Hearts of Space
1995
Aeterna
About This Album
Constance Demby's monumental Novus Magnificat (1986) took its inspiration from the sacred choral and organ music of J.S. Bach. The overall impact of that piece was one of spiritual deliverance, that the heavens and all its angelic choirs arrived to welcome you. It is an incredibly moving piece, but Demby and her celestial inspiration gave the listener a gift, a spiritual "free ride," a release, an anointment. But with 1996's Aeterna, Demby has thankfully decided to pick up where Novus left off. Demby again uses digital samples to re-create lush orchestras, choirs, piano, and cello, but instead of Bach, she taps into the styles of Romantic composers such as Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, and Anton Bruckner; this means stirring up emotions. The album begins with "The Dawning," which has the orchestral colors and the bright hopefulness of Grofe's dawn movement of The Grand Canyon Suite. "Ocean Without Shores" is a piano concerto that surfs themes wave after wave. The three-part "Innocence" has quieter spaces: a star-spangled hall with chimes and a delicate waltz, but later a cautious piano stalking through an orchestral canyon. "Cry of the Heart," awith its ponderous pulls and deep musings, features the mournful cello as the solo instrument.
Track List (try tracks 1,2,3 and 4)

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