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The Celestine Prophecy: A Musical Voyage |
| Produced by Edgar Rothermich | |
| Released on June 25, 1996 | |
| US NEW AGE CHART POSITION #5 | |
| Find it at GEMM | |
| P2 50571 cover [high resolution scan] |
K ronomyth 8.0: A PROPHETABLE VENTURE. I’ve haven’t grown so soft around the middle that I don’t find the whole spiritual journey in South America theme just an itsy bitsy celestiney weenie-ish, but it wouldn’t be the first time that a second-rate libretto inspired a first-rate score. If you’ve read my other Christopher Franke reviews (and who hasn’t?), you’ll know that I don’t give him a free pass for past services rendered in the great dream. And, as a discographer, I can’t help but note that the man’s recorded oeuvre is littered with dubious entries, including no less than a dozen soundtracks to a series whose sole purpose seemed to be to make Deep Space Nine look like less of a complete crapfest, Babylon 5. (I still think both series should have ended after the first season with their ships colliding into each other.) Steeled for sixty minutes of new age navelgazing, I was surprised to find that Franke had instead written a surprisingly melodic, evocative score that held its own with the natural and exotic works of Kitaro, Vangelis and Jon Anderson. Although the story is set in Peru, Franke has some united notions about what the music should sound like; there are peruvian flutes, chinese flutes, australian flutes, american indian flutes, japanese flutes, african voices, gregorian chant and irish harp all intertwined. It’s an unusual approach to program music, this multicultural mixing, but Franke apparently felt the need to peru’s other vistas in his search for the right musical settings. To his credit, the songs match the program nearly perfectly, whether it’s the energy-filled gardens of “Viciente” or the right choices revealed in “Scene at the Crossroads.” Honestly, I had given up finding anything of merit in Franke’s solo catalog, and I obviously gave up too soon. The Celestine Prophecy is meritorious music that reveals a melodic side to Franke’s muse and deserves the accolade as one of the year’s best new age albums.
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| P2 50571 back cover |
TRACK LISTING
CREDITS
CHRISTOPHER FRANKE --
BERLIN SYMPHONIC FILM ORCHESTRA -- orchestra
ALAN WAGNER -- conductor
Andy Abad -- acoustic guitars, ukelele, charango
Alex Acuna -- ethno-musicologist
Li Chun Chang -- Taiwanese Aboriginal Nay Tribe-chanting throat voices
Jie Chen -- Tibetan voices
Er-Hu -- Chinese violin
Paul Frederick -- metaphone, santur
Jim Gilstrap -- African voices
Karen Han -- Chinese violin
Deborah Holland -- Celtic voices, vocals
Paul Horn -- American Indian flute, Chinese flute
Rick Jude -- vocals
Katie Kirkpatrick -- Celtic & Irish harp
Doerte Lau -- glas harmonium
Brice Martin -- didgeridoo, Australian flute
Kazu Matsui -- shakuhachi, Japanese flute
Arturo Garcia Orozco -- sanbona, Peruvian flute
Dennis Parnell -- choir director
Sirah Vettese -- vocals
Jim Walker -- pan flute, bamboo flute
Ray Yslas -- Peruvian & African percussion
Edgar Rothermich -- engineer
Jay Blakesberg -- photo
| REGION | RELEASE DATE | LABEL | MEDIA | ID NUMBER | FEATURES |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | June 25, 1996 | Priority Records | CD | P2 50571 |
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