- Audio CD (July 27 1998)
- Number of Discs: 1
- Label: Celestial Harmonies
- ASIN: B00000AEP0
- Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#118,079 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
- #41 in Music > World Music > Africa > Egypt
- #41 in Music > World Music > Middle East > Egypt
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Product Details |
Track Listings
| 1. Atum (Creator Sun God) Song |
| 2. Atum (Creator Sun God) Instrumental |
| 3. Atum (Creator Sun God) Instrumental |
| 4. Atum (Creator Sun God) Instrumental |
| 5. Atum (Creator Sun God) Instrumental |
| 6. Maat (Truth, Balance, Order) Song |
| 7. Maat (Truth, Balance, Order) Instrumental |
| 8. Maat (Truth, Balance, Order) Instrumental |
| 9. Maat (Truth, Balance, Order) Instrumental |
| 10. Maat (Truth, Balance, Order) Instrumental |
| 11. Khet (The Physical Body) Song |
| 12. Khet (The Physical Body) Instrumental |
| 13. Khet (The Physical Body) Instrumental |
| 14. Khet (The Physical Body) Instrumental |
| 15. Shen (Eternity) Song |
| 16. Shen (Eternity) Instrumental |
| 17. Shen (Eternity) Song |
| 18. Shen (Eternity) Instrumental |
Product Description
From Amazon.com
This album is based on a challenging idea: Try to recreate a musical form from a culture and period that left behind no recordings or musical notation, using only history, a description of the instruments, and some historical artifacts. It takes intuition as much as scholarship and craftsmanship to recreate the ancient instruments of Egypt--from simple percussion and flutes to boat-shaped and triangular harps and trumpets. Atherton, with his musicians and singers, exhibits both innovation and skill, offering not so much a look at how the music actually was, but more an intuitive guess at how it might have been, keeping the music first and history a close but well-heeled second. It can be frantic one moment and somber the next, as each of these lengthy song suites develops organically around a song or a piece of poetry--offering both early music and improvisational music aficionados something unique. Excellent recording quality is augmented by well-documented notes on history and instrumental research. --Louis Gibson
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Effective In Part -- Not Quite Enough Parts,
By
This review is from: Ankh: Sound Of Ancient Egypt (Audio CD)
Atherton starts with a splendid idea and certainly enough talent to carry his idea off. Despite some fine moments in a couple of the vocal selections, the rest is very forgettable. Having done his bit for research, Atherton seems to succumb to the temptation to ride the CD out using a lot of faux-Near Eastern musical riffs that simply get tedious. Adding to what others have already said, I also wonder if the ancient Egyptians had such a paltry knowledge of musical form. This recording might have worked as an evocation of dockside bar music, New Kingdom, but that's about it. The vocal areas, unlikely as they seem, get the CD three stars. For too-brief but still shining moments, Egypt is evoked pretty well. Pity the rest was so blah.
2.0 out of 5 stars
the sound of ancient egypt,
By Heather Staats (Taylor, Mi United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Ankh: Sound Of Ancient Egypt (Audio CD)
as you can see i didn't like this cd. i am very interested in ancient egypt. i didn't like this cd because it was filled with mostly flutes and soft drums. there is hardly any singing and the singing sounds more like music from my church. and of the 18 tracks 13 of them are instrumental. i found this cd to be a waist of my money and i believe it will be for you as well.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Could Have Been Done Better,
By
This review is from: Ankh: Sound Of Ancient Egypt (Audio CD)
Michael Atherton's "Ankh" is a good showcasing of the instruments of the ancient world - however the vocals leave alot to be desired. Although he uses "ancient Egyptian" words in the spoken chants and singing in some of the songs, his choice of vocalists is incorrect for the subject matter. In short they sound far too "Western". The vocalists were far better suited to hymns with the Sunday Choir in a cathedral than in the columned halls of Ancient Egypt. Had Atherton used vocalists with a touch more passion and ethnicity, along the lines for example of Lisa Gerrard of Dead Can Dance(Soundtrack for Gladiator) or Azam Ali ofthe group Vas, this album would have worked.
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