Guest
A beautiful and sublime release and sequel to the hit ‘Ascension’ which started Clifford’s career 25 years ago. The music has grace and is subtle and gentle – perfect for relaxation and healing. Superbly produced with shimmering sounds and themes that flow together effortlessly. “25 years after producing the original Ascension, composer Clifford White returns and rises to new heights with Ascension II. Using gossamer, grace and passion, White’s new music is weightless and incredibly soothing. I have to admit that I wondered if Clifford could top his tremendous effort from his previous album Gods of Olympus and not surprisingly, he has. Ascension II is more celestial and thought provoking. The music is scintillating with ethereal passages that invite one to drift along with the melodies. It also provides an atmosphere that promotes meditation and perhaps even stimulates healing. A Blessing starts the album with a music box melody of soothing sounds. There is a wonderful combination of keyboard and horn that spirals throughout the tune. The swirling music encompasses the listener like a diaphanous cloak of comfort. It is rather appropriate I think to open the recording with a blessing so that our musical journey will be a fruitful one. I liked Eternity above the rest. I liked the spatial movement of the piece. It was if I were a traveler, comfortable and satiated, witnessing the millions of layers or dimensions that only unexplored space could offer. There is a wondrous drifting quality to the song that sets the mind adrift in a starry sea of spiritual opulence.“ - RJ Lannan, Zone Music Reporter. Read the full review here: “Ascension ll – The Healing Touch has a reverent infusion into 9 classic songs, ushered in by A Blessing, where mid tempo bell tones unite in a gilded keyboard melody rising to embrace a peaceful interlude in mind calming ambiance. Orchestra stanzas enter a rich fullness in depth, giving a gentle swaying motion which readily personifies the aesthetic legacy of his insight into a genre promising peace and tranquility to all. Eternity denotes wonderful orchestration with flugelhorn articulating an offertory role in a gentle concerto. Chimes and keyboard form an abstract atmosphere with chorals that lightly crescendo into a proclamation of relaxed contentment, while Luna adheres to a steady rhythmic keyboard pattern as upper octaves support a light shimmer to an already glistening theme. Sanctuary gives retrospect imagery of the song Hallowed Ground from the first Ascension album, where songbirds begin verbal episodes of their creative entity, lightly recalling a past heritage. The new melody in Sanctuary now signals in peaceful orchestra illuminations where bells signal in light contrast to a calming melody while songbirds again give a final repose about the common ground shared in melodies during the past 25 years.“ - John Olsen, New Age Music World. Read the full review here: The Healing Touch is available for download from iTunes and Amazon and streaming via Spotify. It is also available on CD at: Hear more clips from The Healing Touch in the YouTube playlist:
