Search - Arcanta :: Eternal Return

Chantasmic Catharsis

06/10/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Artistan: ArcantaCast: Thomas-Carlyle Ayres: voices, zither, Doug Chamberlin: guitar, keyboards, percussion, Monti Medley: keyboards, electronics, Andrew Pluta: keyboards, electronics, guitarOrigin: Chicago, ILSyndicate: ProjektGenus: Sacred/Global/Ambiant/ClassicleHighlights: `Kyrie', `Maya', 'Into Thine Arms', `The Solitary Pilgrim'Miscellanea: The first new artist in three years to join Projekt's select roster.Ambience: Strangely MeditativeEmotion: Urgent LiberationCachet: Primal and Profound PurgationDesign: Gloriously ennunciated utterances of unknown originAmenities: Huanted manifestations of the absurdities of lifeDepth: AbysmalWord Picture: Chantasmic Catharsis Book Match: Friedrich Nietzsche, `The Portable Nietzsche' Ed. and trans. Walter Kufmann @ http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140150625/qid%3D929027464/002-2895852-6552457Kindred Artistan: Dead Can DanceActivity Match: Wanting to be the person that you areAnalysis: Inspired by the ancient Stoic idea of Eternal Reoccurrence (that everything that happens will reoccur for eternity exactly as it happened the first time). On this subject, author Charles D. Hayes states in `Beyond the American Dream' @ http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0962197920/qid=929027538/sr=1-1/002-2895852-6552457: "As bizzare as it sounds today, Nietzsche thought eternal reoccurrence was the most scientific idea (in a metaphoric sense) ever concieved."Nietzsche asks: "How, if some day or night a demon were to sneak after you into your loneliest loneliness and say to you, This life as you now live it and have lived it, you will have to live once more and innumerable times more; and there will be nothing new in it, but every pain and every joy and every thought and sigh and everything immesurably small or great in your life must return to you - all in the same succession and sequence - even this spider and this moonlight between the trees, and even this moment and I myself. The eternal hourglass of existence is turned over and over, and you with it, a dust grain of dust. Would you not throw yourself down and gnash your teeth and curse the demon who spoke thus? Or did you once experience a tremendous moment when you would have answered him, You are a god, and never have I heard anything more godly."No better example exists to show what Arcanta strives for; creating a musical life worthy of emulation, a life with enough meaning so that one would want to live that life over and over again for all of eternity.Hayes sums up: "Throughout our lives we tread near the abyss...Nietzsche claimed that man is a rope across the abyss. His metaphoric scaffold of the Eternal Return - wanting to be the person you are - is a bold attempt to fill this dark space with the light of your own purpose. The Eternal Return portrays one's life as the ultimate project. The brighter the spark in the void, the more likely you would want to experience it over again, and the greater likelihood that your light would add quality to the lives of others...Both Emerson and Nietzsche asserted profusely that, when one is willing to pay the price for existence, this life in and of itself is enough. The profound question each of us should ask ourselves is: If we can't make a short life meaningful, would would be the point of an eternal existence?"~ Christian HanumanAuricle : electrozine of aural culture"

Musical hope in a devoid world

Allen Kratzer | Auburn, AL United States | 02/20/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Thomas Carlyle-Ayres et al. have developed a musical experience that is inspiring to me as a visual designer and artist. I am sure that your own personal experiences will affect how you interpret Arcanta's music. The early Christian themes, unusual instrumentation, and Mr.Ayres extraordinary voice are beyond beauty....so much power tempered with sensitivity! I highly recommend this CD to persons who are sophisticated enough to love
Stravinsky and Dead Can Dance. Simply astounding!
Allen Kratzer
Auburn, Alabama, USA"

Eastern-influenced melodies strike a chord

Dancing Ganesha | Bangalore, India | 12/08/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"These songs may be compared to some as New Age, but they are more than just that -- these are songs of unique vision and power. My favourite song from this album used to be "Awake As If From Slumber," but I also really like all of the Indian-style ones as well. Some of the best songs in my opinion, would be "There Is No God But God" and "Bodhissatva." All of the songs are really very beautiful. The vocalist (Thomas Carlyle Ayres) has a very powerful voice, and I believe is classically trained."