Quiet Heart/Spirit Wind [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

Richard Warner

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 8, 1996)
• Original Release Date: October 8, 1996
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Narada
• ASIN: B000005P1W
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,227 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  #5 in	Music > New Age > Healing
  #24 in	Music > New Age > Meditation

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Time will not stand still as you listen to the bamboo and alto flute music of Richard Warner, but it will seem far less relevant as your mind gradually adjusts to the spaciousness and generous silences that adorn the extended notes found in Warner's ethereal improvisations. Urban dwellers should allow themselves a few moments of deep-breathing decompression to detach themselves from their multi- tasking mindsets before tuning in Warner's slow-motion sonic excursions. Otherwise, you may find his music at first to be oddly jarring, so peaceful and gentle is his playing. Yoga adherents and massage enthusiasts should find much to admire in this two-CD set, a remastered repackaging of two releases from 1982's Quiet Heart and 1984's Spirit Wind. The double CD includes four new selections, bringing the set's combined playing time to more than 93 minutes. On the wooden floors beneath giant vaulted ceilings in Seattle's Holy Names Academy, Warner first performed solo, then returned two years later to play with minimal accompaniment from tuned crystal glasses. Both projects, particularly Spirit Wind, succeed by achieving and sustaining moods of stillness and restful clarity that, while well-suited to yoga ideals, can also be appreciated away from the mat. Meditative flute music has the potential to strike Occidental ears as shrill, discordant, brittle, or exotic to the point of distraction. Not so with Warner's projects. He typically avoids piercing high notes and prefers to explore tones in a comfortable mid-range that allow his ambient works, most notably Spirit Wind's 18-minute "Moonlight on the Mountain," to sustain a lovely atmosphere of undisturbed calm. --Terry Wood

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars this music centers and grounds me in a noisy world, November 2, 1999

By A Customer

I have had this set for a couple years now---I seem to grab it first when I need to just come to an inner stillness. It doesn't distract....but connects me to that deep quiet place inside, where I love to go to OFTEN and EVERY DAY. Great for travelling, getting ready for bed. It changes the energy of a room, space. I play these often. Opens the heart energy to love and peace. Connects me to the ground and earth.

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite of all..., April 26, 2001

By	"myparadise" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews

I originally had the cassette tapes of these cds way back before they were produced on to cd. My yoga teacher in college used them. And I have always come back to them when I need to recenter myself or soothe my soul. Excellent background for yoga, meditation, prayer, etc. The best collection I have ever found thus far... and you get both in one cd package!

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Utter peace and quietude ... Timeless!, December 30, 2003

By	Brianna Neal (USA) - See all my reviews

The simple, spare sound of Richard Warner's bamboo and alto flutes fills a sonorous space with gentle tunes, creating the perfect atmosphere for meditation, massage and other forms of healing relaxation. "Melodies are often like anonymous gifts, or like strange and lovely birds that show up out of nowhere and nest in your tree," says Warner in the insert notes. And indeed, most of his music was improvised on the spot, inspired by the abilities of his instruments and the nighttime resonance of a vaulted hallway in Seattle's Holy Name Academy. Some of the soothing melodies have an Asian or Native American flavor, while others are just playfully imaginative, inventing themselves as they go along, unbound by rhythm or convention, and taking full advantage of the rich tone of the flutes. Originally released separately, the two CDs in this album are complimentary yet have subtle differences. "Quiet Heart" is a solo recording featuring a lone bamboo flute, a gift to Warner that, to him, "seemed to contain melodies from a distant time, just waiting for a breath to release them". "Spirit Wind" was recorded in the same physical space, but with the delicate accompaniment of crystal glasses, filled with water to create specific pitches and played by six of Warner's friends like occasional chimes. The result is a serene, temple-like effect. With two CDs for the price of one, "Quiet Heart/Spirit Wind" is not only a great value, but contains some of the best and simplest music I've found to dissipate the hectic energies of daily life and guide one back to "center". Simply perfect! For other relaxing New Age takes on wooden flute music, try "Pacific Moon" by Gary Stroutsos, "World Flutes" by Tim Frantzich and any of Dean Evenson's many releases.