Aguas da Amazonia

Philip Glass (Composer), Uakti (Performer, Composer)

Product Details

• Performer: Uakti
• Composer: Philip Glass, Uakti
• Audio CD (August 3, 1999)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Philips
• ASIN: B00000JQJT
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #33,379 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  #5 in	Music > Classical > Historical Periods > Modern, 20th, & 21st Century > Composers > Glass, Philip
  #81 in	Music > Classical > Ballets & Dances > Historical Periods > Modern & 20th Century

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Uakti's Aguas de Amazona is a splendid suite of liquid light manifesting itself in nine riverlike tunes that splash, wend, trickle, and gush toward the fantastical changeling closer, "Metamorphosis." A Brazilian ensemble, Uakti (pronounced wah-keh-chee) weave a chordal interplay of strings, woodwinds, and homemade percussion pieces that create complex and exotic contrapuntal melodies evoking both wind chimes and dancing water. Fittingly, the group takes its name from a mythic Amazonian creature who, as legend tells, was an enormous entity with holes running through its body, and as it would run through the forest, the wind would pass through its orifices, creating a magically beautiful music. Adding to the great pleasure of this project is the group's collaboration with renowned composer Philip Glass, whose experimental and classical blend finds itself well met in the enchanting hands of Uakti. Highly recommended for fans of Moondog, Harry Partch, Paul Winter, the Kronos Quartet, and Glenn Branca. --Paige La Grone

Product Description
A new work by this instrumental group from Minas Gerais. All 10 pieces were composed by American minimalist composer Philip Glass. Inspired by the rivers of the Amazon. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A magical journey down the rivers of South America, March 3, 2002

By	Peter Cooper (Louth, UK) - See all my reviews

Imagine you're in a small boat drifting down a river flanked on both sides by giant trees. Their leafy branches extend out across the river and are left dangling just metres above the water. You close your eyes and hear the music.

Well, that's what this music is. It evokes the feel of being there, under the leaves on the river. The first track, 'Tiquie River,' is a simple organ/pizzicato affair, and at under two minutes long, it instills an initial sense of calm, before drifting into 'Japura River'.

Japura is darker, and the piece is much more rhythmic. Glass marimba floats over the underlying xylophone texture, and pan-pipes emerge from the shadows from time to time. The piece builds up and generally gives off the mood of travelling down a darkened river, shaded by thick jungle. It's mysterious, but it's not scary.

'Purus River' is a happier piece with a mixture of marimba/xylophone/piano/panpipes and native Amazonian percussion.

'Negro River' has a more tribal feel, and also debuts a rather unique Amazonian string instrument that sounds rather like the Turkish 'saz'.

'Madeira River' starts off with a rather atonal string instrument, but eventually builds up into a fast flurry of xylophones and marimba creating a waterfall-style effect.

If Koyaanisqatsi had scenes from the jungle, 'Tapajos River' is the ideal tune. There are similarities to Koyaanisqatsi tunes and themes here, but with the jungle edge.

'Amazon River' finds us reaching the end of our river cruise in a fast flurry of trees, water, waterfalls, and fast percussion pushing us along. The piece becomes flurried towards the end, and then leaves us, waking up from our dream.

'Metamorphosis I' seems to be a bit of an 'add-on' to the album, simply being a 'cover version' of Metamorphosis I by Uakti. It's good, and their instrumentation makes it feel like yet another journey through the jungle, but it's tighter and more restrained than the other pieces, so we're not on the river, we're on foot. The piece moves well, and ends with us running through the jungle through to the climax.

A delightful album with EXCELLENT instrumentation. It's a great listen, but it's also delightful to fall asleep to too. An album for any occasion.. active listening, or just in the background at an outdoor summer barbecue.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mesmerizing, November 14, 2004

By	David Milner (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I was a fan of both Philip Glass and Uakti before the release of this album, so I was absolutely thrilled to see this collaboration. And the CD surpassed all expectations.

Glass' composition is brilliant. Other reviewers here have pooh-poohed the composition as simply plagiarized from his previous works. Who cares? It works here - magically. And Uakti's instrumentation and performance have a wonderfully humanizing effect on Glass' music. The instrumentation is lush, like the rivers and rainforests themselves. And the addition of apparently improvised solos (improvisation in a Glass piece?!) gives the music a warm, organic, and even untamed feel to it.

This truly is one of my all-time favorite CD's. It's simply mesmerizing to sit and listen to it on a pair of headphones. On one level, it's wonderful to just soak in the lushness of the sound. On another, it's fascinating to decipher the puzzles and games Glass plays with the composition. Listen carefully and take note of the time signatures, for instance. Not only does he make liberal use of compound meter - 5 or 7 beats per measure, for example - note how often the time signature changes in the same piece. And yet it's done so flawlessly the casual listener wouldn't notice anything unusual at all, just that the music feels particularly "lively."

I've had this CD for a couple of years now. It's still one of my absolute favorites.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This CD made me listen to it again and again., September 22, 1999

By A Customer

I bought this disc because I had heard one or two tracks and really liked them. How fantastic to find out the entire thing is so pleasantly interesting. What hooked me at first was the candy-like sounds of the marimbas. But what made me listen again and again was figuring out the many musical puzzles. Uakati plays with speed and precision, but also with real warmth, not at all cold and mechanical. Plus, the unique instruments guarantee you've never heard anything like this (they don't SOUND home-made). If only I enjoyed all my CD's this much.