Label: Soundings of Planet
Dean Evenson (Silver & Cedar Flutes, Keyboards, Field Recordings) and Dudley Evenson (Harp, Hand Harp, Singing Bowls, Chimes) released Monet’s Garden in April this year. This duo creates music to match the beautiful scenery of the background on the cover of this recording.
To present what went into this effort...they took their dream trip to Monet’s world to gather footage after a lifetime of admiring and studying his life and paintings. From that lifelong journey, 12 tracks emerged.
By using their chosen instruments, the recordings encompass natural sounds such as birds in all their happiness, and with the harp and flute as the main instruments, and the addition of keyboards, singing bowls, and chimes, a musical garden is created. Some may call it nirvana, it felt that way to me and I believe based on what I garnered from reading about these two profound artists, they successfully created their garden of delights merging art with music.
Every listening experience is something new for me. In this case, this was my introduction to the music of the Evenson’s. And what a way to start. I found this music beautiful and so deeply relaxing and meditative. I find several different pathways to where I need to be through music like this. I found it was all easily assimilated. The reason why was the flow of the entire recording. To my senses, it was like one journey or path, in essence like one song. I find it more difficult to mention any single track as a key because the entire album was a doorway for me. For my interpretation, that is the highest compliment I can give an artist. To command my attention and appreciation in such a way that I was totally focused and listening intently, that is the ultimate for my ears. I would think that is what any recording artist would want and the desired result for many listeners.
I love the sound of birds and there is one singing sparrow in my backyard I hear every day. My life would be incomplete without it. There is a lot of that interlaced in this music, which gave me an immediate level of comfort and acceptance. That is the organic touchpoint that I got from Monet’s Garden.
One of the things mentioned in the information I received was that this album Contains Earth Resonance Frequency for deeper relaxation and a heightened state of peacefulness. It certainly has that effect, and all of the instrumentation is excellent as well as the engineering and sound values.
Monet’s Garden is a storybook music experience, page by page you enter a garden in your mind’s eye with all the colors and beauty that Monet could capture in his paintings, with the light of the day dancing through the trees, the sun shining brightly and the birds showing their appreciation, this is a listening experience you need to have whether you want to meditate or just relax.
Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck-New Age Music Reviews Founder
July 12, 2021
Tracks:
01. Water Lily Nymphs
02. Wisteria Foot Bridge
03. Golden Tones
04. Splendid Irises
05. Water Garden
06. Spring Impressions
07. Enchanted Garden Path
08. Field of Flowers
09. Pond Reflections
10. Cascading Willows
11. Play of Light
12. Evening in Giverny