Notes from the Heart
By
Helen's Willow Wind
Written by
Steve Sheppard
Never has a title been more accurate, as this music is
without doubt from the place of truth called the heart. Helen’s Willow Wind has been on my musical radar now for a couple
of years, and ever since the release of A Call to the Divine back in 2022, a track that also
appears on this debut album, since then the flute has called to her constantly,
and here for us to enjoy is her first personal album of 12 sublime tracks
entitled Notes from the Heart.
The album is a deeply soothing musical narrative in its
entirety, and one that starts with the gentle and respectful opener entitled End of Summer Lament, a mournful glance
over the shoulder at a season past, it’s strange for me this one, as our autumn
will not start until October.
Helen has that touch of sensitivity to make her flute sing
such tender tones on the solo piece A
Call to the Divine, she produces a musical prayer of great tenderness and
respect here, whilst on tracks like Out
There - Lady Bird in Outer Space, and we have a horse, or should that be a
lady bird of a different colour, this is a really fun track with some superb
spacey effects that come courtesy of her parrot, this is most certainly a track
that I hope will live long and prosper.
Short form musical narratives are also catered for with the
compositions Divine Call Answered, When Caves Sing, the natural textures
of Convergence, a special sanctuary
of water on Mournful Rain, and the
harmonic conjunction of one amazing creation called Above And Beyond, each of these have their own personal story and
add much to the overall manifestation of the album.
Once the penultimate track is reached we have attained a
level of tranquillity that is most soothing indeed, and we can enjoy that
through the refrains of the arrangement called Time Is A River, a soft pastiche of serenity that is so beautifully
played on her flute by the artist, the hand pan drum a symbiotic choice without
doubt is added to the mix.
Now I must say this makes a pleasant change as the longest
composition from the album is our concluding piece and called Drumming Rain, this is a clever call
from the artist as the listener has plenty of time to simply float with the
hand pan, and enjoy the reverie that it brings, this instrument is very
entrancing and so is this track.
Notes from the Heart by Helen's Willow Wind is one of two, yes two debut album releases
given to the world by the artist on the same day, more about the other in an
alternate review, but here on Notes from
the Heart we have an album that is filled with serenity and calm, and one
that enhances feelings of peace and tranquillity, and that cannot be a bad
thing, this is going to be an album that will be embraced by all as an
instrumental album of great quality, and as such a truly exceptional chart
position should follow for it.
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