Heart Songs By Ken Noland

 

Heart Songs

By

Ken Noland

Written by

Steve Sheppard

 

Ken Noland has returned in 2021 with a brand new album and seven new flute songs for us to enjoy. Noland’s work has been gaining ground on the flute circuit for a while, and here on this new album we may have just seen the best work from the artist so far.

The journey starts with an introduction from Noland who gifts us the piece Rising, a powerful musical tale, one that we all hope to emulate as we rise from the ashes of the pandemic like the phoenix. His melodic creation here is an inspiration to us all to carry onward and upward in the face of adversity, a commanding start indeed.

Hawk floats high in the sky, ever watchful below, waiting for the moment to strike, Hawks powerful intuitive approach to its life is a lesson for us all, and Noland’s melodic and uplifting creation is a fine representation of how important it is, that we see the bigger picture in all things we do too.

On Mother's Tears the tale could be a worrisome thing, but there is a little hope in this new musical narrative of Noland’s, his expression on flute gifts a soft presentation to the audience, of an almost hopeful nature, yet still, one that is imploring.

Heart Songs is a seven piece solo flute performance that tells a tale with each track reached, like this one that summons our arrival at the midway point of the album and called Unity, a track that asks for all hands on the deck of life, we are all one, and as such we should really be helping each other to reach the other side of this vast lake of life’s concerns. Here Noland performs his best track in my view, as this is one of the most powerful flute performances I think I have ever heard from the artist.

As we move toward the latter end of the album we come across a wonderfully illuminating piece called Light The Way, this is a clever presentation from Noland, one that says we must shine a light for others, and also perhaps we are that shining light to lead the way, which ever, this is a crafted slice of work indeed.

The penultimate offering is entitled Moon and here on this last but one creation Noland expresses through his words and his performance, that as darkness falls and the moon rises, we shall have another day to co create once more on the Earth, and we must be grateful for that. There is a delicate preciseness to this flute performance that is appreciated, one that illustrates the aspect of the Moons characteristics perfectly.

The concluding arrangement is entitled Undying Love; a deeper very sincere energy can be found on this final offering of the album, and Noland manifests that heart felt mood and honesty with ease on this parting composition.

Heart Songs by Ken Noland is without doubt the best work from the artist thus far, the story style really works for a solo flute performance, and each representation is honesty played with the artist’s heart and integrity on his musical sleeve. Heart Songs by Ken Noland is an album that the artist can indeed be proud of, and I am sure that fans of the genre will be more than happy to obtain a copy for their collections too.