The Call by Will Tuttle

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Based on an inner-journey motif, The Call celebrates the power of natural acoustic instrumental music to evoke deep feelings and a sense of wonder and adventure. As Magical Blend Magazine put it, "An expression of hope and joy, The Call inspired my thoughts and brought a tear to my eye."

With pieces played in all seven keys, Will's original poems, and art by Swiss visionary artist Madeleine, The Call is a multi-layered experience, created for all kinds of journeying. NAPRA Review Magazine wrote, "Will Tuttle's compositions for solo piano are simply beautiful. The Call will touch a place of purity inside you and give you moments of serenity, peace, and beauty."

According to Celebration Starsong Radio Show, "The Call is like an enchanting entreaty to come along on a journey where anything can happen. The album gives a beautifully lush, yet not sweet, feeling of joy."

The pieces on The Call (total time 62:26):

1. The Call (5:20) Like a majestic river rolling on, this piece sets the tone for the album: uplifting and evocative melodies artfully intertwine over lush harmonies that seem to physically open the heart.

2. Redwood Light (6:15) A new romantic rhapsody that begins delicately and gradually builds, weaving two exquisitely introspective melodic themes around a gently ascending counter-theme. The main melody was "given" to Will on a rainy evening walk through the towering Redwood trees below where he lived and recorded the album in northern California. Heartfully passionate.

3. EarthRise (2:10) This stately processional builds energy and power with thundering bass notes and deep resonant feeling. It serves as an introductory prelude to Indra's Fugue.

4. Indra's Fugue (4:40) This piece is a flight (fugue) that takes off and soars out into the open blue with a tightly woven complexity underlying its apparent simplicity. Based in the Mixolydian mode, it generates dynamic tension while leaping between four key signatures. Very danceable!

5. StaRsong (3:25) A haunting, hungering feeling pervades this gentle tone poem. Luxurious harmonies and a light stylistic touch accent the deeply peaceful melodic line.

6. The Kiss (4:45) A sense of tranquility that inspires a noticeable release and relaxation in breathing, and a bodily feeling of intimacy and warmth. The entire piece, when actually recorded, was played by Will during a long kiss with his wife and life-partner, Madeleine. Every note is full.

7. Lila (4:00) Bright and dazzling, glistening and playful, Lila bursts and spins the listener into another world of nature spirits, mythic creatures, and shimmering energy. Whirling melody lines dance, and the varying tempo and dynamic effects create a magical sense of wonder and delight.

8. Le Jardin (4:40) The inviting and earthy melody highlighting this piece was received by Will while he was playing a series of concerts in Ukraine in 1992. Le Jardin flows out of an inner vision of The Garden Of The Infinite Beloved, and the boundless compassion pervading all of creation.

9. The Angel (4:50) This complex composition interlaces four distinct melodies, shifting between major and minor moods, building tension between light and dark. It poignantly reflects the lines from its accompanying poem, "Caressing every inch of skin, Shaking every bone, every belief."

10. Spun Gold (4:50) Flowing smoothly between the keys of F and A-flat, Spun Gold paints a joyful picture; theme and counter-theme dance together like rivulets sparkling and eventually deepening dramatically, finally serenely joining the great river that circles the earth.

11. Benediction (4:50) From its stirring opening, this unusually beautiful waltzing piece spirals between major and minor modes, weaving many melodies into a palpable vision of transcendent benevolence. A heartening tour de force, sending out blessings.

12. From Silence (5:55) A gracefully evocative opening with a G-minor melody flowing between treble and bass, and then subtly shifting into the major mode, serene and bright. Unfolds its secrets over repeated listenings.

13. Earth Emerging (6:15) This final piece lifts the listener into a lovely syncopated waltz, dancing exuberantly into a horizon that then suddenly shifts and begins to build with rolling left-hand arpeggios. Faint echoes of the opening piece are heard, but now the final melody carries a cosmic feeling and with the final chords, a sense of endless creative expansion into the universe.

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