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 Various Artists
Planet
Chant
(Triloka)
Long before recorded music, before even the most primitive
instruments, man created music using only his voice.
Chanting is the world's oldest and most spiritual form
of music, and nearly universal in all cultures. On Planet
Chant, Triloka Records brings together some of the
world's most acclaimed voices in many of the world's
diverse singing traditions, from South Africa's Ladysmith
Black Mambazo to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan to the Angelite
(The Bulgarian Voices).
The label's new chant series is an outgrowth of the life
work of Krishna Das. The "Chant Master of American Yoga" has taken
it as his personal goal to break down the wall between traditional
Eastern spiritual chanting and Western popular music. He succeeds
beautifully with an album that is both deeply spiritual and totally
appealing to contemporary Western ears. Listeners will most likely
be familiar with at least a few of the artists on this album, whose
cuts are, as might be expected, excellent. It is the lesser-known
artists, however, who really make this CD interesting.
"Fervent Supplication," composed by Sergei Rachmaninov and
performed by the Russian State Symphony, is as majestically
beautiful as it is haunting. It captures the a cappella
singing of the Russian Orthodox Church during the 11th
century. Byzantine-inspired chants were revived in the
late-19th century and reinterpreted by contemporary
composers.
"Offering Chant" by Tibetan Lama Gyurme and keyboardist
Jean-Philippe Rykiel is a radiant meeting of east and west. It
represents an offering of spirit to the Buddha and to all awakened
beings. "Polarum Regina" was rescued from the 14th-century
manuscript Llibre Vermell De Montserrat. This so-called "Red
Book" contains 10 musical works, historically sung as devotional
pieces to the Virgin Mary. Here, the piece is performed by Saraband,
gifted interpreters of early music.
Although the musical traditions on this CD are disparate,
they share a common spiritual goal creating a peaceful, rich, and
reverent mood.
Adrienne E. Gusoff
CDNOW Contributing Writer
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