Customer Reviews

Watching For Rain

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4 star:		(1)
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Watching for Rain is a simple, elegant and graceful musical celebration. Every song has a different meaning and different message: from reflection, to joyful celebration, dancing and shared gifts. To listen to this record is to be invited in to sit down by a warm fire among friends and family and be grateful for what makes life special. An absolutely terrific record that I recommend most highly.

Purchased as a means of adding background music to a slideshow, Anne Trenning provides enjoyable and relaxing sound, this is listenable as just beautiful music.

I heard one track on this album and decided it was one which I wanted to own. My first from this artist and place her in the same category as Mary Martin Stockdale. Anne Trenning has a smooth style which I enjoy.

This artist is very good - pleasant piano. I really enjoy listening to it when driving. It is a calming combination of quality music. Definitely not "elevator music". It could be played for any occasion. Give it a try!

Watching for Rain is the third recorded music album by instrumental pianist Anne Trenning, featuring ten original songs plus five rearranged versions of beloved traditional songs. An abiding respect for tradition flows through her work, hearkening back to her treasured first memories of learning to play. A warm and inspirational album, highly recommended to invigorate the spirit. The tracks are The Ash Grove (2:54), Silent Night II (3:04), Eden Hall (4:04), A Prayer for the World (3:35), The Welcome Song (3:32), You and Me (5:15), Days of Pie (3:36), Carolina Moon (2:36), And I'll Fly Away (4:19), I Want To Be Ready (2:31), H.I.A.T.W. (3:41), Real Love (3:19), When You Say Nothing At All (3:26), Dancing With You (3:28), and Benediction (0:37).

ANNE TRENNING
Watching For Rain
Shadetree Records

Anne Trenning is an instrumentalist (acoustic grand piano) and composer/arranger whose previous album, All One World, went to #4 on the international NAR airplay charts for this type of instrumental music. Now she is back with a new recording, Watching for Rain.

In her melodic playing you will hear a variety of influences including classical, folk, pop, new age, Celtic and gospel. It stands to reason because when she was growing up her father paid her a dollar for every tune she learned to play out of the family church hymnal. Her piano is backed by violin and cello as well as a few other instruments.

She called her album Watching for Rain because she believes the world is about to receive a cleansing transformation on its way to becoming a better place.

"The Ash Grove" (traditional) and "Carolina Moon" (original), both with violin also predominant, sound like Olde English minuets (the dance with lots of bowing and toe-pointing). "Eden Hall," a reworking of an original composition from her first album, has a Celtic undercurrent. She does a half-minute quickie interpretation of Dylan's "I Shall Be released" to end the album. Anne can take the lead melody role and let her fingers fly, or settle into some deep, majestic chording. Her playing is very self-assurred. Most of the music is soft and gentle, especially "Silent Night II" and "And I'll Fly Away."

This is an enjoyable recording with strong melodies, good piano playing and interesting arrangements bringing in other acoustic instruments.

"Watching For Rain" is pianist/composer Anne Trenning's third release to date. Using rain as a metaphor for hope and anticipation, Trenning has created an album of fifteen pieces that reflect an air of positive change, joy, and renewal. This is just the kind of music we need to get through these troubled times and to keep our collective spirits up. Don't get me wrong - this is not sugar-coated fluff music by any means. It is a thoughtful and at times prayerful expression of "keeping the faith" and hanging on for better times. Trenning has eclectic musical tastes and a variety of influences are heard in the music, including classical, traditional, Celtic, and gospel. Most of the pieces are original compositions, but several mix in phrases from familiar songs and hymns and then evolve into something else, rendering them new yet familiar. Some of the pieces are piano solo, but most are accompanied by acoustic instruments: strings, woodwinds, bass, guitar, and percussion; a few also contain keyboards. I called Trenning's previous release, "All One World," "a breath of fresh air," and extend that sentiment to "Watching For Rain" as well.

All of the music on this CD is exceptional, but I'll tell you about some favorites. It begins with the Welsh folk song "The Ash Grove." Piano and strings set the soothing yet stirring tone of the album. "Silent Night II" is gorgeous with piano, strings, and woodwinds. Trenning has ingeniously mixed in short phrases from the beloved Christmas hymn, ending with "sleep in heavenly peace." "Eden Hall" would be wonderful in a soundtrack about rural America. The dancing, carefree mood is infectious and brings visions of the backwoods and a simpler, more innocent way of life. "A Prayer For the World" is a quiet and contemplative trio for piano, violin, and cello - a favorite. "The Welcome Song" feels like a warm, musical hug - enveloping and safe. "You and Me" is a poignant piece that tenderly overflows with love and joy. "Carolina Moon" is pure fun with a gentle Southern spirit. "I Want To Be Ready" is a traditional spiritual that contains phrases from several familiar hymns, and Trenning presents it as a soulful gospel piano solo. "Real Love" is another piano solo, this time a gentle, evocative love song. "Dancing With You" returns to a gospel style, this time for full ensemble - piano, organ, drums, and guitar - I love this stuff! The CD closes with a 38-second "Benediction" based on Bob Dylan's "I Shall Be Released."

"Watching For Rain" is a beautiful CD from start to finish and I very highly recommend it.