The World in Our Eyes - A Native American Vision of Creation Music CD

2 CD Set

The World in Our Eyes: A Native American Vision of Creation, celebrates the wisdom of America's indigenous people through myth and music. Conceived and produced by J. Reuben Silverbird and Rob Russo, this two-disk set features an artful combination of narration, traditional Native American performances, environmental sounds and synthesized landscapes that capture the essence of our country's most ancient heritage. The Navajo, Zuni, Hopi, Apache, Cheyenne, and Pawnee nations are separated by geography and language, yet share beliefs about the origin of the universe. Silverbird has distilled these insights of Native American cultures into a powerful and poetic narration.

"I'm constantly asked at lectures and performances about what Indians believed as far as the birth of the world was concerned," says Silverbird, who frequently speaks about Native American concerns around the country. "Despite the differences between tribes, they all have common symbols: the Great Spirit, Sky Father, Earth Mother, the circle, the rain, the eagle. Although some of us have tried to keep many of our sacred myths and ceremonies secret, I think that projects like this one will help non-Native Americans to understand Indians better."

On disk one, Silverbird weaves these age-old ideas into a colorful tapestry of dramatic recitation; music, and natural sounds, guide listeners on a journey from the primordial awakenings of the universe, to man's discovery of his true nature. Disk two presents the compelling instrumental score to The World in Our Eyes: A Native American Vision of Creation without narration, providing a continuous musical meditation on the ideas expressed throughout the first disk.

OUR REVIEW

I dearly love this work, mostly for the beautifully rendered music and sounds. While the creation story that's told is quite moving and lovely, the narrator's voice seems forced and unnatural; however, since I purchased the work on tape many years ago, I have not only the narrative with music, but also the instrumental and sounds portion without the narration, and the latter is what I listen to all the time. Incidentally, all the music was composed by Mark Lineberry, an extremely talented and spiritual individual who sadly just died of cancer this past Spring. The accolades for this CD should go to him.