top of page

Himalayan Fantasy. 1992.

Dur. 18:00

Stereo audio

About Himalayan Fantasy, Barton McLean writes, "While in Hawaii in 1985 I availed myself of the opportunity to record some of the prolific Asian artists and ensembles so prevalent there.  Among them were three native men and a woman from Tibet, who sang some  haunting  pastoral songs traditionally uttered while riding horseback through the mountain passes from one village to another. I was struck not only by the beauty of these songs, but also by how they seemed to conjure up such strong visions--of quiet, vast mountain passes in a world of timeless existence. These songs form the backbone of my Himalayan Fantasy, existing in both unaltered and altered versions, my purpose being to preserve them fairly intact for at least some of the work, but also integrating them into the other fabric at other times, preserving a time-honored tradition of integrating pre-existing pieces into a larger form used by Bach, Mendelssohn, Berlioz, Stravinsky, Bartok, Ives, Paul Winter, and others.  Produced in 1992 in the McLean Petersburg, NY studios using the computer software Studio Vision and several synthesizers and samplers, Himalayan Fantasy is a true fusion of world music influences such as classical, folk, ethnic, jazz, new age, and experimental, couched in one huge symphonic form, symbolizing the vastness of the mountains and the people for which it is named." Recorded on Capstone CPS 8617 CD. Reissued on Ravello (Naxos).

Himalayan Fantasy is © and ℗ 1992 Barton McLean

Permission granted for artistic, non commercial and educational use

bottom of page