Customer Reviews

The Enchanted Forest: Melodies of Japan

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It's unfair, i suppose, to rank one person's performance against another's, but having acquired this CD and Rampal's equivalent and nearly the same time makes it unavoidable. Galway is a wonderful flautist, but, as with some orchestra conductors, some genres are fit into better than others. When Galway plays Irish music, he's unexcelled. If he plays European classical, he's among the top performers. Here, in a Japanese environment, he seems a bit lost. Perhaps the mists slipping through the forested mountains of Japan have a quality unmatched by the oceanic fogs of Galway or Normandy. Something is lacking in these performances, a quality that Galway seems to be seeking without quite achieving it. Perhaps those who've never heard the Rampal Sakura are justified in their praise of this CD, but my ears can't grant the full five stars for this. If you have the opportunity to make the comparison, do so, and judge for yourself.

I don't DISLIKE this cd, but really it is a poor interpretation of Japanese flute music. It sounds more like an uninspired Enya clone than traditional Japanese music. No matter how many times I listened to it, it never could really interest me enough to be more of my life than another cd in my scrapped CD's pile.

I discovered this at the library and, after about a dozen or so check-outs and renewals, finally bought my own copy. I listen to it while reading, when I have dinner guests, and as background music at the office. All ages will enjoy Galway's lyrical Japanese arrangements.

At first blush, this would appear to be an odd combination, an Irish flautist, Japanese melodies, and a synthesizer; but boy does it work well! It rates a 10 on the scale of beautiful music and performance. There is a quiet calmness to Galway's renditions that should be able to soothe the most frayed of nerve endings.

Quiet, relaxing , pleasant, interesting, and a treat to the ear.This is my first Galway cd, and I'm impressed with it, I will probably be buying more.

I would not rate this the very best James Galway CD but it does contain the best song I have heard him play. Cut #3, Nakasendo (The Old Road) is worth the price of the CD alone. While Hietsuki Bushi (Love Song) and Song of the Deep Forest are also excellent, I never tire of listening to The Old Road. Hiro Fujikake on synthesizers combined with the flute of James Galway makes this a very pleasing collection of music.

"Enchanted" is the perfect word to describe this cd. I'm amazed to be the first person to review it. We have listened to this cd since 1990, and I still love it and never grow tired of the melodies. If you want to relax and be transported to a beautiful place, listen to this magical cd!

no need to compare rampal to galway,, two masters here, and on this cd, galway continues to demonstrate his tremendous talent and world wide appeal. without rampal , he is now the worlds greatest flautist , period

I'm no flaust but I absolutely love James Galway!! This CD in particular is relaxing and melodious. I wouldn't call it authentic Japanese music, but it definately has an oriental feel to it. Some of the pieces have too much synth in them for Japanese stuff, but most people wouldn't even notice. It truly is enchanting. Perfect for backround music

or just easy listening.

Smarmy new-age mush, noodly and squishy. It's too bad they used the synth--without that it might have been worth listening to. As is, it only seems useful as elevator music. Check out Rampal's exquisite, crisp, clean interpretations of Japanese flute music instead.