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"Yamantaka"
Yamantaka
is the Tibetan god of the dead, and this album evokes a dark and
strange world. On this CD, Tibetan Bell musicians Henry Wolff
and Nancy Hennings are joined by Grateful Dead percussionist Mickey
Hart and producer Brian Keane.
Track
List:
1.
Revolving Mask Of Yamantaka
2. Yamantaka
3. Towards The Bending Of The Light
4. Solar Winds
5. Field Of Souls
Release
Date: November 12, 1991
Label: Celestial Harmonies
Reviews:
Amazon.com:
"A uniquely expressive journey to the roots of percussion...
The artists: Mickey Hart, best known for his work with The Grateful
Dead, has collected and performed on many unusual percussion instruments
found throughout the world. He has put both traditional and little-known
instruments to new and unexpected uses in his own compositions.
At the same time, he has worked diligently to preserve the wisdom
of ancient musical cultures through his recordings of indigenous
artists. His research into the ritualistic roots of percussion
is chronicled in his 1990 book, 'Drumming at the Edge of Magic'.
In 1969, Henry Wolff and Nancy Hennings traveled to India and
Nepal where they studied with the Kagyu branch of Tibetan Buddhism
and discovered the transcendent music of the Tibetan bells. In
1972, they became the first Western artists to make use of the
then unknown Asian instruments in a twentieth century Western
idiom. The resulting album, Tibetan Bells, led to a succession
of recordings featuring these instruments, including the 'Tibetan
Bells II' and 'Tibetan Bells III', as
well as the 1991 release, 'The Bells
Of Sh'ang Sh'ung'. The project: In 1982, The Grateful Dead
drummer, Mickey Hart, teamed up with Tibetan bell virtuosos, Henry
Wolff and Nancy Hennings, to create a uniquely expressive journey
to the mystical roots of percussion. Critically acclaimed for
its subtle, yet masterful percussion soundscapes, 'Yamantaka'
is available on both cassette and compact disk. Yamantaka is the
Tibetan god of the dead and lord of the underworld. Hart, Wolff,
and Hennings have succeeded in portraying these Tibetan legends
of afterlife through a quietly evolving collage of sound. The
six-part suite Yamantaka is at once somber, mysterious and meditative.
'The Revolving Mask of Yamantaka' raises the level of intensity
through whirling rhythmic gyrations, spectral harmonics and the
cyclical resonations of the Tibetan bells. Celestial Harmonies'
remastered version of 'Yamantaka' also features three bonus tracks
composed especially for this CD reissue. Recorded digitally in
July of 1991, Towards the Bending of the Light, Solar Winds, and
Field of Souls were performed by Wolff and Hennings with special
guest Brian Keane. The resulting collection of sounds offers a
stirring portrait of death and judgment."
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