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The Sea and the Bells
 
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The Sea and the Bells

~ Rachel's
5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)

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3 used from £7.44

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Product details

  • Audio CD (2 May 2005)
  • Number of Discs: 1
  • Label: Quarterstick
  • ASIN: B0000037O7
  • Other Editions: Audio CD  |  Vinyl
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 167,634 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Track Listings

1. Rhine & Courtesan
2. Voyage of Camille
3. Tea Merchants
4. Lloyd's Register
5. With More Air Than Words
6. All Is Calm
7. Cypress Branches
8. Sirens
9. Night at Sea
10. Letters Home
11. To Rest Near to You
12. Blue-Skinned Waltz
13. His Eyes

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5.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review)
 
 
 
 
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5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent packaging and notes, beautiful music and arrangements, 2 April 2009
By Mr. S. M. Davies - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Rachel's are a classical-focussed indie band who can be loosely grouped together with Godspeed You Black Emperor and Silver Mt. Zion. In some ways that tag feels like a disservice, as it seems to imply that the compositions are inferior to 'real' classical music. But I use the label simply to reflect the lo-fi approach to production and the unpretentious, stripped down quality of the music.

The title references a collection of poems by Pablo Neruda and also features the artist;s Neruda-influenced poetry in the interior booklet. Presented beautifully atop impressionistic visions of the sea, these free verse poems are romantic in tone and vary in quality, but complement the appreciation of the music well:

In a daze
the ocean is as white as paper
the waves are the black ink that rises up of the page
black curls and thoughts in tight coils
rising up from the sea

The music itself is obviously the main draw, and that really doesn't disappoint. 'Lloyd's Register', coming in at just under ten minutes, is the album's obvious highlight and features a beautiful piano and accompanying strings that develop a variety of differents moods and feelings. It's really superbly composed and manages to be dramatic and soothing without adding anything unnecessary. 'Rhine and Courtesan', the album's opener, is another track that is in itself a kind of journey of moods and emotions.

What also impresses is the delicacy of the compositions: Rachel's aren't afraid to strip things down to a single instrument, as on 'Tea Merchants', where a piano plays haltingly for nearly three minutes. At the natural moment the music grows in intensity around the melody and lifts it into a different sphere. There's nothing forced in the emotion and no gimmicks, just music.

Demonstrating the band's skill further is the use of a kind of chamber ambient that occurs intermittently during the album. The intent here is to create not just human emotion, but atmosphere of the sea itself. 'Night at Sea' is dissonant long notes, superbly evocative of the loneliness of being out at sea. For some listeners these parts of the album may prove too challenging as there is melody is deliberately eschewed, but in the context of the album and in terms of the subject they add extra depth to the whole.

For people who enjoy haunting, beautiful and evocative music, this should be of interest, particularly Max Richter fans. There's an outstanding attention to detail and in terms of the design, an aim to create a complete package. For a project so outgoing, plenty of it works.

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