The Prayer Cycle

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.com
It is with primitive urgency and lustrous clarity rising like flickering embers from a fire that Jonathan Elias's ambitious Prayer Cycle is given voice. Woven together like knotty wool, silk, and fine strands of silvery water, the disparate yet complementary voices of the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Alanis Morissette, Yungchen Lhamo, Ofra Haza, the American Boychoir, Salif Keita, and others intertwine in multiple languages with the superb English Chamber Orchestra and Chorus. Prayers of supplication, gratitude, and longing build in layers, one on top of and 'twixt and 'tween the other, as movements titled "Mercy," "Grace," "Innocence," "Compassion," and the like. Remarkably, Elias's Prayer Cycle eloquently captures the ecstasy, pain, grief, and sublime beauty of humanity--as he simply and poignantly writes in his liner notes, "The world we live in is both joyous and cruel." --Paige La Grone

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Customer reviews

review by: Anwar date: 2008-09-04 rating:
Excellent CD
This is a great collection of songs with a consistent tone that allow you to get into a deep, relaxed state. Highly recommend it.

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review by: date: 2008-02-05 rating:
Very different and meditative
If you like Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, and I do you, might like this too!

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review by: Music Lover date: 2007-12-12 rating:
Spiritual Journey
This CD is one I put on when I want to hear beauty and relax. It is great at work when you are working intensely on something or have a deadline! My co-workers laugh because I slide my headphones on and say "I am going to my happy place."

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review by: date: 2007-08-03 rating:
Near Glorious
The only "weak" track on Jonathan Elias' The Prayer Cycle is "Grace," featuring John Williams and James Taylor. And I put the word "weak" in quotation marks because where the other eight tracks are transcending, atmospheric and, of course, godly, "Grace" remains earthbound by it's folksy, Renaissance melody. (It's as if Williams and Taylor were channelling deceased English singer-songwriter/musician Nick Drake.) One could argue, however, that "Grace" is a refreshing break from the lush orchestra and passionate wailing throughout, in which case, at track number five, it is perfectly placed in the middle of the epic arrangements. In any case that is a minor quibble for an album that is near glorious and comes highly recommended.


review by: date: 2007-02-24 rating:
soul stirring-true gift of music
...a very few meaningful words are added to enhance the sound and voice on this eloquent and moving gift of music. It has become my favorite disc to share as a gift of love with friends and colleagues.

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