The Evening Mist music CD,
with the Hot Tub cover, is one of the best selling CDs that Cathedral
Whispers has produced, and is another example of my listening to the
feedback from people who had been deeply touched by our music. Whether
they borrowed it from a friend, bought it in a local gift shop, or heard
it at the Florence Renaissance Faire, more and more people were telling
me that I should consider recording a CD that was entirely about
relaxation...ZZZZZZZZZZZ! Seriously - I had gotten letters from marriage
counselors, dentists, a couple of psychologists and even massage
therapists who were using, or asking permission to use, music from my
CDs in their sessions or office lobbies. What a compliment to the
healing power of God of light and spirit. The massage therapists in
particular were telling me, that as much as they liked using the Cathedral
Whispers and Forever Light CDs for their therapy
sessions, they could really use a CD where all of the songs were of a
veeerrrryy sloooww teeeemmmpoooo.
Well, this presented a
bit of a different situation for me, in that I had previously relied
solely on prayer and spirit to kind of tell me what music I should do
next, and what songs would follow what songs. This was a case where live
human beings were saying- here's what you should do next. In the end, I
realized that prayer, spirit and the live human beings were one and the
same this time. And Evening Mist: Music to Relax and Bathe By
was the result. (Second or first cover, depending on how you look at it
is: Evening Mist: Relaxing the Mind and Body. See Final
Thoughts in Composer's Notes.)
Once I adjusted to the
idea of producing a music CD that was solely for the purpose of total
relaxation and healing, the music layout and form came easily. The
inspiration was the consideration of a garden. The most relaxing,
healing image I kept seeing in my mind was that of a quiet garden;
personal, serene and different shades of green. How easy it would be to
relax and calm your mind when you imagine stepping out from under the
stress and troubles of the day into a quiet garden, a garden that only
you the listener knows. A garden that is your own personal inner
space...a garden whose dimensions and beauty are limited only by the
depth of imagination of the individual mind and heart...whether real or
imagined, the music can put you there...anytime of day or night, any
place you happen to be.
The music itself is
specifically composed and structured so as to create that garden for you
in sound. Each song begins and ends with natural environmental sounds
you might hear in any garden...but the music does even more...the songs
themselves and their titles were specifically designed and selected to
so as to actually walk you through a brief period of time - from place
to place in that garden. The beauty is that you, the listener, get to
choose the places at which you stop for a bit. Listening to this CD, Healing
Rains will literally help you step outside into a garden with the
thunder overhead and the rain and mist falling around or near you. As
the rain moves off, thunder remains and the Evening Mist hangs
suspended in the air, thick with the smell of flowers and plants.
Crickets come out and Fire and Grace leads you to a small fire,
crackling in a pit near a small bench or table where you linger. A
strong breeze begins to blow, casting Shadows on the Wind across
your garden. The wind gets stronger and blows the rain clouds along
until finally, one by one, stars begin to peek out in the early evening
night sky, until you feel as though you have gone Back to the Stars.
Soon enough, your walk through your Moonlit Garden pauses along a
small, running creek fresh with clean, cool waters. Birds sing in the
night breeze as you continue your walk along Quiet Pathways.
Finally, a bit of thunder echoes in the distance as you look up at the
stars, tiny bright Points of Light. I feel refreshed already just
talking about it with you.
In laying the framework
for this CD, I considered some of the slower pieces from previous CDs as
a starting place (since listeners had already indicated their
favorites), and settled on several selections from the Forever
Light CD, namely Fire and Grace, Back to the Stars and Healing
Rains, as well as the piece, Points of Light, from the Points
of Light Christmas CD. To this base of music, I composed four
new pieces that would complete the idea, making this CD a kind of hybrid
compilation album, though not a compilation in the truest sense. Total
running music time on this CD is about 70 minutes, with about 38 to 40
of those minutes being new music compositions.
Final Thoughts: As
usual, there is a story that goes with the selection and design of the
cover art for the Evening Mist CD. My thought was that I
wanted a strong, nurturing visual image on the cover that would easily
identify the music to a nature walk or garden setting. I chose a rain
forest, which I learned afterwards has inferences for many people to
earth spirit or connection from which God fashioned us. Plus there are
the strong deep and lighter shades of green, which help signify health,
healing and nurturing. There is also the idea of water which makes the
forest deep and green, and which also promotes the feeling of being
clean, of having lives free of stress and clutter. At the same time, I
had the fun and bright idea (it turns out) of designing a cover (
Evening Mist: Music to relax and Bathe By) that would appeal to
those who might like to fill a nice tub with hot water at the end of a
hard day and take a long soak, all the while listening to a soothing
garden walk in sound. Same music, different cover and different niche
market. The second cover was almost an afterthought. As usual the
listeners won, and I have outsold the rain forest cover with my hot tub
relaxation cover two to one. I sell as much of Evening Mist: Music
to Relax and Bathe By as any other CD I have produced. To each
his own (smile).
