Track Listing

1. Lake Isle Of Innisfree
2. Emerald Dawn
3. Forest Hymn
4. Morning Song
5. Tara (Choral Version)
6. Lovely Is The Rose
7. Golden Rain
8. Wings Of The Wind
9. Spectrum Of Violet
10. A Place Called Morning
11. Intermezzo
12. Sadness Of The Moon
13. Rise Up, My Love

Product Details

• Released on: 2001-06-01
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Dimensions: .20 pounds

From Amazon.com
Searching for the divine by dawn's early light, pianist/keyboardist Bill Douglas uses his eighth recording to create a gentle paean to the natural beauty of morning and the intangibles of purity and promise that float in on daybreak's first sunbeams. Again employing the rapturous talents of the Denver-based Ars Nova Singers, Douglas composes a calming program anchored by the group's reverential choral passages (featured on seven of the disc's 13 tracks). Douglas's instrumental works (with random guest performances on violin, cello, oboe, clarinet, flute, light percussion, and his own bassoon) create a meditative, jazz-tinged chamber sound. Ultimately, these pieces serve as modest interludes between the more riveting choral sections. Lyrical content comes from an assortment of verse (W.B. Yeats, Emily Dickinson, the Bible's Song of Solomon) and extols the peacefulness and magical quality of early morning, though the words (unrecognizable without the lyric sheet) are secondary to the cathedral-like resonance the group puts forth. Highlights include the opening track, the heavenly, wordless rumination of "Tara," the worshipful/celebratory "Lovely Is the Rose," and the title track, a captivating take on Dickinson's verse. --Terry Wood