Christopher Wilson – Solemn Music (Album Review)

Have you ever listened to a body of work endorsed and created by an artist hailed for his ‘virtuosic command’? Well, if you haven’t, we at Music Review World would love to broaden your horizons and expand your taste. Meet Christopher Wilson, a percussionist and pedagogue living in the Inland Northwest. He is an assistant professor of music and the coordinator of percussion at Washington State University, where he teaches applied percussion lessons, conducts the percussion ensemble and serves as the Assistant Director of the Cougar Marching Band, having joined the faculty of the university in 2020.

He’s a sought-after performer of solo percussion and chamber music, having toured at colleges within the United States, Canada and New Zealand. Dr. Wilson has also performed as a soloist at the Percussive Arts Society’s International Conference. As an orchestral musician, he also serves as the principal timpani in the Walla Walla Symphony Orchestra, sitting in the Jack Williams Memorial Chair, as well as the principal of timpani and percussion in the Washington-Idaho Symphony and a substitute musician in the Spokane Symphony. He is a frequent collaborator with non-percussionist colleagues, even appearing on two albums recorded by his spouse, the bassoonist Jacqueline Wilson. This also includes the premiere recording of Connor Chee’s Nocturne for Bassoon and Marimba, which was commissioned by the Wilsons. In 2024, this also led to Dr. Wilson co-leading the commission of Jennifer Bellor’s ‘Dream of a Falling Star’ with his flute colleague Sophia Tegard, the recording of which has not been released to the public yet.

To add on to this wonderful trail of musical contributions, he is also an active contributor to the Percussive Arts Society, having been the president of the Washington chapter since 2021. In this time, he hosted chapter percussion festivals around the state, as well as being the co-chair of the PAS Education Committee. Through this effort, he has hosted the FUNdamental Friday YouTube series since 2023 and has contributed greatly to the PAS Classroom series with videos on auxiliary percussion, four-mallet techniques, sight-reading and timpani.

His current research focuses on beginning to intermediate percussion, which includes clinics and hands-on workshops with music educators as well as presentations about his research analyzing the ability of commonly-used band method books to prepare beginning percussionists for modern Grade 1 repertoire. He has presented at NAfME state music educator conferences throughout the United States as well as at the National Conference on Percussion Pedagogy.

However, in this instant, he has released his first solo album on WSU’s peer-reviewed recording label titled ‘Solemn Music’. It’s a collection of three unaccompanied marimba solos by David Maslanka: Variations on Lost Love, My Lady White, and the first professional recording of A Solemn Music. The album was praised for its warmth and introspection, with other reviewers such as Matthew Geiger of Percussive Notes remarking that ‘there is profound beauty in this recording, both from the striking performances by Wilson and the enriching music of Maslanka’. It sounds extremely promising, so let’s listen to this release.

I’d say that this body of work displays an immense amount of skill, precision as well as an extended understanding of the dynamics of music, even through the instrument of marimba. A lot of laymen would assume that there’s not too much one could do in terms of expression with this instrument, but this release clearly shows that there is a lot of motivic variation and depth that one could derive from it.

It’s very contemplative, with the surrounding timbre also giving you a feel for the motion of the track as the recordings go on. There’s a lot of depth and resonance that one can satisfy their brain with. I think there are lots of interpretations one could come up with, listening to these pieces and exploring how it appeals to you, but there’s a baseline of idea that just simply connects with the listener.

For the first section, on ‘Variations on Lost Love’, the dynamics simply build up with each piece, growing in complexity and ideation as it goes on. It reaches a crux by the end of Part III, exploring unique motifs. The second section, ‘My Lady White’, gives off more of a serene feel compared to the previous piece, relying on resonance to create a sea and a backing in which oscillatory notes bounce off to give details to the track. By the second part, it returns to a highly complex and contemplative section, which is very exhilarating to follow and listen to. By the third part, the style of playing almost reminds me of some of the techniques used in Gamelan, just with less of a microtonal and strangely-tuned flair. The third section, ‘A Solemn Music’, is a bit more striking and captivating with its barren and suspense-based feel. It does not shy away from containing more exciting and recurrent sections with less spaced-out notes, adding on to the potential for dramatization and suspense within the duration of the piece. If it is solemn, it is expressed honestly in its truest form, with micro-details slowly emerging within the solemn nature of the piece.

Compared to the other reviewer, beauty is not one thing that sticks out in this release for me. Rather, it is simply how contemplative and expressive it actually is. The symbiosis of a good player and a decent composer sticks out when the essence of the piece truly comes out, without baseline beauty. Not to disregard the immense skill behind the playing- I just think it deserves a lot more! This is music that makes you think and explore further on where sound (especially raw percussion) can truly take you.

SCORE/Excellent: ‘Solemn Music’ is a very unique and striking series of recordings that go through a lot of variable themes and emotions through every measure. I think it’s an album that will leave you not only understanding the music, but also in a mood to contemplate and think about it- leaving an impression on your consciousness.

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If you liked this, you can keep up with Christopher Wilson on Instagram, Twitter or his Official Website.