When was the last time you listened to a piece of classical music? Many will start to appreciate it as they get older, because we grow with life experiences and often tastes develop. In this vein, new US label, Moon Coil Media have signed Western Australian, Father Robert Nixon, OSB and released his neo-classical album, Celestial Void. Everything was recorded at the New Norcia Monastery, then mastered by Sean Beasley, with the lovely cover art created by Greg Rolfe
Yes, you did read correctly. Father Robert is a man of the cloth and God, as the OSB stands for Ordo Sancti Benedicti or more commonly known as a Benedictine Monk. Before Father Robert took his vows, he previously been involved in post-punk, goth and classical projects.
As a classically inspired instrumental album, heavily saturated in piano and backed up by synths, it is unfair to pull apart Celestial Void track by track. Instead I will give you my impressions in general. Some of the tracks are lilting and sweetly calming sanctuaries, such as the “Ode To A Nightingale“, with wending piano strains that gently caress your senses. Others. like “Elude melancholique” are saturated in exquisite mournful gloom, and Father Robert creates darkly beautiful tracks that remind me of pieces such as “Moonlight Sonata” by Bach or the evocative “Clare De Lune” by Claude Debussy.
Most pieces would be in the category of toccata, and it really does not surprise that the Chopin piece, “Valse In C# Minor,” was chosen as the one cover version. Not only is it a gorgeous piece of the Chopin Opus, but in reality, it is a very hard track to play properly due to it being in C sharp and Father Robert pulls it off perfectly.
If I had to choose a favourite track, I might pick “Nocturne In C# Minor” as it has the heart of a Franz Liszt waltz, the difficulty of a Chopin piece and the moonlit supernatural beauty of Vaughan Williams‘ “Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis“. Father Robert Nixon, is not only a talented musician and composer, but also a theologian, poet and well versed in Latin. A renaissance man staring into the Celestial Void.
Onyx Music Reviews 