Gardens of Eden

Amazon.com
Gardens of Eden is a multidimensional tool of anthology guaranteed to whisk even the most hardcore urbanites into the folds of Shangri-la. This collection of music from around the world is built around the theme of paradise on earth; the highly detailed liner notes include an overview of environmental organizations pledged to preserve vanishing resources. The subdued, lighthearted music is constructed around the soft caress of acoustic guitar, ukulele, African kora, Polynesian drums, Indian tabla, and sitar. Exceptional tracks include Ana Rita Simonka's unique fusion of bossa nova and Indian classical music, "Mais Filhos de Gandhi," and Keola Beamer's soothing, oceanic "Elepaio Slack Key." --Leslie R. Marini

Tracks:

Ha'aderet Veha'emunah/LeKhay Olamim - Yemen
Le'El Adir Neranenah - Afghanistan
Bati Legani - Eastern Europe
Kinah Lekhurban Gan Eden - Eastern Europe
Sephardi Yerushalmi Khatsi Kaddish - Jerusalem/Spain
Navah Tehilah - Afghanistan
Hayoshevet Baganim - Yemen
Eyn Keloheynu - Morocco
Modeh Ani/Elohay Neshamah - Salonica
Eli Shema Koli - Morocco
Reb Nachman's Niggun - Ukraine
Hishtapkhut Hanefesh - Belarus
Niggun of the Alter Rebbe - Belarus
Ve'erastikh Li - Salonica
El Mistater - Poland
Ashrey - Eastern Europe/Spain
Yemeni Shema - Yemen
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.

Tracks:

Midal (Papua New Guinea) - Telek
Tsara Ny Miran'ny Taniko (Madagascar) - Eric Manana
Mais Filhos De Gandhi (Brazil) - Ana Rita Simonka
Makola (Guinea) - Baba Djan
To A Beloved (India) - Shweta Jhaveri
Arica (Big Sur) - Barefoot
Conori (Brazil) - Regional Vermelho E Branco
Pais Azul (Costa Rica) - Guadalupe Urbina
Tautai E (New Zealand) - Te Vaka
Elepaio Slack Key (Hawaii) - Keola Beamer
Happiness Is... (Tibet) - Yungchen Lhamo

Amazon.com

Gardens of Eden is a multidimensional tool of anthology guaranteed to whisk even the most hardcore urbanites into the folds of Shangri-la. This collection of music from around the world is built around the theme of paradise on earth; the highly detailed liner notes include an overview of environmental organizations pledged to preserve vanishing resources. The subdued, lighthearted music is constructed around the soft caress of acoustic guitar, ukulele, African kora, Polynesian drums, Indian tabla, and sitar. Exceptional tracks include Ana Rita Simonka's unique fusion of bossa nova and Indian classical music, "Mais Filhos de Gandhi," and Keola Beamer's soothing, oceanic "Elepaio Slack Key." --Leslie R. Marini

Customer Reviews:

Acoustic New Age.......2006-06-13

People associate New Age music with synth-heavy,repetitive tunes a la Yanni&Enya.Not so with this album. It's too bad that it's currently out of print and no longer in Putumayo's catalogue.It's also proof you CAN judge a CD by its cover.It has beautiful album art to match its beautiful music.

This is a soothing CD,perfect for meditation,yoga,relaxation.This is also one of Putumayo's best.

Highlights-
1)Midal-An unusual,hypnotic song from Papua New Guinea.Very primal and lovely.
2)Mais Filhos de Gandhi-A brilliant combination of Indian classical music with Brazilian bossa nova.It's from the great album "Bossa Nova Delhi."
3)Makola-A lovely song from Guinea.Very bluesy.
4)To a Beloved-Blends Western "smooth jazz" with Indian classical music.It's from the wonderful CD "Anahita."
5)Arica-A fun little instrumental.From Big Sur,of all places.
6)Tautai e-A beautiful chant from New Zealand.
7)Elepaio Slack Key-Elegant Hawaiian slack guitar from Keola Beamer.
8)Happiness is...-A song about true happiness from a wonderful Tibetan singer.

This album is 5 years old,and it's gotten better with age.If you're tired of John Tesh,Yanni and Enya,this is perfect for you!It's from paradises around the world.

It whisks you back.......2001-10-23

No matter what Garden of Eden you have in mind, this is the music to take you there.

We were traveling down Rt. 1 in California and stopped in Big Sur. At one of the local shops, I heard the ever familiar Putumayo music and fell into a conversation with the store owner over our mutual appreciation for the Putumayo label. She then brought to my attention that her group was featured on Gardens of Eden. Naturally, we bought it.

The next day, when traveling through the misted mountain road, we were entralled by the way the music somehow choregraphed the scenery - or was it the other way around? All I know is that I will forever remember driving in the convertible, rounding each bend to music that swept away all of our cares and concerns.

I highly recommend this disk.

World music at its best.......2001-05-04

What a wonderful cd. The music is terrific, and is a great introduction to artists that you would probably never hear of if not for Putamayo. Where else can you find such diverse songs like this album has. Songs from such countries as Papua New Guinea, Brazil, India, Tibet, and Hawaii to name a few. And the packaging is terrific too. In depth articles on each artist and the song they perform, as well as photos of the artists. I really recommend this album to anyone who would like to broaden their musical horizons a little.

Wow! This is one HOT world music CD!.......2001-03-29

I've had various world music cd's recommended to me, from music from Mali (not bad, but a bit repetitious) to Brasil, Bulgaria, you name it. All are interesting, not all are ones you'd listen to every day.

Gardens of Eden is one World Music CD that just knocked my socks off. Every cut is fantastic. The mix is varied, from Tibet to New Zealand to Brazil, yet the mix fits together. This is a very cleverly assembled montage of music and it is fast becoming one of my favorites.

To get a good idea of the songs, listen to the first cut, from Papua New Guinea, and then the Shweta Jhaveri. These are two of my favorites on the CD. The last song is the Tibetan one, no sample given here but it is wonderfully deep and interesting.

Warm and relaxing.......2001-03-18

I've listened to almost all of the Putumayo CDs and own more than a few. They've been instrumental in introducing me to all sorts of world artists. Unfortunately, with many of the CDs I end up really liking about 25% of the songs and wishing I could discard the rest. This was NOT the case with Gardens of Eden, though. The whole album is enjoyable and lulls you into a sense of well-being and peace. Recommended.

Average customer rating:

Beautiful

Zimbabwe: Gardens of Eden
Bernie Krause
Manufacturer: Miramar
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | International | Styles | Music

Zimbabwe | Africa | International | Styles | Music

Environmental | New Age | Styles | Music

General | New Age | Styles | Music

Meditation | New Age | Styles | Music

Nature | New Age | Styles | Music

General | New Age | Indie Music | Stores | Music
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ASIN: B00000AEWM
Release Date: 1998-09-15

Tracks:

Zimbabwe: Gardens Of Eden

Album Description

Zimbabwe is one of the legendary sites of the fabled King Solomon's Mines. If Solomon decided to bury his treasure there, it is no wonder since a more lush and varied ancient environment hardly exists on earth...an audio treasure we discovered for ourselves. The album opens with a troup of baboons echoing their barks off of a 300 foot high granite cliff. I tried for hours to find the "sweet spot" they had discovered to perform their solos, but the secret will die with them unrevealed to me.

Birds of the dawn chorus include the ground hornbill, Natal frankolin, bearded robin, fiery nicked nightjar, balck-eyed bulbul, Scops owl, brown-hooded kingfisher, white-bellied sunbird, red-eyed dove, Egyptian goose, tropical booboo, puff-back shrike, orange-breasted bush shrike, yellow-billed hornbill, bleating warbler, black-headed oriole, red-billed hoopers, a green-spotted dove, southern black-tit, Trumperter hornbills, Heuglin' robin, turtle dove, Senegal coucal, ra! ttling cisticola, crested barbet, turaco, red-faced cisticola, and fruit bat chirps.

Customer Reviews:

Beautiful.......2000-10-24

It's exotic, dynamic and dramatic without being unpleasantly raucous.

Another exquisite nature symphony of the highest quality which is what I am learning to expect from Bernie Krause.

Customer Reviews:

Great Singer But.......2006-08-31

Not 5 stars because at times Ponselle sound like she is in another room and some of the selections are real trash. But - the warmth, line and drama are magnificent and in a few spots the sheer size is amazing - no commercial recording does justice to the size of her voice.

Even Callas, not always the kindest or most objective observer of other sopranos, admitted that Ponselle was the greatest. Callas said that Tebaldi had a lovely voice but who cares? The thousands who went to hear sold out performances and the millions who purchased her recording are those who cares.

Back to Ponselle - her line breath and dramatic interpretations are amazing - I wish I could have heard her complete Norma on stage. I know the critics hated her Carmen they said it was too vulgar. Sounds amazingly intense and vocally impeccable to me, after all, Carmen was closer to a [..] than a debutante.

A treat for Ponselle fans.......2000-02-16

This record shows us a side of Ponselle I've never known before. I now realize just how hurried her old 78's were. The pacing of the songs and arias here is breathtaking in its sweep. And how large the voice sounds! No Ponselle lover will want to miss this one. Sound quality isn't always great. But as a companion to her studio releases, this record is without peer.

Rock Music:

Rock Music

rock music

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