Gathering In The Light

Baird Hersey

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 21, 2007)
• Original Release Date: March 18, 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Satsang Music
• ASIN: B000WMG1SQ
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #131,706 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
THE CD

"Gathering In The Light" is a pairing of two musical forces. Kirtan master Krishna Das, and Baird Hersey and his overtone singing choir Prana unite here to make music thats whole is far greater than the sum of its parts. With the open hearted sound he is so well know for, Krishna Das sings seven of his most beloved chants over arrangements created by Baird, and sung by Prana.

But, Prana is far more than a human harmonium. The other worldly ensemble sound of Prana's drones, textures and rising harmonies are a perfect setting for both Baird's high arcing overtone melodies and Krishna Das' rich baritone.

The two featured voices, sometimes support one another, and sometimes act as foils for one another. When placed in the frame of the 8 voice choir, they shine like two spirits in pursuit of the same ethereal goal.

Although this is neither purely a Prana CD or Krishna Das CD, It is like nothing else you will hear. "Gathering In The Light" is innovative, heartfelt, and breath taking.

THE STORY

In October of 2004 Krishna Das attended a release party for PRANA's first CD, "The Eternal Embrace". After Prana had sung, Krishna Das said to Baird, "Let's make a record together or something".

Over the next two year the "or something" was Krishna Das inviting Prana to sing at his larger benefit Kirtans in the New York area. As a part of those evenings KD would join Prana to sing Baird's arrangement of his chant "Puja". The combination of the ethereal sound of overtone singing supporting the rich, open hearted voice of Krishna Das was stunning.

In 2006 Baird and KD decided to record "Puja" for Prana's new CD. The resulting 12 minute piece was so striking, they resolved to record an entire CD together.

The result is "Gathering in the Light", Krishna Das singing seven of his most beloved chants over arrangements created by Baird and sung by Prana.

On four pieces percussion was added: Jerry Marotta, from Peter Gabriel's band on hand percussion and drums, South Indian Masters Drummers Subash Chandran, playing ghatam (clay pot), Ganesh Kumar playing kanjira (tunable tambourine), and Arjun Alan Bruggeman on Tabla. The only other instrument on the CD is the human voice.

"Gathering In The Light" is dedicated to Pattabhi Jois and Neem Karoli Baba All Chants Composed by Krishna Das., arranged and produced by Baird Hersey

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must have for Krishna Das fans, February 12, 2008

By	A. D. Boorman - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

WOW

Prana's otherworldly backgrounds and KD's amazing voice.
IF you like KD, you must have this. It's a wonderful cd for
yoga practice. My only problem is that it's too short.

I would really love to hear them do 'Mountain Hare Krishna'
or 'Namo Shivaya,' 'Om Namo Bhagavate," or so many of my other
favorite KD Kirtan. I hope that they get together again and
record more chants.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Otherworldly, May 12, 2008

By	Sharon Nichols - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Baird Hersey and his a cappella vocal ensemble, Prana, are always an otherworldly listen, whether it's at home with headphones or a bone-piercing live show. A few years ago he promised to collaborate with well-known chant master Krishna Das, and now he's done it. On Gathering In The Light, Das channels the divine using chants he composed on his own, providing rich lead vocals on top of the overtones of Hersey and Prana. For the first time on one of his recordings, Hersey has brought in minimal percussion, but everything else you hear is the amazing harmonics of the human voice. Because of his obsession with the Gyoto monks, Hersey mastered multiphonic throat singing and, in turn, assembled eight local singers with impressive resumes, teaching each of them to sing two mellifluous pitches at once. The resulting chorus is something that must be heard to be believed, and by throwing Das into the mix, Hersey has created something truly extraordinary and profound. Of particular note is Krishna Das' trademark number, "Hare Krishna", with an entirely new twist-- a minute-and-a-half lead of unbelievably gorgeous tones. So, if you want to turn your home into a temple, or simply bliss out for 48 minutes, look no further.
--Sharon Nichols, Chronogram magazine

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Just Lovely!!, March 20, 2008

By	Sarah West "www.SarahWest.com" (Albuquerque, Mew Mexico) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Gathering in the Light (MP3 Download)

Beautiful mix of these 2 artists. i would say its quite unusual and something to have in your collection if you a KD fan as well as a kirtan-aholic! beautiful!! Sarah Sanctuary The Sacred Pyramid Voices of Eternity