Three "name" artists in the new age/contemporary-instrumental genre have new albums on the record-store shelves. Enya's latest shoulders the popular mantle of her earlier best sellers; Suzanne Ciani retools a piano-oriented album recorded in Moscow; and David Lanz collects several of his own romantic piano favorites and adds a few new melodies.
ENYA; "The Memory of Trees" (Reprise). * * * 1/2
Enya, the enigmatic, internationally successful Irish mood-weaver, apparently subscribes to the "if it isn't broke . . ." school of album production: Her new "The Memory of Trees" is nothing if not reminiscent of "Watermark" and "Shepherd Moons," in structure as well as atmosphere.
Which means her faithful will be pleased as punch. While there's little that's really "new," those who enjoy her elegant songs are only too happy to have more of the same, as Enya doesn't seem inclined to saturate her market (though that doesn't mean a host of Enya-wanabees aren't trying).
For those in the dark, Enya, a vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, is a former member of the pop-traditional band Clannad who, with producer Nicky Ryan and lyricist Roma Ryan, went off to develop a polished modern sound of her own. Her soundtrack for the '80s British TV series "The Celts" hinted at the direction she would take, but 1988's breakthrough "Watermark" was her first masterpiece. Contrary to the intriguing bounce of the hit "Orinoco Flow," most of that album was a dreamily subdued updating of Celtic folk and calming instrumentals. Enya softly sang in Gaelic here, or English there, with a sample of Orff-like Latin chanting thrown in.
"Shepherd Moons" (with the single "Caribbean Blue") polished the format even more, and "The Memory of Trees" again follows suit.
There are three instrumentals this time, from the opening title number to the pretty but familiar "From Where I Am" and "Tea House Moon," which maybe isn't as Oriental-sounding as it should be. Most of the songs are sung in English, "Pax Deorum" being the Latin entry, "Athair Ar Deamh" the Gaelic, while "La Sonadora" offers a lovely Spanish twist. And in fact this time around Enya's voice is clearer, more up front and noticeably less subordinated overall to the music and mood.
Several tracks are, as usual, ineffably beautiful: the exquisite "China Roses," for example, which opens with a harpsichord, and the folk-ethereal "Once You Had Gold," essentially a little art song.
It all wraps up prettily as well, with the nostalgic "On My Way Home," during which you can almost envision a gentle angel glorying in "a moment from heaven."
Angelic, of course, being a good adjective for Enya's style. - R.B.
SUZANNE CIANI; "Dream Suite" (Seventh Wave). * * * *
Suzanne Ciani steps away from her broad instrumental sound and zeros in on her piano with "Dream Suite," which was recorded in Moscow.
Though "Dream Suite's" first pressing was released last year, the new edition features a tighter mastering and brings more dimension to Ciani's work. Romantics will adore the album, as will those just discovering this pianist. Longtime fans will soon adjust to the stripped-down arrangements, which feature the Young Russia Orchestra on every cut.
Streaming along a dreamland motif, the album opens with "Meeting Mozart," a fantasy of Ciani's since she first began writing music. From the flowing melodies of "Andalusian Dream" to the bouncy strings of "Lime Marmalade Reverie" to the Beethoven-inspired "Full Moon Sonata" and the tender "Time Stops" - which was written for Ciani's husband, entertainment attorney Joseph Anderson - Ciani's craft glides along the enchanting roads of harmony.
Visions of untouched meadows, the afterlife, childhood memories and magical, mythological beasts emerge during the galloping "Dream of the Pink Zebra," "Megan's Dream" and "Riding Heaven's Wave," Ciani's eulogy for surfboard champ John Scully, who was shot while protecting his wife from a gunman two years ago.
Other bits of magic include " 'Til Time and Times Are Done" and "Sogno Agitato."
"Dream Suite" is perfect for sitting back in a darkened living room while watching the pulsing lights of the stereo equalizer. It also makes great cuddling music as well as inspirational listening. - S.I.
DAVID LANZ; "Beloved" (Narada). * * * 1/2
As with "Return to the Heart" a few years back, contemporary pianist David Lanz's "Beloved" isn't a "greatest hits" collection but an anthology that mixes a batch of the old with a bit of the new, creating a thematic whole in the process. But where on "Return" he re-recorded several favorite tracks (in European halls and settings), this time around 10 of the 13 tracks are indeed old-familiar favorites, such as his popular "Cristofori's Dream," the orchestrated "Madre de la Tierra" from "The Narada Wilderness Collection" and his 9-minute variation on Pachelbel's Canon in D major.
The objective, Lanz observes in the liner notes, was to select and package his most "romantic" music. He takes the opportunity to write paragraphs about each song, reflecting "on just what qualities or elements I feel `romance' embodies." That can include the wonderful "Madrona," ("Why not a love song for a tree?") from "Woodlands," his album with Eric Tingstad and Nancy Rumbel, as well as more traditionally heartfelt fare, such as the light-jazzy "Summer's Child" and "Return to the Heart," written after a reunion between his wife Alicia and her daughter Pamela, who had been given up for adoption 21 years earlier.
At the first of the album are a new recording dedicated to his wife, "Beloved," a peaceful composition flavored with a thoughtful cello, and a new version of his decade-old "Leaves on the Seine." Lanz ends with another autumn-themed piece, "Before the Last Leaf Falls," which in his notes he relates to the long-lived elderly, who watch as friends and family pass away before them. - R.B.
RATINGS: four stars (* * * * ), excellent; three stars (* * * ), good; two stars (* * ), fair; one star (* ), poor, with 1/2 representing a higher, intermediate grade.