Man Who Planted Trees

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
THE MAN WHO PLANTED TREES is the story of Elzeard Bouffier, a man of great simplicity and determination. Bouffier, having lost his wife and son, retreats to a remote and desolate part of France. "It was his opinion that this land was dying for want of trees." So, alone with his dog and his sheep, he commences his life work - the steadfast planting of one hundred acorns each day - which will slowly turn the arid wasteland into a beautifully forested countryside.

Paul Winter and Earth Music Productions bring this powerful story to life with music especially composed and performed by members of the Consort. Narrated by Robert J. Lurtsema, long time host and executive producer of one of public radio's most popular and innovative music programs, WGBH's "Morning Pro Musica," this special recordings conveys Elzeard Bouffier's magnificent generosity of spirit in undertaking "a work worthy of God."

Man Who Planted Trees,Paul Winter,Living Music,New Age,New Age / Meditation,Pop,World Fusion

Tracks:

The Man Who Planted Trees (Paul Winter Consort)

Book Description

We have joined the Paul Winter Consort in the release of a CD version of the acclaimed audio of the story by Jean Giono. The original music was composed and is performed by the Paul Winter consort, and the text is narrated by Robert J. Lurtsema, host of “Morning Pro Musica.”
The hero of the story, Elzéard Bouffier, spent his life planting one hundred acorns a day in a desolate, barren section of Provence in the south of France. The result was a total transformation of the landscape-from one devoid of life, with miserable, contentious inhabitants, to one filled with the scent of flowers, the songs of birds, and fresh, flowing water.

Customer Reviews:

Mixed feelings about it.......2006-11-06

I had read this story prior to purchasing this CD, so I was very excited to see it come out in this form. I bought it specifically for a group meditation - and the narrative part of it was beautifully done, but I felt the music seemed very amateurish and took away much of the story's power and impact.

Could not get out of my car.......2005-05-09

After three days on family practice call with one complication after another, was driving home from mother's day gathering at sunset through rolling IN farm land. Heard this album on HO Space via satellite. Found myself slowing down car so would not get home so quick, still arriving in my garage too soon. Sat for 20 minutes listening to this peaceful story with tension draining from my body and dramatic windswept landscapes replacing the worries in my mind. Plan to buy this album and send it to my son who lives in Bellingham, WA. Hopefully a few good men planting trees there. A smile to you. Douglas E. Sawyer, MD
Warsaw, IN

truly inspiring.......2004-05-18

I first heard this moving narration and music on the radio, and found myself spellbound by the vivid vision it evoked. As an introspective observer of our human drama (an my own), I was deeply struck by the alegoric message of this beautiful creation: the innate "seed planter" in each one of us, and our inherent individual ability to patiently transform some desolation into a healthy, flourishing zone promoting harmony and the best life has to offer.
I suspect that people currently focused on the warp-speed outer world will be unimpressed by this masterpiece. Others who choose to explore their inner world and seek their own life's meaning and mission are apt to be profoundly moved and inspired. This is a marvelous gift for any of the latter people you care about!

In memory of Robert J. Lurtsema........2002-05-19

This is a simple, heartwarming and thoroughly uplifting story, narrated by Robert J. Lurtsema with incidental music provided by Paul Winter and his Consort. It tells of the overwhelmingly empowering effect that a single human being can have, through sheer dint of commitment.

The story, by Jean Giono, is simplicity itself. Over a period of three decades, Elzéard Bouffier, a Frenchman finding himself widowed and alone in a barren and desolate region of France, began to transform the area through the simple act of collecting and sorting acorns, and then planting one hundred of the most propitious-appearing acorns each day. It was a task of solitude and almost religious solemnity, taking place totally outside the view of others. Over time, Bouffier transformed the region, making it once again a hospitable place. Many years after the start of Bouffier's work, people - including foresters - marveled at what they "had missed," totally unaware that this was the life's work of a single human being.

Almost anyone could have narrated this simple tale of regeneration with effectiveness. That the task fell to Robert J. Lurtsema is pleasurable beyond measure to one who made it a habit, when he could, to listen to Lurtsema's PBS-syndicated program, "Morning Pro Musica." Robert J. was a polymath in the best sense of the term, able to talk with authority on a wide range of topics. And now, in retrospect, I cannot picture anyone else telling this story with equal effect.

A number of months back, shortly after Robert J.'s passing, my wife and I were nearing the end of a five-hour car journey, and I played this album for her, since she had not heard it before. She was moved by the simple beauty of the tale, and by Robert J.'s incomparable narrative skills. As matters would have it, the timing of this event was eerily perfect yet totally unplanned: Elsewhere, at precisely the same hour, a memorial celebration of Robert J. was in process. And his collaborator and long-time friend Paul Winter was there, sharing his reminiscences of this remarkable man.

Robert J., this review's for you.

Bob Zeidler

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