I most likely would have (c) put this CD right back into the library rack. But I persisted.

But first, a quick overview of the composers, with a tip of the cap (and yes, I have donated) to Wikipedia. Sophi Hutchings (b. 1978) is an Australian pianist/composer. “Slow Meadow” is a name used for ambient compositions by Texas-born multi-instrumentalist Matt Kidd. Jon Hopkins (b. 1979) is an English musician and producer who writes and performs electronic music. He has produced but also contributed to albums by Brian Eno, Coldplay, and others.

"Heyr himna smiður" (literally "Hear, smith of the heavens") is a medieval Icelandic hymn written by chieftain and poet Kolbeinn Tumason in the 13th-century. The music that accompanies the text was composed by Þorkell Sigurbjörnsson (1938–2013), more than 700 years later. Jóhann Jóhannsson (1969-2018) was an Icelandic composer who wrote music for a wide array of media including theatre, dance, television, and films. Kelly Lee Owens (b. 1988) is a Welsh electronic musician and producer. Sebastian Plano (b. 1985) is an Argentinian composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist based in Berlin, Germany. His 2019 album Verve was nominated for Best New Age Album at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards. Ólafur Arnalds (b. 1986) is an Icelandic multi-instrumentalist and producer who mixes strings and piano with loops and beats, a sound ranging from ambient/electronic to atmospheric pop. Benjamin Rimmer (b. 1993) is a composer based in London. Ola Gjeilo (b.1978) is a Norwegian composer and pianist living in the United States. Stephen Barton (b.1982) is a British composer who has lived and worked in Los Angeles since 2001. He has composed the music for dozens of major film, television, and video game projects. Nainita Desai is a British-Indian composer of film, television and video game music. Hildur Guðnadóttir (b. 1982) is an Icelandic musician and composer. A Winged Victory for the Sullen is an ambient music duo composed of Dustin O'Halloran (b. 1971), an American composer and pianist, and Adam Wiltzie (b. 1969), an American composer and sound engineer currently based in Brussels, Belgium. Luke Howard (b. 1978) is an Australian composer and pianist.

Although the backgrounds of the composers are quite varied, the overall sound and mood of the compositions on Infinity are fairly consistent. Depending upon the mood of the listener, this can be either a plus or a minus. There are times when it is nice to put on this CD and just relax to the beautiful sounds; however, there are times when more contrast will begin to seem desirable. In my experience with Infinity, it is an album that I enjoyed more the more intently I listened to it. When I listened more casually, the sameness of the sound began to bother me; however, when I sat down and really LISTENED, I found much to admire in the individual compositions. Other than the woefully inadequate liner insert, this is an excellent release both musically and sonically, well worth an audition.

By the way, I read recently that Eric Whitacre is planning to record his composition The Sacred Veil (a previous recording is reviewed here: https://classicalcandor.blogspot.com/2020/10/eric-whitacre-sacred-veil-cd-review.html) with Voces8 in 2022. That should be something well worth watching out for.

KWN