Covert Ensemble: The Sky Between Us
Teal Creek Music
At seventeen minutes, The Sky Between Us is more EP than album, but the impact of the release isn't mitigated when the single-movement work soars as magnificently as it does in this presentation. Composed by Jenni Brandon, the piece is performed by Covert Ensemble saxophonists Dave Camwell (soprano) and Katerina Pavlíková (alto) with accompaniment from pianist Tingting Yao. The work was commissioned by Covert Ensemble, founded by Camwell and Pavlíková in early 2021.
The work's rhapsodic tone derives from the poem that inspired it, Zia Hyder's “Under This Sky,” whose humanistic message is encapsulated in its opening line, “There's an enormous comfort knowing we all live under this same sky.” No matter who we are nor where we live, we're connected as sharers and custodians of the same planet. In her own words, Brandon, a composer and conductor who has written over seventy works and has seen her music appear on more than twenty albums, aspired “to create a soundscape that interweaves the ideas of togetherness through beautiful melodic lines, rhythmic gestures, and fluid motion.” To embody such themes, she created a lyrical setting that exudes uplift and interconnection through the interplay of the three instrumental voices.
While The Sky Between Us unfolds without pause, it advances through three parts, “Sun and Moon,” “Sweets and Snow,” and “Life and Love,” each discernible from the others. To suggest openness, Brandon has the saxophones call back and forth to each other during the haunting opening section before gradually uniting them to convey connection. Against a backdrop of sparse piano chords, the saxophones trade phrases in a to-and-fro that entwines ever more rapturously as the music blossoms and ascends. As the piece enters its middle section, the tone turns languid and contemplative, with the focus shifting to a solo piano part executed brilliantly by Yao. Having recharged, the music picks up again, the trio now focusing on rhythmic propulsion when not presenting mesmerizing cadenzas by both saxophonists. The plaintive tone struck by the closing section is no less affecting than the two preceding it. All three musicians distinguish this harmonious, melodically beguiling work with impassioned, virtuosic performances.
The release isn't, however, without flaws. While bios for Brandon, Camwell, Pavlíková, and Covert Ensemble appear on the package's inner sleeves, one for Yao is conspicuous by its absence, and in one place the group's name is misspelled “Convert”; in terms of sound production, a distracting degree of reverb occasionally shadows the piano playing. Such imperfections aren't so great that they undermine the impact of the performance or the beauty of Brandon's writing. The Sky Between Us is a glorious tonal expression that one imagines would prove irresistible to any concert audience.March 2024