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It has awesome moody modal world improvisationally inspired pieces throughout the album. I listen to this over and over again. Great for the times when I need to unwind from work, hang out before dinner with my beloved, and so one.Get your copy today.
But now, I listen to it more than him - when I simply need to wind down, calm myself, transport myself, and especially at bed time when sleep doesn't always come easily. I originally bought this CD for my partner as the one he had had developed track grooves from overplaying. Highly recommend as a 'must-have' in any collection.
I walked in her living room and heard the music and instantly had to know who it was (I had not heard of him). It's relaxing and enervating and soothes the soul. I was introduced to the artist by a friend living in Santa Monica. I now own three CDs and his music is evocative of other wondrous places far away from North America.
The pieces are mostly short and well-composed, and the recording upholds ECM's reputation for clarity and simplicity -- oud, violin and goblet drums, without any post-production to speak of.It's certainly a virtuoso performance to my ears.Like the complex and beautiful calligraphy that adorns the cover, Barzakh is refined and virtuosic, yet intricate enough to really focus the listener. "One of the ironies of the current vogue for so-called world musics is that the adventurous listener often finds himself championing forms exotic to his ear which are, in their true context, fundamentally conservative." (-- Steve Lake in the original liner notes)While I don't know my oud music well enough to know if this is astonishing or breathtaking, it is a very pleasant listen -- meditative or sensuous depending on the listener's mood. Highly recommended.
At times pensive and melancholy, at others upbeat, he achieves something in music that is ineffable and all too rare. Lute and Guitar players alike stand to learn a lot from Brahem. Anouar Brahem and his Oud continue to make wonderfully emotive music of great depth. I highly recommend ANYTHING by him, but I prefer this album, with "Le conte de l'incroyable amour" in second place.If you are a fan of ethnic music or of string instruments in general, you would do well to check this out.
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