Earth Anthem is an ongoing series of music and is above all an expression of  beauty.  Hurst  feels when the listener experiences these places through music, awareness is heightened.

In the words of Sufi Inayat Khan:   Music

". . . . And what appeals to us in being near to nature is nature's music, and nature's music is more perfect than that of art.  It gives us a sense of exaltation to be moving about in the woods, and to be looking at the green; to be standing near the running water, which has its rhythm, its tone and its harmony.  The swinging of the branches in the forest, the rising and falling of the waves, all has its music.  And once we contemplate and become one with nature our hearts open to its music."  

Once the awareness of nature is sparked, Hurst believes people will come to realize this:  If these magnificent places are taken for granted, neglected or lost, the music they make will also be lost.

The name Earth Anthem was coined immediately following the 1998 premier of the Sequoia Rhapsody symphony. "The pieces you create are anthems",  remarked a close friend after the performance.  "Yes, they are," said Hurst.  "Earth Anthems."

Hurst was fortunate to have a family who supported his love of music and enjoyed leisure time in nature.  Summers were spent  in the old-growth Sequoias along California's northern coast and camping in the State and National Parks throughout the Western United States.  These childhood experiences helped shape his sense of aesthetics as did his appreciation of cultural monuments of bygone eras and the American fascination with ethnic diversity.  All remain powerful forces in his music today. 

The music chronicles his impressions of supreme beauty.  The Earth Anthem series is Hurst's way of sharing excerpts from his journal of  "Magic Moments".  With music, Paul beckons the listener to join him on an adventure, and the moment one suspends disbelief, imagination and reality merge. 

Earth Anthem Series

Sequoia Rhapsody was written in memory and tribute to the late De Wayne Fulton, teacher, mentor and friend. 

With harp, piano and orchestra Paul Hurst fashions a tone poem with the sensations and grandeur of the ancient forest.  Sequoia Rhapsody is based on the interplay of two themes.  One came from Fulton who had shared a beautiful melody heard in a dream.  The other is the "bowing music" Hurst heard made by the Sequoias high in the forest canopy as branches were nudged by the wind.   

Movement 3:   The Ancient Giants is the theme De Wayne heard in his dream. 

Movement 5:  Song of the Sequoia . . .  solo cello . . . plays the exact notes of the "bowing music" as sung by the trees. 

Movement 6:  Twilight:  Harper in the Woods -  opens with a poignant solo harp improvisation played to the waning sun. (This solo was not part of the original score).

Terra Sancta (Sacred Earth) is that sacred place where our soul is nurtured and our spirits open to the Eternal. (P.H.H.)

Paul Hurst: "These solo improvisations I call "tone poems".  They are inspired by a place, a being, an experience through music.  As I begin to play, I have no pre-conception of what notes I will use.  I set my hands on the keyboard, let my fingers find the first notes.  Sometimes I hear in my head the next possibilities, other times I listen to the spontaneous music coming from my fingers.  The structure of the piece takes on its own balance as the images in my mind unfolds."

Half of this music is from recording sessions done in 1987, previously released on an album called October Light. Two of the improvisations October Light and Twilight are the original versions of the 1st and 6th movements of Sequoia Rhapsody.

The others were done in 1999 at the end of a 6 hour harp recording session.  Hurst recalls: "The sound engineer kindly allowed me to relax and rejuvenate by playing the piano.  Eight months passed when I found this forgotten music in a pile of recording masters."

This is a Special Edition of six of the ten movements of Sequoia Rhapsody.

This is EXCLUSIVELY ofered as an MP3 Album or individual Music Tracks.

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