Abbess Hildegard von Bingen- A Feather on the Breath of God (1993)

http://www.mediafire.com/?s1e9eno35w5a51m

Let me introduce you to another CD that i purchased based on visual interest: Abbess Hildegard of Bingen.

Hildegard von Bingen was a self-taught Christian mystic who created music, poems, visual art (iconography), and religious texts during the 12th century. Her music is amazing--serene, surreal, haunting, evocative, and blissful. The title of this collection, A Feather on the Breath of God, is meant to convey the role of mankind in the earth-- floating at the whim of the supernatural. It's also a perfect description of this music.

Her artwork/iconography is also unbelievable. I hate to add to the piles of internet knowledge, so i'll refrain and just say how incredible the music is. I think of cds like this when i think of Michael Stipe's quote that "Music is proof that god exists."

Please just download it and listen to it.

Some of Bingen's sensational--and academically neglected-- visual artwork. 

A beautiful self-commissioned holy icon.

Rachel's- Systems/Layers

http://www.mediafire.com/?hzjyj3zvlkm

Rachel's has to be one of my favorite bands ever, and Systems/Layers is probably their finest record. Most of their albums could be classified as concept albums, but this one works the best. Start to finish, it has an uncanny cohesion, and it bounces between classical, ambient, trip-hop, spoken word, indie rock, found recordings, and low budget movie soundtrack.

It works well as active and passive listening, and as a result, Rachel's proudly boasted of being as popular with grandparents as they were to young hipsters. If that sounds at all weird, please listen to this and see what I mean.

This cd has a tenuous beauty and sadness to it-- both frail and rough. Probably one of my top 10 records of all time. I played the hell out of this the year it came out.

Also great by Rachel's: Selenography, Music for Egon Schiele, and The Sea and the Bells.

Clogs- The Creatures in the Garden of Lady Walden (2009)

http://www.mediafire.com/?7q0am23d6v78wdd

Clogs is a "new classical" group that takes a very weird approach to making music. They are a little like Rachel's, where you feel that you could show the cd to the sweet metalhead who lives down the lane, your traffic cop, or your grandma, and all would be equally enthused.

I just realized that this is actually members of The National (Bryce Dressner, at least), who tend to dip in a lot of chamber music. Also featuring Sharon Worden of My Brightest Diamond, who sounds much better here than on her own music. Sorry, Sharon.

This cd has really grown on me-- haunting, minimal, strange, quiet, and beautiful.

Especially recommended if you've ever been interested in acoustic instruments, vocal harmonies, choral music, jazz, weird pop stuff (like St. Vincent or Deerhoof), and feeling as if you're very cultured.

Definitely recommended for fans of Colleen, Bjork, your local Byzantine choir, and renaissance music.

The Well-Tempered Synthesizer

http://www.mediafire.com/?x3i5x897d3kgpyg

It must have been exciting to be a music fan in the 1960s, as there was an "anything-goes" mentality with record pressing. I have found records with yodeling, honky-tonk, children's choirs, puppets, and cricket recordings and they all seem to have been released willy-nilly into the atmosphere with no idea of sales, target audience, or financial concern.

One of these funny experiments was made by Wendy Carlos, an accomplished pianist who had an unusual curiosity for the emerging Moog keyboard. Unlike the average wanker, she approached it as a legitimate instrument and made layered recordings of classical compositions, in which she played all of the parts on a differently-styled Moog patch. Surprisingly, they were such a success that she was able to make four different albums.

The Well-Tempered Synthesizer may be one of my favorites since she had honed the process at this point. There is a bit wider range, so that she was branching out from Bach to include Scarlatti, etc. They somehow sound timeless ("classical") and futuristic at once. I can't think of anything happening today that still sounds this fresh.