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A portion of the proceeds
from the sale of these five
Native American flute recordings
benefits the children of the Taos
Pueblo through the non-profit,
charitable organization,
SAVE THE CHILDREN.
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FLUTE DREAMS
by Alice Gomez
A collection of original compositions featuring the flute backed by an array of instruments including Native percussion, guitars and keyboards, creating a mesmerizing musical experience. Unique arrangements of several flutes played in unison. Musicians include Madalyn Blanchett, Alice Gomez and Marilyn Rife. Total run time: 42 minutes
FD-CD $13.98
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GATHERING OF SHAMEN
by the Native Flute Ensemble
A series of compositions featuring the Native American flute reflecting “power sites” where shamen or medicine men regularly gather: the Black Hills of SD, Canyon de Chelly in AZ and Atitlan in Guatemala (more on Sacred Sites). Stunningly peaceful compositions also feature Native percussion, keyboards and environmental sounds.
Total run time: 40 minutes
GS-CD $13.98
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THE HEALING FLUTE
by Alice Gomez with Madalyn Blanchett
Take a seat in the healing circle as master musicians weave a unique collection of Native-style flute music aimed at centering the spirit and body. Supportive sounds include Native drums, rattles and string instruments. Ten tracks in a narrative sequence that includes centering sounds, healing sounds and release. Total run time: 41 minutes
HF-CD $13.98
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TOUCH OF THE DEER
by the Native Flute Ensemble
An hour long exploration of music associated with Native American healing/deer ceremonies. The Native American flute is framed by rattles, nature sounds, a 12-string guitar and keyboards. The result is an audio experience that guides listeners through a suite of eight unique “healing” compositions. Total run time: 60 minutes
TOD-CD $13.98
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WHILE THE EAGLE SLEEPS
by Alice Gomez
Exceptional Native flute music inspired by Native American night chants and lullabies. Moods evolve from upbeat to reflective using multiple flutes, ceremonial percussion, the Yaqui harp and keyboards. Originally conceived as music to soothe children, but it found a much wider audience. Total run time: 43 minutes
WTES-CD $13.98
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I’ve always had a fascination with ancient civilizations; their customs, religion, lifestyle and the role of their music in their societies. In creating the compositions for Flute Dreams, I specifically wanted to focus on the musical styles of the Aztec, Inca and Mayan People. These were people existing as early as 500 B.C. The musical instruments they played included flutes, drums covered with animal skin, rattles, gongs, stringed instruments, conch shells and crudely made marimbas.
While traveling throughout the American SW, I’ve explored the cave dwellings at Bandelier National Park and visited various pueblos surrounding Santa Fe. From the actual homes built into solid rock, to the sacred kivas, I could see how my ancestors lived and could almost hear the ancient whispers of their voices. . . I found myself living in a time other than the present.
- Alice Gomez
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ALICE GOMEZ
An award-winning ASCAP composer and nationally known musician, Alice Gomez has distinguished herself in the world of Native American flute music as well as symphonic music. Formerly composer-in-residence with the San Antonio Symphony, Gomez has written and performed an astonishing number of compositions reflecting her Native American/Latino heritage. During the past decade Gomez CDs such as Flute Dreams and The Healing Flute have become recognized classics in the Native American genre.
The heart of Gomez’s sound is the Native American flute framed by a rich array of instruments including Native American percussion, keyboards and string instruments. The result is music that instantly engages and relaxes listeners and bears up with repeated listening.
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THE NATIVE FLUTE ENSEMBLE
The line-up of performers of the Native Flute Ensemble reads like a ‘who’s who’ of Native American artists/musicians and includes Alice Gomez and Eric Casillas. Since the 1990s, the Native Flute Ensemble, often referred to as ‘the leading performers of Native American flute,' has won a world-wide reputation for being in the vanguard or forefront of the Native American flute renaissance.
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Their music provides a unique journey into the world of Native American flute. Constantly seeking a blend between traditional and contemporary, they have pioneered a sound that pairs the traditional Native/Courting flute with ceremonial percussion, keyboards and nature sounds. Best known for their Gathering of Shamen and Touch of the Deer releases, the music of the Native Flute Ensemble has been featured in countless films and TV shows.
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MADALYN BLANCHETT
Madalyn has performed with many professional ensembles, including The Santa Fe Desert Chorale and the San Antonio Early Music Ensemble. A native of San Antonio, she is a music instructor and has played in a variety of Latino bands with her sister Alice Gomez and other family members.
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MARILYN RIFE
Marilyn is the Principal Percussionist/Assistant Principal Timpanist with the San Antonio Symphony Orchestra. She also performs with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in concert, on tour and on recordings. She has co-written several published percussion works with Alice Gomez.
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Several sites in the Western Hemisphere hold special ceremonial and ritual significance for America’s Native peoples. Three of the most important are the Black Hills in South Dakota, Canyon de Chelly in Arizona and Atitlan in Guatemala. These ‘power sites’ where shamen or medicine men regularly gather were the inspiration for the Gathering of Shamen CD by the Native Flute Ensemble.
The Black Hills
The Black Hills have a magnetic quality that has attracted America’s indigenous peoples since the beginning of their migrations in North America. In the sacred Black Hills, the spirits are often believed to ride the winds that blow through the hills on winter nights and they have traditionally been a destination for seekers on spiritual journeys.
Canyon de Chelly
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The massive stone cities of the vanished Anasazi Indians cast a serene, awesome spell in the massive Canyon de Chelly in Arizona. The Anasazi built a variety of imposing cities in what is now Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado but then vanished after the 1200s A.D.
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The Anasazi ruins reveal a rich ritual life revolving around nature and astrology. According to legend, a central belief of the Anasazi (and of contemporary Native Americans as well) is that man and the Earth are partners, rather than the industrial world’s view of man dominating or ruling the Earth. A cornerstone of many Native American rituals is honoring the Earth’s elements. This is one reason why wind is a recurring theme in Native American inspired music; recordings such as Touch of the Deer include actual wind sounds to help bring alive or evoke the spiritual presence of the landscape.
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Though the Anasazi were a desert dwelling people, stories of a fabled, limitless body of water (the Pacific Ocean) held a special place in their mythology. Percussionist Eric Casillas of the Native Flute Ensemble recreates the sound of the ocean on the Gathering of Shamen album with a rare ocean drum, which produces the sound of waves slapping ashore on a beach.
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Atitlan
Though the contemporary village of Santiago de Atitlan in Guatemala now exists where a Mayan ritual center was once located, shamen still gather there every July. Their purpose? To perform rituals believed important in maintaining mankind’s balance with the earth. “The Cosmic Tree” is a central Mayan belief in the earth’s ability to renew itself. Annual processions led by drummers and flute players foster a continual renewal of our relationship with the earth.
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Shamen also retrace the Mayan cosmos by visiting specific sites in the village deemed ‘holy’ by the ancient Mayans. Rituals include a series of processions led by drummers and flute players. The album Gathering of Shamen includes tracks that are inspired by and recreate these rituals in musical compositions.
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