Meditations

Track Listings

1. Amazing Grace

2. I Want to Be Where You Are

3. Return Unto the Rest

4. Give Thanks

5. All Consuming Fire

6. His Glorious Praise

7. Lord Thy God

8. Think About His Love

9. Great Is Your Mercy

10. Merciful Father

11. Wonderful Peace

12. Father's Peace

13. Wonderful Peace (Reprise)

14. Your Grace Is Sufficient

15. Secret Place

16. All We Like Sheep

17. O Worship the Lord

18. Return Unto the Rest (Reprise)

Meditations, Music, Various Artists, CCM, Meditation, Religious / Contemp. Christian

The Soul of Healing Meditations
Average customer rating:

Excellent guided meditation

Soothing and comforting

Excellent

Excellent meditation instrument

New to meditation? This is a MUST!

The Soul of Healing Meditations
Deepak Chopra M.D. , and Deepak Chopra
Manufacturer: Rasa Music
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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The Ease of Being: Guided Meditations for Centering and Healing

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Accessories:

The Journey to Wild Divine Biofeedback Software & Hardware for PC & Mac: The Passage

ASIN: B00005TZSK
Release Date: 2001-11-20

Tracks:

Breathing Meditation
Heart Meditation
Body Awareness
Heart Sutra Meditation
Envoking the Gods of Healing
Inviting the Spirit of Healing
Banishing Disease
Ode of Solomon

Amazon.com

Featuring the soothing narration of Deepak Chopra over the trancelike music of Adam Plack, The Soul of Healing Meditations serves as an introduction to meditation for neophytes and as a more advanced tool to help overcome a physical ailment and/or emotional toxicity. That may make it sound like a digital elixir, but as Chopra says in his liner notes: "We like to tell our patients (at the Chopra Center for Well Being) that the body is the best pharmacy in the world and is capable of making wonder drugs." His message here is that one can naturally prevail over serious life challenges by becoming more attuned to one's body--by relaxing and filtering out the external world, focusing on and influencing internal sensations and biorhythms, and banishing negative thoughts and focusing on the positive aspects of life. This CD is not meant as a cure-all for physical or emotional ills. Rather, it's a supplemental experience to other treatments or programs, and it shows how enlightening and empowering meditation can be when practiced properly. Its actual effects will depend upon the receptiveness of the listener. Plack's accompanying soundtrack ranges from delicate ambient tones to more active Indian music, appropriately serving the mood of each of the album's eight tracks. --Bryan Reesman

Customer Reviews:

Excellent guided meditation.......2007-06-04

This is an excellent guided meditation for beginners or more advanced meditators. I have used it many times and it has helped me through some tough times. Deepak Chopra is great, and his voice is beautiful and soothing. Highly recommended.

Soothing and comforting.......2007-05-13

This CD helps me each time I listen to it. The comfort I receive is confirmation to me that it truly is healing! Dr. Chopra's voice and the different meditations is completely soothing and relaxing. I enjoy the music they have included on the CD also.

Excellent.......2007-05-07

Excellent tape. I use it a lot. Soothing, healing. I would recommend it for anyone who is serious about utilizing guided imagery for healing.

Excellent meditation instrument.......2007-03-09

The narrator's voice maintains the meditator's attention and focus. The words, music, chants and poetry utilized on this cd are exactly what is needed to slow down and bring your focus inward. If you are looking for a guided journey type cd, this is not it. This cd focuses on healing, breathing, the mind/body connection and the ability of the meditator to generate healing via meditation practice.

New to meditation? This is a MUST! .......2007-01-17

I have been working with this CD for almost a year, and I think it is incredible. Deepak takes us through a series of techniques to help create wellness via a breathing meditation, forgiveness meditation and creating awareness for what we already have created that we are grateful. This is an important step toward creating our desired future. Overall, this meditation is a very energizing experience as he gently guides us to healing. (I won't give it away) This has saved me from feeling sick at various times in my life and produced results in more ways than I can explain. It really works. I also love the music. I'm inspired and I will continue to do this daily and never get bored! Thank you Deepak!

The Ease of Being: Guided Meditations for Centering and Healing

Average customer rating:

Works Better the Longer You Use It
Gentle yet remarkably effective
Fall Asleep While Listening
Excellent Guided Meditations
Not as good as I had hoped.

The Ease of Being: Guided Meditations for Centering and Healing
Mary Maddux and Richard Maddux
Manufacturer: Heart of Healing
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Creating Calm In Your Life: A Guided Meditation and Stress Reduction CD
Guided Meditations: For Calmness, Awareness, and Love
Silence of Being: Guided Meditation for Inner Peace
Journey into Deep Relaxation
Your Present: A Half Hour of Peace

ASIN: B00009R5VP
Release Date: 2002-04-01

Tracks:

Silence: a Centering Meditation
Allowing: a Healing Meditation
Flowing Freely: an Emotional Healing Meditation

Album Description

May 12, 2005 UPDATE: The Ease of Being CD has now been re-mastered for improved audio quality.

The soothing voice and deeply relaxing music on the Ease of Being restore a centered state of awareness and support healing. The meditations encourage trust in the natural flow of life, leading to greater physical, mental and emotional ease. The instructions suggest that you "…simply allow the words and music to wash over you… It is not necessary to understand, or even hear, all the words". Instead of asking you to focus on specific instructions or images, these meditations gently guide the mind to relax completely. In this relaxed state, healing can happen naturally and effortlessly.

Once referred to as "meditations without borders", the Ease of Being does not represent any particular tradition. It gives you the freedom to relax into your own, unique healing journey. One customer stated, "These meditations are unique - you can just float with them". If you listen with an open mind and heart, The Ease of Being can take you straight to the "heart of healing"!

Customer Reviews:

Works Better the Longer You Use It.......2007-06-13

When I first listened to this CD I wasn't sure if it was helping me to relax. But as I continued to use it I began to notice a calming and soothing effect that continued afterward. It has now become a favorite of mine for chilling out and also as a prelude to a great night's sleep. Highly recommended.

Gentle yet remarkably effective.......2007-06-05

Mary's meditations have been a great help to me during a time when life has been difficult. She advises to "let the words wash over you" and that works well when I don't try to focus on the specific words but just relax and let whatever happen. The music is also extremely soothing (check out Richard's CD:Pure Light: Music for Meditation & Relaxation). Overall a wonderful way to kick back and distance myself from all the craziness.

Fall Asleep While Listening.......2007-05-22

I got this for stress issues, but every time I listen to it I can't get past the first few minutes without falling asleep. Very relaxing voice and music!

Excellent Guided Meditations.......2007-05-09

There are many guided meditation tapes available out there. For me, this is one of the best, although I imagine different approaches/voices/styles work better for different people. The Ease of Being is unique in that it gently guides you to a place of less effort and a letting go of the need to control. This results in a very deep and relaxing experience. I also feel the music enhances the effect of relaxation, allowing the listener to "float" away to a peaceful place.

Not as good as I had hoped........2007-05-08

I am fairly new to meditation and have been looking for some of the best guided meditation cds to help me in my practice. I tried this one based on the (mostly) good reviews on here. After listening to this cd a few times myself, I found that I did not really care for it. I like the concept behind the three meditations on the disc. The first one is called "a centered meditation", which runs around 16 minutes. The second meditation is called "a healing meditation" which runs around 17 minutes in length. The third meditation is called "an emotional healing meditation", which is around 15 minutes and was what I felt that I wanted since I have had kind of a rough and stressful time this past year. Well I have to say that I agree with some of the other reviewers about how distracting the speaker's voice is! I did listen to the samples available here and thought that the slowness of her sentences was a bit distracting, but hoped that I would just get used to it or that the meditation would be so good, it wouldn't really matter. But unfortunately that hasn't been the case. Her voice just isn't conducive to relaxation for me. Granted, her voice is nice, but she pauses right in the middle of a sentence for so long, I find myself wondering "well is she going to finish it?" or "can she not think of what word she wants to use next?". I almost got the feeling that she was looking at a timer while recording the meditation and trying to stretch her thoughts throughout the time allotted.

The emotional healing meditation didn't really give me as much as I had hoped for either. It is kind of repetitive and was not very helpful to me personally. She just kept saying, "emotions will come and go and we don't know why. It's just energy and a part of life. Just allow whatever comes and let it go". I know that she was probably going for the concept of "if you can feel it, you can heal it", which is true. But I don't know...it just wasn't as good as I thought it should have been. Perhaps it's just my personal preference, but this cd didn't help me as much as I had hoped. If anyone knows some great, relaxing, yet life transforming guided meditation cds...please feel free to let me know what they are.

Average customer rating:

Great music to de-stress
Transportive and restorative
Absolutely Beautiful
Gentle, contemplative Celtic instrumentals

Celtic Meditation Music

Manufacturer: Sounds True
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Celtic Lamentations
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ASIN: 1591791529
Release Date: 2004-05-11

Tracks:

Blind Mary
Aran Boat Song
Far Beyond Yon Mountain/Bridget Cruise
Were You At The Rock (An Raibh Tu Ag An Gcarraig)
Bruach Na Carraige Bana/At The Edge Of The White Rock
Dark Island
An Bhoutais
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Album Description

New World. 2004.

Customer Reviews:

Great music to de-stress.......2007-05-09

My husband and I listen to this cd almost every night before going to sleep. The music is calming and reverent. Great way to end a busy day.

Transportive and restorative.......2007-01-25

This is one of the most beautiful, restorative collections of Celtic music I have ever heard. Haunting, sublime harp, cello, guitar, flute, and soundscapes create an atomosphere of serenity for meditation, prayer, or simply unwinding the mind and emotions. The poetry which originated each selection is included and provides a meditation in itself. Highly recommended.

Absolutely Beautiful.......2007-01-05

The music included on the "Celtic Meditation Music" CD is so soothing & hauntingly beautiful to me that I've barely listened to anything else for the last week - it's that good!

The liner notes are great as well. They share information about the various rituals, prayers, and poems that are behind each of the songs - it's really quite interesting!

Overall, I would highly recommend this CD to anyone who enjoys the sounds of celtic music, as well as those who are looking for music to relax to - it's absolutely beautiful!

Gentle, contemplative Celtic instrumentals.......2006-10-01

Based on ancient Celtic prayers, the compositions featured on this album were conceived under the premise "If prayers were music, what would they sound like?" The gentle, familiar tunes, rendered on Minogue's sparkling Irish harp and accompanied by other acoustic and electronic instruments, are drawn from the traditional Celtic repertoire and the liner notes pair each song with the text of a prayer, either pagan/nature-based or Christian. This pairing of unrelated prayers with existing melodies is an interesting approach, especially considering that the tracks here are all instrumental, with none of the prayer words actually being spoken or sung. Minogue's earlier albums feature a lot of vocals, both hers and others', sometimes even done hymn-style in rich choral harmonies. So I'm not sure why the texts of the prayers couldn't have been incorporated somehow into this music. But nonetheless, "Celtic Meditation Music" is, like all of Aine Minogue's work that I'm familiar with, deftly orchestrated, supremely relaxing, and full of quiet beauty. This is good music for massage, resting, deep breathing, or just unwinding at the end of a long day. Then guest instrumentalists are cellist Eugene Friesen, whistle player Joanie Madden, clarinetist Tom Hill, string orchestrator Brad Hatfield, concertina player Brid Meany, guitarist Sheldon Mirowitz and electronic soundscape artist Randy Roos. For more Celtic-inspired instrumentals conducive to meditation, try Minogue's other works, and also the following: "Celtic Inspirations" by guitarist William Patterson, the Narada compilation albums "Celtic Treasure: The Legacy of Turlough O'Carolan" and "Celtic Treasure II: The Living Legacy of Turlough O'Carolan," and anything by Kim Robertson and Lisa Lynne, but particularly their early work.

Average customer rating:

Private meditation is where this music should have been kept. And never released to the unsuspecting public
More pretentious drivel from an increasingly irrelevant "star",
Yet Another Side to Lou Reed.
The Anti Metal Machine Music

Hudson River Wind Meditations
Lou Reed
Manufacturer: Gemini Sun Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Twelve
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ASIN: B000LW9Q9I
Release Date: 2007-04-24

Tracks:

Move Your Heart
Find Your Note
Hudson River Wind (Blend The Ambiance)
Wind Coda

Amazon.com

Every now and then, usually reliable iconic figures put out a project that completely perplexes even their most stalwart adherents. Lou Reed did it in 1975 with Metal Machine Music. Released as a double LP and mostly conjured from pure feedback and some guitar effects, it sounded to many like a symphony for garbage disposals and jackhammers. At the time, Reed claimed most people wouldn't like it, and he was right, although if you drilled beneath the surface, it was strangely triumphal and exultant with almost psychedelic melodies. Three decades later, he returns with the follow-up. Hudson River Wind Meditations is the yang to Metal Machine Music's turbo-distortion head-crush ying. Which isn't to say it's smooth and soothing. Hudson River's two primary tracks consist of Doppler-effect sine waves, Tibetan-singing-bowl-like sounds, and deep subharmonics that threatened to crack my speakers. They all do slow-motion, abstract barber-pole dances around each other over the course of their half-hour or so duration. Listening deeply, one can get lost in the harmonic relationships in a way that recalls LaMonte Young's Theater of Eternal Music or Alvin Lucier's Music on a Long Thin Wire. Lou Reed is a practitioner of Tai Chi, and he says this music is meant for body work and meditation, but while the Hudson River itself can be a comforting, reflective place, this sounds more like the underground groans and electronic nervous system of Manhattan. The album was originally called Inner Spaces, but I suspect for most people, it might just be boring spaces. It's music for deep listening, but the rewards are highly rarefied. --John Diliberto

Customer Reviews:

Private meditation is where this music should have been kept. And never released to the unsuspecting public.......2007-06-19

I have to agree with wilco lover's review. This is more of Lou Reed making music for Lou Reed. And while there are artists who can accomplish that feat and can still remain interesting to the listener. Lou has not been able to climb that mountain for quite some time. What he now finds enjoyable or worthy for himself, fails on many levels to the outside ear. One of the most important of which is immediacy. The urgency in Lou Reed's music, for the most part, disappeared when he decided to control his own production. The Arista years was the beginning of that transformation. Apparently he felt much better about the change in his career. And financially, he may have succeeded with no small contribution from a few important others. But artistically, his music suffered. While there are a few exceptions, Street Hassle being a primary one, Lou Reed indeed became fairly irrelevant. His music became lifeless. No immediacy, no compelling descriptions of the street or of any suffering, or of life's challenges.

One of the other exceptions besides Street Hassle to that is "Animal Serenade". Very interesting and artistic takes of some older songs as well as newer ones. The introduction to "Smalltown" is alone worth the purchase price all by itself. And "How do you think it Feels" is a very memorable rendition. Surprising in a way and sounding very current.

This latest thing is hardly surprising at all. And along with recent efforts: The "Ectasy" album (future farmers, modern dance ugh) and "The Raven" are quite honestly just embarrassing. "Set the Twilight Reeling" succeeds for about 1 or 2 songs.

By no means am I the kind of fan who has to relive all the artists previous work nor do I automatically deplore anything that doesn't closely resemble past triumphs. But at the same time, there has to be good song writing, solid melody and hooks, interesting lyrics, innovative song structures. Something to get your arms around, to feel like he really cares about what he's playing or singing. Some emoting or energy should be present to capture the listener. For sure it doesn't always have to be an indie or glam or hard rock sound to succeed. It can be contemplative and alluring, but it should be so in a memorable or compelling fashion. Most of his post NYC albums lack those once common yet now quite rare important elements.

Lou once remarked that "editing" was one of the most important aspects of song writing. That's what appears to be Lou's problem now and has been for some time now. He's got no one editing his work. No producer or collaborator to help him toss the fluff and the weak stuff out or to save and rework later into better tracks. Five minutes of this may have worked as soundtrack material for something much more inspiring or interesting. By itself, or as music to meditate to, it's immediately forgettable. Despite all the amputations, this is still not very good.

If you must buy this meditation album because it's a Lou Reed record then buy it used for a cheap price, and believe me it will quickly become very very cheap. Or better yet, go to the library and check it out for free. That's where you'll find dozens of other forgettable meditation albums. I'd say download it from the web, except I'm not sure it's really worth taking up hard drive space for.

1 and a half stars on effort and an attempt at producing something outside the norm. But ultimately and very sadly, failing miserably in the effort.

More pretentious drivel from an increasingly irrelevant "star",.......2007-05-25

If you subtract the crucial collaborations of David Bowie, Mick Ronson, Robert Quine and Fred Mahr, Reed's post-Velvets career has been mainly in the realm of soothing himself with a legion of sycophants and the results show. And this latest vanity project (to go with his "photographic" exhibition) is as far up his own Canal St as you'd dare to travel.

Get it if you want a good laugh, but if you do try to meditate with it, try not to dwell on the fact that you've just spent 15 bucks to hear the wailing echoes of a long-empty mind

Yet Another Side to Lou Reed........2007-05-15

Thirty-two years after the release of his notorious electronic instrumental album "Metal Machine Music", Lou Reed has returned to the electronic genre once again with "Hudson River Wind Meditations". Unlike the endless streams of feedback and noise that was "Metal Machine Music", "Hudson River Wind Meditations" is a quiet meditative collection of four ambient pieces and is intended as a serious musical work (as opposed to the former album being an obvious joke on Reed's former record label RCA). The intention of this music is made clear in Reed's brief liner notes to the album. This isn't music designed to make a person scream but rather a collection of music that is tailor-made for relaxation.
"Hudson River Wind Meditations" opens with two extended pieces. The opening piece "Move Your Heart" is a 28-minute minimalist piece consisting of slow pulsating synths. There is very little change throughout this piece and the music almost seems as if it were a long loop set on infinite repeat. There is a striking similarity between this piece and Brian Eno's disc-length piece "Neroli".
The second extended piece "Find Your Note" runs for close to 32-minutes and consists of endless droning sine-wave tones. While the ambient nature of the previous piece is still very much present, the overall style is more similar to the electronic music created in the 1960's (ie: the music of Karlheinz Stockhausen or Lamonte Young).
The disc closes with two shorter pieces. The two-minute "Hudson River Wind" is simply an electronic simulation of ocean waves while the closing "Wind Coda" is basically a five-minute summary of what was heard in the previous three pieces - the pulsating notes of "Move Your Heart" combined with the sine-waves of "Find Your Note" and the white noise of "Hudson River Wind".
This is definitely a different type of album from Lou Reed. This isn't the type of music to sing and dance to. This is a quiet, non-intruding piece of background music that suits its purpose perfectly. While this music may seem boring to some, it is quite beautiful and relaxing.
If "Metal Machine music" turned a lot of people off, "Hudson River Wind Meditations" may be likely to reverse that.

The Anti Metal Machine Music.......2007-05-09

This album has one thing in common with Metal Machine Music: there are four instrumental tracks. There the similarities end. Metal Machine Music was the result of two hours of harsh feedback sped up to twice the speed to garner the final effect. It was also deceptively promoted as a Rock N' Roll Animal type product, which led many purchasers at the time to be disappointed with what they got (and the album was pulled off the shelves after three weeks). Of course now, in hindsight, Metal Machine Music was a brilliant study in "noise" music and has been reissued many times for a more appreciative audience.

Hudson River Wind Meditations was originally written by Lou Reed for himself to accompany his Tai Chi and meditative practices. Since so many friends asked him to burn copies of it for them, Mr. Reed apparently decided that it might have some commercial success if released to the general market.

If one takes it for what it is, music for meditation, there will be no disappointments. But remember, like Metal Machine Music, this is not the Rock N' Roll Animal. In fact, there really are no true rock tunes here, but rather, repetitive melodies that slowly change, but never evolve from their original intent. If one were to hear this without knowing who wrote it, Brian Eno or other champions of the "ambient" genre might come to mind, but while similar, this is not quite from that school of thought. Indeed, it is what it is... what a meditative, instrumental album would sound like if it were written by Lou Reed.

One is immediately impressed with the amount of bass response there is (especially on the first track). In fact, it will be a true test of your speaker system. Do not crank up the volume before you push the play button as it could blow out your woofers. And this album grows on you. I like it more each time I play it. On my first listening, I would have given it 3 stars, but now, it is definately ranks at least 4 stars. Perhaps after many more hearings, even 5 stars would not be out of the question.

Basically, of the four tracks, the first two are the meat of the matter in that they are approximately 1/2 hour each. After being lulled into the soundscape created by the first track, one is almost disappointed or jarred when it ends and the second begins. This isn't to say that the second track is not as good as the first, as it too leaves one wanting more when it ends. Surprisingly, the very short third track is the only "loud" piece on the entire album, and a little out of place here as it does not seem to belong to the "meditative" experience the album as a whole generates. Finally, the fourth relatively short track seems to be a reprise of all that has gone before.

This is certainly to be recommended to any fan of the "ambient" genre, those interested in an alternative to the usual sappy meditation discs out there, and to any Lou Reed completist. But if you're looking for the Rock N' Roll Animal, don't buy this because there's no toe-tapping music here. All that said, I would heartily recommend this latest outing from Mr. Reed to anyone who understands they are not getting a rock and roll follow-up to any album that has gone before.

Creating Calm In Your Life: A Guided Meditation and Stress Reduction CD

Average customer rating:

Great for beginners short on time!
Not meditation, but not bad for tension
Somewhat helpful
meditation is deeply personal
a little too hippie for my wife

Creating Calm In Your Life: A Guided Meditation and Stress Reduction CD
Rivka Simmons
Manufacturer: Floating Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | New Age | Styles | Music
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The Ease of Being: Guided Meditations for Centering and Healing
Guided Meditations: For Calmness, Awareness, and Love
Journey into Deep Relaxation
Relaxation Body Scan & Guided Imagery for Well-Being
Guided Meditations for Stress Reduction

ASIN: B0002TQZSK
Release Date: 2003-12-01

Tracks:

Mindfulness Meditation One (15 minutes)
Mindfulness Meditation Two (15 minutes)
A Progressive Muscle Relaxation (15 minutes)
A Body Scan Relaxation (15 minutes)

Album Description

Creating Calm In Your Life: A Guided Meditation and Stress Reduction CD contains 4 short, easy-to-do, 15-minute meditations: two mindfulness meditations, a progressive muscle relaxation and a body scan meditation. It is ideal for busy people looking for an easy way to incorporate meditation and relaxation into their lives. Rivka's soothing voice gently guides listeners to deep stillness and calm. Here's what some of Rivka's students have to say about Creating Calm: "I love Rivka's gentle voice" "Gives me a deep feeling of well-being" "Helps me to sleep peacefully" "A good introduction for beginners" "Perfect way to end a hectic day"

Customer Reviews:

Great for beginners short on time!.......2007-03-29

I've wanted to practice meditation for years and have been taking steps here and there to make it a part of my life. I figure this activity will probably be similiar to my process of losing weight or quitting smoking (which took me several tries to do successfully). So a few years back, I bought the audio book of Pema Chodron's The Places that Scare You. I don't think I was ready for it. I'm sure it's great, but it seemed too long for my purposes and honestly, I couldn't follow it. I think when I am further along my path of meditation, I will be able to return to Chodron.

So I listened to Creating Calm and I think it's perfect for where I am right now. I'm a true beginner in meditation. I'm short on time, but I have time to do 15-minute meditation exercises. There isn't any music on it, which I appreciate. It's all very concrete and body focused. Rivka Simmons takes a compassionate and gentle approach. I never felt like I was "doing it wrong."

She provides specific directions; she asks you to draw your attention to what you're doing; to notice what it feels like to be in your body. This may be too simple or easy for some people, but for a beginner like me with only 15 minutes to spare, it works!

Not meditation, but not bad for tension.......2007-03-03

This is not truly a "meditation" cd. The author guides you thru tensing and relaxing the various muscles in the body, from head to toe. Personally, I do find it helpful; but someone with more meditation experience will probably not get too much from this. There is no music or "white noise", and occasional background sounds can be heard, as if the cd were recorded in different environments at different times. The one thing I found particularly annoying was the author's way of interrupting my concentration by saying "Where is the mind now?"; however she only does this during the "Mindfulness Meditations". I recommend skipping those two and go directly to "Progessive Muscle Relaxation" exercise and the "Body Scan" exercise.

Somewhat helpful.......2007-02-16

Rivka Simmons' voice is very soothing and encouraging, but her "meditations" have been only so-so helpful in easing my "stress". Track 4, "Body Scan Relaxation" continues to leave me baffled. (*How* am I supposed to "breathe" from my feet?) Track 3, "Progressive Muscle Relaxation" has been more helpful.

meditation is deeply personal.......2007-01-18

i read the conflicting reviews of this CD and realized that different people want different things from a meditation CD. i chose this one. i personally find music distracting, so the fact that i can focus solely on a calm voice helps me get into that really relaxed place. i've also done plenty of meditation in yoga and writing classes where i was guided into a forest or cave or whatever... i really like that in these meditations i'm focusing on relaxing my mind and body without traveling all over. these are simple, straight-forward, short trips to a deeply relaxed place. works for me!!!

a little too hippie for my wife.......2007-01-10

she found the material good for helping her relax, and calm down when she feels stressed or nervous, but it was a little too hippie

Average customer rating:

One of the best
An Orchestral Extravaganza
Exquisite!
Guilty pleasure
Rutter... without words

Distant Land: The Orchestra Collection

Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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The John Rutter Christmas Album
Be Thou My Vision
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Mass of the Children

ASIN: B0000D9YAE
Release Date: 2004-01-13

Tracks:

Distant Land
What Sweeter Music
Blow, Blow Thou Winter Wind
Candlelight
Lord, Make Me An Instrument Of Thy Peace
The Lord Bless You And Keep You
A-Roving
I Have A Bonnet Trimmed With Blue
O Waly Waly
Dashing Away
1. Prelude
2. Ostinato
3. Aria
4. Waltz
5. Chanson
6. Rondeau
First Movement: She Loves You/Eleanor Rigby/Yesterday/All My Loving/Hey Jude
Second Movement: Here, There And Everywhere/Something
Third Movement: Can't Buy Me Love/The Long And Winding Road

Customer Reviews:

One of the best.......2007-01-09

I was thoroughly pleased with this purchase. One of the best CD's in my collection. Very soothing to listen to. I was never a great Beatles fan, but listening to this rendition of their works was extemely pleasing.
I highly recomend it.
Dan Barber

An Orchestral Extravaganza.......2006-07-03

John Rutter is one of today's leading composers and arrangers of music for chorus and orchestra. Some of his best works are featured in this instrumental album played with a lush flavor. But the highlight is a concerto arrangement of top Beatle's songs played in a symphonic mode featuring two pianos. You have the feel of the great master composers and the fun of listening to an unbelievable transition from rock to classical. Eleanor Rigby, Hey Jude, and Can't Buy Me Love sound like they're straight from Carnegie Hall Steinways. A most unusual and beautiful instrumental album.

Exquisite!.......2005-11-30

Ever since I heard the Beatles Concerto being used to help raise money on our local NPR station, I had to have Distant Land. Needless to say, I coudn't get the Orlando NPR people to give me any help, wouldn't answer my eMail requests for the source, so it took some searching to add the disc to my collection.
It's like Sterling on Siver.............CTP

Guilty pleasure.......2005-08-21

I have sung many of Rutter's choral works and arrangements, but I never knew that he had done orchestral works until I heard the Beatles Concerto on the radio. I had to have this album, and I was not disappointed. Distant Land is inspiring, the other works are very pleasurable, and as an old baby boomer Beatles fan, I just love to sing along with the concerto, even if he did steal shamelessly from Chopin and Rachmaninof for some of the piano interludes. I have searched for a copy of the score, but I can't yet find it.

Rutter... without words.......2005-08-05

Beautiful instrumental setting. Distant Land (the first track) is surely the highlight of the album. The Five Meditations are also very pleasant to listen to. The suite for strings is great to if you like a little bit of "Modern influence". The Suite Antique is fun but sometimes it sounds "awkward" as the "baroque style" instrumentation and the "contemporary" musical themes clash from time to time. The Beatles Cto is a curiosity. Great if you like to collect all these type of Beatles arrangements (baroque style, classical style, string quartet settings, etc.)

Average customer rating:

Successful crossing over from East to West
One of the best solo guitar albums I have ever heard
Virtuoso playing and an unusual repetoire

Si ji (Four Seasons)

Manufacturer: Gsp Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
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Romance de Amor
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ASIN: B000AXWHEY
Release Date: 2005-09-13

Tracks:

Wang Huiran: Yi Dance
He Luting: Shepherd Boy with Flute
Dietmar Ungerrank: Intonation & 4 Sound-and-Image Compositions - Intonation
Dietmar Ungerrank: Intonation & 4 Sound-and-Image Compositions - Long Out-stretched Pier with its Shadows
Dietmar Ungerrank: Intonation & 4 Sound-and-Image Compositions - Wind on The Hill
Dietmar Ungerrank: Intonation & 4 Sound-and-Image Compositions - Waiting for Guests
Dietmar Ungerrank: Intonation & 4 Sound-and-Image Compositions - Land Circus
Traditional - Heavenly Bird
Tradional - Lantern Song
Traditional - Mayila
Evan Hirschelman: Meditation No.2
Evan Hirshelman: Meditation No.1
Stephen Goss: The Blue Kite
Stephen Goss: Yellow Earth
Stephen Goss: Farewell My Concubine
Carlo Domeniconi: I Ching - 1 T'ai
Carlo Domeniconi: I Ching - 3 Lin
Carlo Domeniconi: I Ching - 4 T'ung len
Carlo Domeniconi: I Ching - 5 Huan
Carlo Domeniconi: I Ching - 6 K'uei
Carlo Domeniconi: I Ching - 7 Chieh
Stephen Funk Pearson: South China Sea Peace
Thierry Rougier: Four Seasons - Spring
Thierry Rougier: Four Seasons - Summer
Thierry Rougier: Four Seasons - Autumn
Thierry Rougier: Four Seasons - Winter

Customer Reviews:

Successful crossing over from East to West.......2007-07-06

Nowadays many classical musicians move to 'cross-overs' between Western classics to exotic works, and Chinese musicians and composers pioneer in cross-overs from Chinese music to Western.
Alas, not all attempts are successful. Either there has not been enough nurturing in the Chinese repertoire, or the western playing style has not yet been fully developed.
Ms. Yang is a young classical guitarist. Gathering from what she said in her own introduction to this disc, she is a musician with a great ambition. It is true that the classical guitar may not have a substantial repertoire as other western instruments like the violin and piano. Hence drawing materials from other culture in a guitarist's repertoire is both a necessity and an endeavour.
A guitarist from Beijing, Ms. Yang is familiar with classical Chinese instruments like the gu qin, the zheng and the pipa. These ancient Chinese instruments are like the guitar- all are played by plucking strings set on wooden surfaces. So as Ms Yang herself noted - the guitar originated from the Middle East, a 'cross-over' area of Eastern and Western culture.
In many of the modern works recorded in this disc, Ms Yang played the guitar to the effect of those ancient Chinese instruments, and this is quite stunning. Her familiarity with the Eastern musical style is fully demonstrated, adding the requisite flavour of authenticity to her interpretation. There are a number of great compositions of the gu qing, the zheng as well as the pipa, and I truly look forward to Ms Yang's transcriptions of those to the guitar in due course.
A highly recommended recording for guitar players, guitar lovers and Chinese music fans alike.

One of the best solo guitar albums I have ever heard.......2006-10-06

One of the most original CDs I've ever heard. This CD is full of incredible music. Yang XueFei plays with sensitivity, creativity and passion.
When I played this CD for my guitar teacher, he commented that it was rare for him not to have heard at least one piece on any particular classical guitar CD, yet all these pieces were new to him. Carlo Domeniconi (who wrote the masterpiece "Koyunbaba") has composed an outstanding suite based on the I Ching. The 3 pieces by Stephen Goss, which are based on Asian films, are themselves cinematic: "The Blue Kite" is a work of minimalist beauty. There are many other talented composers lending their gifts to this CD. Most of the selections are either composed for Yang Xuefei or are arrangements by her. All are inspired by Chinese culture and music. My favorite piece is "Long Outstretched Pier with its Shadow" (by Dietmar Ungerrank); it is elegantly written and the execution is sensual and rich.
Yang XueFei's technical agility, especially the right hand, (as in "Yi Dance") goes beyond that of her contemporaries. As impressive as this is, the passion she imbues into each work is what connects her to the songs and ultimately to the audience. Technique is there to help her express what is inside of her. It is as if the guitar is her lover. This just isn't a great guitar album; it is a great album period. Its emotional complexity deepens with each listening. Buy it!
I've also purchased "Romance de Amor" which is extremely good as well (listen to her version of "Requerdos de la Alhambra" as compared to one of her heroes, John Williams on "The Guitarist"), but "Si Ji" is totally unique. Don't miss it.
As an aside, If you do end up buying and enjoying this CD, you might listen to Lily Afshar. The influence of her Persian heritage is similar in effect to "Si Ji" by Yang XueFei. Both artists have breathed life into the modern repertoire of guitar music.

Virtuoso playing and an unusual repetoire.......2005-10-26

I am a classical guitar student, and an over-the-top consumer. So I have a lot (many dozens) of classical guitar CDs. They are for the most part quite good, but they tend to blend. I might be able to distinguish Tennant's Rodrigo or Barrueco's Scarlatti, but too many guitarists play an awful lot of the same repetoire, and they play it quite similarly.

This CD is quite different. The pieces are all Asian in flavor and by composers I had never heard of. And they are quite beautiful. Ms. Yang appears to be quite young, so this could be the start of a long and interesting career. But at least one of the pieces was written for her, so she has already apparently developed a solid reputation.

Average customer rating:

"Blasted" away
Wow!
For those who like BIG organ works
Pure Majestic Power!
Excellent Performance by Murray

An Organ Blaster Sampler

Manufacturer: Telarc
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Italian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Organ Spectacular
Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 3
Bach: Great Organ Works
Ceremonial Music for Trumpet & Symphonic Organ
Music for Organ, Brass & Percussion

ASIN: B000003CXP
Release Date: 1991-02-10

Tracks:

Toccata And Fugue In D Minor
Toccata
Toccata
The Emperor's Fanfare
Beaucoup Plus Largement
Dieu Parmi Nous
Finale
Rigaudon
Fanfare
Maestoso

Customer Reviews:

"Blasted" away.......2006-09-27

I am by no standards an expert on music, let alone organ music. I just purchased this CD because I love the sound of the organ, and wanted an album from a mix of artists before I started branching out to single composers. I would also consider myself an audiophile, only listening to high quality music with my portable headphone amplifier and Sennheiser HD-555's. Let me tell you, the quality is perfect, and the music is incredible! Such a full sound, it's *almost* as good as sitting in audience, only lacking the full body experience of organ music. I would recommend this to anybody looking to get a foot into the world of organ music.

Wow!.......2006-06-07

I happen to love organ music, even that tacky Saint-Saens
Third Symphony (with which this CD ends and just the third movement).

I grew up with E. Power Biggs, Virgil Fox, et al. and had never heard of Michael Murray (okay, it's been a while). I bought this delightful CD when it first appeared and before Amazon had been invented.

Upon hearing that most famous work with which Murray begins, I confess I was just this side of hysterical -- I was laughing with pure happiness. Murray's take on is it wonderfully over-the-top in the best possible sense. I have a son-in-law who is a musician and, indeed, does play the organ (i.e., if any of them have had pipes, I don't know, but I'm here to tell you, I don't want to hear ANY but pipe organs -- okay, I'm old).

At any rate, to hear this Toccata and Fugue played with such (carefully studied) abandon so tickled me, I called Brian (the son-in-law) and demanded that he listen while I put it on my stereo.

Now I'm going to send it to my son Bruce upon learning last night that he LOVES organ music. Who knew? He's 54 years old, for goodness' sake and never mentioned that little item before.

For those who like BIG organ works.......2005-09-04

This CD concentrates on the big, showy organ pieces that organists love to play. As an organist myself, I find that such numbers are usually more fun to play than to hear. Fortunately, this CD is very listenable, and makes the case for both playing and listening to these works. I'd buy it again; maybe more telling, I'm looking for some of the music, so I can go play it!

Pure Majestic Power!.......2003-07-20

Corey is right - this is an outstanding organ CD, one of the best I've heard. Murray plays some of the largest and most powerful organs on Earth, and uses the reed stops more than the usual organist to produce great effects and a wall of sound that are majestic in the extreme. The selections are all great virtuoso showpieces, and track #6 by Messiaen (Dieu parmi nous from La Nativite') is especially demonstrative of the great contrasts available in a large organ. The horizontal trumpets in this piece are predominant and very bright, contrasting with the snarling bass of the pedal organ.

A word of caution - this CD requires a capable stereo (think subwoofer) to sound its best. Trust me - if you listen to this CD on a good stereo and if you like organ music, you'll sit there with a big grin on your face and tears in your eyes as you listen to this CD.

Excellent Performance by Murray.......2001-11-09

This is by far one of the best organ CD's I have ever listened to. The variety is very good overall. From the state trumpets at St. John's to the mighty organ of First Congregational Church, Murray provides nice registration on all of the organs sampled. The Finale from Saint-Saens No. 3 is awesome with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Eugene Ormandy,s direction. Murray provides his own notes on the organs and the pieces in the booklet that is included. This is some fine organ music!!

Average customer rating:

Best hymn singer I know
His Best Album

Hymns & Meditations

Manufacturer: RPI
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Christian & Gospel | Styles | Music

General | Easy Listening | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Christian & Gospel | Indie Music | Stores | Music
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Hymns of Worship
The Shadow of Your Wings: Hymns and Sacred Songs
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Night of Your Return
Meditations of the Heart

ASIN: B000087HWV
Release Date: 2002-11-24

Tracks:

Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing
Near The Cross
Softly And Tenderly
I Need Thee Every Hour
Nothing But The Blood
Just As I Am
What Wondrous Love Is This
Come Ye Sinners Poor And Needy (Medley - part of Just As I Am)
Con Que Pagaremos
Brethern, We Have Met To Worship
Sacred Head Now Wounded
Nearer My God To Thee (Medley - part of Just As I Am)

Album Description

One of Fernando Ortega's first albums and one of his most highly acclaimed, Hymns & Meditations revisits some of the world's favorite hymns in a beautiful and authentic recording. With his outstanding piano skills and tender, intimate voice, Fernando breathes new life into the time-honored classics. Hymns & Meditations is, by far, one of Fernando Ortega's finest recordings and best selling albums to date... if you're a Fernando fan, this is a must have for your collection.

Customer Reviews:

Best hymn singer I know.......2006-10-24

I've listened to many songs before, but boy, no one can sing hymns like Ortega. His voice would not be as good for other contemporary Christian music but is just perfect when it comes to hymns. I've actually bought many of this particular CD as gifts to my friends. Other CD's of his are so so, but this one is my favorite. I'm about to buy some more.

His Best Album.......2005-04-14

This is a great album to meditate to. It's so relaxing and welcomes the Holy Spirit into the atmosphere. The way he sings you can feel the love of God in his voice. This album is truly a blessing to my soul. If you desire an album that will bring you closer to the spiritual realm. This is it!

Average customer rating:

DON'T GET THIS FROM AMAZON!!!!!
Bounty of Flute's Best From One of Best Flutist
A Masterpiece
The Master of the Flute
lotsa flute

James Galway ~ Meditations
Jules Massenet , George Frideric Handel , Johann Sebastian Bach , Tomaso Albinoni , Giovanni Pergolesi , Baldassare Galuppi , Johann Pachelbel , Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach , Romano Antonio Piacentino , Antonio Vivaldi , Claude Debussy , John [composer] Field , Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , Franz Schubert , Joaquin Rodrigo , Sergey Rachmaninov , Fryderyk Chopin , Christoph Willibald Gluck , John Georgiadis , James Galway , Jorg Faerber , Claudio Scimone , Claudio Schimone , David Measham , Michael Tilson Thomas , Eduardo Mata , and Charles Gerhardt
Manufacturer: RCA
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Oratorios | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Oratorios | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Classical Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music

Classical Instrumental Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music

Opera & Vocal | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music
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The Very Best of James Galway
The Wind Beneath My Wings
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James Galway - Greatest Hits
Song of Home

ASIN: B000006OP0
Release Date: 1998-05-19

Tracks:

Adagio
'Winter' Concerto In F Minor: ll Largo - The Four Seasons
Largo: Xerxes
Flute Concerto In C, BWV 1032: ll Largo E Doice
Pastoral Symphony: Messiah
Flute Concerto In G: ll Adagio
Flute Concerto In D, Op 10 No 3 'll Cardellino': ll Cantabile
Flute Concerto In D: ll Adagio
'Spring' Concerto In E, Op 8 No 1: ll Largo - The Four Seasons
Canon
Flute Concerto In F, Op 10 No 5: ll Largo E Cantabile
Flute Concerto In A, Wq168: ll Largo Con Sordini
Flute Concerto In G: ll Andante
Flute Concerto In G, Wq169: ll Largo
Flute Concerto In G Minor, Op 10 No 2 'La Note': V Largo 'll Sonno'
Flute Concerto In D Minor, Wq 426: ll Un Poco Andante

Tracks:

Meditation - Thais
The Little Shepard
Nocturne No 5 In B Flat
ll Andantino
Serenade, D957
Fantasia Para Un Gentilhombre
Prelude A L' Apres-midi d'un Faune
En Bateau
Vocalise
Nocturne In E Flat, Op 9 No 2
Andante In C, K315
Syrinx
Orfeo ed Euridice: Dance Of The Blessed Spirits

Customer Reviews:

DON'T GET THIS FROM AMAZON!!!!!.......2005-11-04

Ok people. I ordered this from Oct. 13 and NOw it's Nov. 3. I still didnt' get it. They told me it's gonna be delayed until the 14... I'm rating this only a one star not because SIR James Galway isn't a great flutist, but it's Amazon's crappy service and lack of interest.

Bounty of Flute's Best From One of Best Flutist.......2005-02-17

Being married to a flutist allows me to hear some of the greatest works written for this beautiful instrument. Here one of its greatest virtuosos records his favorites from its reportoire.

Gallway performs superb renditions of 29 of his favorites, from Albinoni and Bach to Vivaldi. Much of what he plays most are already familiar with but will enjoy his passionate interpretation even then, e.g. CPE Bach's Flute Concertos and Vivaldi's four seasons selections. The fun comes from hearing other that some might not be that familiar with: Galuppi's Flute Concerto in D or Field's Nocturne in B Flat.

These are all enhanced by Gallway's personal notes on each selection, which is truly a wonderful addition to the liner notes.

This two CD set is truly a wonderful addition to all who love the sweet and flowing tone of flute well played accompanied by excellent orchestration and other instruments. Top shelf!

A Masterpiece.......2003-02-08

I am a college student and I am majoring in music education. My primary instrument is the flute, and my goal is to attain all of the pieces that I have studied. By buying this CD with many different selections has saved me the aggravation of purchasing many different CDs. James Galway is an extremely talented man, and this collection shows off his capabilities with flare. There are selections from all of the major musical periods such as the Baroque and the Classical which makes for a wonderful variety. This CD is worth every penny.

The Master of the Flute.......2001-01-18

James Galway performs miracles on the flute. This is an exquisite CD. Flautist must own this one!! It is a wonderful resource and helpful to young musicians needing some musicality help.

lotsa flute.......2000-09-09

you really have to love flute music to have 2+ hours, I didn't realize it was ALL flute.

Music Review:

Music Review

Music Review

1. Amazing Grace
2. I Want to Be Where You Are
3. Return Unto the Rest
4. Give Thanks
5. All Consuming Fire
6. His Glorious Praise
7. Lord Thy God
8. Think About His Love
9. Great Is Your Mercy
10. Merciful Father
11. Wonderful Peace
12. Father's Peace
13. Wonderful Peace (Reprise)
14. Your Grace Is Sufficient
15. Secret Place
16. All We Like Sheep
17. O Worship the Lord
18. Return Unto the Rest (Reprise)