Trilogie de la Mort
One of the 20th century's great fanatics, Radigue spent eight years handcreafting this three-hour, three-disc, Tibetan-inspired, death-transcending elegy for her son, and if you're not a deep listener, all you'll hear is a hum.  Overtones of gently pulsing drones are Radigue's themes, but her sweep is symphonic.  Biooming bass tones test the limits of your loudspeakers, and withing them string orchestras and bagpipes seem to play dirgesbut everything is analogue electronics.  When the music goes from sweet to sad, or from roaring climax to pure quiet in the final half-hour, the change is so imperceptibly gradual that it sweeps you along all the more.  You have to slow your day way down just to begin appreciating this, and that's not a bad idea."  --Kyle Gann, The Village VoiceTaken separately, "Songs of Milarepa" and "Trilogie de la Mort" stand as landmarks of minimalism; together, they confirm Eliane Radigue as a unique and major voice in contemporary music.... "Trilogie De La Mort," an extended sonic meditation on death and birth, is arguably still more impressive. "Kailasha," the second part, traces a turbulent imaginary journey around the most sacred mountain in the Himalayas, a route reputed to lead into other spheres of being. Radigue's notes to "Koum," the final part, affirm doctrines of rebirth through Christian references, but the soundworld is entirely consistent with the earlier sections. Parallels with other music may assist the uninitiated, but Radigue's work really is unique.  The singularity of her achievement only enhances its magnitude."  --Julian Cowley, The Wire