12/25/2023 0 Comments Voicey sound boardThe arrangements were sung with sectional solos rather than individualsĬarrying the melody. We Wish You a Merry Christmas to include Hannukah, Solstice, and Kwanzaa.ĪKSARA's singers sound warm and mature. Spiritual, Mary Had a Baby, and sweetly modifies The group does include a jazzy yet fairly unsoulful Most arrangements are nearly identical to the typical high school orĬollege sheet music. Instrumentals (six tracks feature piano and two are entirely instrumental), The song selection is fairly typical of Christmas fare, with theĮxception of Bethelehemu, a Nigerian carol which gets the sole markįor originality on the album. Singing about the winter solstice and goddesses on the next track, we Peaceful, quasi-religious tone for the album. Voice entreats us to "gently enter, sacred is this place" and sets a The album opens with a piano-accompanied poem written and ![]() The group solidly stamps its character on the album within the first Staying loyal to the group's new age soul. Tries to pay homage to the Christmas carol tradition, while Gently Enter is a collection of holiday carols that More than a good stocking stuffer for AKSARA's friends and relatives.Īnyone beyond that circle should wait for something a bit more finelyĪKSARA is an eight member all-female group that has a yogic feelĪnd describes itself as taking "you to wonderful places within yourselfĪs you listen". Ultimately, there are just too many problems to make this album much ![]() AKSARA's few forays beyond standardĬhoral songs - an African song and a spiritual - could have used a bit more The group has a slightly tentative sound that serves themĪdequately on tracks like Still, Still, Still (a particularly strong Through the mix stronger production could have mitigated this to someĭegree. Problematic at times, with a few particularly warbly voices cutting Sloppy entrances and cutoffs and disjointed unison rhythms. The lack of attention to detail was present across the board, with The lower voices were much stronger in both solo voicings and general General issues with group chord changes as well. The problem is particularly apparent in the sopranos, but AKSARA has Music director could overlook some of the more egregious tuning errors. In studio with little editing, as I have a hard time believing that any I have a strong suspicion that the recordings were live At the basic level, tuning problems plagueĪt least half of the tracks, made more apparent by the occasional pianoĪccompaniment. Unfortunately, these details could not overcome more fundamental Not strictly aĬappella, this eight-woman group was often accompanied by piano, with evenĪ few piano instrumental tracks, providing a nice change of pace to this somewhat monotonous set list of Christmas carol standards. Word piece as a framing device to open and close the disc. I also appreciated the use of a piano interlude and spoken Original cover art and tasteful liner notes nail the If we were to judge an album by its cover, Gently Enter would beĪ solid outing. Holiday vocal albums out there that I can't recommend this one to the A quasi-jazz arrangement of the spiritual Mary Had a Baby isĪKSARA sounds like a solid group, but there are so many excellent An interesting Yoruba carol is rendered in theĮxact same choral style as the European hymns, with zero West Africanįeel. Well-suited to female voices, AKSARA doesn't do much better on its moreĪdventurous material. With the exception of Winter Solstice, an unusual pagan hymn ![]() ( Lo, How a Rose), a vibrato-y soprano wiggles to the front of the blend. The balance is often bizarrely poor on tracks four, seven, eight, and thirteen the soprano melody is almost inaudible, while a boring mezzo line blares in my ear. The different timbres of the singers (throaty, head-voicey, etc.) often come apart in the blend. A lot of technical errors warble along in My doorstep is singing, you've got to distinguish yourself through ![]() Pretty well, with decent tuning and nice dynamic and rhythmic control.īut if you're going to sing the same arrangements every caroler on The bulk of Gently Enter is by-the-book, repetitive arrangements Like that, except that I don't think AKSARA is trying to be funny. Saturday Night Live bit, "Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey"? It's kind of Poem superimposed on a new-agey piano arrangement. The worst offenders are theįour piano instrumental tracks, the first of which features a maudlin Song and then creak back into rhythm again. Thinking during all the moments where they stop dead in a middle of a At least that's what I figure the eight women of AKSARA were Very deep and deals with important emotional themes that must be taken Pauses remind the listener that the song is Melodrama with your Christmas carols? AKSARA makes great use of. Gently Enter is the musical equivalent of those Hallmark cards designed for grandmas, with airbrushed photos of bouquets on the frontĪnd poems in printed flowery script on the inside.
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