Mark Ellestad: Discreet Angel

The three Mark Ellestad compositions that comprise this album are dated as having been written in 1988, 1990 and 1994. The Canadian composer says that there were many factors which led to the pieces becoming somewhat hidden for a couple of decades, adding that by the end of the 1990s, he put composing into the background to protect it, in a way.

The twenty-minute recording of "Discreet Angel" (1990) here was made in Santiago, Chile, in April 2020, by Cristian Alvear and features him on acoustic guitar. The forty-six-minute recording of "In the Mirror of the Night" (1988) was made in September 2021, by Simon Reynell, at the Old School in Starston, Norfolk, UK, with Apartment House's Mira Benjamin on violin and Anton Lukoszevieze on cello. In complete contrast, the six-and-a-half-minute recording of "Sigrid" (1994) dates from August 1994 and features the composer himself on pump organ and—a traditional Norwegian instrument—Hardanger fiddle, Ellestad having first heard and fallen in love with it while watching the opening ceremony of the 1994 Winter Olympic Games held in Lillehammer, Norway.

As the above information suggests, the three tracks are very different from one another in several ways, so the album feels more like a compilation than a coherent planned recording. Nonetheless, rather than being a weakness that is a strength, particularly for a composer with only one previous album release to his name, (At Desolation Sound) (Six Sided Records, 1994).

On the title piece, Alvear's spacious, measured playing is ideal to emphasise the tranquil, meditative qualities of Ellestad's music; the two sound made for each other. Similarly, the Apartment House players are perfect for the extended piece, their sense of space allowing every nuance of the composition to be clearly heard and savoured. On the album's shortest piece, Ellestad's choice of Hardinger fiddle never sounds like a novelty but feels so right for the composer's music that his love of it seems inevitable. Ellestad has said of these recordings, "The musicians have approached their interpretations with restraint, patience, stillness... I love what they have done...and I feel settled that they have hit the essence of what the music is." Most remarkable is how contemporary Ellestad's music sounds today. Having listened to this album, one conclusion is unavoidable; more recordings of Ellestad's music should follow as soon as possible.