Our dreams are normally filled with silly images or outlandish situations – that is, if we remember them at all. Sometimes we might even experience nightmares that cause us to wake up in a cold sweat. Whatever the case, usually we just shrug them off and move on. Jeff Reilly’s dreams have always been particularly powerful, though. His dreams have been so powerful that they have led him to personal transformation.
His newly-released album, To Dream of Silence, unfolds the story of a series of poignant dreams he had between 2008 and 2012. They were dreams he describes as harrowing, intense and sometimes beautiful. Reilly, a composer, producer, and performer of 30 years, draws us into the story of his dreams through his original compositions and narration.
It would be difficult to place To Dream of Silence firmly in any one category. In challenging and surprising ways, Reilly pushes the limits of an array of instruments as he lays out his dreams in a unique soundscape. A bass clarinetist himself, he also incorporates strains of organ, percussion and strings in addition to the fantastical sound sculptures of Nova Scotia artist, John Little.
The title track sets the tone for the rest of the album: eerie, ominous, yet intriguing, one is invited into this journey of transformation. This change begins and ends, says Reilly, with the heart. In each successive track he aims to bring us with him on an emotional progression as his heart encounters places and situations which all lead towards an ultimate resting place.
“Endless Chambers” is rich in sensual imagery and vividly shows us the heart as it encounters beauty in the contrast between the finite and infinity. This beauty is expressed powerfully in the seamless incorporation of seemingly diverse instruments.
One of the more moving compositions on the album is “Food for a Soul”, in which Reilly describes a vision of flying high above his childhood home and seeing there a beating heart. Between soaring notes on the bass clarinet, a sense of peace is created as one finds at home, even if viewed from a distance.
The most impactful piece on the album is a composition by contemporary Greek-Canadian composer Christos Hatzis entitled “Extreme Unction” – referring to the term used to describe the last rites of the Church administered to a person nearing death. In it, Hatzis explores the turbulent transition between the physical realm and a higher spiritual realm. Featuring Reilly on bass clarinet and accompanied by a thirteen-piece chamber orchestra, “Extreme Unction” uses the ultimate transition of death to emphasize the tension around all of life’s transitions – our resistance to change and our desire for things to remain the same.
Affected by the power of his dreams, Reilly is able to touch with music and poetry realities that would otherwise be difficult to reach. So maybe we shouldn’t be so quick to dismiss our dreams because there just might be some deeper truths within.