MP3 Only Breath - SPOKEN WORD: Poetry

A revolutionary meeting between poetry and music that joins the poems of Neruda, Rumi, Rilke, Tsvetaeva and others with music that moves from vibrant stillness to irresistible worldbeat rhythms.

12 MP3 Songs
SPOKEN WORD: Poetry, WORLD: World Fusion

Details:
What happens when you mix the heart-melting magic of Jami Sieberâs music (Hidden Sky, Second Sight, Lush Mechanique) with the mind-opening power of some of the greatest poetry of all time?

Only Breath is a revolutionary meeting between music and poetry that merges poems from around the world with compositions that flow from the depths of stillness to wild, worldbeat rhythms. Jami Sieber and spoken word artist, Kim Rosen, have discovered a compelling new expression of the ancient partnership between poetry and music: a startling and beautiful dialogue where the spoken poem becomes a layer of the music and the music an essential voice within the poem.

Jami Sieberâs music has always been in a category by itself, equally attractive to listeners who crave irresistible rhythms (she won âBest Rock Instrumentalist of the Pacific Northwestâ, no easy feat for a cellist!) and those yearning for music that speaks of silence, reflection and prayer. She explores the breadth of her instrument creating sounds never before associated with the cello, reaching inside the soul with her passionate playing and her compositions that are contemporary and powerfully evocative. Kim Rosenâs gift of speaking the poems of ancient and modern writers from around the world has touched thousands with poetryâs power to awaken, inspire, and heal. The poems she delivers dissolve the walls of culture, religion and generation to speak directly to the soul.

Only Breath is a is a river of sound that carries the listener seamlessly through many landscapes of the heart: from the ecstasy of Sieberâs pulsing cello and vocals as they meld with the words of Pablo Nerudaâs poem, âPoetryâ, to the contemplative depths of Rumiâs âListeningâ set in elegant duet with a single acoustic cello, to the tumultuous flood of percussion, flute, bass, vocals and cello that carries Stanley Kunitzâs famous poem âKing of the River,â to the anguish of Ulaliâs grief-cry as it pierces the politically fierce and startling poem, âI Know the Truthâ by Marina Tsvetaeva, to the stunning rhythms, Native American chanting, rap vocals and exotic instrumentation of the trance-dance that celebrates two of Rumiâs poems, âDance, if Youâve Torn the Bandage Offâ and âOnly Breathâ. The CD closes with Derek Walcottâs âLove after Love,â set in a velvet-deep quartet of cellos with guitars, percussion and bass. âGive wine. Give bread,â the poem invites. âGive back your heart to itself, to the stranger who has loved you all your life⦠Sit. Feast on your life.â

Guest artists include Steve Gorn on bansuri bamboo flute, the First Nation singing group Ulali, Kai Eckhardt and don benedictson on bass, Erika Luckett on guitar, Michaelle Goerlitz and Susu Pampanin on percussion, Benjy Wertheimer on tabla and esraj, Julie Wolf on keyboards, Evan Schiller on drums, Rhiannon and David Worm on vocals and others.

Only Breath is an invitation to rediscover what mystics, poets and shamen have known for centuries: when you join powerful rhythms with the language of the soul, the mind canât contain the experience and bursts open to an unsayable âAhhh!â of pure wonder, knowing, feeling and revelation â beyond the known territory of the mind.

âKimâs gift of speaking poems is a gorgeous incantation, an irresistible call to break... open. Through this most startling and beautiful meeting of poetry and music, spirit and flesh, we are drawn inside the wild and wise heart of the deeply feminine, where we are gratefully shattered and healed.â âEve Ensler, poet, activist and author of The Vagina Monologues

âItâs as though Jami has found a way to extract the heart of the cello and to play the music that comes from deep within that heart. In her hands, the versatility of her instrument shines through.ââ Music of the Spheres

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