Native American Flute Beneath the Raven Moon CD Music

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What is this music like? Like plush carpets in a misty forest. Like hot chocolate on a mountaintop. At once familiar and soothing and yet ethereal and evocative of the elements. There are no ambient heavy rhythms or synthesizer additions here. The acoustic sounds enable the listener to truly believe Mary Youngblood can make the trees sing with her skillful playing. The rhythms that exist on this album are soft and relaxing.

 

This is a CD to relax to and take inspiration from. From the first track; Cama-I, which is an Aleut greeting listeners will know this is something special. Mary's flute naturally embodies the sound of the wilderness-birdcalls and mournful howls, birds in flight and ancient spirits whispering around the old fires. My favorites include #2 Walk With Me: Mary's soothing alto vocals adding an evocative layer of haunting, earthy sound, #4 And We Shall Dance: A surprisingly mellow and jazzy track with drums, guitar, and zither, blending naturally with Mary's upbeat playing, #8 And We Can Love: this lovely melody has brought me to tears a time or two. The classical strings in the background are a nice touch. #3 Beneath the Raven Moon: The combination of guitar and honey-like flute playing make this ideal music for soothing a child to sleep.

 

Traditionally, the sacred music of the Native American flute has been the province of only men, but Mary Youngblood is one of the first professional female players to break with that tradition, and she has met with great success in her career. Mary has two previous albums: The Offering (1998) and Heart of the World (1999) and was named flutist of the year in 1998 and 99 at the Native American music awards. What I found fascinating is that the liner notes not only list each track with the instruments used, but also which flutes Mary Youngblood chose to play for each song. For instance, the opening track flute was made by Spirit Bird Flutes and is an Alaskan Yellow Cedar F#. (Particularly appropriate to an Aleut greeting.) Seeing the different woods and craftsman soon had me listening to the flute playing more closely to see if I could detect how the sounds differed from flute to flute.

 

If you're looking for ambient dance music or Native American chant, you won't find it on this CD. There are no dance beats or electronic riffs here. But I would encourage you to sample the music anyway. The acoustic quality and rich inspiration Mary Youngblood provides are truly remarkable. May you enjoy the work as much as I have.