Customer Reviews

Elements Series: Earth

5 star:		(7)
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"Earth" is one of four CDs in Peter Kater's "Elements Series," and features Kater on piano and keyboards, Mike Hamilton on guitars, and Richard Hardy on flutes and saxophone. The music is ambient and ethereal, and the piano plays a much smaller part on this CD than on "Water," which is also part of this series. Hamilton's beautiful guitar work comes to the front of several of the tracks, with Kater layering other sounds with synths and sequencers to create a peaceful, serene atmosphere. Hardy's various bamboo and Native American flutes are warm, "earthy," and reminiscent of some of Kater's previous collaborations with Native American artists. The combination of flute, guitar, and piano is fairly unusual and is very effective. The synth washes add subtle colors and contribute to the sense of open space and vastness. The mood throughout the CD is peaceful and calming - truly an understatement!

The CD opens appropriately enough with "Sunrise," a quietly haunting flute solo that melts into "Celestine," which adds the guitar, synth, and piano - a gorgeous piece that all but floats on a cloud. The next eight tracks are a prelude and then a full piece for each of the four seasons, beginning with "Summer." All are stunning in their simplicity and beauty. The closing track is "Sunset," which, like "Sunrise," features the flute, but this time has synth behind it - a peaceful close to an outstanding album.

In "Earth", Peter Kater has carried out a work full of symphonism and beauty. The album, which can be labelled as New Instrumental Music, also has Classical traits and some light touches of Latin Folk. The music is, on the whole, melodic, soft, and with clear romantic traits. Sometimes it becomes festive, and at other times melancholy. This is an excellent release that will surely be liked by a wide range of listeners.

A truly relaxing CD. Lovely as background music, but it doesn't hurt to actually listen to it and be aware of the soothing progression of chords and melody shades. The moods of the seasons are graphically described, and the arrangements flow one into the other. What I also especially appreciate is the fact that the selections follow each other without much of a pause in between. Even a 3-second pause between numbers would have been too noticeable and therefore disruptive. That is not the case with this CD, as with the other CDs in the Elements series. Beautifully crafted, with a depth of feeling without being overly sentimental or romantic. A relief to listen to, a source of quiet excitement.

As a yoga teacher, I seek out different music for my classes all of the time. This album is perfect for a slow flow class. Highly recommended as a change from the typical Indian music or eastern-vibe lounge music often offered up as yoga music.

This CD is awesome. It is so relaxing and invokes the spirit of each season very well. I love listening to it while driving on a sunny day or while it's snowing and feeling the season come alive in my mind. The summer song sounds somewhat melancholy, but it reminds me of the heat and fun and games and good times too. Really inspiring music.

This is a great CD. Very relaxing and peaceful to listen to. Love it!

I love Peter Kater. This doesn't disappoint - the whole disc is fluid and relaxing...dropping the listener into the experience of just being. I lost my original copy and I'm thinking about buying it again. Just beautiful.