Adiemus II: Cantata Mundi

Beautiful Music

This CD is the best of two different Musical Types. The orchestrtion and the choral components are wonderfully matched. When you listen to this you can go on a journey that is so magical! November 10, 2006

The BEST Adiemus

It's hard to decide which of the Adiemus CD's I would rate as best. However, as the title suggests, this is the title I always recommend to friends who have never heard any of Karl Jenkins' work. Every track is a great experience as well as a unique musical journey. Stated conversely, if you don't like this album, you won't like anything else by Karl Jenkins. November 5, 2006

Adiemus II

Overall, I think this is the best of the Adiemus works. The symphonic overtones add greatly to the richness of the songs. August 11, 2006

Gasps & Goosebumps! A 2,000 Mile CD!

This is my first experience listening to Karl Jenkins' music and I would give this CD 10 stars. I got the CD the day before taking a 500 mile trip and just took it out of the box and placed it on my dash. I had bought the CD for cut#8 Chorale IV which I heard on a cable TV New Age music station. I listened to them all and pretty much skipped cut #1 Cantus-Song of Tears because it started off a little boring.

Boy was I wrong! Cut#1 is possibly one of the most startlingly beautiful pieces EVER written. It takes a minute to get going, but it is breathtaking. It caused me to gasp "Wow!" and raised the hair on my arms each time I listened to it. The gorgeous payoff of this piece comes in at 6 minute 51 seconds. As another reviewer said, they used this piece in a live show and I was wondering as I listened to it why someone wouldn't put it to that great use.

This music not only gives you mind pictures, it can transcend distance OR time. I felt myself standing on a cliff in the Himalayas looking down across space and time. Incredible! Karl Jenkins is definitely an unhearalded musical genius.

Cut #14 Cantilena is what I would like played at my funeral if I go having lived a truly good life (which I have.) It is a fitting denouement of a good life. Same for #15 Elegia.

I had not read the jewelbox info before i played this CD and thought I heard Miriam Stockley. Great mix, these two artists! She is vastly talented and the Africa, Latin, Classical mix that she infuses makes this CD so addictive, I listened to it on two trips, over 2,000 miles! I will be buying more Karl Jenkins music. October 28, 2005

Cantata Mundi - Adiemus at its best

Many of us form mental images when we listen to music. When I listen to Adiemus, I sometimes
see [apologies to composer Karl Jenkins and primary vocalist Miriam Stockley]
National-Geographic-style MaoriMasaiZulu women dancing around and singing in their
villages while the London Symphony Orchestra lingers in a nearby glade. Composer-genius
Jenkins has managed to meld ethnic-style vocalizations, many of them exuberant andor
hauntingly beautiful, with rich Western European orchestrations in the late Romantic-to-now
style. The result is a unique genre that is instantly recognizable and can be downright infectious.

Fellow Amazonian cannot go wrong choosing any of the first 4 Adiemus efforts, but my personal
favorite is Cantata Mundi. Followed closely by Adiemus IV [substitute leprechauns for those
Zulu singers, although, come to think of it, they are there too - go figure for a CD that is based
upon Celtic legends], and just ever so slightly behind, Songs of Sanctuary and Dances of Time.
All will delight lovers of original, beautiful music. August 25, 2005

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