"On her excellent new Divine Inspiration (World Village), Carnatic singer Aruna Sairam interprets nine expressions of Hindu spiritual devotion, written in six languages and dating from as far back as four centuries. In these pieces there's no alap--the extended, meterless introductory section found in Hindustani, or northern, Indian classical music--so she and the instrumentalists can jump right into the roiling rhythms. Carnatic music is older and more austere than its more familiar northern cousin, but as Sairam extends and expands each simple melodic phrase in a gorgeously clear voice, concise passages bloom into metric complexity like images in a kaleidoscope." - Peter Margasak