Search - Richard Warner :: Spirit of the Tao Te Ching

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jessi_lune | Brantford, Ontario Canada | 04/03/2001

(2 out of 5 stars)

"for those searching for enlightenment or a good piece of original composition on traditional instruments, look elsewhere! Sadly I must state this was a good idea gone wrong. The music quickly changed from what sounded like a good thing into noise and piano-ish sounds. Not what I was after! I find this happens so often with "native" sounds, whether it be North Americal, australian aboriginal, celtic, etc. You're probably looking for something more along the line of Nawang Khechog's work - a real ex-buddist monk. Skip this and move on."

Mellow, light and playful

Brianna Neal | USA | 12/31/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Flutist and composer Richard Warner combines accoustic winds, electronic keyboards, nature sounds and light percussion to evoke moods inspired by the eight trigrams of Taoist I-Ching symbolism: heaven, earth, fire, water, thunder, wind, lake, and mountain. Less oriental-sounding than might be expected, this gentle combination of accoustic and electronic sounds in both traditional and modern musical styles took me a little while to get used to. Now, however, I find it to be refreshing and delightful listening. The CD insert, proclaiming this album to be Warner's debut on the Narada label, touts his "diverse musical influences", and indeed each of his nine compositions on "Spirit of the Tao Te Ching" is noticeably different from the others. Some of the selections ("Thunder" and "Heaven") reflect oriental musical styles, while one ("Earth") is definitely colored by African traditions and others ("Sunrise", Water", "Mountains in the Mist" and "Wind") utilize various but standard New Age techniques. I still find myself wishing for a real guzheng (traditional Chinese zither) now and then to accompany Warner's sublime flutes ... But the synthesizers, voiced to imitate a guzheng, chimes, western reeds and strings, echoes, and even plunking drops of water have a charm all their own, particularly for listeners who have come to expect their use in New Age music. My favorite track is the last one, "Tao", which showcases Warner's meandering, hypnotic, wooden-flute improvisations with only chimes in the background. It is similar in effect to his two-CD set, "Quiet Heart / Spirit Wind", which contains the same, spare instrumentation and is highly recommended. Other relaxing, positive CDs featuring a variety of light styles with both western and Asian instruments are "Calming Massage" and "Natural Massage" by Tim and Paul Frantzich."

Beautiful, Relaxing, Superb

Brianna Neal | 07/07/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There is a lot of junk out there masquerading as fine music. This album is the real deal. This music always centers me, makes me think of all the things that are important. Truly, it slows you down to be able to enjoy the moment. I never lose sight of this disc, and you shouldn't either. Awesome flutes, rain sticks, other melodious instruments. Enjoy."