Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Lines To A Great Lord
2. Harmonic Relation
3. Kyrie Opening
4. Foregather In The Name

Disc 2:

1. Kyrie Fragments
2. Eleison Closing
3. Brotherhood
4. Hallelujah
5. Kyrie Fragments
6. Eleison Closing
7. Brotherhood
8. Hallelujah

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #73957 in Music
• Released on: 1992-11-03
• Number of discs: 2

Album Description
A single low note resonates. A second gradually becomes perceptible, then another, slowly swirling sounds that shift and pulsate from some unknown force, chords so ethereal they might be supernatural, or perhaps the vibrations of the universe. They are the voices of David Hykes and the Harmonic Choir. Hykes performs in architectural spaces as inspiring as his music. Harmonic Meetings was recorded in Le Thoronet Abbey, whose remarkable features grace the cover of the release. The music itself; however, sprang from a traveling art exhibition called The Tent of Meetings. Hykes composed the music for this project, which was based on the sacred art of Christianity, Judaism and Islam. And for the first time, Hykes incorporated actual words into his harmonic chanting, sacred words common to those three religions, words like Hallelujah and Kyrie Fragments. Hykes says, "It is the harmonic content of the words which interests me. The harmonic content in a word can be brought to life; it comes from the same place as a pure vibration."

About the Artist
David Hykes is a seeker, searching for the relationship between music, silence, listening and the Creation. Says Hykes, "In relation to the reverberating whole which is the Creation, man is a kind of instrument that receives and transforms impressions--a living antenna. We must find a silence that will sensitize us to the signals which are the most essential to our growth, and we must learn to listen for them"; Hykes finds that serenity through his harmonic chanting and that of his Harmonic Choir, the "singing listeners". Hykes bases his music on the observations of Pythagoras, who twenty-five centuries ago, related note to number and sensed musical values as central to the Creation. Hykes studied the timeless geometry of the harmonic series, relating harmony in music to ordered states within oneself and the universe. But unlike many musicians who have been likewise fascinated, Hykes has explored harmonies through the most direct means, the human voice. The harmonic chanting of David Hykes springs from the tradition of the Mongolian nomads and Tibetan monks who sing "prismatically", each singer projecting harmonic overtone melodies while maintaining a steady fundamental tone. They accomplish this by an extremely precise modulation of the abdominal muscles, chest and vocal apparatus. David Hykes and members of his choir can articulate from one to seven harmonics simultaneously, duplicating the precise mathematical order which underlies all sound phenomena. David Hykes has been refining his artistry for 20 years, focusing his work at the International Center for Harmonic Studies in France. His music appears in the scores of major motion pictures such as Ghost, Dead Poets Society, Jacob's Ladder, and a film about the life of philosopher and mystic Georges Gurdjieff, Meetings With Remarkable Men. Hykes has toured extensively throughout Europe, the United States, Canada, Japan and Australia.

Customer Reviews

Otherworldly Tones
David Hykes has mastered Overtone singing and showcases it here with the members of the Harmonic Choir (a group assembled by Hykes). This Double CD has been a wonderful source of otherworldly transport for us and after the initial curiosity of the Harmonic Chant we found ourselves returning over and over again to these CDs.

"The text consists of a few sacred words from the Abrahamic religions with most sections involving vocalizing on vowel sounds. In this abbey, two voices sound like ten. When the harmonics focus, it sounds like ten voices more. The overall effect is one of startling majesty. It is earthy and other-wordly at the same time... I can't help but think how the world would change if five minutes of this were played on Top Forty radio several times a day." -Andrew Fischer, 1/1

powerful & sublime
One of the most extraordinary recordings I've ever heard, this is chanting with overtones, like one can hear sung by Tibetan monks. Recorded in 1986 at the abbey of Le Thoronet, France, the first two selections use the accompaniment of tambura, and the final piece on each CD includes a drum, otherwise these pieces are for 1, 2, or 3 voices, and the enormity of the sound will amaze you.

This sound achieved by David Hykes is unearthly. Peaceful, moving, magical. Great to meditate to. Perhaps one could describe it as a hybrid between Gregorian chant and Middle Eastern Sufi music, but in reality, this is an entirely new musical animal, one of a kind and almost impossible to duplicate.

"Foregather in the Name" is a 15 minute piece for three voices and drum that's spectacular, as is the short solo by Timothy Hill, "Eleison Closing". This two CD set is the original one tape cassette (which had approximately 40 minutes on each side) and it does have the annoying flap that lifts from the center holding both CDs, but in this case, the flap is worth lifting. This is music that might levitate your soul to a place of great joy.

Pure Intent
To this very day I find it difficult to explain what this music does in terms of shifting my consciousness. David Hykes' resonant chanting shifts one's cognitive system into virtual silence that allows one's awareness to move smoothly and progressively toward the sublime indescribable states that correspond to the purest intent.