Review: Calling All Dawns

Currently in Earphones: should be obvious, given the subject.


It's now been well over 3 years since I first heard whispers that Christopher Tin, the composer behind the immensely popular "Baba Yetu", was coming out with a solo album titled Calling All Dawns. I got my first taste of what was to come when Corner Stone Cues (purveyor of the popular "Requiem for a Tower") released a cover of "Mado Kara Mieru," easily one of the highlights of Tin's then upcoming album and a fantastic (and, arguably, better) interpretation.

Everything has finally come together and Calling All Dawns is now available for public consumption, and I must say: I am very, very impressed with what Mr. Tin has cooked up. The main sticking point for me was the thematic cohesiveness of it all. It's been said that the 12 pieces are supposed to represent the cyclical events of life, death, and rebirth (or Day, Night, and Dawn), and musically they accomplish this very well. I'm to go on a track by track analysis from here because there is a lot to point out.

1. Baba Yetu: My initial impression upon hearing that Baba Yetu was going to open the album was, I admit, somewhat scornful. Make no mistake, it's a fantastic piece and deserves every bit of praise that it gets. But, as it's been highly overplayed and hyped to the heavens, I was definitely feeling like Mr. Tin had been resting on these laurels a tad long. These feelings were immediately put to rest when I took a listen to this new, re-arranged version of Baba Yetu.

Not only is it the piece that you know and love, but Tin smartly incorporates motivic elements from the other pieces from Calling All Dawns into it (something we'll see a lot in the coming pieces). Right at the beginning the male solo hums the first few bars from "Kia Hora Te Marino," a fact well documented by other reviewers as giving a great circularity to the album. The song then heads into familiar territory, the Soweto Gospel Choir giving a wonderful rendition of this now classic piece. Things get interesting around 2 minutes in, after the main body of Baba Yetu has sung. At 2:03 a solo flute pipes out the 5-note motif to "Lux Aeterna," followed immediately by a solo oboe playing the "Yomei..." stanza from "Mado Kara Mieru." The orchestra then slowly builds into a full bodied da capo, but overlapped with a horn, then a string rendition of the motif from "Kia Hora Te Marino." It's all these little touches and references that really made this track shine for me, and brought a fresh take on this old piece.

2. Mado Kara Mieru: Easily the biggest powerhouse of the album, Corner Stone Cues chose wisely in picking it for a balls-out, trailer music cover. While Tin has access to some more high profile signers, this rendition has a reduced chorus and different drumming group. It's very much it's own piece, containing little to no references to any other on the album, but that doesn't stop it from being a stand out cue. I find that I like the percussive variations better in this version than the cover, though the small group of singers can't compare with a 100 voice trailer music choir belting out the main chorus at the end of the piece. Each version has it's merits, and I fully suggest listening to both versions to determine for yourself which version you like better. Churning, powerful, and majestic.

3. Dao Zai Fan Ye: Calming down from the previous cue with a more quiet and contemplative tone, this is another one of my favorites. There's some wonderful counterpoint in the duet, and I love the elegant grace and occasional melancholy the melodic lines entail. Once again, a stand alone piece, with no references to any other, and once again, still a fine addition.

4. Se E Pra Vir Que Venha: This and the following piece I like to refer to as "E.S. Posthumous filler." It's all very pleasant sounding, and the soloist does the sort of melodic wandering I associate with adapting a somewhat free-form poem into music, but it doesn't really go anywhere. Sure, there's dynamics and some nice orchestral range, but it very much feels like a low key piece that occasionally peppers some of E.S. Posthumous' albums (or in the case of Cartographer, all of it). Pleasant, but easily forgettable. Also, I'm not sure if this is a cultural thing, but Dulce Pontes comes across as really nasally to me.

5. Rassemblons-Nous: The second of the "E.S. Posthumous Filler" pieces (and commonly pointed out that it's the only piece to have electronic backup), an equally "ehh" cue, at least for me. I can't help wondering if Tin is friends with/owed a favor to Jon Goldman, the lyricist: it's easily the most wordy of all the pieces and suffers the same kind of melodic (though once again, pleasant) wandering that "Se E Pra Vir Que Venha" fell victim to. There's some nice swelling of the chorus and orchestra here and there, but once again, didn't really do anything for me.

6. Lux Aeterna: I will admit that my predisposition to the Latin tongue is responsible for some of my enjoyment of this piece, but it makes a nice contrast the big, swelling pieces that come before. Musically spare, it starts off with harp and voice, eventually segueing into more full bodied orchestral statements culminating in a string and horn statement of the 5-note motif introduced by the female voice. After being inundated with orchestra richness for the past 5 cues, it can be a little jarring to hear such a spare and quiet piece, but I find it a nice change of pace.

7. Caoineadh: Once again, I'm very fond of the stylings of Anonymous 4, which is probably colored my enjoyment of this piece. It expectedly wavers between medieval sounding chords and lonely Celtic lament from the ladies in question, and halfway through the orchestra joins in for some underscore and a finally a swelling re-statement of the secondary theme (which shows up around the halfway point as well).

8. Hymn do Trojcy Swietej: Clocking in at over 6 minutes, this is the longest and slowest piece on the album, which is fitting considering it's the end of the "Death/Night" part of the album. Interestingly, we finally get a reference to a previous piece again: a solo flute comes in at 4:04 and at 6:08 with the figure that appears at 3:19 in "Mado Kara Mieru." Both solo voice and choir come to prominence, and despite having considerable volume in places, it's probably the quietest piece of them all.

9. Hayom Kadosh: Here's where things get really interesting. This starts of the "Dawn/Rebirth" segment of the album, and from here on out each piece flows into the other without break. This makes for a wonderfully cohesive listening experience and is easily the most enjoyable aspect of Calling All Dawns. This is also the shortest piece on the album, but that doesn't stop it from being chock-full of other references to previous cues, played underneath the main song. At 38 seconds in a solo flute pipes the "Kia Hora Te Marino" motif, echoed by an oboe, which at 58 seconds returns with"Lux Aeterna." Two flutes very faintly come in with "Dao Zai Fan Ye" at 1:05, and at 1:11 it's the oboe again with the "Yomei..." stanza from "Mado Kara Mieru." Finally, at 1:27 the strings play the previously mentioned 3:19 figure again from "Mado Kara Mieru." I am deeply impressed with how rich this piece is, despite only clocking in at 1:45, it easily outshines the end of the "Day" segment.

10. Hamsafar: The resounding cymbal crash that ends "Hayom Kadosh" begins this piece, a wonderfully melodic blend of soloist and chorus. No references to other pieces here (Tin seems to have used them up for the moment), just the piece itself. If I have one problem, it's that the chorus to this piece (despite being in Farsi), sounds entirely too similar to "Baba Yetu." My beef being that it sounds like it's sung by the same handful of blond, college-age sopranos that so defined Tin's first piece. Surprise surprise, a quick look at the liner notes reveal that it's Talisman, the Stanford A capella group Tin's been involved in. While it worked for "Baba Yetu," the lack of any other vocal range rubs me the wrong way here, the melodic construction in addition to this sounding too similar for my ears.

11. Sukla-Krsna. Whoa! All my complaints about samey-ness just flew out the window. Roopa Mahadevan and Misha Chowdhury provide a breath of fresh air with their traditional stylings and must have given some pointers to the Talisman singers. Also, I definitely giggled when Tin decided to go full-blown trailer cue ending on this piece. I totally expected some grim title drop for an action film after the tam-tam crash at the end. :)

12. Kia Hora Te Marino. I would almost describe this as an extension of Baba Yetu, indeed, the two pieces are warm, uplifting and in the same key. Hearing the Maroi Chant in the background was really awesome, including the solo chant starting at 1:35 (though I will say, it sounds eerily similar to the slightly mush-mouthed singspiel that the main singer of Kila employs, despite the fact that one is in Maori and the other in Gaelic!). There is one last call-back, with a full orchestral rendition of "Hamsafar" at 1:17, but aside from that, the piece is by and large it's own thing. Once again, as this piece is very similar to "Baba Yetu:" If Tin is making any references to one within the other, I can't tell.


So, aside from some minor gripes with a few songs, I very much like this album. If there is anything that I might have missed (i.e. "Rassemblons-Nous totally has a theme, you hater, and it's referenced in etc. etc.") please let me know. Aside from that, I give it a hearty recommendation to one and all. Well done, Mr. Tin!


Enough, More Later.
- James