Spiriti, an Atmospheric Blend

For my fellow cd-swapees who will not receive a copy of my blend, here is an electronic version just for you.






Download Part 1. * Download Part 2.

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1. The Mediaeval Baebes - The Snake:: (Album: The Rose.) There is something refreshingly hypnotic about this track. This never ceases to brighten my day and make me think of Spring. It seemed to me to be the perfect track to kick off the cd.

2. Faith & The Muse - The Silver Circle:: (Album: Annwyn, Beneath the Waves.) "Come Alive!" is right-- this song manages to be both empowering and enchanting.

3. VAST - Touched:: (Album: Visual Audio Sensory Theater.) I have loved this song for years now-- it sinks into your skin, into your blood. It stirs you and haunts you.

4. Emilie Autumn - Across the Sky:: (Album: Enchant.) A relatively new discovery for me, Emilie Autumn's violin-rock perfectly captures the 'punkatorian' style. This track is softer, more mythic, and I think it stands out.

5. The Mediaeval Baebes - Temptasyon:: (Album: Mirabilis.) I absolutely love how this track blends traditionally Renaissance sounds with Eastern overtones. It's like listening to music from another world.

6. Cocteau Twins - Blue Bell Knoll:: (Album: Blue Bell Knoll.) I cannot for the life of me remember when I first heard this song. I know it was some time ago, because it was on the soundtrack that I used when I initially wrote the short story out of which my in-progress novel has grown. To me, it sounds like a world within a world, or main title music when you know that the world as you know it is about to magically shift.

7. Delerium - Flowers Become Screens:: (Album: Semantic Spaces.) There's a sort of narcotic pull to the beat here that is both deeply sexual and atmospheric at the same time.

8. Loreena McKennitt - Marrakesh Night Market:: (Album: The Mask and Mirror.) It was hard for me to whittle down all of the songs from this artist, as I love so many of them. This won out because of the artistry of the lyrics-- the metaphors combined with the exotic stylings is sublime.

9. Azam Ali - Breton Medley:: (Album: Portals of Grace.) I initially heard of Azam Ali because she was chosen to sing "Inama Nushif" on the SciFi channel's Children of Dune soundtrack. Her voice has a deep, timeless, and almost prescient feel to it. However, when I got this album, I found that even the instrumental tracks were quite engaging, and this is one of my favorites.

10. Faith & The Muse - Arianrhod:: (Album: Annwyn, Beneath the Waves.) This evokes an ancient hunt, on foot, through the forest, as night begins to fall. It's a primal memory set to drums.

11. The Mediaeval Baebes - Razreesh:: (Album: The Rose.) I cannot tell you how long it took me to figure out that this track was in Russian. I still haven't found a satisfactory translation. What I do know is that when I first heard it, I played it for about a week straight.

12. Faith & The Muse - All Lovers Lost:: (Album: Elyria.) There is something evocative of dark fae in everything this group produces, and this is no exception.

13. The Mediaeval Baebes - Spiriti:: (Album: The Rose.) A very short curse that will no doubt send shivers up your spine.

14. The Mediaeval Baebes - Tam Lin:: (Album: Mirabilis.) My very favorite faerie tale set exquisitely, perfectly, to music. It's beautiful in an eerie way-- every time I'm walking home through the abandoned park as night begins to fall, I hum this tune. As I step over the white stones, under empty boughs, and pass under the bridge, I peer around, half-expecting to see brambles of Tam Lin's roses. The whispering of voices at the end pricks my skin every time.

15. Loreena McKennitt - She Moved Through The Fair:: (Album: Elemental.) This piece evokes a cinematic vision for me as I listen to the story unfold. There is a stillness to this piece that rivets me with a quiet horror.

16. Maggie Sansone - Seargeant Early's Dream:: (Album: Dance Upon the Shore.) I first heard Maggie Sansone play at the Maryland Renaissance Festival, and then at a birthday gathering. She's a close friend of Skyler's mother, and her dulcimer playing is fine and expressive. More people should know about her.

17. James Horner - Outlawed Tunes on Outlawed Pipes:: (Album: The Braveheart OST.) I have always loved this piece. It's both tragic and uplifting, with a sense of dignity and sweeping mythos.

18. Henri DuParc - Extase:: I can't even begin to express how dear to me this song is. I actually sang this at my Senior recital. (No, this isn't me, I sadly never got it on tape.) It's always been dear to my heart because it's so deeply passionate, but at the same time, so subtle. Translation: On a pale lily, my heart sleeps, in a sleep as sweet as death / Exquisite death, death perfumed by the breath of the beloved / On your pale breast, my heart sleeps, in a sleep as sweet as death. It's that beautiful, transcendent moment after the little death wherein your heart is so full of love and wonder that it overflows with the most tender saline. It's a feeling that I have never been able to put into words, but this piece manages to express it perfectly.

19. Delerium & The Mediaeval Baebes - Aria:: (Album: Undrentide.) To finish on an upbeat note, I call this song "Rainbow Brite on Crack." It's in middle English, it's sung by a bunch of really hot chicks, and it's positively infectious.

The .zips contain a mix of .mp3s and .wmas, copied from my own disks.

Remember, if you like this sampler, be sure to pick up the albums from whence they came!