Today I sat down at my computer and turned on my favorite music player of all time.  Live365’s, Radio365.  I have the premium version because of all the music players I have tried, this one was the best (in my opinion) hands down.  (And for the price you will never find a better deal!) Anyway, I found a new station I haven’t listened to before. 

Sacred Sounds Radio is a most unique blend of music.  I wasn’t sure what to expect when I turned to this station, but I liked it enough to stay for the entire evening.   “Wahe Guru,” by Mantra Girl is playing right now and it is totally unique. 

The music titles, to the casual reader, might look completely eastern and have no appeal to a western mindset.  NOT true.  This is as interfaith as it gets.  This particular piece I am listening to right now is meditative, prayerful, and very sacred in its expression.  One click in my Radio365 player, and this CD was put on my wishlist.

On the front page of the Web site, I found a list of artists.  I scrolled through and found Mantra Girl and discovered a whole page of information about the two behind the music. 

There’s a lot more on this site. I hope you will check it out and give it a good listen. I am very pleased I found this Internet radio station and it is definitely, now one of my favorites!

Sacred Sounds Radio

Yesterday I spoke about Christopher Franke, who was a former member of “Tangerine Dream.”  Tangerine Dream is, arguably, the beginning of the movement we now call new age music. 

In 1974, Tangerine Dream recorded an album called, “Phaedra,” and it was unlike any kind of music that anyone had heard before.  The new age of music was here and 32 years later, it and Tangerine Dream are still going strong.

Last year, they re-released Phaedra, completely re-recorded in 2005, using some of their original instruments, and some new ones.  It is uniquely TD, and any fan will love this flashback/flashforward recording.

Tangerine Dream Official Web Site

Tangerine Dream Fan Site - Loads of links for mailing lists, interviews and just about anything TD

Going through the neoclassical, or new age, music genre shows a variety of musicians and styles.  It is common to find chant music in this genre.  Yes - chant music like monks chant in monasteries all over the world. 

I was watching a DVD tonight (no segue, but trust me, it is relevant) - it was one of the episodes of “Babylon 5,” which is a science fiction series.  I won’t go into all the details.  Those don’t matter, but suffice to say, that an alien of much higher development, intelligence, and technology was “training,” a mere human.  The lesson was a, “Moment of Pure Beauty.”

The moment turned out to be a very run down part of a space station.  A robed figure was suddenly joined and the junkheap corner of the spaceship turned into… well, I am having trouble describing it.  It was a moment of pure beauty. 

The subtitles said it was Gregorian chant.  I am not convinced and I can’t find any reference to it anywhere.  I am wondering if you might know.  It is so beautiful - the rest of the music on the show is done by Christopher Franke (of neoclassical Tangerine Dream) and the Berlin Symphonic Film Orchestra and this was definitely not them. 

The name of the episode is “There All The Honor Lies.”  If anyone knows what kind of chant this is, please let me know.  You can email me at adelle (at) syntagmamedia (dot) com.

Neoclassical, or new age music, is usually associated with synthesizers, a solo piano, or guitar.  But any instrument can play neoclassical.  And some unlikely ones are being played by musicians that have found neoclassical to be the perfect outlet for their creativity.

Rhonda Lorence, viola soloist, says, “…I think some melodies just sound better on the viola. Its range is in the midrange to upper-midrange. It creates a much fuller sound than the violin, which I find perfect for melody lines.”  She describes her music as “neoclassical new age fusion.”

Voyages on Viola - From “The Mountain Times” in North Carolina