On the Road to Release
Come with me on a musical journey…
I want to share something with you today that has me very excited and brings together two things I enjoy a great deal – music and our favorite hiking spot. OK, three. The Hub is involved here and I enjoy him a great deal, too.
The Hub – or Dave as he’s known in real life – is about to release his seventh CD titled Hawk Mountain Triptych. Click on the player below to give you some background music for our little trip and then we’ll be off…
As many of you already know, especially if you read my post over at Pat DiCesare’s blog last week, I love music. It has always been an important part of my life. Conveniently, my Husband is a musician. He not only shares my love of music, but has also introduced me to many more aspects of it than I already knew.
Through my Husband’s love of hiking, I have also grown to love spending time at a beautiful wildlife sanctuary not far from our home. Hawk Mountain Sanctuary is a wild bird and raptor sanctuary situated alongside a portion of the The Appalacian Trail. The sanctuary also boasts a protected native plant habitat garden, hiking trails of varying degrees, and spectacular views of the autumn North American hawk migration and the surrounding landscape. I often use photos of our time spent there in my posts, including the artwork on my blog header.
Dave’s newest CD is a thematic collection of tone poems inspired by the locations at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary. I could talk about the album for a long time, but let me give you a quick overview because we’re looking for your help with part of it.
The album is a musical triptych – a three-part work. Largely found in visual art, literary and musical triptychs are also common. The three parts of this triptych focus on particular views from lookouts at the sanctuary, the trails themselves, and the views from the summit.
The album’s tracks are all mostly reflective to one piece Dave composed in the early 2000’s (and re-worked in early 2015). He took motifs and aspects of that original piece and expanded it into what has become the triptych album. Some of the references to the original piece are direct, some are much more loose, but they all tie back to the same place. You can listen to that piece here.
So what does all of this have to do with you?
Well, Dave is just about ready to release the new album – the digital release is slated for March 16th (physical CD release TBD). He has recorded two versions of one of the tunes, but is undecided about which version he wants to include on the album. There are points he likes about both versions and he’s looking for feedback from objective listeners about which one they prefer and why, if you want to elaborate.
You don’t have to be a musical expert to contribute here – just be willing to listen and offer an opinion. I’ve included both versions below. Aside from the improvisations, the tracks are the same tune, but in the first version he plays the tenor sax and in the second he plays the soprano sax.
Tenor version – South Lookout
Soprano version – South Lookout
We’d love to hear your feedback! Use the comments section, please. And thanks for taking the time to listen and share your thoughts.
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To learn more about Dave and his music, find him here:
Artist website: www.dlistwa.com
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/dlistwa
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/davelistwamusic
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I love the first piece on this post…still listening. Sign us up for a CD!!
OOh, I love the first one, too. But keep listening!
Digital orders will be ready on or shortly after the 16th at http://www.cdbaby.com/davelistwa7. Or, you can get to it straight from his website, http://www.dlistwa.com. Those are digital orders. If you want a physical CD (I still love those…can’t lie), stay tuned and we’ll let you know when they will be available.
Thanks for listening – can’t wait to hear what you think about the rest of the tracks!
Thanks!!
We’ll definitely let you know when the physical ones are ready. I’m finishing up the print work, and I’ll be sending the master out for duplication soon.
In the meantime, digital downloads are scheduled to go up on the 16th, accessible at the links Lisa provided.
Glad you enjoy the tunes!!
Dave’s music is wonderful. I love the flow of it. How amazing that it is related to the feeling of nature that you see and feel in the actual sanctuary. Did I mention I am in total awe?
He is remarkably talented, Val. I am also in awe, even after all these years. This album is particularly amazing.
Thanks Val!
The vistas definitely helped with the writing & playing. It’s a different process for me when I’m coming at a piece with that kind of portrait already in mind as opposed to writing an abstract that is free to develop on its own. It was a neat challenge, and one that I enjoyed taking on, so I’m thrilled that you’ve enjoyed it!
Yay, Dave! The tenor is my preference. I always gravitate towards lower pitches, that’s why. But I love the nature inspiration of all of it. You know I love Appalachia.
Yay, thanks for listening and sharing your preference.
Thanks Sarah!
The feedback is appreciated. It’s interesting to see the opinions and preferences come to light, and the comments are very helpful so far. I’m a low-pitch fan myself…when I was teaching in Philly, I had access to a wonderful baritone sax that I would take with me occasionally to a weekly gig I had going; it’s still my favorite of all the horns I’ve played.
Oh wow, how wonderfully soothing your Hub’s music is! I actually very much enjoyed all three tracks here, but the final Soprano version of South Lookout is my preliminary favorite. I also love your photos of the nature sanctuary and I totally want to go there. I’ve liked Dave’s Facebook page so I can keep up with him!
Awesome, Jen! If you like the tracks there, I also posted the link to the entire album – pop over and listen to the whole thing. He’ll be glad for the feedback, I know. Thanks for liking his page – I’ve been after him to use it more so maybe he will!
Most of those photos or maybe all are my Husband’s from trips he’s taken without me and Zilla. He does much more ambitious hikes with a buddy of his than our family hikes. If you come to the sanctuary you MUST connect with us for a visit!!!
Thanks very much Jen!
I appreciate the feedback. The piece was written with the soprano in mind, so it’s definitely a natural feel.
The sanctuary is worth the trip (even a very long trip!). There are a few trails, but you can easily cover about 10 or so miles if you hike all of them…but due to some inconveniently placed inclines, it’s best to not try ALL of the trails in one go. 🙂 The vistas are particularly spectacular, and the scenic spots at the summit and along the north ridge are particularly nice.
I’m listening to the first track now. It has a relaxing, jazzy kind of feel, very cool. It has a nice flow to it. I’m glad that you mentioned that it’s based on Hawk Mountain Sanctuary. I’m not familiar with that location much, but I imagine it’s outdoorsy which I get out of the music. I’m not usually that good at picking that stuff out, but I can get a feel that there’s a nature feel to it.
By the way, I didn’t know music could be a triptych. I thought that was just visual arts. Hmm, I learned something new today.
Hi, Steve! I had a feeling you might enjoy this – it definitely has the feel of the outdoors to it. Having been there with my Husband, seen these places, it absolutely feels like being there. Check out their website – it’s a great place. Beautiful.
I didn’t know that about music and triptych either. Learned that new myself, thanks to the Hub!
I think I prefer the soprano. It’s softer and more relaxing. Seems to fit the song better.