Dreamflight is the first album of The Dreamflight Trilogy and was named a New Age Classic album by New Age Retailers Magazine. In Herb Ernst’s own words: The way in which music can so closely describe the various states of consciousness has always fascinated me. Just as thoughts are patterns of intelligence, so, too, is music the result of superimposing patterns of a higher intelligence onto the energy of sound. “Patterns of Intelligence” manifest on physical, mental, emotional, intuitive and spiritual levels. I feel that most contemporary music is designed to appeal to the physical and intellectual, rather than the spiritual, parts of our being. Consequently, this significant part of ourselves is neglected and unfulfilled. The Dreamflight Trilogy is the result of an endeavor that began as a desire to nourish the higher aspects of our nature through listening to music that intuitively uses tonal symbols to create a peaceful relaxation that remains even after the music is finished. I’ve written a commentary on The Dreamflight Trilogy that describes in more detail its overall scope and intention. The following is an excerpt that applies to Dreamflight: THE ARCHETYPAL SYMBOLISM OF DREAMFLIGHT Dreamflight begins with "Awakening Stars," for me an image of a peaceful twilight, the sun having set and the iridescent golds and blues filling the sky. At first only a few stars shyly show themselves, but then, as night falls, the sky becomes alive and vibrant with their twinkling light. The xylophone-like chime timbres suggest the clarity of starlight and are heard extensively throughout the piece. The flute, carrying the melody, to me represents the listener — or the "experiencer" of the twilight — who is about to begin the "flight" into the dream state — or, more appropriately, the "borderline state" between objective and subjective/subconscious awareness. The image shifts to a Grecian-like temple (symbolizing balance, nobility, wisdom and learning) majestically standing on an ocean shore with the last rays of sunlight turning the white marble a golden pink. Inside the temple are the Vestal Virgins, performing a sacred ritual: tending the Eternal Flame. They each light their single candle from the hearth in the center of the temple, and the temple is filled with a soft, gentle, warm, golden light. The music "Candlelighting" reflects this image in the female choir sounds reverberating in the columned halls. The scene now shifts to the outside of the temple, where the moon is bathing the ocean with its silver, shimmering light. The voices of the singing women in the temple can still be heard over the sound of ocean waves. Both are powerful, yet gentle, in their expression. This is the inspiration behind "Sea Quest." The sky is now filled with stars against a deep color of blue, almost black. The listener/experiencer is now free to fly into the night, beyond the confines of the Earth and into a space that could at once be far away or deep into the heart of one's Soul. The strings of "Liquid Indigo" are intended to resonate with the listener's "heartstrings" of the Soul! The listener/experiencer, after having made this contact, is renewed and returns to the Earth — or objective consciousness — with a simple, clarified sense of purpose and an awareness of inner nobility and divinity. In "Celestial Descent," the solo, delicate flute, followed by an increasingly strong accompaniment, symbolizes this return of the listener/experiencer with a restored sense of Oneness (i.e., the integration and balance of the physical, mental, emotional, psychic and spiritual facets of one's being). The title "Celestial Descent" comes from the idea that, through attunement, sincerity, love and perseverance, one can open oneself to higher (i.e., "celestial") inspiration that enters (i.e., "descends") into the otherwise mundane consciousness for greater awareness and peace of mind. "Celestial Ascent" is archetypal, in that its structure is simple yet powerful, its harmonies are natural and gentle, and its timbres are pure, clear, and complete in themselves, all of which enable the listener/experiencer to raise the consciousness (i.e., "ascent") into the higher, more noble (i.e., "celestial") realm of awareness. This is intended to provide an effective preparation or "positioning" for "Voyage into Silence" which immediately follows. THE ARCHETYPAL SYMBOLISM OF "VOYAGE INTO SILENCE" This piece of music was specifically composed and arranged to facilitate one's reaching an attunement with one's Higher Nature. By the use of tonal symbols, the music conveys certain feelings and suggestions, intended to increase one's sensitivity to the presence and influence of one's Inner Self. Since water is the symbol of consciousness and eternity, the sound of ocean surf begins the spiritual journey. Then a far away, choir-like sound is heard, based on the ancient chant “AUM, RA, MA, OOM” voiced on the notes F, A flat, G, and F. A flute melody, written in the key of F minor, arises over a slow, rising and falling resonant bass sound that suggests rhythmical breathing. A bell-like xylophone sound begins to echo the melody, with each echoed phrase occurring on a higher octave, suggesting a spiral of Ascension. A trill-like sequence of notes, symbolizing the vibrations that are the foundation of all mundane and arcane expression, forms the basis for the continuing journey. A single, fragile oboe begins a simple seven bar melody, which is then built upon twice by violins and then four times by a cathedral organ: a total of seven repetitions of the seven bar melody. Symbolizing strength and immutability, the powerful cathedral organ plays the chords of the ancient chant (F minor, A flat major, E flat major, F minor), based on the melody notes F, A flat, G and F, in turn based on the words AUM, RA, MA, OOM. Soon, though, the music mellows into a flowing, gentle sound. The celestial choir is now more pronounced; singing the notes of the chant, symbolizing the close presence of the Inner Self. Now, about twelve minutes into the music, the cadence changes. This change symbolizes a falling away of the physical awareness and an entering into a higher state of consciousness. The timing of the change is significant, as it divides the music into two basic time-length segments, approximately in the ratio of the Golden Section (i.e., 1.618 to 1.0). [For more information on the story of this profound mathematical principle known to the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Romans and Renaissance artists and architects, see The Divine Proportion by H. I. Huntley (Dover Books) or Secrets of the Great Pyramid by Peter Tompkin.] The choir now fades away and the cadence becomes slower and s-lo-w-e-r and s—l—o—w—e—r until time — the "Prima Materia" upon which all manifestation is based — comes to a halt. Music is used to manipulate TIME WAVES. Of great significance is the fact that the spiritual world knows no limitation of time — it is eternal. The fundamental difference between the world of the Outer Self and the world of the Inner Self is that the two are separated by the AWARENESS OF THE PASSAGE OF TIME. In other words, as the Outer Self loses the awareness of the passage of time, it is enabled to come into attunement with the Inner Self and the whole universe of NONTIME, NONSPACE and NONLIMITATION — the universe of the Inner/Higher Self. The music then fades into total silence — the ultimate meditation music. In silence, all sounds are possible. In mental and emotional peace, all awareness is possible. The goal of the music is to bring the listener/experiencer to this relaxed state of passivity and openness to inspiration arising from the Inner Self. The silence, then, is actually the crescendo of the music: not so much "silence" as it is a kind of "invisible music." Finally, a gradual arising of sound gently brings the listener/experiencer back to objective awareness. The music returns to a slow, regular cadence approximating that of a relaxed heartbeat. The melody, though, is no longer in the F minor key originally heard; now it has been transmuted into the relative key of A flat major (i.e., both F minor and A flat major share the same key signature — four flats). This transformation symbolizes the attainment of a profound sense of Inner Peace through the harmonious bridging of the opposite polarities of positive and negative. At the end, the sound of the ocean surf (i.e., worldly consciousness) returns, thereby finishing the journey, closing the circle and completing the cycle. I hope you have found the above commentary informative, interesting and enjoyable. Commentaries on Dreamflight II and Dreamflight III respectively are also included in the descriptions for those individual albums on the CD Baby website.