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review by Bill Binkelman If you're one of those people who think all new age piano music is either the stark minimalism of George Winston (a la December or Autumn) or the radio-friendly romanticism of David Lanz or Yanni, Mary Martin Stockdale's Timeless will shatter those false illusions with ease before she even completes the title track (which opens this audacious, enchanting recording). Stockdale loves to play with time signatures and motifs, keeping you pleasantly off-balance but never sending you adrift into a sea of avant garde experimentalism nor a quagmire of strum und drang pretentious moodiness. Instead, as she writes in her liner notes "These musical compositions are inspired by Time, Life and the essence of Nature. They come from a place that transcends space and time ~ stillness in movement, ever-changing and never changing." That sums it up nicely. Now, don't go thinking that this CD is devoid of lovely and even memorable melodies or that the artist abandons any attempts at accessibility or conventionality. It's just that Stockdale more than occasionally switches tempos in mid-song, taking you from a slow walk to a hurried sprint with sudden urgency. Instead of being off-putting, this technique injects the richness of life and a vivid sense of awareness, as if you were brought to attention while daydreaming by the crystal clear call of a cardinal or, conversely, a crack of thunder on a partly cloudy day. "Timeless" opens the album amidst a scurrying flurry of notes, slowing now and then to weave a powerfully dramatic melody into the soundscape among the rolling refrain. "Willows by the Stream" is pastoral simplicity that glows with a soft green light, eased along by a lovely repeated phrase that speaks comfortingly of nostalgia. "The Calling" which is one of my favorite songs on the CD, juxtaposes soft runs on the mid and upper registers with later forceful work in the lower scales, as Stockdale picks up the pace, throwing some subtle jazzy runs in here and there. "Spider's Web" bounces and flits and dances in quick tempo but Stockdale's emphasis on the minor keys colors the song in a surprisingly darker shade, even when her fingers play delicately across the keys. "Henry's Song" is achingly bittersweet (inspiration came from children dealing with illness) while "Catch and Release" is pensive and somber. "Raindance" is, not surprisingly, cheery and grin-inducing, with sparkling upper register work balanced by a nice blending in of middle tones. Stockdale ends the album with one of her loveliest pieces "Falling Snow," which certainly does capture, in music, the sensation of snowflakes drifting lazily to the ground on a midwinter's morning, settling and forming a blanket of white on the ground. It's satisfying and rewarding to hear an album like Timeless and I admire Mary Martin Stockdale for being unafraid of breaking the new age music mold and delivering music that asks the listener to follow a different path, albeit not a scary or alarming one, but one that has unexpected turns and climbs. She takes you to places that are both wondrous and sad, touching and lonely. The CD is strongly recommended to lovers of piano music who seek something vibrantly exciting but don't want to wander too far afield of the norm - just far enough to catch the buzz of something new and different. |
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