Paul Horn
Tibet – Journey to the
Roof of the World
Transparent Music – 500042
released in 2000
available on amazon
With Paul Horn you never know where a new disc will lead you, however you always know it will be a high quality musical excursion, that will always repay the listener for their time and energy. This disc is the musical record of the Journey to fulfill his vision and complete the Inside Trilogy, which began in 1968 at the Taj Mahal in India. The recording in the Great Pyramid of Gizeh in Egypt in 1976 followed this. Now we have the story of the adventure and all that it entailed leading up to a forthcoming disc of recordings (spring 2001) in The Potala in Lhasa, Tibet the former home of the Dali Lama. (There is a PBS, Journey Inside Tibet, special starting to air in Nov. 2000 that is filled with fantastic and magical images both aural and visual. Check your local stations.) Sometimes when I hear a disc or read a book that is filled with evocative and interesting perceptions I want to know where they came from, what brought them to the light of day. Here we have the record of a synchronistic winding road that leads up to the fulfillment of the trilogy. This disc stands on its own merits as a musical adventure in Tibet. To be allowed to record and film in this now Chinese ruled territory is highly unusual; to be allowed to record in the Potala is unheard of. Leave it to Paul Horn to dream this dream, and then to actually have it realized. On this disc he has been recorded with Tibetan Nuns in Nepal, with workers who were repairing the Norbulingka, the summer palace of the Dali Lamas’, and with various other Tibetan and Nepalese musicians. He was allowed to play during certain ceremonies at various monasteries and I think we are fortunate and enriched by having the results of these recordings. Paul Horn takes the listener on a journey to the roof of the world with this melding of traditional Tibetan music and ritual with his own improvisations.
We have Paul playing with some outstanding musicians as well as the Monks who were chanting, drumming and playing the big Tibetan horns in the Lamaseries. A true revelation of art and ritual. This is a disc that is more than a pleasure to the ears; it is also a treasure for the mind and the dreams that can be manifest. Don’t miss this stunning journey.
Musicians
Paul Horn – flute, alto flute, Native American cedar flute, soprano saxophone
Various Nepalese musicians
Produced by Paul Horn
Songs and times - all compositions by Paul Horn
The Journey Begins – 1:21
1. Sherpa Song – 3:59
2. Interlude I – 1:00
3. Morning Prayer – 4:37
4. Morning Song – 3:04
5. Interlude II - :52
6. Conversations – 3:12
7. Reflections of Kathmandu – 2:11
8. On Our Way to Tibet – 2:57
9. Inside the Potala – 2:38
10. Jokhang Ceremony - 3:14
11. Brand Assembly Hall – 3:43
12. Samye Ceremony – 4:24
13. Roof People Work Song – 2:56
14. Interlude III – 1:21
15. Great Happiness – 2:38
16. The Journey Ends (Resham Firiri) – 3:50