Discreet Angel brings to light the uniquely understated voice of Mark Ellestad, gathering three chamber works composed between the late 1980s and early 1990s. What unifies the album is its atmosphere of meditative quiet and fragile resilience, qualities honed through Ellestad’s focus on pared-down gesture and subtle shifts in form. Rather than presenting polished showpieces, these compositions favor modesty, restraint, and an honest vulnerability - traits that resonate strongly with listeners seeking music that eschews grand gesture in favor of intimacy and introspection.

The release itself carries a story of rediscovery. Mark Ellestad had set aside composing and let these pieces remain largely hidden for years, before this recording brought them back into circulation. Throughout the album, you hear the patient unfolding of ideas, the avoidance of rhetorical flourish, and the careful negotiation between what is sounded and what is left unsaid. Interpretations by musicians like Cristian Alvear, as well as members of Apartment House - notably Mira Benjamin and Anton Lukoszevieze - are marked by restraint, care, and a deep sensitivity to Ellestad’s instructions to approach the music “gently, quiet; with momentum.”

Discreet Angel ultimately feels less like a retrospective and more like a quiet invocation. The album occupies a space between clarity and mystery, balancing personal memory with a composed sense of distance. The result is a set of works that, even after decades in obscurity, sound surprisingly contemporary: their stillness and poetic directness connect to present-day sensibilities as much as to their origins in the late twentieth century. Mark Ellestad’s music asks for careful listening and, in return, offers the listener the solace of a rare, lingering space - one that quietly asserts the value of patience, nuance, and the artful transformation of the familiar.