There are some songs that creep up on you. Letter from Paulus did exactly that. German artist Roland Wälzlein has taken the world-famous hymn of love and transformed it into a quietly devastating rendition, in the most appropriate way.
His voice is immediately apparent. It has a coarse, low heat that draws you in from the first moments. There’s a lot of feeling in every line, but it’s never forced. It sounds natural and as if it is from real life. You trust what he’s singing because it feels real and sincere.
What really caught my eye was the melody. It’s easy to see at first glance that it’s simple, even stripped down. But the more you listen, the more you hear how well it’s been assembled. Nothing feels accidental. Each little change brings something new to the song. It grows slowly, but not crowded and doesn’t lose its sense of space.
The song is also not in a standard form. It will go in ways you don’t always anticipate, and it will fit the message that it is conveying. Compassion songs and messages about the important things in life shouldn’t be predictable all the time. This never happens. Mood remains long after.
The key to its success is its approach to big ideas. It doesn’t get preachy or philosophical about love, meaning and deeper questions, but it does touch on them. In a serious and personal song, there is a natural and calm feeling throughout the song. This music is from a real place. A little knowledge of the life of Roland Wälzlein, who as a child almost died, and years spent looking for understanding in silence and reflection, helps everything make sense. The song is real and not sung. This is not a background song. It asks you to pause, listen and absorb. Fish And Scale has devised something special: a song that is personal and yet universal.
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