This album was my very first encounter with Mike Oldfield's music. It was in December 1979 and I was eight then, coming home from school and my mother listened in the kitchen to a tape she got from a friend, playing Incantations, while she was baking cookies. I never forget how the music enchanted me, it perfectly seemed to fit to the snowflakes dancing outside when I looked out of the window and I listened to this tape every evening in my bed before I fell asleep...
That is a beautiful memory! Thank you for letting us be a part of it! I was about 14-15 years old when a friend of my brother gave me the boxed version of the first three albums! Tubular Bells, Hergest Ridge and Ommadawn! For me three absolute masterpieces! I've heard it thousands of times since then. And I can't get enough of listening! 😇
@@Spencers7185 I love the boxed album, Mike Oldfield's greatest early works under one roof and also previously unreleased material, there was still so much to discover back then: the wonderfully romantic Rio Grande with children's choir, the mystical First Excursion with Oldfield's typical howling feedback guitar or the fairytale-like Argiers, which almost seems to me like it's still part of Ommadawn.... this album is a must💥!
Although the scientific community as dismissed the assertion, Oldfield's music is believed to have caused part of the obesity problem as so many people mindlessly start baking cookies.
It's really a shame that none of Mike Oldfield's other work has gotten the same amount of attention as Tubular Bells. People are really missing out on a lot of great music here.
yup :) ich meine INCANTATIONS ist sein bestes album . ich habe das damals 1979 im radio mittgeschnitten . sowas haben die damals vollständig im rundfunk übertragen . heute unvorstellbar . gut das es internet gibt :) i mean INCANTATIONS is his best album. I recorded it on the radio back in 1979. something like that they broadcast completely on the radio at the time. unimaginable today. good that there is internet :)
Tubular Bells was cutting edge innovation at the time. I've bought every MO album since because of its influence. Mike often gets family involved. If it's not Sally its Terry ... Terry plays the opening flute solo parts to this incredible album. I was working with Terry in Gorton Manchester, and he played a little bit of that infamous intro on the very same flute which is heard throughout this album. Sent chills up my spine 👍
@@ProjectOverseer, Öhm ... Christopher bishop from university of edinburgh ? Mustererkennung und maschinelles lernen ? ich hoffe , ich falle jetzt nicht wieder in meine nichtrationalen phasen :)
I'm now 60. A big thanks to Carlos in San Diego for refinding this awesome music for me 15 years ago, as I never knew the name. ❤ *He'll never see this, but I am still grateful. Carlos, you are not forgotten. I hope you are well.❤ Coby
When I told my wife how much I liked this album she casually mentioned that she was part of the Queen's College Choir singing backing vocals at 9:42 onwards. Fame at last!
I've been one of the youngest Mike Oldfield fan in this day and time. I started listening to Mike Oldfield back in 2007 when I was 14. I'm 29 now and still listen to his music. No one introduced me to it, I discovered it by my own means and became entranced by it. None of my peers knows who Mike Oldfield is, only some people 30-40 years older than me and even then, it's always "The guy that did the exorcist theme" and never "Mike Oldfield, the great composer". I've listened to every album, every song, even his newer stuff. He really is one of the most underrated composers of all time.
he is awesome guitarist but he isn't focus on guitar.lets say 75%arrangement and25%guitar work and improvisation.i love his guitar tone and effect especially in ommadawn,just like the sound from other world or distant earth
Many years ago I put this album on the turntable for the first time, I think I was studying at the time, after about ten minutes I stopped what I was doing, amazed and gobsmacked at the incredible music coming from my speakers, it's a moment in time I'll never forget , I never had heard any thing so powerful, beautiful and awe inspiring as this, moving effortlessly from one passage to the next. I was an out and out Oldfield fan before but this composition moved me to another level, genius is not even close to describing this gentleman. Thanks to the likes of UA-cam this will be heard and enjoyed for Eons,,
Praise G-d! {Had to edit,it might be the Ergot Dreams , and I felt this lacked respect. First was just joking,but I do mean this with respect to you as a human and we don't get our minimal respect sometimes. It wasn't my intent, just the stupid wanderings of a 68 year old brain defying gravity at the moment. You expressed it in breadth.{another edit} What's an eon or 2 going to matter after 9 months anyways? I mean, WHAT can possibly happen in 9 months? I was born 1953 in the 5th month of my Mom's quick result. 9 months, Corona,.."corona" (doesn't that mean Crown in Spanish? ) Heck between 9 months ago and today MESSIAH is asking "Where's the Beef"?
Ce fut la même chose pour moi : mon frère avait acheté l'album, je lai mis sur le tourne disque, c'était en 1980, je faisais un rapport d'expérience en physique, il était tard, j'ai écouté en boucle pendant plusieurs heures !
Mike Oldfield -- Incantations --From Wikipedia--Incantations is the fourth studio album by English musician, songwriter, and producer Mike Oldfield, released on 1 December 1978 by Virgin Records. Following the release of his previous album Ommadawn (1975), Oldfield moved into a new home in Bisley, Gloucestershire, where he set up a new recording studio. He started on a follow-up in 1977 which took form as a double album with one, side-long track on each side of the LP record. Oldfield wished to use real incantations in the music, but ended up using folklore as a loose running theme, such as Dianna the Huntress. Though primarily instrumental, lyrical sections are adapted from works by poets Henry Longfellow and Ben Jonson. Oldfield completed the self-awareness seminar Exegesis while recording Incantations. Incantations peaked at No. 14 on the UK Albums Chart, becoming Oldfield's first album not to reach the UK top-five. It was supported by Oldfield's first concert tour as a solo artist, which featured all four parts of Incantations performed on stage with a band, orchestra, and choir. Parts of this tour were recorded and released as the 1979 live album Exposed. Incantations was reissued in 2000 and 2011; the latter release features a new digital remaster and additional content, including Oldfield's 1979 disco-influenced non-album single "Guilty" and footage from Exposed. Background and writing By the end of 1975 Oldfield had released his third album, Ommadawn (1975), which, like his previous two albums, Tubular Bells (1973) and Hergest Ridge (1974), had reached the top-five of the UK Albums Chart and helped to solidify Oldfield's popularity as a musician. The three albums were similar in structure, formed of a single composition split into two parts of the LP record. The release of Ommadawn marked the end of Oldfield's time at his home in Kington, Herefordshire, from which he moved to Througham Slad Manor near Bisley, Gloucestershire and set up a recording studio there. When work on Incantations began, Oldfield recalled that his initial goal was a record that contained "real incantations to exert a benign magical influence on anybody who heard it". He intended to base the music around real spells and chants, and asked the A&R department of his label, Virgin Records, to invite the head Druid to his home and discuss it further. The visit was unsuccessful; Oldfield's request for magic spells was turned down and he got the impression that the person was more interested in converting him to the movement. Keith Critchlow then introduced Oldfield to various "strange people" to gain inspiration, including poet Kathleen Raine, whose poems failed to conjure strong enough music, and a "shaman, gypsy-type woman" who remained silent all through her meeting with Oldfield. Then, a Virgin employee researched into British folklore and suggested Gog and Magog, from which Oldfield was able to find incantations that worked, specifically about Dianna the Huntress, which he then used as a running theme through the album. Oldfield had been listening to a greater amount of religious music than before, which he credited to keep him "calm and sane" as he described himself as "very disturbed" during this time. He also examined the styles of music of his previous albums; rock with a classical music format on his debut Tubular Bells, Celtic music on Hergest Ridge, and "more African" styles on Ommadawn. For Incantations, Oldfield wanted to present "some magical things", which influenced his decision to use a string section and flute. The album marked Oldfield's first attempt with a string section and he wrote the orchestral arrangements parts himself. He hired the group of around eighteen musicians to play in his studio. After some early cuts were produced, Oldfield started work on a more complicated sequence which featured various time signatures and every key on a music scale, which reminded him of the nursery rhyme "Frère Jacques". It developed into the double vibraphone section on "Incantations (Part Four)". This section was one that Oldfield described as "the closest I've ever come to self-expression" and deemed it, along with the electric guitar solo that follows it and a flute solo elsewhere, as the most important part of the album. In its final form, Incantations took shape as a double album and separated into four distinct parts, each one taking up one side of an LP record. Oldfield had felt guilty that he had not released new material in three years, which influenced him to make a double. Oldfield named composer and electronic musician Terry Riley as a big influence on Incantations, particularly his use of ostinato. At 72 minutes in total length, Incantations remained Oldfield's longest album until his 2005 double album, Light + Shade.- ------Incantations was released in the UK on 1 December 1978. It received a strong initial commercial response, reaching platinum certification by the British Phonographic Industry two weeks prior after receiving over 300,000 preorders. It peaked at No. 14 on the UK Albums Chart. The album was promoted with the release of "Guilty", a non-album track that was released in April 1979 with the four-minute "Excerpt from Incantations" on the B-side. The single reached No. 22 on the UK Singles Chart.-----------------Track listing---- All music by Mike Oldfield. Lyrics on "Incantations (Part Two)" by Longfellow and "Incantations (Part Four)" by Ben Jonson. Side one-- No. Title Length 1. "Incantations (Part One)" 19:08 Side two-- No. Title Length 1. "Incantations (Part Two)" 19:36 Side three-- No. Title Length 1. "Incantations (Part Three)" 16:58 Side four-- No. Title Length 1. "Incantations (Part Four)" 17:01 Personnel---- Musicians-- Mike Oldfield - various instruments (except below) Mike Laird - trumpet Pierre Moerlen - drums, vibraphone on "Incantations (Part Four)" Benoît Moerlen - vibraphone on "Incantations (Part Four)" Maddy Prior - vocals on "The Song of Hiawatha" on "Incantations (Part Two)" and "Ode to Cynthia" on "Incantations (Part Four)" Sally Oldfield - vocals Queen's College Girls Choir - vocals Sebastian Bell - flute Terry Oldfield - flute Jabula - African drums Orchestra-- David Bedford - strings and choir conductor
This album is my personal favourite of his. I always felt that compositionally it is the album where Mike got everything together. He had matured into a formidable composer at this point. Wonderful.
This is brilliant. So ahead of its time. You have to listen to all of it to really appreciate the whole thing. It is probably the best piece of music ever written.
Mike Oldfield's great music has always been with me...the best. Hergest Ridge, Ommadawn, Incantations, Amarok. Always with me. What a genius. Pure music and emotion. I really really love his music soo much. And this is a very underrated masterpiece.
@@serrasalmus111 I understand your point of view for Amarok but I do not completely share it : I used to listen to it often when it came out, and I really was moved by the powerful ending mixing celtic and african vibes :) And the structure, the composition in one track is extremly coherent if you really concentrate on the progression of the music (perhaps his most ambitious and complex work ever, after and before more commercial albums)... But yes, there are also some questionable choices (noisy effects, the voice monologue near the end)... Anyway, Mike Oldfield is a genius !!! :)
Still absolutely Stunning. Born in 82 and grew up listening to this in the evenings when my parents would play it, I remember my dreams being really vivid after listening and can still remember parts of them listening today.
It's amazing the influence a parent can have on a child! Both my parents are artists. My Dad(96) inspired me to not drink or smoke and to love reading. My Mother at 94 brings me joy. Now I bring her books, she loves them so much. True stories of real people. Kathleen & Joe married 71 years. Rest in peace Dad. Thank you.❤ I hope you have the Joy of memoirs to inspire you.
@@Mr.Howell78k Touching story, Mr Howell. Your father fulfilled his mission in the best way possible and now he rests in a good and deserved place, there and in your memories too. And that is a great reason to bring you peace and joy for your ongoing mission, good man.
Heard it for the last time about 30+ years ago. Out of the blue I've started to listen to Oldfield on UA-cam, just to find this treasure and remember the endless hours I listened to it. Great musician.
I’m a similar aspect I listen to return to ommadawn frequently. And every now and then I find certain parts take me to somewhere different in my head. His music is just beautiful in so many ways
Still my all time favourite. Some of the tunes and pieces stick with you forever. Years after hearing, i find myself humming. No other musician does this. The only mistakes he ever made was having people sing to his music - hardly ever works. Legend.
Sounds just as fresh and enchanting as when I first heard it 40 years ago. I love it just as much as I did then. Amazing that he created this marvel at such a young age.
Indeed; this is a real masterpiece! Take time and calm to listen the whole album and to get involved in this music. Close your eyes, take headphones and you will touched in a very special way. About 40 years ago, when I listened this album 4 times in row (I knew each sequence) I even has had a special spiritual experiences. Really unbelievable! For me this is the best album from Mike Oldfields ever!! Followed by the little more commercial album Platinum, that sounds like recorded last year. Why this album has so less views? I do not understand the people!
It makes me cry! Just heard it after 30 years. A good headphone would be great, but I`m sitting in front of a little PC soundbar and it brings me to tears. Thank you, Mike, for all these great hours with your brilliant music!
Just bought myself a little Denon turntable records direct to usb downloaded all my Oldfield albums and got a New set of headphones from my daughter and it sounds fantastic still after 40yrs
I couldn't agree more. The first four albums are exceptionally good. After that the quality drops right off. I've been thinking this for about the last thirty years! He had something extremely precious, then seems to have lost it.
I am going against what seems popular opinion and saying ive added return to ommadawn as #5 in brilliant compositions. People i feel are expecting return to be a continuation of the original, this isnt how it is.
Absolutely. Mike had some weird therapy at the time of "Incantations" which cured him of his shyness, but also robbed him of the essence of his genius (in my opinion, but also that of Tom Newman, his producer...) To be fair, he's done some great pop songs since "Incantations", but all of his "long form" albums have been pale imitations of the first four.
Interesting. For me, the music of Benjamin Britten and Doreen Carwithen enhance the Suffolk landscape, because Suffolk's in my blood (all my ancestors on me Dad's side come from there). Incantations never ceases to take me back to the West Sands at St Andrews, where I once lived; and when I go back there, the music enhances that rather special place.
This actually was the first of Mike's works I ever heard in my life, at age 12 in 1979. My older sister had pointed out to me that this was the sane person who composed "Tubular Bells" in 1973 for the movie "The Exorcist" - needless to say over 40 years later I am never disappointed when I hear all his works. Always inspires me to be a better person and knowing I have overcone so much adversity in my life since with me ending up legally blind and 60% deaf in my left ear, Mike has became to me that symbol of strength.
@@walutero Mike oldfied has been betrayed by Branson. It's a big mistake to make a connection between the masterpiece of Mike Oldfield's album and this 'tremendous stupid grotesque movie the exorcist'
@@albertowen1025 justice for Mike Oldfield, because his Music, his Work belong to him, and Branson he's a such a silly and stupid man, just for money. He betrayed Mike Oldfield. This movie is such stupid grotesque, that almost people of course make a big connection between them unfortunately . But there is any link. Shame on Branson for what at he did to Mike.
It is the changes of rhythm,the unpredictability that makes all his works so outstanding....underlying all his compositions is the change of rhythm......,which mirrors the different stages of your life
So surprised to find Oldfield, I was a young woman when I listened to his music tge first time, something like 40 years ago! I loved him soo much. What a splendid music! Thank you for uploading this one!
This album is a masterpiece inspired by heaven and angels, especially the 1st movement. The combination of guitar tunes, orchestra strings, flute, vibraphone, light keyboard lines, and choirs is just awesome. This album is a huge achievement in progressive and symphonic music. It leaves me breathless every time I listen to it and makes me travel high in the skies. Hats off.
This man is a virtuoso, I have all his albums, I love him since I was 10, I have 57 today. I so wanted to see him in concert in France... the guitar solo, I’m in trance, I’m "obliged" with HAPPINESS to listen to it until the end
I first heard Tubular Bells in 1973. I was 12 years old and at secondary school. We were getting ready for a double maths lesson and our form/maths teacher, George Shovelin, walked into the classroom and sat at his desk. He stared at us for thirty seconds and then sighed loudly, stood up and announced that it was too hot for maths. Everyone was falling asleep at their desks. He went out, came back with a record player and set it up. Put on Tubular Bells and played the whole album. We sat there entranced. This was radically different music. Been hooked ever since.
I had a similar episode. A substitute techer switched off all the lights, and told us to lie down on our backs on the floor. And then she played The Wall (Pink Floyd). I was about 8, but I remember it vividly. I'm 42 now.
These are the teachers you will always remember, so valuable! He taught you are great lesson. Open up your ears open up your mind to great input like Tubular Bells.
38:33-40:49 is the must exultant, joyous, wildly rousing pieces ever. I can't even think about it without crying for joy. My folks raised me on this, born in 1974. This is part of my every heartbeat.
The Song of Hiawatha from Longfellow By the shores of gitche gumee, By the shining big-sea-water, At the doorway of the wigwam, In the early summer morning, Hiawatha stood and waited. All the air was full of freshness, All the earth was bright and joyous, And before him, through the sunshine, Westward toward the neighboring forest Passed in golden swarms the ahmo, Passed the bees, the honey-makers, Burning, singing in the sunshine. Bright above him shone the heavens, Level spread the lake before him; From it's bosom leaped the sturgeon, Sparkling, flashing in the sunshine; On it's margin the great forest Stood reflected in the water, Every tree-top had it's shadow, Motionless beneath the water. From the brow of hiawatha Gone was every trace of sorrow, As the fog from off the water, As the mist from off the meadow. With a smile of joy and gladness, With a look of exultation, As of one who in a vision Sees what is to be, but is not, Stood and waited hiawatha. Toward the sun his hands were lifted, Both the palms spread out toward it, And between the parted fingers Fell the sunshine on his features, Flecked with light his naked shoulders, As it falls and flecks an oak-tree Through the rifted leaves and branches. O'er the water floating, flying, Something in the hazy distance, Something in the mists of morning, Loomed and lifted from the water, Now seemed floating, now seemed flying, Coming nearer, nearer, nearer. Was it shingebis the diver? Or the pelican, the shada? Or the heron, the shuh-shuh-gah? Or the white goose, waw-be-wana, With the water dripping, flashing, From it's glossy neck and feathers? It was neither goose nor diver, Neither pelican nor heron, O'er the water floating, flying, Through the shining mist of morning, But a birch canoe with paddles, Rising, sinking on the water, Dripping, flashing in the sunshine; And within it came a people [The son of the evening star] Can it be the sun descending O'er the level plain of water? Or the red swan floating, flying, Wounded by the magic arrow, Staining all the waves with crimson, With the crimson of it's life-blood, Filling all the air with splendor, Filling all the air with plumage? Yes; it is the sun descending, Sinking down into the water; All the sky is stained with purple, All the water flushed with crimson! No; it is the red swan floating, Diving down beneath the water; To the sky it's wings are lifted, With it's blood the waves are reddened! Over it the star of evening Melts and trembles through the purple, Hangs suspended in the twilight, Walks in silence through the heavens.
I first met Mike Oldfield with fellow musician Leslie Penning in Penrhos Court in Herefordshire in 1975 and have been captivated ever since with his music . This was the time his third album Ommadawn was launched after the success of Tubular Bells and Hergest Ridge ( a mountain range on the Hereford/Welsh Borders 🙂
This is the best and most underrated Mike Oldfield's album. It is only for people that understand Oldfield and his music: this is the most complex, original and inspired album. Yes, it does have a defect: its parts are repeating too much, but that's because he had to fill 4 sides of 2 discs. Other than this, the music is of exceptional quality. In particular, the solo + finale of Part IV is top notch. Everybody likes Tubular Bells because people do not really understand a shit about music: most people only listens to what other people listens to. But believe me: I have ALL Oldfield's albums collected in over 35 years and I know them very well: this is the highest.
Personally, I'm not fond of Tubular Bells, sorry!, but I think that everything he has written reveals his musical genius. Everyday I listen to music by M.O. or A-ha, often underrated, or sometimes Paul Young. They've become a kind of best friends in the musical part of my soul.
''It does have a defect: its parts are repeating too much, but that's because he had to fill 4 sides of 2 discs.'' Actually it's because the music follows the Circle of Fifths en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circle_of_fifths
@@davidarmstrong1624 yes I know what circle of fifths is, I am a guitarist myself. But this doesn't fix the problem of too many parts repeating. And remember I consider this the best album by Oldfield, so my critique is purely theoretical because I love it!
@@alvisespano Hi Alvise :-) It was Oldfield himself who explained that the length of the album was a direct consequence of the COF. Funnily enough I'm a percussionist and the only section which I feel does go on too long is the 'Canon For Two Vibraphones' in part IV. BTW, his best album is Five Miles Out ;-)
@@davidarmstrong1624 Interestingly, I also believe the part that goes on for too long is the canon for two vibraphones in part IV. And guess what: the part IV finale that starts immediately afterwards is in my opinion the BEST part of the album. So part IV is basically the conjunction of the worst and the best bits of Incantantions, imho. Admittedly, there are long repetitions spread all around part II and part III as well, especially the many stanzas in the Song of Hiawatha in part II, but anyway the full experience of the album is great as a whole. As far as Five Miles Out is concerned, I too believe it is one of his best: the song itself is a time jewel of rhythmic and harmonic innovation, it is a prog song like no one had done before. Also Platinum is an album that I personally love :)
When I was a young teen, Mike's music saved my life. I was obsessed in a healthy way, especially this album. I love lots of different music, but there is still something unique and special about Mike's early works. They seem to combine heart and intellect so well.
Think how creative he was at those years 1972-1978.Every album is great. Tubular Bells , Ommadawn , Hergest Ridge , Incantations ,and albums after this are also magnificant, Platinum ,QE2, etc.
The Incantations are THE masterpiece in terms of music and its effect on human perception. For me, they are associated with the deepest inner stirrings, together with pieces by Vivaldi and Albinoni, sending you on a vivid journey beyond all your senses.
Barely any iffy parts. Weird for such a long album. I mean Ommadawn is great but has the notorious Hobbit passage. Bells has the infamous caveman section.
I think Mike was experimenting minimalism, and besides this album has some perfect geometry and is spiritally deep. It is indeed one of the most complex MO works, as musicians we could talk a lot about the construction, odd times, fifth circle, etc. anyway estetically this album is for me a door to other dimensions.
I have to thank my dear departed father for his amazing taste in music back in the seventies.. My love of this, Tomita, Fleetwood Mac, Gerry Rafferty, Eagles are all due to him
You were doing fine except for Fleetwood Mac - sooo boring, music to commit suicide to! (unless of course you meant Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, in which case I apologise unreservedly)
I bought this album when it was first released, I love it but no else I know seems to like it or 'gets it'. This medium (youtube comments) at last lets me know I'm not alone.
*GENIO y Prodigio, EXTRAORDINARIO DE LA MÚSICA UNIVERSAL* Mr Oldfield💖 Incantations / album.. obra cumbre de infinita belleza y gloriosa perfección creativa.
So right about David Bedford. Without him to guide Oldfield through the complexities of using real instruments / string scoring this would be nowhere near the same. Together they created amazing music. Shame it didn't last longer - or maybe that's why this album in particular is so very special...
@@Stirlingv8 Yes indeed, David Bedford was the underlying musical genius of Oldfield's success. Sadly this detracted and distracted from DB's best work despite the BBC featuring him quite a lot. His late music was only heard in obscure venues and was mostly not recorded -- except by those of us who could see what a subtle genius the complex and private man was. Perhaps Mr Oldfield should do something to have DB's "mainstream" music heard -- especially the 2nd string quartet and The Valley Sleepers.
Even after hearing Incantations, or Hergest Ridge, perhaps 5,000 times I still discover something new on almost every additional listening, somewhere within the texture - a motif played very softly taken from another subject, or discovering some musical relation that I hadn't observed before! The only thing I have learned about Oldfield's early works is to *not* be surprised about being surprised.*
Cet album est une expérience transcendantale, un pur chef d'oeuvre créatif, à l'image d'Atom des Floyd. La meilleure oeuvre de Mike Oldfield à mon sens. Chaque écoute apporte quelque chose à l'âme.
Hace 30 años que escucho esta música y aun me emociono con su belleza, intensidad y fluidez, Sonido proveniente de planetas celestiales donde la conciencia es elevada y pura.
I have to say that the first 4 albums are the best. Full of emotions. Especially for a lad going through his teenage yrs. Those albums got me through it. Thanks mike.
Una de mis cintas favoritas de joven y que recuerdos; pasaba con los auriculares escuchando este LP que me dejaba como en un sueño. Que grande eres Mike.
I had the double album on vinyl. I'm a child of the 60s and grew up listening to Mike's music. The other albums I especially love are Ommadawn, Amarok (for its mad genius), and the later Songs of Distant Earth.
As we listen to Beethovens 9th today as classical music, they will listen to Oldfields "Ommadawn" and "Incantations" in 200 years as great classical music. It is already!
What difference does it make? There is nothing noble about being called Sir. Why would anyone with integrity want to be associated with those "nose in the trough" Lords and cronies?
@59.19 you can hear Mikes voice through his guitar....wow, just gorgeous. I’ve been listening to this since it’s release and it still sounds as good as day 1
The song of Hiawatha Longfellow's tone poem This is beautiful and... So respectful Bravo I was young, living in Renelagh, Dublin, When this came to me. Never forgotten, Though my music and sounds experience, so much wider! Bravo 😝
Ahh actually bumped into the man, fully clad in leather, little did I know, just prior to his Edinburgh Festival gig in Edinburgh castle 1992! No tickets, of course. We all sat down below the castle anyway and had a great time, a crowd formed! Memories! This particular album was my go to X-mas music for many years to put me into a blissful mood. Cheers, Michael xx
vastly underrated, immensely talented, would have like to see him compose more but freed from record cos' concerns. such as "every album has to have tubular bells in it somewhere" (virgin, several sources). i don't know whether he ever reads comments such as these, but my gut tells me there's more left for him to unpack - and i'm edging up toward 80.(eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek! egads!!!!!)
This album was my very first encounter with Mike Oldfield's music. It was in December 1979 and I was eight then, coming home from school and my mother listened in the kitchen to a tape she got from a friend, playing Incantations, while she was baking cookies. I never forget how the music enchanted me, it perfectly seemed to fit to the snowflakes dancing outside when I looked out of the window and I listened to this tape every evening in my bed before I fell asleep...
That is a beautiful memory!
Thank you for letting us be a part of it!
I was about 14-15 years old when a friend of my brother gave me the boxed version of the first three albums!
Tubular Bells, Hergest Ridge and Ommadawn!
For me three absolute masterpieces! I've heard it thousands of times since then. And I can't get enough of listening! 😇
@@Spencers7185 I love the boxed album, Mike Oldfield's greatest early works under one roof and also previously unreleased material, there was still so much to discover back then: the wonderfully romantic Rio Grande with children's choir, the mystical First Excursion with Oldfield's typical howling feedback guitar or the fairytale-like Argiers, which almost seems to me like it's still part of Ommadawn.... this album is a must💥!
WOW, you are so lucky to have such memories - the only thing I ever got from my family were socks
Although the scientific community as dismissed the assertion, Oldfield's music is believed to have caused part of the obesity problem as so many people mindlessly start baking cookies.
I’m 68 and I still listen to Mike Oldfields music as I go sleep very relaxing.
It's really a shame that none of Mike Oldfield's other work has gotten the same amount of attention as Tubular Bells. People are really missing out on a lot of great music here.
yup :)
ich meine INCANTATIONS ist sein bestes album .
ich habe das damals 1979 im radio mittgeschnitten .
sowas haben die damals vollständig im rundfunk übertragen . heute unvorstellbar .
gut das es internet gibt :)
i mean INCANTATIONS is his best album.
I recorded it on the radio back in 1979.
something like that they broadcast completely on the radio at the time. unimaginable today.
good that there is internet :)
Tubular Bells was cutting edge innovation at the time. I've bought every MO album since because of its influence. Mike often gets family involved. If it's not Sally its Terry ... Terry plays the opening flute solo parts to this incredible album.
I was working with Terry in Gorton Manchester, and he played a little bit of that infamous intro on the very same flute which is heard throughout this album. Sent chills up my spine 👍
@@ProjectOverseer,
Öhm ...
Christopher bishop from university of edinburgh ? Mustererkennung und maschinelles lernen ?
ich hoffe , ich falle jetzt nicht wieder in meine nichtrationalen phasen :)
@@isabelladestegonzaga5529 Those were the days. The golden radio days...
Along with ommadawn this is my favourite of his albums
I bought this album when it came out and absolutely taken with it. I was 22 then and I am 65 and still has the same affect on all these years later...
I used to get up at 5am for college when I was 17,and listen to this through headphones on the record player, lol..I love it still
Am now 55
I'm now 60. A big thanks to Carlos in San Diego for refinding this awesome music for me 15 years ago, as I never knew the name. ❤ *He'll never see this, but I am still grateful. Carlos, you are not forgotten. I hope you are well.❤ Coby
I’m with you. I’m 69. I still have this on vinyl but haven’t played it in years. Good memories.
With you on that one; 71 now and still have the original vinyl. An absolute masterpiece.
When I told my wife how much I liked this album she casually mentioned that she was part of the Queen's College Choir singing backing vocals at 9:42 onwards. Fame at last!
excellent story - love stuff like that !
Oh my god. So lucky to work with him. Diana. What a piece.
great story
@@ohhyummi5843 OMG she is a keeper. That's like being at the big bang.
Fantastic 😮
I've been one of the youngest Mike Oldfield fan in this day and time. I started listening to Mike Oldfield back in 2007 when I was 14. I'm 29 now and still listen to his music. No one introduced me to it, I discovered it by my own means and became entranced by it. None of my peers knows who Mike Oldfield is, only some people 30-40 years older than me and even then, it's always "The guy that did the exorcist theme" and never "Mike Oldfield, the great composer". I've listened to every album, every song, even his newer stuff. He really is one of the most underrated composers of all time.
I know how you feel, I was just turning 15 in 1973 when Tubular Bells hit and I kept having friends over to hear this unique new album. Fan fior life.
I have been listening to him for 51 years, I am 61, probably the only reason I am alive
Mike Oldfield is never mentioned when it comes to famous guitarists. But he is awesome
he is awesome guitarist but he isn't focus on guitar.lets say 75%arrangement and25%guitar work and improvisation.i love his guitar tone and effect especially in ommadawn,just like the sound from other world or distant earth
@@djokowitjaksono3371ño
His guitar abilities are overrated.
Many years ago I put this album on the turntable for the first time, I think I was studying at the time, after about ten minutes I stopped what I was doing, amazed and gobsmacked at the incredible music coming from my speakers, it's a moment in time I'll never forget , I never had heard any thing so powerful, beautiful and awe inspiring as this, moving effortlessly from one passage to the next. I was an out and out Oldfield fan before but this composition moved me to another level, genius is not even close to describing this gentleman. Thanks to the likes of UA-cam this will be heard and enjoyed for Eons,,
moving story
I feel exactly the same, "more than genius"
this album is not from this world
doing something and listening to new music at the same time makes me connect to the music in a whole different way
Praise G-d! {Had to edit,it might be the Ergot Dreams , and I felt this lacked respect. First was just joking,but I do mean this with respect to you as a human and we don't get our minimal respect sometimes. It wasn't my intent, just the stupid wanderings of a 68 year old brain defying gravity at the moment. You expressed it in breadth.{another edit} What's an eon or 2 going to matter after 9 months anyways? I mean, WHAT can possibly happen in 9 months? I was born 1953 in the 5th month of my Mom's quick result. 9 months, Corona,.."corona" (doesn't that mean Crown in Spanish? ) Heck between 9 months ago and today MESSIAH is asking "Where's the Beef"?
Damn skippy
Ce fut la même chose pour moi : mon frère avait acheté l'album, je lai mis sur le tourne disque, c'était en 1980, je faisais un rapport d'expérience en physique, il était tard, j'ai écouté en boucle pendant plusieurs heures !
Mike Oldfield -- Incantations --From Wikipedia--Incantations is the fourth studio album by English musician, songwriter, and producer Mike Oldfield, released on 1 December 1978 by Virgin Records. Following the release of his previous album Ommadawn (1975), Oldfield moved into a new home in Bisley, Gloucestershire, where he set up a new recording studio. He started on a follow-up in 1977 which took form as a double album with one, side-long track on each side of the LP record. Oldfield wished to use real incantations in the music, but ended up using folklore as a loose running theme, such as Dianna the Huntress. Though primarily instrumental, lyrical sections are adapted from works by poets Henry Longfellow and Ben Jonson. Oldfield completed the self-awareness seminar Exegesis while recording Incantations.
Incantations peaked at No. 14 on the UK Albums Chart, becoming Oldfield's first album not to reach the UK top-five. It was supported by Oldfield's first concert tour as a solo artist, which featured all four parts of Incantations performed on stage with a band, orchestra, and choir. Parts of this tour were recorded and released as the 1979 live album Exposed. Incantations was reissued in 2000 and 2011; the latter release features a new digital remaster and additional content, including Oldfield's 1979 disco-influenced non-album single "Guilty" and footage from Exposed.
Background and writing
By the end of 1975 Oldfield had released his third album, Ommadawn (1975), which, like his previous two albums, Tubular Bells (1973) and Hergest Ridge (1974), had reached the top-five of the UK Albums Chart and helped to solidify Oldfield's popularity as a musician. The three albums were similar in structure, formed of a single composition split into two parts of the LP record. The release of Ommadawn marked the end of Oldfield's time at his home in Kington, Herefordshire, from which he moved to Througham Slad Manor near Bisley, Gloucestershire and set up a recording studio there.
When work on Incantations began, Oldfield recalled that his initial goal was a record that contained "real incantations to exert a benign magical influence on anybody who heard it". He intended to base the music around real spells and chants, and asked the A&R department of his label, Virgin Records, to invite the head Druid to his home and discuss it further. The visit was unsuccessful; Oldfield's request for magic spells was turned down and he got the impression that the person was more interested in converting him to the movement. Keith Critchlow then introduced Oldfield to various "strange people" to gain inspiration, including poet Kathleen Raine, whose poems failed to conjure strong enough music, and a "shaman, gypsy-type woman" who remained silent all through her meeting with Oldfield. Then, a Virgin employee researched into British folklore and suggested Gog and Magog, from which Oldfield was able to find incantations that worked, specifically about Dianna the Huntress, which he then used as a running theme through the album.
Oldfield had been listening to a greater amount of religious music than before, which he credited to keep him "calm and sane" as he described himself as "very disturbed" during this time. He also examined the styles of music of his previous albums; rock with a classical music format on his debut Tubular Bells, Celtic music on Hergest Ridge, and "more African" styles on Ommadawn. For Incantations, Oldfield wanted to present "some magical things", which influenced his decision to use a string section and flute. The album marked Oldfield's first attempt with a string section and he wrote the orchestral arrangements parts himself. He hired the group of around eighteen musicians to play in his studio. After some early cuts were produced, Oldfield started work on a more complicated sequence which featured various time signatures and every key on a music scale, which reminded him of the nursery rhyme "Frère Jacques". It developed into the double vibraphone section on "Incantations (Part Four)". This section was one that Oldfield described as "the closest I've ever come to self-expression" and deemed it, along with the electric guitar solo that follows it and a flute solo elsewhere, as the most important part of the album.
In its final form, Incantations took shape as a double album and separated into four distinct parts, each one taking up one side of an LP record. Oldfield had felt guilty that he had not released new material in three years, which influenced him to make a double. Oldfield named composer and electronic musician Terry Riley as a big influence on Incantations, particularly his use of ostinato. At 72 minutes in total length, Incantations remained Oldfield's longest album until his 2005 double album, Light + Shade.- ------Incantations was released in the UK on 1 December 1978. It received a strong initial commercial response, reaching platinum certification by the British Phonographic Industry two weeks prior after receiving over 300,000 preorders. It peaked at No. 14 on the UK Albums Chart. The album was promoted with the release of "Guilty", a non-album track that was released in April 1979 with the four-minute "Excerpt from Incantations" on the B-side. The single reached No. 22 on the UK Singles Chart.-----------------Track listing----
All music by Mike Oldfield. Lyrics on "Incantations (Part Two)" by Longfellow and "Incantations (Part Four)" by Ben Jonson.
Side one--
No. Title Length
1. "Incantations (Part One)" 19:08
Side two--
No. Title Length
1. "Incantations (Part Two)" 19:36
Side three--
No. Title Length
1. "Incantations (Part Three)" 16:58
Side four--
No. Title Length
1. "Incantations (Part Four)" 17:01
Personnel----
Musicians--
Mike Oldfield - various instruments (except below)
Mike Laird - trumpet
Pierre Moerlen - drums, vibraphone on "Incantations (Part Four)"
Benoît Moerlen - vibraphone on "Incantations (Part Four)"
Maddy Prior - vocals on "The Song of Hiawatha" on "Incantations (Part Two)" and "Ode to Cynthia" on "Incantations (Part Four)"
Sally Oldfield - vocals
Queen's College Girls Choir - vocals
Sebastian Bell - flute
Terry Oldfield - flute
Jabula - African drums
Orchestra--
David Bedford - strings and choir conductor
The fact that it all had to be played and recorded to tape, no pro tools and lap top in the good old days shows just how talented Mike is
La différence vient du fait que maintenant on écoute la musique sur CD ou sur UA-cam, donc en MP3, fini le WMA avec le son des vinyles.
This album is my personal favourite of his. I always felt that compositionally it is the album where Mike got everything together. He had matured into a formidable composer at this point. Wonderful.
Too true
I agree
I agree too. Pure inspiration
This is brilliant. So ahead of its time. You have to listen to all of it to really appreciate the whole thing. It is probably the best piece of music ever written.
Could be your right.
Mike Oldfield's great music has always been with me...the best. Hergest Ridge, Ommadawn, Incantations, Amarok. Always with me. What a genius. Pure music and emotion. I really really love his music soo much. And this is a very underrated masterpiece.
Agree totally apart from Amarok - that was a set of unpleasant sounds.
@@serrasalmus111 I understand your point of view for Amarok but I do not completely share it : I used to listen to it often when it came out, and I really was moved by the powerful ending mixing celtic and african vibes :) And the structure, the composition in one track is extremly coherent if you really concentrate on the progression of the music (perhaps his most ambitious and complex work ever, after and before more commercial albums)... But yes, there are also some questionable choices (noisy effects, the voice monologue near the end)... Anyway, Mike Oldfield is a genius !!! :)
Yes.......yes😍
Still absolutely Stunning. Born in 82 and grew up listening to this in the evenings when my parents would play it, I remember my dreams being really vivid after listening and can still remember parts of them listening today.
Very interesting, the album is magic, like the ocean...used to listen to years ago, still in love.
Same here .. evokes so many memories and emotions
It is an amazing piece of music and it takes you to another place. I think it is the best thing ever written. Peace be with you.
It's amazing the influence a parent can have on a child! Both my parents are artists. My Dad(96) inspired me to not drink or smoke and to love reading. My Mother at 94 brings me joy. Now I bring her books, she loves them so much. True stories of real people. Kathleen & Joe married 71 years. Rest in peace Dad. Thank you.❤ I hope you have the Joy of memoirs to inspire you.
@@Mr.Howell78k Touching story, Mr Howell. Your father fulfilled his mission in the best way possible and now he rests in a good and deserved place, there and in your memories too. And that is a great reason to bring you peace and joy for your ongoing mission, good man.
Heard it for the last time about 30+ years ago. Out of the blue I've started to listen to Oldfield on UA-cam, just to find this treasure and remember the endless hours I listened to it. Great musician.
every time i listen to this i find smth new ... very underrated album, with some of the greatest hidden guitar solos he´s ever done.
I’m a similar aspect I listen to return to ommadawn frequently. And every now and then I find certain parts take me to somewhere different in my head. His music is just beautiful in so many ways
MAGNIFICENT MIKE!!!!❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Incantations and Amarok are my all time favourites 😍
I’d like to add Ommadawn, The Orchestral Tubular Bells and Crisis. 👍
Nobody is able to make a guitar cry like he do. Unique also in composition. In my blood since i was 10.
How old are you now?
@@Mr.Howell78k about 50...
I would say Jeff Beck, same control over articulation and tone. I'm sure Jeff was/is an inspiration for Mike.
@@flightlessbird2281it's not about technique, it's about the notes. Mike is composer. Jeff ia guitarist. Mike choosing notes like a god
@@garri5108 lol, are you trolling me?! What the AF. You think Jeff Beck doesn't choose notes like a god? Have a listen to Wired and There And Back.
Not heard this for a while, brilliant music which takes me back to my youth. Mike is a genius!
Me too!
Mé itou ! (as we say in Norman)
I was fortunate to meet maddy prior a few yrs ago. She signd this album for me.
Still my all time favourite. Some of the tunes and pieces stick with you forever. Years after hearing, i find myself humming. No other musician does this. The only mistakes he ever made was having people sing to his music - hardly ever works. Legend.
Agreed, I was stoked when TB3 came out but the vocals, although pretty, took me right out of the zone.
Sounds just as fresh and enchanting as when I first heard it 40 years ago. I love it just as much as I did then. Amazing that he created this marvel at such a young age.
Indeed; this is a real masterpiece! Take time and calm to listen the whole album and to get involved in this music. Close your eyes, take headphones and you will touched in a very special way. About 40 years ago, when I listened this album 4 times in row (I knew each sequence) I even has had a special spiritual experiences. Really unbelievable! For me this is the best album from Mike Oldfields ever!! Followed by the little more commercial album Platinum, that sounds like recorded last year.
Why this album has so less views? I do not understand the people!
I also found mike 40yrs ago and have not looked back since. I'm a wreck after listening to heregest ridge.
People wouldn't be people if you could understand them :)
Incantations is a masterpiece, his best album of the 70s
It makes me cry! Just heard it after 30 years. A good headphone would be great, but I`m sitting in front of a little PC soundbar and it brings me to tears. Thank you, Mike, for all these great hours with your brilliant music!
I know . . .experienced this myself. The power of music.
@@arthurmee The power of GOOD music, otherwise tears would have another meaning :))
@@massimogiuntini1 Indeed . . . good music. What we do without it!
Try heregest ridge. I'm a wreck after listening to that album. End of pt 1 of ommadawn does the same thing.
Just bought myself a little Denon turntable records direct to usb downloaded all my Oldfield albums and got a New set of headphones from my daughter and it sounds fantastic still after 40yrs
His 1st four albums are the best ever. Unbelievable music compositions. ♡
They tap into a deeper level that most music doesn’t. It’s like a spinal tap 😂
I couldn't agree more. The first four albums are exceptionally good. After that the quality drops right off. I've been thinking this for about the last thirty years! He had something extremely precious, then seems to have lost it.
I am going against what seems popular opinion and saying ive added return to ommadawn as #5 in brilliant compositions. People i feel are expecting return to be a continuation of the original, this isnt how it is.
Absolutely. Mike had some weird therapy at the time of "Incantations" which cured him of his shyness, but also robbed him of the essence of his genius (in my opinion, but also that of Tom Newman, his producer...)
To be fair, he's done some great pop songs since "Incantations", but all of his "long form" albums have been pale imitations of the first four.
@@TheMcmikerg
Amarok is pretty good.
I always play Mike Oldfield when I go trekking in the Brecons. His music seems to enhance the landscape
In this case I'd love to see Brecons
He's from Herefordshire. It's in his blood.
Interesting. For me, the music of Benjamin Britten and Doreen Carwithen enhance the Suffolk landscape, because Suffolk's in my blood (all my ancestors on me Dad's side come from there). Incantations never ceases to take me back to the West Sands at St Andrews, where I once lived; and when I go back there, the music enhances that rather special place.
It works in the snowdonia range also.
I reckon this would fit the experience very well.
1:04:50 TO 1:08:00 - absolutely incredible section of this brilliant album.
It's not just the solo..... it's what's underneath the solo.... genius 🤘
What a GREAT FINALE
1:04:50 hasta el final es buenísimo.
Rediscovering Mike Oldfield.. About 30 years ago I think he was popular I remember , now searching for good music here, I like it, most of his albums
This actually was the first of Mike's works I ever heard in my life, at age 12 in 1979. My older sister had pointed out to me that this was the sane person who composed "Tubular Bells" in 1973 for the movie "The Exorcist" - needless to say over 40 years later I am never disappointed when I hear all his works. Always inspires me to be a better person and knowing I have overcone so much adversity in my life since with me ending up legally blind and 60% deaf in my left ear, Mike has became to me that symbol of strength.
He never composed tuberlar bells for the exorcist at all. They took his music whitout his approval. I think Richard Branson was the guilty man.
@@deborahmena560 That's right.
@@deborahmena560 - you're right, I ttotally buggered out after I found that out. My gaffe.
@@walutero Mike oldfied has been betrayed by Branson. It's a big mistake to make a connection between the masterpiece of Mike Oldfield's album and this 'tremendous stupid grotesque movie the exorcist'
@@albertowen1025 justice for Mike Oldfield, because his Music, his Work belong to him, and Branson he's a such a silly and stupid man, just for money. He betrayed Mike Oldfield. This movie is such stupid grotesque, that almost people of course make a big connection between them unfortunately . But there is any link. Shame on Branson for what at he did to Mike.
Aaaaahhh yeeessss... the wonderful, magical worlds of Mike Oldfield's music....
I'm from 2000, my father made me listen to this once.
Now I think no more artist will make such a masterpiece like this in the future.
Thank your father. I've been waiting for another Mike Oldfield 30 years longer then you and here we are - none.:)
You might be right... But for the luck, there are so many amazing other albums from the past to discover! :)
Mike Oldfield = Musical Genius
A sonic savant... and extraordinary talent.
Fun fact: No tubular bells, no Virgin Records. So he founded Richard Branson's empire.
And bankrolled Virgin for quite a few years.
Without this wonderful musician Necker island would not of been built or Virgin Atlantic would never of existed.
V
Requiém dé môzar5
It is the changes of rhythm,the unpredictability that makes all his works so outstanding....underlying all his compositions is the change of rhythm......,which mirrors the different stages of your life
The opening moments are utterly spellbinding.☺️
So surprised to find Oldfield, I was a young woman when I listened to his music tge first time, something like 40 years ago! I loved him soo much. What a splendid music! Thank you for uploading this one!
Para mi todos todos los temas son buenisimos te hacen ver el mundo de otra manera le quiero gracias por poner sus discos❤❤❤😊
This album is a masterpiece inspired by heaven and angels, especially the 1st movement. The combination of guitar tunes, orchestra strings, flute, vibraphone, light keyboard lines, and choirs is just awesome. This album is a huge achievement in progressive and symphonic music. It leaves me breathless every time I listen to it and makes me travel high in the skies. Hats off.
The heaven part doesn't ring true, but you're quite right, it's quite an achievement.
one of my favorite albums ... a masterpiece
Grandiose!
Magnificent!
Transcendent!
The pinnacle of Mike's genius!
Years ago this was always my music to drive to.
That Hiawatha thing is superb.
What a shame I've given up driving.
Thank the Almighty for UA-cam!
This man is a virtuoso, I have all his albums, I love him since I was 10, I have 57 today.
I so wanted to see him in concert in France...
the guitar solo, I’m in trance, I’m "obliged" with HAPPINESS to listen to it until the end
I first heard Tubular Bells in 1973. I was 12 years old and at secondary school. We were getting ready for a double maths lesson and our form/maths teacher, George Shovelin, walked into the classroom and sat at his desk. He stared at us for thirty seconds and then sighed loudly, stood up and announced that it was too hot for maths. Everyone was falling asleep at their desks.
He went out, came back with a record player and set it up. Put on Tubular Bells and played the whole album. We sat there entranced. This was radically different music. Been hooked ever since.
I had a similar episode. A substitute techer switched off all the lights, and told us to lie down on our backs on the floor. And then she played The Wall (Pink Floyd). I was about 8, but I remember it vividly. I'm 42 now.
@@Chrisbajs We don't need no education. Hey, Teacher, leave those kids alone. That is one brave teacher.
@@richieconway3465 I understood the irony even then. That was one cool sub.
These are the teachers you will always remember, so valuable! He taught you are great lesson. Open up your ears open up your mind to great input like Tubular Bells.
I have no words to describe this masterpiece!
Brilliant Album...Master Oldfield...Greets From Poland !
I'm having a lot of trouble finding any harmonic sequence in the opening melody. Very exhausting.
38:33-40:49 is the must exultant, joyous, wildly rousing pieces ever. I can't even think about it without crying for joy. My folks raised me on this, born in 1974. This is part of my every heartbeat.
The Song of Hiawatha from Longfellow
By the shores of gitche gumee,
By the shining big-sea-water,
At the doorway of the wigwam,
In the early summer morning,
Hiawatha stood and waited.
All the air was full of freshness,
All the earth was bright and joyous,
And before him, through the sunshine,
Westward toward the neighboring forest
Passed in golden swarms the ahmo,
Passed the bees, the honey-makers,
Burning, singing in the sunshine.
Bright above him shone the heavens,
Level spread the lake before him;
From it's bosom leaped the sturgeon,
Sparkling, flashing in the sunshine;
On it's margin the great forest
Stood reflected in the water,
Every tree-top had it's shadow,
Motionless beneath the water.
From the brow of hiawatha
Gone was every trace of sorrow,
As the fog from off the water,
As the mist from off the meadow.
With a smile of joy and gladness,
With a look of exultation,
As of one who in a vision
Sees what is to be, but is not,
Stood and waited hiawatha.
Toward the sun his hands were lifted,
Both the palms spread out toward it,
And between the parted fingers
Fell the sunshine on his features,
Flecked with light his naked shoulders,
As it falls and flecks an oak-tree
Through the rifted leaves and branches.
O'er the water floating, flying,
Something in the hazy distance,
Something in the mists of morning,
Loomed and lifted from the water,
Now seemed floating, now seemed flying,
Coming nearer, nearer, nearer.
Was it shingebis the diver?
Or the pelican, the shada?
Or the heron, the shuh-shuh-gah?
Or the white goose, waw-be-wana,
With the water dripping, flashing,
From it's glossy neck and feathers?
It was neither goose nor diver,
Neither pelican nor heron,
O'er the water floating, flying,
Through the shining mist of morning,
But a birch canoe with paddles,
Rising, sinking on the water,
Dripping, flashing in the sunshine;
And within it came a people
[The son of the evening star]
Can it be the sun descending
O'er the level plain of water?
Or the red swan floating, flying,
Wounded by the magic arrow,
Staining all the waves with crimson,
With the crimson of it's life-blood,
Filling all the air with splendor,
Filling all the air with plumage?
Yes; it is the sun descending,
Sinking down into the water;
All the sky is stained with purple,
All the water flushed with crimson!
No; it is the red swan floating,
Diving down beneath the water;
To the sky it's wings are lifted,
With it's blood the waves are reddened!
Over it the star of evening
Melts and trembles through the purple,
Hangs suspended in the twilight,
Walks in silence through the heavens.
My alltime favourite Song 🖤🎼
Thanks 🙏
thank you!
Sounds like the guy from Pet Shop Boys before his voice broke.
Thank you for posting this.
Einfach göttlich und wunderschön anzuhören❤️❤️❤️
Incantations, my top five among two hundred progressive LP's. Hearing it is like the first time more than two decades ago.
Better than the Snowgoose?
I'm curious... can you name the other 4?
I first met Mike Oldfield with fellow musician Leslie Penning in Penrhos Court in Herefordshire in 1975 and have been captivated ever since with his music . This was the time his third album Ommadawn was launched after the success of Tubular Bells and Hergest Ridge ( a mountain range on the Hereford/Welsh Borders 🙂
I've always though Ommadawn was his best. Return to Ommadawn is a welcome return to his long-form roots.
I love ommadawn, but the return album is lame.
How did you meet him ? Where you part of the Penrhos kids that sang on omadawn?
This is the best and most underrated Mike Oldfield's album. It is only for people that understand Oldfield and his music: this is the most complex, original and inspired album. Yes, it does have a defect: its parts are repeating too much, but that's because he had to fill 4 sides of 2 discs. Other than this, the music is of exceptional quality. In particular, the solo + finale of Part IV is top notch. Everybody likes Tubular Bells because people do not really understand a shit about music: most people only listens to what other people listens to. But believe me: I have ALL Oldfield's albums collected in over 35 years and I know them very well: this is the highest.
Personally, I'm not fond of Tubular Bells, sorry!, but I think that everything he has written reveals his musical genius. Everyday I listen to music by M.O. or A-ha, often underrated, or sometimes Paul Young. They've become a kind of best friends in the musical part of my soul.
''It does have a defect: its parts are repeating too much, but that's because he had to fill 4 sides of 2 discs.''
Actually it's because the music follows the Circle of Fifths en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circle_of_fifths
@@davidarmstrong1624 yes I know what circle of fifths is, I am a guitarist myself. But this doesn't fix the problem of too many parts repeating. And remember I consider this the best album by Oldfield, so my critique is purely theoretical because I love it!
@@alvisespano Hi Alvise :-) It was Oldfield himself who explained that the length of the album was a direct consequence of the COF. Funnily enough I'm a percussionist and the only section which I feel does go on too long is the 'Canon For Two Vibraphones' in part IV.
BTW, his best album is Five Miles Out ;-)
@@davidarmstrong1624 Interestingly, I also believe the part that goes on for too long is the canon for two vibraphones in part IV. And guess what: the part IV finale that starts immediately afterwards is in my opinion the BEST part of the album. So part IV is basically the conjunction of the worst and the best bits of Incantantions, imho. Admittedly, there are long repetitions spread all around part II and part III as well, especially the many stanzas in the Song of Hiawatha in part II, but anyway the full experience of the album is great as a whole. As far as Five Miles Out is concerned, I too believe it is one of his best: the song itself is a time jewel of rhythmic and harmonic innovation, it is a prog song like no one had done before. Also Platinum is an album that I personally love :)
When I was a young teen, Mike's music saved my life. I was obsessed in a healthy way, especially this album. I love lots of different music, but there is still something unique and special about Mike's early works. They seem to combine heart and intellect so well.
Think how creative he was at those years 1972-1978.Every album is great. Tubular Bells , Ommadawn , Hergest Ridge , Incantations ,and albums after this are also magnificant, Platinum ,QE2, etc.
His output was best whilst he was tortured... He escaped through his world of sound.
Most music died by the 80's though... We had the odd gem.
And to think he was only in his early twenties when he produced those first four albums.
That's mind blowing!🤯
And his score for “The Killing Fields” 👍
The Incantations are THE masterpiece in terms of music and its effect on human perception. For me, they are associated with the deepest inner stirrings, together with pieces by Vivaldi and Albinoni, sending you on a vivid journey beyond all your senses.
1:04:51 Has always made me cry .Thankyou Mike ..Fantabulosa
A stunning album from start to finish
Barely any iffy parts. Weird for such a long album. I mean Ommadawn is great but has the notorious Hobbit passage. Bells has the infamous caveman section.
It is, I bought the double album when it came out in Nov' '78 just after my 17th birthday. I still love listening to it after mmmmmmm 42 yrs ;-).
What is the hobbit passage?
@@Coneman3 Mid part 1
I thought that was angels dancing on the moon 😂
Forever thankful to mike oldfield
Loved it then, still love it today.
I think Mike was experimenting minimalism, and besides this album has some perfect geometry and is spiritally deep. It is indeed one of the most complex MO works, as musicians we could talk a lot about the construction, odd times, fifth circle, etc. anyway estetically this album is for me a door to other dimensions.
There s a lot in this music, a caleidoscope of styles, minimalism as well, he was on the forefront of..
If God realization has a music, this is how it would be .!
Just for its awesome beginning with a solo flute and strings deserves to be considered as a masterpiece 🙌
I have to thank my dear departed father for his amazing taste in music back in the seventies.. My love of this, Tomita, Fleetwood Mac, Gerry Rafferty, Eagles are all due to him
What a fine gift to bestow on one's heritors.
Mi dad got me into Floyd, Genesis, Oldfield... Tried to get me into Slade but fuck that.
@@FLASHAHOLIC_TV That's touching .
You were doing fine except for Fleetwood Mac - sooo boring, music to commit suicide to! (unless of course you meant Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, in which case I apologise unreservedly)
@@johnmcinally1 Peter green. He lived near me. Amazing guy.
I bought this album when it was first released, I love it but no else I know seems to like it or 'gets it'. This medium (youtube comments) at last lets me know I'm not alone.
Trilha sonora da minha adolescência! Excelente todos os álbuns de Mike Oldfield! Parabéns!
Le premier morceau me met presque les larmes aux yeux, ainsi qu'un grand bonheur entre les oreilles.
*GENIO y Prodigio, EXTRAORDINARIO DE LA MÚSICA UNIVERSAL* Mr Oldfield💖
Incantations / album.. obra cumbre de infinita belleza y gloriosa perfección creativa.
Probably my favourite Mike Oldfield album still have the vinyl version , clever stuff indeed part 3 is amazing :-)
this really is growing on me...beautiful music
Ethereal. Especially David Bedford's conducting and execution of Oldfield's music supplemented with Pierre Moerlen's percussions, tastefully done
Wordy bollox but true enough
So right about David Bedford. Without him to guide Oldfield through the complexities of using real instruments / string scoring this would be nowhere near the same. Together they created amazing music. Shame it didn't last longer - or maybe that's why this album in particular is so very special...
@@patkelly3966 Hahahahahahahahaha..
@@Stirlingv8 MO has always used real instruments with or without David Bedford. Agree that this collaboration hangs together beautifully though.
@@Stirlingv8 Yes indeed, David Bedford was the underlying musical genius of Oldfield's success. Sadly this detracted and distracted from DB's best work despite the BBC featuring him quite a lot.
His late music was only heard in obscure venues and was mostly not recorded -- except by those of us who could see what a subtle genius the complex and private man was.
Perhaps Mr Oldfield should do something to have DB's "mainstream" music heard -- especially the 2nd string quartet and The Valley Sleepers.
Even after hearing Incantations, or Hergest Ridge, perhaps 5,000 times I still discover something new on almost every additional listening, somewhere within the texture - a motif played very softly taken from another subject, or discovering some musical relation that I hadn't observed before! The only thing I have learned about Oldfield's early works is to *not* be surprised about being surprised.*
Cet album est une expérience transcendantale, un pur chef d'oeuvre créatif, à l'image d'Atom des Floyd. La meilleure oeuvre de Mike Oldfield à mon sens. Chaque écoute apporte quelque chose à l'âme.
his music is THE BEST...just need time to understand ....like me started listening when i was 14 .now iam 58.still luv him
Hace 30 años que escucho esta música y aun me emociono con su belleza, intensidad y fluidez, Sonido proveniente de planetas celestiales donde la conciencia es elevada y pura.
MAGIA MUSICAL!!!
Incantations was one of my Top-Albums of my youth - bought the LPs, and enjoyed it till today - much more than tubular bells!
I have to say that the first 4 albums are the best. Full of emotions. Especially for a lad going through his teenage yrs. Those albums got me through it. Thanks mike.
Una de mis cintas favoritas de joven y que recuerdos; pasaba con los auriculares escuchando este LP que me dejaba como en un sueño. Que grande eres Mike.
One of the best record ever,not only of oldfield,really magic imho
I absolutely adore this album!!!! My favourite album by Mike!!
Bought the cd when cds came out gutted to see part 3 beginning cut out !!!
The two vibraphone parts on Pt IV might be the single best section of music that Oldfield ever wrote.
I had the double album on vinyl. I'm a child of the 60s and grew up listening to Mike's music. The other albums I especially love are Ommadawn, Amarok (for its mad genius), and the later Songs of Distant Earth.
My favourite album of every time. Mike is a Genius. I love him now and ever.
As we listen to Beethovens 9th today as classical music, they will listen to Oldfields "Ommadawn" and "Incantations" in 200 years as great classical music. It is already!
I do already. Don't forget Hergest Ridge BTW. It flows so much more fluently than TB.
He should have been SIR Mike Oldfield by now!
What difference does it make? There is nothing noble about being called Sir. Why would anyone with integrity want to be associated with those "nose in the trough" Lords and cronies?
@59.19 you can hear Mikes voice through his guitar....wow, just gorgeous. I’ve been listening to this since it’s release and it still sounds as good as day 1
I am blown away whenever i hear this album. No less by Maddy Priors singing
Always wanted to see it performed live.
Wow! I used to own this record...forgot what a Terry Riley / Philip Glass "Vibe" it had! - AMAZING!
*OBRA MAESTRA en letras Gigantes y Doradas*
Sounds for all generation brilliant tune
Gosh! This album takes me way back to when I discovered it and listened to it over and over again in 1989. I was 19!
First heard this album when I was at highschool, now many years lates it is even better. It is timeless music.
for me the best lp of Mike Oldfield
A great favourite...
My thanks to my good friend, I 1979 for introducing me to
So much new life and musics
😛
most underrated guitar player in the world.
Robert fripp vibes
And a composer as well.
The man is a genius
Guitarrist? . And a great performer of 50 instruments more, composer ,producer ,engineer, singer and Living Legend .
Very nice. I don't recall hearing this or much else by Mike Oldfield aside from Tubular Bells. I will listen to the rest of his stuff now.
Did you get around to listening to _Ommadawn_ and _Hergest Ridge_ ? You won't be disappointed!
Hope you're listening,Chuck?Otherwise,I'll send the boy's round!😜
A very beautiful performance'''
Who imagines landscapes & villages from ancient Britain when they listen to this album?
Ireland coastline
Mike Oldfield's best album, IMO. Everything he has learnt & honed is present on Incantations.
Bravery and maturity.
🤘🥰🤘
The song of Hiawatha
Longfellow's tone poem
This is beautiful and...
So respectful
Bravo
I was young, living in Renelagh, Dublin,
When this came to me.
Never forgotten,
Though my music and sounds experience, so much wider!
Bravo
😝
A quality album from a quality artist
Ahh actually bumped into the man, fully clad in leather, little did I know, just prior to his Edinburgh Festival gig in Edinburgh castle 1992! No tickets, of course. We all sat down below the castle anyway and had a great time, a crowd formed! Memories! This particular album was my go to X-mas music for many years to put me into a blissful mood. Cheers, Michael xx
Yes, perfect.. greetings from born in november 1962
vastly underrated, immensely talented, would have like to see him compose more but freed from record cos' concerns. such as "every album has to have tubular bells in it somewhere" (virgin, several sources). i don't know whether he ever reads comments such as these, but my gut tells me there's more left for him to unpack - and i'm edging up toward 80.(eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek! egads!!!!!)
My favourite ... 1:03:50
Es ist nicht leicht, eine Komposition zu finden, die man ihm immer gefällt