Looking at the cover art work of Red Skye Prairie does little to indicate there is an absolute gem, hidden within the covers of the album. Created by Sharon Fendrich as her debut album, this is an album which simply wraps you in love, in pure sound, encouraging you to simply drift with the magic, to follow a daydream, to rest peacefully in the bliss of angelic comfort.
When music, regardless of the category, reaches out from the first note captivating the emotions, it is sign that something very special is about to occur. As the various tracks unfold, each one showcasing the immense talent of Fendrich, each one focusing on a different aspect of life, something rich and wonderful does occur, as is discovered in the first song, L’dor Vador, a gentle piece for stings, piano and voice that touches the heart.
Red Prairie Sky, the title track commences with the sound of distant thunder, before the violin brings in the melody, creating a song evolving from a daydream, where a stunningly beautiful red-orange sky covered the prairie after the passing of a storm, leaving in its wake a sense of peace and timelessness.
Voices raised in harmony tell the story of Song of the Dove, a journey told of difficulties in the dove’s journey; of storms that caused the dove to fly higher and higher until it found a peaceful place. The words to this poetry, found in the liner notes, are a metaphor for the life journey of each person who walks the pathways of life. Exquisite!
Moonswept is what could be considered as a romantic dreamscape; the notes of the flute casting out an allure, a desperate wanting, as if waiting for one of Jane Austen’s manly, brooding, characters to appear from the gentle, wafting mists on the headland, sweeping you into his arms. A lovely light-hearted conclusion to the piece could indicate that Ah, yes, romance is truly alive and well, at least in the Moonswept regions of the soul.
Several of the tracks are couched around a deep sadness that often permeates the world after the occurrence of a tragic event. In Memoriam, dedicated to the 88 souls who perished on Alaska Airline Flight 261, is a piece which touches the very heart and soul, with the poignant words ‘Grant them peace. They fly with the Angels.’, sung by soprano Anna Emelayanova.
That September Day, a prayer composed in homage to the terrible events that occurred on 11 September 2001, when an ordinary day quickly became a day which defined so very much about the world in which we live, also reminds us, that together, everything can be overcome.
That September Day forms a beautiful completion to a body of work, which should be considered as amongst the best to be released during 2019, a year that has seen boundaries pushed and the bar set very high, in the incredibly diverse genre known as New Age Music Red Sky Prairie was mixed and mastered at Kerani Studios in the Netherlands..
As of writing Red Sky Prairie was voted by listeners world wide, as number 1 for the month of October on the One World Music Radio Chart, which simply underscores what the Reviewers have been saying about this debut album; Red Sky Prairie simply put, is outstanding!
