Customer Reviews

Portals of Grace

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

When you think of Persian or Indian music, you probably don't think of medieval European melodies. Azam Ali's Portals of Grace is just that, albeit tinged with an Arabic flair. Azam Ali is influenced by Hildegard von Bingen, and her mezzo soprano voice has the sombre, uplifting sound of a prayer. Master drummer Greg Ellis provides wonderful rhythm, and also vocal drones in "Inna-I-Malak".

Azam Ali's music reminds me of Lisa Gerrard, in a Dead Can Dance meets Mediaeval Baebes kind of way. Azam Ali is a musical polyglot, and the songs on this album come from eclectic sources: 12th and 14th century French Provencal, Sephardic, Judeo-Spanish, Brittany, 12th century Latin, 13th century Galician-Portuguese, Sweden, Byzantine, and Arabic.

This album is also great in a musical historical sense. "Lasse Pour Quois" is a tribute to the 12th and 13th centurey Trobairitz, the female poet-musicians who graced the courts of Europe. Most of these women have been forgotten. "A Chantar m'er" is the only extant melody written by one of these women, a Trobairitz by the name of Comtessa Beatrix de Dia. "Known as one of the greatest poetesses of all time, here she bitterly tells the tale of unrequited love for a man other than her husband. The opening line literally translates as, 'I must sing of that which I would rather keep in silence.'"

This cd will appeal to lovers of choral, ambient, world, and new age music.

Azam Ali interprets Medieval songs from the 12th - 14th century with astonishing beauty, grace, and haunting vocals. Spine-tingling sensations arise when first hearing her voice. She captivates one's spirit with every track, whether the song is from Provencal, France, or a Sephardic Judeo-Spanish tune, or a 12th Century Latin chant. Her voice is clear, fresh, pure and other-worldly. Accompanying her voice are ancient instruments, the duduk, a hurdy-gurdy, and hammered dulcimer, on track #1. Track #2 is a classic Meditarranean melody from Spain, the Arabic flavor is obvious with instruments such as the oud and percussives. They provide an exotic Middle Eastern influence.

Track #4 begins with the tone of bells, simple, stark and meditative, next follows the Latin words of the German mystic, Hildegard von Bingen. Her spirituality permeates every atom of one's being ... Track #5 called "Cantiga" is about a miracle - how the Virgin Mary restored the sight of a goldsmith who became blind. The instruments are, cello, oud, and unusual ones, difficult to spell and pronounce, however the music is exotic and melodic, you begin chanting along with the singer ... Another very memorable track is #6, which is a 12th century Latin high-church hymn. Written by a French philosopher, the blend of voice and instrumentation is indescribable. However, there is an underlying sadness to the chanting vocals. If we are to believe the liner notes, some unspeakable tragedy occured to the author/composer of this hymn after he fell in love with the daughter of a nobleman. His unsanctioned love was punished by the father of the young lady. This CD is highly evocative and spiritual - it is unusual, exotic, and haunting. It is a rare modern interpretation of ancient songs and chants. The CD is valuable beyond description. Erika Borsos (erikab93)

I'm relatively new to Azam Ali. I first discovered her through Vas's recent album. Awhile ago I came across her debut solo album "Portals of Grace" at my local library and I immediately picked it out. I immediately fell in love with "Portals of Grace". The comparisons to Lisa Gerrard of Dead Can Dance is obvious. Azam has a powerful voice that is quite similiar to Lisa's especially when she is simply expressing herself via vocalizations. The mix of mediavel and Portugese music is quite lovely. One of my favorite tracks on the album is "Breton Medley" which reminds me quite a bit of Loreena McKennitt minus Loreena McKennitt, with its Celtic melodies. I get the goosebumps when I listen to "O Felix". Azam really gets to showcase her voice on this particular track. Her voice takes front and center while the instruments remain in the background. The only minor flaw I could find with Azam Ali's music is the eerily similiarities to Lisa Gerrard. Azam might want to try to create a more distinct sound of her own but overall I love her music. I'll take Azam Ali than any of pop artist out there today.

I have been a fan of Azam Ali since I randomly decided to purchase Vas' first CD. The truth has to be told that her voice is something to take in slowly. If you take all of it in at once you'll be hypnotized and it's easy to really appreciate each nook and cranny of her talent. I prefer to listen to her music one or two songs at a time. It allows time for reflection and beauty.

The most beautiful song on this CD is "La Serena." I am fluent in 5 languages and I am hard pressed to find an appropriate phrase in any of them to describe the beauty of this track. There are no words, literally. It's spine-tingling. It really is. That's all I have to say.

This is, undeniably, a beautiful album. Ali's singing is lush, the instrumentation is well played and well recorded, and the choice of music is good. So why only three stars?

Because, as the title of the review says, beauty alone isn't enough. And too much beauty can be like too much of any good thing. The tempos are almost identical. The rhythms are, to my ears, less diverse and intriguing than those on the Vas CDs. And Ali's voice is so perfect that the ear becomes numbed.

One of the hallmarks of Middle Eastern and Indian singing is the use of microtones, which are the notes between the piano keys. The more familiar "blue notes" are a decent Western analogy. And it is this slipping between the notes, this fluidity of tone, the stretch and strain from consonance to dissonance that provides some of the power of these styles. Shifts in timbre from smooth to harsh and back are also employed, but Ali does very little of this sort of thing here. Further, despite the fact that, as several folks have already noted, the songs come from a variety of places and times, her performances and ornamentation are at times almost interchangeable.

You can hear her pushing at the edges at times, but the production (and she is credited as the producer) has smoothed out these "rough" edges. In doing so, and in homogenizing the different styles represented by the music on this album, I believe that Ali shortchanges herself, and us. What could have been a great record is merely a good one, frustrating because it doesn't make that final leap.

Another thing to note is that, with Vas, Ali generally sung vocables -- sounds without meaning, or, as the liner notes say, "a language of the imagination" -- a la Lisa Gerrard of Dead Can Dance. However, on "Portals," she is singing lyrics; perhaps the limitations imposed by singing (and needing to enunciate) lyrics worked against her.

Comparisons to Gerrard (both sing vocables, both work/worked in a group with a male partner who was also a percussionists, both play a form of hammered dulcimer) are easy, and, unfortunately, Ali comes up short. Of course, Ali is also much younger and less experienced than Gerrard.

Hopefully, on her next CD, whether it is solo or with Vas, she will take more chances and give us something more rich and deeply felt, rather than sweet and comparatively superficial. She certainly has both the pipes, the talent, and the ear for it.

Personally I find her 1st solo performance to be absolutly incredible. So often is music made these days that doesn't reflect the artists passion that it does end up sounding like noise or even worse uninteresting. I found that through "Portals of Grace", she DID prove that she had the necessary passion, and talent to make music that moved people. I would recommend this album to anyone who is a fan of stunningly beautiful voices and romantic lyrics.

Azam Ali is an Iranian born singer and musician who grew up in India and later immigrated to the United States. World music fans know her as the Yin half of the band Vas, which Azam Ali founded with another talented musician - Greg Ellis.

"Portals of Grace" is the solo debut of Azam Ali, although Greg Ellis was heavily involved in the making of this album and is responsible for many musical arrangement featured on "Portals of Grace." On this album Azam Ali reinterprets medieval European melodies, giving them a strong Middle Eastern flavor of her own heritage, and creating surprisingly balanced compositions of exceptional beauty. Azam Ali's super natural voice, a magnificent instrument in its own right, is accompanied by mostly Middle Eastern musical instruments, such as duduk, riq, dumbek, oud, daf and tombac. The material used by Azam Ali ranges from Sephardic songs, to Provençal trobairitz poems, to Swedish and Breton melodies. The final result of this seemingly unnatural combination of Middle Eastern sound and Medieval European compositions is a mystical journey through a medieval make-believe land located somewhere along the borders of Persia, Byzantium, Moorish Spain, and Catholic France. You will not find this place on a map or a history textbook, but this place exists, even if it exists solely in the songs of Azam Ali.

http://musicmaxim.blogspot.com/

Azam Ali doesn't disappoint in her solo debut album/CD. The instrumentation is multi-layered, rich in tone and diverse in expression. Combining such beautiful music with the timeless, deeply spiritual quality of Azam Ali vocals you will be truly graced with a magical listening experience.

ELEGANT - HAUNTING - ETERNAL!

When I first heard the opening chords of this CD, the mixture of middle eastern and Celtic musical styles, and then the ethereal voice of Azam Ali, I wept. This does not happen every day. I had never heard anything quite like it before. Azam Ali was born in Iran but raised in India, and when she moved to America, she became the student of a Persian master of the "santour" which is similar to the hammered dulcimer. Her voice seems to come from another place, as if she is speaking in tongues. The music covers a variety of languages and styles, and takes the listener on a journey that you are reluctant to return from.

I have heard many different albums of World Music, but this one was the most unique and beautiful I had heard in ages. It truly defies description, but will pull you into its spell, and mesmerize you beyond your wildest imagination.

I've never heard an artist interpret medieval sound like Azam has. Although it's known that through the Crusades and Spice Trail in the middle ages, European culture was influenced by Arab/Ottoman culture. However, most of the medieval music that's recorded today is...well, stiff. Not so with Portals of Grace. This album reminds me a lot of Sephardic music, as well as music from the courts of France and Spain. The selection of instruments lend a colorful quality to the songs. Azam Ali's voice is fluid, rich and soulful. She's a combination of Loreena McKennit, Lisa Gerrard and Ofra Haza with a little Hildegard von Bingen thrown in. A beautiful CD.