The Life Connection • December 2009

The melding of ancient myth, sacred love, and eternal truth in a single musical album…ahh, yes, David Wahler’s debut recording captured my attention. A rich tapestry of piano interwoven with a wealth of strings and light touches of percussion, this album offers a landscape at once spare and luxurious, spanning alpha and omega and the love that unites them.

The title track opens with an air of mystery, an echo of dreamy, elegant melody floating in on the rise and fall of soft piano chords. The feeling is spacious and sacred, as though of a temple at the top of a mountain in ancient Athens. A gentle wind carries us into “Delphi Dream,” with the bright sound of harps swirling against a low and pleasant drone over light, tip-tap percussion. The third track, “Kyoto Mist,” uplifts us into a cool, serene daydream with piano, a variety of plucked instruments, and sparkling bells and chimes. I think this one is my favorite.

The romantic and intriguing “Apollo’s Lyre” begins with soft plucked harp that opens into solo flute and violin against a background of soft chorals. The initial chords of “Teresa” are dark and ominous, but before long they flow into tinkling chimes and the developing melody begins to sing of light. “Night Sky of Orion” is tranquil and floaty, waves of piano overlaid on a faintly melodic background; like a dark and starry sky, it goes on and on…carrying us to “Hyacinthus,” reflective of Apollo’s aching sadness at losing his young lover.

“Lune Mysterieuse” moves lifts us into a gentle chill rhythm with lots of synthesizer atmosphere and bell tones. A distant bell tones, and we are into “Angelis,” a quiet piece featuring classic new age keyboard effects: strummed guitar answered by haunting chorals, patterned after the Missa de Angelis (Mass of the Angels). And finally, we come to the closing “Ancient Dawn,” with its soft and gentle entry suggesting fingers of sunlight stretching over the planet, awakening all earth life.

In the artist’s own words, “ANTIQUUS is my musical exploration of our common heritage…. Using classical compositions and lush orchestrations, I strive to unveil the answers to questions men and women have asked since antiquity. I hope that listeners will use ANTIQUUS as a compass in their own journey toward truth and wholeness.”

Now, that’s a big order. I don’t know about being a compass, but I can say that this is a very listenable album, not one I will soon tire of. A lovely Christmas present for someone who enjoys relaxing music that awakens the spirit and doesn’t put the body to sleep.

—Chiwah