Legacy Project
Self-Released, 2022
8/10
A debut, posthumous release from the Jewish, Canadian composer Joan Beckow, though she was prolific during her time, female composers were often not given the credit they deserved, despite Beckow’s work being performed on stage thousands of times.
Here, 30 musicians interpret 22 of her songs across a pair of discs that are quite different in scope, but that both possess much melody, harmony and emotion.
The Musical Theatre disc opens with Jessica Stuart’s lovely pipes alongside the airy flute in the dreamy “Once There Was A Tailor”, and isn’t long until “A Christmas Wish” recruits Alex Samaras’ expressive voice amid Wendy Bross Stuart’s mature keys.
Further on, “One Perfect Rose” showcases Rebecca Talbot’s rich voice for the melodic landscape, while “On The Other Side Of Nowhere” benefits from Kat Palmer’s poetic singing on the elegant highlight of the first half of the listen.
The back half of the project is the Classical/Sacred portion and leads with the sublime vocal harmonizing of the intimate “May The Words”, and soon after “Loveliest Of Trees” pairs Alex Samaras’ fluid singing with the agile keys that emit a very stirring quality.
Deeper still, Doug MacNaughton returns with his strong baritone for the emotive “Psalm 8”, and “How Goodly Are Thy Tents” finishes with Beckow’s voice in a raw recording that gives us even more insight into her underrated vision.
Until now, Beckow’s music was never recorded in a studio in her 50+ year career, and this documentation of her vast talents certainly does justice to her legacy, and will hopefully preserve her work for decades to come.
Travels well with: Deb Rasmussen- Unspoken; Kate Wyatt- Artifact