Vas

I love this cd, it's relaxing and deeply moving. If you like this one you should also check out the solo cd Azam Ali.

Vas' In the Garden of Souls is a wonderful addition to your melancholy music library with an extra kick. The Inward Coil (#7) is the center of the CD: the rest of the melodies mold around it.

The Indian sounds are soft and fluttery and at some points you get a little Asian flair. Azam Ali's voice rises above the music-her voice with Greg Ellis' instrumental skill is magnificent.

On the other side, the album is a bit forgettable because its river of mystical music flows one way and is so smooth.

Give this a whirl and see if
it cures your ailments too.
I recommend them and highly.

About the Band:
Vas is a world music / heavenly voices band based out of Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1995 when vocalist Azam Ali and percussionist Greg Ellis met at UCLA, Vas is frequently compared to Dead Can Dance. It is a fair comparison, as most bands in this genre tend to be labeled as "like DCD", but Vas has a much more spiritual (or meditative) quality that is centered on Ali's wonderful voice. The emotional music is very powerful and humbling with Ellis's drums and other traditional instruments providing the perfect backdrop for Ali.

About the Album:
In the Garden of Souls is Vas's third album. I bought this album based on the many positive reviews here on amazon, and I'm very glad I did. Like many bands in the heavenly voices genre, ambient music often is underexposed and I think underappreciated. The album is very consistent, with most of the tracks featuring Ali's soft vocals and all of the tracks are blessed by Ellis's and Ali's percussion. The diverse list of percussion and bell based instruments used in the album include: hammered dulcimer, tanpura, frame drums, rigg, udu, Fabla, dumbek, Nagara, cymbals, and various bells. I enjoy listening to the hour-long album in its entirety.

Recommended Tracks:
- Sevdama
- The Inward Coil
- In the Garden of Souls
- Lila

Typically I like darker romantic pieces, and have listed my favorite tracks above. My favorite track is "Sevdama" which has a folk-like quality to it due to the Ellis's backing vocals and Cameron Stone's cello. If you are looking for dynamic drumming in the style of Corvus Corax, "Ceremony of Passage" will certainly please you. The short "Beyond Despair" reminds me of medieval influenced bands such as Love Is Colder Than Death.

Similar Artists:
- Dead Can Dance
- Irfan
- Das Zeichen
- Love Is Colder Than Death
- Moon Far Away
- Impressions of Winter
- Qntal
- Corvus Corax

Have you ever had a dream where you find yourself wandering alone in a shadowy, mist-filled garden. A sacred and ancient site where long abandoned structures adorned with indecipherable inscriptions protrude here and there from behind or between the thick, dark green centuries old vines. A dream so vivid that you can feel the cool wet mist caressing your face and smell the musty odor of the rotting undergrowth lying below the lush vegetation. Did a priestess appear in the distance with a voice as indescrible as the dream itself?

If you have this is probably the perfect music to re-create that dream experience and Azam Ali would be the priestess with the otherworldly voice. Such is the mood created by this sensual, multi-layered -11 track- CD by Vas. Titled, 'In The Garden Of Souls' your spirit we take flight into a mysterious Netherworld inspired by the talented Azam Ali and Greg Ellis and cross over to a timeless place of imagination and wonder. Truly a journey you will never tire of taking.

Get the candles lit, turn out the lights and enjoy the journey!

I found Vas thanks to Amazon's penchant for suggesting based on other purchases, and am I glad! I was hunting for music to use in belly-dance class either for routines or warm-up. I had just ordered Greg Ellis' "Kala Rupa", having fallen in love with the copy my teacher used in class, and got a couple Vas suggestions. Impulsively I bought two and have been very happy, in class and in the car. The music is satisfyingly exotic to an ear trained in American music, yet vivid and accessible as well. 'Feast of Silence' is stunning, moody and alternately soothing and invigorating. Well worth the impulse!

Of all the VAS albums, this is my favourite, and an interesting evolution. The writing, song arrangements, production, the ambience, everything. And of course, above all...the beautiful angelic voice of Azam Ali. Every time I play this album for someone, they say "oh my God, who is that singer?" Greg Ellis' rhythms are brilliant here, very haunting and hypnotic, and not overdone as sometimes is the case with this type of music. The song Mandara floored me from the first time I heard it. The structure, the tension buildup, and the amazing vocal performance are just breathtaking.

Also great is Azam Ali's other project Niyaz, which has a more Middle-Eastern/Persian influence along with some electronic samples.

First of all, a special thank you to Chelle, my best buddy on the net. She purchased this album for my birthday, from my amazon wishlist. I am forever grateful to have discovered Azam Ali, VAS & Niyaz through Chelle. ;-) Since receiving the CD in the mail yesterday, I've played it twice. Both times were mesmerizing and captivating. I absolutely LOVE "Feast of Silence". Nothing better could've come from this album, seriously. The tribal, ambient and wordly sounds in the recording are incredible, and I had to indulge by listening to the CD twice in a matter of 24 hours. A few, excellent artists come to mind when I listen to "Feast of Silence". These are them: (Loreena McKennitt, Lisa Gerrard, Dead Can Dance, Diane Arkenstone, Ofra Haza). Because of Azam's remarkable, versatile voice, she can sing any style of music and do no wrong. I already have her "Portals of Grace" album, and the extractions from the "Elysium for the Brave" CD, but they aren't as great as this title from VAS. Azam Ali and Greg Ellis make a fantastic duo and I'm so proud of them for working together for so long. Hope they never stop! Greg is a very handsome man and so talented. Without his percussion work on the album, it just wouldn't sound the same. Just the cover photo alone sold me right away. I'm attracted to albums when they have attractive covers...so this helped me a lot in my choice for a wishlist item.

As I write in all my reviews, I look for sound quality. For "Feast of Silence", the sound is excellent. Unfortunately, the album is shorter than I thought, although...the songs are long. But all really great albums are too short. ;-) As I mentioned earlier, Azam reminded me of Loreena McKennitt and Lisa Gerrard (of Dead Can Dance) throughout the CD. And, I didn't expect Azam to sing such moving, versatile pieces of music. She can certainly put her own style into virtually anything she sings. "Feast of Silence" is a must-have for anyone's music collection. And at least I know to classify the album under "World"...as sometimes it's hard to classify such a masterpiece. There aren't any favorites on "FOS", because they're all super. The title track is just as stunning as the rest of them. I can't stress enough, how good this album is. You must have it!

Artwork is beautiful throughout the package. There is only 1 photo of the duo inside the booklet, but the entire layout has a beautiful design. The disc itself is a dark terra-cotta (almost brown) in color, with black "lacey" artwork in an Indian style. It's very nice. I don't know if the CD was only housed in a jewel case everywhere, but mine is. Visit the Narada site and check out more info on Azam Ali and her music (solo & collaborative). You won't regret it.

Tracklist:
01- Amrita (Churning the Sea of Milk) - 6:08
02- In Our Faith - 7:05
03- Mandara - 6:23
04- Izgrejala - 3:52
05- Moksha - 4:59
06- The Reaper and the Flowers - 4:22
07- Bardo - 10:16
08- Feast of Silence - 7:17
09- Kali Basa - 6:47

I have been listening to this one for several days now and must admit that I am impressed with it. It shows that this duo have grown quite a bit and it comes out almost as good to me as Ali's solo work. There are only a few brief moments on here that I just can't make it through (namely "the reaper in the flowers". sorry folks but this is boring). The Bulgarian vocal arrangements are particularly wonderful, as is the touch of Indian flavor on the third track. Azam Ali is reaching new levels as a vocalist on "Feast of Silence" and Greg Ellis is also coming up nicely...

Azam Ali also makes her English debut with this album, and does so fairly nicely. It's not a constant onslaught, as I had thought it might be, but it is there.

If you have not heard Vas before, and enjoy world music with deep classical undertones then this might be something you should check out. Azam Ali's voice is simply glorious.

I've followed Vas haphazardly for some time now, from the days when they were true minimalists, focused on Azam Ali's expressive voice and Greg Ellis's percussion work. The strong Medieval and Middle Eastern flavor was haunting as Ali created her own language to express emotions both plaintive and ecstatic. Their work gradually filled out and became increasingly complex and then, suddenly, they stopped recording. Sometimes the connection between love and creativity takes a long time to break and heal over.

Feast of Silence marks an overcoming of differences. Ali and Ellis work so well together that it's a bit of a relief to see that they have managed to find a new accommodation. Even more interesting it the fact that the music is a genuine departure for them in the midst of Ali's traditional stylings experiments like 'In Our Faith' appear. The music is mostly acoustic, but it dances on the edge with occasional electronic tidbits. In addition Ali steps over into the use of actual lyrics, revealing and underlying poetic spirit in work like 'Feast of Silence.'

For most of the cuts they work together. Each also has a track without the other - 'Moksha' (Elllis) and 'Feast of Silence' (Azam Ali). If I had to pick a favorite, though, it would be Izgrejaia, which is one long joyful effort. Joining the two leads are Tyler Bates one guitar and keyboard, Pejman Hadadi on tombak, Deepak Ram on bansuri, Cameron Stone on cello, Justin Meldal-Johnsen on bass, Naser Musa on oud and Brent Meyer on bouzuki. Far more musicians than they usually work with.

I hope this presages more albums to come from an innovative pair that have created their own musical niche.

I had the urge to acquire some Middle Eastern music. Something about the sound of it is liberating to me. I did a little investigating and came across Vas. They were the sound I was looking for, and Azam Ali was the perfect vocalist for the job. Before Vas I had no Middle Eastern music in my collection, but after hearing Azam Ali sing I was convinced that she was the one who would fill the gap of that type of music in my collection and have since gotten nearly everything she is involved in. I can recommend everything I have purchased from Vas in addition to Niyaz and her solo project (Portals of Grace and Elysium for the Brave). If you are interested in this style of music, rest assured, Azam Ali will deliver, and there are so many albums of hers to choose from. I'm sure you will enjoy your selections.

I originally heard of VAS through my bellydance class. I have more recent CD's of them, but wanted the debut. I wasn't disappointed. Azam Ali creates a wondrous mood that makes me want to travel the desert, or dream of life in a nomadic tent near a quiet oasis. I have this music going when I am sewing or creating something or just to dance to when I feel the urge.
I look forward to more!

This ia a beautiful cd. Azam Ali has such a unique and enchanting voice. She really has the ability to take you places you've never gone before. You don't even have to spend a penny to get there, unless you count the cost of a cd. Anyways it's cheaper to experience the middleast through her hauntingly magnificient vocals. The differnt instruments that are used also give it a neat effect. I've known only two other artists that have done great things by only making noises with their voices, Mike Patton and Sigur Ros. Azam is up there with the best of the best. She's very gifted. I also own Niyaz another project of hers that is a bit different, more electronic sounding, but fabulous also.

As previously stated Azam has a very pure voice and is an instrument here. I do play this quite often but actually prefer Portals of Grace for more variation in sounds. Sunyata has a 90% Indian theme. Personally I love her Iranian sound the best.

Listen and enjoy this music
it is mesmerizing.
I love to float along as
it plays. Recommended to one
and all.

This review is valid for all albums of VAS as well as the solo albums of Azam Ali. First her voice is really remarkable. It is calm and soft i.e. soothing, to express it with one word simply memorable. She has an astonishing broad pitch range and it is impressive how long she can hold a note. Second the percussion play of Greg Ellis adds a driving component to the music of VAS. All in all it is very beautiful music where you can lean back, close your eyes and hover away in dreams.

love this cd-play it all the time my all time favorite! Vas used such melodious instruments on OFFERINGS, was hoping they would do more, but unfortunately they are no longer working together.Azam Ali's voice places one at the spirals of Heaven!!Will definitely follow her recordings! BLUZ

I find myself drawn to play this cd again and again. It's like soaking in a warm bubble bath with a good glass of wine, simply relaxing. A very exotic mixture of songs flavored with touches of middle eastern. Warm, sensual nurturing.....a wonderful cd.

Like fingernails on a blackboard - the instruments, the singer's voice, the melodies.

It happens to the best of us. Reality impinges, takes a bite out of our equanimity, and makes off with our peace of mind. These are times when those that belive in an inner sanity struggle to find something that provides pure focus, music that is there for itself, with no distracting overtones.

Azam Ali has a rare talent - the ability to take the sounds and tones of her voice and, almost magically, make them into words and sentences completely free of meanings and hidden agendas. In this pure atmosphere, accompanied by the thoughtful percussion of her companion Greg Ellis, there is a place for reintegration as well as the appreciation of something beautiful.

Ali is Iranian, the melodies and structures of that land haunt Vas's music. It would, however, be unfair to classify this music as belonging to one region or culture. The are too adept to fall into that trap. The delicacy of the music arises in a careful weaving of eastern and western tradition. Guitar, cello and violin make the sound familiar and alien at the same time. I'm not a great percussion fan, but I find the edges added by Ellis's work add to the serenity and fascination of the music.

"Sly" is a great opera that is overlooked and not produced as often as it should be. We saw Domingo sing Sly at the MET and was so impressed we bought this CD down in the gift shop! I like this CD production - the live aspect is good, in my mind. One can picture oneself at the opera house. I can't wait until there is another production to see this opera again!

A mesmerizing portrait by a still mesmerizing tenor! A gem of an opera, if you can, get the video too. It's AMAZING!

This opera appears to be having a vogue as a vehicle for, how to put it tactfully, tenors in their declining years - Domingo is about to try it at the Met - and Carreras has been performing it at a variety of opera houses. This recording is taken live from a performance in summer 2000 at Barcelona. Taking a theme from Shakespeare's Prologue to 'The Taming of the Shrew', librettist Forzano prepared this tale of Christopher Sly initially for Puccini, who rejected it. Sly falls asleep dead drunk at a lowly inn, only to wake up in the grandest finery, victim of a practical joke.It all ends badly - and doesn't really add up, emotionally, dramatically or musically.

Wolf-Ferrari's music in this opera could be described as 'characters in search of an author' - it despatches the dramatic events efficiently enough, but with a lack of personality, or of real command of pacing.The invention, occasionally arresting, is in general short-breathed and fails to take wing where you would expect. The review in 'Gramophone' magazine mentions that the first act could almost be worthy of 'Falstaff' or 'Gianni Schicchi' - well, I beg to differ - there is more invention in 30 seconds of 'Falstaff', or 2-3 minutes of 'Schicchi' than here. The strange third act, almost totally a monologue for Sly, doesn't satisfy as a culmination: a work that starts out darkly playful suddenly becomes pure melodrama and this strikes me as faulty story-telling and inconsistent characterization.

'Sly' undoubtedly is a vehicle for a star tenor, and Carreras does sing with burnished tone, insight and great nobility (perhaps too much for a drunken sot!)and there are not too many high-lying forays that expose him. Sherrill Milnes retains his distinctive timbre, and does what he can with a role that yields diminishing returns, but comes a cropper whenever he ventures above the stave. Isabelle Kabatu as Dolly was perhaps exciting live, her thick timbre doesn't seems to record well and can be harsh and unlovely, though she seems to improve in the last act. Some of the cameo parts, mainly in the first act, are atrocious! The singers portraying John Plake and Rosaline - well, the latter almost sounds like a send up; don't they hold auditions in Barcelona? The orchestral writing is often austere, and some exposed passages don't bear scrutiny in this performance. Perhaps live, in the presence of a star performer this work can be compelling, but I don't rate it an interesting listen on CD.

The works collected on this disk stem from the final years of Walter Winslow's life (1947-1998) and reveal an interest in the classical world as well as the music and poetry of Tahitian and other Pacific cultures. This latter strain is represented by the Six Paripari for soprano (1995). The texts for these pieces come from Tahitian sources, but, except for the exotic place names, they could be translations from the German Romantic poetry that Schubert enjoyed setting. For the most part, Winslow allows the cadences of the Tahitian language to dominate the piece. The accompaniment is spare and percussive, acting as a counterpoint to the vocal melody and subtly underscoring the text's meaning. Mirror of Diana (1991), a work for solo clarinet, refers to a lake in the Alban hills which was a seat of the goddess' priesthood. Quiet, meditative passages alternate with louder, more sharply characterized sections, a reflection of, in Winslow's words, "an isolated place of striking beauty with overtones of mystery and violence."

In 1994 Winslow was diagnosed with cancer, an event that seems to have inspired the remaining two works on this disk. A Voice from Elysium (1995) uses as its text an inscription from an ancient Roman tomb. A woman, Homonoea, who died young advises her husband Atimetus to leave off grieving, "Your tears avail naught nor can the fates be moved." As in the paripari, Winslow is always sensitive to the text. He writes, "Atimetus's is the world of the living, full of turmoil, and it is characterized by musical textures which are densely chromatic and frequently harsh. Interestingly, the world beyond the grave has music which is largely diatonic, and keeps circling about one chord." Yet this division is not strict and Winslow brings out the ambiguity between these two worlds by having the soprano sing both roles.

Winslow's last completed work, Concertati Veneziani (1998), is a masterpiece. The sextet is scored for four violins, viola and cello with the violins usually playing in pairs, giving the work the feel of a string quartet. "I felt a need to honor the musical tradition which has made my life rich beyond measure. Thus the need to sum up, the need to speak in a somewhat broader language.... All this occurs in a musical language that treats tonality (diatonic and chromatic), modality, atonality and dodecaphony as if they were all inhabitants of the same universe." It's enough to say that Winslow succeeds in achieving this goal. The sense of the past pervades the music, but the sextet never falls into the trap of becoming a pastiche. The work ends in a chorale of sublime beauty evocative of Palestrina and late Beethoven.

The disk was recorded over a three-day period but the players betray no unfamilarity with this music. The performances are splendid.

Arturo Delmoni is perhaps one of the most underrated violinists performing today. His technical command of the instrument leaves nothing to be desired (as one might expect of a student of Galamian, Milstein and Heifetz) and yet everything is played with the elegance, charm and musicality that were inescapable in the playing of Milstein and Gingold (also a teacher).

The Faure sonata is particularly lovely, with a delightful habit of lingering at just the right moment, and the well-chosen portamenti seldom disappoint. The liner notes mention that Faure wrote the sonata under the influence of young love, and Delmoni plays it as if so afflicted himself.

The Franck is appropriately muscular (listen to the opening of the second movement!) where it ought to be, and vocal and improvisatory in the recitativo/fantasia. Delmoni employs a diverse palette of tone colors drawn from the 1721 Stradivari he played on this recording.

The sound is clear, undistorted and has an appropriate dynamic range. Perspective is sufficiently distant that the nitty-gritty sounds of the violin are unobtrusive, yet the performers are in an intimate setting with the listener. Put this in the CD player, dim the lights, enjoy with one's favorite libation in a comfortable chair and all the day's troubles will vanish.

Like the other recordings he has done for John Marks Records, this one is a winner! Be sure to check out Nathaniel Rosen's playing on the same label for some fine cello playing.