Ragani - The Best of Both Worlds

CD Review: Ragani: The Best of Both Worlds (2003)

This is a very nice CD of kirtan chanting accompanied by various instruments. The recording quality is nice, Ragani’s lead voice is very nice, and the accompanying instrumentation is rich and nicely varied. There are six selections of about 14 min each on avg so quite a bit more than an hour of music. Accompaniment includes tablas, finger cymbals, tambour or sitar, guitar, bass, and some nice flute as well. There is a nice chant to Ganesh and one to Shiva, another to Rama and one to Sita and Rama and another nice one to the Great Mother Goddess – Om Mata, Om Mata, Om Sri Mata Jagate Mata. Kirtan, is typically call and response chanting and the response chanters on this CD sound quite good as well. The CD is from the Himalayan Institute Folk – students of the late Swami Rama. This is the type of music one often hears in a yoga class. I like some of the melodies mixed with some minor chording that gives a lovely affect and accents her nice voice. There is enough variation in the melodies and additional chants and speed changes to keep things interesting. I was lucky to find this CD used at a booth at the Universal Light Expo in Columbus for a mere five bucks. Her website is below:

http://www.raganiworld.com/

Horslips - Book of Invasions - A Celtic Symphony

CD Review – Horslips – Book of Invasions (2007 reissue)


I got a newly issued CD of Horslips – Book of Invasions. Horslips was an  Irish rock band whose heyday was the mid to late 70’s. The new CD is digitally remastered and sounds great. It is called Book of Invasions- A Celtic Symphony. I used to have this on a recorded cassette as a young teen in the 70’s. There are some catchy riffs and melodies and some good hard rockin too and bits and pieces of tradition tunes like Brian Boru’s theme and Toss the Feathers. The CD is loosely based on the Book of Invasions – a 12th century compilation of legends regarding the settling of Ireland where the Fomorians then the Tuatha de Dannan and finally the Sons of Mil or Milesians or Gaels won the island. Here is a quote from the sleeve:


“In the old Ireland there were three principal categories of song, called geantrai, goltrai, and suantrai – the joyous strain, the lamenting strain, and the sleep strain. When Lug was proving himself expert in every art before the Tuatha hierarchy his musical contribution was an immaculate performance of the three strains. Later, after the Second Battle of Moytura, Lug and the Dagda (The Good God) pursue the Formorians who have stolen The Mighty One’s harp. When the instrument is located the Dagda bids it come to him. As it flies to his hands it kills those enemies standing in its path. Then he plays the three strains and when the opposing host are sleeping, from the magic of the suantrai, he departs safely, taking his harp with him.”


There is also about a half hour of added live versions and even an extra tune beyond the original. Several traditional instrumentals are intermingled with the tunes. This is great stuff and I have been cranking it up in the car. Sure occasionally the lyrics get a little cheesy but hey its 70’s progressive rock. Check this out: “Into the flash of the lightning, star riders are hurled. See them bumping and grinding, bareback on the wheels of the world. I can see the dawn a coming, or is that the flash of a spear? .....” Also very good is their CD called the Tain – another Celtic themed fantasy rock epic about the hero Cuchulain.

Music of the Ancient Sumerians, Egyptians, and Greeks

CD Review: Music of the Ancient Sumerians, Egyptians, and Greeks (new expanded edition) by Ensemble De Organographia (Pandourion Records 2006 – orig. 1999)




This is a truly wonderful CD where authentic musical fragments (some with recently deciphered notation) are played with instruments built by the performers to be exact replicas of those found in museums. Some of the music is a little slow and boring perhaps but most of it is quite good and very listenable. Some is even inspiring and nicely intricate. The Hurrian Hymns come from recent archaeological discoveries of musical documents from Iraq and Syria in the last several decades. Most of those are from around 1225 BCE with one as old as 1950 BCE. One has chanted vocals and is very nice. The Greek Music is very good and one song has a flute trill that reminds me of spiraling particles – amazing! A song of excerpts relating to Eros and Aphrodite is very good, Another is as inspiring as any rock anthem. There is a Greek piece with bagpipes that really rocks and the soud of the double reed pipes is awesome. The use of the sistrum – a metal shaking instrument of Egyptian origin is played on both Greek and Egyptian pieces and sounds fantastic. One of my favorite pieces on the CD is the Theban Banquet Scene from 14th century BC Egypt – a very inspiring tune.


Ensemble De Organographia is Gayle Stuwe Neuman on strings, voice, percussion and Philip Neuman on winds, strings, percussion, and voice. No other musicians are mentioned. Instruments used are lyres, aulos (double reed pipes), a bagpipe known from at least the first century BC, barrel drum, terra cotta and bronze bells, wooden clappers, conch shell, droning double reed pipes, echeia (earthenware bowls), frame drum, clay goblet drum, harp, hourglass drum, kithara lyre, wooden clappers, Greek cymbals, Egyptian long-necked lute, Egyptian beads, sistrum, panpipe tubes called a syrinx monokalamos, three-holed vertical flute, other lutes, drums, two-holed whistle, and a metal trumpet patterned after a silver one found in the tomb of King Tut.


Apparently some of the Sumero-Babylonian musical notation had to be interpreted to some extent. Only 4 of the pieces on the whole CD are thought to be complete. Others are fragments. One piece from 1950 BCE Ugarit is thought to be the oldest surviving musical notation. It is a Hymn to the King Lipit-Istar, King of Justice, Wisdom, and Learning.


Really this is awesome music – as good as any ethnic, folk, or new age music out nowadays. I look forward to hearing more of this ensemble and discovering more ancient music – whether real found songs or composed music played with traditional period instruments. The best word to describe this music is - exquisite. Other words that come to mind are - relaxing - and -pleasant -.