REVIEW: Brooklyn Rider’s “Seven Steps”
Brooklyn Rider Seven Steps (In A Circle) is one of only a small handful of classical pieces I’ve reviewed on my site, and I’m glad this one arrived, for this is more on the (to my ears) adventurous side. I’m sure there are some classical purists who would prefer to hear compositions done by the book, but when you have a set of music that’s new, there is an openness to be open.
The song begins with two powerful pieces, the title track and “Together Into This Unknowable Night”, each one going over the 10 minute mark. While it may not be sensed as to what these seven steps actually consist of, one can fall into the music and imagine what it may be, while “Together Into This Unknowable Night” may be about the fall/collapse into faith and trust of whatever you want it to be. Then you realize what the seven steps as the album moves into “String Quartet No 14 in C# minor, opus 131″, which goes into seven movements. Individually, you tend to want to anticipate each and every note and part of their playing, but perhaps the spacing between each element is also what draws you in: the suspense of what comes next.
I may not be an expect on classical music, and someone with knowledge and better ear for it may hear it differently, but as an outsider who has always enjoyed classical, Seven Steps shows the true beauty of music by its unveiling of the known and the unknown, pulling listeners in for the sake of listening and wanting more from its passion.
What do you think?