The Prayer Cycle
Encyclopedia
The Prayer Cycle is a choral/orchestral album by American film and television composer Jonathan Elias
, and was released by Sony Classical Records
in the United States
on March 23, 1999.
The project, recorded and mixed by co-producer R. Walt Vincent
, consists of a nine-part contemporary choral symphony in twelve languages (Hungarian, Hebrew
, Latin
, Swahili
, Tibetan
, Urdu
, Mali
, Spanish
, German
, French
, Italian
, and English
).
Featured vocalists include Alanis Morissette
, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Salif Keita
, Linda Ronstadt
, Ofra Haza
, James Taylor
, Richard Bona
, Mah Damba
, Yungchen Lhamo
, and Perry Farrell
, who were backed by Devin Provenzano, The American Boychoir and The English Chamber Orchestra & Chorus
, conducted by Lawrence Schwartz.
Music from The Prayer Cycle was featured on the 1999 ABC
documentary
series called "The Century", which aired in six parts March 29 and April 1, 3, 5, 8 and 10.
The Prayer Cycle was played in its entirety for two Music from the Hearts of Space programs, "The Prayer Cycle" (program 536, originally aired September 10, 1999) and again as "Terror and Hope" (program 605, originally aired September 21, 2001) in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks
.
Jonathan Elias
Jonathan Elias is a U.S. composer and record producer, known for his movie soundtracks, production for several pop and rock acts, and his award-winning advertising music including the PBS logo instrumental from October 1, 1984 to October 1, 1989....
, and was released by Sony Classical Records
Sony Classical Records
Sony Classical Records was started in 1927 as Columbia Masterworks Records, a subsidiary of the American Columbia Records. In 1948, it issued the first commercially successful long-playing 12" record...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on March 23, 1999.
The project, recorded and mixed by co-producer R. Walt Vincent
R. Walt Vincent
R. Walt Vincent is a Los Angeles based record producer, recording engineer, composer, and multi instrumentalist known for his work with indie rock icons Pete Yorn, Liz Phair, and Tommy Keene....
, consists of a nine-part contemporary choral symphony in twelve languages (Hungarian, Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
, Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, Swahili
Swahili language
Swahili or Kiswahili is a Bantu language spoken by various ethnic groups that inhabit several large stretches of the Mozambique Channel coastline from northern Kenya to northern Mozambique, including the Comoro Islands. It is also spoken by ethnic minority groups in Somalia...
, Tibetan
Tibetan language
The Tibetan languages are a cluster of mutually-unintelligible Tibeto-Burman languages spoken primarily by Tibetan peoples who live across a wide area of eastern Central Asia bordering the Indian subcontinent, including the Tibetan Plateau and the northern Indian subcontinent in Baltistan, Ladakh,...
, Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
, Mali
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
).
Featured vocalists include Alanis Morissette
Alanis Morissette
Alanis Nadine Morissette is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and actress. She has won 16 Juno Awards and seven Grammy Awards, was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and also shortlisted for an Academy Award nomination...
, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Salif Keita
Salif Keita
Salif Keïta is an internationally recognized afro-pop singer-songwriter from Mali. He is unique not only because of his reputation as the Golden Voice of Africa, but because he has albinism and is a direct descendant of the founder of the Mali Empire, Sundiata Keita...
, Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt is an American popular music recording artist. She has earned eleven Grammy Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, an ALMA Award, numerous United States and internationally certified gold, platinum and multiplatinum albums, in addition to Tony Award and Golden...
, Ofra Haza
Ofra Haza
Ofra Haza was an Israeli singer of Yemeni origin, an actress and international recording artist....
, James Taylor
James Taylor
James Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....
, Richard Bona
Richard Bona
Richard Bona is a jazz bassist and musician. His real African name, as he said live in Montreal in a show with Bobby McFerrin, is Bona Pinder Yayumayalolo...
, Mah Damba
Mah Damba
Mah Damba is a traditional griot singer. She comes from a family of griots: her father, Djeli Baba Sissoko , was a griot and her aunt, Fanta Damba, is also considered a top vocalist.Early in her career, she was part of Kassemady Diabaté's ensemble, and later was part of Mandé Foli...
, Yungchen Lhamo
Yungchen Lhamo
Yungchen Lhamo is a Tibetan singer-songwriter and currently living in exile in New York City. She has won an Australian Record Industry Association award for best Folk/World/Traditional album, and was then signed by Peter Gabriel's Realworld Record label.She has performed with Billy Corgan and...
, and Perry Farrell
Perry Farrell
Perry Farrell is the frontman for the alternative rock band Jane's Addiction. Farrell created the touring festival Lollapalooza as a farewell tour for Jane's Addiction in 1991; it has since evolved into an annual destination festival. Farrell continues to produce Lollapalooza with partners William...
, who were backed by Devin Provenzano, The American Boychoir and The English Chamber Orchestra & Chorus
English Chamber Orchestra
The English Chamber Orchestra is a British chamber orchestra based in London. The full orchestra regularly plays concerts at Cadogan Hall, and the ECO Ensemble performs at Wigmore Hall...
, conducted by Lawrence Schwartz.
Music from The Prayer Cycle was featured on the 1999 ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
series called "The Century", which aired in six parts March 29 and April 1, 3, 5, 8 and 10.
The Prayer Cycle was played in its entirety for two Music from the Hearts of Space programs, "The Prayer Cycle" (program 536, originally aired September 10, 1999) and again as "Terror and Hope" (program 605, originally aired September 21, 2001) in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
.
Track listing
- "Mercy" – Alanis MorissetteAlanis MorissetteAlanis Nadine Morissette is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and actress. She has won 16 Juno Awards and seven Grammy Awards, was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and also shortlisted for an Academy Award nomination...
and Salif KeitaSalif KeitaSalif Keïta is an internationally recognized afro-pop singer-songwriter from Mali. He is unique not only because of his reputation as the Golden Voice of Africa, but because he has albinism and is a direct descendant of the founder of the Mali Empire, Sundiata Keita... - "Strength" – Richard BonaRichard BonaRichard Bona is a jazz bassist and musician. His real African name, as he said live in Montreal in a show with Bobby McFerrin, is Bona Pinder Yayumayalolo...
, Yungchen LhamoYungchen LhamoYungchen Lhamo is a Tibetan singer-songwriter and currently living in exile in New York City. She has won an Australian Record Industry Association award for best Folk/World/Traditional album, and was then signed by Peter Gabriel's Realworld Record label.She has performed with Billy Corgan and...
, Perry FarrellPerry FarrellPerry Farrell is the frontman for the alternative rock band Jane's Addiction. Farrell created the touring festival Lollapalooza as a farewell tour for Jane's Addiction in 1991; it has since evolved into an annual destination festival. Farrell continues to produce Lollapalooza with partners William...
, and Liz Constantine - "Hope" – Alanis MorissetteAlanis MorissetteAlanis Nadine Morissette is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and actress. She has won 16 Juno Awards and seven Grammy Awards, was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and also shortlisted for an Academy Award nomination...
, Devin Provenzano, and The American Boychoir - "Compassion" – Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Mah DambaMah DambaMah Damba is a traditional griot singer. She comes from a family of griots: her father, Djeli Baba Sissoko , was a griot and her aunt, Fanta Damba, is also considered a top vocalist.Early in her career, she was part of Kassemady Diabaté's ensemble, and later was part of Mandé Foli...
- "Grace" – James TaylorJames TaylorJames Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....
- "Innocence" – Alanis MorissetteAlanis MorissetteAlanis Nadine Morissette is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and actress. She has won 16 Juno Awards and seven Grammy Awards, was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and also shortlisted for an Academy Award nomination...
and Salif KeitaSalif KeitaSalif Keïta is an internationally recognized afro-pop singer-songwriter from Mali. He is unique not only because of his reputation as the Golden Voice of Africa, but because he has albinism and is a direct descendant of the founder of the Mali Empire, Sundiata Keita... - "Forgiveness" – Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Ofra HazaOfra HazaOfra Haza was an Israeli singer of Yemeni origin, an actress and international recording artist....
- "Benediction" – Linda RonstadtLinda RonstadtLinda Ronstadt is an American popular music recording artist. She has earned eleven Grammy Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, an ALMA Award, numerous United States and internationally certified gold, platinum and multiplatinum albums, in addition to Tony Award and Golden...
and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan - "Faith" – Alanis MorissetteAlanis MorissetteAlanis Nadine Morissette is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and actress. She has won 16 Juno Awards and seven Grammy Awards, was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and also shortlisted for an Academy Award nomination...
and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan