Ambient Egypt, Sounds from Ancient Sources

Douglas Irvine | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 28, 1998)
• Original Release Date: October 28, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: William Sound
• ASIN: B000059MZK
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #179,037 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Nenchefka's Orchestra

2. Road to Wadi el Hol

3. Ambient Winds

4. Procession at Thebes

5. The Banquet

6. Lotus on the Nile

7. Bes

8. Sunboat Drifting

Editorial Reviews

Illinois Entertainer, April 1999

Remarkably vibrant. Creative intermingling of contemporary and time worn compositional components.

Product Description

Inspired by the ancient Egyptian musical world, Ambient Egypt explores the rich, timeworn sounds of surviving and reconstructed musical instruments. Over 70 minutes of music weave traditional and contemporary elements, evoking the sense of mystery that surrounds ancient Egyptian civilization.

This 2005 re-release features all original 1998 compositions remastered plus the bonus track to an Irvine's up-comming CD.

Total running time: 72.02

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bringing to life Ancient Egyptian music, February 12, 2003

By 

Gordon MacKinnon (Brisbane, Qld. Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ambient Egypt, Sounds from Ancient Sources (Audio CD)

Hello,

Ambient Egypt brings ancient Egyptian music to life.
I would rate this CD as highly as these other ancient Egyptian music reconstructions, Michael Atherton`s Ankh and Ali Jihad Racy`s Ancient Egypt. In my opinion the strengths of this CD are the use of authentic reconstructed instruments which have as Irvine states: "the potential to create new music".

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's not what you think, August 24, 2001

By 

Maura Enright - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ambient Egypt, Sounds from Ancient Sources (Audio CD)

Douglas Irvine obviously loves the sounds these instruments make; he has created a beautiful CD of "New music from ancient Egyptian instruments and surviving instrument specimens." Perfect mood music, perfect meditation music, AND - perfect "white noise" at the office. I bought my original at the Metropolitan Museum and have listened to it at least 300 times since then. I still hear something new everytime I play it.

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars He loved it!, August 12, 2002

By 

TammyJo Eckhart "TammyJo Eckhart" (Bloomington, Indiana United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ambient Egypt, Sounds from Ancient Sources (Audio CD)

I bought this as a gift for my partner who is big into "ancient Egypt" and the like -- far more as a layperson than as a scholar. He said the music was very relaxing and inspiring for his artistic endeavors though it also helped him get to sleep when he was already tired. The idea to try and recreate the music based on surviving instruments is a great one and avoids some of the serious errors of early archaeologists and scholars who attempted to use the actual instruments. I can't say that it is "accurate" in terms of representing a historical reality, but is a fair job of making music that can help a modern person relate to ancient Egypt. I'd probably use it as a intro to a basic history class on this period.