Tune-age Tuesday: Dead Can Dance

Dead Can Dance - The Host of Seraphim

By itself this piece of music is extremely moving, but when coupled with this section from the film Baraka it is beyond heartbreaking. Lisa Gerrard has an astonishing voice, which has been heard more recently in a lot of other films like Gladiator and Black Hawk Down. I was fortunate enough to see Dead Can Dance live on their reunion tour in the fall of 2005 at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle and can say without a doubt that her voice filled that space in a way I’ve never heard any voice fill a space before. Breathtaking.

This particular section of the film shows a lot of clips of people in abject poverty from a variety of places in the world, from the outcasts of India searching through dumps for scraps, to wrenching shots of young Asian prostitutes. Truly the world is a place of much suffering and pain.

I would highly recommend watching the whole film. It is hard to describe beyond saying it is an experience. The film follows a pattern of what you see here, shots from around the world with no narration or explanation. It is loosely organized in sections.”poverty”, “war”, “fast-paced city life”, and then with entire sections of the beauty of nature, all with an amazing soundtrack.

If you are able, rent it, turn off the lights, remove all distractions, turn it up, and watch.