Mystical Performances

Jax2, really like the Pas du Chat Noir....it is haunting and beautiful.

Timrhu - I agree; I've also been introduced to some really great music through these threads. Hope you enjoy the Jurado - that's my favorite of the few CD's I have from him.

Superwolf - Right on! That one just runs a shiver down my spine. That last line in the lyrics sticks with you long after the music has stopped.

Other greats in the same (creepy) genre that come to mind:

Tori Amos breathy, whispery version of the Emenim song, '97 Bonnie and Clyde off of "Strange Little Girls" - It does not even remotely have the same impact as sung by Eminem. From Amos it is chilling.

Tom Waits utterly brilliant poetic soundscape, bristling with razorwire wit and mastery of language in the spoken piece, "Circus" off of Real Gone. Not the same subject matter, but has that very unconventional stick-to-your-ribs hypnotic ticket into a dark world most of us thankfully only visit vicariously. Think Tod Browning's '32 film, "Freaks". Another Wait's spoken piece that comes to mind in light of the previous topical matter is, "What's He Building in There?"

These selections definitely are not for everyone, but for the benefit of those moved by the likes of Jurado and the Gacy cut from Stevens...

OK, since I'm digressing a bit from the OP's intent to some degree, let me go back on track with a very unconventional yet brilliant piece of music that is a very natural segway in the realms of not-for-everyone. Yet this piece just wraps me up in its strained and pained poetic spell, even though the singing may make some want to run from the room it fits so perfectly with the content, and I've actually come to love his vocals:
Neutral Milk Hotel, "Oh Comely", from In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.

Back to more easier, universally pleasing listening - Yes, Issabre, "Le Pas..." is classic and haunting and beautiful and I never tire of it. Brahem's other collaborations are all worthy of consideration as well. Each is rather unique in that he chooses such diverse musicians to play with, yet the thread of his impeccable taste remains throughout. Great stuff.

Marco

Jax2, try this one:

"Alleluia, Behold the Bridegroom" by the ST. Petersburg Choir on the Album "Russian Easter" (Philips) Composer Unknown. Conductor Nikolai Korniev.

Actually, all of the songs on that album are mystical..but you have to have a really good system to hear them well because alot of the feeling is in the space in which they are performing...it must have been an old church.

Toss in the tune 'Still Life" by Van Der Graaf Generator as well, especially the closing cadence.

"Alleluia, Behold the Bridegroom" by the ST. Petersburg Choir on the Album "Russian Easter" (Philips) Composer Unknown. Conductor Nikolai Korniev.

Thanks, I'll check that one out. Looks like it gets some great reviews on Amazon, and choral music can be so powerful. Arvo Part's new piece, In Pricipio is quite good if you enjoy his music.

Back to jazz, and appropriately titled for this thread, the cut titled, "The Spell" off the ECM recording, Achirana, is superb in every respect and fits in here.