- original music and arrangements -

Storms

"A few minutes ago every tree was excited, bowing to the roaring storm, waving, swirling, tossing their branches in glorious enthusiasm like worship. But though to the outer ear these trees are now silent, their songs never cease.."
 - John Muir

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"Storms don't come to teach us painful lessons, rather they were meant to wash us clean."
 - Shannon L. Alder
"Sorrows gather around great souls as storms do around mountains; but, like them, they break the storm and purify the air of the plain beneath them."
 - Jean Paul

Storm Clouds
Storm Clouds

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Storms - Transformation of the Forest

Nature is cyclical in many ways:

  1. Spring turns to Summer then Autumn then Winter then once again turns to Spring;
  2. Trees grow from seeds but eventually die and decay into the soil where its seeds grow into other trees;
  3. One of the greatest marvels of of our earth is the water cycle: evaporation, condensation, and precipitation - continually recycling of our most precious life-giving resource. Without water there would be no life!

The three sections of this tune could be interpreted to correspond to that cycle: (A Section) the majestic trees stand tall in the dense forest; (B Section) a tumultuous thunderstorm rains down on the forest; and (C Section) when the sun returns, the water-logged ground evaporates in a ghostly mist and once again returns to a peaceful stillness.

Imagining...
"Imagine you are on a long trek, hiking through the wilderness and it suddenly turns gray, cold and windy. Soon there’s massive thunderstorm and you are deafened by the loud boom of thunder. Rain starts to drip down through the forest canopy. You hunker down under a granite outcropping and after a half hour of relentless rain, the sun slowly emerges once again through the trees. Gazing out from your protective hideaway, watchinng as mist rises from the ground everywhere across the forest floor, you are enthralled - it's a mesmerizing display."

Details on the Music
The Melody is played on an actual Native American flute. The recently rediscovered Roland D-50 electric piano patch that was used as Naiwen is the subtle electric piano. The Percussion tracks are a combination of djembe and frame drums for the A section and an array of heavier sounding loops garnered online for the B section.

John Muir
John Muir
John Muir
John Muir (1838 – 1914) was an influential author and an early advocate for the preservation of wilderness in the United States.
John Muir