David Parsons – Himalaya

This is a musical journey through India and the Himalaya Mountains. Using a variety of synthesizers, David Parsons creates a beautiful and vivid musical picture. We hear and feel the driving wind and sense the mystery of the deserted snowy mountain meadows. In Rishikesh an underlying growling depicts the awesome feeling of standing at the base of the majestic Himalaya Mountains and looking up. The full–bodied rumble of Kailasa portrays the power of the shrine of Lord Shiva. In Varuna Deva rhythms are used like brushes to paint the lively Ganges River. Spiced with recordings of natural sounds, such as thunder and chanting, Himalaya is a passionate view of India and her mighty mountain range.

David Parsons – Himalaya
CD review by Warren Fahey

This is, as they say, an oldie but a goodie.
It’s actually from the heyday of ambient music, the late 1980s.
David Parsons is a New Zealand composer with a large and impressive catalogue.
His music is directly inspired by his interest in things Middle Eastern and some would believe, Middle Earthern.
I prefer his later work, Yatra, on the same label.
If ambient sounds and I mean good ambient melodies and wafting sounds, do it for you, then this will work.
To me it’s a bit too structured and reminds me too much of deep tissue massage and incense.
Mind you, there’s nothing better than massage, incense and ambient music, as long as it isn’t Celtic, followed by a cuppa chai tea.
Oh dear, I’m wafting myself now because I’m listening to David’s music as I type this.
‘Himalaya’ is set in India and is, in essence, the composer’s impression of India.
Take a trip up the Ganges, ascend a mountain to Lord Shiva’s abode, visit the Akbar tomb in Agra, experience the Holy City of Benares, enter the gateway to the Himalayas and return to the Ganges for a dip.
Feel better?