Margaret Maria creates a therapeutic soundscape of comfort and compassion with her new EP Where Words Fail: Music Through Healing — showcasing today on Tinnnitist.
“Feeling helpless limitation in my human form is a recurring theme throughout my life,” the Canadian cellist, composer and producer shares. “This music is born of this helplessness in the hope that it can be helpful to others. That it can offer some healing, some understanding, some comfort, some strength when we feel weak or when words fail us.”
As the release’s opening song, Blessing of Awakening parallels the start of the day — slow and meandering at the start, like rolling over in bed as the first light shines through the window, the pace picks up, driving and percussive in a way that mirrors and evokes the escalating tempo of everyday life. For Maria, the awakening was personal and painful: The pandemic saw her experiencing health problems as her sister fought for her life with a serious case of COVID. The acclaimed composer got through it by writing and playing music whenever she was able, pouring her emotions and struggles into her instrument.
Anyone who has ever experienced the pain of loss or struggle, and the strange up-and-down journey of healing, will recognize each emotion in Where Words Fail: Music Through Healing. From The Brink begins dark and metallic, suddenly turns airy, winding, and light, and then hits its stride with a graceful march. Healing Hearts is a soulful waltz that morphs into an undulating heartbeat before the two become layered over an energetic sprint. Raindrops From Heaven is exactly what you might expect — gorgeous, rhythmic touches that fall over sweeping balletic strings.
With a combination of masterful instrumental skills and the intuition of a gifted creator, Maria is a unique and exciting voice in the world of new music. A graduate of The Curtis Institute of Music, her career has taken her to concert stages around the globe as a member of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and the National Arts Centre Orchestra. Her composition Between Worlds was premiered in 2019 by the Ottawa Chamber Orchestra, with the great Canadian soprano Donna Brown.
Listen to Where Words Fail: Music Through Healing below, and find out more about Margaret Maria on her website, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
