Passages

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Customer reviews

review by: Ru date: 2009-06-10 rating:
In reference to Aural?
I loved this Album when it came out! br /So glad to have another copy of it as the music is truly inspiring and always transporting! br /Not my favourite Glass piece but right up there with the best.x

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review by: george11171 date: 2008-05-23 rating:
Expect the unexpected!
Unlike most of the other reviewers, I was not familiar with the music of Shankar or Glass before deciding to buy this album on the strength of the most cursory hearing of some of the tracks. Every now and again I just like to treat my ears to something different. And believe me, this is something very, very different. It is simply exciting music, beautifully played, which will grasp at your very soul. br / br /Go on. Treat your ears. They deserve it!

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review by: musicbymartin date: 2007-05-04 rating:
Beautifully orchestrated - see Indian music in a new light
Philip Glass is known for his monolithic minimalism, which I for one feel has been rather stale for some time. He apparently already studied with Shankar at the end of the sixties, when Shankar was at the height of international fame, what with the Beatles and everything. br / br /It was a great idea to reunite the two as Shankar's influence adds a new lease of life to Glass's repetitions. The sleeve notes explain that for each piece one of the two composers came up with the themes which the other develops and arranges. The listener can have a lot of fun working out were certain fragments have come from. It's actually much harder than you'd think. br / br /"Raga's in a Minor Scale" floats sitar and flute over gentle tablas. It doesn't seem to repeat itself very much, and the main melodic line is a typical Indian theme - it sounds as if it was based on a vocalised song. Strings bolster the whole thing, and from time to time the whole orchestra hangs on quickly descending arpeggios which you know come from Glass but still sound unique and unusual. br / br /"Prashanti" sets a repeating zither theme against beautiful flutes and as above, rich modal themes from the strings are allowed to interject. br / br /"Offering" begins with a typical Glass motif played on low strings and then the mournful main theme is played on . . . saxophone! The theme slowly progresses before trademark sawing Glass orchestrations work against the Shankar string melody. This is the track that will remind most listeners of Glass - fluttering flute arps, hovering strings, grating cellos, gentle piano melodies, it's all there. br / br /"Sadhanipa" is my favourite, rich and peaceful and the hardest to unravel - to work out which composer has written which bit - and is all the more marvellous for it. The main themes are interspersed with jaunty dances that sound almost like hoedowns - could that be Ravi commenting on Phil's nationality? br / br /I love this album and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys instrumental music. You don't have to be a fan of either composer to enjoy this and it works as well as a piece of pop music as much as a piece of world music or even classical music. br / br /

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review by: date: 2004-06-18 rating:
East meets West
I had some ideas of what this would sound like before I heard it, but when I heard it I realised I was completely wrong! I thought that it would be typical Philip Glass with some sitar and Indian scales and sounds. It is nothing of the sort.pEach track is not so much a collaboration as a joining of distinct parts. You can hear which parts are Glass and which parts are Shankar, but the glue that holds them together is the compositional genius of the two men. It does not just encompass India either, as there are Middle-Eastern motifs and scales used here, and some very Western orchestral parts.pIt is very light on the sitar, and Ravi Shankar probably has more input vocally than with his sitar playing. This is orchestral music without using a conventional orchestra from the West. It is Indian music without being limited to the traditional Indian instruments and arrangements. It is World Music at its best!


review by: date: 2003-02-12 rating:
The best Philip Glass album you've never heard in your life!
It took several years after first hearing a tape of this music before I managed to acquire a copy for myself (someone brought me the cassette back from India!!)It is simply excellent music, both easy and challenging at the same time. All the Glass compositions I have heard since (this was my introduction to his music) seem somewhat lame in comparison. Maybe this is due to Mr. Shankar's influence...who knows, I am not a fan of either gentlemen apart from this work. If you're, like me, a westener with a penchant for those sensuous arabic scales this is definately for you.

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