Echoes of Light By Lisa Cullum

 

Echoes of Light

By

Lisa Cullum

Written by

Steve Sheppard

 

The London based neo-classical composer Lisa Cullum has been on my musical radar now for some years, four to be exact, and since then her talents as a composer and pianist have grown exponentially, here on this brand new five piece EP she expands her skill set even further on one of the nicest collections of piano based musings you would ever wish to have, and called Echoes Of Light.

The journey starts with From The Darkness, a track that must be classified as beautiful in its compositional structure, it truly is a creation that guides one from the dark and into the light, the gentle build, slow progression and superior piano and string segments, make this one of the most impressive opening pieces I have heard for years in this genre.

The following narrative has what could be described as a sensitive, almost pristine energy to its essence; there is a sense of mystery and curiosity here that is not only wonderfully crafted, but deeply compelling on the piece entitled Into The Light. The classical element here is incredibly palpable and one can through the cello string sections and careful piano, find a way out of the webs and mists of a darker past perhaps.

Clarity has something that I adore in any music, that hovering sense of intent, Vaughn Williams used to do it so well with those delicious violins, and here Cullum joins that club in manifesting one of the most heartfelt offerings this genre has seen for decades on Clarity. A track that floats with the fresh air of a new May morning, and in doing so brings a beautiful cadence to the day for any listener.

The penultimate narrative is a piano based creation of great texture and quality and called The Last Moment, there is something so very moving about this performance, that matched with the string segments brings a true sense of a mournful texture to the heart and mind on this emotive creation.

Our last and concluding piece is called Silence, the tale starts from a deep place, and its tone and timbre slowly build, to pick up tempo which in turn brings forth an almost meditative structure with which to float within, a composition that has a duality of a haunting reverie, and one that could easily be used as a film soundtrack.

Echoes of Light by Lisa Cullum in my view is the best work of the artist thus far, here on this sublime new EP she has taken many musical moments and shaped them into six very listenable and captivating creations, here is a release that any listener will be happy to fall in love with, and as such I can only see good things on the horizon for Lisa Cullum and Echoes of Light.