Andreas Vollenweider's Cosmopoly finds the Swiss harpist collaborating with artists like Carlos Nunez, Abdulla Ibrahim, and Ray Anderson, and exploring the music of Africa, Brazil, China, Ireland, and the U.S.
Fittingly, Vollenweider's palette of instruments on this album includes the ocarina, gu cheng, baby koto, 12-string guitar, Bavarian folk harp, Celtic harp, and Chinese harp, along with his usual custom-made rhythm harp.
"Morning Poem," Vollenweider's Celtic-inspired duet with Nunez, is all the more moving for its restraint, and the unusual fusion of Bobby McFerrin's vocals with Chinese harp on "Elle Chelle" is another highlight.
Ibrahim and Vollenweider create a smoky Armenian atmosphere on their doudouk/harp duet "Hush, My Heart, Be Still," and "Peachtree Valley" evokes a lush Chinese landscape, though the overly glossy production is somewhat distracting.
Carly Simon's recitation of part of "Finnegan's Wake" on "Your Silver Key" is also slightly jarring, and some of the album's jazzier tracks seem out of place, but for the most part, Cosmopoly offers an intriguing fusion of traditional, indigenous styles and new musical ideas.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Morning PoemAndreas Vollenweider | Andreas Vollenweider | Play | 01:13 | 2 MB | 5 MB |
| 2 | StellaAndreas Vollenweider | Andreas Vollenweider | Play | 05:18 | 12 MB | 35 MB |
| 3 | Elle ChelleBobby McFerrin, Andreas Vollenweider | Andreas Vollenweider | Play | 03:13 | 7 MB | 18 MB |
| 4 | Vals del SurAndreas Vollenweider | Andreas Vollenweider | Play | 03:32 | 8 MB | 18 MB |
| 5 | Hush, My Heart Be Still...Andreas Vollenweider | Andreas Vollenweider | Play | 05:42 | 13 MB | 26 MB |
| 6 | Petit SmileAndreas Vollenweider | Andreas Vollenweider | Play | 01:54 | 4 MB | 9 MB |
| 7 | Under One MoonAndreas Vollenweider | Andreas Vollenweider | Play | 04:55 | 11 MB | 29 MB |
| 8 | Ancient PulseAbdullah Ibrahim, Andreas Vollenweider | Andreas Vollenweider | Play | 04:01 | 9 MB | 15 MB |
| 9 | Peachtree ValleyAndreas Vollenweider | Andreas Vollenweider | Play | 03:35 | 8 MB | 19 MB |
| 10 | Bright Moon Still Shining...Andreas Vollenweider | Andreas Vollenweider | Play | 01:06 | 2 MB | 3 MB |
| 11 | At the Forest FountainAndreas Vollenweider | Andreas Vollenweider | Play | 06:08 | 14 MB | 38 MB |
| 12 | Long Road to YouAndreas Vollenweider | Andreas Vollenweider | Play | 02:40 | 6 MB | 11 MB |
| 13 | CapriccioBobby McFerrin, Andreas Vollenweider | Andreas Vollenweider | Play | 02:00 | 4 MB | 10 MB |
| 14 | Will-O'-The-Wisp (Ignus Fatuus)Ray Anderson, Walter Keiser, Christoph Stiefel, Andreas Vollenweider | Andreas Vollenweider | Play | 03:57 | 9 MB | 19 MB |
| 15 | Cor Do AmorMilton Nascimento, Andreas Vollenweider | Andreas Vollenweider | Play | 02:35 | 5 MB | 14 MB |
| 16 | The Fishbirdtree--Little SnapBobby McFerrin, Andreas Vollenweider | Andreas Vollenweider | Play | 04:03 | 9 MB | 15 MB |
| 17 | Your Silver Key | Andreas Vollenweider | Play | 01:55 | 4 MB | 10 MB |
| 57 mins | 132 MB | |||||
| 57 mins | 302 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ray Anderson | Composer, Guest Artist, Trombone |
| 2 | Antonio Di Francia | Cello |
| 3 | Düde Dürst | Cover Design, Mastering, Mixing, Photography, Producer |
| 4 | Peoro Haldemann | Engineer |
| 5 | Chunliang Al Huang | Vocals, Voices |
| 6 | Abdullah Ibrahim | Composer, Guest Artist, Piano |
| 7 | Mindy Jostyn | Fiddle, Guest Artist, Vocals |
| 8 | James Joyce | Quotes Researched & Compiled |
| 9 | Kepa Junkera | Accordion |
| 10 | Walter Keiser | Composer, Drums, Frame Drum, Percussion |
| 11 | Max Lasser | Lap Steel Guitar, Slide Guitar |
| 12 | Bobby McFerrin | Composer, Guest Artist, Vocals |
| 13 | Eric Merz | Engineer |
| 14 | Miao Xiaoyun | Pipa |
| 15 | Gerardo Morrone | Viola |
| 16 | Christian Muller | Assistant Engineer |
| 17 | Milton Nascimento | Composer, Guest Artist, Lyricist, Vocals |
| 18 | Carlos Núñez | Flute, Low Whistle, Pipe |
| 19 | Banz Oëster | Bass (Acoustic) |
| 20 | Darryl Pitt | Project Consultant |
| 21 | Michel Poffet | Bass (Acoustic) |
| 22 | Carly Simon | Guest Artist, Project Consultant, Vocals |
| 23 | Christoph Stiefel | Composer, Keyboards |
| 24 | Ed Tuton | Engineer |
| 25 | Helge Van Dyk | Engineer, Mastering, Mixing |
| 26 | Andreas Vollenweider | Arranger, Celtic Harp, Clay Flute, Composer, Cover Design, Double Flute, Duduk, Fiddle, Flute, Gu-Zheng, Guitar (12 String), Harp, Koto, Liner Notes, Logo, Logo Art, Mastering, Mixing, Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals, Wind Instruments |
| 27 | Xiaojing Wang | Erhu |
| 28 | Moritz Wetter | Engineer |
| 29 | Pingxing Xu | Yang Chin |
Andreas Vollenweider
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |