Lotus Dreams is the latest album from award-winning musician Christel Veraart.
The lotus is a universal symbol of tranquility and renewal, its exquisite flower opening, petal by perfect petal, as it rises out of the muddy waters of its origins. In this album, Christel Veraart explores that theme through both eastern and western musical influences.
A meditative journey to the here and now, Liquid Zen ebbs and flows. A spacious melody in bamboo flute builds slowly then gives way to a web of soothing, velvety tones. The ultimate in space music, this track moves you into a different dimension.
Lotus Dreams echoes the soaring harmonies of Veraart’s imagination. The erhu — a bowed, two-stringed Chinese fiddle — sings its soulful song throughout. Alternating between tender, sonorous, and stirring, this composition takes us to a place of calm and tranquility — a place where we might dream of lotus flowers.
Jalak Bali evokes one of the rarest birds in the world, the Bali starling. Again a mix of east and west instruments is used: piccolos sing their voices, and the tune of bamboo flutes call out their plight.
Silk Road is a composition partly inspired by Yo-Yo Ma, and the richness that comes from exchange of ideas and cultures. “In today’s world I find comfort in Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road ensemble. Veraart’s own Silk Road recalls the ancient network of trade routes, a centuries old model for cultural exchange between the East and West. A unique musical language was born of difference.“
Nepalese prayer flags flutter in Windhorses, sending their devotions to the sky. Their whipping in the wind reminded Veraart of sailing ships, of traveling. The track features her own otherworldly voice, accompanied by an ancient double-reed woodwind instrument.
In Bamboo Mist, Veraart explores a fusion of influences, a mix of instruments from around the globe reflect her state of mind. Chinese erhu, dizi and zither are introduced to the Armenian duduk, Spanish guitar, castanets, and Western strings.
Wolf Totem is at the other end of the scale. Inspired by Jiang Rong’s novel about the dying culture of the Mongols and the parallel extinction of the sacred Mongolian wolf. Veraart’s music evokes shaman drums and chanting, perhaps voicing a plea for guidance from the animal spirit of the wolf.
In Rimba Kuna (old jungle), Veraart uses Indonesian gamelan to give voice to the Sumatran rainforest which is home to some of the world’s rarest animals and plants. The gamelan is an instrument with a sound and rhythm all of its own.
Elegy for a Cherry Tree is a very special composition to Veraart, composed and performed at the time of a friend’s death. Her own very beautiful voice carries us through grief to the beauty of new life.
