Dancing With the Lion

by Andreas Vollenweider

Overview

After the Grammy-winning 1987 effort Down to the Moon, Andreas Vollenweider returned with Dancing With the Lion, a concept album of sorts about the nature of life and death. For the first time, Vollenweider extended his creative palette, drawing on the talents of many musicians worldwide. His modified harp was still in full effect, but Lion matched its unique tone with touches of electric guitar (the light, Latin-influenced pop of "Dance of the Masks"), plaintive violin ("See, My Love"), and the ambitious title track, which mixed unique percussion and vocal elements into a surprisingly straightforward pop cocktail. While the composer's early work seemed to be more about relaxation, or where the music could take the listener, Dancing With the Lion seemed to encourage contemplation. It was easy to find solace in the Asian-inflected chording of "Hippolyte," or the album's atmospheric finale, where flutes, flamenco guitar, fiddle, and chimes combined with the harp in an approximation of that famous story about the white light at the end of the tunnel. The addition of so many extra instruments into Vollenweider's already widely scanning sound worked to expand his ideology as much as it did his sound, since the range of ethnic styles represented unified his music with so many locales. Dancing With the Lion was a textured, pensive release that suggested Vollenweider's later work with an international cast of likeminded musicians and symphonies. ~ Johnny Loftus

Product Details

Release Date:	07/08/2022
Label:	Avaf Music / Mig Music
UPC:	0885513023117

Tracks

1. Unto the Burning Circle
2. Dancing With the Lion
3. Hippolyte
4. Dance of the Masks
5. Pearls and Tears
6. Garden of My Childhood
7. Still Life
8. And the Long Shadows
9. See, My Love...
10. Silver Dew, Golden Grass
11. Ascent From the Circle

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Andreas Vollenweider   Primary Artist,Harp,Cheng,Vocals,Voices,Martenot,Electric Harp,Electracoustic Pedal Harp
Patti Austin   Guest Artist,Vocals,Choir/Chorus
Mark O'Connor   Guest Artist,Violin,Mandolin
David Lindley   Guest Artist,Lap Steel Guitar,Saz,Saxophone,Guitar (Steel)
Lucy Novotny   Vocals
Luis Pereq   Percussion,Wind Instruments
Janne Schaffer   Sitar,Guitar,Guitar (Electric)
Phillip Sneed   Vocals,Choir/Chorus
Luis Perez   Wind,Percussion
Nina Hennessey   Vocals
Marilyn Mazur   Percussion
Peter Keiser   Bass
Misty Jervis   Vocals
Beat Briner   Bassoon
Vaneese Thomas   Vocals,Choir/Chorus
Christian Ostermeier   Sax (Tenor)
Natasha Otrinowa   Vocals
Margarita Zorbala   Vocals
Charly Fassler   French Horn
Max Laesser   Guitar,Guitar (Acoustic)
Daniel Pezzotti   Cello
Wilbur Pauley   Vocals,Choir/Chorus
James Moellenhoff   Vocals,Choir/Chorus
Daniel Winiger   Conductor
Hans-Jurgen Frank   Vocals,Choir/Chorus
John Ousley   Vocals,Choir/Chorus
Mark OConner   Violin,Mandolin
Bernhard Banse   Vocals,Choir/Chorus
Steve Gorn   Flute,Bansuri
Angelic Voices of Faith   Choir/Chorus
Lani Groves   Vocals,Choir/Chorus
Eric Johnson   Vocals
Hanspeter Haas   Trombone,Trombone (Bass)
Matthias Ziegler   Flute
Walter Keiser   Drums,Percussion
Badal Roy   Tabla
Diva Gray   Bass,Choir/Chorus
Hans Bergstroem   French Horn
Anthony Crivello   Vocals
Fernando Fantini   Accordion
Dodo Hug   Vocals
Christoph Stiefel   Piano,Keyboards
Burhan Oecal   Darabeka,Darbouka
Roman Schmid   Oboe,Horn (English)
Hartmut Kirszun   Vocals,Choir/Chorus
Horst Hagemann   Conductor
Barry Brandes   Vocals,Choir/Chorus
Children's Choir Kaltbrunn   Choir/Chorus
Pedro Haldemann   Percussion

Technical Credits

Duede Duerst   Design
Tim Leitner   Engineer
Darryl Pitt   Producer
Hugo Faas   Executive Producer
Ira Rubnitz   Engineer
Karen Kramer   Production Coordination
Jean-Bernard Hofer   Assistant Engineer
Hanswalter Huggler   Executive Producer
Hanspeter Ehrsam   Engineer
Andreas Vollenweider   Arranger,Composer,Producer,Cover Art,Calligraphy,Illustrations
Eric Merz   Mixing,Engineer,Producer,Assistant Producer
Darren Mora   Assistant,Assistant Engineer
Paul Logus   Assistant,Assistant Engineer
Bernie Staub   Engineer
Sylvie Rossi   Production Coordination
Zurich Mandolin Players   Group
Johannes Vollenweider   Engineer