HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN
improvisations for oboe and four keyboards
Marianne Osiel, oboe
with
Robert Barrows, pipe organ
Denman Maroney, hyperpiano
Jordan Rudess, synthesizor
John Simon, piano
The new CD by Marianne Osiel brings an immediate aura of repose and peace
into the moment. Introspective, very alive, investigational, both in both sonic quality,
and musical explorations, the inner voice that sings through the instruments reveal
the subtle qualities of gentle light through sound. A sound that is spaced in a meditation,
a flow which is not forced or created, but noticed. A very internal, etherial, and
even spiritual offering, this work is a masterwork of beauty and quiet energy.
Improvised freely in the movement of the moment, the oboe is like a lonely pilgrim singing
in the wake of the dark harmonic settings and movements played by the pipe organ, the piano,
and synthesized backgrounds. The quote on the back cover from L. Cohen says it well,
"Ring the bells that still can ring.
Forget your perfect offering
There's a crack in everything.
That's how the Light gets in."
The pleasing ambience will surely affect mindful stillness in the
contemplative listener. ~ LaDonna Smith