Four Seasons
of
Western Washington
With the Music
of DAVID MICHAEL & RANDY MEAD
Four Seasons of Western Washington ... An hour-long impressionistic sight and sound excursion, exploring both the grandeur and subtle beauty of Western Washington. Shot in High Definition Video, the magnificence of towering peaks and rugged shorelines is balanced by the delicate and intimate scenes of wildlife, lush forests, rivers and meadows. The creation of the custom soundtrack is captured on camera as well, with occasional shots of the performance blended in with the scenery and natural sounds, demonstrating the deep connection between music and nature.
I remember well the first real conversation I had with videographer Brian Noblet. He was listening to one of my impromptu Celtic harp concerts aboard a Washington State ferry and afterwards asked me where I got the inspiration for the compositions. I quickly replied that much of it came from the natural beauty of the region. I've spent much of my life wandering through the mountains and along the shorelines of Western Washington and many of my pieces have been born after these jaunts. Brian became instantly animated and told me that his creative work as a videographer centered around capturing the images of Western Washington and that my music made for the perfect accompaniment and was I up for a collaboration? "Absolutely! When do we start," I asked him?
Randy Mead, my primary music partner for about 35 years, with a recording studio in a cedar forest, is also a seeker of beauty. He and I have supplied custom music for dancers and videographers for decades. Working well with visual cues, we love the challenge. When I told Randy that we had an opportunity to create a soundtrack for a film that not only artistically displayed regional, natural wonders, but would include shots of our performance as well, he instantly agreed.
There's a whole lot of music here which will be new to our fans. In addition to composing and recording original music, images of our hands playing harps, pianos, winds, hammer dulcimer, viola da gamba etc. are actually blended in with the scenery. Guitarist Joe Breskin played on several numbers. Getting to mix the soundtrack in 6 channel, Dolby surround sound was really fun!
