Sing Out! Magazine
Nov/Dec/Jan 2010-11

Kindling Stone / Kindling Stone / Luminous Bloom

I am a fan of the Incredible String Band, that quirky group from those halcyon days of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. Kindling Stone, a duo made up of Chris Moore, lead vocals, mandolins and reed organ, and Mark Wingate, harmony vocals and fiddle, reminds me of an American edition of Messrs. Williamson and Heron. They are joined by Sarah Siskind, vocals; Travis Book, bass; Kenny Malone, percussion; Katie Studley, fiddle; and Riyaz M.P., tabla.

The CD opens with “Song Without The Singing,” a Chris Moore composition that has an angular rhythm and lyrical meter that mesh just perfectly. Sarah’s subtle harmony is very reminiscent of the Incredibles, and when the harmonium and bass arrive, the arrangement becomes all the more powerful. “Pilgrim’s Gate” is up next. Once again written by Chris, the arrangement features octave mandolin and Mark’s great violin backup.

Kindling Stone draws a number of selections from the Sacred Harp and Shaker traditions. “Odem,” from The Original Sacred Harp, is sung in wonderful three-part harmony and counterpoint by Chris, Mark, and Sarah. They sound very comfortable with this stirring sound. “Little Children,” a Shaker tune from the singing of Sister Mildred Barker, features a wonderful, yodel-like refrain. A three-part hymn sung in unison, it also includes an instrumental tag with a strong rhythmic pulse.

The lone instrumental on the recording, “Daisies in the Field,” is a very sweet duet of mandolin and fiddle. The addition of percussion and bass helps fill out the sound. The CD concludes with “Blue Heron,” featuring a luxurious melody that perfectly supports the pastoral setting of the lyrics.

Kindling Stone is a duo with a compositional and performing style that is unique and lovely. Just perfect for a warm spring day or the first hint of autumn. - TD

THE TENNESSEAN (Nashville, TN)

September 20, 2008

New duo delivers old-time religious mood with indirect messages

By RAY WADDLE

Opinion

What if you could jump out of your shadow and see your life as it really is, without illusion?

Isn't that what religion is supposed to do - bring a person to truth, stripped of nonsense, lies and fairy tales, and make peace with it?

Songwriter Chris Moore has been thinking this over for decades, using Buddhist, Quaker and Shaker traditions to get at it. His new acoustic duo (with Mark Wingate), Kindling Stone, confronts listeners with an unusual spiritual vibe. Their new CD embraces the style of 18th-century Protestant hymns, a cappella and Appalachia, with themes of death, serenity and humility, to produce a 21st-century zone of mindfulness and peace, a counterpoint to the furious in-your-face society we've made for ourselves.

Kindling Stone aims to create "spiritual music for reasonable minds.” Moore credits Music City for bringing it to fruition."When I got to Nashville five years ago, it became obvious to me that people take their music and their religious traditions seriously," he said. "If you want to participate in those conversations here, you need to bring discipline and effort to your own understanding of things."

Moore's interests read like a resume of spiritual globalization. He grew up in Maine near a Shaker village. Famous for furniture, the Shakers also contributed mightily to Protestant hymn history. Moore respects Quaker peace tradition and Buddhist practice, too. Connected to the local Buddhist community, he will emcee the Nashville Buddhist Festival on Oct. 4 at First Church Unity.

Moore finds links between rustic colonial Protestant and Buddhist attitudes. Both insist on spiritual realism, keep death in mind and ponder the meaning of suffering. Neither has patience with celebrity unreality or pompous rhetoric. Quakers and Buddhists specifically share a passion for taming the mind. "Both teach peace through action. They use concentration and mindfulness to bring about conditions for peace in one's life."

Kindling Stone's music delivers an old-time religious mood but indirect religious messages.Still, an impression builds. These aren't songs about love woes or midnight hijinks but about noticing the moment, cultivating alertness. Especially memorable is "Broken Racers." The music is austere, calming, evoking centuries of prayer in tiny chapels. The title suggests flawed humanity: we race constantly, unhappily, uncertainly. "Down, down the slope of time we run/Who will stop and turn an open eye/To the flock of geese now passing by?" In a week of rotten financial madness and helpless political posturing, roots music offers an uncorrupted witness to something better inside us. Says Moore: "We're entrusted to cultivate the good in ourselves by action and not just by thinking in an effort to see ourselves as we truly are."

Buddhists, Quakers, Peace and Musicmakers

By Jon Weisberger

Published on February 06, 2009

The duo of Chris Moore (mandolin, reed organ) and Mark Wingate (fiddle) occupy a small but discrete corner of musical territory where old-time sounds and gently austere sentiments blend with others in distinctly post-modern ways. There are touches of Sacred Harp singing and Shaker hymns, but Moore’s songs are also rooted in an appreciation for Quaker and Buddhist teachings that puts Kindling Stone’s “Spiritual Music For Reasonable Minds” tag on solid ground. Their self-titled debut is enhanced by contributions from Kenny Malone, Katie Studley (violin), the Infamous Stringdusters’ Travis Book (bass) and Wingate’s daughter Sarah Siskind on luminous harmony vocals. Siskind, herself a brilliant tunesmith, will be on hand at this benefit for the Nashville Friends Meeting and Nashville Buddhist Temple.