Devotion
By
Rick Sparks
Written by
Steve Sheppard
Rick Sparks has been a leading new age
instrumentalist for many years, each passing composition, each single, each
album that is gifted to the world by this stunning composer always lives up to
the very high standards of calm and serenity set long ago, and here on this new
release entitled Devotion, that
doesn’t change a single jot, in fact the commitment to travel to the tranquil
shores of calm are reached with utter ease, and perhaps in a peace, as of yet
not seen before.
Devotion is a release of pure charm and
serenity, the title track is very much a soothing reverie, with layered synths,
beautifully lush chords, restful harmonies and pertinent chimes, I think this
is as close that Sparks has ever got to creating music for a movie segment, as
it is harmonic, ethereal and quite moving.
We drift ever slowly down the stream to this next attractive
arrangement called River of Peace. I
used to find great solace from rivers, the slow steady onward movement, and
sometimes the placid nature of the surface is all that is needed to find an
enchanting respite. Here on this composition Sparks creates music for that
aforementioned statement, one that flows with a passion, with a sense of
purpose, a river of calm, a river of life, a river of peace!
The third of the six pieces on the release is the keyboard
based reverie entitled My Refuge,
this one I found particularly fascinating, there was a truly emotive minor
nature to this arrangement that made the whole composition so appealing, but
then one that the artist took control of and rowed our musical boat into the
more the amiable banks of sensitivity, whilst the angelic vocalisations
reminded us of our journey thus far perhaps.
The Sacrifice is our next port of call and this
entrancing opus is indeed an alluring arrangement, once more colourful textures
are created by the master of tender tones and timbre, a captivating safe
harbour is found residing within its musical arms
On the penultimate offering Be Still and Know, we perhaps have a piece of musical awareness
right before our eyes. There is without doubt a pleasantness here that is so
undeniable, one that makes this manifestation so compelling, and at the same
time so enjoyable, and it is called Be
Still And Know. This is with ease the most meditative slice of genius from
the album, and great comfort and peace can be found within its hallowed halls
of musical plenitude.
We round up our voyage with the artist with the concluding
offering called The Road Home; this
one in particular has a real essence of the classical within its construct, and
reminds me of my personal favourite composers of all time in Vaughan Williams, whose pastoral
romantic exploits of The Lark Ascending still
to this day fill me with an emotion that is unabated. This extremely classy composition would in my view make an
excellent single, it is uplifting, has a beautifully melody, a perfect
reflective hint of emotion just when needed, and is the idyllic end to a very
accomplished release.
There can be no doubt that Rick Sparks is one of new age music’s finest instrumentalists, his
multi-faceted compositions are always a sonic bath of quietude just when its
needed, and each track of this incredibly soothing release will give much
comfort and contentment to each listener who has the good sense to embrace it,
another masterful hit therefore must be on the cards for Rick Sparks and Devotion.
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