Evensong, by Kevin Keller

Evensong

by Kevin Keller

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Derik Stone Kevin knocks it out of the park again with this one. It's like a chorale artery with small veins of Tangerine Dream along the way. He takes his unique piano sound and mixes it a bit with fantasia - little musical hints similar to the soundtrack from the '90s PC game, MYST. Evensong is a must for any Kevin Keller fan. You won't be disappointed.

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Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Evensong, ambient chamber music, Shimmer, The Front Porch of Heaven, Ice Worlds, Corridors - Music for Modern Dance Vol. 3, Intermezzo (Platinum Edition), La Strada, and 11 more. , and , .
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1.	Evensong 1 07:06	lyrics	buy track
Favus distillans Ursula virgo fuit, que Agnum Dei amplecti desideravit. Mel et lac sub lingua eius, quia pomiferum hortum et flores florum Unde in nobilissima aurora gaude, filia Sion quia pomiferum hortum et flores florum Gloria Matri et Filio Et Spiritui Sancto Quia…
2.	Evensong 2 04:41		buy track
3.	Evensong 3 (feat. Katherine Wessinger) 05:08	lyrics	buy track
Columba aspexit per cancellos fenestrae ubi ante faciem eius sudando sudavit balsamum de lucido Maximino. Calor solis exarsit et in tenebras resplenduit unde gemma surrexit in edificatione templi purissimi cor dis benivoli. Iste turris excelsa, de ligno Libani et cipresso facta, iacincto et sardio ornata est, urbs precellens artes aliorum artificum. Ipse velox cervus cucurrit ad fontem purissime aque fluentis de fortissimo lapide qui dulcia aromata irrigavit. Tu es fortis et suavis in cerimoniis et in choruscatiane altaris, ascendens ut fumus aromatum ad columpnam laudis.
4.	Evensong 4 (feat. Danya Katok) 05:37	lyrics	buy track
O successores fortissimi leonis, inter templum et altare dominantes in ministratione eius sicut angeli sonant in laudibus et sicut assunt populis in adiutorio, vos estis inter illos qui hec faciunt, semper curam habentes in officio Agni
5.	Evensong 5 04:12		buy track
6.	Evensong 6 04:26		buy track
7.	Evensong 7 (feat. Laura Metcalf) 04:28	lyrics	buy track
O rubor sanguinis, qui de excelso illo fluxisti quod divinitas tetigit: tu flos es quem hyems de flatu serpentis numquam lesit.
8.	Evensong 8 03:42	lyrics	buy track
Ante finem diei Factor mundi, orámus Ut te, firma caritate, custodias Vigilia tua circa nos dum dormimus A malis insomniis defendamus aspectum A timoribus et terroribus noctis Conculcamus nostrum mortiferum hostem Ut nulla nosa cogitatio scire possit Vigilia noctis spectat ad mane In pace dormiemuss

about

There are two things you can count on: Kevin Keller albums always tell a story, and a new Kevin Keller album will always sound different from his previous one.

As the New York-based composer’s recorded career nears a full three decades (debut The Mask of Memory appeared in 1994), Evensong takes him into territory that is simultaneously new and ancient. It’s his first album to be based on vocal music, with half of those melodies being penned by Hildegard of Bingen in the 12th century. Four of the eight tracks use her plainchant melodies, including her Latin texts, and when combined with Keller’s production, the resulting sound is timeless.

Conceptually, Keller takes the Early Christian idea of canonical hours (divisions of the day being marked by music) and interprets it as a microcosm of life and its procession from beginning to end—and beyond. The procession also takes us through the church modes, the scales (based on those of the ancient Greeks) used before major and minor took over in the Baroque period: Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, Locrian, Ionian, Dorian, and returning to Phrygian. Each track has a distinct character based on the varying order of half and whole steps in its chosen mode, with “Evensong 5” being the most intense.

We are taken on a journey, starting with conception and birth, moving to the playful innocence of early childhood, followed by growing up, then the uncertainty of adulthood, the confusion and struggle of making one’s way in the world, the peace that (with luck) comes in maturity, the transition of death, and the mystery of what comes after. At every step of the way, Keller combines classical textures (strings, organ, piano) and modern timbres and rhythms in evocative fashion, often crowned by the beauty of the four female voices in unison. The profound sense of contemplation that has marked Keller’s most deeply felt work is once again present, guiding us gently along the journey to its otherworldly finale, with a plainchant melody written by Keller in homage to Hildegard’s style.

credits

released October 6, 2023

Composed and produced by Kevin Keller

Plainchant on tracks 1, 3, 4, and 7 composed by Hildegard of Bingen

Danya Katok - soprano
Elisa Singer Strom - soprano
Katherine Wessinger - soprano
Wendy Baker – soprano
Sarah Zun – violin
Angela Pickett – viola
Laura Metcalf – cello

Recorded by Robert L. Smith and Sam Stein at Reservoir Studios, NYC
Engineer’s Assistant: Deeba Montazeri
Additional engineering by Richard Bozic
Mixed by Kevin Keller at Mariner’s Gate Studio, NYC
Mastered by Chris Frasco in Nashville, TN

Art direction by Kevin Keller
Cover image by Alex Turton
Artist photo by Pavlo Terekhov
Makeup by Rachael Ryan

All music ©2023 Kevin Keller (BMI). All rights reserved.

Album Supporters:
Rayne Kristine, John Bacsa, John Licwinko, Albert McCann, Ted Morgan, Stephen Howard-Sarin, Martha Mitchell, Jeff Sloane, Marta Karamuz, Meri Tepper, Eric Johnson, Bill Merrill, Mark Steensland, Jeff Menager, Brad Grimm, Thomas Zarnek, Steve Holtje, Jennifer Stencel, Daniel Leafe, Frederick Key Smith, Orin Kurtz, Joshua French, Ben Glovinsky, John Lloyd, Rachel Amov, Dawn Daehn, Derik Stone, Gene and Kathy Keller

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about

Kevin Keller New York, New York

Kevin Keller is an American composer who has worked in the spaces between neo-classical, ambient, and electronic music for over 30 years.

Often combining acoustic piano, strings, and woodwinds with electronic instruments and effects, his style has come to be called “ambient chamber music”. ... more

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