The Memory of Trees is the fourth studio album by Irish singer and composer Enya, released on 20 November 1995 by WEA. After travelling worldwide to promote her previous album Shepherd Moons (1991), and contributing to film soundtracks, Enya took a short break before she started writing and recording a new album in 1993 with her longtime recording partners, arranger and producer Nicky Ryan and his wife, lyricist Roma Ryan. The album is Enya's first to be recorded entirely in Ireland, and covers themes that include Irish and Druid mythology, the idea of one's home, journeys, religion, dreams, and love. Enya continues to display her sound of multi-tracked vocals with keyboards and elements of Celtic and new age music, though Enya does not consider her music to be in the latter genre. She sings in English, Irish, Latin, and Spanish.
The Memory of Trees received mostly positive reviews from music critics. It became a worldwide commercial success, reaching number five in the United Kingdom and number nine on the Billboard 200 in the United States. In 2000, it was certified multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling three million copies. Two tracks were released as singles: "Anywhere Is" in November 1995, which reached number seven in the United Kingdom, followed by "On My Way Home" in June 1996, which peaked at number 26. Enya supported the album with a promotional tour that included several interviews and televised performances. The Memory of Trees won Enya her second Grammy Award for Best New Age Album in 1997. It was remastered for a Japanese release with bonus tracks in 2009, and became available on vinyl in 2016.
Recording and production After travelling worldwide since late 1991 to promote her previous album Shepherd Moons (1991), and working for the soundtrack to the romantic adventure drama film Far and Away (1992), the 31-year-old Enya took a break from music that lasted for approximately one year. She spent most of the time with her family, trying "to unwind", and visiting different places around the world to provide further inspiration for her songwriting. She returned to work in 1993 when she felt it was the right time to start writing and recording a new studio album with her longtime recording partners, arranger and producer Nicky Ryan and his wife, lyricist Roma Ryan. Enya received further soundtrack offers during the recording of The Memory of Trees, but turned them down as she wished to concentrate solely on the album.
During Enya's break from music, the Ryans moved home from Artane, a northern suburb of Dublin, to Killiney, County Dublin, which involved the relocation of Aigle Studio, their home recording facility where Enya had recorded her previous three albums, Enya (1987), Watermark (1988), and Shepherd Moons. Prior to the move, Enya and Nicky would start to record in Artane but were required to finish albums in London as Aigle lacked the right equipment to do so, which Enya found difficult as working in the city was met with frequent distractions and high studio rental costs, compared to the "very intimate and personal" setting at home. Aigle was rebuilt as a separate building on the grounds and upgraded with new equipment designed and built according to their specifications, thus making The Memory of Trees Enya's first to be recorded entirely in Ireland. She described the two-storey studio: "It's very peaceful and quiet. Upstairs we have this long room with two big arc windows at either end with a piano looking out over the Wicklow Mountains".
Enya's pace and hours of working in the studio increased during the last eight months of recording, waking up at seven or eight in the morning and working until late in order to "give as much as I could" on the album. Enya later said she "gave 100 per cent" on it. When recording finished the album was mastered by Arun Chakraverty, who had also worked on the 1992 reissue of Enya, The Celts. Nicky was pleased to have the album complete due to the length of time it took to record. He reasoned this down to the three being "the worst enemies in deciding when a piece is finished ... listener fatigue sets in and we're unable to judge whether the work's ready."
The album's sleeve design was arranged to a layout by Sooky Choi who, like Chakraverty, had worked on The Celts. Its front is an adaptation of The Young King of the Black Isles, a painting by American artist Maxfield Parrish from 1906, itself based on the story of the same name from the collection of folktales, One Thousand and One Nights. Enya is depicted as the crying young king sitting on his throne in a costume designed by English fashion designer Elizabeth Emanuel. Live action footage of Enya in the costume and pose is used in the music video to "Anywhere Is".
Music and lyrics Enya is the sole composer of the music on The Memory of Trees and co-arranged them with Nicky. It is her first album not to feature guest musicians. In addition to the vocals, piano and an array of keyboards and synthesisers that defined her sound, Enya plays the violin, cello, and percussion instruments. Her method of songwriting had deviated little since the start of her career, which started by entering the studio and forgetting about past successes. Ideas are then put on tape as either a vocal or a piano melody. "Usually what happens is the first note, the second note, and it takes me on a journey and I just go along with it." When a collection of ideas have been recorded Enya presents them to Nicky, starting discussions on how to develop them further into songs. Roma will then work on a lyric if she feels the song would suit one.
As with her previous two albums, The Memory of Trees opens with a same-titled instrumental with wordless vocals. The track originated from Roma after she read about Irish mythology and the Celtic druids, who placed a great importance on trees and believed they were sacred and possessed wisdom. Enya maintained it does not mean an ecological statement, but more about what trees may think about humans. Roma suggested its title and Enya agreed, thinking the title was particularly strong and has a sense of ambiguity that allows the listener to conjure up their own images and ideas when they see and hear it. When the title was agreed upon, Enya proceeded to write the song around two weeks later, which was an unusual way of working as the melody had always come first, followed by its title and lyrics.
"Anywhere Is" developed from a staccato line that Enya described had a "march feel". Initially it was a track that she and Nicky wanted to reject for the album, but it was developed further after Rob Dickins, then chairman of Warner Music UK who had signed Enya, was invited to Ireland in August 1995 to listen to the album, roughly a year and a half into the recording process. Enya and the Ryans thought the songs needed further work but Dickens expressed his satisfaction, "Most tracks sounded absolutely superb. They were ready." For "Anywhere Is", for which only its backing tracks had been put down, Dickins sensed the song had the makings of a hit single and encouraged them to complete it; it was the final track to be worked on. Enya's melody for the song inspired Roma to write lyrics about, as Billboard magazine put it, "the search for the temporal heaven all cultures call 'home'", a subject that Enya felt was important as she only writes and rehearses her songs in Ireland. Dickins received a dedication on the album's sleeve in Irish.
"Pax Deorum" is Latin for "Peace of the Gods" and features Enya playing the cello and violin, instruments that she had not fully learnt but can play basic chords that to her sounded effective when Nicky layered them in the studio with her synthesisers. While working on the track in its early stages during the Christmas 1994 period, the song took a direction that Enya and Nicky were not happy with, so they left it for up to three months before they revisited it, readjusting its basic theme in the process. When Enya played the song to Roma, it was clear to them that the song suited a language other than English, and decided Latin, at Roma's suggestion, for its "classic feel".
Regarding the Irish language song "Athair Ar Neamh", which translates as "Father in Heaven" in English, Roma wrote "The voice of epiphany is found in 'Athair ar Neamh'. It is the voice of day, the voice of night, the voice of all, of understanding ... a peace which is unique to the individual, a peace that is felt rather than described".
"From Where I Am" is the album's second of three instrumental tracks on the album. The title of "China Roses" makes reference to the flower Rosa chinensis. Its lyrics refer to the plants Christmas holly and Angel's tears, the red-tailed comet, the Keys of Heaven, and the One Thousand and One Nights stories. Roma explained the song is based on the idea that "everyone has their own idea of heaven ... it is a different treasure we embrace". "Hope Has a Place" was developed lyrically at first, after Roma had visited the Silent Valley Reservoir in the Mourne Mountains in Ireland, and wrote its words based around one's first love for her daughter Ebony. Enya subsequently wrote a melody and visited the Silent Valley with Nicky, who suggested that she record the song's lead vocal on location.
"Tea-House Moon" is the album's third instrumental track.
"Once You Had Gold" was influenced by Enya's experience of singing hymns in her youth, and incorporated its structure and melody into the track.
"La Soñadora" is Spanish for "The Dreamer". Its lyrics were inspired by a poem recited by Amergin Glúingel, a Druid of the Milesian race, upon his arrival to Ireland from Spain. Enya has an ancestral connection to Spain through her mother's side of the family; both aspects inspired her to sing it in Spanish, at Roma's suggestion.
To Enya, "On My Way Home" is about "those wonderful memories and fond moments that you have when you're on your way home", and wished to present a positive feel in the chorus. The song contains samples from two other Enya songs, "Book of Days" and "Orinoco Flow".
The original Japanese edition contains "Oriel Window", a piano instrumental that was recorded around the time of Shepherd Moons, as a bonus track.
Release and commercial performance To promote the album, Warner Music organised a pre-release event in London for journalists and broadcasters on the Silver Barracuda, a pleasure boat that travelled from Charing Cross to Greenwich, where a reception was held at Queen's House complete with a fireworks display. The following day, Enya held a private conference for the press. A limited edition promotional box set was released, of which 1,001 copies were produced, which included the album on CD and cassette with a 14-page booklet containing notes and a foreword autographed by Roma Ryan and printed lyrics.