Review by Reagan March & Staff
With a history of writing her own first two albums and producing alongside Grammy nominated producer, Billy Smiley, Kate Magdalena has blessed listeners with another beautiful rendition, “It Came Upon A Midnight Clear.”
Magdalena’s talent is quite evident through her professional sound and vocal performance. Her clear tone and distinguished phrasing immediately soothes the listener as intensity builds throughout the song keeping the ear captivated. The varying dynamics of the drums in this cover along with dramatic key changes shifting back to the original angelic sound, show Magdalena’s consistent control and versatility. Magdalena’s vocal power is evident in this piece, while her truly enchanting falsetto instantly satisfies the listener’s ear. Her beautiful vibrato is on display throughout the chorus granting satisfaction to how well executed her vocal technique is.
The message of this song is aimed to give hope regarding life’s hardships, which is evident through the lyrics, “And ye, beneath life’s crushing load, whose forms are bending low, who toil along the climbing way. With painful steps and slow, look now! For glad and golden hours come swiftly on the wing. Oh, rest beside the weary road, and hear the angels sing!”. The spiritual storyline is urging the belief that angels are watching over all of God’s creations, and ensuring peace and happiness throughout life despite adversity.
“It Came Upon A Midnight Clear” gives listeners a great first impression of Kate Magdalena’s musical style as she continues on her path of creating beautiful, inspirational music. The overall sound of her song, with the production details, and simply her charming voice, create a very full and well rounded experience. Magdalena’s music deserves a worthwhile listen to, as she perfectly displays all the necessities of a true artist.
About Kate Magdalena
KateMagdalena is an independent singer-songwriter out of New York City and the San Francisco Bay Area, whose songs have been aired on country radio nationally. Most at home in folk-pop and adult contemporary, she calls her genre ‘Timely Americana’, as she is inspired to write for the particular times in which we live. Kate was selected by BWH Music (Boston) as one of 2020 Women to Watch: Best Female Independent Artists, and her recent album “The Water Is Wide” was just awarded Best Album in the Adult Contemporary genre in the 2020 W.A.M. Awards. The album, released in August 2020, contains 9 songs of water and land, including the iconic covers “Downtown” and “I Know A Heartache When I See One,” as well as several original songs crafted from well-loved poems like “The Waking,” (nominated for Best Song, Social Justice 2020 W.A.M.) “Sea Fever,” and “Cloths of Heaven.” On this album is also Magdalena’s song “Backstory” about some of what we are witnessing now; the song was nominated for a W.A.M. Award in the social justice category.
In November of 2019, Magdalena released her second album of songs, with Grammy nominated producer Billy Smiley (Johnny Cash, WhiteHeart, Clay Aiken) titled “A Larger Dance” with singles – Be the Lark, New Earth, Battle Hymn, Streets of Any Town. The full album includes songs by Joan Armatrading, Leonard Cohen, Sinead O’Connor, and Crosby, Stills & Nash. The title track “A Larger Dance” was chosen by BWH Music as one of the best songs of 2019.
Kate’s first album “Acquainted With the Night” was released in 2018 and contains the song “United (to Save the World)” (featured in the album “Peace Street” by BWH Music. Kate is at work on an EP for Christmas time, and on her album expected spring 2021, “CANYONLANDS.” She lives happily ever after with her husband Randall in Northern, CA and Franklin, TN.
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