Darkness Starts
Description
I grew up singing in choirs, playing the piano (as a good little piano student), and playing guitar in rock bands (as a bad little piano student). And even though I love loud guitar solos as much as the next bad piano student, I also love the intense quiet possibilities of the electric guitar, as the pickups amplify even the softest playing. This gentle piece of music mirrors the gentleness I hear in Christian Wiman's elegant poem. Guitar effects like reverb and delay are invited to blend the guitar with the choir, just as the guitar slide blends the guitar into vocal glissandi. Finally, I tucked in a nod to Samuel Barber, whose Knoxville: Summer of 1915, like Wiman's poem, captures a dusky nostalgia that has enchanted and inspired me for years as I watch my own children play in the shadows of the yard. —Andrew Maxfield, 2023
"Darkness Starts" was recorded by Sound of Ages on their album, First Light (available on streaming platforms and vinyl).