For Irish cellist and composer Clíodhna Ní Aodáin, the quiet presence of trees has long offered a source of comfort, creativity and inspiration.
That connection has now blossomed into “For The Love Of Trees”, an intimate collection of compositions shaped by moments of stillness, deep listening and time spent in nature.
For many years, Ní Aodáin has felt a powerful bond with the natural world, especially with trees and the calm strength they seem to carry. Taking her cello into forests across Ireland, Switzerland and the United States, she began creating music through spontaneous encounters with individual trees.
Sitting beneath them, listening, singing and allowing each moment to guide her, Ní Aodáin developed a deeply personal body of work rooted in reflection, imagination and place.
The result is “For The Love Of Trees”, a seven-piece collection that invites listeners to slow down and experience music as a form of connection. Each composition is inspired by a different tree, including Linden, Rowan, Redwood and the Fairie Tree, with every piece capturing its own atmosphere, character and emotional landscape.
The album’s focus track, “Linden Tree”, reflects the calm strength and gentle presence associated with the tree that inspired it. Built around cello, voice, piano and subtle field recordings, the piece creates a spacious and meditative soundscape that feels both grounded and uplifting.
Recorded on the cello of Grammy Award-winning musician David Darling in Boulder, Colorado, with Grammy Award-winning producer Mickey Houlihan, the project brings together classical musicianship, natural sound and atmospheric textures to create a deeply immersive listening experience.
Known for blending Celtic tradition, intuitive expression and contemporary healing music, Ní Aodáin approaches the cello as more than an instrument. For her, it becomes a way of helping people reconnect with themselves, with imagination and with the living world around them.
“For The Love Of Trees” is more than an album about nature. It is an invitation to pause, listen more deeply and rediscover the relationship between music, memory and the earth.
At a time when many people are seeking moments of calm and reconnection, Ní Aodáin’s work offers a gentle reminder that some of the most powerful melodies can be found by simply taking the time to listen.
