Whispers of Selene By Richard Theisen

 

Whispers of Selene

By

Richard Theisen

Written by

Steve Sheppard

 

It is always fantastic to write reviews for albums that contain a subject matter than you have a major interest and qualifications for, and being a Greek Mythologist I eagerly awaited the first few bars of this latest, manifested by composer Richard Theisen to caress my senses, from his latest wonderful album entitled Whispers of Selene, and I was at the conclusion of the release most pleased I had done so.

From our home in Cyprus we have many such legends to dream of, in my view Selene is often much undervalued, but today Richard puts that perfectly in place with one of the finest New Age albums of the year. The beginning of the album develops nicely through the work entitled First Breath, a piece that draws a gentle calming narrative with which the rest of the album builds beautifully from.

Avalon is our next destination; its exact location is unknown and debated, with some traditions linking it to Glastonbury in England, an area that I have been to many times, here Theisen manifests a keyboard based offering that contains both mystery and imagination, and trust me is very redolent of the location.

What Theisen does so well is to bridge mainstream success with deeply personal, spiritual artistry, and each track here takes me back to the golden years of new age music and artists like Medwyn Goodall, and Phil Thornton, however on slices of ambient genius like Whispers of Silence he balances shadow and light to perfection, and on one of my favourites Light of the Ancients, he brings a true Stonehenge vibration into the weave on a slightly more electronic energy in this weave world of musical mastery.

Selene is the ancient Greek goddess who personifies the Moon, often depicted riding a silver chariot across the night sky. She embodies lunar beauty, cycles, and mystery, and was worshipped during the new and full moons, whilst some could say she is the very shadow of Apollo, whose role was to bring the sun back, and allow the day to unfurl. We can listen now to Blood Moon Remix, for a true flavoursome offering, this greatly reminds me of US artist Timothy Wenzel with his ever onward approach and melody.

Whilst Selene and Apollo had no other connection, especially not of a romantic nature, one could possibly shed a Silver Tear for her famous love Endymion a beautiful mortal shepherd (sometimes described as a hunter or king) who lived in Elis or Caria, here Theisen manifests a beautifully reflective and heart felt offering filled full of expressive emotions and passion, redolent completely of that love which was once shared between them.

The Inner Flame is a piece bathed in the deeper waters of the release one that unfurls with a persuasive tempo and delicious bass line leading us nicely into the arms of the penultimate offering entitled Eternal Dawn, which would turn out to be one of the most attractive manifestations from the album, classically building on a steady narrative, and built upon a mystical keyboard performance, one that leads tenderly into a multi-instrumental moment of pure magic from the artist.

Sangreal concludes the album, a dramatic last arrangement that balances intrigue and mystery. Knights of the Round Table, especially Sir Galahad, sought the Sangreal as the highest spiritual achievement. Here Richard Theisen finishes in style with a wonderfully flowing and fluent musical piece of sublime art.

Whispers of Selene by Richard Theisen is pure artistry at its very best, and one of the finest examples of new age instrumental music around, this is a very rich tapestry of tone and timbre that one cannot help but fall head over heels in love with, and with my mythologists hat on, a delightful repose into the legends and myths of the times long gone, but never forgotten. I personally rate this album very highly and as such I’m expecting to see a huge chart placement for the album, Whispers of Selene by Richard Theisen.