Mike Oldfield
Music of the Spheres

We live in a strange historical moment, even I struggle to find the connection in many actions that I undertake daily. It seems that our lives have completely lost meaning, that man is a frenzied top in search of the reason to keep spinning. Some people ponder the problem, in the form of aspiration they seek visions equal to their fantasies, and there are those who don’t concern themselves with the matter at all. Next one, life seems to say after knocking us down for the umpteenth time. Occasionally, however, something appears that can move us and give us a chance to glimpse fragments of ourselves. These crystals sometimes come in the form of music, and some authors manage to put our existences, the tragedy, and the joy, into the mouths of instruments. They can make what would seem mundane unique and unrepeatable, they manage to enhance our journey. They turn what might seem like a useless déjà-vu into magic, they add value to an existential routine. Our past identifies us, but sometimes it’s a burden, an unsustainable weight we have to reckon with. I wonder what we would be if we forgot what we’ve left behind. We would likely lose the depth of our becoming, the critical capacity that time grants us generously, the maturation of evaluation. It’s precisely the passing of the clock hands that makes us, moment by moment, more cultured and cryptic. Step by step, we grow, children nourished by our aspirations and dreams. However, there comes an instant where we become adults, a moment where the parabola reaches its peak, then the autumn will come. Like a curious child, I decided to listen to this album; for this time, I ask those who read to not consider the artist's history but to view the work with naivety. "Music of the Spheres": something capable of quenching my thirst for poetry.

An opus birthed by a composer, a man capable of manipulating multiple instruments, taming them to sing as his mind imagined, first played. The keystone is the profound imagination hidden behind every atmosphere, harmony, melody, or single note. A symphonic work, an orchestra at the service of an artisan, with enormous talent, though. A succession of airs with a classical aftertaste but that wink at the great film soundtracks. A series of instrumental protagonists in a creation, the human conception of sensations. All set in pure, pure gold. It starts with one of the main themes, the strings support the almost enchanting progression, then the guitar and wind instruments will find space, all to strike our imagination and fill the void of a cruel reality now barren of depth. The moment will come to hear a magnetic voice, Hayley Westenra will be concealed in the sobriety of the second theme of the work: On my heart. This will serve as a watershed, it will be the turn of a bolder part, with choirs embraced by violins and winds. A parenthesis full of joy and vivacity, which will take us back to the sweet melancholy of the gloomy Irish lands, from the starry African nights to the auroras surrounded by pristine snows. It is easy to give free rein to imagination inspired by these gems. The piano returns to mark the rhythm of existence, but it will soon give way to others, nothing ever lasts too long, especially fascinating things. Everything seems to find the right space. The journey is about to end and the numbness of the abduction is broken by the percussion, our attention must be directed one more moment to what awaits us in the end. Perhaps you still won’t know what to expect from the listening, despite the words read so far, but it is difficult to explain Music of the Spheres. It is an almost totally instrumental album, highly symphonic, with crystal-clear production.

The inspiration is classical music and the approach of cinematic soundtracks. It seems linked to the new age school and the more atmospheric progressive rock of the '70s. An “ensemble” work capable of serving as a soundtrack to a musical mind. The guitar and harmonies of Oldfield remind each of us that there is a road to explore, something already heard, but that can give brilliance, make even the darkest and deepest shadow shine. There is always something to discover in our lives, there is always a reason to search for within ourselves. Knowing our Self will help, what we need might be far away, but we will try to reach it all the same, because one day we will discover what makes us move, frenzied tops, one day we will know what the sound of universal music will be.