Paint the Forest Winter

Zola Van (Performer)

Product Details

• Performer: Zola Van
• Audio CD (December 1, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Really Big Shoes
• ASIN: B00005S80B
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #211,426 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  Music > Indie Music > New Age > Piano

Track Listings

1. Snow Dance at Sand Cave

2. Chamnesstown School Trail at Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge

3. Winter's Kiss at Rim Rock Trail

4. Gathering at Teal Pond

5. Wintertide at Miller's Grove

6. The Snow Day

7. Paint the Forest Winter

8. Trail of Tears: Kyrie at Brownfield

9. Burden Falls

10. At Rendleman's Grave: Giant City State Park

11. Promise of Spring at Bald Knob

12. Vivaldi's Winter: Largo from Concerto in F minor

Editorial Reviews

Ken Seeber, Flipside, Southern Illinoisan December 13, 2001

Zola using her considerable talents paints a portrait of the Shawnee Forest. Perfect follow-up to her astonishlingly successful first album.

Product Description

Visit the website at zolavan.com Zola's music has been described by reviewers as lush, compelling, evocative and absolutely gorgeous. "On Paint the Forest Winter she captures specific moods that are conjured by the forest's sleepy winter months, as well as some of the history associated with some of the more remote areas." Ken Seeber, Flipside, Southern Illinoisan, December 13, 2001. Van says in her CD insert of Paint the Forest Winter, "Were I a painter the moolit woods would sparkle under a deep blanket of fresly fallen snow, and my canvas would express the beauty and solitude of the winterscape before me. The strokes of my brush would paint for you the openness and scarcity, the sleep and rest, the death and promise of renewal. For this 'painter' the brush is my pen and my canvas a blank manuscript paper. Each stroke recreates these sights in a soundscape of motives and rhythms as at my piano I paint the forest winter."

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New Age Voice Magazine - NAV, Jan 2003 - Peter Manzi, Editor, January 31, 2003

By	PM (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

If you're antsy to get outdoors but can't due to the winter's weather, the next best thing may be to listen to Zola Van's second effort Paint the Forest Winter. Her 12 impressionist pieces were inspired by hikes through the Shawnee National Forest in Illinois, and most are some of the more melodic, romantic and visual piano efforts you'll hear this year from a piano solo release. An excellent and representative piece is "Winter's Kiss at Rim Rock Trail" (see track 6 on this month's sampler) will make you feel the sting of winter's cold.

The highlight of the CD is "Rendleman's Grave," inspired by the lonely grave that sits in a corner of a children's cemetery--the boy just a day shy of his 13th birthday.

For the piano solo lover, this release has it all: strong compositions with beautiful melodies, a deep well of interesting harmonies, and fine chops at the keys. The CD also contains fantastic liner notes, with explanations from each stop of the hiking journey and several photographs.

Paint the Forest Winter is a fabulous stroll through winter's timeless moments and open forests. -- Peter Manzi, Editor

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, Original, Unique, January 24, 2003

By A Customer

I am very impressed with Paint the Forest Winter. To find a CD that has such a range of styles and emotions these days is rare. The music takes me from a snowball fight to the tragic story of the Cherokee and lots of interesting places in between. The liner notes and pictures are great. I like the purity of the piano all alone, with none of the streamed-in sound effects that render a monotony to so many other CD's in this genre. The original compositions exhibit complexity and variety, holding my interest, pleasing my ear, and stimulating my thoughts and feelings. I've really loved the "journey" this artist has taken me on!

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tranquility, December 23, 2003

By	Jerry Fry (Freeman, MO USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Zola Van's piano solos have so much depth that she virtually touches your soul with the feeling that gave her the inspiration to play these beautiful, melodic tunes.
Imagine being bundled up and warm, trekking through a quiet, peaceful forest in the heart of winter. Ice topped branches sparkling in the sun. Fluffy white snow with deer and rabbit tracks intertwined. Her music can take you there.
I can picture her inspiration to transform the feelings and experience from being alone for hours, sightseeing as she made her way through the deep forest.
But it's best to experience it for yourself. "At Rendleman's Grave", "The Snow Day" and "Paint the Forest Winter" are three of the best songs here but all are beautiful.