Robert McGinty - Reflections
Reflections by Robert McGinty is a charming exploration of how the classical sounded before it was labeled as such. Classical music has always seemed out of reach to me, likely because of its status. But the Manchester, UK-based instrumentalist makes the classical seem inviting by creating these seemingly easy-to-listen-to pieces that create a feeling of affability. Whimsical and warm, McGinty gives us beautiful scenarios through each track. The album begins with an optimistic and hopeful track that has an undertone of melancholia. It feels like the emotions that flow through you as you stare at your reflection in a lake. You're looking back at the life that you've had, the good and the bad. And this is a recurring pattern in this album. The title to every track sets the scene for you. In Ballade à L'amour, or Ballad of Love, the strings accompanied by the piano bring a beautiful love story to life. The harp in The Elysian Slumber makes it sound like a song from an old music box, nostalgic and dreamy. We see the flute for the first time in The Whisper on the Wind, the arpeggios bringing a playfulness to the track. And it seems to be keeping the underlying melancholy from breaking through. To me, this song is like the wind listening to you as you recount the ups and downs of a day. Ebbing Tides is the first song that majorly uses minor chords. This time the flute brings in a mischievousness that is a bit roguish. When the strings arrive, though, the track becomes more dramatic, almost like the consequences that caught up. Maybe it mirrors the movement of tides. The Whimsical Waltz is exactly what the name suggests. This is a track that makes you want to learn ballroom dancing. The chord progressions lend themselves to being whimsical and playful beautifully. The ¾ time signature, or the waltz, is my favourite because it gives you just enough intrigue to keep you interested but is not entirely keeping you out of the loop like other odd time signatures. This also creates that dreamy quality, signature to every waltz song. The most interesting song of the album is Attending the Celebrations. This track cleverly changes things up as soon as we see a pattern. And as the title promises, there are grandiose moments of celebration as well. Encantada was the song that immediately got stuck in my head on first listen. With obvious Spanish influences, the progressions are lively, upbeat, and undeniably enjoyable. I love how the album ended with the three jazzy instrumentals that were very upbeat and amusing. It felt like someone tied the most colorful bow to wrap it all up. Reflections is an extravagant and ornate gift, crafted to be appreciated by everyone, regardless of their familiarity with classical music.
Robert McGinty - Chanson à La Lune
Chanson à La Lune is a dream sequence in music, and the magician behind this masterpiece is Robert McGinty. The album is a series of songs that emit personalities of their own, and they all don costumes of a strait-laced era. The kind of music you hear when you open a musical box as the wooden dancer dances to its tune. McGinty breathes life into this world with his music. He creats textures with his graceful melodies that frolic and burst with life. He has an eye for nuance like no other; each note is meticulously placed as he engineers and builds a rare fabric of music. Robert has created a seamlessly fluid album, we have no idea where a song ends and the next one begins. Robert McGinty and The Awakening McGinty makes a grand entrance with the opening track of The Awakening. The track is incredibly dynamic and cinematic; it ebbs and flows with a smoothness that puts silk to shame. That said, he manages to hold our attention with an unmatched grip, and he surprises us with each moment. The track is an adventure in Wonderland. We enter the heart of a castle, the kitchen of where he makes his music. We have a unique bird's eye view of the food chain as we move to the dining room. The track is brimming with life as he takes us on this journey! Popping Poppette Popping Poppette seems to ooze decorum with each of its crisp and tight notes. It prances about until they swell all at once. McGinty is the master of playing with expectation; he bends notes at will. With his music, there is no concept of inertia; with every swell, he shifts gear, allowing for a sonic landscape to build within our minds. But what sets this song apart is the crispness of each note, the kind of decorum that oozes with pleasant courtesy as a rule. Chanson à La Lune Most of all, his music deserves to be the background music for a museum that holds artefacts of the golden ages. He melts your heart with Chanson à La Lune; you can imagine yourself dancing underneath the moonlight as your spotlight. The track feels like a personal rendition with each guitar strum that fills your chest with joy. The joy is fleeting, though, and it leaves you with a hunger and a greedy need to experience it fully. He gives us new textures of music to experience with each song, maintaining his iconic tapestry, his own brand of handloom music that weaves stories. One could say that his music belongs in a film as vibrant as Persuasion. Every song is sculpted to hold a universe of emotion and event; each song could be used in so many montage shots. It's dynamic, crisp and sharp enough to hold any emotion. Which is an important achievement of Robert McGinty: his ability to make universal music. He makes sure his music is experienced and felt to the T, a trait that truly makes his work timeless.
Robert McGinty - Return to Lullaby Mountain
Haunting and sorrowful as it begins, Return to Lullaby Mountain feels like an exploration of bittersweet melancholia. It makes you want to sink into the sadness it creates and not fight it. To feel all the things that you couldn't feel because you couldn't process it. Robert McGinty forces you to sit with your sorrow as the piano plays its seemingly endless melody. With only one instrument, a sole piano, this track evokes such a deep and overflowing ache that you cannot shake off. It is so intensely lonely and sad, paralleled by the lack of accompanying instruments. It reminded me of the feelings I had as I watched the movie Hugo. That movie left me feeling a little hollow, not because it had a sad ending but because it explored grief so well that it stayed with you even after the story ended. This song makes me feel the same way. The sadness just lingers despite you trying your hardest to move on. The arpeggiated melody that leads to a swell in the music gives you hope for a happier sound, but it returns to the melancholy again, relentless as it mourns. Like it's recalling a memory of the happy moments just to be brought back to reality again. I think this song encapsulates what you feel after you lose someone or something and come to terms with it. Never-ending grief for the love you lost and the love you still carry for whatever you lost. Like the sea, with waves that can be so gentle one day and can sweep you away another, to forever be lost. But never still. Robert McGinty carefully and perfectly renders the tragic beauty of grief.