The Essential Guide to Meditition
New Age | 3CD, Covers | 490 MB | MP3 Insane, 320 kbps | 5% Recovery | 2006
Anything calling itself The Essential Guide to Meditation leaves itself open to criticism that it's making too grand of a claim for any album to live up to, considering how many schools there are of meditation practices. Nevertheless, this three-CD set does hold considerable value, not only offering three-and-a-half hours of music, but also presenting music from much more traditional sources than most such compilations with this theme do. Each of the CDs follows entirely different sub-themes within the overall meditation concept: the first disc devoted to three Buddhist mantras originating within a Chinese tradition; the second to three pieces from the Indian Hindu tradition; and the third to six pieces from the Balinese Hindu tradition. As an anthology, this is a little problematic, whether it's used for meditation or not, since the musical styles are so different from each other that it's quite possible even open-minded listeners might not find all of the discs to their taste. Still, it does present material that's both considerably different from many new age-aligned recordings marketed as meditative aids, and much truer to the religious sources of much meditative practice than many such albums.
The music on the Buddhist disc is taken from recordings by flute and keyboard player Song-Huei, with accompaniment on two of the tracks by two-string violinist Jin-Long Wen, and it's the least satisfying from a musical point of view, tending toward the preciously pretty, slightly slick side in both arrangement and production. The Indian Hindu disc (entirely sung by Jagjit Singh), in contrast, is the best and most relaxing and entrancing of the three, highlighted by "Shree Krishna Naam Dhun," based around the "Hare Krishna" chant that is perhaps the most famous mantra to the international audience. With what sounds like a softly swelling vibraphone accompaniment (the precise instrumentation is not specified in the liner notes) and subtle drones and percussion, as well as hypnotic interplay between Singh and backup singers, this 37-minute track has a glow that can be enjoyed by both meditators and more general world music listeners. These qualities are also present, though to less striking degrees, on Singh's other two performances, justifying the claim in the liner notes that "so soothing is his voice that, legend has it, Indian psychiatrists have prescribed his records to relieve stress." The Balinese Hindu disc is performed by gamelan orchestras, and while it comprises perhaps the most unadulterated world music on the compilation, its heavily percussive and repetitious feel also make it the least accessible to Western listeners. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide
Track Listing
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Disc: 1 (Buddhist)
1. Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva - Wen, Jin-Long & Song-Huei Liu
2. Great Compassionate Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva - Wen, Jin-Long & Song-Huei Liu
3. Greatest Six Word Brilliant Dharani - Liu, Song-Huei
Disc: 2 (Hindu)
1. Om Namah Shivay - Singh, Jagjit
2. Shree Krishna Naam Dhun - Singh, Jagjit
3. Om Shivay Hari Om Shivay - Singh, Jagjit
Disc: 3 (Indonesian)
1. Gending Petegak Sejar Gendotan - Muni, Sekehe Gender Bharata
2. Gending Pemungkah - Muni, Sekehe Gender Bharata
3. Gending Rebong - Muni, Sekehe Gender Bharata
4. Gending Langiang - Muni, Sekehe Gender Bharata
5. Gending Bendu Semara - Sari, Kusuma
6. Gending Tabuh Gari Saih Selisir - Gamelan Semar Pegulingan Saih Pitu
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