'The Gemini Cadenza'
A Review by Kevin Scott
I think it was Frank Zappa who once said that writing about music is like dancing about architecture. Very astute comment - how do you describe what can't accurately be described in words, especially with instrumental music? Every person is bound to hear things differently. Perhaps this is why music critics, rock critics in particular, zero in on lyrics, the part of the song which is laid out for everyone to see and are very obvious - and say very little about the music.
Peter Knight recognizes that music, not lyrics, are a direct line to the heart. On THE GEMINI CADENZA, there's plenty he has to communicate to you - but words would never be enough to say it all, oh no. So he lets the music do all the talking. What his songs are about will be made very clear once you hear them.
It now appears I've written myself into a corner - I've given myself the task of telling you about the music. Ah, I must, though - to deny you some kind of description could possibly mean denying you the chance to hear some of the most beautiful music I've ever heard.
THE GEMINI CADENZA is 40 minutes of music which suggests, evokes, ponders,contemplates. It's never insistent; it doesn't scream in your face. It tells a story. The title track,which opens the album, is a stark, lovely voice echoing through a valley. It's plaintive and placid, making music for the sake of music - its serenity is equalled only by its sweetness. It is the sound of a voice that knows all is well with the world and we need never fear.
This sentiment is continued in the second track, called THERE'S ALWAYS TOMORROW,with its gentle yet soulful piano notes which are randomly scattered and fall like lazy snowflakes in the middle of the night. The gorgeous, lush background is the very comfort suggested in the title. When the violin joins the piano, it is an added voice of reassurance and calm over the white landscape as the stars begin to twinkle.
The third track begins with sheer heartbreak and an abrupt change of mood. I have no idea if the subject of THE LIFE AND DEATH OF MRS. PEARSON is biographical or fictional, but what is apparent is that Mrs. Pearson is bearing an awful burden, one which no human being should ever have to endure. Achingly sad passages on the violin illustrate her loneliness and suffering - it is almost too intense. Some jarring sounds also indicate her agony. What is also clear is that she is alone and inconsolable. Her end comes with a merciless cry of pain. It is shocking and desolate.
Such unbearable sadness is thankfully short-lived, and the disc ends with one of the loveliest and most comforting pieces ever, titled GOODNIGHT, SLEEP WELL. The piece is the very essence of home, family, security and peace of mind; it is a warm bed on a cold night. It is closed windows, drawn blinds and embers on a dying fire. It is a grandfather clock ticking in the corner, signalling not time slipping away but the pulse of life itself. It is the blissful area between consciousness and deep sleep, and it is a lullaby which echoes long into the night. The SLEEP WELL part of the title should almost be parenthetical - after all, how could you not sleep well after being tucked in so luxuriously?
And of course I let myself down, because my words don't do the album justice. Another person may hear the songs completely differently. But in many ways, my words don't matter. What does matter is that precisely four composers have brought tears to my eyes solely on the strength of a tune: Henryk Górecki, Arvo Pärt, Alfred Schnittke - and Peter Knight.