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sihayadesignsThe Prayer Cycle
A multi-lingual choral symphony in 9 movements
Words and Music by Jonathan Elias
Orchestrated and Conducted by Lawrence Schwartz
Various translations by Alanis Morissette and Gustavo Santaolalla
These will be up for 7 days or 100 downloads, whatever comes first. If they run out, I will upload .zips as needed.
1. Mercy
3'43
download
Alanis Morissette (Hungarian) - Vocalist
Salif Keita (Mali) - Vocalist
The English Chamber Orchestra and Chorus (Swahili)
We have slaughtered
In the garden of beauty
Digging graves instead of planting
Mercy for the crucified
A bitter justice
Begging eternity for love
We're nothing
We're everything
I am nothing
Yet I am everybody
We're nothing
And yet we are
Wisdom lights up life's road
I know you
2. Strength
5'40
download
Richard Bona (Dwala) - Vocalist
Yungchen Lhamo (Tibetan) - Vocalist
Perry Farrell (Personal Chant) - Vocalist
Liz Constantine (Personal Chant) - Vocalist
The American Boychoir (German)
The English Chamber Orchestra and Chorus (German)
In the field of white crosses
I am gone
In the low tones of thunder
Where the clouds run
I ride with the gentle rain
And come back to you
Sleepless in the immaculate night
I am lost remembering your eyes
Perhaps dreaming in acts of light
Close as you reach for the moon
Between your fingers
That cover your eyes
Against the sun
And so strength shall come
And strength shall pass
And in her struggle to be free
In the false trails of the resurrection
The horse of the half moon dies
Trying to find you
For she cannot love anymore
3. Hope
6'38
download
Alanis Morissette (French) - Vocalist
Devin Provenzano - Vocalist
The American Boychoir
Before my body dies
I pray
That the river I was born to
May again wash over me
By God's touch I pray
That I may move from this consecrated Earth
Into the next season
A dark season
Beyond the dying religions that seduced us
My soul will surrender
And give in to grace
4. Compassion
6'56
download
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (Urdu) - Vocalist
Mah Damba (Mali) - Vocalist
The English Chamber Orchestra and Chorus (Latin)
Pray we walk softly in silence
Forgiveness teach us, embrace our waters
Again we are born
By God's touch
Unearth the forgotten
That we may in some way see
For nothing is made without light
In the desert of miracles
Sleeping angels
Were betrayed by unthinkable logic
Using weapons of blind science
Lay compassion
Dreaming
Closing her eyes on a world gone mad
5. Grace
5'54
download
James Taylor (English) - Vocalist
John Williams - Guitar
The English Chamber Orchestra and Chorus (Italian)
Melody by Michael Sherwood
Guitar arrangement by Bill Kannengiser
Father won't you carry me
For the ocean is wide
Father won't you carry me
For my boat is small
Father on the moonless night
Help me cross the stormy sea
Out here in the darkness
Help me find my way back home
Father won't you carry me
For the ocean is wide
Father won't you carry me
For my boat is small
Father in the season of dying
Let me sleep in your arms
And come watch over me
Someone watching over me, over me
Father won't you carry me
Father won't you carry me
Father won't you carry me
6. Innocence
5'58
download
Salif Keita (Mali) - Vocalist
Alanis Morissette (French) - Vocalist
The English Chamber Orchestra and Chorus (French)
By moon we gather
For the ascension
Great sky shelter us
With your endless compassion
Last survivor
It is you who must pass
Into the light of the new world
Under a sky of innocence
We are now all dying
In a slow black rain
Was it a failure
Of Man and Angels?
Was it a failure of love?
From this human river
Too cruel for winter
We come to the gates
A rehearsal for the silence
Pray we do no enter
Under a sky of innocence
We bathe in the seduction
Beautiful
The light is unraveling now
We open our arms to it
It is close to ground zero
I am no one
Yet I am everyone
We are nothing, but we are all
When I am still I am inspired
We are not yet born
Half sadness
But half choice
When I am still I can hear
You speak most clearly
Father can you help me
For the ocean is big
And my boat is small
Find the courage
7. Forgiveness
7'40
download
Ofra Haza (Hebrew) - Vocalist
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (Urdu) - Vocalist
Martin Tillman (Processed Cello)
Ethan James (Hurdy Gurdy)
The English Chamber Orchestra and Chorus (French)
They sleep in the darkness
In cooled oxygen structures
Invisible
Limitless
They lay awake waiting
In smooth concrete beds
Uranium fed
My children are still sleeping
So their dreams may take them away
From here
I once believed in natural law
Before the silos
I once believed in all that is holy
Before the silos
Before the Trinity
Dark night of the soul
Forgive us, that we did not understand
8. Benediction
7'59
download
Linda Ronstadt (Spanish) - Vocalist
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (Urdu) - Vocalist
Devin Provenzano - Vocalist
Martin Tillman (Processed Cello)
The American Boychoir
The English Chamber Orchestra and Chorus (German)
We are a world
Growing dark with dying flashes
While the moon is crying
Full of unfamiliar music
With some heaven
Between God and Prayer
I watch
For here the light
No longer follows
I see the new ghosts
Lost in the innocence
Of their mission
On an earth that is burning
Who will be there
Angel of death
In the moon of the red grass
Surrender your shroud
9. Faith
1'01
download
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (Urdu) - Vocalist
Alanis Morissette (Hungarian) - Vocalist
The English Chamber Orchestra and Chorus (German)
My unborn forgive me
I only wish I had the strength to bring you into this world
More faithful
Liner Notes by Jonathan Elias:
"Several years ago I started writing a symphonic choral prayer, which became The Prayer Cycle, a set of nine adagio prayers.
As I worked, my personal views inspired dark visions of where I think we, globally, are heading. And I found that prayer is what we turn to, when the only thing we have left is hope. For whatever reason, providence or chance, we take paths that lead us somewhere we never imagined. Along the way, as I prayed in my own fashion, I met artists from all over the world, people whom I am honored to have worked with. During the process, one of the century's greatest artists, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, passed away. His performance here represents a reverent and moving soul whose passing spirit embraces the love of music.
It is rare in one's life to work with a great artist, much less a collection of them. It has been an honor to collaborate with a group of brilliant performers willing to cross more than a few boundaries (some musical, some cultural). I found it interesting in my journey that whatever culture we are from, the power of the primitive human voice will always move us deeply. Regardless of the language a prayer is sung in, it's the honesty of the pain and hope the singer feels that comes through. For The Prayer Cycle, the artists used poems I wrote as inspiration, interpreting the words in their own way, in many different languages and chants. Their voices have blessed much music throughout the world, and now they have done the same for this project. I am forever grateful to them all.
The world we live in is both joyous and cruel. The divide between love and hate has never been as wide as it is in our world today. I pray that we can move forward and that the next generations rise where we have fallen."
If you enjoy this work, I do encourage you to buy it. I'm providing it here because it is so rare, and I want to spread it around. However, you can find it at Amazon.Com. I first heard this work on 9/11/2003, on the way back from a concert. NPR was doing a musical memorial to those who were killed in the attacks by airing works inspired by the event. Even though I was sleeping, I was awoken from a dream to hear movement 6, Innocence. This is a prayer for our world, for where it is heading, to end the pain we cause each other. I searched and searched for this, and I finally found the disc, so I'm sharing it with you.
A multi-lingual choral symphony in 9 movements
Words and Music by Jonathan Elias
Orchestrated and Conducted by Lawrence Schwartz
Various translations by Alanis Morissette and Gustavo Santaolalla
These will be up for 7 days or 100 downloads, whatever comes first. If they run out, I will upload .zips as needed.
1. Mercy
3'43
download
Alanis Morissette (Hungarian) - Vocalist
Salif Keita (Mali) - Vocalist
The English Chamber Orchestra and Chorus (Swahili)
We have slaughtered
In the garden of beauty
Digging graves instead of planting
Mercy for the crucified
A bitter justice
Begging eternity for love
We're nothing
We're everything
I am nothing
Yet I am everybody
We're nothing
And yet we are
Wisdom lights up life's road
I know you
2. Strength
5'40
download
Richard Bona (Dwala) - Vocalist
Yungchen Lhamo (Tibetan) - Vocalist
Perry Farrell (Personal Chant) - Vocalist
Liz Constantine (Personal Chant) - Vocalist
The American Boychoir (German)
The English Chamber Orchestra and Chorus (German)
In the field of white crosses
I am gone
In the low tones of thunder
Where the clouds run
I ride with the gentle rain
And come back to you
Sleepless in the immaculate night
I am lost remembering your eyes
Perhaps dreaming in acts of light
Close as you reach for the moon
Between your fingers
That cover your eyes
Against the sun
And so strength shall come
And strength shall pass
And in her struggle to be free
In the false trails of the resurrection
The horse of the half moon dies
Trying to find you
For she cannot love anymore
3. Hope
6'38
download
Alanis Morissette (French) - Vocalist
Devin Provenzano - Vocalist
The American Boychoir
Before my body dies
I pray
That the river I was born to
May again wash over me
By God's touch I pray
That I may move from this consecrated Earth
Into the next season
A dark season
Beyond the dying religions that seduced us
My soul will surrender
And give in to grace
4. Compassion
6'56
download
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (Urdu) - Vocalist
Mah Damba (Mali) - Vocalist
The English Chamber Orchestra and Chorus (Latin)
Pray we walk softly in silence
Forgiveness teach us, embrace our waters
Again we are born
By God's touch
Unearth the forgotten
That we may in some way see
For nothing is made without light
In the desert of miracles
Sleeping angels
Were betrayed by unthinkable logic
Using weapons of blind science
Lay compassion
Dreaming
Closing her eyes on a world gone mad
5. Grace
5'54
download
James Taylor (English) - Vocalist
John Williams - Guitar
The English Chamber Orchestra and Chorus (Italian)
Melody by Michael Sherwood
Guitar arrangement by Bill Kannengiser
Father won't you carry me
For the ocean is wide
Father won't you carry me
For my boat is small
Father on the moonless night
Help me cross the stormy sea
Out here in the darkness
Help me find my way back home
Father won't you carry me
For the ocean is wide
Father won't you carry me
For my boat is small
Father in the season of dying
Let me sleep in your arms
And come watch over me
Someone watching over me, over me
Father won't you carry me
Father won't you carry me
Father won't you carry me
6. Innocence
5'58
download
Salif Keita (Mali) - Vocalist
Alanis Morissette (French) - Vocalist
The English Chamber Orchestra and Chorus (French)
By moon we gather
For the ascension
Great sky shelter us
With your endless compassion
Last survivor
It is you who must pass
Into the light of the new world
Under a sky of innocence
We are now all dying
In a slow black rain
Was it a failure
Of Man and Angels?
Was it a failure of love?
From this human river
Too cruel for winter
We come to the gates
A rehearsal for the silence
Pray we do no enter
Under a sky of innocence
We bathe in the seduction
Beautiful
The light is unraveling now
We open our arms to it
It is close to ground zero
I am no one
Yet I am everyone
We are nothing, but we are all
When I am still I am inspired
We are not yet born
Half sadness
But half choice
When I am still I can hear
You speak most clearly
Father can you help me
For the ocean is big
And my boat is small
Find the courage
7. Forgiveness
7'40
download
Ofra Haza (Hebrew) - Vocalist
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (Urdu) - Vocalist
Martin Tillman (Processed Cello)
Ethan James (Hurdy Gurdy)
The English Chamber Orchestra and Chorus (French)
They sleep in the darkness
In cooled oxygen structures
Invisible
Limitless
They lay awake waiting
In smooth concrete beds
Uranium fed
My children are still sleeping
So their dreams may take them away
From here
I once believed in natural law
Before the silos
I once believed in all that is holy
Before the silos
Before the Trinity
Dark night of the soul
Forgive us, that we did not understand
8. Benediction
7'59
download
Linda Ronstadt (Spanish) - Vocalist
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (Urdu) - Vocalist
Devin Provenzano - Vocalist
Martin Tillman (Processed Cello)
The American Boychoir
The English Chamber Orchestra and Chorus (German)
We are a world
Growing dark with dying flashes
While the moon is crying
Full of unfamiliar music
With some heaven
Between God and Prayer
I watch
For here the light
No longer follows
I see the new ghosts
Lost in the innocence
Of their mission
On an earth that is burning
Who will be there
Angel of death
In the moon of the red grass
Surrender your shroud
9. Faith
1'01
download
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (Urdu) - Vocalist
Alanis Morissette (Hungarian) - Vocalist
The English Chamber Orchestra and Chorus (German)
My unborn forgive me
I only wish I had the strength to bring you into this world
More faithful
Liner Notes by Jonathan Elias:
"Several years ago I started writing a symphonic choral prayer, which became The Prayer Cycle, a set of nine adagio prayers.
As I worked, my personal views inspired dark visions of where I think we, globally, are heading. And I found that prayer is what we turn to, when the only thing we have left is hope. For whatever reason, providence or chance, we take paths that lead us somewhere we never imagined. Along the way, as I prayed in my own fashion, I met artists from all over the world, people whom I am honored to have worked with. During the process, one of the century's greatest artists, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, passed away. His performance here represents a reverent and moving soul whose passing spirit embraces the love of music.
It is rare in one's life to work with a great artist, much less a collection of them. It has been an honor to collaborate with a group of brilliant performers willing to cross more than a few boundaries (some musical, some cultural). I found it interesting in my journey that whatever culture we are from, the power of the primitive human voice will always move us deeply. Regardless of the language a prayer is sung in, it's the honesty of the pain and hope the singer feels that comes through. For The Prayer Cycle, the artists used poems I wrote as inspiration, interpreting the words in their own way, in many different languages and chants. Their voices have blessed much music throughout the world, and now they have done the same for this project. I am forever grateful to them all.
The world we live in is both joyous and cruel. The divide between love and hate has never been as wide as it is in our world today. I pray that we can move forward and that the next generations rise where we have fallen."
If you enjoy this work, I do encourage you to buy it. I'm providing it here because it is so rare, and I want to spread it around. However, you can find it at Amazon.Com. I first heard this work on 9/11/2003, on the way back from a concert. NPR was doing a musical memorial to those who were killed in the attacks by airing works inspired by the event. Even though I was sleeping, I was awoken from a dream to hear movement 6, Innocence. This is a prayer for our world, for where it is heading, to end the pain we cause each other. I searched and searched for this, and I finally found the disc, so I'm sharing it with you.
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Date: 2004-08-12 07:17 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2004-08-13 01:19 pm (UTC)are you familiar with peter gabriel's world music compositions, passion, ovo, and the long walk home? i think you might really like them.
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Date: 2004-08-13 01:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-08-14 08:47 pm (UTC)