Anaya (Tania Mara Botelho) has fulfilled a lifelong dream of playing alongside a live symphony orchestra with the creation of her new album, Eternity. Anaya is a very prolific composer and musician who has had an extremely varied life, but I have to admit that this is the first of her many recordings that I’ve heard. The seven-track album features a virtual collaboration and real-time recording in cyberspace between Anaya Music in her native Brazil, a live symphony in Prague, and Steve Salani at Orchestra.net Studios in Los Angeles. Anaya and Salani composed and arranged five of the seven pieces (Anaya composed the remaining two) and recorded them with the symphony to create a “harmonious, uplifting passage into the soul of music, playing the symphony of the universe.” To further quote Anaya, “The essence of Love is Eternity. Love transcends time….Music becomes a gateway to the realization and integration of our deepest feelings of love, grief, fear, joy, and peace.” The music itself is warm and inviting, soothing the soul and relaxing the spirit. More ambient than melodic, it works beautifully in both the background and the foreground.

Eternity begins with “Dharma,” a serene piece performed by the full orchestra, but led by violin and cello. Visual and cinematic, it’s a composition that would be excellent in a soundtrack. “New Skies” opens with the sound of running water (possibly a stream or waterfall) and ethereal orchestral sounds that create images of a peaceful, shimmering landscape where everything is fresh and green. “Cosmos” is also very cinematic, expressing universal themes of love, peace and unity. “For Love” has a very relaxed tempo and envelops the listener in warmth and healing tenderness. “Love’s River” begins as a keyboard solo before the orchestra joins in, keeping the keyboard in the forefront of most of the piece. Tranquil and untroubled, it’s something of a lullaby for adults. “Gaia” includes the soothing sound of birds singing in perhaps the most ambient of the tracks. Feelings of open space and quiet beauty along with gentle breezes and warm sunshine massage away the cares of the day. “Once In Time” brings the album to a peaceful close, leaving the listener feeling refreshed and renewed.

Eternity was a very ambitious project that has succeeded well in expressing the timelessness and universal qualities of love. It is available from Amazon, iTunes, and CD Baby.