Constance Demby - Albums Collection 1978-2011 (12CD + DVD5)

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Constance Demby - Albums Collection 1978-2011 (12CD + DVD5)

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Constance Demby is one of the few representatives of the New Age movement (in both her music and her personal philosophies) who consistently creates artistic, highly expressive compositions. Demby was trained in classical music as a child, and her artistic spirit led her to also master several other art forms; at the University of Michigan, she studied painting, sculpture, and music. It was her work as a sculptor that led her to new dimensions of sound. As she was torching a sheet of metal, it roared thunderously, and thus was born the Sonic Steel Instruments: the Whale Sail, and the Space Bass, enormous bowed instruments with deep archetypal resonances.

As an innovator in the world of sound, Demby learned a number of ethnic instruments and found ways to use them inventively. She co-founded a unique multimedia group, Central Maine Power Sound & Light, which toured the East Coast from 1971 to 1976 with their "Space Mass" program and other groundbreaking light/sound and planetarium shows.

In the late '70s, Demby began to investigate the spiritual life by following a discipline that was focused on the inner light and the inner sound, or Surat Shabd Yoga. She found a special affinity for the hammered dulcimer and discovered that her "prayers would turn into song." These devotional songs formed the basis of her first album, Skies Above Skies.

In 1980, Demby, a fifth generation Californian, returned to Marin County north of San Francisco, where she received a warm reception and played concerts to overflow audiences. Here, she founded her own record company, Sound Currents, and released Sunborne, an ambitious five-part tone poem that featured her Sonic Steel instruments, world percussion, synthesizers, hammered dulcimer, and vocals.

The mid-'80s brought changes in recording technology with the advent of digital sampled sounds; Demby embraced this electronic revolution to compose contemporary space music using a full range of symphonic instruments, pipe organ, and choral voices. Tapping into her spiritual guidance, she brought through, track by track, Novus Magnificat, the album that many call the most important New Age recording of all time. This album, released in 1986, was one of the first releases on the Hearts of Space record label. Her other albums with Hearts of Space include the devotional Sacred Space Music, the celebratory Set Free, and Aeterna, the emotionally cathartic sequel to Novus Magnificat.

Demby says of the artistry and spiritual impact of her music: "Novus Magnificat reached 'up and out' to catch a galactic beam through space. Aeterna is down and into the heart, here and now. Now our society is in the thick of it, and if people do not handle their feelings, we are in trouble. My music is emotional, but it is always redemptive. If my music stirs things up and takes you down into your feelings, it will then transmute, take you up and out again and redeem. If the listener approaches music with 'active listening,' or with full absorption, and if the music has spiritual commitment and depth, then music can blow your mind. It will make you weep. And you will wonder breathlessly,'God, what was that? It did something to me!'"

In 2000, after release of a few private label albums, Demby moved from Southern California to Barcelona, Spain, relishing the openness of its people for music and the arts.

Biography by Carol Wright, Allmusic.com

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Constance Demby - Albums Collection 1978-2011 (12CD + DVD5)

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Constance Demby - Albums Collection 1978-2011 (12CD + DVD5)

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Constance Demby, the "queen of symphonic spacemusic," draws from an international palette of musical mysticism on this 1978 spiritual album. Meditative drones from twanging tamboura, noble organ chords, shimmering waves of the hammered dulcimer, and cello overtones overlap to create sonic tapestries, heady settings for seven chants and prayers sung by Demby. The Tibetan chant "Om Mani Padme Hum" offers intoxicating layers upon layers of sounds and voices. The Chinese-flavored "Peace of God," with lyrics by Annie Besant, dances suspensefully between the flittering of the hammered dulcimer and the deeply resonant twang of the Chinese cheng (a koto-like instrument). The Chinese mode is employed again on "El Mie." The "St. Francis Prayer" brings words above the plateaus of the hammered dulcimer. The devotional "Sant Ji" brings in just a touch of synthesizer sweetening to create expansive vistas of heaven; listening is almost like flying. The multi-instrumental Demby plays all the instruments and sings, and the sonic effects are quite an achievement for the synthesizer and overdubbing technology of the time. What makes Skies Above Skies so enduring is Demby's sensitivity toward the "live" sonic vibrations of her voice and instruments and her alignment with the sentiments of the holy prayers. It is like the nectar of profound innocence.

Review by Carol Wright, Allmusic.com

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Constance Demby - Albums Collection 1978-2011 (12CD + DVD5)

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Constance Demby, the "queen of symphonic spacemusic," recorded this full-bodied musical tonepoem in 1980; I use the term "full-bodied" because Sunborne features Demby's extraordinary musical inventions, the Space Bass and the Whale Sail, two enormous bowed sheetmetal sculptures. Demby makes them roar like thunder and sing like whales, and I doubt any synthesizer–even these days–could emulate their presence. Sunborne is a five-movement symphonic space-poem with lyrics from the "Emerald Tablets," an ancient text by Hermes Trismegistus. The recording–using keyboard synthesizer, zither, gamelon, the sparkling hammered dulcimer, cheng, tabla, percussion, and vocals–evokes ancient primordial stirrings and heady futuristic space voyages, watery depths and exploding rays of light. The title cut swirls and blips with inner electronic space galaxies powered by a driving percussion and Demby's centered, hypnotic voice. "One with the Light" begins with the breathtaking and resonant Chinese cheng which is then joined by the plaintive cries of the Whale Sail. Its voyage through the empty, echoing void is heartbreaking until Demby's eternal voice encourages its return to the light. Sunborne is both a feast for the ears and an incredible vibrational voyage for the soul. Don headphones, grab a comfy armchair, crank up the speakers, close your eyes, and let yourself fly. Guest artists include Laksmi G. Tewari (tabla), Hugh Robbins and John Sergeant (synthesizer special effects), David Burn (bass and drums), and Warren Davis (percussion).

Review by Carol Wright, Allmusic.com

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Constance Demby - Albums Collection 1978-2011 (12CD + DVD5)

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This two-part album of symphonic space music by Constance Demby is a must-have. Divinely inspired? Probably so; for those who believe in Fate, the timing of its release was in alignment with the arrival of the Harmonic Convergence. Demby, with her years on the road with an experimental music group, was used to creating massive spiritual works: large sounds, unusual instruments, and broad scopes. Novus Magnificat was her first album produced with her 16-track studio using digital sampling technology. Here, she had all the voices of the orchestra and choir at her fingertips, and she used all 16 tracks (and then some) to complete the composition. The music is in two parts: part one is like wandering the halls of heaven before the Big Event. Choir sounds bounce from cloud formations, and redemption seems at hand. Though Demby sets an overall path of sound, rhapsodic cul-de-sacs appear like intimate and sacred shrines. Part two begins with a Bach-like organ piece, which creates fascinating inner structures. Demby then takes you through long hallways; angels sing nearby, melodies tug at your heart, space winds clean away cobwebs of the mind. Trumpets begin their heralding calls, an organ sings in anticipation, choirs rejoice, harps fly, shooting stars sparkle. Peak builds on crescendo until ultimately, the cosmos split open and the whole universe joyously avalanches through with the angels enjoying the ride. This awe-inspiring and breathtaking anointment is worth playing on a good sound system. Crank up the sound, place yourself between the speakers, and allow yourself the gift of this music. Space music composer Michael Stearns contributed special celestial sonic effects.

Review by Carol Wright, Allmusic.com

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Constance Demby - Albums Collection 1978-2011 (12CD + DVD5)

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Light of this World: The Best of Constance Demby offers a sampler of the music of the "queen of spacemusic" from her 1978 Skies above Skies through the 1986 masterpiece Novus Magnificat; two bonus tracks were written for this compilation album. The title track opens the album, an inspiring and brash pop vocal piece (Demby sounds remarkably like Bette Midler) with female backup vocals, hot drums, electric guitar emulator, and bass. The title track from Demby's 1980 Sunborne also showcases Demby's voice, but in her more cosmic and chantlike mode. The instrumentation is vast – organ sounds, trap set, piano – a sound fit for the birth of galaxies. The exhilarating "Flying Bach" from Novus Magnificat features some fancy organ work with sampled chorus and orchestra. "Radiance" from Sacred Space Music offers an organ drone with the sparkling tones of the hammered dulcimer. Overhead, Demby vocalizes like an angel. "The Dawning" from Sunborne showcases Demby's enormous Sonic Steel Instruments, the Space Bass and the Whale Sail. Demby's 1994 live album, Constance Demby at Alaron, is represented by two pieces, "The Chakoor Bird" (on which Demby plays the resonant Chinese cheng) and "Gurudev Aja," an exotic synthesizer piece with drone. Demby's first album, Skies above Skies, is represented by two devotional prayers, "OmManiPadmeHum" (radiant piano and organ drone) and "God Is" (a mystical work for organ). "Sanctus" ends the album, a radiant new piece brimming with chimes and gongs. None of the pieces here tops seven minutes (the pieces may last to a half hour in the original versions), but I could not sense any had been cut. A lot of albums claim "best of"; this one delivers. Demby is a visionary musician, and this album should whet your appetite for more.

Review by Carol Wright, Allmusic.com

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Constance Demby - Albums Collection 1978-2011 (12CD + DVD5)

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Constance Demby's monumental Novus Magnificat (1986) took its inspiration from the sacred choral and organ music of J.S. Bach. The overall impact of that piece was one of spiritual deliverance, that the heavens and all its angelic choirs arrived to welcome you. It is an incredibly moving piece, but Demby and her celestial inspiration gave the listener a gift, a spiritual "free ride," a release, an anointment. But with 1996's Aeterna, Demby has thankfully decided to pick up where Novus left off. Demby again uses digital samples to re-create lush orchestras, choirs, piano, and cello, but instead of Bach, she taps into the styles of Romantic composers such as Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, and Anton Bruckner; this means stirring up emotions. The album begins with "The Dawning," which has the orchestral colors and the bright hopefulness of Grofe's dawn movement of The Grand Canyon Suite. "Ocean Without Shores" is a piano concerto that surfs themes wave after wave. The three-part "Innocence" has quieter spaces: a star-spangled hall with chimes and a delicate waltz, but later a cautious piano stalking through an orchestral canyon. "Cry of the Heart," awith its ponderous pulls and deep musings, features the mournful cello as the solo instrument. The broad piano/orchestral themes "Eternal Return" is powerfully sweeping. The final suite, "Rites of Passage," acontains Demby's most dynamic melodies and orchestration balanced with wind sounds and moments of abstract sonic dangling. The piano theme then reappears with the smoke and thunder of dragons. The next reappearance of the theme moves upscale with angel choirs, and eventually Demby brings the piece to plateaus of sonic serenity. If you actively listen to the whole album, it's quite possible your ribs will ache with cathartic anguish. If so, then Demby has succeeded; she dedicates the album to "the healing of the heart" and reexperiencing and releasing buried emotions. This awe inspiring and glorious album isn't the "free ride" of Novus Magnificat. This trip with Aeterna must be actively engaged, at least in the beginning listenings, as some music requires your full participation in order to receive the entire emotional impact.

Review by Carol Wright, Allmusic.com

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Constance Demby - Albums Collection 1978-2011 (12CD + DVD5)

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A vibrational sound attunement and healing journey through the chakras. Like a therapeutic bath, SONIC IMMERSION clears, attunes and heals the energy centers with sound, light and color. " I could feel the corresponding chakra vibrating as you went through each one." …"…A powerful auric clearing. Took me deeply into the chakras to view my issues and fill them with light. Liberating and sublime!"

Recorded live at TOM KENYON'S Sound Healing Conference, this guided meditation is performed with the cosmic penetrating frequencies of the Sonic Steel Space Bass, a very powerful healing instrument. An original design of Constance Demby's, the Space Bass has been recorded by LUCAS SKYWALKER STUDIOS for their filmscores, and filmed by DISCOVERY CHANNEL. The low frequencies and long standing waves of the Space Bass (some 30 ft long), are potent and penetrating, and tend to break up old encrustations."…WHAT AN AMAZING INSTRUMENT!! I was healed by the SPACE BASS, but most important, I felt hope. I have the SONIC IMMERSION CD playing over and over, and I am now inspired to be all that I can be on this planet…"

"I felt altered and cleansed, renewed and deeply relaxed" …. "I arrived at the workshop with an irregular heartbeat, and left with a normal heartbeat"…."The Sonic Immersion touched, opened and cleansed my chakras at a level that is so deep it is usually unreachable in the third dimension. My chakras were expelling old gunk like seven oil wells gushing at the same time!"…. "During the Sonic Immersion, I felt my heart open up, and energy from an endless supply poured from my heart."

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Constance Demby - Albums Collection 1978-2011 (12CD + DVD5)

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Constance Demby is a new age and space music veteran. Her marvelous symphonic synthesizer arrangements have documented healing qualities. Attunement: Live in Concert – Dec. 1999 is a set of material that she performed in concert in December of 1999. She released the CD in March of 2000 along with Faces of the Christ; they were her first new discs in about five years. The concert set features Demby's sonic steel instruments – the whale sail and the space bass; she designed and constructed them herself. She accompanies those instruments with three Kurzweil digital sampling synthesizers. The sound is very smooth and caresses listeners warmly. This CD will appeal to fans of Kitaro, Liquid Mind, Darshan Ambient, Paul Avgerinos, and Harold Budd.

Review by Jim Brenholts, Allmusic.com

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Constance Demby - Albums Collection 1978-2011 (12CD + DVD5)

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After a five-year hiatus, Constance Demby released two new CDs in March of 2000. Faces of the Christ is the soundtrack to an Avalon Productions film of the same name. The CD has four separate compositions with seamless transitions between them. In essence, the soundtrack is one single 59-minute piece. Demby has a reputation for creating and performing deeply spiritual and sacred atmospheres. This soundscape is reverent, dynamic, and triumphant with somber overtones. This is an absolute classic disc for all collectors of electronic music. It will appeal to fans of Suzanne Ciani, Nik Tyndall, Giles Reaves, J. Arif Verner, and Michael Stearns.

Review by Jim Brenholts, Allmusic.com

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Constance Demby - Albums Collection 1978-2011 (12CD + DVD5)

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Sanctum Sanctuorum is Constance Demby's companion to Faces of the Christ. She built this set from the basics of that CD. She makes it quite clear that this deep space music is intended for meditation and introspection. The soundscapes just reach out and grab listeners. The gentle orchestral tones, Gregorian chant samples, and Demby's own wordless vocals create a cushion that allows listeners to enter a trance-like state of being. It becomes an alternate awareness. Within that state, deep listeners see more clearly. The journey leads to increased spiritual and emotional well-being. This CD will appeal to fans of Steven Halpern, Suzanne Ciani, Paul Sauvanet, and Diane Arkenstone. It is essential for new age and space music fans.

Review by Jim Brenholts, Allmusic.com

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Constance Demby - Albums Collection 1978-2011 (12CD + DVD5)

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Constance Demby is known as a musician who gives voice to spaceships and stargates, but on SPIRIT TRANCE, she returns to earth with a grounded and deeply felt collection of film music and rare re-mixes. After being nominated for the New Age Grammy with NOVUS MAGNIFICAT, Demby became known for her celestial harmonies and her ability to turn sound effects into real, evocative music.

Her talent for giving life to unique sounds is evident on the albums stand-out track, "Ocean of Life", where underwater echoes convey the enormity of the sea, while short, high notes vibrate like schools of fish moving though the dark. "Legend" is a grand, sweeping piece that was written for an unreleased film about James Dean. On this track, Demby gives a sonic portrait with all the pathos you would expect from a 500-page tome on the actor. The earthbound tone of this album may surprise some of her fans, but careful listening reveals the artist's signature style. Symphonic and spiritual, TRANCE speaks to the soul and transports the listener to new realms without leaving the planet.

Allmusic.com

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Constance Demby - Albums Collection 1978-2011 (12CD + DVD5)

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Set Free deserves a place next to the symphonic space-music classic of Novus Magnificat. This release journeys even deeper into the intensely moving electronic soundscapes that was developed in other recordings. Newly noticeable are rhythmic influences from the Balinese and African cultures that are unabashedly ritualistic and celebratory in nature. But, Demby has not forgotten her roots; the last four tracks, taken together, create a majestic celestial voyage for inner travelers.

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A floating, deeply peaceful meditation. Calming… Nurturing…Transforms time and space. A gateway to dissolve into blissful healing waters and extended, altered states of consciousness.

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About Constance Demby:

An internationally acclaimed, Grammy-nominated, award winning performing and recording artist, Constance Demby has been hailed as a 21st century Mozart / Bach / Beethoven, a tall order for anyone to be associated with, but in Constance s case one founded on an extraordinary musical and creative talent that is testimony to her prolific output and the profound healing both listeners and participants experience, alongside critical acclaim that has followed her every step of progress in a career spanning decades. –- A classically trained artist performing since the age of 12, Dembys music has been compared by critics to Bach, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Beethoven, Brahms, Palestrina, Rachmaninoff, Wagner, Puccini, Debussy, Ravel, Copland, Mahler, Vivaldi.

About the Director:

National and International Tours & Events include: 2005 UK Sacred Sites Tour, Live in Tokyo, Egypt-Concert at the Pyramid, Tours to Spain, Brazil, Canary Islands with Paul Horn & Pauline Oliveras. Events with Luminaries: IONS International Conference with Deepak Chopra, Marianne Williamson –- Festival of Sacred Music with His Holiness the Dalai Lama –- The Inner Reaches of Outer Space with Joseph Campbell, George Lucas, & Gene Roddenberry –- Path of the Labyrinth with author & mystic Andrew Harvey –- The Creative Leap, with Jean Houston –- Conference with Terence McKenna, Hawaii –-Double bill with Peter Michael Hamel –- Conferences with Brugh Joy & David Spangler –- Double bill with Todd Rundgren at the Fillmore.

While there are many pretenders to the throne, listeners can be sure that the music of Constance Demby is the real thing. Few artists express the majesty and grandeur of the spiritual realms as eloquently as Constance on her numerous recordings. There are precious few concert DVD's of this genre of music on the market, and even less filmed at this level of sophistication. Highly recommended.

Review by Michael Diamond, New Frontiers

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Constance Demby - Albums Collection 1978-2011 (12CD + DVD5)

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Constance Demby - Albums Collection 1978-2011 (12CD + DVD5)

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Constance Demby - Albums Collection 1978-2011 (12CD + DVD5)

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