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"Both Sides Now" |
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RJ Lannan And Bill Binkelman opine from "Both Sides Now" |
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| Love & Peace |
| By Lisa Lynne and George Tortorelli |
| Label: New Earth Records |
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| Love & Peace tracks |
1. Invocation 
2. Winds of Peace
3. Mysterium
4. Angel of Mercy
5. The Journey
6. Windrise
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7. Flowers in the Wind
8. The Farthest Shore
9. Serenity Road
10. The Dawn
11. Once Upon a Time
12. First Light
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Love & Peace |
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Flute and harp come together to invoke moods of serene pleasure on the album Love & Peace by Celtic harpist Lisa Lynne and flutist George Tortorelli. They wove their magic gracefully on their holiday album Silent Night in 2004. Their ongoing partnership produces a more splendid offering with this placid recording. The Celtic-based music is light, intricate, diaphanous, and shamelessly romantic. There is an intimacy that is often sought after, but rarely achieved. It is a bonus that the music is for the peace of mind as well as the peace of the spirit.
Invocation is a warm, peaceful song that opens the album and sets the tone for what is to come. The deep voice of the flute with a somewhat Native American sound is warm and comforting and the sparkling harp adds a strong, natural element. It is a call to all the Gods, young, old, earthly or cosmic to hear our prayer and grant us serenity.
The Journey has definite airs of the Celtic realm. Soft, sweet, dreamy and flowing, it becomes a journey of the soul. The outing can be anything you like. A shady saunter among the hickory trees with their golden yellow leaves ready to give up their color or a walk in the clouds with their whimsical shapes that illuminate your imagination.
Here in the foothills of the Smokey Mountains as I write, it is a glorious autumn day and the track Flowers in the Wind is perfect for watching the gold and red leaves fall and swirl on their final voyage. Brightly colored goldenrod and purple ironweed are colors in contrast in the distant fields. Cerulean skies and plentiful sunshine delight the senses and the gentle flute and melodious harp are the best friends you can find. It sounds as if the music and the moment will never end.
I thoroughly enjoyed the whimsical track Once Upon a Time. The enchanting harp and delightful flute tune make every storybook you have ever read and love come to life. In the music all the Jacks are nimble, unicorns give the best rides and red fairies and blue fairies dance and twirl in the meadows. The song is for hearts of all ages.
It is obvious that Lisa and George know "literally" how to make beautiful music together. Whether at the art fair, the county fair or the quiet living room environment, their music will power your dreams to their ultimate fulfillment.
Rating: Very Good+ - RJ Lannan
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I don’t know if acoustic new age music can get any better than it does on Love & Peace, featuring harpist Lisa Lynne and bamboo flutist/recorder player George Tortorelli. After listening to just the first three tracks, it was already one of my favorite albums of 2007 so far. Granted, I think the harp is a near perfect instrument, so I’m biased; still, there’s little denying that these twelve compositions epitomize what "new age music" means to the initiated (and perhaps the uninitiated as well). Gentle, unforced and, yes, especially "pretty" melodies weave a serene spell of beauty and reflection with nary a trace of syrupy saccharine melodrama.
Invocation begins the CD in a particularly quiet vein, with Tortorelli’s flute hovering hauntingly over Lynne’s delicate string play. There is a notable lack of "world" sound to most of the recording, i.e. on many CDs featuring these instruments, the harp connotes to an Irish/Celtic connection, recorders to an English/Early Music flavor, and bamboo flutes to East Indian or Asian influences, all of which are seldom present throughout Love & Peace (although the evocations surface now and then, both peripherally and/or in the forefront). Mostly, the music features a more universal "sound" unbound to a specific culture. Winds of Peace features a softly vibrant harp refrain and an undulating flute melody. Later in the track, Tortorelli switches over to recorder and then blends the two wind instruments later still. Again, I detected very little ascribable world fusion attributes to the music itself. Mysterium is appropriately shaded with a hint of darkness, but not in any way foreboding, more in a mystical way. The piece is notably slower paced than the previous one and I was reminded, at times, of the now-defunct (through the death of one of the members) duo, Emerald Web.
While some songs are slightly uptempo, if you’re looking for an album that maintains a consistent "sound" and pace throughout, yet isn’t numbingly boring, Love & Peace is as close to perfect as you’re going to get. It was only under direct listening that I noticed how "different" tracks are (the lighter-hearted Flowers in the Wind segues to the calmer more cerebral <The Farthest Shore which, in turn yields to the comforting yet subtly sprightly Serenity Road). When I played the album in the background, the songs all led into one another seamlessly.
In rare instances, a CD’s exterior liner notes aptly describe the music contained therein. Such is the case with Love & Peace when, on the back cover, these words appear: "A poignant and mysterious interplay between two of the world’s most ancient and heartwarming instruments." I couldn’t have written it better myself.
Rating: Excellent - Bill Binkelman
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Combined Rating: Excellent  |
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- reviewed by RJ Lannan/Bill Binkelman on 11/6/2007 |
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