I hear a deep warmth in von Orelli’s music, a man speaking to and from the heart. In Emerson’s verses the poet who answers the Sphinx mentions love more than once. His first thought, as he attempts to address the creature’s questions is “Deep love lieth under / These pictures of time” and that was my first thought when listening to The Unasked Answer. Time, yes, is always the most fundamental component of music, but love sometimes doesn’t get a look in. The poet doesn’t give up. He knows that there is pain in existence and in art, even under pleasure. But he insists, coming back to his main point, that “Love works at the centre”. As it does here. – Brian Morton