Pauline Frechette – “Jewel Box Fantasy”
Pauline Frechette – “Jewel Box Fantasy” – Single Review
There are always a few artists & bands that remain at the top of a reviewer’s mind over the years, no matter how much time passes. Although it was last year that we had most recently featured her music on our pages, Pauline Frechette is certainly one of those names I can consistently recall from memory, because she’s really put out a noteworthy catalog of instrumental beauties, many of which we’ve reviewed right here at our website. While it might have been a while since we last heard from her, there’s no doubt that if I have been asked at any point between then and now about who does classical music exceptionally well these days, I’d quickly bring up Frechette’s extraordinary material, no doubt.
So in short, it’s great to have her back in the mix – she’s as consistent as it gets when it comes to quality.
The composition of her new single “Jewel Box Fantasy” is as brilliant as ever – this track unfolds and reveals itself with immaculate grace and just a pinch of mystery, leading to a fantasy-laden sound in the music that plays as cleverly as the most compelling of stories. For as delicate and moving as the sound of “Jewel Box Fantasy” may appear at times, you’ll find this composition transitions perfectly, twisting the beauty into more intense melodies along the way…and in that sense, it really keeps you on the edge of your seat, wondering how this journey in sound will truly turn out by the end. It’s performed & written as if to keep us wondering if the more mysterious moments will win out by the end, or if the light in this melody will prevail – it’s expertly laid-out in a way that compels you to continue listening, and I love that. You can also consider much of this to be a staple part of Pauline’s catalog – she’s got an incredible knack for creating music that genuinely keeps you interested without forcing you to listen.
A song like “Jewel Box Fantasy” is another exceptional example of how that works – she keeps you engaged with her stunning attention to detail and outstanding instrumental performances for sure, but make sure to note just how much of this song consistently shifts and changes as it plays, while still retaining a remarkable level of cohesiveness that makes everything sound like it’s right where it should be. As in, she’s not simply here to repeat a whole bunch of parts in a song like this…it’s no kind of verse/chorus/verse deal here…it’s much more fluid, constantly in flux, and completely expressive. As a result, when we listen, this is the kind of music that becomes a sensory experience we can feel resonate inside us – we keep listening, because our interest in what she’s playing never wavers. How could it possibly, when Pauline takes us all on such a ride through the theatrical, classical, and dramatic way a song like “Jewel Box Fantasy” plays? The balance of tension & comforting sound is as professional as it gets!
While it’s certainly true that absence can make the heart grow fonder, as they say – I think what’s equally true, is the fact that Pauline Frechette has put an extraordinary performance into “Jewel Box Fantasy” from its beginning to end. Moment after moment, each piece of this puzzle becomes clearer, more melodies are continually revealed, and the twists & turns of this composition flow with naturally impressive grace, bold drama, and resounding passion. This might be the first we’ve heard from her on our pages in 2019 – but there’s no argument to be made otherwise; the time away has clearly treated her music very well. I found myself spinning through “Jewel Box Fantasy” a ton over the course of this week…it’s got such an expert use of space, pacing, and instrumentation to form its overall sound, that no matter how many times I played it, the writing & performance never once lost its edge or my interest in the song. In fact, much like a great story, the reason as to why I continued to come back to it over & over, was to find out more…just like how you don’t often catch the whole story at once, the same can be true of music for sure – and each time I listened to “Jewel Box Fantasy,” my ears were rewarded with hearing a new dimension of the beauty in Pauline’s performance, or my mind was given more to chew on as this single worked its compositional magic on me. Extremely well thought-out, expertly composed, and wonderfully played – this is a definite highlight in Pauline’s already-impressive catalog of songs & further confirmation that when it comes to capturing the essence of classical music, she’s aces.
Find out more about Pauline Frechette by visiting her official website at: http://www.paulinefrechette.com/
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