the rhyme and the river by Sharlene Wallace
independently released from Sharlene Wallace
P.O. Box 190, Station C, Toronto, Ontario, CANADA M6J 3M9
Tel 416 -346-6600 sharlene@interlog.com
http://www.interlog.com/~sharlene
The rhyme and the river has an ongoing motion,
that starts from the first song and flows through to the last. Wallace has
a tender and whispery touch to the harp, which tends to make it sound lush--as
if it were singing. Her patient rhythmic sense, careful attention to dynamics,
and the lightness of her technique make her soft music very shapely and
warm. In the brighter and faster songs, her awareness of accuracy and the
exuberance with which she plays makes everything easy to the ear and extremely
refreshing.
I particularly appreciate the sensitivity she brings to the
construction of her songs. There are times when I can hear the river dropping
into swells and trickling into brooks, the rapid water rushing against the
rocks, and water dripping over waterfalls. Even more engaging is the tenderness
in which she adds other intruments (bass, guitar, triangle, and fiddle)
to the subtle ebbs and flows. The counter-rhythms add to the feeling of
nature's own randomness and uncertainty of where the river will, eventually,
go.
I greatly appreciate this album, and would highly recommend it.
