"Dedicated to the healing of the heart, and considered "an album of epic proportions" by critics, the music is propelled beyond earthly confines with Demby at the electronic podium. She combines the rich melodicism of the Russian masters with the sublime aspirations of Bach, then blows them both out of the water. Through much of AEterna the grand piano sings the dominant voice. This album has a way of going into the heart and healing suppressed feelings by bringing them forth, and then cleansing and clearing them with a sonic therapeutic bath. "... AETERNA will remind some people of Vangelis at his best, -- at the same time,- expect a lot more than Vangelis offers in a single album."- Microsoft Network"Sure to become a classic, here is the music of the 21st century...Beautiful beyond words, this incredible release from Constance Demby easily receives my highest recommendations." - Omega Directory "Contance Demby literally helped shape New Age music with Novus Magnificat. ....this is some of the most heart opening, grandly expansive music I have heard in a long time. AETERNA is exquisite from beginning to end. All in all, a remarkable tour de force." - Steve Ryal, NA Retailer"This fantastic, transformative recording picks up where Constance Demby's widely acknolwedged masterpiece - Novus Magnificat - left off. Trust me you will be venturing deeper and deeper into this album for a long time to come. AETERNA is destined for many top-ten record-of-the-year lists. - PJ Birosik, NA Retailer "...deep, profound, passionate, spiritual... Demby sculpts a living soundscape that heals the soul." - Brent Ferre, Desert Sounds Review "If there's a more spiritually moving album...you get my drift... So many emotions this conjurs up. You're left with a feeling of total reverence. Superlative classical space masterwork." - "Head Music" Par Excellence List"I was carried away and churned up by the themes, then delivered to a place of inner reckoning. With the increasing intensity and moody depth in the symphonic sections, my core was fully exposed and my ribs ached with long-buried sobs. Demby has fulfilled her mission and has forged a sturdy path with this album. The only question: Is the world ready to take the journey?" - Carol Wright, NAPRA Review
"AETERNA is to experience the deepest sadness, the most profound joy, and the spaces in between..." - KSOR "An album of epic proportions....a full spectrum journey.... larger-than-life.... stands aside from its 'new age' counterparts with their, generally speaking, polite atmospherics." - Ambience
"...the greatest release since Sgt. Pepper's ! (maybe I exaggerate a bit, but it is good) - Paul Rapp, KUOPListener Response:"You weren't kidding when you wrote that this album was for healing the heart. I started crying hard on the first hearing of Aeterna, When I listened again I had an even stronger experience and started to cry violently. Is this typical? Do most people do the types of things I'm experiencing? I have been a left brain type of guy and this stuff is something I am not used to." - Rick"...I personally had such a profound emotional and spiritual experience that I wasn't able to even talk about it for over a week. This music literally penetrates the body and processes the emotions and the emotional barriers that keep people from remembering who they are and why they're here. This is the thing about your music that is so powerful -- it tends to penetrate below the conscious mind and activates a remembrance or a recall of something very familiar, very deep, that is actually what I think is the core of a human beings awareness or consciousness. I just can't listen to it enough. " - Regenesis Institute"As for AEterna's gift , so low in physical price, worth at least ten million more, I can only say that 15 years ago I lost an entire position of my Assemblage Point, and yesterday, I got it back. Where everything I loved and cherished had been scorched, boiled and fried to a crisp, and was in fact lost and unavailable, AEterna gave it back, squared and doubled. I feel I will never have The Sadness again.." - D Russell"I had read about how your music can cause men to cry. Having never experienced anything like this before, I dont really know how to explain what happened. I was listening to Ocean Without Shores, At the start of the song I was immediately immersed in the music - my eyes started watering, but by the end of the song i was a mess. I had cried to your music before, but never like this. my face and body started to crumple and i was sobbing uncontrollably. I don't think i have ever cried like that before. The strange thing was, I had no idea why i was crying. I've always heard people mention spirituality, and a higher consciousness, and a soul, but have never really connected in any way with anything like that. This is probably the closest i've ever come to a spiritual awakening. It was beyond any emotion I have ever experienced before. I wasn't sure whether they were tears of joy or tears of sorrow. It was one of the few times I had 'experienced' music, rather than just listening to it." - Anonymous"This music in it's subtleties heals ares of the mind and spirit that I did not even know needed healing, that is until the dam broke. It is hard to put into words the feelings that Aeterna evokes...a revolutionary approach to healing." - S. Davis, ChiGong Master"
Aeternal Enchantment
C. Gallahun | Whurld's End | 07/21/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Prepare to enter a realm of profound sonic vistas, delving deep into the stirrings of your heart. This music is healing and mysterious and majestically enchanting. You can't help but to let it soak into your deepest reaches. If you want something magical, something profound... Aeterna is for YOU. To listen to it is to love it. It captures a spectrum of emotion. This is one of Constance Demby's DEEPEST CDs, and it is one of her most vividly MOVING creations, especially the last selection, Rite of Passage. When you hear this, your soul will envision GRAND THINGS and be uplifted into pure enjoyment. It is the ultimate climax to such an exhilirating CD. If you want more of her music, try doing a search using her name. AETERNA is one of her FINEST. If you've never journeyed into the realms of this kind of music before, then Constance Demby's AETERNA is the ideal 'First Guide' for you. You will THIRST for more of her music after hearing Aeterna. --Chai Gallahun"
Amazing music!
Ladywolf | North Carolina Mountains | 06/17/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The first time I heard this amazing CD was at a friend's house. I could not believe the gorgeous sounds emanating from the stereo! My emotions ran the gamut on this one. At times my feelings were happy, then feelings of great sadness washed over me. The music is beautifully heart-wrenching...it is almost too much to bear at times. I would recommend this one to everyone! I guarantee you will be happy."
21st Century Bruckner
Daniel R. Greenfield | Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States | 07/10/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Arguably one of the greatest albums released, in any genre, during the last ten years. This is new-age Bruckner: sweeping, awesome, majestic, deeply spiritual music devoted to the care of the soul. Demby creates vast cathedrals of delicate sonic textures, rich with melody. Spirituality pours fourth from this work everywhere as if from some other sphere beyond our own. You can play this album right alongside any of Bruckner's later symphonies and see the parallels: both of these two great composers have been touched by an angelic spirit, and have given us a glimpse of that higher Wisdom that reduces all our little problems instantly to nothing - if we could only tap into it, make it our own! That is what touches me so deeply about this great work. It has not taught wisdom to me, but it has helped me to glimpse it ever so fleetingly. And that in itself is a magnificent achievement. May you be so fortunate."
Not my favorite sort of music...
T.G. | Newcastle, WA USA | 02/08/2002
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Although I can see how this music would have wide appeal, I confess an enjoyment for quieter, more introspective music by the likes of Riley Lee, Anoushka Shankar, Kokin Gumi... shakuhachi flute is a favorite, and other zen-inspired stuff. Although this kind of soaring, uplifting, joyous and emotional music can be appealing, it isn't a favorite here, and thus I can't give it the highest rating -- any rating involves a bias. However, it seems to be among the finest of its type. Thanks for reading."