Rachel Wilhelm: Songs of Lament

Preface:

I am part of a group on Facebook given to the "glory" years of Jesus Music (1979-1989). I am not sure exactly how the group decided upon those years, however, there is a shared feeling among members that given the homogenization of Christian Praise music, that few people today are creating music that matches the importance, vitality, or skill of our chosen era.

While I sometimes join them in head-shaking as we look at the state of Christian artistry (especially that which hits the airwaves) I am convinced that many in the group are simply not aware of the many profoundly gifted musicians and singers making new music in the Jesus Music tradition. Over the next year, I hope to highlight artists (maybe one a week) that stand out for creating music that is current and sanctified and culturally engaged, and has not succumbed to the homogeneity of the age.  My first pick:

Rachel Wilhelm Songs of Lament - 2017 (Bandcamp link) Sacred/Folk/Adult Contemporary

For as long as I can remember, I have been in love with minor keys. I came out of the womb enveloped in them. I imagine my soul connecting to each tendril, as I lose myself in melancholy.

I have always written my own songs, but when I finally recognized the beauty of God’s Word, I realized that some of those words found their pairing with the minor keys that so inflamed in my heart, seeking to be consoled. God’s Word showed me, in effect, that it was okay to be sad.” (Rachel Wilhelm)

Quick Spin:

Songs of Lament, by Rachel Wilhelm is an album of refreshing clarity and beauty, given to themes of sorrow and God’s mercy in times of pain. Rachel gives voice to sober reflection inside a bed of stylized folk with lite-jazz and celtic underpinnings. I am claiming this for  my “essential listening” file.

Long Play:
I came across Rachel on a lark, while tooling around NoiseTrade. Not only is the music lean, spare, haunting, it chases territory that much in need of chasing.

NoiseTrade, in describing Rachel’s audio ethos, place her in company with Sara Groves, Sandra McCracken, and Audrey Assad.  Of these three, Rachel, probably compares most directly with the rougher-hewn Sandra McCracken, though Rachel sings at a decidedly higher register, making her a more direct vocal compare with the unnamed Jill Phillips. (Both have what I might call a northern quality).  She brings a voice wholly suited for desperate melancholy: feminine, lilting, broken and strong.

Songs of Lament showcases production values that fully match my ear:   Rachel is surrounded by quality musicians who expertly twine electric and acoustic elements. (Piano, cello, upright bass, Wurlitzer, sundry guitars etc.) Production is thicker than “folk” but decidedly restrained. The music fully supports the spirit of lamentation.


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When my bride and I were young in marriage we attended a church given to the practice of Exclusive Psalmody -- the practice of ONLY using lyrical paraphrases of the Psalms in corporate worship. While my wife and I did not embrace the conviction of the assembly, I count that a rich year of worship life, in part, because the Psalms address themes largely hidden from contemporary life.  Look at our modern praise songs and you find the shelves stocked with celebration and “happy” themes. Largely absent are songs that address misery, depression, or the judgements of God. But if Jesus was a man of sorrows it seems part of what it means to follow in his footsteps is to feel the grief of God.

In putting out an offering anchored in lamentation (Sometimes from the very book) Rachel has elevated the music of real experience --  into reality.

Since discovering Rachel’s music I have reached out on Facebook and now, have an ear, not only for Rachel’s music but her opinions as expressed on social media.   Turns out Rachel is a worship leader -- formerly from Minnesota, and now serving Redeemer Anglican Church of Dacula, Georgia. I knew there had to be a liturgical influence!

But her interest in song goes far beyond form or personal expression, she is deeply interested in the whole theology behind worship.   She shows a deep concern for both spirit and truth, and uses social posts to explore what honors God in heart, head and affections.

Beyond that, I have learned Rachel has quite a backstory. Since it is hers to share, I will not repost it here, only to say...Rachel showcases a deep awareness of human fallibility, and God’s extravagant grace.


My recommendation. Start with her music on Bandcamp -- let her music soak into your soul, then if it touches a cord, reach out to her on Facebook and take in her honed insights on a life of living worship.

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For further listening, Enjoy Rachel's first work:

This project started in 2012 in Wendell Kimbrough’s DC apartment. Our common goal was to record hymns with our friends, some new, some old, for our local churches where we led music. This particular project has four old hymns with new tunes, and two new hymns.

The Kindling Glance (EP) 2016 (Bandcamp Link)

Jeff Johnson and Phil Keaggy: Cappadocia

Cappadocia.
Jeff Johnson and Phil Keaggy
Genre: Ambi-coustic (New Age) with touches of Art-rock
Release 2/2019



Quick Spin:

Cappadocia, the third joint-instrumental work by ambience-keyman Jeff Johnson -- and guitarist Phil Keaggy, showcases both artists at their collaborative best. In keeping with the recipe of their earlier ventures, Cappadocia is at at once impressionistic and precise, hypnotic and varied, melancholy and sublime. “Volume-III” flows naturally from their earlier works, but gives greater space to bold Keaggy licks, a touch of the middle east, and the feeling of soaring. This is the kind of music I lean into, savoring every delicious sound. Those who listen loud will discover all kinds of subterranean textures, and sounds inside of sounds. Emotionally rich, Cappadocia traffics in in both solemnity and full-on joy.



Cappadocia (the album) draws its name and from a weirdly weathered region in central Turkey. Video footage highlights a drip-castle collage, a valley of soft rock dunes. The dunes,in turn are studded with caves, tunnels and man made chambers. Cappadocia (the place) played a vital role in the expansion of the early church, providing place for refuge and worship. (The CD art features pictures of primitive churches hollowed inside the the soft stone dunes)

The music reflects the typography of land and spirit. On the physical: drips, echoes and doves. On the spiritual: that which envelopes and fills. Cappadocia (the album) suggests the very presence of God in mind and place.
 
This  is the language of Sanctuary. 

Beyond that, modern day Cappadocia is a favored land for hot air ballooning. And so we soar on multiple levels.

I might have worked longer to describe the music, but figure you can just listen here.  (Bandcamp)


But if you want to better hear what you are hearing, return here!

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Long Play



IF I corner you in a room, or drive you in my car, it’s not long until I have introduced you to the music of Jeff Johnson or Phil Keaggy. Or better yet, a two-fer.

These two men have gone as far as anyone to shape my ear, or provide a significant background for key events in my life. I still remember where I was the first time I ever heard Phil Keaggy. The year was 79 or 80. I was palling around with friends from the Baptist Student Union. It was night, We were headed to the lake and someone threw Keaggys seminal work, Master and the Musician into the tape deck. I was in a moment, transfixed and transported. Keaggy’s classical guitar riffs swelled and turned, or exploded in high volume rock riffs, only to return to the understated and sublime. I felt pulled into the very throne room of God. The music gave me the holy willies...and I have never quite recovered.

A year or two later, I discovered Jeff. This time a wacked out prog rock offering, that sounded at times like the band Styx mixed with melancholy piano and anchored in the fantasy writings of George McDonald. I was like nothing I had ever heard before. I became a lifelong fan. Johnson is the king of collaboration. His recordings over the years are shaped by the many talented people he has befriended. I am in love with both his variety… and minor hues.


Put the two together and we have peanut butter and jam.

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Cappadocia is Jeff and Phil's third collaborative work. I read one review where Phil called this their best. I am not convinced that it is better...though it may be more intricate and lush. All three live in me.



I have a theory. While each of these projects bear a name that unleash its own set of images, I surmise that Jeff and Phil are secretly working on a four-season collection. Naming each work after seasons would be so 1723 (Vivaldi) ... and my theory is not without holes, but still I see a pattern.



Frio suite: With its deep ambience and echoes, reminds me of Texas Creek in late September or October, which is still pretty warm but colored in the stuff of copper, trickle and reflection.   

Water/Sky: with its darker hues, stark minimalism, and gnarly guitar runs winterish. (Not without exceptions) but I can imagine the churning chill and warm of complex February.

As for Cappadocia. It soars. There is quite-joy in each of these recordings, but I hear in Cappadocia, tones that bespeak unbridled joy...a bountiful flowing. Listen to the closing section of That Which is Hidden and see if hear the hidden brilliance of May following a freshing shower. And when I hear the closing sounds of Chapel of Stone, I hear nothing short of radiance... the sun pushing out over a gilded valley with the very city of God descending!)

While the idea of “sacred” - or Christian instrumental music is largely uncontroversial, I remember when, in the days of the Jesus Music revolution, some people questioned the utility of music without words. They wondered whether music alone could serve a missional function. The answer we came to collectively is that music need not be missional; there is great freedom in Christ to engage in all sorts of things with or without sacred utility. That said, I DO hear Holy Spirit lessons all through this music.

Paul, in the book of Galatians says that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, (and) self-control.

So...What do I hear when I listen to Cappadocia?  A:  A basket, filled with the fruit.

The gentleness, peace and joy are pretty much direct readings of the sound. The patience and kindness, together with self control are suggested by the process. Both men exercise musical restraint. Rather than make Cappadocia a show-off session, Jeff and Phil embrace musical discipline, sublimating their gifts to each other, even working to make each other shine. I think too of Jeff’s many hours on the tweaking side, with the long-suffering required to execute the blend.

Within Cappadocia I hear a few primal Keaggy tunes.  (The final track plays delightful nods to Master and the Musician, while other tracks mirror sounds I associate with the Streets of Madrid, Phantasmagorical, or Wind and the Wheat. What makes them new is the setting, which so expertly frames Keaggy's guitar pearls. Then, both men manifest restraint, so as not to tear the larger musical fabric. Cappadocia is cohesive in its Holy Ghost discipline.

Finally, I fully believe that this music represents embodied love.  I imagine there is a certain amount of trust that each man gives to each other in abandoning himself to the other's gifts. (including pushing out an unbridled vocal that will be, given the magic of machine, turned into angel song.) Join all that, to the Love of God shed abroad in the hearts of those who call upon Him,  and this is testament to love-filled craftsmanship.


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I would be curious to learn more about the recording process. These sessions are peculiar in that Jeff and Phil recorded (as I understand it) each of their many tracks in separate places, then shared files. Both musicians have a home studio.

Many - but not all of the songs begin with Jeff Johnson piano. I can imagine that Phil responded to - or improvised on top of a musical bed. But did it always work that way? Some songs seem more Jeff, some more Phil.  The sound blend is so smooth that it is hard to believe that these could have been recorded in separate spaces. Each is playing off each other… Or responding to their own earlier work, in second or third layers. There are times too, where I am hearing notes inside of Keaggy's guitar, almost as if Jeff came in and dropped little chime bells inside each brush of the strings. (Forgive me for my non techy language.) Cappadocia is a work of studio magic.





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Closing note -- I have a wish: That Jeff and Phil will find another work yet left in them. Cappadocia dishes Joy, Rev, and peace of mind, but I’ve still got a hankering for all the rock’n heat Jeff and Phil could throw at a summer thunderstorm! Bring on the chaos.

Should that never happen, I will yet die a satisfied man:)