Christmas inspires projects by Two-Hawks
(Amy Talbert will be the pianist for a Christmas concert on
Sat. Dec. 3 - 7PM at
Sat. Dec. 3 - 7PM at
The Auditorium in Eureka Springs.)
The article below was published in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Grammy Award-nominated American Indian flute player John Two-Hawks gathered several Arkansas musicians to his studio near Eureka Springs to record Heaven and Nature Sing to benefit the Benton County School of the Arts Youth Choir.
Bonnerdale musician and vineyard operator Tomas J. Cantrell worked with a computer software program featuring an orchestra from Austria to create Sounds of the Season, Volume 1, a traditional instrumental Christmas recording.
Two-Hawks, whose heritage is Lakota Sioux, says he hopes that his music “will travel the world and, hopefully, somewhere, some way it can speak to someone’s heart and we can learn to live in harmony with each other and all creatures on the planet.” For Cantrell, it’s about “old connections.”
“Wine and vines are my connections to the past, it’s an activity that makes you feel connected to the earth and everything around you. You learn that the cycle of the seasons is your master and that music is the higher end of the human spirit.”
Two-Hawks, who moved to the Eureka Springs area 11 years ago, has recorded 21 albums, including 2010’s Windsongs, which was nominated for a Grammy Award for best Native American album. His wife, Peggy, handles the business side of his career.
Two-Hawks, whose heritage is Lakota Sioux, says he hopes that his music “will travel the world and, hopefully, somewhere, some way it can speak to someone’s heart and we can learn to live in harmony with each other and all creatures on the planet.” For Cantrell, it’s about “old connections.”
“Wine and vines are my connections to the past, it’s an activity that makes you feel connected to the earth and everything around you. You learn that the cycle of the seasons is your master and that music is the higher end of the human spirit.”
Two-Hawks, who moved to the Eureka Springs area 11 years ago, has recorded 21 albums, including 2010’s Windsongs, which was nominated for a Grammy Award for best Native American album. His wife, Peggy, handles the business side of his career.
“I had always intended to record a second Christmas album, there’s so much wonderful music,” Two-Hawks says. “This time, I wanted to work with some of the amazing talent in this area and have it benefit the Benton County School of the Arts Youth Choir to help them purchase risers and uniforms.”
Along with the choir, Two-Hawks brought in pianist Amy Talbert, violinist Emily Bartell and hammered dulcimer player Jim Fyhrie. “Amy is an improvisational piano master,” Two-Hawks says. “She does on piano what I do with the flute. All her parts on the album are first takes.”
He is especially pleased with how “The First Noel” turned out. “I wanted to move the song from a minor key arrangement into this place of reflection,” he says. “She nailed the concept.”
Perhaps the album’s biggest surprise is that Two-Hawks’ flute isn’t the focal point. “I did not want this to be a Native American flute album, I wanted it to be a Christmas album. I play a lot of instruments. I love the flute; it’s very soulful. But on this album, I wanted to use it as a sort of secret weapon. When it comes in, it’s exciting to hear it.”
Two-Hawks also sings on several of the 12 tunes, all of which were recorded this past summer. “I’m really proud of ‘Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring.’ It was wonderful to sing on that. My voice was my first instrument and I had a lot of encouragement from my parents, who were also musical.”
To get into the Christmas spirit while recording, Two-Hawks says he “brought a pine-scented candle into the studio, lit it and tricked myself into thinking it wasn’t 100 degrees outside, that it was Christmas.” No such trickery will be needed Saturday to get into the Christmas spirit. He and several musicians from the Christmas recording will perform in concert at The Auditorium in Eureka Springs. “We’re going to pull out all the stops,” he says. “When people come into the auditorium, I’m hoping they’ll feel like they’ve just stepped through my front door.”
Two-Hawks has been playing flute for more than two decades and is one of the instrument’s best and best known players. The flute’s power continues to enthrall him. “For me, the flute calls to something deep in the soul; it comes from a place that’s pure and ancient. It seems to call something inside all of us that wants to reconnect with the purity and truth in those ancient places. All of us can find ourselves surrounded by what’s not real. The flute, without speaking a word, takes us back to that place where we know what’s real and what’s not.”
Cantrell took a rather circuitous route to rural Hot Spring County. He was born in France, where his father, who played sousaphone in the U.S. Army Band, was stationed. He studied music composition at the University of Texas, was a government affairs officer for a cable TV firm and played bass in a country show band. Cantrell also has roots in Arkansas.
“My great-grandfather was from Ozan in Hempstead County. When my dad retired, he and his brother bought 80 acres in Bonnerdale in 1970.” After the deaths of his parents, Cantrell leased the farm out for a few years. He and his wife, Karen, started spending more time in Bonnerdale in 2001 and made the move permanent several months ago.
The land is planted with some 500 cynthiana grape vines. Cantrell sells cuttings from the native Arkansas vines on his website. “I hope we’ll have a commercial winery some day, I’ve got my eye on a property in Garland County,” he says. Hot Spring County is dry.
His desire to make a Christmas album was motivated by not hearing music on the radio that he liked.
“It’s light pop, easy listening music,” he says of his album. “It’s got pop tunes, traditional folk tunes and some classical overtones.” Some music sites have compared it to Mantovani or Ferrante and Teicher.
Like Two-Hawks, Cantrell recorded his album in the summer at his home, which was also being remodeled. “It hit 112 degrees the day I was working on ‘Jingle Bells,’” he says, laughing. The album is all instrumental by design. “I thought people might sing along with the music, that it might engage them in the spirit of the holiday and with their family.” The album is available only at online music sites.
But where did he get the name for his music label, vineyard and website - Waving Fish. “A few years ago our pond was really low and I saw this enormous fish swimming, about half of his body was out of the water. It rolled over on the side and the dorsal fin waved at me.”
“It’s light pop, easy listening music,” he says of his album. “It’s got pop tunes, traditional folk tunes and some classical overtones.” Some music sites have compared it to Mantovani or Ferrante and Teicher.
Like Two-Hawks, Cantrell recorded his album in the summer at his home, which was also being remodeled. “It hit 112 degrees the day I was working on ‘Jingle Bells,’” he says, laughing. The album is all instrumental by design. “I thought people might sing along with the music, that it might engage them in the spirit of the holiday and with their family.” The album is available only at online music sites.
But where did he get the name for his music label, vineyard and website - Waving Fish. “A few years ago our pond was really low and I saw this enormous fish swimming, about half of his body was out of the water. It rolled over on the side and the dorsal fin waved at me.”
No comments:
Post a Comment