Blue Wolf Reviews

Tag: moments

  • Moments

    Moments

    In a world of books that reach out with gentle offerings of understanding and comfort, occasionally there is one that stands out: Moments from Sonya Haramis, is one such book filled with love that reaches out through gentle words, illustrated perfectly by exquisite photography.

    From the first page, the words ‘Look for the moments in life’ reach out to remind us that life is made up of a series of perfect moments that we are offered every day, but in our so busy worlds, often fail to notice or take the time to enjoy.

    With this delicately woven story created with simple words, we are once again reminded to take a moment to simply be; to relax and enjoy the miracles of life, created purely for our personal enjoyment.

    Each page in Moments captures one special instance in time which moves over several images to tell a small story; to sooth in the moment, to offer pure love. Each of the pages can be used as individual ‘mantra’s’ for those blue days and dreary moments when a little gentle light needs to shine inwards.

    Divided into segments the first, Moments invites a small journey of understanding, before the gently relaxing into Serenity, Stillness and Love.  At the end of the book Haramis has included pages to capture your thoughts, followed by several pages to complete and colour, concluding with pages to write your dreams.

    Inspirational composer and award winning author Sonya Haramis has, with an elegant simplicity of both words and photography, created a small book of Moments which will become a treasured possession and one that will be used often to lift the spirits and lighten the soul.

  • A Gift of Moments

    A Gift of Moments

    Poignant and powerful A Gift of Moments from award winning Louis Anthony deLise transports the emotions to a place of great sensitivity, with a varied and much hued palate of gloriously rich pieces, all written during the time of the COVID lockdown of 2020.

    Along with many others deLise was in lockdown, presented with the time to reflect, think and compose into sound the many emotions he was feeling, creating an album that comes straight from the heart of the composer, melded with the help of strings and guitar into a work that is both reflective and joyful.

    The passing of a dear friends husband was described to deLise as life being a ‘gift of moments’ which transposed into the lead track and album name A Gift of Moment’s, a reflective, gentle and moving song touched with a little melancholy through the subtle underpinning ‘cello work from Natasha Jeffe.

    In Before the Times (February2020) is an interesting, slowly measured piece, reflecting back to very different times, as if looking down the vast timeline to history, history formed merely weeks before. Sad and yet in the sadness, great beauty has been captured, stark and clear as the solo piano speaks the thoughts and feelings so many underwent during the time of great uncertainty, a time when change was necessary, frightening and yet unavoidable.

    Then along comes a very happy little piece in My Gentle Heart which is light, delightfully capturing a refreshing joyful moment. Richly constructed Ripples on The Pond captures some of the magic Hollywood filmmakers of the 1950’s have somehow always managed to build into movie soundtracks. Teasing and cinematic, this is one piece to simply allow the mind and soul to embrace, as a journey to someplace full of fresh summer breezes gently ruffling the enticing, captivating and refreshing water. A particular favourite in a collection of ten favourites!

    A Gift of Moments is an all embracing collection that requires the play button to be pushed over and over again, to allow a beautiful journey to continue along life’s many and strange pathways, which all come to a perfect conclusion with the gentle and yet vibrant, once again cinematic song, At The End Of The Tunnel, which almost one year on, appears to be almost here.

  • Frozen Moments

    Frozen Moments

    After listening to an interview with Don Latarski, his creative flair is even more apparent and better understood, as so much of the ethos contained within the pieces of his new album Frozen Moments and previous album River, comes from his love of music, as well as experimentation with both guitars and sound.

    Water guitars and wind guitars sound somewhat far fetched but are a definite reality, created by Latarski wondering just what sounds could be discovered with a little improvisation. His first release River, was filled with the sounds of the water guitar. His second captivating album Frozen Moments, takes this experimentation one step further.

    But onto the various tracks that form an absolute treasure of an album made for pure enjoyment. Beginning with the second piece Shadow Crossing a great ‘finger picking’ piece, this contains a certain funky feel which is totally captivating.

    River Speak pt 1, the third track and River Speak pt 2 the final piece, capture all the very things Latarski loves best; experimentation, a love of the outdoors, his beloved rivers and streams which provide so much fun, joy, experimentation, intertwined with the integral component of colour, peace and melody. Combined these two tracks are a major component of the work, both beautiful drifting and delightful.

    Bimble is an intriguing piece that floats out of the ether, shifting and changing in shape and form, almost mesmeric but with a definite direction. Melodic and once again full of grace and peace, this is one piece, amongst the others, that is all to easy, at least for the duration of the song, to become lost within.

    There are nine pieces that make up this more than enjoyable collection, all of which showcase the depth of Don Latarski’s love of and involvement with music and sound. Working with a range of baritone guitars, which of necessity demands a slightly slower tempo, in order to create the rich sounds and mellow cadence which form the many happy and pleasurable layers of Frozen Moments.

    As Latarski says he has at least forty to fifty bits and pieces of recordings of melodies and sounds that have captured his attention waiting to be formed into musical threads, it is going to be very interesting to see just what he composes for his next body of work.