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Music

World & New Age Music Reviews

By Kathryn Sargent

The Nuns and Monks of the Self Realization Fellowship have just released two CDs of devotional music. Leading audiences of thousands of singing devotees at the SRF Convocations of 1999, 2000, and 2001 in Los Angeles, the nuns were accompanied on traditional Indian kirtan instruments: harmonium, bells, cymbols, tampura, and tablas. Some of the chants are translated into English, and some are in the original Indian form. The songs recognize the Divine as both male and female, and express the devotee's desire to become closer to the Divine. The nuns' album is entitled When My Dream's Dream is Done; the monks' album is called I Will Sing Thy Name, and is a two-disc set. It's a powerful experience to hear two thousand people singing the same chants.

Rainstick, by Tomoko (Nikkos Music, LLC), is a dreamy escape to the elements of nature. I'd never realized what a range of sounds a rainstick is capable of until I heard this CD. Tomoko, a classically trained dancer from Japan, performed with symphonies as well as with her partner in music and romance, Nikkos. After discovering the rainstick, she learned that she could dance with it and make music that matched her movements. She learned to emulate the sounds of wind, waves, rivers and even bird song, with the rainstick. Her partner, Nikkos, accompanies her on flute, piano and keyboards, with additional accompanists on keyboards, acoustic and electric bass, drums and percussion. The result is a lovely, peaceful soundscape that soothes and relaxes the listener.

In Yol Bolsin (Real World/Virgin), Uzbekki singer Sevara Nazarkhan brings to life images from Persian miniature paintings of a lone woman singing and accompanying herself on a string instrument. A pop singer in Tashkent, Sevara studied voice at Tashkent State Conservatoire, where she was taught by both singers and ethnomusicologists. Not surprisingly, her repertoire includes folk, Sufi and peasant songs. She is accompanied on doira (a woman's small, flat drum) and the doutar ( a lute-like stringed instrument), as well as electric guitar, keyboards, and samples. The music is exotic, trance-inducing, and both modern and ancient. It's excellent dance music, but don't forget to pay attention to Sevara's beautiful voice.