In the Realm of Shadow - Popol Vuh, Fichelscher, Danny
Wanderer Through the Night
Listen He Who Ventures
Brothers of Darkness-Sons of Light
Ah!
Kyrie
Hosianna-Mantra
Departure
Blessing
Devotion I
Not High in Heaven
Devotion II
Popol Vuh's Tantric Songs and Hosianna Mantra are recognized as classics in the field of contemplative music. Popol Vuh has long been praised for their ability to blur the boundaries of time and space through a unique h... more »ybrid of ceremonial styles from around the world. Tantric Songs and Hosianna Mantra complement each other perfectly in their creation of modern ritualistic soundscapes. From the evocative, bass chants of `Mantra of the Touching of the Earth' to the primal drumming of `In the Realm of Shadow', Tantric Songs merges traces of classical refinement with feelings conjured up by ancient religious rites. Hosianna Mantra encompasses a series of gracefully understated chants. With pastel piano textures, spacious melodies from guitar and violin, and the angelic vocals of Djong Yun, Popol Vuh distills the sublime nature of Christian liturgical music from the dogma normally associated with it. As critic Keith Armstrong wrote, Hosianna Mantra is "a hypnotic work that leaves its echo on the air...relentlessly drawing one away from one's surroundings and into the space in which thoughts become musical sounds and words are experienced as feelings and nuances."« less
Popol Vuh's Tantric Songs and Hosianna Mantra are recognized as classics in the field of contemplative music. Popol Vuh has long been praised for their ability to blur the boundaries of time and space through a unique hybrid of ceremonial styles from around the world. Tantric Songs and Hosianna Mantra complement each other perfectly in their creation of modern ritualistic soundscapes. From the evocative, bass chants of `Mantra of the Touching of the Earth' to the primal drumming of `In the Realm of Shadow', Tantric Songs merges traces of classical refinement with feelings conjured up by ancient religious rites. Hosianna Mantra encompasses a series of gracefully understated chants. With pastel piano textures, spacious melodies from guitar and violin, and the angelic vocals of Djong Yun, Popol Vuh distills the sublime nature of Christian liturgical music from the dogma normally associated with it. As critic Keith Armstrong wrote, Hosianna Mantra is "a hypnotic work that leaves its echo on the air...relentlessly drawing one away from one's surroundings and into the space in which thoughts become musical sounds and words are experienced as feelings and nuances."
CD Reviews
Single best value CD for Popol Vuh fans
Susan R. Matthews | Seattle, WA USA | 09/16/1998
(5 out of 5 stars)
"At 76:31, this is the single best value for Popol Vuh fans you will find anywhere. It reproduces, apparently in entirety, two Popol Vuh albums, Tantric Songs (also Die Nacht der seele) and Hosianna Mantra.The tantric songs are fairly short pieces that present a variety of meditative environments. I can't speak to any technical details that they may embody, not being a practitioner of tantric yoga. Called songs, the vocals are by and large wordless tones or chants with the punctuation of electronic keyboard music and effects.Having just listened to Die nacht der seele and this CD back-to-back I am fairly sure that the same material is on both CDs, and would therefore advise against purchasing the former separately (unless like me you gotta have it all).There are several "musical references" to music contained on other albums, most notably the Nosferatu soundtrack albums (the title track of the Bruder des schattens is quoted in its entirety). If you like this stuff as much as I do the quoting won't bother you. If you don't you won't find so much of it that you may not be as satisfied..To date, as far as I know, Hosianna Mantra has not been separately released on CD, and so this is the only place you can get that material. Hosianna Mantra contains a higher content of female vocals and actual sung words than other Popol Vuh albums -- more like their Seligpreisung, Sei Stille, Hohenlied Salamos, and Einsjager albums than the soundtrack albums and related material. It's good stuff. It's rather light, for Popol Vuh, in a sense that a room in a house in the mountains with east-facing windows might be bright on a winter's morning. The Hosianna Mantra material may lack the deep grounding sound of the Tantric Songs and other material but certainly represents an interesting aspect of the group's music.Details: Tracks are Mantra of the touching of the heart; Mantra of the touching of the earth; Angel of the Air part 1; Angel of the Air part 2; In the realm of shadow; Wanderer through the night; Listen he who ventures; Brothers of darkness -- sons of light; Ah!; Kyrie; Hosianna-Mantra; Departure; Blessing; Devotion 1; Not High in Heaven; and Devotion II, for a total time of 76:31."
True Ambience
bruce watson | Belgrave, Victoria Australia | 08/16/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Those of you expecting some pencil-necked macrobiotic New Ager doodling on a casio next to a cage full of exotic birds and a couple of running taps - be warned. This monumental work from the Teutonic genius of Florian Fricke is true ambient music - as distinct from most of the ubiquitous aural valium that poses under the dreaded department store moniker of 'New Age/ Ambient / Relaxation. Not that this music isn't relaxing (it can be profoundly so ), but there is a vast textural range here that somehow addresses the more obscure and refined emotions within.
Popol Vuh have been composing haunting soundtrack music for many years - through their fruitful artistic alliance with that iconoclastic German director Werner Herzog - in films such as Aguirre, Nosferatu and Heart of Glass. Tracks 'Kyrie' and 'Hosianna Mantra' are reminiscient of Some of Jerry Garcia's extraordinary electric guitar on the 'Zabriskie Point' soundtrack, while others evoke the timeless, universal longings of the great spiritual traditions - through an impeccable marriage of Eastern and Western instrumentation. I know it's been said ad nauseum in respect of many other albums, but this gorgeous soundscape is truly 'timeless'."
Great
Liam | House on the Rock, Wisconsin | 07/09/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Hosianna Mantra has to be one of my favorite albums ever. It's a pity that it, along with the rest of Popol Vuh's catalog, is virtully unheard of in the United States. The songs on Hosianna Mantra are beautiful and among the most spiritual pieces I've ever heard. The 10-minute title track is a standout, combining angelic vocals with piano and watery guitar to great effect. And Departure is one of the more beautiful pieces of music ever, in my opinion. Along with this album comes the later Tantric Songs, a solid but not spectacular effort. The two Angel of the Air songs are very beautiful, however. If you hate New Age-ish music, then you probably wouldn't like this. Not to say that this is New Age, but it is more meditative than most (or all) "rock" music. It's worth checking out otherwise."
Tantric songs/Hosianna Mantra
Stavroula Avgousti | Athens Greece | 10/19/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I particularly liked this compilation because of the beautiful melodies and instruments used. There are many tracks with an exotic sound, due to the sitar which can be vaguely heard,and the ethereal vocals of Djong Yun.
"Departure" is a very beautiful and atmospheric melody which is characterised by the lyrical sound of Robert Eliscu's oboe. In all, this compilation of these two albums "Tantric songs" and "Hosianna Mantra" is very relaxing and soothing. Even long tracks like "Brothers of darkness-sons of light" and "Hosianna Mantra" do not lose their melodic quality despite their long duration."
Phenomenal
Stavroula Avgousti | 01/10/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This CD is a brilliant compilation of Popol Vuh's work. I love it! It takes you to a realm outside of space-time, to Tartaros, the shadowy Underworld ruled by Hades. Here you are privy to a preview of the shadowy existence that awaits. But just when despair seems to be too heavy, the light and love of Sons of Light comes through and redeems you. This is the music of transcendence. This is the music of the soul. Buy it now! Hades command you!"
Track Listings (16) - Disc #1