A memento mori is an object or work of art that serves to remind us of our mortality. Skulls, candles, wilted flowers and hourglasses are probably the most common images of the fleeting nature of time. Paradoxically, though, a work or art is one of the few means human beings have to transcend time. The video for Time by composer and pianist Milana Zilnik, is a meditation on the relationship between art and time. The first image we see is that of an hourglass surrounded by metronomes, the musician’s time keeper.
The video, the first track from Zilnik’s new album, Abracadabra!, is both simple and visually stunning. Set in the ruins of some ancient stone building that nature is in the process of reclaiming, we find a steampunk Zilnik, covered in clock wheels and gears, whispering, “tick toc, tick toc.” Around her neck is a large key, also made up of gears and clock parts. She plays a hang drum, while metronomes swing and the coils of some sort of primitive scientific apparatus smoke. Perhaps she’s some sort of enchantress, casting a spell to ward off the effects of time, or perhaps the strange machines around her provide a scientific means of fighting off death. Or perhaps both. For a moment, near the end of the video, she does turn old and gray, in an amazing feat of special effects, but only for a moment. In the background, a snare drum beats a march; perhaps to signify the relentless march of time.
Apart from Zilnik, the other musicians only appear as imaged in glass globes. This perhaps, reflects the new reality for musicians recording remotely.
Musically, Time is ethereal and haunting, with shades of Arvo Pärt and Cirque Du Soleil. Dominated by hang drum, cello and piano as well as Alexa Ray’s spiritual vocals, Time has a deeply foreboding feel. Music is an artform that exists only in time and that makes use of time. Without rhythm, we have, for the most part, sounds and noises, but with rhythm we have music. An old fashioned cash register just makes noise. But when we organize that noise rhythmically, as in the opening of Pink Floyd’s song, Money, we have music. Zilnik draws attention to the relationship between time and music through her chanting “tick toc.”
Zilnik has been compared to Tori Amos, Sarah McLachlan and Keith Jarrett among others. And like Jarrett, she is a specialist in improvised piano. Born in Ukraine and having lived in several countries before moving to Canada in 2008, her style is a mixture of various styles and cultural influences. She’s released fifteen full-length albums and has won numerous awards, including, most recently, “Classical Album of the Year,” from the IMEA awards.