Painting the Sun

During early spring, on one of the daily walks I enjoy taking in my neighborhood, I strolled past the park near my home, all the while facing the warming sun. This was very pleasurable and started me to think of titles having to do with the sun. A dozen or so average ideas came to mind and then I dropped the notion. Suddenly, I was compelled to take a street I had not traveled on before. Half way down the block I looked up at a house and noticed its Victorian gable ornament attached to the eave where the roof came to a peak. It was a sunburst pattern; the rays brightly painted in different colors. I smiled and then surprisingly blurted out loud, "painting the sun!"  I had no idea in that moment what it really meant, but I loved the sound of it right away. As I continued my walk, the deeper artistic meanings flooded my mind and I laughed to myself at how the title had come about. You just never know when or where the muse will strike!

Spanish Blue
This was the last piece composed for this recording and it brought to mind the wonderful countless memories I have of touring Spain. To my ear, the improvisational nature of the right hand phrasing is faintly reminiscent of Spanish classical guitar flourishes. And the overall sweet melancholy of this piece for me is Spanish Blue indeed.

The Enchantment
Often times, a working title is given to a piece that has just been written. As I sat and composed this waltz at the piano, I noticed out the window a young couple stroll by our home with their young child. They had just moved across the street into an old blue house and I seized that image immediately naming this "The Blue House Waltz." After recording and then in frequent listening, I found myself drifting into a slightly altered state as this song played. This is now one of my all time favorites, and I hope you feel this same sense of enchantment as you listen.

Her Solitude
Upon hearing this song shortly after I composed it, my mother, who was visiting with us for the day, knowing that I had not yet named it, remarked that "solitude" would be a fitting title. I took my mother's comment to heart and this song, and its title, is now dedicated to her.

First Snow
This piece (which I must thank my brother Gary for naming) seems the perfect title, for it does bring to mind the peaceful feeling one gets as pure white snow gently drifts from the sky, and blankets the world for the first time in the winter season.

Turn Turn Turn (to everything there is a season)
I often come up with dozens of working titles for my CDs as well. One of these early titles was "A Time of Peace", which is also a line from a hit song I first heard as a teenager performed by the band The Byrds back in 1965. Turn Turn Turn was composed and performed originally by the great folk artist, Pete Seeger, with the lyric being based on the King James version of the Bible. (Ecclesiastes 3, verses 1 - 8). The love I have of this song inspired me to do my own arrangement and the lyric still rings true to me today, especially the line,  "A time for peace . . . I swear its not too late."

Hymn
The simple movement and stately theme of this composition brought back memories of old time hymns I had heard as a child. Hymns are defined as songs of praise and this piece, I feel, is most certainly spiritual in nature, but not specifically religious. The aspect of the divine and or the object of the praise here are left up to each listener.

SANCTUARY ROSE rondo in g minor evening song As our life unfolds, we will eventually hear the song of our soul. It sings of our purpose and of the gifts we've been given to share. The soul is always singing . . . we need only listen. midnight reverie A willingness to explore and embrace our spiritual nature may open us to new insights, sudden flashes of enlightenment, and a heightened sense of clear inner vision. At times, these gifts and revelations are also seemingly thrust upon us, but always, they are there to guide and encourage us to look for the true meaning in life. daybreak flower Now the heart begins to open to its true divine nature. These insights and moments of enlightenment are moving us ever forward on the soul's journey home. In our heart of hearts . . . a flower blooms. (rondo  - a compositional form where the first and third musical sections are the same,  with the second theme, being somewhat different.)

Sleeping Dove (Salish Lullaby)
I was given the honor of arranging the melody of this Salish lullaby into a solo piano piece first appearing on the CD Heart Of The Bitterroot*, telling the touching and powerful stories of four Salish and Pend d'Oreille Indian woman. Executive producer for this project, Julie Cajune, said that one of the last Salish men to play the flute, Jerome Vanderburg, first learned this lullaby from his father, who is said to have learned it from wild doves. Here, I dedicate this song to my friend Julie, to the generations of Salish and Pend d'Oreille woman who have come before, and to "women of good heart"  everywhere.

  *more information on The Heart Of The Bitterroot available at http://www.npustin.org

**Download complete liner notes, click here.

***To listen to soundclips, click here.

****To read a review, click here.

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