Novus Magnificat

Description

Product Description A much-loved best seller: sublime, soaring, reverential, uplifting, intensely emotional music in the Western sacred tradition. This simply must be experienced to be appreciated! CD Review called it 'A landmark recording in the New Age genre.' Digital orchestra, piano, 1,000-voice virtual choir, electronic special effects by Michael Stearns. .co.uk Novus Magnificat, a gorgeously other-world opus from classically trained pianist Constance Demby has become a true classic in New Age music, appealing to a wide variety of listeners, many of whom are ordinarily put off by the genre. Rooted in worship music of Western tradition, Demby's majestic improvisational vision produces what the 1986 disc liner calls "Contemporary classical Spacemusic: A Magnificat and Exaltate". Incorporating the central voice of synthesizer with a string and horn section, piano, organ, bells, and tympani, a choral voice joins with instrumental passages, setting a blissfully reverent tone throughout this two-part melodious marvel. Master composers Bach and Vivaldi come to mind in hearing the keyed chord progressions and swirling strings respectively, making Novus Magnificat a keenly majestic score for use during massage, labour and birth, meditation, worship, or relaxation. --Paige La Grone P.when('A').execute(function(A) { A.on('a:expander:toggle_description:toggle:collapse', function(data) { window.scroll(0, data.expander.$expander[0].offsetTop-100); }); }); About the Artist An irrepressible personality with an infectious joie de vivre, Constance Demby is also a sincere spiritual seeker. A fifth generation Californian born in Oakland, Demby began classical piano studies at the age of eight. At twelve she moved to Connecticut where her artistic studies also included painting and sculpture. Throughout the 70s, she gave concerts, workshops and visual/musical presentations all over the eastern seaboard. During this period, she began to develop new forms of contemplative classical music. By the end of the decade, she had established her own label and released her first albums of meditative and sacred spacemusic (Skies Above Skies and Sunborne). Demby's music blossomed when she returned permanently to northern California in 1980 and began experimenting with electronic instruments. Two years later, she released Sacred Space Music Vol. 1, an enduring album featuring hammered dulcimer, acoustic piano and synthesizer (re-released in 1988, HS11010). Soon after the arrival of digital sampling keyboards, Demby integrated symphonic instrumental sounds into her music and began recording in her own 16-track studio. There she produced Novus Magnificat (1986, HS11003). Her 1989 release Set Free (HS11016) added rhythms and influences from Bali and Africa to her contemporary classical base and was hailed as a 'first-rate release by an artist in her prime.' Several international tours followed, to Europe, South America, the Canary Islands, Japan, Indonesia and beyond. With the help of Jim Miller of Stratus Sounds, Demby updated her entire studio in the early 90s, replacing many of her early synthesizers with an impressive array of the latest electronic instruments and recording technology. See more