The Lightness of Dark
Reviewed By Janet Mawdesley September 11, 2019
Artist – Fiona Joy hawkins and Rebecca Daniel featurung The Kanimbla Quartet
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“If we love, we grieve. That’s the deal”. Nick Cave
To this end Fiona Joy Hawkins and Rebecca Daniel have created a most elegant, gentle and almost heavenly body of work, The Lightness of Dark reflecting on the grief and darkness that can surround the very soul, before the lightness of acceptance is ushered in and life, once again, continues onward, never the same, forever different.
A small beautifully constructed booklet accompanies the music, telling the story behind the inspiration with each of the sections having a wonderful quote overlaying the graceful photography.
A tribute to Rick Wright the keyboard player for Pink Floyd, who passed away in 2008, introduces the body of the work in Heavenly Voices, the soft, gentle sound of the ‘cello offering an invitation to enter. The wordless vocals of Fiona Joy and Rebecca Daniels rise over the delicately constructed piece, which also introduces The Kanimbla Quartet, joining all the threads together in a perfect tapestry.
Ghosts Insanity Angels tells the story of the early days of loss, when there is an overwhelming madness that descends; a belief that the world has gone mad, insane and all will be well, until the reality descends and eventually, the Angles who watch over us lead us out of the darkness of despair. A beautiful piece from Nick Cave also blesses this composition with his words of wisdom.
Interwoven Threads of Chance is a slow, measured, melancholic piece for chamber quartet, played with emotion buy The Kanimbla Quartet, featuring viola, sharing the story of the fine threads of chance that enter life, creating the love that is as essential to life as is grief, both often fleeting, both immensely felt, interwoven to remain in eternity.
An intriguing piece Sugar Plum Ghost, is a much lighter song, featuring Hawkins on piano and Daniels on violin, once again using their wordless vocals to entwine the two mediums in a tribute to Tchaikovsky’s Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.
Inspired by Jethro Tull, Empty Moments captures the emptiness of space when someone has gone, the hole left behind, still fresh, new, waiting for something to fill the void. Written by Rebecca Daniels and performed by The Kanimbla Quartet, with Fiona Joy Hawkins on piano, Empty Moments is a most reflective and beautiful piece.
The final piece Finding The Way Out is a rather genteel Celtic dance song offering the gift of a small ray of sunshine into a life that has been in darkness, suggesting a fleeting moment of joy, of happiness there to be enjoyed before once again continuing on with life’s journey.
Recorded in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales on a gloriously beautiful day, the subtle, timeless majesty of the Australian bush, the darkness and light, the joy and sorrow coming down through the Ages has somehow been captured and woven into the final recording, adding something rare and very special to this deep, emotional, elegant collection.
A final word from Fiona Joy Hawkins completes this beautiful eleven track work when she says,
“When the world seems dark, a fleeting moment of light is like a smile.”