Feast of Silence

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
In their early days, Vas was often compared to Lisa Gerrard and Dead Can Dance, but they transcended that comparison long ago. Their sound is forged deep in Middle Eastern and Indian percussion with singer Azam Ali extolling a supralingua style of singing that morphs from ecstatic hieroglyphics to Bulgarian choirs. Born in Iran and raised in India, Ali's pristine voice is steeped in the traditions of those countries. Greg Ellis surrounds her with a global percussion orchestra of the imagination, mixing udu drums, frame drums, mridangam, dumbeks, and just about anything else from his global groove storeroom to create the throbbing rhythmic undertow of their music. His own "Moksha" for percussion, cellos, and bass is an epic, symphonic journey. Azam Ali sings in English for the first time on Feast of Silence, setting Longfellow's "The Reaper and the Flowers" and her own title track. "Feast of Silence" is a veiled reference to her personal travails of the last four years including the death of her mother, her first trip back to Iran since she was a child, and the demise of her personal relationship with Ellis. Despite the personal fractures in the vessel of Vas, Feast of Silence remains as cohesive and powerful as their three previous CDs. --John Diliberto

Feast of Silence,Vas,Narada,Contemporary Instrumental,New Age,New Age / Meditation,Pop

Feast of Silence

Feast of Silence

Average customer rating:

Inspired beyond words.....

Breathtakingly Beautiful

Feast for the ears

Time Enough

Hypnotic, emotional, and unique

Feast of Silence
Vas
Manufacturer: Narada
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | New Age | Styles | Music
Meditation | New Age | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

In the Garden of Souls

Portals of Grace

Sunyata

Elysium for the Brave

Niyaz

ASIN: B00020HDJO
Release Date: 2004-05-18

Tracks:

Amrita (Churning The Sea Of Milk)
In Our Faith
Mandara
Izgrejala
Moksha
The Reaper And The Flowers
Bardo
Feast Of Silence
Kali Basa

Amazon.com

In their early days, Vas was often compared to Lisa Gerrard and Dead Can Dance, but they transcended that comparison long ago. Their sound is forged deep in Middle Eastern and Indian percussion with singer Azam Ali extolling a supralingua style of singing that morphs from ecstatic hieroglyphics to Bulgarian choirs. Born in Iran and raised in India, Ali's pristine voice is steeped in the traditions of those countries. Greg Ellis surrounds her with a global percussion orchestra of the imagination, mixing udu drums, frame drums, mridangam, dumbeks, and just about anything else from his global groove storeroom to create the throbbing rhythmic undertow of their music. His own "Moksha" for percussion, cellos, and bass is an epic, symphonic journey. Azam Ali sings in English for the first time on Feast of Silence, setting Longfellow's "The Reaper and the Flowers" and her own title track. "Feast of Silence" is a veiled reference to her personal travails of the last four years including the death of her mother, her first trip back to Iran since she was a child, and the demise of her personal relationship with Ellis. Despite the personal fractures in the vessel of Vas, Feast of Silence remains as cohesive and powerful as their three previous CDs. --John Diliberto

Customer Reviews:

Inspired beyond words............2006-10-23

Of all the VAS albums, this is my favourite, and an interesting evolution. The writing, song arrangements, production, the ambience, everything. And of course, above all...the beautiful angelic voice of Azam Ali. Every time I play this album for someone, they say "oh my God, who is that singer?" Greg Ellis' rhythms are brilliant here, very haunting and hypnotic, and not overdone as sometimes is the case with this type of music. The song Mandara floored me from the first time I heard it. The structure, the tension buildup, and the amazing vocal performance are just breathtaking.

Also great is Azam Ali's other project Niyaz, which has a more Middle-Eastern/Persian influence along with some electronic samples.

Breathtakingly Beautiful.......2006-10-06

First of all, a special thank you to Chelle, my best buddy on the net. She purchased this album for my birthday, from my amazon wishlist. I am forever grateful to have discovered Azam Ali, VAS & Niyaz through Chelle. ;-) Since receiving the CD in the mail yesterday, I've played it twice. Both times were mesmerizing and captivating. I absolutely LOVE "Feast of Silence". Nothing better could've come from this album, seriously. The tribal, ambient and wordly sounds in the recording are incredible, and I had to indulge by listening to the CD twice in a matter of 24 hours. A few, excellent artists come to mind when I listen to "Feast of Silence". These are them: (Loreena McKennitt, Lisa Gerrard, Dead Can Dance, Diane Arkenstone, Ofra Haza). Because of Azam's remarkable, versatile voice, she can sing any style of music and do no wrong. I already have her "Portals of Grace" album, and the extractions from the "Elysium for the Brave" CD, but they aren't as great as this title from VAS. Azam Ali and Greg Ellis make a fantastic duo and I'm so proud of them for working together for so long. Hope they never stop! Greg is a very handsome man and so talented. Without his percussion work on the album, it just wouldn't sound the same. Just the cover photo alone sold me right away. I'm attracted to albums when they have attractive covers...so this helped me a lot in my choice for a wishlist item.

As I write in all my reviews, I look for sound quality. For "Feast of Silence", the sound is excellent. Unfortunately, the album is shorter than I thought, although...the songs are long. But all really great albums are too short. ;-) As I mentioned earlier, Azam reminded me of Loreena McKennitt and Lisa Gerrard (of Dead Can Dance) throughout the CD. And, I didn't expect Azam to sing such moving, versatile pieces of music. She can certainly put her own style into virtually anything she sings. "Feast of Silence" is a must-have for anyone's music collection. And at least I know to classify the album under "World"...as sometimes it's hard to classify such a masterpiece. There aren't any favorites on "FOS", because they're all super. The title track is just as stunning as the rest of them. I can't stress enough, how good this album is. You must have it!

Artwork is beautiful throughout the package. There is only 1 photo of the duo inside the booklet, but the entire layout has a beautiful design. The disc itself is a dark terra-cotta (almost brown) in color, with black "lacey" artwork in an Indian style. It's very nice. I don't know if the CD was only housed in a jewel case everywhere, but mine is. Visit the Narada site and check out more info on Azam Ali and her music (solo & collaborative). You won't regret it.

Tracklist:
01- Amrita (Churning the Sea of Milk) - 6:08
02- In Our Faith - 7:05
03- Mandara - 6:23
04- Izgrejala - 3:52
05- Moksha - 4:59
06- The Reaper and the Flowers - 4:22
07- Bardo - 10:16
08- Feast of Silence - 7:17
09- Kali Basa - 6:47

Feast for the ears.......2006-06-25

I have been listening to this one for several days now and must admit that I am impressed with it. It shows that this duo have grown quite a bit and it comes out almost as good to me as Ali's solo work. There are only a few brief moments on here that I just can't make it through (namely "the reaper in the flowers". sorry folks but this is boring). The Bulgarian vocal arrangements are particularly wonderful, as is the touch of Indian flavor on the third track. Azam Ali is reaching new levels as a vocalist on "Feast of Silence" and Greg Ellis is also coming up nicely...

Azam Ali also makes her English debut with this album, and does so fairly nicely. It's not a constant onslaught, as I had thought it might be, but it is there.

If you have not heard Vas before, and enjoy world music with deep classical undertones then this might be something you should check out. Azam Ali's voice is simply glorious.

Time Enough.......2005-08-05

I've followed Vas haphazardly for some time now, from the days when they were true minimalists, focused on Azam Ali's expressive voice and Greg Ellis's percussion work. The strong Medieval and Middle Eastern flavor was haunting as Ali created her own language to express emotions both plaintive and ecstatic. Their work gradually filled out and became increasingly complex and then, suddenly, they stopped recording. Sometimes the connection between love and creativity takes a long time to break and heal over.

Feast of Silence marks an overcoming of differences. Ali and Ellis work so well together that it's a bit of a relief to see that they have managed to find a new accommodation. Even more interesting it the fact that the music is a genuine departure for them in the midst of Ali's traditional stylings experiments like 'In Our Faith' appear. The music is mostly acoustic, but it dances on the edge with occasional electronic tidbits. In addition Ali steps over into the use of actual lyrics, revealing and underlying poetic spirit in work like 'Feast of Silence.'

For most of the cuts they work together. Each also has a track without the other - 'Moksha' (Elllis) and 'Feast of Silence' (Azam Ali). If I had to pick a favorite, though, it would be Izgrejaia, which is one long joyful effort. Joining the two leads are Tyler Bates one guitar and keyboard, Pejman Hadadi on tombak, Deepak Ram on bansuri, Cameron Stone on cello, Justin Meldal-Johnsen on bass, Naser Musa on oud and Brent Meyer on bouzuki. Far more musicians than they usually work with.

I hope this presages more albums to come from an innovative pair that have created their own musical niche.

Hypnotic, emotional, and unique.......2005-07-29

I've been a fan of Vas since I bought their third release, "In the Garden of Souls" a few years ago. It is has been far to long for me between releases, but the wait was worth it. This album is incredible. It is not only my favorite Vas album, but one of my all time favorite CDs.

The music is moving and rythmic with soaring female vocals. The vocals are from the soul, real and honest but somehow perfect at the same time with true emotion and depth. Most of the songs are without words (she sings in toungues), but on this album, she sings some words for the first time. I was worried that this wouldn't work, but it does and really expands their sound. In terms of instrumentation, the sheer myriad of instruments used on all their releases, including CD is mind boggling.

My favorite song is "Amrita (Churning the Sea of Milk)" which starts off slowly and then builds in a dramatic way. I also really like "Izgrejala" with its unique harmonies.

Azam Ali is amazing at vocal layering. Her harmonies on this album are perfect and her voice is as emotional as ever. I'm not sure how she conveys so much with her voice, but she can sing a single note and bring me to tears.

For fans of Vas' previous works, I highly recommend this CD. If you are a newcomer and you are wondering where to start, this is a great jumping off point for their amazing musicianship.

Average customer rating:

Best singing, Best music, Best recording: 3 times 5 Stars

Sacred Feast

Manufacturer: Digital Music Prod
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | New Age | Styles | Music

Solo Instrumental | New Age | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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Oratorios | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Classical | Indie Music | Stores | Music
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Eric Whitacre: The Complete A Cappella Works, 1991-2001

ASIN: B00005A15L
Release Date: 2000-01-05

Tracks:

Beati Quorum Via
O Vos Omnes
Ubi Caritas
Justorum Animae
Coelos Ascendit Hodie
Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence
O Sacrum Convivium
Ave Verum Corpus
Hail Gladdening Light
Ave Maria
Pater Noster
Crucifixus
O Sacrum Convivium

Album Description

Original DSD Recording Multichannel and Stereo Hybrid SACD

Customer Reviews:

Best singing, Best music, Best recording: 3 times 5 Stars.......2003-11-06

Here is an excellent example of what a real chorus sounds like in a suitable acoustic space. No gimmicks or tricks, just the real deal, sonically. The choral group, Gaudeamus, is singing very well with true intonation, precision, accuracy. Most of all, these folks seem to actually like the music. The selections are a sort from across major streams of choral writing in western classical; but the delicacy of tone is as awesome here as the larger, massed choral effects. It is of course not easy to record music successfully. If the microphones are too close, you lose the sense of atmosphere and the particular acoustic that is inseparable from live music in the real world. If the microphones are too distant, all you get is the hall sound at the expense of the music. This recording earns high marks for managing everything just right. This disc actually is one of my top, all-time choral favorites. The other two are: Eric Whitacre's a capella choral music (sung by the Brigham Young University Singers); and A Rose in Winter by the Dale Warland Singers. In any case, get this for wonderful singing, and excellent sound. It will show off your system, too. Highly recommended.

Average customer rating:

An unusually good compilation of sacred choral works

Sacred Feast

Manufacturer: Digital Music Prod
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Motets | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Oratorios | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00001O2XL
Release Date: 1999-09-14

Tracks:

Beati Quorum Via
Vos Omnes
Ubi Caritas
Justorum Animae
Coelos Ascendit Hodie
Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence
O Sacrum Convivium
Ave Verum Corpus
Hail Gladdening Light
Ave Maria
Pater Noster
Crucifixus
O Sacrum Convivium

Amazon.com

To many listeners who remember Tom Jung's dmp label from the 1980s, when he and groups such as Flim & the BBs made pioneering and exemplary digital jazz recordings, this very classical, very (sacred) choral program may come as a surprise. But it will be a pleasant one, nonetheless. Choral enthusiasts will immediately recognize many of the selections, which represent some of choral music's most beloved masterpieces--Stanford's "Beati quorum via" and "Justorum animae" motets, Duruflé's incomparable "Ubi caritas," Bruckner's "Ave Maria," and Messiaen's "O sacrum convivium." They also will be happy to discover that the 30-voice Gaudeamus ensemble, a Connecticut-based group founded by director Paul Halley in 1992, performs to an exceptionally high standard, characterized by well-balanced sound, solid vocal technique, and generally rock-solid intonation. Only the Messiaen, and Tallis's own setting of "O sacrum convivium," reveal some shaky tuning, but the choir makes up for these lapses with sublime singing in the Stanford, Duruflé, and Bruckner--and really revels in the rich dissonances of Lotti's "Crucifixus" and in the soaring lines of Charles Woods's "Hail gladdening light." This is an admirable and highly recommendable venture into the very competitive--and often snooty--choral music arena for Jung and dmp. And those who know the label's uncompromising sonic standards will be reassured with this typically superb engineering effort that perfectly captures the choral sound and acoustics in Hartford's Trinity College Chapel--a structure reminiscent of a mini-King's College Cambridge. Unfortunately, dmp includes virtually nothing about the music in the liner notes. --David Vernier

Customer Reviews:

An unusually good compilation of sacred choral works.......2000-09-09

Paul Halley, for many years a keyboardist, composer and arranger for Paul Winter and his Consort, has recently been devoting his activities primarily to choral music and to his own keyboard solo works. This album is the latest in his choral series that features the adult Guadeamus chorus, and it is a very good chorus, if not quite on the level of similar-sized (30 voices strong) a capella groups chosen, trained and directed by the late, great Robert Shaw.

The overwhelming strength of this album is its variety, and the taste with which Halley has chosen the selections offered. They range in time from Thomas Tallis and Antonio Lotti to Olivier Messiaen, and include works by Pablo Casals, Maurice Duruflé, Anton Bruckner and Sir Charles Villiers Stanford. None of pieces is sufficiently familiar to render the album a duplicate of selections offered up elsewhere, and they are creatively combined here.

All are sung well, but I would like to single out the Casals "Vos Omnes," Lotti's "Crucifixus" and Messiaen's "O Sacrum Convivium" for special mention, as well as Duruflé's "Ubi Caritas." This last piece, a gorgeous setting of Gregorian chant, is one which Halley had earlier adapted to the unique forces available to him at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York City, combining Gregorian and African chant (on his "Angel on a Stone Wall" album available at Amazon on the Living Music label). It is a pleasure to hear it as Duruflé had written it, on this album.

The liner notes regrettably shed absolutely no light on either the composers or the music, being instead a "vanity" presentationn of Halley's background and the recording techniques used for the album. (The sound is a little harsh, given the state-of-the-art equipment that was used.)

But five easy stars for the variety and ecumenicism of the selections offered.

Bob Zeidler

Average customer rating:

Francis Jackson at 80

Manufacturer: Amphion Classical
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Psalms | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000003YM6
Release Date: 1998-02-17

Tracks:

Prelude in E flat, BWV 522a - Chor of York Minister/Francis Jackson
What are these that glow from afar
The Lamentation
Psalm 114 When Israel came out of Egypt
Let all mortal fles keep silence
Give us the wings of faith
Belshazzar's Feast - John Stuart Anderson/Francis Jackson/Simon Lindley/Gordon Pullin
St. Mary's Bells
Carillon
Folk Tune from Five Short Pieces
Marigold from Syncopated Impressions
Prelude & Fugue in B flat, BWV 560 from Eight short Preludes & Fugues
Andante in F
Impromptu
Choral No. 1 in E
For the fruits of his creation

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