Tibetan Meditation Music

Nawang Khechog | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 24, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sounds True
• ASIN: B000OCY6YU
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  CD-ROM  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #39,466 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #9 in Music > World Music > Far East & Asia > Tibet

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

A lot of artists evoke the spirit of Tibet, but Nawang Khechog is actually a former Tibetan monk, who took off the robes and took up the flute to travel the world 20 years ago. His albums are usually slotted in the New Age and meditation genres, and certainly his packaging and imagery inspire that. Unfortunately, it overshadows a music that is perhaps deeper, or at least more artistically profound, than that. Tibetan Meditation Music scans less like a background for contemplation and more like a tone poem to the spirit. The opening track seems like an Asian refraction of "Amazing Grace," with Tsering Khechog singing over Nawang Khechog's flute. Khechog's music draws on folk and spiritual traditions but takes them further afield. Think Arvo Pärt on the Tibetan plateau with strings droning a minor-key refrain while Tibetan bells and chimes sound in the background and Khechog chants. I do wish Khechog had brought along just a touch of the drama and shifting moods heard on some of his earlier discs, like the Kitaro-produced Karuna. Tibetan Meditation Music is unvarying in its somber tone. Khechog's chants, which are intimately spoken, whispered more than sung, don't always work on a musical level. But his performances on wood flute are deep explorations into tone and melody. --John Diliberto

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Solemn music for prayer and chant, June 21, 2007

By 

Daiho - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Tibetan Meditation Music (Audio CD)

Tibetan flautist Nawang Khechog marks 20 years as a professional musician with his new release, Tibetan Mediation Music, a collection of 11 original compositions based on traditional meditative themes. The title might suggest otherwise, but except for sounds used to mark passages in services - such as gongs, bells, and trumpets - music is not a part of Buddhist mediation. It is employed here as the aural background to some of the more commonly used chants and prayers in the Tibetan tradition.

Nawang Khechog knows a bit about those, having in his youth been an ordained monk for 11 years. Among the pieces for which he has chosen to compose are chants to the Buddha, Manju Shri (the god of wisdom), Avalokiteshrava (the god of compassion), and Tara (a female goddess of compassion). There are also two songs based on classic Tibetan poetry, as well as a piece commissioned for the opening ceremony of a 2006 address from ten Nobel Peace Laureates.

Given its purpose, it's hardly surprising to find the music for this project is solemn and staid, built around Nawang's exceptional flute playing and his subdued, often whispered, chanting of the ancient invocations. Except for the marimba on The Great Prince of Peace, the music is played without rhythmic accompaniment and is adorned with bells, gongs and occasional sound effects, such as rolling thunder in The Perfection of Wisdom, or cowbells in Walking Into the Himalayas. These tonal explorations are enriched by the sound of violin, cello, and oud.

This is a lovely album of quiet music suitable for prayer, relaxation, yoga, or massage. It is can also be used to create a relaxing ambience for your work space.

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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exquisite, January 13, 2008

By 

Ron-in-RI "Life is Good" (Providence RI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tibetan Meditation Music (Audio CD)

It would be difficult to exaggerate the beauty and the specialness of this CD. For me, it is truly meditative in that I would find it difficult to carefully listen to this CD simply "as music" all the way through; rather, it takes me to an "inner place" of contemplation and relaxation where I forget I am listening to music. One special quality of this CD is that it is consistently meditative all the way through; there are no surprises; the mood is consistent throughout. I know massage therapists who love this CD for use in their work, and other people who enjoy just having this music playing in the background of their everyday lives. It's very special.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gentleness for the stressed soul., April 11, 2007

By 

Sylvan Green "Seeker" (Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tibetan Meditation Music: For Quiet Mind and Peaceful Heart (Audio CD)

Nawang Khechog's gentleness comes through his music. Soft prayers, spoken and sung, in Tibetan filter up through lovely flute music along with tibetan gong, bells, and the occasional horn. I don't know what it is exactly about Nawang's music that relaxes me so completely, but it does and I am so greatful that all I have to do to take a "mini-vacation" is put on this music.