Customer Reviews

The Golden Thread

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
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About the Band:
Stellamara can be best described as a female fronted world music / Eastern European folk band specializing in using traditional instruments and classical stringed instruments (such as cellos). The core band includes Hungarians, most notably vocalist Sonja Drakulich and folk instrumentalist Gary Hegedus, and Californians (Sonja was raised in L.A.). At present the band is based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

About the Album:
I strongly believe is not really a "single", but a full-length album. I can not confirm this though, as I bought my copy directly from Stellamara. However, the amazon reviews describe my full-length.

The Golden Thread is Stellamara's third album, and until recently was not available here on amazon.com, following their 2004 release The Seven Valleys (highly recommended)! For this outing, the band is joined by a number of additional musicians, each specializing in the traditional instruments. The ensemble cast manages to really bring the Golden Thread to a much more traditional and faster pace than Stellamara's previous albums, which will surely delight fans of medieval music.

The first track prelude is just that ... an introduction, a good one at that. The second track, Aman Doktor, was also released on the French label Prikosnovsnie's Fairy World V compilation.

My favorite track is Miskolc. Though short (about 4 minutes in length) the track features three distinct movements. It starts dominated by Sonja's vocals, then it breaks into an instrumental middle that I am assuming is Gary's Mandocello solo, and then returns to Sonja's vocals. The effect is wonderful, in that the song conveys both a physical and emotional journey. Perhaps to put this in a more contemporary perspective would be to suggest that the track is not unlike when rock-n-roll bands quiet the vocalist, allowing the lead guitar player a chance to show off.

The fifth track Azade has a strong middle eastern "belly dance" feel too it, that makes it hard to not visualize a woman twisting and twirling around in a dervish. The pace of the album slows down with Prituri se Planinata, which while beautiful is much more introspective than the other songs on the album. It is a song of mourning. Fans of some of Bear McCreary's Battlestar Galactica compositions or the Lord of the Rings soundtracks will really enjoy the track.

People familiar with England's Mediaval Baebes will enjoy Odam Kirec. Only slightly more upbeat than Prituri se Planinata, the song is seductive and a bit more energetic. Fans of drums will really enjoy Lado. The liner notes describe the track as a dedication to the Croatian fertility god, and yes, I can easily see the song being a dance and foreplay to a group "fertilization". The album closes on the high energy instrumental track Element, composed by Cellist Rufus Cappodocia. Cappodocia was not credited on Stellarmara's previous albums, but his influence on all the tracks is obvious, as the Golden Thread features his cello work in most (if not all) of the tracks, giving the album a much more traditional sound.

Track Listing:
- Prelude
- Aman Doktor
- Miskolc (RECOMMENDED)
- Yemen Turkusu (RECOMMENDED)
- Azade
- Prituri Se Planinata
- Odam Kirec
- Lado
- Element

Similar Artists:
- Irfan
- Faun
- Loreena McKennit
- Mediaeval Baebes
- Qntal
- Love Is Colder Than Death
- Das Zeichen
- Bear McCreary's Battlestar Galactica soundtracks (selected tracks)

I have had this disc in my CD player for the past month, and I never tire of hearing it... the lush arrangements and beautiful exotic singing, heartfelt playing, and professional production make this disk an essential part of any true music lover's collection.

Hadn't realized they had a new album out until recently. I don't feel the need to listen to samples before buying one of their albums - and I was not disappointed. Gorgeous - very pleased.

"The Golden Thread" is the perfect title for his release, for like the golden thread of Greek mythology, this music offers the listener a pure, subtle, and sure connection to the divine. Their devotion to their ancient musical lineages and to the cultivation of classical virtuosity is made all the more extraordinary by the way in which they have infused their music with unique, fresh, heartfelt improvisations. This alone makes this release great... but there's another element that makes this music perfectly transcendent: their lead singer, Sonja Drakulich (who I believe must be an angel, for I can't imagine that the angels of heaven could sing any more beautifully). The intensity of feeling that she communicates, from the greatest depths to the greatest heights of emotion, with such power and such subtlety, stirs my soul, and moves me to a place of silent reverential awe. [Listen to "Prituri Se Planinata," and you'll understand what I mean, beyond what words can express. If you're like me, you'll find tears to your eyes... and in those tears, you'll find what I'm talking about.]

"The Golden Thread" is more than music to me. It's a form of pure worship and devotion to the divine. I truly believe that anyone who stops and allows themselves to truly listen to this music will be led, as if by a mythological yet very real golden thread, out of the mundane world, through their opened ears, through their opened heart, into a timeless, expansive, heavenly realm of unimaginable beauty. I can't recommend "The Golden Thread" highly enough. It's simply of the best albums ever.

I'm addicted to Stellamara's music. The Golden Thread is no exception. It doesn't matter that I can't understand a word that Sonja is singing. Each song is a beautiful thought form. Maybe I have a prediliction to wild gypsy music, but when I hear Miskolc for example, I want to get up and dance in that Wild Gypsy Party. I feel priveleged that Stellamara performs in the Bay Area, so I can easily find their concerts. Does Taksim = Hungarian Jazz?

Merhaba to All from Istanbul,

This is a unique new CD and is the best addition to their new Cds. The addition of Ross Daly and Kelly Thoma adds a wonderful
new in depth. I recommend highly that you buy this new CD. It's good a a trip to Istanbul or Athens. It will open your heart
as well as your mind. Enjoy this new trip.

Peace and Love,
Raymond Van Tassel
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