Archive for the ‘Native American Music’ Category:
Heart of the World
Amazon.com
Flutist Mary Youngblood’s CD brims with feminine beauty and Native American spirituality. With airy flute, hand drums, percussion, guitar, and the gorgeous vocals of Joanne Shenandoah, Heart of the World spins a wonderfully folkish, uplifting tribute to life on earth. “Loon Dance” sings with a light vibrancy, gracefully mixing the repetition of beautiful Native American melody and acoustic guitar. “Yuba” runs as slowly and sensually as the rivers it pays homage to. The precious value of this recording lies not only in its enchanting embrace of Native American culture, nature, and love, but the divine music it creates from simple, natural instruments. So much New Age music reaches for grandiose heights with electronic instrumentation that ends up sounding calculated, arrogant, and corny on CD. What a refreshing gift to receive music that’s made by instruments grown from the land and played by an ensemble with a heart. Thank you, Mary Youngblood. –Karen Karleski (more…)
Sacred Spirit, Vol. 2: More Chants and Dances of the Native Americans
Amazon.com
Given the multi-million-copy selling success of Sacred Spirit: Chants and Dances of the Native Americans, its follow-up, Sacred Spirit II is bound to have a built-in audience. Like its predecessor, the collection mixes chant and song with dance beats and electronic instrumentation. While tracks such as “Dela Dela” and “Yane-Heja-Hee” meld these elements most effectively, the overall effect of the synthesized sound is heavily over the top and distracting from the gentle melodies and heartfelt cries of Native music at its best. A prime example is the tender and lovely female vocal on “May You Walk in Sunshine,” obscured by overly aggressive accompaniment. A more solid and aesthetically pleasing choice for the genre is Prophecy: A Native American Collection, which achieves a finer balance of modern and ancient. –Paige La Grone
Sacred Spirit: Chants and Dances of the Native Americans
Amazon.comSacred Spirit: Chants and Dances of the Native Americans is an 11-song journey bridging the gap between ancient and contemporary history, tradition and modern instrumentation. While it is impossible to fully realize such scope on a single disc, Sacred Spirit makes the choice to represent all indigenous Americans rather than become mired in the potentially divisive bog of politics and tribal allegiance. All but two melodies are entirely traditional, bringing together flute, drums, and vocals with a cello and keyboard wash. This marriage is most effective on the lovely bowing of “The Cradlesong,” and the looping electro-acoustic beauty of “Wishes of Happiness & Prosperity.” Elsewhere, synthetic elements are overwhelming, detracting from a song’s essence, as with the spongy nervosity of “Elevation.” An uneven offering, Sacred Spirit doesn’t quite live up to its promise. A better choice is Earthbeat’s Tribal Waters. –Paige La Grone