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The Sounding Board by R J Lannan |
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RJ Lannan is the reviewer for The Sounding Board. |
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| Illumination |
| By Jennifer Thomas |
| Label: Tickled Ivory Music |
| Released 8/2/2012 |
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| Illumination tracks |
1. Etude for the Dreamer
2. After the Storm
3. Illumination
4. Gymnopédie No. 1 [Erik Satie]
5. New Life
6. Beyond the Summit
7. Into the Forest
8. Secrets [Ryan Tedder]
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9. Toccata and Fugue [Johann Sebastian Bach]
10. Rainforest
11. Fire Dance [Isaac Albéniz/Ernesto Lecuona]
12. Pachelbel's Canon (a Duet) [Johann Pachelbel]
13. Across the Starlit Sky
14. Requiem for a Dream [Clint Mansell]
15. Sonata Minoré [Ludwig van Beethoven]
16. Eventide [Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov]
17. New World Symphony [Antonin Dvorák/Sergei Rachmaninoff]
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The Modern Transition |
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I first heard of Jennifer Thomas from her Key of Sea album back in 2005. Later she produced a wonderful work with her mother Carolyn Southworth. It was a two-disc set of solo piano and orchestration works called The Lullaby Album which I thought was very good. Now Jennifer is back with her own orchestral album of classical crossover tunes called Illumination, that I think is (and pardon the pun) brilliant. Each of the seventeen tracks on the album is energetic, sensational and unforgettable. I vow to attend a concert of this music if it is the last thing I do, because I want to stand up and cheer after every tune. Illumination is going to be a career changing work for Jennifer Thomas. The album is helped with the gracious talents of Glen Gabriel on percussion and orchestration, Stephanie Yose on cello, and vocals by Rachelle Hrncirik.
Etude for the Dreamer begins explosively with a great sense of urgency. This music is going somewhere and it is taking me with it. It commands my attention while at the same time gets my heart rate up. This is going to be some dream. The energy in this piece is rampant throughout the album, but there are some soothing tunes as well.
Along with Erik Satie’s Gymnopedie No. 1, After The Storm is one of the more calmer pieces
on Illumination, perhaps acting as an interlude to catch my breath. Jennifer starts out with strings that furnish power to push the clouds away and her poignant melody brings on the light of the sun. The air is fresh and clean and all that remains are a few crystals clear drops of rain on the leaves. If you look closer at the drop, you can see the whole world.
As I listened to the album, a particular song kept giving me a familiar vibe. Secrets is, I think the only cover on the recording and what a cover! Secrets is the well known single from OneRepublic's Ryan Tedder from their album Waking Up. Great cello work by Stephanie Yose and along with a heavenly chorus, it makes this one quite the instrumental blockbuster. Thomas’ integration of Bach’s Cello Suite in G Major is no small feat.
Somewhere in between a horror movie's soundtrack and Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bell's theme is Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor. Remember, that this is a crossover album after all. The piece is quite complex, but Thomas handles it with aplomb, the chorus is celestial and the percussion quite strong. The passion and energy exercised on this opus left me breathless.
The last tune, New World Symphony sounds a lot like Hush-A-Bye to me, but I have a lot of music stored in the gray matter. The beauty of this piece is undeniable and I think that Jennifer has captured the depth of soul that Dvorak intended. The song is occasionally pastoral and is a finishing nightcap to a beautiful repertoire.
Everyone, myself included, is looking for the light in their lives, in the world and more appreciably so, in their spirit and Jennifer is not one to shun her responsibility as guide. Her music demonstrates that there is not only a light which comes from above, but also from within. The music on every track is exemplary of the high caliber of contemporary crossover music that is around today. I believe that not only does Jennifer Thomas have a listener's favorite album on hand, but also I suggest that this album will be a major viable success. We will be hearing this music on TV commercials, movie trailers and probably, the next Olympics. |
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Rating: Excellent  |
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- reviewed by RJ Lannan on 8/24/2012 |
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