Blue Wolf Reviews

Tag: winter

  • Winter Lullaby

    Winter Lullaby

    Winter Lullaby is an intriguing and enchanting composition from Michelle Qureshi that offers solace, peace and restfulness as the rich notes of the piano, the lighter and yet captivating guitar drifting throughout, supported with the gentle drone of the synth allow the song to form into a moody, almost brooding emotion.

    The heavy clouds filled with snow gathering on the horizon, the going within to the warmth of a fireside, the soft drifting of falling snow, silent, beautiful, ethereal, cloaking the landscape in purity, magic and enchantment.

    Winter Lullaby: The perfect accompaniment when relaxing into a moment of peace and beauty.

  • Winter Frost – Single

    Winter Frost – Single

    Piano and flute make a delightful combination to bring in the season of peace and joy, family gatherings and in counties where the snow falls, waiting for the pristine coating of white perfection of new fallen snow to cover the ground, the sharp bite of frost as it brings a cleansing to the air.

    Pianist Greg Maroney and flautist Sherry Finzer wrap the sentiments of the season in a gentle joy with this most appealing single Winter Frost: the dancing notes of the piano accompanied with soft and gentle flute reminding all that even in the depth of winter, on the dark days of the soul, that there is beauty is to be found in the still, quiet, peaceful moment in life.

    Winter Frost – Greg Maroney & Sherry Finzer | Flute & Piano | Relaxing Calm Peaceful Healing Music – YouTube

  • Flames of Winter

    Flames of Winter

    If you are looking for a comfortable, cozy afternoon read this delightful Regency romance Flames of Winter fits perfectly. The heroine is delightful, the hero almost perfect and the setting just romantic enough to be entertaining and enjoyable.

    Sarah Mortensen has had enough of her parents scheming to get her married. The latest is a man she truly does not like and in desperation she confides in the Dowager Countess of Whickerton, known to one and all as Grandma Edie; a very shrewd woman, some would say sneaky and manipulative, but with a heart of gold, treasured by her family.

    Kier MacKinnear, struggling to cope with the loss of a dearly beloved sister, finds himself agreeing to a crazy plan put together by Grandma Edie, to stage a ‘fake’ kidnapping, and then to take Sarah, daughter of Baron Hartmore, to a remote, very secretive location. He considers himself completely crazy for even agreeing to such a hair brained scheme, but he has given his word.

    At the last minute Sarah has serious doubts about the entire scheme, but eventually plucks up enough courage to leave all she has ever known. She finds herself being transported through a cold winters night, to a small cottage in the country, by a very handsome young man with a definite Scottish accent. Who could he possibly be and is she safe from his advances, worry her immensely.

    One very cheeky cat, Loki, two horses, an old goat, some chickens and a handsome man form an interesting cast of characters, as Sarah begins to learn about life as a young woman rather than marriage material to pay off her father’s gambling debts.

    Flames of Winter is the first in the Flames of Winter series which does not end as expected. As the author Bree Wolf says, some stories take more telling that one book. This one certainly does, leaving a distinct desire to read the second book in the series due out in March, Shield of Fire.

  • Mountains Made of Shadow, Anthems Made of Light

    Mountains Made of Shadow, Anthems Made of Light

    Simply made to sit down and enjoy, this latest album from Dan Kennedy is beautiful from beginning to end. In this collection he has focused on the simple pleasures of life such as a chilly morning, wintergreen, wildflowers and thankfulness, naming the songs after so much that goes to make up the quintessential essence of life and living.

    Delicate and pure the notes of this solo piano album reach out to offer a musical form of poetry which is rich in its intricacy of sound. Each of the tracks has a specific style allowing them to be stand-alone pieces and yet, like a good volume of poetry combining to present the overall ethos of the composer.

    Chilly Morning introduces the songs with a beguiling melody that captures the imagination immediately, embracing that fresh new look of the earth at a time like no other in its pure and perfect moment.  An intriguing piece is Backstory, a little more sombre and measured than the previous pieces, reflective of times lived and the tapestry of life. Ennio is another piece which changes the reflective mood yet again with an almost hesitant series of notes played, followed by a light, airy dancing series of chords to lift the heart and sooth the soul.

    Regardless of how or when you choose to listen to this music or what tracks resonate, as is the case with all music, this is one album which will hold its appeal for many years, as the pure simplicity captured is timeless. To compliment the album a wonderful digipak has been designed presenting quotes from such people as Emily Dickenson, Sappho and Leonard Cohen which fit perfectly with the simply perfect images on the cover design.

    For those who enjoy their music via the internet Kennedy has created a marvellous video of Backstory which shows the master creating poetry at the keyboard, with some glorious images captured to make the track one that will certainly become unforgettable.

    Pure, delicate and beautiful this fourth album from Dan Kennedy is perfection plus!

  • Ring Around the Moon

    Ring Around the Moon

    In this solo piano album from Richard Dillion written in the winter months and recorded in 2014, the titles of the various tracks take your imagination through a journey into many and varied concepts, concepts which at the time gave inspiration to the quiet, almost reclusive, musician.

    What is behind the mystique that arrives when the moon has a ring surrounding it, an occurrence that is not often seen, but when it is it is usually during the winter months,  and seems to herald in that almost superstitious element within us all. Dillion has tapped into this element to create the purity which can be found on a cold frosty, snowy winter’s day.

    Groundhog Saw His Shadow simply begins the journey with wonderment, teasing the imagination into creating the scene, the amazement of this event in a humble woodchucks evening.

    December Sunset, when followed by Dying of the Light, allows the visualisation of the day coming to a glorious close, and then of the fun to be had on Midnight Sleigh Ride. Romantic, frosty and pure this beautiful segue of pieces is delightful for its singular, but not insular reverence.

    Dreaming of Hawaii is something we all do during the midst of winter when it seems that all is cold, cold, cold, and there will not be a warm day anytime soon. Somehow Dillion manages to get his piano to create that lovely tropical, warm, almost sultry feel that is Hawaii, allowing you to bask for just a moment in that beautiful, almost idyllic paradise.

    As the season moves along so too does the music, leading to the almost dainty Scattering of Stars, inspired by the viewing of the night sky on a deep, frosty winters night, which is nothing other than pure perfection.

    A Whiteout is something that is as magical as it can be terrifying, but Dillion has chosen to present this as a light, ethereal moment in time, which then leads into the final and delightfully warm piece Hot Cocoa By The Fire, making this a comfortable and comforting ending for an album that is peaceful, enjoyable and as always, original.

  • From the Darker Seasons

    From the Darker Seasons

    Spiritually, winter is a time when we are called upon to conserve our energy, withdraw and reflect on the year spent, to begin to plan for the year to come. It is also considered a time when the Angels are closest to the earth, and bestow special blessings during this time of reflection.

    With From The Darker Seasons, solo guitarist Jeff Pearce has, in his signature style, captured the essence of this time when the earth is drawing in and the light is slowing ebbing until the time of the Solstice, when rebirth begins to occur once again.

    But before the time of winter, autumn must first allow the trees to shed their leaves in preparation, bringing a rare beauty to the earth with the magical colours of browns, russet reds, orange and the subtle shades of a hint of the green left from the shade of the summer. A Walk Through The Leaves has captured this beautifully, with the following track, The Sun on Frost bringing with it a sharp reminder of the winter to come. Frost is a magical element, there early in the morning and then gone once the sun begins to rise and slowly warm the day; ephemeral in its beauty. Such is the pleasure of creating and listening to music.

    Jeff Pearce has captured perfectly the deep stillness and clarity of the atmosphere after a snow fall, the crispness of the white snow, and the almost complete stillness of the world as it slowly begins to settle, to slow for the long days of the winter to come in Downdrift, giving this piece an almost otherworldly sound with the addition some clever electronic work.  Midnight Snow completes this segment.

    His love of seasons, especially winter, have been woven into this delightful six track soundscape, which gently shifts and changes, to represent his enjoyment of the autumn and winter periods of the Northern hemisphere, where the days of autumn, are all too quickly over and the long, often apparently endless months of winter, pass slowly.

    As a master of electronic guitar, Pearce has used his skills to discover the hidden and not so hidden beauty tucked away in snow drifts, the colour of autumn leaves and the incredible clarity of the sky on a crisp autumn or winters night. He has woven them into an ambient and delightfully intricate reflection, as required by the Divine, as the days draw ever closer to a time of renewal.