Meg Bowles: Evensong: Canticles for the Earth
Kumatone Records

Stephanie Sante: Clear Light
Sante Music

Both of these releases are exceptional examples of instrumental New Age-styled soundscaping, Evensong: Canticles for the Earth by Meg Bowles a remarkable suite of ambient-orchestral meditations inspired by nature, the cosmos, and spiritual matters and Clear Light by Stephanie Sante a heavily synthesizer-oriented tribute to the oceans and its lifeforms.

It's probably safe to say that Bowles brings to her music-making a background unlike any other's. A flute player from a young age, she earned her undergraduate degree in music from Boston University, after which she earned a degree in finance from Columbia and graduated from the Westchester Institute for Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy. Drawing for inspiration from classical and electronic composers such as Bach, Arvo Pärt, Steve Roach, and Max Richter, Bowles has crafted seven full-length recordings and is both a licensed psychoanalyst and a professional choral singer.

On any given day, she replenishes her spirit by taking an evening walk along the lake near her home to absorb the murmurings of birds and animals, watch nature's colours darken as dusk settles in, and gaze upon the starlit sky, grateful to be a citizen of the Earth and a humble witness to its abundant beauty. That appreciative tone is instated at the album's start by “Hymnus,” a nine-minute reverie whose synth washes and melodic patterns unfurl with stately, unhurried grace. Even at this early juncture, one can't help but be struck by the quiet grandeur of Bowles's vision and the assurance, patience, and control with which it's effected.

Her choral side seeps subtly into the presentation of “Migration at Dusk,” which in its subtle rhythmic animation suggests the flight of birds across a still lake; that said, there's never so much pulsation in a Bowles setting that its meditative character is undercut. The precision with which her material is calibrated is never more evident than during “The Ridgewalker” and “Berceuse For a Star Child,” both otherwise notable for being hushed and delicate, while a zenith of sorts is reached in the closing “Time and Light,” a radiant, peaceful meditation whose fifteen minutes encourage a shift away from a focus on linear ‘clock' time to thoughts of eternity and the mysteries of the universe.

Bowles' album is one of those albums that to be properly appreciated suggests certain conditions should be met: normal activity suspended and the mind cleared of real-life preoccupations. Evensong: Canticles for the Earth, in other words, is not music to be listened to while doing dishes or vacuuming; one should instead relax, slow down, and cast aside any and all concerns to maximize receptiveness to her instrumentals.

Stephanie Sante shares with Bowles a deep bond with nature, though in the case of Clear Light it's specifically the ocean. A Greenpeace member, Sante's long dedicated herself to supporting the organization's efforts to save the oceans and the sealife, and with her latest album has tried to distill the power and beauty of the world's oceans into musical form. The path leading to Clear Light has been long and winding. Growing up in Marin County, California, Sante immersed herself in classical, flamenco, jazz, and electronic genres and after moving to Boulder, Colorado delved deeper into electronic music, issued three New Age albums, and then shifted her focus to NuJazz and related forms. Though she achieved considerable success in that area, after fifteen years a desire to return to New Age proved too strong to deny, which eventually resulted in the new recording.

Sante clarifies that the title has two significant meanings: Clear Light both refers to the life-sustaining sunlight that sea creatures need in order to survive and the clarity of thought we need to have to appreciate the challenges associated in dealing with pollution-related problems and the dangers of species extinction.

An interesting treatment creates a through-line from one track to the next: each begins with a stripped-down series of synthesizer-generated notes that Sante then builds into an expansive sonic network that includes virtual sampled acoustic instruments. As a result, though the general sound design remains very much synth-dominated, strings, piano, bass, percussion, chimes, and wordless vocals find their way into the settings, each one of which blossoms organically from its simple intro into a grander production. While each of the nine pieces is united by the inclusion of synthesizers (and an upward swooping synth motif in particular), a specific element, such as the acoustic piano that figures prominently in the arrangements of “Jade Resonance” and “The Color of Coral,” often differentiates one from another. She also individuates “Salacia's Dream” by simulating the sound of a voice speaking under water, the voice an allusion to Salacia, the mythical Roman goddess who watched over the ocean's depths. Changes of mood arise, too, with the classic New Age stylings of “Melt Like Snow,” for example, delivered softly and gently compared to some of the more robust pieces.

September 2018