Frozen Passages by poemme
A year following my last release, Moments in Golden Light, I present a collection of soundscapes embodying quite a different vision. Frozen Passages is an imagined journey into the far north of the continent, through boreal forest, across vast, barren landscape, through the iciest storm, and eventually finding warm refuge as the night brings a welcome calm to the tundra. Though you will meet no fellow traveler on this trek, it is not a solitary journey. Your companions in this story are the birds of the air in all of their diverse colors and forms. Small songbirds flit overhead from tree to tree in the taiga, curious and watchful of your presence. In open country, the silhouette of a lone raptor moves gracefully beneath the sky's sparse clouds, held aloft by unseen currents of wind, seemingly aloof, yet ever aware of you and every moving thing in its scope. These wondrous fauna, my favorites in the animal kingdom, are represented in many of these soundscapes as flourishes of woodwinds and distant flutes, sounds intended to evoke the calls of these beautiful winged creatures. Few things in nature stir my heart more than the sight of a hawk or an eagle in flight, or inspire in me a feeling of affinity more than the smallest of avians. And so I hope you will find in Frozen Passages a balance of snowy, frost-covered dreamscapes, inspired by the beauty of nature, and tempered with the warmth of human emotion.
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Thank you for listening ♥
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A note about the titles of tracks 1 and 2... Read in sequence, the latter might seem to suggest a connection between the two -- that the chickadee is watchful because of the red-tailed hawk. However, I mean no such connection to be made and would not intend to bring the idea of danger or uneasiness into the context of this album (though it would reflect nature). Instead, track 2's title was changed from 'boreal palace' to 'watchful chickadee' when I ventured out into the back yard for one last field recording and unexpectedly, to my delight, captured the plaintive "fee-bee" song of a nearby chickadee. This simple and sweet tune is one that I am always glad to hear, as it makes me think of my dad, who loves birds and never misses a chance to whistle the chickadee's song back in reply if there is one near. The title, then, quite opposite to the interpretation posed above, relates instead a connection between the bird and the traveler / listener, and is meant to convey the idea of being watched over by a benevolent entity, of feeling a sense of security from the presence of a companion.
Tracklist
| 1. | red-tail | 6:00 |
| 2. | watchful chickadee | 8:11 |
| 3. | a path between the clouds | 5:42 |
| 4. | elements | 6:05 |
| 5. | the north wind approaches | 6:34 |
| 6. | hearthbound | 7:43 |
| 7. | rain of stars | 6:36 |
| 8. | falling snow on a silent night | 12:34 |
Credits
on Stereoscenic Records [SCENE30]
music & artwork by angela klimek
mastering by andrew j klimek
