Voice of the Esraj

Excellent music for meditative listening and yoga in the tradition of the popular album, Soul of the Esraj. Beautiful flowing vocals bring ancient sacred writings to life, featuring special musical guests Steve Gorn, Jami Sieber, Heather Wertheimer, and David Michael. _________________________________ “Highly recommended for all of creation!” – Shiva Rea The selections on this album are intended to unite the central themes of ancient sacred texts with Indian ragas that support their essential nature. Raga is a tremendously sophisticated musical framework that defies simple definition. Broadly, ragas are the traditional classical melodic form of Indian music, which express specific moods and reflect different seasons, times of day, and manifestations of the Divine. I have been blessed to have the opportunity to study with some of the greatest exponents of the North Indian (Hindustani) classical tradition, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and Ustad Zakir Hussain. They have given me gifts beyond measure, and it is my hope and prayer that this musical offering can reflect some small part of the tremendous gifts they have given their students and audiences around the world. In what would have been his 125th year, I also wish to acknowledge the brilliance of my grandfather, the great psychologist Max Wertheimer. His study of music (particularly of the Veddas of Sri Lanka) was pivotal in his development of Gestalt theory in the early twentieth century.