Tag: Yanni

Listen: Yanni – Voices

Yannis VoicesYanni – Voices

Disney Pearl Series
Published by Universal Music
2 Discs | Rs. 395

In my childhood, I used to believe that vocal music is supreme to the instrumentals and the instrumental music is there to provide a kind of background support for the vocals. As I grew up, I understood and felt that a voice, in the world of music, is just another instrument. There is nothing supreme to it, perhaps except one thing – that the instrument performs itself and the human touch to it (the voice) can evoke a lot of emotions. Perhaps that way the vocals stand out, but still a comparison is impossible as you can get elevated to a different plane when you listen to a musician playing a single key on a Piano at a certain note or a bow touches one particular base note on a Cello. One such moment of music can move you to tears or certain kind of joy that nothing else in this world can bring. That out of the world experience is what music can bring to you.

So why do I crib so much about it now? Because I recently bought and heard this new album from Yanni – Yanni – Voices. A musical album with some wonderful power-packed voices blending in with Yanni’s music. What more could you ask for? Yanni has worked with four young and new vocalists and made this album happen. The four vocalists are absolutely fantastic and you would enjoy each and every track. But for hardcore Yanni fans though, you would find the vocals to be distracting when you hear the familiar and popular Yanni tunes with the vocals. For example, when I heard the track “Mi Todo Eres Tu (Until the Last Moment)”, I wished of the vocals just faded away and the music alone remained. Other than that, it is a wonderful work and you have a bonus DVD along with footage of the singers performing with Yanni. There are 17 tracks totally in the audio CD featuring four singers – Nathan Pacheco, Leslie Mills, Chloe and Ender Thomas – and some singles from Yanni. Go and grab it now.

One man’s dream

This happened many years back. It was the early hours of the night. I was sitting in the veranda with the earphones of the walkman plugged into my ears. Soft, soothing music flowed. I fell into a light sleep.

Then…

An empty beach in the twilight. Wind blows lightly. Soft piano tones.

There stands a woman, so beautiful, her white robe floats in the wind. She stands against me and smiles at me. A set of violins and cellos rises, with a light tone of flute. Music is heavenly.

Now she is walking along.

A hug. Eyes closed. Kiss.

Then rises a set of strings of violin and cello. Her fangs, goes deep into my neck, sucking off my blood.

Then I woke up. The music was almost over. Soft piano tones were playing to mark the end of the song. I sat there wondering what just happened. I wasn’t in a deep sleep. I could remember the melody which was being played, while having this dream. Yet, that dream, however short it was, felt so real. I took the album cover and searched for the song name. I read the song title in total awe – One Man’s Dream.

That was the first and only time that I can remember when music created a clear imagery while listening to a song.