If you’re into classical music, choir music and maybe even a little bit of jazz, then I invite you to listen to the brand new album by American composer Brian Field called Vocal Works. Check out the album on Spotify here:
Every now and then I get the opportunity to write about something really special. This album is exactly that. I have listened to so many albums this year alone and I keep increasing my standards when it comes to music that I listen to on repeat in order to write about it here on my blog. This album just raised the bar to a whole other level. In fact, this is certainly THE best album I have written about on this blog this year. Let me explain why by reviewing each composition:
The album opens with the song/composition ‘By and By’, a hymn authored by Charles Albert Tindley in 1905 and altered by B. B. McKinney in 1937. What a brilliant choice for opening this album and also as a song in general for the world to hear in these dark times of global pandemic. The first thing I notice is the quality of the choir. Perhaps this is not that surprising, given that Field has won many awards, but the quality is outstanding. The higher notes, the mids and the lower baritones are all sung so beautifully. This entire hymn features no instruments at all, just the incredible voices of the Budapest Chorus conducted by Martón Tóth. Every word really delivers lots of emotion, but I just love the line ‘We will understand better by and by’.
The following 3 compositions are called ‘Tres Canciones De Amor’, which means ‘3 love songs’ in Spanish. Listening to these 3 compositions back-to-back is taking me on a journey I didn’t even know I wanted to take! The string instruments played by the Hungarian Symphony Orchestra sound phenomenal, each one is played to perfection. The tenor, Yanis Benabdallah, delivers an unbelievable vocal performance and even though I don’t speak the language, it is very moving. The violins, the cellos, the horns and all the other instruments are a dream come true to the listeners ears and I can only recommend to listen to this with high quality speakers or headphones. My personal favourite is probably the third part, called ‘Cuando yo muero…’, which means ‘when I die…’. It is not surprising to me that this track has almost 100k plays on Spotify already.
This composition really comes as a surprise to me. It shows the versatility of composer Brian Field and a humorous side that I have never heard like this before (that’s something very rare). I am amazed to say that the text for this was actually written by Brian Field himself. It turns out he is a composer with a talent for satire. The part that stands out to me lyrically is ‘America is one big melting pot, I say, we’re doing just fine with the ones we’ve got’.
The section about women that is sung at about 3 minutes makes me very grateful that the political situation has changed in the United States. It is so easy to listen to this, as all the instruments are once again played to perfection and tenor Zoli Mujahid is doing a wonderful job with the lyrics provided by Brian Field himself. But, of course, there is a part of me that really struggles to believe that this is based on actual events that happened not long ago at the time of writing this. This composition also features a YouTube video with a very suitable image (see above).
This composition opens with a beautiful string section, followed by a range of instruments played by the Hungarian Symphony Orchestra. The highlight for me here is the vocal performance by Orsi Sapszon. It’s so stereotypical to say, and I never thought I’d say this in one of my reviews, but her voice is like that of an angel. Her voice combined with the orchestra is like heaven on earth in my ears. Towards the end, she hits some very high notes in such an effortless way, it still sounds very calming and almost like a mini-meditation to me. That makes sense, considering that this is indeed a lullaby and even though I don’t understand the language, I still get a very calming vibe from this.
This song is similar to the opening hymn ‘By and By’, but the difference here is that the lyrics come from the mastermind Brian Field himself. The other difference is that there are a number solo vocalists that take centre stage for parts of the composition. This makes it even more interesting to listen to than the opening track, in my opinion. I understand the need for a satirical piece like ‘Let’s Build A Wall’. However, considering the world we live in, it seems a serious song like this is even more in demand. Some people may have a hard time understanding satire, but I sincerely hope every listener will understand the message ‘Let The Light Shine On Me’. It almost goes without saying (as in writing) that the Budapest Chorus did a fantastic job here once again. The harmonies sound so prefect, I could listen to this for hours. I also love the fact that there are two entire tracks on this album (so far) that are just using voices and not a single instrument. I feel like it would be easy for a composer like Field to add instruments to this, but the fact that he didn’t shows that he knows that sometimes less is more. I’ve been listening to this track for over an hour now and I could seriously listen to it all day. It’s like their voices shine on me (the listener) and make all my sorrows go away for a brief period of time.
At this stage, I really understand why Brian Field won so many awards. I would describe this last part of the album as mind-expanding. Also, this is the second time where I can truly say that I’ve never heard anything like this before. While ‘Let The Light Shine On Me’ and the previous compositions were what I would call ‘easy’ to listen to, these last 6 compositions are very complex and force you to think. The first interesting thing here is that poems by E. E. Cummings were used. These poems date back to 1923, but the first one (for example) is so shockingly relevant that it might as well have been in the hit-show Gossip Girls. I mentioned at the beginning that this album is for jazz-listeners, and these last 6 compositions are the reason. I’m specifically talking about the piano performance by Veronica Tomanek. The only way I can describe her performance is with the term ‘mind-blowing’. The same can be said for Edward Whalen, who manages to deliver the poems in a way that works perfectly with the piano. The piano and the vocals are so diverse that I almost forgot to mention that there are no other instruments present and frankly I think there is no need, as the piano melody is so complex that it certainly keeps the listener more than entertained.
At this stage of my review I always try to decide on a personal favourite song of the album I listen to. This is impossible to do here. It would be like picking a favourite part of a painting by DaVinci, like the Mona Lisa, for example. You have to stand back and enjoy the entire painting. The interesting and perhaps unusual thing about this album is the fact that I find myself going back and forth between the last part of the album, that is very complex, and the hymns. The contrast is fascinating to me and really makes this album stand out. Having said that, I am particularly impressed with ‘Let The Light Shine On Me’, as the text is written by Brian Field. On top of that, he obviously composed the music for the text and each note just makes so much sense to my ears, but I can say that about all the other tracks on the album as well.
Of course, the mixing and mastering done by Shaun Michaud and overall quality of the music is world-class. I can tell that the Hungarian Orchestra delivers the highest level of performance and actually goes beyond ‘just’ playing each note perfectly. The same goes for the Budapest Chorus and the individual musicians, Edward Whalen and Veronica Tomanek.
I’ve never included a bonus section in my reviews because I never felt the need/desire to dig deeper, but I spent days now listening to all the compositions by Brian Field and I have to say the album 'Funk & Fire' is definitely worth a mention here. Especially the final track called ‘Funk-E’ is such a pleasure to listen to and it actually rocks!
For all those reasons, I can only recommend that you do yourself a favour and listen to all the incredible music by Brian Field and make sure to follow him on social media. Here are the official links:
Official EPK☞ https://www.navonarecords.com/catalog/nv6360/
Official Website☞ https://www.brianfield.com/
Facebook☞ https://www.facebook.com/brian.field.779
Wikipedia☞ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_T._Field
Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post, however, all opinions are my own. Content of the artist in this post is used with permission, no copyright is violated.