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VESPERIA It is five tracks of music. Just five. Vespers, what was once called the evensong or evening prayers are transformed into works of reverent ambient beauty by electronic wizard Richard Bone. His album is called Vesperia. He wrote them for a specific purpose, but their value is universal and timeless. Vespers were devotional prayers sung or spoken at the evening hour, usually around six p.m. or at sunset. The tradition dates back to the 4th century as part of the Divine Office or prayers devoted to particular day parts. Richard Bone is noted for his many releases on the Chrysalis label, but he is from the old school of Electronic music. Experimenting with home made equipment he was one of the pioneers of the genre back in the late seventies. He is also remembered for his avant-garde group Shox Lumania in the eighties. He has produced music for television and has had success with his album Coxa. Now on his own Quirkworks label he offers the new ambient production Vesperia. The tracks have no titles so I took them in order. Part One is solemn, reverential, and beautifully haunting. Ethereal inorganic voices vie for attention with deep bass notes and wavering eddies of sound. For the first time you become aware of a sense of calming peace as the music washes over you like the falling imponderous tears of angels. Part Two has a neo-classical feel. I liked it and took it as a favorite. It has the almost waltz-like quality of the old masters. It has the feel of a lost soul gazing at the stars. You travel through a labyrinth of sounds, sometimes twirling as on a carousel and at other times floating on light quavers of melody. Part Three is a wayfaring of sorts. With the sound of tortured souls drifting about searching for peace or more importantly, redemption, Bone uses a keyboard to identify the wanderer. Distant church bells beckon you as you make your way on this sacred journey. Part Four is like an awakening or for that matter, possibly a stage of enlightenment. We appeal for grace and we a given the gift. Our eyes are opened and blessings pour into our spirit. The final composition, Vesperia Epilogue is a poignant reading by poetess Lisa Louise Indish (A Gift From?). With a celestial soundtrack, the prayer is an offering as well as an entreaty. It is quite beautiful. 'The sun is rising. Bone's album is quite inspirational. It transcends religious and physical boundaries as we know them. Anyone embarking on a spiritual quest of any kind will welcome Vesperia as a cordial comfort and an enduring companion. - reviewed by RJ Lannan / Bill Binkelman |