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Ellen M. Wilson - News & Reviews

Feminist Review on Songs of Ascent

Treat your nerves to a vacation. Ellen M. Wilson's Songs of Ascent is the perfect album for tense listeners in tense times. If you are frayed by looming debt, housing concerns, healthcare inadequacies, by any or all of the plagues of our times, Songs of Ascent is a balm that rarely comes packaged in CD form. The compositions are all based on Jewish liturgy, but the arrangements and message transcend religious affiliation.

Songs of Ascent opens with "Modeh Ani," a grace said upon awakening. Wilson infuses the melody with haunting Middle Eastern tones reminiscent of the muezzin's call to prayer. The second song's lyrics, "Eil Na R'fa Na Lah," are composed of Moses' prayer for his sister Miriam's healing. Wilson's simple yet soaring melody feels as if it actually could have healing properties. In fact, the same can be said of the entire album.

I have seen Songs of Ascent labeled as "new age", but I disagree. Rather than 'new', Wilson's arrangements and heavenly voice seem ancient in the best sense of the word. The music and words are delivered with quiet passion as one imagines they were originally intended back in the day when religion was more universally viewed as a source of strength and communion. For example, anyone who has ever been to a synagogue service has heard "Oseh Shalom," but not like this. This prayer, asking God to bestow peace on the world, has never been so wistful, so heartfelt and so, well, harmonically catchy. I now find this tune running through my head like a reflexive and soothing mantra. And unlike most "ear-worms," which tend to be as pernicious as the "Meow Mix" song, I welcome this one. It is flat out gorgeous.

Last year at this time, I was exhausting my iPod battery with Sarah McLachlan's Christmas album, Wintersong, alternately wishing there were a Jewish equivalent and also not caring if there was because while listening to the music my spirit rose and cartwheeled, no religious affiliation necessary. Yet this year I got my wish. Ellen M. Wilson's sound is much like McLachan's and with just as broad an appeal. Wilson's voice is truly ethereal. She could sing programming code and still induce a Zen-like well-being in the listener. "Pitchu Li," a request for justice, demonstrates this remarkable vocal ability, gliding from Mariah Carey highs to Pink-like contralto.

Songs of Ascent is a blend of Middle Eastern melody, traditional Jewish liturgy, impossibly beautiful harmonies, and a bit of jazz and soul. Since most cantorial albums feature men, it is an added joy to have this work by a female artist. In a world where more and more of us are reverberating from the harsh echoes of economic crises, violence, and fears for the future, one may wonder: is life still worth celebrating? Songs of Ascent answers this question in the affirmative, and in doing so, truly lives up to its name.

Review by T. Tamara Weinstein

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