Forestdale - Tone Poems Inspired by Nature by Tim Thompson

Esoteric undertones resonate gracefully, while harmonies dance elegantly capturing the mood and nature of each musical piece, creating a feeling of soothing harmony in the immediate surrounding environment.

The feelings invoked by the music, particularly on the Forestdale Album, are delightfully calming and restorative, which generates a wonderful cocoon to retreat in to and forget the stress of the mad world we all live in (the equivalent of taking a stroll in a spellbinding virtual forest) Uplifting and inspiring, with a refined sophistication that gently envelops my whole being without taking over completely. Modern and contemporary but with all the flare, grace and artistry of tradition in one fabulous package. Musical mastery in motion.

TOTALLY MAGICAL! I love it!"

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Wrote Hypnotherapist John Murray of Boston, MA:

"If you have not heard Forestdale, check this out by all means. This is wonderful. Composed with you in mind, you will find that here is an album that at once excites you, while at the same time, gives you the feeling that all is well with the world and you.

I sat down at my desk to do some work that had to be done immediately. Luckily, I had just received my copy of Forestdale in the mail and put it on immediately. In a short time I got more work done than I ordinarily do in that time frame. Wow. This is good.

After I realized how much I had accomplished in my office, I set Forestdale to replay and my day and the amount of work I accomplished was amazing. What a nice piece of work. The person who created this music obviously knows what makes people tick, as well as having the talent to carry it out. Congratulations to the composer.

And congratulations to you for buying this album. Forestdale will settle you down and make you feel good. For your music pleasure, you will find all you need. It harmonizes with you in whatever you are doing.

I am so glad I have this piece of music in my life. Whenever I need to relax, or more importantly, get work done, I put on Forestdale, and I accomplish so much more than I usually have. Wow, this is great. What a nice piece of music!"

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This is the concept behind "Forestdale - Tone Poems Inspired by Nature". It follows the New Age musical goals of touching the inner spirit through melody yet goes further by adding a classical spin. Each selection has a structure and is a musical story in itself with a beginning, a middle and an end.

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Wrote Organist and ChoirMaster, James Moritz:

"I loved the Forestdale Album-- it is so creative and shows superior compositional skills-- evocative and totally listenable. It drew me into the vortex of the music. The car is a wonderful place to listen because the music surrounds you and creates a complete environment. I am very, very impressed!"

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The album selections are structured after the Romantic style of 19th Century Symphonic Poem, championed by composer, Franz Liszt, who dubbed it "...Impressions and adventures of the soul." The style was later expanded to the Tone Poem which moves from being symphonic to include keyboard and solo instruments.

Says neoclassical composer Tim Thompson, "Some of my Tone Poems are Symphonic -- like those of Liszt, but others use the more classic solo-tutti arrangement of the Baroque and Renaissance periods, making them mini-concertos." And Tim's own contribution to this longstanding tradition is to add an electronic flair, thanks to his XV Orchestra.

The XV Orchestra is made up of musical tones generated by the flagship Roland XV-5080 sound module synthesizer. What you hear on the album are the sounds of real strings, brass, oboes and flutes, combined with Tim's own special electronic ambience treatments. The "feel" of the selections ranges from meditative and uplifting to playful and light hearted.

The virtual XV Orchestra performs the music in full range digital CD stereo "Wide Pan" sound. Listeners are embraced in the heart of this virtual orchestra, as Tim's rich polyphonic textures stir the imagination-- evoking many moods and emotions through expressive musical imagery.

About Tim Thompson

Neoclassical composer Tim Thompson started playing the piano at the age of two-- which started his love and enthusiasm for classical music. He has 12 years of choral training and performed in Renaissance Ensembles (playing recorder) and Madrigal groups (renaissance chorus). He has even played the Psaltery (a type of early harp) in the "Play of Daniel". He studied composition under the composer, Amelee Russell in New York, and musicology with Victor Mattfeld at Richmond College, also in New York, where he graduated with Honors in musicology. He went on to become an apprentice and master pipe organ builder in the Boston area, built clavichords, harpsichords and restored 19th century reed and pipe organs. He has written music for many instruments-- most notably "My Lord of Clavichorde, His Booke" which is a parody on the famous 17th century "Fitzwilliam Virginal Book." As technology progressed, Tim applied his knowledge and musical talents to computer controlled synthesizers.

"There is a remarkable similarity between the logical architecture of a pipe organ and a synthesizer, which made the transition very easy for me. In fact, pipe organs had a type of memory long before computers even existed!" says Tim.

In 1997 he began composing the "Symphonia Felina"-- music inspired by the love of a cat-- and the "MIDI Clyde Tunes™"-- award winning signature themes for his popular Web site: ClydeSight2.0! - the fun and games cat site. (www.clydesight.com)

His music was so loved that he received commissions to compose themes for other Web sites including: "The Tao of Meow", "Queen Bitsy's Castle", and "The Lioness' Den". His "Concert at CLAW" has been running non-stop performances since 1997 in the CLAW Theater on the Internet. Much of this music was released in 1998 on an album titled "Symphonia Felina and Other Mewsical Masterworks" which has been extremely popular with both music and cat lovers alike.

Inspiration does not begin and end with cats though. As a musicologist and instrument builder, Tim's ears are trained to recognize TIMBRE (pronounced tam-burr)-- the quality of musical tone and how this affects our thoughts and feelings.

"On the most obvious level," says Tim, "you see people listening to music in order to get themselves into a mood-- sounds influence us as much as visuals do, I believe." Intrigued with this idea, He began exploring the ambience of music, how it influences both our inner and outer worlds.

He decided to compose some music along these lines and even went so far as to test his musical theory and development with a real audience.

"I took a recording of my early tone poems to a local restaurant one night and asked them to play it during dinner. This was a place that normally plays pop music. The manager obliged and when my music came on, the place seemed to change completely. This popular neighborhood restaurant suddenly seemed more upscale and sophisticated. People talked more quietly, their body language was more fluid, their expressions more receptive. The clinking of wineglasses complemented the music instead of getting lost in the din. Even the waitresses came over to whisper that something was somehow different."

Encouraged by this response, Tim created "Forestdale: Tone Poems Inspired by Nature"

"My inspiration was a beautiful woodland called Forestdale", says Tim. "I wrote my tone poems for the album as a collection of little programme pieces inspired by the magnificent trees, the meadows and animals that live there. I wanted the music to reflect the mood and ambience of this peaceful and comforting place."

So what's next from Tim? Currently, he's working on a large symphonic project, the "Concerto for Virtual Harp and Orchestra". Like the "Symphonia Felina" and "Forestdale", it's a whole new approach in the neoclassical style, and it promises to be as beautiful and thrilling as Tim's other works.

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