MARIETTE DAVINA : Volume 2.

I had a little correspondence with Mariette prior to receiving the album and she explained that her music is different to a lot of Christian music, often prophetic and spontaneous mixed with her operatic training, so if that whets your appetite then read on.

The first track, "Jesus Is" gives us a good example of what to expect on this album. It's a gentle piano-backed song that reminds us how in love with us Jesus actually is. I am not cultured enough to have spent much time listening to opera but even I can recognise the richness of the vocal tones from Mariette. This is music that is generally called "soaking" music, as you sit and pray or read the Bible, it is music that you allow to wash over you. Not all of the tracks are like that, but the majority can be used in this way to help bring you into the presence of God.

Before I go any further with the album review it is important to add some backstory to the release which has impacted the songs on here. In November last year Mariette found her Mum collapsed on the floor and she had lost consciousness. The paramedics were called and they arrived before she stopped breathing and managed to intubate. Her Mum slipped into a coma with no signs of life and a machine breathing for her. Mariette had people praying for her and God gave Mariette a verse to cling to, Psalm 118:17 "I will not die, but live." 3 weeks later after 9 days in a coma, and recover time her mum was discharged from the hospital. The tracks "My Rescuer", "Time To Dream", "Rise With You" and "Heaven on Earth" reflect something of this story and the difficult season and ultimately miraculous recovery that they experienced at this time. The title of "My Rescuer" suggests why this song might be relevant, but there is more to the lyrics that sum up this time. These are the words of someone who has come to the end of what they know to do in a situation and their sleepless nights come up fruitless with no answers. In these moments we release that pressure from ourselves to solve things and allow God to come to the rescue. This is real when she talks about being "tired of pretending that I'm okay" and the tenderness of God saving the tears that are shed in the situation because He cares so deeply for us. "Time To Dream" reminds us as we soak in this music that God has planted dreams deep inside us and now might be the time to begin to realise some of them, because when you see the miraculous faith runs high and you know that nothing is impossible with God.

One of Mariette's gifts in music is creating spontaneous songs and "All I Wanna Do" is one of these that has been recreated for the album, but also came to her after her Mum's return home. This has a little bit of a beat to it, but it's really just a simple song of desiring to spend time with Jesus because He "lightens the load and restores my soul". "Heaven on Earth" is almost a gentle altar call with a prompt to give your heart to the Son and bow your knee. This is hauntingly beautiful using an atmospheric approach with the vocal floating over the simple backing. The next track is one that can still come under the "soaking" label but it's a little more immediate in the senses that some songs with quite a catchy rhythm, but then it is called "Rhythm of His Heartbeat" reminding us that His heart beats for us. A lot of these songs are about our very personal relationship with God, and "I Belong To You" echoes this as it reminds even the most lonely Christian that with God we are never alone, we are not left as orphans we belong to God.

"Behold The Christ" is just an amazingly beautiful reminder of how valuable we are in God's sight, we were worth the price of His Son's death. This reminder of the great price paid for us tells us that we no longer need to doubt our worth and we can leave self-doubt in Jesus tomb. The last track is subtitled as a 'prophetic song' and came from a spontaneous worship time and this speaks to the need for us to recognise how precious Jesus is as we "Fall On Our Knees" and let Him love on us. Again this is about our self-worth in Gods eyes, something that we all as human beings wonder about and question. So if you ever wonder what your life is worth then listen to this song as Mariette sings Gods words over you about how precious you are too.

This may not be like some Christian music that is put out into the market, it's certainly not in the style of what is often marketed as 'worship', but there is definitely a place for an album like this. There are other atmospheric, semi-spontaneous songs out there in the likes of Salt of the Sound or even Legend Ozora, although Mariette isn't really like either of these acts because she brings a more operatic style. Her voice is definitely the greatest instrument on this album.  What is important here is the heart and there is a lot of heart and it comes through in the tender passion of the vocals for each one of us to know how much it cost God to adopt us, and that He feels that we were and are totally worth the price paid. This album has been background music to times of Bible reading and prayer for me over the last week as well as a deeper listen for the review and I would suggest that maybe if this sounds your cup of Darjeeling then you get hold of this album directly from Mariette and let this music wash over you. Onemaninthemiddle 8/10