A few weeks ago I was contacted by Natalie from a company called Two Sheps That Pass, which is a marketing company that has some Christian music clients. She shared with me that she’d like to send me an album entitled “State of Grace III” from Paul Schwartz.
Let me just say that I’ve been listening to this album almost non-stop since I received it and I just love it. I should also back-up a moment and say that I’ve always enjoyed “New Age” music, which didn’t go over too well since I’m the “son-of-a-preacher-man”. But my opinion was that “New Age” in this case was what I considered a label for modern classical music. After typing that though, that is amazingly oxymoronic, but I digress.
If you’re a fan of Enya, Yanni, Ray Lynch, Benedictine Monks, Julee Cruise, etc., then you’ll like this album. The album isn’t instrumental, but the vocals blend so well into the sounds of the instruments I don’t really hear them as vocals. It’s just like the singer has become another instrument themself and is joining their harmony to the entire arrangement. I’m not sure really how to describe it other than that.
This bit from the producer’s website does a good job:
STATE OF GRACE III is the highly anticipated third installment in the beloved series that debuted in 2000. Like its predecessors: STATE OF GRACE and STATE OF GRACE II, this collection of songs blends vocal, with live choral and orchestral elements with creator Paul Schwartz’s trademark deep, ambient grooves and rich melodic texture. Based on traditional religious texts, the album is a uplifting collection with a contemporary sound and once again features the ethereal vocals of Lisbeth Scott.
The vocals by Lisbeth Scott are amazing. Talk about an intriguing and mesmerizing voice. She’s been involved with productions like The Chronicles of Narnia, Munich, Perfect Murder, Shrek, Kingdom of Heaven.
Paul Schwartz is no light-weight either by any means. He’s done some significant work and has quite a background with his productions. Read through the bio on his website and you’ll do nothing but agree with me on that.
You can get a good idea of the music by visiting the producer, Paul Schwartz’s website.
The website for the album is www.state-of-grace.net, but they seem to be having some kind of server problems right now, so not sure about that.
This is a great album to have playing in the background as you focus on prayer, or your devotions or just getting things done.
