Customer Reviews

Deep Heart's Core

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I first met Mlle. Price at the Glen Helen Rennaissance Faire in 1991. Walking the grounds, I would often stop and listen to the "local" musicians play their magic. When I came across Kate, I was literally blown over...I've always loved the sounds a hammer dulcimer makes, and here was someone playing more than just notes, more than music even: it was as if the Heavens dropped an Angel of Light down amongst the commoners and she was bewitching us with her melodic charms.

I purchased what I thought was her premier c/d "Belaich An' Dorain", (though I could be wrong), and played it to death. At a later festival, I met her again and had to tell her how much I appreciated her debut effort. She thanked me and told me she had another, "The Time Between" At first I was sceptical, but not only was it beautiful, she had outdown her previous work thrice-fold.

Years later, much to my surprise and delight, she had, to my knowledge, finally go commercial, by having her latest (?) work "Deep Heart's Core" for sale at major music shops. Again I was hesitant--can lightening strike twice? The answer is yes, yes, a thousand times yes. Whether dulcimer solo or vocals w/background, she blows away what unworthys would define as "New Age". People will try to compare her to Loreena McKennitt, Enya, even Clannad; True they are all gifted artists in their own way and I greatly enjoy their music also: But if I only had one to listen to, it would be Kate Price. I eagerly await her next work with great anticipation and not a little impatience--

Try her, you will NOT be disappointed!

If you watched the Opening Ceremonies of the Nagano Olympics, you heard a snatch of Sonatina Montenegro. If you attend the Novato and the Agoura/Glen Helen Renaissance Faires, you may have heard her, and not even known you were passing by a woman who has her own quiet listserv and a worldwide following. This album refreshes your soul, and takes you places you might wish to seek out in your travels.

I started following Kate Price when *I* stumbled across her playing hammer and fretted dulcimer at an Agoura Faire in the early 1980s. I have her out-of-print cassette-only recordings. At that time she went by Kathryn Jehane Price, and I was won over by her lovely alto and her absorption in her music. I first heard Labyrinth live, when this album was about to be released. I was utterly lost in this romance and the romantic setting for the pledging of troth between a husband and wife.

Kate mastered Renaissance and Celtic styles early in her busking career. While some folk have called her a Loreena-wannabe, it is without the knowledge that she is NOT new on the music scene, and that some managers have attempted to latch on to a passing similarity of starting points. Kate is strongly Californian, and is influenced by the Spanish past of this place: Loreena went to Arabic countries, Kate explores Mexico and other Spanish-speaking countries, as well as the Celtic lands. To quote another reviewer of both women's music, Jay Freeman: "If McKennitt's muses are sidhe and selkie, then Price's are nymph and dryad."

Did you think that all lullabies are for babies? She has a lover's lullaby to his beloved in Rest, Sweet Nymph. If you think all Celtic music is too close to "newage" for you, you're listening to the worng artists--you are not going to be allowed to sit still through her music, you are asked to get up and dance--step lively, now! When she breaks into song, you might get a bit of a rest, but the music there will merely call you to dance at a slower pace.

I rejoice! d to see The Time Between, which preceeded this album, in the stores. I helped a lot of folk find her music, and I'm pleased to say that many more folk than before await her third CD, soon to be finished and released on the Higher Octave label. Should you go to the Novato Faire in 1998, look for a slender blonde on a hay bale in a wider part of the path in the jewelers' row. She'll take you away from the dust and the heat to a cooler, sweeter, shadier place and time...and afterwards, you'll have this album to remind you of that time. If you get a chance, tell her WHERE you bought her music, and how you came to hear of it.

These dreamy, heartfelt vocals with hammered dulcimer and other inventive instrumental accompaniments draw from Celtic and world music traditions. In the program notes, Kate explains, "... to me the core of one's deep heart is not just a place to carry one's own river of peace. It is also the place from which we bring the beauty of our essence into being." And that is exactly what she has done here. The overall tone of this release is similar to "The Isle of Dreaming" but somewhat gentler. It contains, in particular, two stunningly beautiful songs that tug at the heartstrings and sooth the soul. "Place of Spirit" is a winsome duet for oboe and viola, with piano and cello accompaniment, while "So Ghostly Then the Girl Came In" is a haunting poem set to music that sounds like it evolved from the same creative niche as "Place of Spirit." Listen to the wistful weavings of melody and harmony in these compositions, and if you sing or play an instrument and feel comfortable improvising, join in. There's room, and to be a part of such music as this, even if only in your living room, allows you to truly appreciate it in all its richness and subtlety. Kate Price's 1993 release, "The Time Between" by Priceless Productions, is hard to find, but shows the roots of her style and is very nice in its own right. Try used CD websites, or just search the web with a good browser. If you like "Deep Heart's Core", you might also enjoy the creatively arranged vocals and hammered dulcimer of Trapezoid in "Moon Run" and John McCutcheon in "Step by Step", the vocal and multi-instrumental compositions of Lydia McCauley, and the early work of Loreena McKennitt.

I usually hesitate when it comes to buying these ethereal quality music selections as they can pull you so much out of reality that they seem like those endless feel-good movies on Pax. But in this case, Kate Price is an exception. In this CD, she has a more focused style than she has in The Isle of Dreaming. Also, from a cultural standpoint, she definitely shows some flavor that's very different from other Celtic World Music artists. If you like more of the core, simpler melodies of dance and folk then you will like this. If you're looking for good background music and more of a 'floating' quality to the music, then get the Isle of Dreaming. Better yet, get both.

I like the instrumentals more than the songs themselves, although my favorite songs in order are Labyrinth, Rest Sweet Nymphs, The Journey On, So Ghostly Then the Girl Came In, then the rest are probably on the same level as each other. Overall a very high quality production. The few photographs inside the CD cover were taken by her too.

Beautiful! I recently bought Kate Price's Cd's, "Isle of Dreaming" and "Deep Heart's Core". Her voice, lyrics, and melodies took me home to "Avalon". Soul stirring and enchanting! It would be unfair to compare Ms Price to Loreena Mckennitt or Enya, she has a style of her own that cannot be compared to any other. However, if you love Loreena and Enya, you will absolutely love Kate Price...she is in the same league of talent and spirituality. I highly recommend you purchase her work, it shall stir the ancient soil within your soul, you will be transformed! Bravo and a standing ovation to Kate Price! Blessed Be.

Many musicians do one of the following: Write lyrics, write music, play instruments, or sing. Very few do more than one of those things. Even rarer still is a musician who does all four. Kate Price is one of those rare ones.

It is my experience that musicians who write the words and music, play instruments, and sing their own work are far above the rest in intelligence and in what they have to say. Each of their albums tends to be a complete thing in itself, that holds together with integrity and that bears the tests of time and repeated listening. Some of the musicians I can think of who fall into this category are Pink Floyd, Simply Red, Supertramp, Alan Parsons, Sade, and Dire Straits. (Okay, Mozart, too, but he's not around right now, as far as I know.) Kate Price falls squarely in with this elite crowd, and deservedly so.

I first heard Kate Price's work on The Time Between, which became an instant favorite. Later, I purchased Deep Heart's Core, which then made it difficult for me to decide which was my favorite. (The Time Between is still my favorite of her CDs, but only by a tiny amount.) The quality of her work, the purity of her voice, and the lovely and sometimes haunting stories she tells all combine to make her one of my top ten favorite musicians of all time.

I found Kate Price through Amazon's recommendations. I believe I was looking for Loreena McKennitt albums, and on a whim I listened to samples from Kate's CDs. I was immediately hooked.

Deep Heart's Core has some very nice tracks, but it doesn't quite have the polish of Isle of Dreaming. Kate's vocals are lovely and her hammer dulcimer is haunting, but I feel like this CD relies a bit too much on the sitar, and it doesn't take advantage of the beauty this instrument can add to music.

I do love her style, and this CD is a good buy, but only if you also buy Isle of Dreaming.

Kate Price is one of my favorite Witchy singers.

Her songs are enigmatic, haunting, otherworldly and quite lovely. She is a very talented musician and I own all of her albums and plan to buy any she records in the future.

I particularly like The Journey On and Rest Sweet Nymphs.

Keep It Up, Kate!

I love Celtic music and I also love new age/ambient music. Yet, I have never felt compelled to listen to music on a daily basis. That is, until I heard Kate Price's CDs. I own her three commercial cds and cannot wait until the next one. Deep Heart's Core is my favorite but the other two are equally compelling. Her CD's are incredible soul-touching ventures. Mary

Kate tells lovely stories of legend and fantasy with her delicate voice, and will leave you enthralled. if you like enya at all, then kate price is a goddess in comparison. or if you dont like enya, try kate! kate price is also as splendid as (or more so!) than loreena mckennit. she is maginificent and beautiful!