Devotion By Rick Sparks

 

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.