Gandalf - Eartheana (2023)

On the occasion of his 70th birthday, Gandalf presents an elaborately orchestrated 70-minute opus in which he surpasses himself, his Earth Symphony. Gandalf's work has often been inspired by the music of other cultures. This time he takes us on a journey around the planet. He dedicates a musical work to each continent, incorporating characteristic stylistic elements. As a recurring leitmotif, a manifoldly arranged earth theme connects the individual pieces into a large overall work. Gandalf sees music as a universal language that connects people all over the world without the need for translation. His listeners, spread over all continents, are proof of this. The artist worked on the production for almost two years in his Mali Raj studio in Krems an der Donau. Thus the Danube, which flows through large parts of our continent, also stands in the composition as a symbol for Europe.

There is probably no place on Earth completely without music, in fact the whole Universe "sounds". Eartheana is a musical journey around the globe, attempting to capture certain characteristics from each continent in a separate composition, interlaced with a guiding Earth Theme in different variations to a whole "Earth-Symphony".

All music composed, performed, orchestrated and produced by Gandalf
Recorded and mixed at the Mali Raj, Austria. All titles published by manuscript
Solo Violin and Viola on track 8 by Judith Steiner
Solo Cello on track 3, 8,10 & 14 by Merike Hilmar
Cover concept by Gandalf, graphic design by Nina Buehring-Uhle (NC FineDesign)
Earth-photos from the NASA archives, photo of Gandalf by Marianne Veverka-Strobl

With special thanks to Michael Mayr and Alfons Egger for initiating this project.

Tracklist
01. Gandalf - Eartheana Overture
02. Gandalf - North America - Somewhere in the West
03. Gandalf - Earth Theme I
04. Gandalf - Africa - Caravan Under a Desert Sky
05. Gandalf - Earth Theme II
06. Gandalf - Asia - Tracing Ancient Sacred Lines
07. Gandalf - Earth Theme III
08. Gandalf - Europe - Floating Along the Danube
09. Gandalf - Earth Theme IV
10. Gandalf - South America - Across the Andes
11. Gandalf - Earth Theme V
12. Gandalf - Australia - Dreamtime Traveller
13. Gandalf - Eartheana Reprise
14. Gandalf - Atlantis - Legend from a Lost Civilization I
15. Gandalf - Atlantis - Legend from a Lost Civilization II