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Artist: Bill Douglas Albums:
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In response to the tragedy of September 11, 2001, Bill Douglas and the Ars Nova Singers have recorded Homeland, A Prayer for Peace. Multi-instrumentalist Douglas this time turns his considerable talents away from England and Ireland (his musical inspiration for previous albums like Circle of Moons and Songs of Earth and Sky) and trains them instead on America. What has not changed, though, is Douglas' incredibly rich, genuinely sentimental and carefully nuanced approach to composition and performance, weaving together both instrumentals and heart-rending vocal performances by the Ars Nova Singers. For lovers of his previous recordings, Homeland will almost certainly prove to be yet another favorite. Opening with the traditional American folk-song, "Shenandoah," the smooth voices of the Ars Nova Singers rise up accapella, but they are eventually joined by Douglas and his superb crew of accompanists (Bil Jackson on clarinet, Judith Glyde on cello, Anna Stackpole-Cuellar on fluet, Peter Cooper on oboe and Ty Burhoe on his trademark tabla - Douglas himself plays, as always, piano, keyboards, and bassoon). "Begin Sweet World" is the second song and the first instrumental and it is both serene and also somewhat haunting, as clarinet carries the lead melody along with piano and gentle synth undercurrents. Douglas has always had supreme control over drama and pathos, never desceding into extremes nor letting the music veer into melodrama or bathos and his abilities are on display throughout Homeland. All the songs on Homeland are originals, except for the opening "Shenandoah" and three of the last four songs (an instrumental medley of "Black is the Color of My True Love's Hair/I Wonder As I Wander," and two choral numbers: "Sometimes I feel Like a Motherless Child," and "The Water is Wide"). His instrumental arrangements of the first two American traditional songs are exquisite, and in the last two, he leads the Ars Nova Singers in seeking out the emotional core of the last two tracks. In particular, "The Water is Wide" (which features a brief exquisite instrumental prelude) brought tears to my ears every time I played it. The watchword for Homeland is comfort - the music soothes the troubled soul with an assuredness that most new age music can only briefly attain. The instrumental selections (like the sedate yet beautiful title track featuring shared leads between cello and clarient, the somewhat sprightly but subdued "Desert Star," graced by Burhoe's carefully restrained yet emotive tabla playing, and the ethereal mysterious "Entering the Dream") are balanced by the almost unearthly beauty of the Ars Nova Singers work on cuts like "In Memoriam (September 11, 2001)" (a Bill Douglas original), "Sanctus" (featuring lyrics by Wordsworth and Shelly) and "Beauty Bright" (lyrics by William Blake), along with the traditional American folk songs/spirituals mentioned earlier in this review. Of note, Bill Douglas' piano playing on Homeland may be the best he's ever given us. In addition, the performances of all the accompanists are inspired and filled with deep emotion. Yet, never once does this CD feel exploitive of the tragedy nor are there any traces of false sentimentality. I get the distinct impression that Douglas sincerely wants to help heal the wounds of September 11 through his music - and in my opinion, there can be no more soothing a balm than listening to Homeland. It's gentle warmth, balanced by introspective and somber passages scattered throughout the album, will leave few hearts unmoved. In short, Homeland is a testament to the strength of both music and the human spirit, both of which persevere through tragedy and help us every day with the unending struggle of staying alive and at peace in a turbulent world. It's a blessed album and gets my highest recommendation.
Bill Douglas (assisted by several accompanists and the angelic Ars Nova Singers) returns with a further refinement of his beautiful blend of subtle Irish melodic sensibility and gentle new age music textures on his latest recording on Hearts Of Space, A Place Called Morning. For my money, this may be the finest work he's ever done. Both his and the accompanists' talents have never been put in service of such sublime and ethereal pieces of music. From the achingly pretty opening "Lake Isle of Innisfree" (using Yeats' poetry as lyrics) to the album-concluding "Rise Up, My Love," this recording contains some of the prettiest music (in the best sense of the word) of any CD in my entire collection. I once stated that Bill Douglas' CDs elicit more positive feedback from "non-new age music fans" when I play them at home than any other artist. No one who has heard Douglas' piano,. keyboards and bassoon, or the accompanying voices and instruments (on this recording, cello, flute, clarinet, oboe, violin, tabla, and cymbals) has remained untouched by the delicate beauty of the melodies and the unabashed yet completely sincere romanticism. Mixing vocals with instrumentals and uptempo numbers with more subdued pieces, Bill Douglas once again demonstrates that he has one of the keenest ears for nuance in the recording industry. The engineering and production on the CD are textbook. What impressed me this time around was how emotive yet controlled the playing by all parties is. No histrionics are present, but the music is suffused with a depth of feeling that is so encompassing that, were this a sad record (rather than the overall reflective experience it is), it would be difficult to get through it in one sitting. Favorite tracks? Forget it. I could sooner tell you what my favorite dinners are that Kathryn prepares (she has a veritable culinary arsenal at her command). If pressed, though, this time around I almost seem to prefer the vocal cuts - the Ars Nova Singers are in truly exceptional form! I particularly loved their singing on the title cut, in which the words of poet Emily Dickinson take on an almost spiritual feel. I also enjoyed "Forest Hymn," with its forlorn cello and violin (courtesy of Judith Glyde and Yumi Hwang, respectively). In the end, though, the laurel wreath for this CD needs to be passed to Bill Douglas who composed, arranged, and produced the album. The man is one of the finest arrangers in the entire music business, to my way of thinking. Only the hardest of hearts will be unaffected by this recording. Comparing A Place Called Morning to the more overtly commercial and bombastic albums from Secret Garden reveals how true beauty lies in simplicity and execution - never in overt showmanship or mere technical proficiency. I recommend this recording without reservation to romantics, fans of melodic acoustic music, and especially to those who love the sound of massed human voices rising in unison. The Ars Nova Singers may indeed be angels here on earth. Simply put, A Place Called Morning is a stunningly beautiful work of art.
It's hard to know what to write about a release that is more of an extension than an evolution from an artist's previous work. Cynics may say something along the lines of "Well, that's just more of the same." Followers of the status quo will say, "Oh good, I was hoping he/she wouldn't change. I love his/her music just the way it is." Myself, I fall somewhere in between and always try to judge the individual release on its own merits. It's not always easy (e.g. Enya) but I do my best anyway. That brings me to Bill Douglas' latest Celtic-flavored release on the Hearts of Space label, Songs of Earth and Sky. Sounding a lot like his Circle of Moons and Deep Peace recordings, this is a return visit to some of the prettiest Celtic-inflected music being recorded today. Bill can compose some achingly beautiful melodies (Circle of Moons is one of my favorite Celtic -flavored CDs) and the players he has assembled for this release (on instruments like clarinet, violin, oboe, flute, and percussion, and the exquisite Ars Nova Singers) do a great job&emdash;as does Bill himself on piano, keyboards, and bassoon. Now, as to the Ars Nova Singers&emdash;obviously they sound heavenly and I choose that word carefully and intentionally. But, those of you who don't like vocals better think twice about this release. Six of the thirteen songs have words to them&emdash;and not just any words. The "lyrics" to the songs are poetry by some of the better known names in that business. You may have heard of some of them&emdash;Shelley, Burns, Blake, Shakespeare, Dickinson. Needless to say, the words are beyond reproach. The music is pretty close to that as well. Again, the instrumental flow of Songs of Earth and Sky seems like Circle of Moons part two, but that's a pretty good thing. Like that recording, there is a blend of fast pieces ("Feast," "Balyshannon," "The Echoing Green") and softer, more romantic-sounding songs ("The Cloud," "The Smile of a Breeze," "The Secret Rose," "Willow"). Some of the fast songs are vocals and some of the slow ones are also vocals. All in all, it's quite the varied package. What doesn't vary is the beauty of the music, the singing, and the playing of everyone on Songs of Earth and Sky. It's a deeply evocative and lushly romantic recording, even when it's high-spirited. Chalk another one up for Bill Douglas. Maybe it's not a far reach, but he sure grabbed the brass ring this time. And on this CD, he passes it gladly to us.
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