RICHARD THEISEN, Whispers of Selene

Jumping at the chance to review keyboardist/composer Richard Theisen’s 2024 Wayfarer Records debut Oceanova, I was at first captivated by his evolution from Grammy winning pop songwriter (for synth-pop duo The System’s Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack tune “Rock ‘N Roll Me Again”) to popular pianist, singer and entertainer, TV and film library composer and finally, bona fide visionary new age ambient artist. What captivated me next was his David Arkenstone-like ability to create a musical-literary world where his elegant, vibrant and often sweeping music aligned perfectly with his compositions to create what I called “a fascinating and wildly imaginative visual and aural journey.”

On the surface, Theisen’s third Wayfarer Music album (and fourth label project overall, the intriguingly titled Whispers of Selene takes a very different approach from Oceanova in that it’s inspired by a singular persona from ancient mythology – Selene, Greek Goddess of the Moon – rather than a contemporary fictional short story imagined by the composer. Yet there are thematic similarities. Oceanova is about the earthbound and spiritual adventures of a mythical Greek poet and lyre master named Arion and his interactions with an angel of light named Sterope.

On the new album, the angel/goddess figure of Selene takes center stage as a muse and inspiration for some of the most compelling melodies, dynamic sonic textures and spiritual flights of fancy of Theisen’s career as an artist, which dates back to his independently released 2019 debut Mayan Stars. Also noteworthy is the fact that Whispers of Selene caps a year in which the prolific composer also released the EP A Breathtaking Collection of Romantic Melodies (the only possible title for such a work) and the full-length album Shambhala.

While certainly fans of Theisen and transcendent new/age ambient music can enjoy the relaxing, soul-soothing and spiritually transportive experience of the journey of Whispers of Selene without knowing the goddess’ history, it’s worth Googling to find out some interesting facts which help us understand what drove Theisen’s creative flow in honor of her. The name “Selene” is derived from the Greek noun selas, meaning “light, brightness, gleam.” The daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia and sister of the sun god Helios and dawn goddess Eos, she drives her moon chariot across the heavens. While she, goddess of the hunt Artemis and goddess of magic spells Hecate are known as moon and lunar goddesses, only Selene is regarded as the personification of the Moon itself.  

“The title Whispers of Selene came to me as a vision,” Theisen says, “a quiet invocation of the moon goddess Selene, who drifts across the night sky, illuminating Earth with her serene light. For me, Selene is more than a mythological figure, she’s a presence, the embodiment of calm, mystery and timeless beauty. The ‘whispers’ are the musical echoes of her glow -  subtle, reflective and eternal. The album feels like her breath moving through the stars. It’s meditative, luminous and deeply emotional, as though you’re hearing the moon sing. My vision was to capture that delicate balance between shadow, stillness and motion, dream and wakefulness. It’s less of a narrative and more of spiritual reflection – a soundscape of moonlit dreams.”

Theisen’s beautiful conceptual words come to glorious musical life over the course of his nine gracefully caressing and emotionally enrapturing tracks, with each created to represent a different phase of Selene’s cycle: emergence, radiance, longing and renewal. Using a blend of layered synthesizers, ambient textures, grand piano, ethereal vocal pads and subtle orchestral elements (soft strings, choral tones, winds), he allows the pieces to unfold, as he says, “like movements of light through the heart” to create a deeply resonant celestial meditation.

By design, they breathe and evolve organically, much like the phases of the moon. As he says, “Each track reflects a different emotional tone of moonlight — from shimmering awe to tranquil surrender.” Unlike many ambient new age albums where there may be melodic/harmonic differences but the instrumentation and production is pretty much indistinguishable from track to track, Theisen’s approach makes each piece a unique, full-bodied aural experience all its own.   

Drawing “First Breath,” Theisen invites us into Selene’s dreamlike realm with a lilting, atmospheric piece centered on a softly sparkling, sweetly hypnotic harp melody surrounded by whimsical harmonic horn and flute textures. Though he’s creating those harp sounds via synth, this piece is as majestic as any I’ve heard from renowned harp players in the genre. The next piece “Avalon” feels more playful and high-spirited, opening with a colorful, swirling synth motif and the adventurous longings of an electronically generated oboe, followed by the lush sound of chamber strings. As the tune builds in intensity, it feels like Theisen is taking us on a journey to a mystical “Avalon” where we can perhaps encounter Selene. Or perhaps it’s her journey there.

Centered on the infectious, high strings of a mandolin sound and organic Native flute harmonies, the seductive, ultimately symphonic title track stands out from the others as the only one featuring outside instrumentation – the masterful, subtly pulsating bass of Sean O’Bryan Smith, a veteran genre recording artist who is also President of Wayfarer Music Group. From there, having piqued our curiosity and enveloped us in his enthralling sonic realm, Theisen leaves it up to our intuition and imagination to figure out which compositions and titles reflect the four aforementioned aspects of Selene’s cycle. And it’s just possible that some of the pieces capture more than one.

Fans of pure ambience music will gravitate to the mystical, mystery-laden “Light of the Ancients,” whose organic flute melody floats over spacey atmospheres of varying intensities. The track allows our thoughts to rise higher and seek guiding truths beyond our physical realm. The sensual dance between acoustic guitar and violin on “Blood Moon,” later wrapped in a soundscape of strings, transports us to an incredible element in Selene’s mythology in which ancient beliefs linked the red color to powerful but dangerous magic performed by witches who were thought to draw down the moon goddess during a lunar eclipse. It is said that witches supposedly drew on her power, with some legends claiming they even used her blood for potent spells, causing the moon to appear red.

As exciting as it is to hear Theisen engage us with the many instrumental sounds at his disposal, at the core of everything he is a masterful classically trained pianist, and it’s wonderful to hear the full grandeur of his classically inspired grand piano playing on the haunting shadows of “Silver Tears,” which he begins as a solo ivory piece before slowly incorporating horn and string textures and orchestral atmospheres. Listeners will have the same rapturous response to Whispers of Selene’s closing track, where his meditational melodic piano eloquence serves as the foundation for his passionate, equally creative synth violin expressions and ultimately a motif atop a swelling symphonic rush.

Whispers of Selene’s other tracks include “The Inner Flame,” an easy swaying adventure lit by the charming intertwining of acoustic guitar, breathy flute and free-floating strings; and “Eternal Dawn,” a moody meditation which deep dives into the concept of constant awakening (perhaps mixing emergence and renewal after long periods of longing) via plucky harp, slow-drifting flute and ever-present magical ambience.

“My most recent albums Oceanova and Shambhala were transcendent, reaching for spiritual clarity,” Theisen says. “Whispers of Selene gathers all of those elements and floats above them. It’s the calm of enlightenment combined. It feels like a return to silence through music, the point where all my previous works meet in a kind of luminous stillness. I loved the solitude of the experience of creating Selene. There’s something deeply healing about translating light into tone, emotion into space. What I hope listeners feel is peace — that calm you get when staring at the moonlit sky. I want the album to be a sanctuary, a reminder that beauty still whispers, ever so softly, if we’re willing to listen.”