CD: LLEWELLYN - Dawn Chorus

By Brett Almond View Profile
Well, you can see the dedication of the little songthrush giving it some welly on the cover of the CD! He and his friends bring us a CD that in some ways takes time to appreciate. The birdsong is lovely, but it is not until you have been listening to it for a while that you realise that it does have some sort of unconscious effect as it begins to relax you.

The second half has the keyboards and guitar occasionally joining in and this does create a whole new atmosphere. A CD probably best listened to with the eyes closed to best transport yourself to the beautiful place where the recording must have taken place.

By Cate Gardner View Profile
I've always loved the sound of birdsong and nothing beats a wild flower meadow with the sound of a sky lark overhead, or the evening song the blackbird sings to the dying sun. To those of us who dwell in cities though, it’s more often the sound of sparrows coughing amidst the early morning traffic fumes we are likely to catch, if anything.

Not so with this remarkable CD from Llewellyn, where 'track 1' is a dawn chorus, completely devoid of any manmade noise whatsoever. This track is so beautiful that I have it programmed as my 'alarm' in the morning. It is wonderful to awaken to the sound of birdsong and extremely uplifting on dark mornings or when one is feeling depressed. I would suggest that if you use it as I do however, you back it up with some strident electronic device, after a few minutes as you may well be lulled back into a slumber filled with dreams of woodland glades.

Track two combines the 'Midday Melody' of blackbirds, jackdaws, thrushes and the cuckoo with guitars and keyboards and I've found this to be a very useful background track for meditations.