Dawn of a New Century

Secret Garden | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 20, 1999)
• Original Release Date: April 20, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Philips
• ASIN: B00000I609
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (69 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #13,009 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Secret Garden's formula is plain to hear. They have the lush string orchestrations of Yanni, the layered vocals of Clannad and Enya, and the stage-show Celtica of Riverdance. In the past these elements have weighed down the music of Irish violinist Fionuala Sherry and Norwegian keyboardist Rolf Lovland with a sweetness that would make tiramisu taste like poi. On Dawn of a New Century, they finally dance closer to the line that divides schlock from serenity, beauty from the banal. Capercaillie singer Karen Matheson gives a haunting vocal performance on "Prayer," surrounded by Clannad-like harmonies. "Children of the River" is a cinematic expanse with Asian overtones, while "Lore of the Loom" swoops through orchestral landscapes that could be Ireland or Norway. But there's also the hokey faux-Baroque of "Divertimento" and the title piece, which could stand in for "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing." --John Diliberto

Product Description

Japanese SHM-CD pressing. Universal. 2012. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Magical, Mystical, Triumphant, February 4, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Dawn of a New Century (Audio CD)

For me, it is the same as with all of Secret Garden's CDs: I am completely "swept away" by their music to that magical, spiritual "place" within where I freely explore my ideas, my thoughts, my intuitions, my goals and my dreams. I don't feel weighted down by the music; to the contrary, its varied moods and personalities delight my soul and allow my spiritual explorations to take on an even greater dimension. Now, I realize that there are plenty of other reasons why we listen to music. But when I want to play something that helps inspire me and uplift me, as well as carry me away to my inner sanctum, I often play something from Secret Garden. In addition, it's just great listening and great music. Honestly, I couldn't recommend a CD more. This title, as well as their other two (White Stones and Songs from...)are magic-making for me. And to me that's what great music does--it takes us out of the ordinary to experience the extraordinary.

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Some Where In Time, sounds of Dawn of a New Century, November 30, 1999

By 

Anna Marie H (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dawn of a New Century (Audio CD)

We are from New Jersey and every September we vacation in beautiful Victorian Cape May, NJ. I had never heard of Secret Garden until I was browsing through the lovely Victorian era stores and heard this beautiful, haunting music coming out of speakers placed in a tree in front of the store. I was spellbound by what I was hearing and proceded to search for the store, spellbound, praying that I would be able to purchase this music for myself. I knew I had to hear this again. Buy it, play it, light some candles, turn out the lights and relax.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nice, but different from the first two albums, September 12, 2002

By 

J. Messinger "camelotcrusade" (Wilder, KY) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dawn of a New Century (Audio CD)

I bought this CD expecting it to be a continuation of the excellent first two albums. Not so for me -- the styles were a little different and now a lot more vocals were introduced. Some of it struck me as rather trite, in fact, and I had a "been there, done that" feeling from some of the tracks. I want to hear more of their lovely violins... not some unimaginative vocals. They even have one track (the title track, in fact) wherein somebody narrates some passages as an intro to the song... that stuff drives me nuts and breaks up the mood for me.

Still, it's not bad music, just don't expect the smooth styles of the first two CDs to be here for each track.