Essential Andreas Vollenweider

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The Essential Andreas Vollenweider surveys the Swiss harpist’s career from his 1981 worldwide debut, Behind the Gardens, Behind the Wall, Under the Tree…, to 2000’s Cosmopoly. In 1981, Vollenweider was a breath of fresh incense capable of creating sweet, poignant melodies with an electro-acoustic harp that reached from deep bass lows to shimmering highs. As Vollenweider’s music progressed, world-music elements came to dominate his sound. Sometimes, as on “Belladonna” from 1982’s Caverna Magica, the fusion resulted in world-music kitsch as Middle Eastern and Brazilian vocals wafted over snappy lounge rhythms. By the time of 1984’s White Winds, Vollenweider had coalesced his multicultural approach into sweeping suites. The Essential Andreas Vollenweider concentrates on his upbeat, jazzier material, leaving the more textural, emotionally ambiguous pieces aside. Nevertheless, there’s a breadth of vision represented on this CD that shows a musician always searching. Vollenweider’s albums are meticulously recorded, with each instrument given its own space, creating an encompassing sense of architecture. But the remixes here improve the sound dramatically, especially on the earlier works. For the Vollenweider fan, there’s nothing new here, but for the uninitiated, this is a good place to begin exploring the works of a New Age pioneer. –John Diliberto

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Essential Andreas Vollenweider