Ocean Dreaming Ocean
Reviewed By Janet Mawdesley June 8, 2023
Artist – Hans Christian: David Darling (posthumous)
Distributor:
Released: 2023
Running Time: 43min
Website: https://www.curveblue.com/store/p/oceandreamingocean/cd
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Cellist David Darling passed in 2021 leaving behind, as well as his recorded music, a body of unfinished works, or collections not recorded. In Ocean Dreaming Ocean his deep and abiding love for the waters of the world is apparent as each of the songs, bought to life by Hans Christian, carry with them, various and beautiful elements of the ocean below and above the waterline.
Darling was considered as a great collaborator, always ready to work with others to develop a dream. When Christian was asked to interpret the selection of pieces for the album, he found that to go into a quiet space, to simply be in the moment and to draw from the inspiration delivered was fundamental to the final result.
To listen to each piece is to listen to Darling through the skilful playing and creative elements of Christians’ understanding of both Darlings’ musical depth and his own mastery of ‘cello.
Commencing with Epitaph, the work is solemn, steadfast, with a gently pulsating rhythm underpinning the singular element of ‘cello, which is a beautiful tribute to David Darling. The vision created from the music is to enter the ocean, slowly descending into the still, quiet and peaceful depth, enchanting and enchanted. A charming vocal addition draws this song to a delicate close.
The shortest piece Unforeseen Rain Ambient is a delicate drifting piece, once again sombre and yet with a delightfully mediative influence, bringing elements of floating, drifting, simply being in the moment, allowing the majesty of the ocean to permeate the senses.
Ambient and graceful, Seven Veils enters a world inhabited by the whales, the dolphins and other creatures of the deep, as they move silently through their world, gently communicating with each other, perhaps pondering the sad and illusive world in which they now find themselves.
Further into the collection is the lighter Unforeseen Rain which has evolved as a piece for Chamber Orchestra, that adds a refreshing and interesting twist to the complexity of the score.
Ocean Dreaming Ocean concludes a dreamy, relaxing and mediative album which encompasses so many aspects of the richness of healing and beauty to be discovered within the varied depths of the oceans of the world. That it is a natural treasure is evident; that we need to care for this treasure and majesty is understated, to be able to pay tribute to its might in such a languid and beautiful style is a lasting tribute to both David Darling and Hans Christian.