Last year Nils Frahm initiated the very first ‘Piano Day’, declaring with great excitement, 'we will celebrate PIANO DAY together. This year for the first time and on each 88th day of the year in the future, until the sun explodes!' Guitars have for some time been in decline as the all-conquering instrument of choice for those musicians that loosely, or otherwise, come under the banner of popular music. Alongside electronic music, the piano has emerged from the shadows through the contemporary classical music of Frahm and contemporaries Ólafur Arnalds, Max Richter and Johann Johannsson.

With the second Piano Day fast approaching Richard J Birkin’s Vigils will enjoy a timely release. Although the record features an array of instruments it is the piano at the heart of the record. And there’s no doubt similarities to the aforementioned artists in its classical minimalism, but the babbling brook evoking piano line of ‘Virgil III’ recalls the continuous piano technique of Lubomyr Melnyk’s 2015 release Rivers and Streams. The watery invocations he creates with the instrument are acknowledged as a direct inspiration: 'The album started at my first studio in a cold old mill by a weir in Darley Abbey, just outside the city of Derby. It was permanently foggy, and the weir was blocked by debris and running fast where it could get through.'

Birkin’s record inhabits a natural and intoxicating flow. ‘The Human Voice’s’ oscillating strings are underscored by repeated piano notes hinting at the themes to be explored and then swiftly extinguished. Ascension follows and builds on those humble beginnings and expands them into a searching and explorative piece. It’s one of the many tracks that conjures a similar elegance and depth of feeling found in the orchestral chamber music of Rachels.

‘Vigil II’ is a pondering, sparse number with an underlying melancholic air that’s apparent many of the record compositions. It's moments like these that suggest Birkin knows the power of restraint. Rather than be tempted to fill the gaps and break silences he’s brave enough to let quiet moments hang and spark the imagination.

That said the most sonically full track ‘Moonbathing', lying at the heart of the album, is the only one to feature vocals and breaks the album up nicely whilst retaining the narrative flow. It ebbs and flows with a simple, but insistent and affecting melody.

Melody is drawn out with a light touch as on ‘Virgil V’s’ stripped down, and yet hugely effective, balance of piano and strings provided by Iskra Strings who have featured on work by the XX and Radiohead. Equally, ‘Night Sun’s’ oxymoronic title reflects the compositions ominous start that then develops into a sweet, lamenting twinkle.

Birkin has described the album as being about, amongst other things, ‘lost worlds and small miracles.’ And in that, he has succeeded. It is economic in length, but never in its application or reach. Its minimalism is never dull or slight and every song is fully realised; its discretion tantalisingly leaves you wanting more. Vigils is light and airy, but it has solid emotional purchase and is a fine addition to the piano music tradition. A small miracle it most certainly is.