In the Garden of Souls

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
On their third album, In the Garden of Souls, Vas doesn't so much extend their sound as go deeper within it. Singer Azam Ali continues singing in tongues; she's an intoxicating priestess who invites you into terrain that's both sacred and sensual. Her voice is framed by her own hammered dulcimer and the percussion of Greg Ellis. He draws on a trap set that replaces tom-toms, snare drums, and cymbals with djembes, dumbeks, udu drums, chimes, and bells to surround Ali with a seductive swirl of throbbing percussion, while Cameron Stone adds sinewy, raga-like cello lines. You can hear the influence of Abbess Hildegard von Bingen's medieval chants on pieces like "Inamorata" and "Beyond Despair," while "Inward Coil" builds from a plaintive folk tune into a classical crescendo. Azam Ali's voice is a stunning instrument, hovering between the ululations of Iran, where she was born, and the extended, note-bending melodiousness of India, where she was raised. In a language of the imagination, she's revealing a glimpse of heaven. --John Diliberto

In the Garden of Souls,Vas,Narada,Contemporary Instrumental,New Age,New Age / Meditation,Pop

In the Garden of Souls

In the Garden of Souls
In the Garden of Souls
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Not bad but not delicious either!
  • Love this music
  • Heavenly Voices & Percussion At Its Best
  • "Returning To The Emptiness"
  • A must have!
 In the Garden of Souls
Vas
Manufacturer: Narada
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

GeneralGeneral | New Age | Styles | Music
MeditationMeditation | New Age | Styles | Music
Similar Items:
  1. Feast of Silence
  2. Sunyata
  3. Portals of Grace
  4. Offerings
  5. Elysium for the Brave

ASIN: B00004SZDO
Release Date: 2000-05-09

Tracks:

  1. In The Garden Of Souls
  2. Inamorata
  3. Samaya
  4. Prayer For Soheil
  5. Ceremony Of Passage
  6. Beyond Despair
  7. The Inward Coil
  8. Ephemere (Upon The Faded)
  9. Lila
  10. Unbecome
  11. Sevdama

Amazon.com

On their third album, In the Garden of Souls, Vas doesn't so much extend their sound as go deeper within it. Singer Azam Ali continues singing in tongues; she's an intoxicating priestess who invites you into terrain that's both sacred and sensual. Her voice is framed by her own hammered dulcimer and the percussion of Greg Ellis. He draws on a trap set that replaces tom-toms, snare drums, and cymbals with djembes, dumbeks, udu drums, chimes, and bells to surround Ali with a seductive swirl of throbbing percussion, while Cameron Stone adds sinewy, raga-like cello lines. You can hear the influence of Abbess Hildegard von Bingen's medieval chants on pieces like "Inamorata" and "Beyond Despair," while "Inward Coil" builds from a plaintive folk tune into a classical crescendo. Azam Ali's voice is a stunning instrument, hovering between the ululations of Iran, where she was born, and the extended, note-bending melodiousness of India, where she was raised. In a language of the imagination, she's revealing a glimpse of heaven. --John Diliberto

Customer Reviews:

3 out of 5 stars Not bad but not delicious either!.......2007-05-08

Vas' In the Garden of Souls is a wonderful addition to your melancholy music library with an extra kick. The Inward Coil (#7) is the center of the CD: the rest of the melodies mold around it.

The Indian sounds are soft and fluttery and at some points you get a little Asian flair. Azam Ali's voice rises above the music-her voice with Greg Ellis' instrumental skill is magnificent.

On the other side, the album is a bit forgettable because its river of mystical music flows one way and is so smooth.

5 out of 5 stars Love this music.......2007-04-30

Give this a whirl and see if
it cures your ailments too.
I recommend them and highly.

5 out of 5 stars Heavenly Voices & Percussion At Its Best.......2006-09-15

About the Band:
Vas is a world music / heavenly voices band based out of Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1995 when vocalist Azam Ali and percussionist Greg Ellis met at UCLA, Vas is frequently compared to Dead Can Dance. It is a fair comparison, as most bands in this genre tend to be labeled as "like DCD", but Vas has a much more spiritual (or meditative) quality that is centered on Ali's wonderful voice. The emotional music is very powerful and humbling with Ellis's drums and other traditional instruments providing the perfect backdrop for Ali.

About the Album:
In the Garden of Souls is Vas's third album. I bought this album based on the many positive reviews here on amazon, and I'm very glad I did. Like many bands in the heavenly voices genre, ambient music often is underexposed and I think underappreciated. The album is very consistent, with most of the tracks featuring Ali's soft vocals and all of the tracks are blessed by Ellis's and Ali's percussion. The diverse list of percussion and bell based instruments used in the album include: hammered dulcimer, tanpura, frame drums, rigg, udu, Fabla, dumbek, Nagara, cymbals, and various bells. I enjoy listening to the hour-long album in its entirety.

Recommended Tracks:
- Sevdama
- The Inward Coil
- In the Garden of Souls
- Lila

Typically I like darker romantic pieces, and have listed my favorite tracks above. My favorite track is "Sevdama" which has a folk-like quality to it due to the Ellis's backing vocals and Cameron Stone's cello. If you are looking for dynamic drumming in the style of Corvus Corax, "Ceremony of Passage" will certainly please you. The short "Beyond Despair" reminds me of medieval influenced bands such as Love Is Colder Than Death.

Similar Artists:
- Dead Can Dance
- Irfan
- Das Zeichen
- Love Is Colder Than Death
- Moon Far Away
- Impressions of Winter
- Qntal
- Corvus Corax

5 out of 5 stars "Returning To The Emptiness" .......2006-03-15

Have you ever had a dream where you find yourself wandering alone in a shadowy, mist-filled garden. A sacred and ancient site where long abandoned structures adorned with indecipherable inscriptions protrude here and there from behind or between the thick, dark green centuries old vines. A dream so vivid that you can feel the cool wet mist caressing your face and smell the musty odor of the rotting undergrowth lying below the lush vegetation. Did a priestess appear in the distance with a voice as indescrible as the dream itself?

If you have this is probably the perfect music to re-create that dream experience and Azam Ali would be the priestess with the otherworldly voice. Such is the mood created by this sensual, multi-layered -11 track- CD by Vas. Titled, 'In The Garden Of Souls' your spirit we take flight into a mysterious Netherworld inspired by the talented Azam Ali and Greg Ellis and cross over to a timeless place of imagination and wonder. Truly a journey you will never tire of taking.

Get the candles lit, turn out the lights and enjoy the journey!

5 out of 5 stars A must have!.......2004-09-18

I was first introduced to Vas in a dance class. My teacher played Vas music for warmups, which were a dance meditation of sorts. I kept fogetting to ask who the artist was, but came accross Vas on a compilation CD at Barnes and Nobel while listening to World CDs. I went and bought this CD that very day. Since then I have listened to it while giving massage, practicing slow dance moves, reading, even while sleeping. In the Garden of Souls is meditative in sound, while still being very powerful and moving. I'm am saving up for their other CDs. I can't wait to have more music from Vas!
Life of the Worlds: Journeys in Jewish Sacred Music
Average customer rating: Not rated
    		Life of the Worlds: Journeys in Jewish Sacred Music

    Manufacturer: Five Souls Music
    ProductGroup: Music
    Binding: Audio CD

    General ModernGeneral Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
    Jewish & Yiddish MusicJewish & Yiddish Music | Folk | Styles | Music
    GeneralGeneral | International | Styles | Music
    GeneralGeneral | Middle East | International | Styles | Music
    GeneralGeneral | New Age | Styles | Music
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    ASIN: B000172L72
    Release Date: 2003-12-03

    Tracks:

    1. Ha'aderet Veha'emunah/LeKhay Olamim - Yemen
    2. Le'El Adir Neranenah - Afghanistan
    3. Bati Legani - Eastern Europe
    4. Kinah Lekhurban Gan Eden - Eastern Europe
    5. Sephardi Yerushalmi Khatsi Kaddish - Jerusalem/Spain
    6. Navah Tehilah - Afghanistan
    7. Hayoshevet Baganim - Yemen
    8. Eyn Keloheynu - Morocco
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    12. Hishtapkhut Hanefesh - Belarus
    13. Niggun of the Alter Rebbe - Belarus
    14. Ve'erastikh Li - Salonica
    15. El Mistater - Poland
    16. Ashrey - Eastern Europe/Spain
    17. Yemeni Shema - Yemen
    18. Grandfather Sang a Song - Eastern Europe

    Amazon.com

    The modern-day traditional Jewish music revival is filled with artists exploring klezmer's Eastern-European roots, but you'll hear no clarinet and little violin on cantor/educator Richard Kaplan's Life Of The Worlds. Although these are traditional songs, there is a broad range of the Diaspora represented on his second album, including Afghani, Spanish, Moroccan, and Algerian traditions. Kaplan dives into the sacred and the secular, the prophetic and the exultant, finding commonalities amongst different tribes and fusing them together. Musical accompaniment comes in the form of an occasional flute, piano, and violin as well as Moroccan clay drums, oud, dumbek, and other pre-modern-era instruments, but the instrument at the center of each song is Kaplan's voice--his high baritone majestically soars, quavers with sensitivity, and rings out with joy. To hear him sing solo versions of traditional Niggiun is to hear a world-class master savor the multifaceted nuance of each note and transcend the concept of song, turning it into religion and high art. --Tad Hendrickson

    Album Description

    A remarkable collection of vocal performances of Jewish sacred music from the Middle East, Andalusia, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia - songs of exultation, longing, love, and Divine immanence - accompanied by an ensemble of masterful musicians.

    Instruments include: oud, ney, kanun, Egyptian accordian, violin, mandolin, dumbek, doira, riqq, Yemenite can, tar, saz, clarinet, mey (Turkish duduk), tilinca (Rumanian shepherd's flute), piano, string bass, balaban (Klezmer drum set), cimbalom, and a chorus of voices.

    Among many special songs, the CD features an 'eco-lament' (ecological lament) based on lament melodies for the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem. It is called "Lament on the Destruction of the Garden of Eden" (Kinah Lekhurban Gan Eden), and updates the use of these tunes to mourn the wounding of our larger temple, Gaia - Mother Earth.

    LIFE OF THE WORLDS contains 18 songs, 77 minutes of music, and contains a 32-page booklet which includes informative song descriptions; all texts are provided in transliteration, English translation, and in Hebrew or Yiddish.

    This CD was three years in the making, and presents the first recordings in North America of several songs from the treasure-chest of Jewish sacred music.
    Masters of English Church Music
    Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    • Masters of English Church Music
    		 Masters of English Church Music

    Manufacturer: Collegium
    ProductGroup: Music
    Binding: Audio CD

    QuartetsQuartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
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    Byrd, WilliamByrd, William | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
    Howells, HerbertHowells, Herbert | ( H ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
    RequiemsRequiems | Forms & Genres | Early Music | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
    GeneralGeneral | Early Music | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
    GeneralGeneral | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music
    GeneralGeneral | Classical | Styles | Music
    GeneralGeneral | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
    AnthemsAnthems | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
    MagnificatsMagnificats | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
    MotetsMotets | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
    OratoriosOratorios | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
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    ASIN: B0000031I5
    Release Date: 1995-12-01

    Tracks:

    1. Sing Joyfully
    2. Turn Our Captivity
    3. Praise Our Lord, All Ye Gentiles
    4. Emendemus in Melius
    5. Siderum Rector
    6. Plorans Plorabit
    7. Visita, Quaesumus Domine
    8. Attollite Portas
    9. Laudibus in Sanctis
    10. Gaudeamus Omnes
    11. Ave Verum Corpus
    12. Veni Sancte Spiritus
    13. Christus Resurgens
    14. Solve Iubente Deo
    15. O Magnum Misterium
    16. Non Vos Relinquam
    17. O Quam Suavis
    18. Justorum Animae

    Tracks:

    1. Magnificat in G
    2. Magnificat [From the Gloucester Service]
    3. Magnificat in B Flat
    4. Nunc Dimittis in B Flat
    5. O for a Closer Walk
    6. Like as the Hart
    7. Fear of the Lord
    8. I Heard a Voice from Heaven
    9. Salvator Mundi
    10. Psalm 23
    11. Requiem Aeternam
    12. Psalm 121
    13. Requiem Aeternam
    14. I Heard a Voice from Heaven
    15. When Mary Thro' the Garden Went
    16. Long, Long Ago
    17. To Deum in C
    18. All My Hope on God Is Founded

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars Masters of English Church Music.......2000-01-09

    Very uplifting and spiritual, Seems to transport you to another place and time. Simply Beautiful listening.
    Dwell Records Presents 17 tracks in Tribute To Mercyful Fate: FEATURING Equinox, Soilwork, Deceased, Memory Garden, Acheron, Morta Skuld, Burning Inside, Dan Swano, Hemisfear, Vital Remains, Varathron, Mystic Force, Psycho Scream, Eternal Autumn, Doomstone, Necrophagia, T.A.R.
    Average customer rating: Not rated
      		Dwell Records Presents 17 tracks in Tribute To Mercyful Fate: FEATURING Equinox, Soilwork, Deceased, Memory Garden, Acheron, Morta Skuld, Burning Inside, Dan Swano, Hemisfear, Vital Remains, Varathron, Mystic Force, Psycho Scream, Eternal Autumn, Doomstone, Necrophagia, T.A.R.
      Gypsy - Equinox / Egypt - Soilwork , Doomed By The Living Dead - Deceased / Nightmare Be Thy Name - Memory Garden , Room Of Golden Air - Acheron / Desecration Of Souls - Morta Skuld , Evil - Burning Inside / Melissa - Dan Swano , Black Funeral - Hemisfear / To One Far Away/Come To The Sabbath - Vital Remains , Nuns Have No Fun - Varathron / Curse Of The Pharaohs - Mystic Force , A Dangerous Meeting - Psycho Scream / Return Of The Vampire - Eternal Autumn , At The Sound Of The Demon Bell - Doomstone / Devil Eyes - Necrophagia , and Torture - T.A.R.
      ProductGroup: Music
      Binding: Audio CD
      ASIN: B000QHJKNK

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