Listen to Constance

• Story
• Characters
• Credits

The Restoration's Constance abides in the realm of southern historical fiction. Through this lens, the band presents a conflicted view of the South; where family ties, romantic love, spirituality and a deep connection to nature and the land are often found at odds with sexism, artistic obscurity, sexual depravity, misused religion, racism and xenophobia. Set between the late 1800s and 1940s in Lexington, South Carolina, Constance's narrative focuses on songwriter Daniel Machado's fictional Vale family. Machado's protagonist is Constance Owen, an unrealized musical prodigy born to poor cotton farmers several years after the American Civil War.

Her eventual union with Aaron Vale, a carpenter and musician of mixed race from Chicago, and the birth of their son, Thomas, plants a seed of discriminative hate in the surrounding community, bringing about the bankrupting of her family by the affluent Palmers, the related death of her husband, and the burying of her creative aspirations. Years later, Thomas' nihilistic vengeance against the Palmers sets off a cataclysmic series of violent events, as the South and the rest of the world plunge into the Great Depression.

Constance Owen/Vale
Child musical prodigy, raised by Jacob and Judith Owen, trained musically in secret by former reverend Samuel Harper, widow to Aaron Vale, mother to Thomas Vale, attendee of St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church

Aaron Vale
Carpenter from Chicago, amateur musician and composer, moved south on construction contract to renovate Lexington Theatre, chastised by inhabitants for ambiguous racial background

Thomas Vale
College student-turned-day laborer, valedictorian

Jacob Owen
Cotton farmer, veteran of Civil War, wounded at Battle of First Bull Run (First Mannassas), founding member of Lexington Primitive Baptist Church

Judith Owen
Cotton farmer, singer of The Sacred Harp

John Gilead Palmer
Youngest child but only male heir to James Palmer’s planting dynasty, Confederate colonel, owner of 150 acre plantation and 85 slaves before establishing town’s cotton mill, founding member and benefactor of St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church

Ethelinda Palmer
Daughter of planter Richard Pinkney, husband of planter/mill owner John Palmer

Reverend Samuel Harper
Former reverend of St. Stephen's Lutheran Church, owner of largest classical wax cylinder and record collection in Lexington, hired by Judith Owen to train her daugher in music theory and compostion

Henry Stamp
Childhood friend to Thomas Vale, Private First Class in United States Army, son of cotton mill worker

Flora
Orphaned slave under the ownership of John Gilead Palmer, employed as a "spinner" in Lexington Cotton Mill after Emancipation

Willodean Poole
Wife to Alexander Poole (descendent of Jacob Owen’s Confederate company-mate Daniel Poole), once unsuccessfully courted by Thomas Vale, attendee of St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church

Performance

Adam Corbett— bass, vocals, percussion, organ
Lauren Garner— violin
Sharon Gnanashekar— piano, organ
Eddie Lord— drums, vocals
Daniel Machado— vocals, banjo, guitar, violin, orchestral arrangement

Tattnall River Shapenote Singers— group vocals on "Thy Sword, Thy Shield"
Collin Derrick— additional vocals, banjo, guitar, organ, orchestral arrangement
Kat Pollock— cello
Stephen Russ— additional percussion
Joshua Williams— saxophone

Production

Recorded in Nashville, TN, Lexington, SC, West Columbia, SC, & Savannah, GA, August-November 2009
Engineered & Mixed by Collin Derrick [contact]
Produced by Stephen Russ & Daniel Machado [contact]
Mastered by Cory Plaugh [contact]
Words & music for tracks 1-3,5-12 by Daniel Machado
Words & music for track 4 by Adam Corbett
Web Design by Daniel Machado
Background Photo by Amber Machado

Reviews

"Epic...Compelling...A work of art...Sensational"
"A disertation on a slice of Southern history, an album that vibrates with imagination and substance" "The message is timeless"
[ Constance article ] [ Release show writeup ] [ Tim Eriksen show writeup ]

"One of the finest and most compelling pieces of music ever produced in the Capital City...Electrifying...An historical opus"
"Nothing short of astonishing, from the authentic-sounding shape-note hymn "Thy Sword, Thy Shield" to the haggard, pained anguish that's palpable in "The Lynching."
[ Constance article ] [ Tim Eriksen show writeup ] [ Writeup ]

"Beyond simple ambition"
[ Constance article ]

 

"The release was a huge success"
"Within twenty minutes of the doors opening all of the seating was sold out and standing room only tickets were sold."
[ Release review ] [ Release video ] [ Studio journal 1 ] [ Studio journal 2 ]

Constance [Compact Disc/Digital Download] CD Tracklist: 1 Thy Sword, Thy Shield 2 The Owens 3 August 1895 4 Reverend Samuel Harper 5 Constance 6 Whisperings 7 The Heavy Ring 8 Henry's Letter from the Front 9 Little Round Shoes 10 Drowning Mr. & Mrs. Palmer 11 Prayer 12 The Lynching Product Details: Purchase of physical copy includes album in CD format, packaged in shrink-wrapped sleeve with basic production and performer credits. Released April 23, 2010

Constance: The Compendium [Book] Contents: Shape Note Score: "Thy Sword, Thy Shield" Map of Lexington, SC, 1912, drawn by Daniel Machado Lyrics from Constance with narration notes "John Gilead Palmer": A Short Story by Daniel Machado Owen ~ Vale ~ Palmer Family Trees Lexington Timeline, 1861–1930 Credits (detailed production and performer album credits, and detailed book credits) Acknowledgments 9 b&w photographs of Lexington, SC & surrounding area by Amber Machado Product Details: 47 pages, paperback, color exterior, b&w interior, 9"wide x 7" tall Released April 23, 2010

Constance: Album & Compendium [Compact disc in sleeve bundled w/ 47-page paperback book] CD Tracklist: 1 Thy Sword, Thy Shield 2 The Owens 3 August 1895 4 Reverend Samuel Harper 5 Constance 6 Whisperings 7 The Heavy Ring 8 Henry's Letter from the Front 9 Little Round Shoes 10 Drowning Mr. & Mrs. Palmer 11 Prayer 12 The Lynching Book Contents: Lyrics, short story, family trees, 1912 map, timeline, and shape note score for "Thy Sword, Thy Shield" [read full contents] Product Details: Album: CD format in shrink-wrapped sleeve Book: 47 pages, paperback, color exterior, b&w interior, 9" x 7" Released April 23, 2010

• Drowning Mr. & Mrs. Palmer (Live)
• Making of Constance Pt. 1

The Restoration

Biography The Restoration consists of five southern troubadours who grew up performing in orchestras, picking bluegrass and playing in rock bands. United in 2008, the band have put their musical tutelage to work, channeling rock energy and indie-pop sensibilities through banjo, violin, piano, organ and layered post-rock percussion. The Restoration cherish music history and aspire to help in its preservation by bridging contemporary songcraft with the rich, vintage offerings of classical orchestra, old-time, church hymnals, big band, jazz, Delta blues, and early country--sounds that are too often overlooked and ignored by modern listeners. Beyond preserving musical roots, The Restoration have attempted to capture the multifaceted South as they experienced it--the real South, for better and worse. Lineup Adam Corbett— bass, vocals, percussion, organ, guitar Lauren Garner— violin Sharon Gnanashekar— piano, organ Josh Latham— drums, vocals Daniel Machado— vocals, banjo, guitar, violin, orchestral arrangement Contact For all inquiries: therestoration[at]live.com Presskit Sonicbids