...Sacred Fusion. A Fusion of Gregorian Chant
and East Indian Dhrupad (Sacred Fusion Productions 1999)
Originally a clever experiment, the combination
of these two very different, sacred, traditional singing styles
has come to full fruition in Sacred Fusion, by Annette
Cantor and Shanti Shivani. It is Cantor's and Shivani's first
CD release. Loreena McKennit move over.
Filling their sound with a spectrum of instruments from the
ever-present doumbek to tablas, zither, tambura,
sitar, flute and violin, Sacred Fusion takes the listener
on a journey that bridges the sacred sounds of East and West.
It is uncanny how exquisitely it all fits together.
Cantor's training in Gregorian chant and
Western classical music provides a familiar soothing base on
top of which Shivani lays in her raga-related ethereal vocals.
This is sacred singing as healing balm, the instrumental support
propelling that balm into all crevices of the body, mind and
soul...
Music E 15 (Albuquerque Journal, 11/19/99)
Annette Cantor and Shanti Shivani
Sacred Fusion
Annette Cantor and Shanti Shivani
****
7pm today, St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal
Church, 601 Montano NW, $12
Sometimes the musical union between cultures
clashes, sometimes it's a silly one. Annette Cantor and
Shanti Shivani's new album "Sacred Fusion",
is a happy union of East - East Indian dhrupad - and West -
the Gregorian chant. The sacred part of the album title refers
to the chants that the women interpret vocally and instrumentally
largely through the prism of dhrupad, a style that's part of
Hindu classical music. Hence, the fusion of the title. But there's
more. Two selections bring together a Gregorian chant and an
East Indian raga and two cuts present the eerie shakuhachi flute
of Japan, giving a third cultural overlay. This is a surprisingly
rich listening experience, one that qualifies in my book as
New Mexico's Best World Music Album of the Year..
- David Steinberg
Back