The Prayer Cycle

Martin Tillman (Performer), Jonathan Elias (Composer), Lawrence Schwartz (Conductor), John Williams (Performer), English Chamber Orchestra (Orchestra), Alanis Morissette (Performer), Devin Provenzano (Performer), James Taylor (Performer), Linda Ronstadt (Performer), Mah Damba (Performer), Ofra Haza (Performer), Rahat Fateh Ali Khan (Performer), Richard Bona (Performer), Salif Keita (Performer), Yungchen Lhamo (Performer)

Product Details

• Performer: Martin Tillman, John Williams, Alanis Morissette, Devin Provenzano, James Taylor, et al.
• Orchestra: English Chamber Orchestra
• Conductor: Lawrence Schwartz
• Composer: Jonathan Elias
• Audio CD (March 23, 1999)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B00000ICMK
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (111 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #28,336 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
It is with primitive urgency and lustrous clarity rising like flickering embers from a fire that Jonathan Elias's ambitious Prayer Cycle is given voice. Woven together like knotty wool, silk, and fine strands of silvery water, the disparate yet complementary voices of the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Alanis Morissette, Yungchen Lhamo, Ofra Haza, the American Boychoir, Salif Keita, and others intertwine in multiple languages with the superb English Chamber Orchestra and Chorus. Prayers of supplication, gratitude, and longing build in layers, one on top of and 'twixt and 'tween the other, as movements titled "Mercy," "Grace," "Innocence," "Compassion," and the like. Remarkably, Elias's Prayer Cycle eloquently captures the ecstasy, pain, grief, and sublime beauty of humanity--as he simply and poignantly writes in his liner notes, "The world we live in is both joyous and cruel." --Paige La Grone

Entertainment Weekly
Cycle's exquisite, soaring world-music voices dissipate all defenses.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

70 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If this does not move you, then you have no soul., May 9, 2000

By	STEVEN F. SCHARFF "Cultural shoplifter" (Henderson, NV United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I first heard this as part of a radio program on the local NPR station, and was shamed into silence. The diversity of collaborators in this work (including US folk-rocker James Taylor, Yemenite singer Ofra Haza, Canadian rocker Alanis Morissette, the late Musrat Fateh Ali Khan [one of his last performances], the American Boychoir w/Devin Provenzano, the English Chamber Orch. & Chorus) shows the great number of fields that composer Jonathan Elias was drawing from.

The song "Hope" will lift your spirit, while James Taylor's melancholy vocals on "Grace" will move you to tears (At first, I thought he would be horribly out of place, but his voice fits the work perfectly!). The lyrics run all over the map in language. There are lyrics in Urdu, Mali, Latin, English, French, Italian, Hungarian, Dwala, Tibetan, German, Spanish and Hebrew, but they are listed in English in the CD booklet. I gather this is Elias' way of uniting the world. The lyrics are prayers, laments and pleas for forgiveness. The themes are loneliness, war and regret.

The style of music is definately classical, but does not limit itself to European roots. There are distinct influences from Africa, the Orient, and even various tribal nuances. For someone who was raised on European Classical music, it may be a shock to the system, but it works, and it is wonderful!

I forsee this recording to be one of the hand-picked few that future generations will draw upon for inspiration. As we as a people on this planet become closer, our world seems to become smaller. Our hopes, dreams, and cultures begin to overlap. This recording is proof that, when skillfully co-ordinated they can create incredible harmony.

Highly, highly reccomended.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mesmerizing and unforgettable, January 9, 2002

By	D. Movahedpour "doeadear" (CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This CD defies any specific description of its content. It is most often listed as an "Alanis Morissette album" simply because she sings several songs. But, it is a mixture of styles, cultures, music and religious beliefs that is hard to explain but not easy to forget. Jonathan Elias has written a series of choral pieces on faith, no matter what religion you adhere to. Alanis sings in French on one song and in Hungarian on another. Such diverse talents as James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt and the late international superstars, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Ofra Haza lend their voices. Reading the lyrics in English adds to the understanding of what is being conveyed, but the melodies and voices joining in hope and faith are just as touching. This album is about faith in God or goddesses or nature, whatever beliefs you may have. It mixes beliefs and musical styles in a way I've never heard before. The music is moving, touching, breath-taking, and unforgettable.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What to turn to when the only thing left is hope., June 27, 2000

By	Jennifer (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews

There is music you hear, music you listen to, and music that truly fills and feeds your soul. If you are not moved in the first 60 seconds of Elias' powerful tribute to prayer and artistry, you need this recording more than you think. This CD contains much of what there is to love about music...rich choral backgrounds filled with suspensions that compliment the beautiful,primitive and raw voices of Morissette and Musrat Fateh Ali Kahn which are filled with pure emotion... classical guitar that accompanies the gifted and melancholy James Taylor...sweeping lines of gorgeous, soulful, skillfully constructed music. Elias says that prayer is what we turn to when all we have left is hope. I turn to his music, and pray that he has more still to come.