'The Memory Of Trees' Penetrates Your Candlelit Heart
Written: Mar 02 '00 (Updated Sep 29 '00)
Product Rating:
Pros: Everyone needs 'me time' and this album offers a healthy dose of the good stuff; Best to set the mood with candles and incense; It won the Grammy for "Best New Age Album" in 1997 (enough said).
Cons: For Pete's sake... you have *got* to be kidding. There are NO cons!
wildvirgogirl's Full Review: The Memory of Trees by Enya
Gentle Readers:
You must, at times, indulge in quietude to take care of 'the self'...
Put this album in the player. Press pause on the remote. Light a single candle (or more if you like), and spark a single stick of sandalwood incense...
Stretch out on your back on a comfortable surface. Unbend your legs. Gently tuck a fluffed pillow under your weary head...
Breathe. Relax. Delicately, press play.
Rest your aching hands upon your chest nearest your heart. Finally... close your eyes.
You are now ready to experience the Enya's The Memory Of Trees in the most solitary of places -- your soul.
And, you deserve this solace... you do love yourself, (even if you don't always show yourself that you do), and Enya will take you to where you need to go...
Rejuvenate your spirit.
ENYA: The Voice Of A Gaelic Willow
Born to and raised by Roman Catholic parents, Enya grew up speaking Gaelic or Gaeilge, specifically the style of the language closest to the Scotch Gaelic, not the Welsh.
She spent her childhood in Donegal and Gweedore, Ireland. It is quite uncommon, but small communities (such as these in Ireland) speak only this language. Therefore, it was somewhat expected of her family's group to incorporate their native tongue into their music...
Yes, Enya began her adult singing career with her family, Clannad in the early 1980s.
Working closely for two years with their producer, Nicky Ryan, however, Enya eventually came to the conclusion that she wanted to develop a style of her own.
Nicky pressed her about an idea -- using her voice as an instrument by layering it many times, a technique her family was not interested in doing with Clannad. In time, Enya made a break from them, musically, but still had/has close ties to them physically.
Lighting Three Symbolic Candles
In 1987, she struck out on her own as a New Age artist and released her first self-titled album, Enya. Nicky became her loyal producer and has been an integral part of her life ever since... and so has his wife, Roma. Enya's second, third and fourth albums, (Watermark (1988), Shepherd Moons (1991), and The Celts (1992) respectively), helped the three of them solidify their bond, spiritually and musically.
In fact, Enya will not create anything without Nicky and Roma. The albums Enya puts her name on are, in actuality, the collaborative efforts of this inspirational threesome. The essence of their bond is best heard on Enya's fifth album, which won the 1997 Grammy for Best New Age Album.
The Memory Of Trees
This eleven track album was recorded over the course of two years at Aigle Studio and finally released in 1995. All instruments and voices are by Enya, all lyrics are by Roma Ryan, and Nicky Ryan handled all the production aspects of the project.
Like her previous recordings, Enya's influences are apparent from the first note of the instrumental title track: traditional Irish music, Classical, and Roman Catholic church hymns. Additionally, her love of traveling, with the emotional experiences gained through it, has helped her develop melodies for her songs.
What makes this album stand out lyrically from Enya's previous albums is its use of four languages: English, Gaelic, Latin, and Spanish... all of which were Roma's idea.
Akin to the acclaimed artists of the Renaissance, Enya's work showers the listener in renewal, the cleansing of one's spirit bathed in her soothing voice.
Her love of the traditions -- of lighting candles and incense -- long practiced in the stone churches of her childhood in Ireland, set the tone for proper enjoyment of her music... and this should be the only source of illumination, the only scent to penetrate one's own breath.
The List Of Tracks Track 1 - The Memory Of Trees (4:18)
- (Enya - all instruments and voices) Trivia: It is an Irish tradition to care for one's environment. Details: initial use of Enya's voice as an instrument; reflects the atmosphere of a processional at a Holy Mass in a stone castle-like church (harking back to those of her childhood in Ireland); sets an ethereal tone which dances throughout the remainder of the album; features an angelic choir, rejoicing.
Track 2 - Anywhere Is (3:58)
- (Roma Ryan - lyrics/Enya - all instruments and voices) Trivia: This song is based on Irish mythology and is a tribute to the Druids, who viewed the trees as sacred and very important. Details: a friendly tempo with articulate accentuated beats combined with a softness of the vocals; a hopeful song that features humming to intimate one's meditative thoughts; tells the story of a journey and the turns one takes to find their way to the end of a maze of dreams.
Track 3 - Pax Deorum [Peace Of The Gods] (4:58)
- (Roma Ryan - lyrics/Enya - all instruments and voices) Trivia: Latin and Irish Gaelic lyrics; Roma felt that the Latin provided a better melody than the English translation. Enya agreed. Details: lyrically, a classic feel embodies this piece; begins with a synthesized thunder clap followed by pelting rain (again, one envisions the stone church in the green land of Enya's homeland); monastic chanting draws the listener further into the picture and you will be solidly transformed into the space with the low tone beat that accompanies the voices; an atmosphere of candlelight and burning incense is overwhelmingly present in this song; and it is easy to imagine a mother singing this softly as a lullaby to her dozing little one.
Omnem crede diem tibi diluxisse supremum.
Omnem crede diem tibi diluxisse supremum.
Translation by: Stefano Toria, William F. Hoffman, John K. Wardle, and Daniel Quinlan.
Father in Heaven, God bless us
Father in Heaven, God bless me
Believe that each day which breaks is your last.
Believe that each day which breaks is your last.
[NOTE: This Latin is taken directly from Horace's Epistles (Book I, Epistle IV, line 13). The 12th thru 14th lines read: Inter spem curamque, timores inter et iras
omnen crede diem tibi diluxisse supremem:
grata superveniet quae non sperabitur hora.
Translation: Amid the hope and worry, the fear and anger
believe that each day which breaks is your last:
the unhoped for hour will be a welcome surprise.]
Track 4 - Athair Ar Neamh [Father In Heaven] (3:39)
- (Roma Ryan - lyrics/Enya - all instruments and voices) Trivia: Latin and Irish Gaelic lyrics; Begins with the first two lines from Pax Deorum. Details: Use of the strong melodic voice as instrument again, but this time with an echoing quality; is as slow moving as a full moon gently coaxing the waters to the shore, leaving the foam of this haunting, yet warming, song upon the sand in one's visual memory.
Track 5 - From Where I Am (3:20)
- (Enya - piano) Trivia: None to offer. Details: the best demonstration of Enya's Classical influences; the piano tells a story all its own; a timbre of the riches found in the clarity of vision; a chance for the listener to imagine the artist's long elegant fingers gracefully caressing the keys, cascading over the heart of the instrument, and releasing its soul by touching the hammers to strings ever so softly. [I imagine my own mother playing this piece on her Baby Grand every time I hear it.]
Track 6 - China Roses (4:47)
- (Roma Ryan - lyrics/Enya - all instruments and voices) Trivia: Reference to the poet Sappho. Details: a slow, constant, waltz-like beat featuring the piano predominantly; one imagines 'the self' enshrouded in billowing, gauze-like garments (like our friend emlin says she dons on moonlit nights); a song about reveling in the joy of following one's dreams; the weary traveler finds paradise at long last. (See complete lyrics below.)
Track 7 - Hope Has A Place (4:44)
- (Roma Ryan - lyrics/Enya - all instruments and voices) Trivia: Demonstrative of Gaelic roots. Details: harks back to earlier works; offers this listener the imagery of a dove's aura flying free, soaring above the oceanic nature of this love song as the piece ebbs and flows with Enya's voice; tells the story of clutching hope and letting it lead the way rather than trying to force one's love upon another who is special.
Track 8 - Tea-House Moon (2:41)
- (Enya - all instruments and voices) Trivia: This piece is clearly representative of how Enya's travels affect her melodies. Details: Oriental influence in this cheerful instrumental work of art; features repetitive scales; easy-to-imagine a Japanese setting complete with kimono-attired, silently respectful ladies (with down-turned gazes) completing the flawless tradition of the tea ceremony; these fragile imaginary figures take tiny steps with each note and close the paper walls behind them as they exit at the close of the song.
Track 9 - Once You Had Gold (3:16)
- (Roma Ryan - lyrics/Enya - all instruments and voices) Trivia: None to offer. Details: a traditional choir echoes the central voice (all voices are Enya's layered over one another); again, the Mass being held within the stone church and all the Roman Catholic accoutrements come to mind.
Track 10 - La Soņadora [The Dreamer] (3:35)
- (Roma Ryan - lyrics/Enya - all instruments and voices) Trivia: As with Pax Deorum, Roma felt that the use of Spanish for this particular song provided a better melody than the English translation. Enya agreed. Details: a monastic setting with a soloist and choir heralds the warmth and romance of the Spanish culture's native tongue; a reverent and pensive feeling emanates from this hymn-like tune.
Yo; el otoņo
Yo; el vespero
He sido un eco
Seré una ola
Seré la luna
He sido todo, soy yo
Yo; el verano
Yo; el ébano
Soy la soņadora
Translation by: Stefano Toria
I; the autumn
I; the evening star
I have been an echo
I shall be a wave
I shall be the moon
I have been everything, I am myself
I; the summer
I; the ebony
I am the dreamer
Track 11 - On My Way Home (5:08)
- (Roma Ryan - lyrics/Enya - all instruments and voices) Trivia: Reminiscent of the popular single from Watermark called Orinoco Flow. Details: a church organ opens this piece fusing into a synthesized melody; an upbeat song with many voices rejoicing; the introduction is similar in its tone to the minimalist work of pianist, Phillip Glass; tells a story of walking silently in a fresh snowfall and reflecting on only the positives one has experienced in this life.
WVG's Favorite Track
I believe this entire album is best described as 'gloriously uplifting,' which is why I give it such high praise! It was very difficult to select a single song as my favorite to highlight for this review...
I would have to say, though, China Roses holds the deepest meaning for its delicate rendering of a mystical tempo imbued with the hope of discovering Heaven on Mother Earth.
China Roses
Enya - all instruments and voices/Roma Ryan - lyrics
Who can tell me if we have heaven,
who can say the way it should be;
Moonlight holly, the Sappho Comet,
Angel's tears below a tree.
You talk of the break of morning
as you view the new aurora,
Cloud in crimson, the key of heaven,
one love carved in acajou.
One told me of China Roses,
One a Thousand nights and one night,
Earth's last picture, the end of evening;
hue of indigo and blue.
A new moon leads me to
woods of dreams and I follow.
A new world waits for me;
my dream, my way.
I know that if I have heaven
there is nothing to desire.
Rain and river, a world of wonder
may be paradise to me.
I see the sun..
I see the stars..
Why Doesn't Enya Go On Tour?
Because of the time involved (with regard to the adaptations that would be required to reproduce the sounds which are so masterfully handled in the studio realm), Enya has not been able to arrange a tour. She makes appearances all over the world, however, to promote her album releases.
Ideally, were she to take the time away from the studio to plan such a tour, she has indicated she would want, "a full orchestra, a choir, the piano, and some modern sounds accompanying my voice."
Album Details Artist: Enya Title: The Memory Of Trees Year Of Release: 1995 Type Of Music: New Age (with Gaelic and Classical roots) Record Label: Warner Records UK Ltd. Sleeve Photography: inspired by Maxfield Parrish Price: $14 compact disc
Final Musings
As we all at one time or another long for solitude, which one can find when they visit sacred places, so is it that this album should be enveloping you when no one else is around to disturb the scene.
The songs are, as she reflects on the church, "very peaceful, very calm[ing], very therapeutic..." and I highly recommend this album for your listening pleasure.
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