(2021) Deborah Martin & Jill Haley - The Silence of Grace


Review:
Deborah Martin is not only one of Spotted Peccary Music’s key solo artists, she’s also a long sought-after collaborator. Complementing exceptional solo releases such as Under the Moon and Eye of the Wizard are ones with Cheryl Gallagher (2004’s Tibet), Erik Wøllo (2009’s Between Worlds), and others. That the character of a collaborative release can shift dramatically depending on the artist with whom Martin partners is shown by the differences between the mystical meditations presented on Hemispherica Portalis, her 2020 set with Dean De Benedictis (under the Desensitized name), and the graceful, New Age-styled settings she’s created with label newcomer Jill Haley for The Silence of Grace. Martin is, among other things, flexible. She brings decades of sound sculpting experience to the new collaboration, and as a result her symphonic-electronic textures blend seamlessly with Haley’s oboe and English horn. In eight settings, sultry ambient atmospheres and woodwind sonorities combine to produce eloquent reveries that evoke the outdoors in all its natural glory. The project didn’t take Haley out of her natural element, by the way. Though she’s an orchestra player as well as teacher and church musician, she also composes music at National Parks throughout the United States, often as an Artist-in-Residence. Further to that, her own releases carry titles such as Glacier Landscapes, Mesa Verde Soundscapes, and The Winds of Badlands, all attesting to her deep connection to the outdoors. Certainly one of the things that distinguishes the recording is the live dimension, specifically the impression created of the two creating together in real time rather than stitching together parts recorded separately and at different times; the beautiful sound generated by English horn and oboe also does much to set The Silence of Grace apart. While Haley’s instruments call out like voices emanating from within a forest, Martin’s shimmering electronics impart a timeless and mystical quality. A comforting feeling of stillness is established when the music’s tone is for the most part serene and harmonious. In the booklet, each track is accorded two pages on which statements by the artists and a dedication appear with a nature photo. When distant, muffled drums pound within “Indian Heaven,” the title immediately suggests an allusion to native peoples now gone reminding us of their presence. The elemental forces of nature are evoked in the album’s most animated piece, “From Fire Into Water,” which further distances itself from others in its incorporation of didgeridoo-like sounds and multi-layering of woodwinds. Titles such as “Verdant Sanctuary,” “Earth Stone Water Sky,” and “The Stillness of Forest Bathing” do much to invite specific associations too. Regardless of whether one chooses to attend to the music on its own terms or in conjunction with the booklet details, the experience proves immensely rewarding, which will come as no surprise to those familiar with Martin’s other Spotted Peccary collaborations. The Silence of Grace definitely qualifies as a label standout.





Track Listing:
1.The Silence of Grace 06:54
2.Indian Heaven 06:52
3.Verdant Sanctuary 05:01 video
4.The Stillness of Forest Bathing 06:20
5.Fountains 06:06
6.Earth Stone Water Sky 04:06
7.From Fire Into Water 06:36
8.Water Flows of Clouds and Thunder 07:32


Media Report:
Genre: ambient
Country: USA
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits