The Word: All things Tibetan are precious and priceless, as there won't be any more, at least not under the same name and circumstances. Records are no exception. Fortunately there have been some fantastic recordings, even series of recordings, made of the very far-out world of Tibetan ritual music. Tibetan music ranges from the religious (temple throat-singing and chants) to the secular (music influenced by Tibetan music, including "Tibetan bells"). And there are similar, related things in nearby places such as Nepal.
You really can't go wrong with Tibetan records. Essential are the classic series: Tibetan Bells and anything on Lyrichord and Nonesuch Explorer. For more info on many other Tibetan and Himalayan records, please see the tibetan page in our guide.
Further below: Tibetan trade wants
Links: are to artists bio/discog pages in the Hyp Records guide:
Images: accurately represent items but are not always the exact copy listed/purchased
Discount: ALWAYS try to buy more than one item at a time
Tibetan Buddhism--Shedur: A Ghost Exorcism Ritual--The Venerable Yeshe Dorje Rinpoche, Master of the Rite; Nonesuch Explorer H-72081; 1978; E-/E S $20 -- Tibetan ritual music rec. David Lewiston in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh
Tibetan Buddhism--Tantras of Gyütö: Mahakala; Nonesuch Explorer H-72055; 1973; cutout E+/E- S $20 -- Tibet; Grand Prix International du Disque winner & another in the amazing series of ritual records
Tibetan Ritual Music--Chanted & Played by Lamas & Monks of the Four Great Orders; Lyrichord LLST-7181; 1961; sealed (w/booklet) S $30 (or N-/E- $20, specify) -- nothing is more far out than Tibetan ritual singing (not gamelan, not Tuvan throat singing, nothing!!!); the 1st LP of a superb series (all terrific) has it all (nice jacket & liners too)
Tibetan Buddhist Rites from the Monasteries of Bhutan, Vol. 3--Temple Rituals & Public Ceremonies; Lyrichord LLST-7257; 1973; w/booklet E/N S $25 -- Tibetan; rare!
A Tibetan Buddhist Rite from Nepal--Padmasambava Chopa [with the Mahakala Offering]; Lyrichord LLST-7270; sealed (w/booklet) S $30 -- Tibetan; yet another fascinating document of the lost civilization that was Tibet; China may rule, but at least this disc is still available and amazingly still unopened (and not made with lead!)
The Gyuto Monks: Tibetan Tantric Choir; Windham Hill WH-2001; 1987; gatefold N/N S $20 -- Tibetan; good old Mickey Hart produced the only LP on the label we care about, and it's nice to have a more modern addition to the Tibet collection; you will like
Henry Wolff/Nancy Hennings: Tibetan Bells; Island SMAS-9319; 1972/1971; gatefold cutout E/N- S $60 (or cutout V+/E+ S $25, specify) -- Tibetan/bells/avant-garde/new-age-occult-meditation; with Drew Gladstone; FANTASTIC, widely heralded, super space-trippy record that launched the otherwise unexciting "New Age" movement (plus interest in previously unknown, exciting, far-out Tibetan ritual music, bells, etc.); really it's more like some of the very best primordial-Moog/electronic/avant-garde records, except that you'll want to listen to this one repeatedly!; this first edition features great jacket art from a priceless, beautiful old Tibetan painting, inner-leaf images, and an original inner sleeve printed with additional liner notes; best title for your iPod: "Wrathful Deity"; note: very slight background noise is endemic to this recording (all copies, both issues, regardless of use/wear); this, the gatefold original, is far rarer than the reissue and offer the added value of inner-leaf art/photos; lesser copy has radio-station writing and sticker on it
Henry Wolff/Nancy Hennings: Tibetan Bells; Antilles AN-7006; 1973/1971; E+/N- S $25 -- Tibetan/avant-garde; the famous Island LP needed reissuing way back when, and this is an excellent value for most, since the original is that good and that rare (a few of us are thrilled to own both this and the original release)
Henry Wolff/Nancy Hennings: Tibetan Bells 2; Pacific Arts PACR7-110; 1979/1978; E+/E+ S $40 (or E+/E- S $30, specify) -- Tibetan/bells/new-age-occult-meditation; far rarer than the classic first Tibetan Bells LP from 1971, this gives you another 48 fantastic minutes of much-wanted, long-awaited sequel!; very exotic, sounds both occult/ethereal/meditative AND like a wonderful electronic/avant-garde experiments (it IS both); "A space-poem in two sections, 'Journey to the End' and 'The Endless Journey'"; have YOU got "The Seven Sounds of Dissolution" in your iPod?
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