Details
Track Listing
1. Mercy I
2. Strength II
3. Hope III
4. Compassion IV
5. Grace V
6. Innocence VI
7. Forgiveness VII
8. Benediction VIII
9. Faith IX
Album Notes
Personnel includes: Jonathan Elias, Alanis Morissette, James Taylor, Salif Keita, Richard Bona, Yungchen Lhamo, Perry Farrell, The American Boychoir, Nusrat Fateh Ali Kahn, Mah Damba, John Williams, Ofra Haza, Linda Ronstadt, The English Chamber Orchestra & Chorus.
That THE PRAYER CYCLE was masterminded by film and television composer Jonathan Elias is almost as mystifying as the broad, incongruous, and wonderfully talented array of musical stars that perform on it. A deeply spiritual and emotionally resonant album, THE PRAYER CYCLE is a collection of prayers sung in choral and solo voice by the likes of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Alanis Morissette, James Taylor, Perry Farrell, and Salif Keita, among others. If these performers are strange bedfellows, one would never guess it from the sense of power and unity that emanates through these nine tracks.
Though Middle Eastern motifs dominate, it is difficult to pinpoint an exact geographical origin for this music, and the end result is a world music soup of profound implication. Like Peter Gabriel's PASSION, there is a primal beauty to the wailing, soulful cries and textured atmospheres, but where Gabriel's album was drum-centric, Elias's album accentuates beautiful, complex arrangements for voices, strings, and various instrumentation. THE PRAYER CYCLE is intense, unique, and genuinely moving.
Industry Reviews
3 stars out of 5 - Multi-lingual choral symphony documenting the power of prayer....Faetures Alanis Morissette singing in Hungarian...
Melody Maker (04/24/1999)
...CYCLE'S exquisite, soaring world-music voices dissipate all defenses... Rating A-p
Entertainment Weekly (03/26/1999)
3 stars (out of 5) - ...perfect for hazy Sunday afternoons, or as a risk-free insomnia cure.
Q (07/01/1999)
3 stars out of 5 - Multi-lingual choral symphony documenting the power of prayer....Features Alanis Morissette singing in Hungarian...
Melody Maker (04/24/1999)
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