Blue Wolf Reviews

Tag: Blessings

  • Solitaire

    Solitaire

    Solitude is a very important component of pianist and composer Neil Patton’s life and in tribute to many ways solitude can be enjoyed, his latest album gently leads you to a place where a solitary moment awaits.

    Inside the album cover Patton has listed the songs and the blessings offered, as he sat and composed these delightfully inspirational pieces.   Beginning with The Turning Page he has dedicated this piece those who awaken to a new dawn, a new beginning, a fresh journey, with the final destination still an unknown.

    A dainty little piece, with a reflective undertone is called Redemption for those who have burned all their bridges and ‘still hold the matchsticks in their hands’, a place so many have been and many are yet to discover! Perhaps there is certain degree of wry understanding entwined within the music!

    Solitude has its own up-tempo, vibrant piece in Walking On Air dedicated to that supreme moment of freedom discovered when all about you is space, openness and the acceptance of so many new possibilities life has to offer.

    Every artist or creator has a muse, that essence essential in the alchemy of creativity and to that end Patton has create The Muse in tribute to the magic that makes all things possible. Where I Can’t Follow is a hauntingly delicate piece for those who grieve the loss of a loved one. Sensitive and calming it offers acceptance that this is the natural order and that goodbye is not always forever.

    The signature piece Solitaire dedicated to all the  ‘precious people’ met as you travel life’s pathways, is an upbeat, catchy little number, with the word directly related to the traditional meaning of the in the 1500’s where it meant ‘widow’, but in modern times and modern English is representative of ‘a precious stone set by itself’.

    Palm 131. A song of ascents. Of David, forms the basis for Back Porch, where the beauty of the songs of David offer reflection, meditation and solitude with the final track Gethsemane crafted as  prayer;, a final reflection on the majesty that is God and the poignancy that ‘he has been where I am, and he understands: something well worthy of consideration and contemplation.

    One again a delightful album crafted to be enjoyed, designed to encourage a time of reflection, of hope, of acceptance, coupled with the offering of graceful blessings woven through the music.

  • 365 Blessings to Heal Myself and the World

    365 Blessings to Heal Myself and the World

    To bless ones enemies seems like something out of the good book, mostly the Old Testament, but in reality it is something we, as living, breathing, feeling, people on this earth, need and should be able to do, simply as an everyday essential of life.

    Perhaps the world would be a far better and greater place; perhaps you as a person would reflect the same and by action and word, make a difference to those around you.

    Pierre Pradervand had a job he loved and enjoyed taken from him in cruel and unjust manner, leaving him a far more than devastated. It left him feeling a deep and obsessive resentment towards those he had worked and socialised with, as he slowly began to understand exactly what had happened and who had created this appalling situation.

    Meditation, prayer, affirmation and much more was not helping his mental anguish. It was not until a line from The Sermon on the Mount leapt off the page, ‘Bless those who curse you,’ that he could and almost instantaneously saw a way forward, immediately beginning to bless everyone he met, saw or spoke with and continued to do so as he says, ‘day in, day out,’ until it became a natural occurrence.

    He also discovered that once again, almost instantaneously he felt as if a great weight had been lifted from him and a feeling of peace and joy began to permeate his life. Good things began to happen and continued to do so, creating in his life an abundance of joy and happiness.

    In this work he shares his journey and the blessings he has created for the 365 days of the year. Each of the Blessings come with a note of explanation, with a particularly enjoyable one to commence this refreshingly new way of viewing the world, being Day 2 Blessing Myself, something we often forget to do in or busy lives.  As Pradervand says, ‘it is particularly difficult to really love and bless others from the heart if we do not start with loving ourselves’.

    Each day has a different Blessing to commence with, ranging from an Apache Blessing for Newlyweds to a Taxi Drivers Blessing, An Irish Blessing for Times of Sorrow and on Day 247 Seeing the Day with Fresh Eyes. There are far too many to choose from but there is definitely something there for every occasion.

    As the book slowly unfolds, the idea of blessings being freely given becomes a very normal consciousness, costs nothing at all and can be carried out at any time, any place and for anyone which will bring rewards that are rich and wonderful.

    Pradervand is at pains to point out this is not a trick; it is something that must and needs to come from the heart, to be truly believed. Day 356 is The Last Word on Walk Your Talk which is a beautiful way to conclude what could, can and will be, not just life changing but world changing in its pure simplicity and power.

    Enjoy the moment when you realise life really is a case of ‘my heart is covered with honey’ a traditional response from the Moba of North Togo when asked how they are!

  • Lead Me Home

    Lead Me Home

    Camille Nelson has created a wonderfully relaxing and absolutely enjoyable collection of favourite and new pieces, which reflect on the many traditional and much loved hymns of generations, through to some delightfully new compositions in the same style or genre.

    The first two pieces are the much played, sung  and loved Amazing Grace and How Great Thou Art which have been given serious consideration with the fine playing of the acoustic guitar, backed by a wonderful strings arrangement, to create arrangements which offer a return down memory lane, with modern soothing and enjoyable ambience.

    Nearer My God To Thee has been given a distinctive Country and Western feel with the use of the pedal steel guitar, adding a totally new feel and vibe to this much loved piece, which somehow or other, manages to bring with it a smile, as if finding itself as a C&W arrangement,  seems so incongruously right!

    In Be Thou My Vision Alex Sharpe, formerly of Celtic Woman, adds an exotic touch of vocals to the arrangement to create a style reminiscence of Japan and the clear melodies produced within their music style. Almost unnoticed, Adelia wanders softly and gently into the mix, with nothing more than pure acoustic guitar, played by Susie Brown Erni, to highlight the delicately beautiful notes of this lovely piece.

    The title piece Lead Me Home features Camille Nelson on guitar, backed with a beautiful string arrangement created by Shane Mickelsen, which gently leads you through this piece straight into the reflective and delightful Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing featuring the playing of fiddle and mandolin by Ryan Sharpe.

    Patterns of Light continues the reflective theme with the final piece, Count Your Many Blessings, the melody of which was written 1897 by Johnson Oatman, Jr.as a religious piece of music to go with the well-known words, and went on the mean so many different things to different people and is as popular today, as it was when it was first penned.

    As a first studio album from this a talented artist and arranger it would have to be considered, as the promo pieces states, as almost Angelic!

  • Songs of Hope

    Songs of Hope

    Listening to this first release from David Wells takes you back to a time when family would gather, a time before TV, emails, Facebook and the like. An older family member would sit at the ever present piano and play; sometimes a piece for the gathering to sing along too, other times simply to entertain and enjoy, but always with the underlying pleasure to be found when creating music.

    David has written and composed all of the pieces on this album which takes him back, after many years, to his early passion for composing, discovered as a student at the Wheaton Conservatory of Music.

    His music is rich, very accessible and as the titles of the various pieces indicate, based about the things we all recognise and enjoy on a daily and seasonal basis. Summers End has a slight melancholy to the piece reflective of that time in-between, when the bright leaves of the autumn have not yet formed, but the warm enjoyable days of the summer are fast slipping away.

    Falling Leaves follows in the natural order with a surprisingly upbeat tempo considering autumn is a time when the earth is beginning to settle, to calm, ready for the long period of rest and restoration of the winter months to come.

    Nocturne is a lovely composition which holds a familiarity which immediately comforts with the slightly slower rhythm reminiscent of settling in for the evening, relaxing with a good book or a lovely piece of music and an open fire burning. Familiar and comforting, that is until unexpectedly the tempo increases as if to say wake up, get up, life is there for the living!

    As single clear note introduces Time Away which can be enjoyed from many perspectives; that of leaving on a holiday to enjoy an adventure somewhere else, or simply taking time away from the mundane, the ordinary, to tend the garden or visit a friend.

    David’s background in Church based music is very apparent in Hymn of Peace and Joy with a fullness of sound found predominantly in hymnal music scores. There are several changes of tempo encased within the composition, which gives it a depth of sound, with the final segment combining the former melodies to end with a lovely contemplative note of reflection.

    The final composition Travelling Light is something we all should try to do as we try to trip daintily through this life. The lovely light sound is refreshing, cheerful and a delightful way to bring to a finale this vibrant collection of piano music, which while reminiscent of times gone bye, has the sparkle and light touch of modern music. Tucked away in amongst the pieces, if you listen carefully, there is laughter and joy resonating, along with being there, being here, being in the moment.