Tibetan Tantric Choir

The Gyuto Monks

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Original Release Date: 1986
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Windham Hill Records
• ASIN: B000000NIB
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #33,948 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  Music > World Music > Far East & Asia > Tibet

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Nothing can prepare the uninitiated for the shocking sound of Tibetan throat singing, and these two liturgical pieces, each clocking in at near 25 minutes, are among the best, and most chilling, examples. The Gyuto Monks, in exile in India since the annexation of their native Tibet, have developed a tradition of singing that involves producing the lowest possible notes in the vocal range while simultaneously singing high overtones. The resulting sound suggests a symphony of inspired bullfrogs whose passion is Buddha, not Budweiser, croaking endlessly while rotating a wet foot around the perimeter of a giant wineglass. Which is a pretty mundane metaphor for music that produces such a powerful sense of dread and spiritual awe. Track 2 also includes clattering drums, some made of human crania. Spice Girls it ain't.... --James Rotondi

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

71 of 72 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lhasa in your home, April 12, 2000

By	Pharoah S. Wail (Inner Space) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

To the best of my knowledge, Western musicians never utilized (or developed or imagined) vocal overtones, although Eastern musicians of several different cultures did. Well, some Westerners have recently, but not until first becoming aware of it through exposure to the Eastern innovations.

The bullfrog analogy in the Amazon.com official review was an interesting one, but if you hate the sound of frogs pay it no attention. The monks hold long, sustained notes, sometimes solo, sometimes in unison. I've always considerd this style of overtone singing more as an ocean of droning reverberation that comes and goes, the incoming waves overlapping and absorbing the outgoing waves.

I have played this cd for unsuspecting people before and when I asked them what they thought it was they very rarely ever even think that it is possible to make this music with just human voices. This is definitely transportational music of deep human importance.

Also look into the group HUUN HUUR TU. They also do overtone singing. Both styles are technically similar in that one man sings an extremely low note and a high overtone simultaneously but stylistically the Tuvan style (HUUN HUUR TU's style) and the Gyuto style are completely different. Both equally amazing and transcendent, but both completely different.

51 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Very Best Chant, October 29, 2002

By	C. Gardner (Washington D.C., D.C. United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Mickey Hart's work here is the best Tibetan prayer recording ever. Using the best Neumann microphones in the world, he arranged them in such a way as to capture the widest 3-D sound of the narrow hallway in which the monks prayed. The result is stunning, as if one were present in the middle of the hall. I've never heard such a vibrant live recording before--ever.

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sound with a purpose, May 12, 2003

By A Customer

This is an outstanding recording and performance.
If you are familiar with "throat singing" and wish to add it to your recording collection, this is an excellent disc.
Keep a couple of things in mind:
This is a prayer, not a song.
Each singer is producing more than one note at a time.
These pieces are as much about feeling the performance as hearing it.
Enjoy.