Music of Bali 1-3

Review

With a rush of world music arriving in record stores, collections and compilations can be valuable on two counts: as an opportunity to get a comprehensive overview of a specific genre, or, conversely, as an easy entry into a wide array of different musics.Two collections from Celestial Harmonies are impressive examples of the comprehensive overview of a specific genre approach: The Music of Bali and The Music of Armenia.

The three 3-CD boxed set of Balinese music represents four unique styles. The first, Jegog music, features four-tone bamboo instruments. The second combines traditional gamelan with more current approaches, while the third and fourth represent two kinds of ritualistic music, the vocalized Kekak chanting and the processional Tektekan.

The Music of Armenia is a superb, seven-CD boxed set encompassing the amazingly diverse music of Armenia. There are chants, folk tunes, instrumental music and rich choral harmonies in a collection that underscores the stunning and far too little acknowledged creative density of Armenian culture. -- Los Angeles Time, May 2, 1997