Search - Various Artists :: Music from the Heart of the World

Instructional audio and video company Sounds True began putting out music in 1998, most notably releasing the recordings of performances from the Fez Festival of World Sacred Music in Morocco. Since then it has brought us the musical traditions of mostly Arab cultures while also touching on Ireland and Italy in the rawest, most traditional forms of music from around the world. This anthology is a tribute to the outstanding decisions made by this label: Amina Alaoui's clear, sagelike voice opens the collection before oud master Hamza El Din's "A Wish," from his 1999 release, chimes warmly in, and the album flies on to the heavenly heights of Nóirín Ní Riain and the Monks of Glenstal Abbey, the Dastan Ensemble's lovely recitations of Rumi, and Musafir's intensely rhythmic and spiritual "Halleriya," which closes the set. It's a stunning collection that's so beautifully packaged and nicely priced that one wonders what the next two years from this respected label will bring. --Karen K. Hugg