Album Review — “Voices from the Ethereal Forest”

Unlocking the trails to heavenly beauties

Often I delightfully go on musical expeditions with awe-inspiring compositions. My recent pick was Meg Bowles’ album ‘Voices from the Ethereal Forest’, which has 7 songs and plays for around 57 minutes and 20 seconds. Before I review this album for you, I want to give a one-liner synopsis: “Inspired art is unbound and Bowles’ album sets you free to invent your passions in the world it lets you fancy for yourself.” So, I found this album an enchanting experience and I am sure you will find it the same way.

She has journeyed with her ambient orchestral soundscapes for around three decades. Her previous award-winning albums have won her a distinguished class of fan base. ‘Voices from the Ethereal Forest’ is her ninth and newest album that compiles a series of ambient-choral soundscapes of contemplative nature. According to her, the mystery and beauty of forests have inspired this work.

Can someone take you to an entrancing forest without making you travel there physically? I found the affirmative answer to this question in Bowles’ album. In this composition, layers of subtle vocal textures produce shimmering patterns that recreate forest scenes in sounds. The artist makes this work a tribute to nature’s beauty that reveals itself through forests. On a rainy day sitting inside my private chamber, listening to the tracks of this album was a real auditory treat for me of a spiritual kind. Now let us briefly journey with each of the songs.

1. Voices from the Ethereal Forest [8:16]

The title track creates the roadmap for the itinerary the composer envisions for her audience through this album. The notes and melodies unfold an entire forest in front of you and push you to a pensive mood. The ambience that the opus creates through its expertly woven sounds is highly enjoyable and has a strong visual connotation to it. You feel one with nature and get immersed in the bliss a scenic landscape can cause in you.  

2. Ode to a Fragile Sea [6:34]

The mighty sea is at the same time fragile too because it seamlessly breaks into waves that caress the land. However, this fragility only adds to its grandeur. An ocean’s playful waves are an invitation to seafarers. Further into the sea and deeper into its bosom, you only find stillness. The second song is a peaceful melody reflecting the graceful side of the sea. The deepening notes recreate the picture of an ocean stretching, far, wide, and deep. You feel the sea is in fact imagery of your boundless spirit.    

3. Grove of Light [8:54]

When silence breaks into a sound, it becomes the voice of wisdom. ‘Grove of Light‘ is an inspiring composition that opens up several layers of contemplative learning. The process through which the artist takes us is something to do with becoming. The gentle notes deepen our appreciation of nature and its spiritual element. The consciousness blossoms and encompasses the entire visible universe into its portals.  

4. Slow Dance Under a Red Moon [5:27]

The fourth title is a unique track in the album. Dance is the expression of the associated emotion. While the red moon is a rare phenomenon in nature, the kind of slow dance the artist envisions under the red moon is an attempt to appreciate nature’s beauty besides endeavoring to feel one with its grand scheme. The mood that permeates the song is of an inexplicable kind that we feel when we are close to someone we highly admire and adore.

5. Woodland of Sorrows [6:20]

Nature is an amalgamation of many things – joy and sorrow, birth and death, and expansion and compression. Some kinds of landscapes contain an element of sorrow in them. Bowles is a seasoned professional who can talk through music. She uses this piece to highlight the element of sorrow that is deeply ingrained in some segments of nature and reveals itself when the audience approaches it with a heart loaded with sadness.   

6. Winter Fog [9:50]

Winter is not without beauty. However, you need to develop that exclusive kind of orientation to discover and appreciate it. When fog covers everything making them invisible, it facilitates a deep slumber within that lasts through the season only to be awakened by the sun at the end of winter. So, there is an element of silence and stillness associated with winter fog. The sixth song not only dwells on the stillness of winter but also foresees the vibrant life at the end of the season.

7. Evening Chorus [11:57]

The concluding opus is also the crown of the album. As the seventh and final member in the compilation, it does the job of icing the cake. This one is also the longest track in this musical work. During the evening time, our minds are hearts are loaded with the memories we underwent throughout the day. An ‘Evening Chorus” with our near and dear ones can help unload the burdens of our minds and wipe them clean before we rest for the day. What this track achieves with the listener is something profound and long-lasting.

Take away

Meg Bowles’ music bridges the gaps between times, geographies, and people. It takes us closer to nature and lets us learn from the communion it facilitates with the creation of God. The artistic maturity of a seasoned professional who has long experience in using the power of music to transform human hearts is evident in this album. This is an album that needs to be preserved by music lovers to be listened to whenever they need some energy and inspiration.  

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