An ambitious undertaking that would have been labelled 'pretentious' if the composer had fallen short. Fortunately, far from falling short, the end product possibly even surpassed everything composer Davies had hoped for.
I'm not alone in my positive reaction. Soweto Kinch, presenter of BBC Radio 3's late night show Round Midnight, has the album listed at No. 5 (one place behind Knats) in his top ten listings in March's Jazzwise magazine.
EOS (summer solstice) is, like all eight tracks, a masterpiece in the art of arranging. The piano solo by Mick floats butterfly fashion over tightly voiced chords from the ensemble and it sets the scene for Cohen to produce a beelike sting with her alto solo.
Lammas has Smart featured on flugel. Googling reveals that Lammas (also known as Loaf Mass Day) takes place on August 1 and signifies the start of the Harvest Festival. A deep, sombre, arrangement that, beautiful as it is, doesn't have a festive feel to it.
Mabon, 'McGoogle' tells me, is a Pagan holiday that is celebrated in Scotland, Cornwall and Wales and is one of the eight parts of the Wheel of the Year. At last, enlightenment dawns as, not having an accompanying booklet, I've been flying by the seat of my pants! There's a Mingus feel to it with some impressive basslines and intricate exchanges between Olli Martin and the leader herself. The ensemble scoring is breathtaking in its ingenuity.
Samhain marks the beginning of winter and it's a doomy dirgelike composition - as a depiction of winter should be - with Chillingworth's soprano chirping above the ensemble like a migrating bird.
Gaia's Breath (winter solstice) refers to global methane exhalations and features more exhalations from the bell of Robson's trumpet (flugel?). Slow, out of tempo, it builds up with interpolations from Mick. The harmonies are rich and compelling. Robson and Mick combine with a sense of mutual admiration and inspiration. Around about the nine minute mark Forbes is let loose to add yet another exhalation. I doubt if the pagans did any dancing to this one.
Imbolc a.k.a. St. Brigid's Day is explorative and probing in it's brief minute and a half duration.
Ostara - the March Equinox - Helena Kay celebrates the occasion on tenor. Another fine arrangement/composition by Davies that Kay takes control of with her lovely cool tone. A tone - reminiscent of Stan Getz at his most lyrical - that Kay absorbs without losing her own identity.
Beltane. A pastoral finale to a concept album that is more than just a handful of tunes thrown together but an eight movement suite that must surely rank alongside any similar contemporary works in either the jazz or the classical field and done without compromise. Lance
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