New Age Reporter - Both Sides Now - a review by Bill Binkelman
(5/23/06)

VESPERIA
Richard Bone

   Richard Bone, one of the most consistently excellent artists in electronic and ambient music, was commissioned by the First Congregational Church of Holliston, Massachusetts to compose music for their Vespers service ("A worship service held in the late afternoon or evening in many Western Christian churches" according to Dictionary.com). This beautiful recording is the result and while I always expect something special from Mr. Bone, I admit to being pleasantly surprised how well he did with this daunting task. Vesperia is unlike anything he has released so far, although you may hear echoes of his more serene music, (e.g. Etherdome) at times and a smattering of familiar instruments and sounds. The recording is suffused with a deep sensation of calm, peacefulness, and subtle but palpable spirituality throughout the four long and one short track on the CD.

   Part One blends minimalist synth strings with lush chorales and adds a repeating rising and falling bell tone that ties it all together in a slow and steady but muted cadence with the later influx of warm retro synthesizers and classical strings creating an ethereal sensation of contentment. Part Two maintains this gentle air but now emphasizes low register synth chords which have a "rolling" nature to them. Hushed soprano chorales and retro-ish keyboards, as well as soloing on what sounds like an "old-fashioned foot-pump" church organ, color the track in muted shades of violet and pastoral blue. Part Three opens with distinct Harold Budd influences via deeply echoed piano and sparse synth accompaniment. Other more apt comparisons might include New Green Clear Blue by the late Dan Hartman and mid-period Darshan Ambient (e.g. Autumn Light). Bone's music here is distinctly pastoral even while it is anchored in a minimalist structure. Subtly distorted ("warbling") wordless vocals add a layer of the unexpected, although not distractingly so. Part Four is again centered round ebbing/flowing keyboard refrains as well as some drone-like effects, but later chorales and reverberating tones bring needed melodicism into the picture. The same warbling effect vocals are again featured here, and while still not predominant, they are more noticeable than before. Overt EM textures and sounds enter the song later on, but the serene mood is left undisturbed. The album concludes with the short spoken word track, Vesperia Epilogue, a poem written and recited by Lisa Louise Indish over a backdrop of beautiful synth washes.

   Vesperia's first two tracks are, simply put, brilliant, and the third one is close behind them. There is nothing wrong with "Part Four" but it does suffer somewhat by comparison, although when heard "as a whole" the album plays through wonderfully. I think this music would be well-suited for Vespers service. Vesperia is an excellent example of warm and serene electronic ambient music which manages to inject spirituality into its core without going so far as to alienate the secular among us. Solidly recommended.

- reviewed by Bill Binkelman