War Live [Live]

Product Description
In between studio efforts, the band released WAR Live, a double LP documenting the dazzling dynamic synergy the band's concerts were renowned for. Recorded during a four-night engagement at Chicago's High Chapparral club, the set includes classic WAR favorites such as "Slippin' Into Darkness," "All Day Music" and "Get Down" in their original long form, as well as the previously unrecorded "Ballero," a fiery Latin jam that reached #33 on the pop and #17 on R&B singles charts. WAR Live continued the band's commercial success, eventually selling a million and a half copies.

War Live,War,Avenue Records,Brown-Eyed Soul,Funk,Latin Rock,Pop,R&B,Rock,Soul,Soul/R & B,Soul/Reggae/Rhythm & Blues

Average customer rating:

The penultimate collection ...
Muisic of the Spheres
The Ulllllltimate Sci-Fi Music Collection
SciFi Album gift
Away From to be a Collectible Peace

The Science Fiction Album
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Silva America
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Star Wars | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Star Trek | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Sci-Fi Channel - Sci-Fi's Greatest Hits, Vol. 1: Final Frontiers
Fantastic Journey
Sci-Fi Channel - Sci-Fi's Greatest Hits, Vol. 4: Defenders Of Justice
Sci-Fi Channel - Sci-Fi's Greatest Hits, Vol. 2: The Dark Side
The Science Fiction Album, Vol. 1

ASIN: B000066HE5
Release Date: 2005-02-08

Tracks:

2001: A Space Odyssey
Aliens
Sound Effect - The Nostromo
Alien
A.I.
Armageddon
Sound Effect - Apollo 13 Lift-off
Apollo 13
Back To The Future
Battle Beyond The Stars
Battlestar Galactica
The Black Hole
Contact
Capricorn One
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
The Day The Earth Stood Still
Dune

Tracks:

Galaxy Quest
Sound Effect - Dogfight in Space
Enemy Mine
Ghostbusters
Gremlins
Heavy Metal
Independence Day
E.T.
Judge Dredd
The Last Starfighter
Lifeforce
Sound Effect - Crash Landing
Lost In Space
Mars Attacks
The Matrix
Predator
The Right Stuff

Tracks:

Moonraker
Robocop
Silent Running
Sound Effect - Alien Organism
Species
Stargate
Starship Troopers
Starman
Star Trek - TV Theme
Star Trek: The Motion Picture End Title
Klingon Attack
Sound Effect - Warp Drive
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Generations
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Tracks:

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Sound Effect - Transporter Crew
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Main Theme
Star Trek First Contact
Star Wars
The Empire Strikes Back
The Empire Strikes Back
Return of the Jedi
Sound Effect - Battle Stations
Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace - The Flag Parade
Anakin's Theme
The Adventures of Jar Jar
Duel of the Fates
The Time Machine
Things to Come
The Thing From Another World
War of the Worlds
When Worlds Collide
Total Recall
You Only Live Twice
Superman

Customer Reviews:

The penultimate collection ..........2006-12-07

Generally I agree with Strategos in his ecstatic Spotlight Review above. It is a joy to here some of the most memorable themes and cues from some of the most memorable science fiction and fantasy movies (re)recorded in great sound and in lavish (re)orchestrations, played by renowned classical orchestras, namely the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra and the Philharmonia Orchestra, no less.

I have always had a weak spot for (good, or maybe even intelligent) science fiction/fantasy and film music, especially its way of evoking mystery, grandure and wide open spaces. Call it a weakness if you want. But it was maybe really kick started off, for as far as I can remember, with Star Trek. But especially Star Trek II, III and IV - essentially a trilogy - because of their very romantic but very warm, human core, set on the broadest canvasses of unlimited and mysterious outer space. But then there was the music for adding that essential extra dimension of emotion and atmosphere. I am happy that much of the music on this album is from the Star Trek series and films, often equaling or sometimes even outclassing the original recordings.

This kind of music (for the movies) should be seen as an art on its own rights with its own merits and qualities. As such, the musical sequences on these CD's are a beautifully played cross section of some of the most evoking orchestral music for science fiction/fantasy film ever created. And I very much like the nicely blended, wide and deep orchestral soundpicture with enough reverberation to evoke a sense of wide open spaces.
I am quite thrilled by tracks like the evocative music from Dune, truly transporting one to the vastly sands of Arrakis (the music is wonderful, but to my great regret I think the movie itself is a flawed masterpiece at best, alas.). And then there is the very different, goofy music for Ghostbusters (memories of childhood), the spoofy but electrifying music from Mars Attacks (lovingly parodist music, this, with not a little touch of irony) and the happily adventurous, forward driving Theme from Galaxy Quest ('Never give up, never surrender!'), now also used for the internet-based fan-series Star Trek: The Hidden Frontier. On the other side of the spectrum we have the atmospheric music for Enemy Mine (an underestimated 'little' movie), the Theme from The Right Stuff (actually science FACT, not fiction, this film, just like Apollo 13, of course), the eerily attractive music for Species, the original End Title for Alien (not used in the theatrical version of the movie, where it was replaced by music from howard Hanson's Second Symphony), the exquisitely exotic music for Stargate, the sweet and warmly sympathetic, beautifully re-orchestrated, theme for Starman, the title cue for Star Trek: TOS (much more melodiously played than the original! If only a series nowadays could continue to be as thought provoking and as original as Star Trek was during its launch, fourty years ago ...) and a truly overpowering End Titles Suite from Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. I especially like the thrillingly grandiloquent rendition here of the music for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. And how nice it is to hear the (thematic) similarities between James Horner's music for The Wrath of Khan, his great break-through as a film music composer, and his (two years) earlier music for Battle Beyond the Stars (which did indeed help him earn the job for writing the music for Star Trek II) ...

But on the 'down side', if one is looking for - for example - the gorgeously expansively played End Titles from Cocoon, it is not included here: one has to acquire the album that 'kicked it all off', so to say, namely 'Space and Beyond', also on Silva Screen. I was very pleased also with the inclusion on that album of some of the music from the series Star Trek: The Next Generation, namely where one of the characters, Tasha Yar, in one of the episodes (Skin of Evil) is saying goodbye to her crewmmates: sweetly sentimental and simple music which I have always wanted to own on CD. I guess that a few cues from the other two sequals ('Alien Invasion: Space and Beyond II' and 'Space3: Beyond the Final Frontier') didn't make it onto this 4 CD collection-album as well, but I guess that it would be the 'better part of the bargain' to opt to buy this 'The Science Fiction Album' instead of buying all three albums separately. Well, of course it is for yourself to ultimately decide what you really want ;-)

If I were to nitpick (which is not easy with such a marvellous project as this one), then I would say that while all music is performed with magnificent grandure and with style, some of it is not performed as crisply and as technically 'on the spot' as some of the original recordings: ensemble is a little slack and the playing somewhat stilted sometimes, losing some of the edge and the originality of the writing. ET and Star Wars spring to mind, but then the soundtracks for Star Wars are traditionally recorded with the magnificent London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by maestro John Williams himself, and these superior recordings (especially the ones for Episode I, II and III) can't really be bettered, IMHO. Likewise for the music from Star Trek: The Motion Picture, I believe that in the end one really has to resort to the ultimate reference, namely the original recording (which is true in many other instances of 'original recordings'), and then the 20th anniversay colector's edition of this soundtrack on Columbia/Legacy (truly unmissable, this veritable classic of sci-fi/film music soundtracks!).

But all in all this 4CD-collection amounts to probably being the penultimate high quality sci-fi music album collection (I certainly know of no other project that comes as close quality as well as quantity wise), with some of the most memorable musical moments from classic to modern sci-fi/fantasy film captured in lavish orchestrations.
Collection-wise: five *stars*. Playing: generally four *stars*, sometimes more. The recording quality: five *stars*. The music (qualified on its own merits as film music) and its (re)orchestrations: generally five *stars*. In the end this is all highly recommended, and certainly not to be missed by science fiction and fantasy film music fans. Klaatu barada nikto.

Muisic of the Spheres.......2006-11-06

You wonderful four disk collection of SF music. It startsa up the the grand master of SF music, 2001: A space Odyssey all the way to Superman. This is all American SF music and several themes I would have liked to have included are not there. All in all though, a collection you will enjoy.

The Ulllllltimate Sci-Fi Music Collection.......2005-10-23

If one person gives great gifts, it's the illustrious Codemaster Talon. I've received a fair number of gifts in my lifetime, but so far, my older sister's take the cake. Take this one for instance. I'm real big on orchestral music, to the point where I listen to them more than any other kind of music. I've got orchestral versions of video game themes, orchestral soundtracks to truck-loads of anime shows (Big O, Escaflowne, and Giant Robo are incredible), and could probably spend the rest of my life just trying to study the nuances of all the classical music I've got. Being such a huge fan of orchestral music, I also have come to believe that orchestra music produced for movies and television is the new classical music (or as someone once said, Mozart would be making music for movies if he were alive today). Being a huge sci-fi fan, that kind of music has always been particularly near and dear to my heart. But were I to buy each and every soundtrack for every sci-fi I liked it would cost quite a bundle, and would include a lot of sub-par music along with the grandiose and fantastic main and memorable themes. That's where this beauty comes in.

The moment I ripped off the shrink-wrap and popped it into my cd player was a moment of great trepidation. Believe me when I tell that I've seen my fair share of sub-par orchestral recording in my lifetime. Very often they are in those big super-packs of music, and suffer from poor direction, improper mastering, and sometime even pathetic orchestration (or worse yet have something sounding like a cheap synthesizer and a kazoo in place of a full orchestra). I needn't have worried though. This sucker is fantastic.

Many people who are not audiophiles will probably miss the point of this cd collection. It is not the original versions of the pieces. It is re-orchestrations, mostly by the phenomenal Prague Symphony Orchestra. Many of these themes didn't sound all that hot in there original versions because they were low budget films or were not recorded in high-fidelity. Here they are given the full treatment, mastered with the most loving care imaginable. Often the version found in these cds is SUPERIOR to the original.

Remember the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey? Of course you do. But how many times have you heard a cheap imitation of the original version from the movie, starting too low in volume and ending too high (and missing the essential pipe-organ that gives it that extra oomph)? Well, this first track in the entire collection is not only everything it should be instrumental and timing-wise, but it also has been oh-so-carefully adjusted during the mastering process so that at no time is the music either too low or too high in volume (surely a benchmark for every other recording ever to be made of the piece).

Or what about the theme from the (at-the-time) uber-creepy The Black Hole? The orchestration of this piece of music goes from tiumphant to terrifying and back again, with a splendor and cleanness that I CERTAINLY don't remember being in the original recording.

Then there's the new version of the theme from Independence Day, complete with a violin solo, a far more electrifying ending climax, and a chorus so thunderous that you feel like applauding at the end. Simply indescribable. Kind of like the MIND-BLOWING rendition of the theme from The Last Star Fighter. This has been one of my favorite themes for a long time now, but I've never heard it played like this. I think the original version of the theme is something like 1 minute long, but this new version doesn't just fade out (HAHAHAHA!!!!) THIS version is THREE minutes long, goes through the main theme THREE times, with the final strains being so triumphant and joyous I could not help but feel an electrifying charge the first dozen or so times (come to think of it, I still feel that way). This is superior to the original in EVERY way. AWESOME.

And let's not forget the incredible new rendition of Stargate with it's heavy use of clarinets (for Egyptian effect!) and a triumphant new ending (completely lacking the chanting from the original version. This version is so different that for the first minute it is very hard to tell that it is in fact Stargate. But then the main theme kicks in, and then you get this incredible flute solo for my favorite part of theme (the whole thing is played slower, but arguably more powerfully than the original). My goodness. At first I found the thing so different I didn't like it. But then I listened to it again. And again. And again.

I could go on and on, talking about the fantastic new rendition of Moon Raker, the ear-popping Battlestar Galactica, the classic Star Trek (First Contact has a minute or two of the theme from Star Trek:The Motion Picture before going into the main theme), or the sweet renditions of music from the Star Wars movies (or the music from E.T.).

I have to mention though that this collection was not picked based merely on what people want, or on what is popular. No, the people who made it obviously thought a GOOD music collection was better than a popular one. That's why you get a heartbreakingly beautiful theme from A.I. instead of the main theme. It's why you get music from movies that you probably never gave a second thought to the music (because the movie was lousy). It's why you get Armageddon, Judge Dredd, and Robocop (who would have guessed their music was so COOL when there was all that crazy action and bad-acting going on on-screen).

I said it before and I'll say it again. This cd-set was mastered with tender-loving-care, and it shows BIG-TIME. High-fidelity the likes of which I have not seen since the days when cds were brand-new in the world. Dolby Surround. Perfectly balanced. BEAUTIUFL orchestrations. About the only thing that makes me scratch my head is the weird sound-effect tracks (Oooookay.....). Other than that, it's PERFECT. Obviously they could not include every sci-fi theme ever (no one can), but this collection is REALLY GOOD. A lot of great themes that got away (forgotten gems :), new versions of old favorites, and under-appreciated classics aplenty, but ALWAYS the full and complete versions with nothing cut-out (the theme from Dune is quite extended).

If you love movie music (and sci-fi movie music in particular) you MUST buy this awesome collection). It is not the original recordings. Almost always the new ones are better (if they aren't better they're just equal). This is what you have been waiting for. I for one am going to be buying quite a few cds from this company in the future. Give your ears the treat they deserve. Buy it NOW.

SciFi Album gift.......2005-07-20

I bought the Science Fiction Album as a gift for my son who is twenty-one years old. He is a musician, and also a huge fan of many SciFi shows and movies. I thought this would be the perfect thing for him and I was right. He loves it!

Away From to be a Collectible Peace.......2004-12-16

If you like Sci-Fi movies and want a compilation of their important scores, this is the CD-set to buy. But let me warn you about that very few songs in the cds are from the original soundtracks. Most of them is re-recorded by The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. But the sound quality of cds are very good, because they have HDCD and Dolby Surround labels. This set is away from to be a collectible peace, but it is a good general compilation of favorite Sci-Fi movie scores.

Average customer rating:

Handel: The Masterworks (Box Set)

Manufacturer: Brilliant Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Trios | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Italian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Oratorios | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Anthems | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Cantatas | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Hymns | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Oratorios | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Passions | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Blowout Box Sets | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music

More Titles at Least 20% Off | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music

All Classical Music Blowout | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music

Opera & Vocal | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music

Brilliant Classics | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Vivaldi: The Masterworks (Box Set)
Haydn: The Masterworks [Box Set]
Mendelssohn: The Masterworks [Box Set]
Dvorák: The Masterworks [Box Set]
Schubert: The Masterworks [Box Set]

ASIN: B00062FLI8
Release Date: 2004-11-30

Live from the Concertgebouw, 1978 & 1979

Average customer rating:

If you only get one Martha Argerich disc...
DON'T YOU WISH YOU'D BEEN THERE?
Argerich's strengths and weaknesses
Great Chopin Nocturne
Not Martha's Best

Live from the Concertgebouw, 1978 & 1979
Johann Sebastian Bach , Bela Bartok , Frédéric Chopin , Alberto Ginastera , Sergey Prokofiev , Domenico Scarlatti , and Martha Argerich
Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Scherzo | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Martha Argerich Plays Chopin: The Legendary 1965 Recording
Debut Recital / Martha Argerich
J.S. Bach: Toccata, Partita, English Suite 2/ Martha Argerich
Martha Argerich: Live from the Concertgebouw, 1978 & 1992
Rachmaninoff: Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30 / Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 23

ASIN: B00004LCAR
Release Date: 2000-05-09

Tracks:

Partita No. 2 In C Minor, BWV 826: I. Sinfonia - Grave Adagio
Partita No. 2 In C Minor, BWV 826: Andante
Partita No. 2 In C Minor, BWV 826: II. Allemande
Partita No. 2 In C Minor, BWV 826: III. Courante
Partita No. 2 In C Minor, BWV 826: IV. Sarabonde
Partita No. 2 In C Minor, BWV 826: V. Rondeau
Nocturne No. 13 In C Minor, Op. 48, No. 1
Scherzo No. 3 In C Sharp Minor, Op. 39
Sonata, Sz. 80: I. Allegro moderato
Sonata, Sz. 80: II. Sostenuto e pesante
Sonata, Sz. 80: III. Allegro molto
Danzas Argentinas, Op. 2: I. Danza del viejo boyero (Dance Of The Old Cowherd)
Danzas Argentinas, Op. 2: II. Danza de la moza donoso (Dance Of The Delightful Young Girl)
Danzas Argentinas, Op. 2: III. Danza del gaucho matrero (Dance Of The Artful Herdsman)
Piano Sonata No. 7 In B Flat, Op. 83: I. Allegro inquieto - Andantino
Piano Sonata No. 7 In B Flat, Op. 83: II. Andante caloroso
Piano Sonata No. 7 In B Flat, Op. 83: III. Precipitato
Scarlatti: Keyboard Sonata In D Minor
Bourree - English Suite No. 2 In A Minor, BWV 807

Amazon.com

Throughout her lengthy artistic career, pianist Martha Argerich has experienced many heights and depths: moments of "crisis" in which she hasn't always seemed prepared to offer the full extent of her artistic insights, but also many, many times when she has managed simultaneously to come into her own and to completely lose herself in music-making. Fortunately it's the latter snapshot of Argerich's career that this CD captures, drawing from two live recitals Argerich gave at Amsterdam's Concertgebouw in 1978 and 1979. They document the pianist's overwhelming gifts, with all the artistic characteristics that have made her so revered. The program is quite eclectic, with music from Prokofiev and Chopin--all familiar territory for Argerich, which she masters with arresting brilliance, extraordinary technical facility, and grandly sweeping gestures. A bit further afield on the program are such composers as Domenico Scarlatti and J.S. Bach. The latter might give one pause: Bach and Argerich? But in the slower movements of the C Minor Partita, it's astonishing to hear such uncommonly tender, feathery tones. In short, the music breathes. It's only too bad that in the faster movements of the Bach pieces Argerich resorts to her typically fiery, stormy attacks. --Teresa Pieschacón Raphael

Customer Reviews:

If you only get one Martha Argerich disc..........2007-04-30

If you only get one Martha Argerich disc, or if you're just begining to collect her music, this would be an excellent choice. She is in superb form here, playing to a large, very appreciative audience. Also she plays a huge variety here, ranging from Bach & Scarlatti, through Chopin, to semi-modern composers including Bartok, Prokofiev, and Ginastera.

This recording illustrates why Argerich is considered by many to be the greatest living pianist, (I also love Pollini). Her power, passion, full colored tone, and technical agility are unparalleled. While everything on this album is superb, my favorite is the Chopin Nocturne in C minor. It starts off very calm, but with just a hint of the turbulence to come. It becomes even more serine when suddenly the serenity is invaded by waves of dark turbulence. I've heard a few other versions of this work, but I've never heard the simultaneous range of emotions that Argerich achieves here, it's magical.

DON'T YOU WISH YOU'D BEEN THERE?.......2006-08-31

Thrilling, exciting, sexy, passionate, fiery, volatile, demanding, challenging, surprising, charismatic, exquisitely beautiful. Are we talking about the pianist or the playing? Well, both, of course. This recital from the Concertgebouw in the late 70's (actually put together from two recitals) amply demonstrates why Martha Argerich is one of the great pianists of our time.

For a start, there is the breathtaking range of repertoire here - from Bach to Bartok and Prokofiev and on to her fellow-countryman, Ginastera. All of them played with an innate sense of the different styles and character demanded. But all of them challenging stale preconceptions, shedding new light on the composers and their music. Even the most familiar pieces come up as fresh as though newly minted. The Chopin items are just as fresh and exciting as anything here: the C Minor Nocturne is a wonder of colour and tints, the darkness of its central section starkly contrasted with the elegance and smoothness of its outer parts. Equally the motoric rhythms of the first movement of the Bartok Sonata and the last of the Prokofiev display enormous power and energy.

With her reluctance to play/record solo recitals any more, live documents such as these Concertgebouw programmes are invaluable. If you've a taste for invigorating, refreshing piano playing of the highest standards (both of technique and interpretation), don't hesitate.

Argerich's strengths and weaknesses.......2005-11-11

This CD, with live recordings from 1978 and 1979, is a showcase of Martha Argerich's astounding gifts but also of some of her evident shortcomings. The former are a technique as brilliant as any to be found anywhere in the world today, a real interpretative temperament and a natural musical instinct which is amongst the most unique in the annals of piano playing. The latter, a tendency towards senselessly fast and forced playing which often leads to distorted renditions reminiscent of the worst moments of Simon Barere and Gyorgy Cziffra.

The Partita n. 2 is good, reasonably spacious and even luminous in places. It's non-authoritative Bach playing but all the better for it. The Bartok sonata is the highlight of the disc: its motoric drive is relentless, its percussiveness notable without being unpleasant, and the overall technical vigour quite remarkable. Prokofiev's Sonata n. 7, op. 83 - probably the most popular of the Russian master's nine - is also impressive, with some brilliant fingerwork in spite of some minor slips and exciting throughout, though the final allegro precipitato sounds hurried rather than potent. Argerich also shows the expected understanding of her compatriot Alberto Ginastera's Danzas Argentinas, which she dispatches with flair and elan.

The Chopin, however, is a totally different story, and a sad one at that. This Scherzo n. 3 is much inferior to Argerich's previous recordings of the piece - made in 1961 and 1965 - and easily her worst attempt. She entirely sacrifices the narrative aspect of the work to speed and feverishness. The result is a shapeless, amorphous performance, with many blurred and technically inaccurate moments, and a tone with is at times hard-edged and banged. I can't imagine Chopin wanting that (ironically enough, the notoriously fast-fingered Barere recorded this same scherzo in the 30's with restraint, good taste and a luminous quality of tone).

All in all, a valuable CD, not only for the instances of great piano playing but also for revealing Argerich's highs and lows as a performer.

Great Chopin Nocturne.......2005-02-03

Sometimes, listening to Argerich can give one the impression that you are hearing THE way of playing a piece.
In this case, it happened with Chopin's beautiful nocturne, which i had already heard in various performances by other pianists (Rubinstein, Barenboim, etc)

I can't believe it's the same piece. In this recording, Argerich has managed to make this one explode like an atomic bomb, and leave me trembling.... Even in the slower parts the notes seem to flow like water... Simply wonderful.

The other works recorded are good, but the partita sounds better on DG's Studio recording, the Scherzo also sounds better on DG's Debut Recital... The Prokofiev sonata is included in this disc only, so if you want it, there you go...

Anyway, good cd, gret Nocturne, very good permormances all around.

The sound is a little crappy though, so it gets 4 stars instead of five. I really don't like EMI's live sound...

Not Martha's Best.......2001-07-30

Being a Marth Argerich fan, i was disapointed with this CD. In the last movement of the Prokofiev, which is one of my favorite pieces of music, she loses control and the Great Finaly of the sonata is very sloppy. through out the CD backround noise is heard and for the encores i was amazed at how much whishpereing there was , even during her playing. i know thats something that she cannot help. overall her playing is much cleaner and neater on otherr CD's. i recommened her two Great Pianists of hte Twentieth Century CD's much more than this one. the First one has a much nicer recording of the Bach Partita.

Average customer rating:

GOOD ALBUM, BUT RIP-OFF FORMAT
Jack Webb & the Rookies
This is one of War's best!
War Live
Absolute Classic !!!

War Live
War
Manufacturer: Avenue Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | R&B | Styles | Music

General | Soul | R&B | Styles | Music

General | Funk | R&B | Styles | Music

Soul | Live Albums | R&B | Styles | Music

General | Live Albums | R&B | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Live Albums | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Live Albums | Pop | Styles | Music

Latin Rock | Latin Music | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Deliver the Word
All Day Music
The World Is a Ghetto
War
Why Can't We Be Friends?

ASIN: B0000032VA
Release Date: 1992-08-18

Tracks:

Introduction By E. Rodney Jones of Radio Station WVON, Chicago, Ill.
Sun Oh Son
The Cisco Kid
Slippin' Into Darkness
Slippin' Part 2

Tracks:

All Day Music
Ballero
Lonely Feelin'
Get Down

Album Description

In between studio efforts, the band released WAR Live, a double LP documenting the dazzling dynamic synergy the band's concerts were renowned for. Recorded during a four-night engagement at Chicago's High Chapparral club, the set includes classic WAR favorites such as "Slippin' Into Darkness," "All Day Music" and "Get Down" in their original long form, as well as the previously unrecorded "Ballero," a fiery Latin jam that reached #33 on the pop and #17 on R&B singles charts. WAR Live continued the band's commercial success, eventually selling a million and a half copies.

Customer Reviews:

GOOD ALBUM, BUT RIP-OFF FORMAT.......2006-10-20

I hate it when greedy record companies do this:

The total track time of both discs runs under 78 minutes. So, this album could have been consolidated onto one disc, with no editing, and released at a one-disc price.

Jack Webb & the Rookies .......2006-04-08

Captured live in Chicago IL, this is documentation of War in peak form on stage in support of 1972's "The World Is A Ghetto". Live went on to produce another top 40 hit (Ballaro) in 1974. This, during a time when live LP's didn't usually produce hits. Released as a double LP (their fist since 1970's Black-Man's Burdon) Live would eventually sell over a million copies and give War their fourth gold record in a row.

War Live (after one listen, one can't help but think why Burdon parted ways with War) is proof of the animals they could be on stage with their tribute to Cook County's finest (militant fashion), in the show stopping long version of Get Down. Slippin Into Darkness is also performed with even more intensity than it was in the studio. They offer up other hits as well like the classic The Cisco Kid and Sun Oh Son. This is a must have release, a great live performance.

olofpalme63

This is one of War's best!.......2006-01-11

One of War's great works...live in concert. If you never saw War in person--this album is filled with excellent songs, sung with an intimacy that makes you feel as if you are a member of the live audience at the funkiest show ever! A show you will never forget!!! Music, voice, quality is excellent, the CD is claiming to be a remaster.

War Live.......2005-09-04

Always been a big War fan. However this album was a disappointment. Didn't realize it was recorded back in the 70's. Just didn't get anywhere near the studio grooves. I realize it's a live album but it still doesn't do justice to any of the material you're used to hearing.

Absolute Classic !!!.......2003-06-29

Having been familiar with War from some of their commercial hits(Lowrider,etc.), I was curious when I came across this album on vinyl at a used record shop about ten years ago. Being a lover of live music I bought the album and hastily went home and dropped it on my turntable. This one of the most powerfully played live sets ever made. "Cisco Kid" and "Slipping Into Darkness" give listeners a dose of thick basslines and excellent instrumentation, purely high intensity funk/rock at its best. These two songs both exceed ten minutes in length and are worth the price of purchasing the CD alone. That being said, the shorter songs can't quite measure up, but they make for good listening none the less(check out "All Day Music"). The decade of the 70's brought us some great live albums by artists like Donny Hathaway, Aretha Franklin, and B.B. King. This album easily ranks among them.

Average customer rating:

AMAZING! She is so much better live!
AMAZING! She is so much better live!
Inspiring, Beautiful and The Sweetest Voice!
astounding performance
Great, of course

Harem World Tour: Live from Las Vegas
Sarah Brightman
Manufacturer: Angel Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Italian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Musicals | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

General | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Adult Contemporary | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Easy Listening | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music

Classic | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music

Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music

Soundtracks | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music

Classical | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music

International | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music

All Blowout Music | Blowout Music | Stores | Music

More Titles at Least 25% Off | Blowout Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Sarah Brightman - Live from Las Vegas
Harem
Sarah Brightman Classics
Eden (US Release - 16 tracks)
Fly

ASIN: B0002VYPCG
Release Date: 2004-09-28

Tracks:

Kama Sutra
Harem Overture (Cancao do Mar)
It's a Beautiful Day
Dust in the Wind
Who Wants to Live Forever
Anytime, Anywhere
La Luna
Nessun Dorma
The War Is Over
Free
A Whiter Shade of Pale
The Phantom of the Opera Suite
WIshing You Were Somehow Here Again
Time To Say Goodbye
Question of Honor
Snow on the Sahara (Bonus studio track)

Amazon.com

While the sales of Sarah Brightman's ambitious, Middle Eastern-themed 2003 album Harem may have fallen short of its predecessor, the veteran UK chanteuse's popularity as a live performer has only mushroomed. This live recording of her ambitious, sold-out Harem World Tour engagement at Las Vegas' MGM Grand Arena is testament to that appeal, begging the question: Will Brightman become the Grateful Dead of classical crossover? Indeed, abetted by the rich sonic textures of longtime producer/collaborator Frank Peterson, the worldbeat conceits of her recent studio recordings are folded into a larger, even more expansive live vision here. Brightman's overt dramatic instincts and oft-chaemeleonic vocal abilities drive a slate of material that stretches from the Arabian Nights/Madame Butterflypastiche of Harem's seductive "It's A Beautiful Day" through surprisingly effective classical/rock reinventions of Kansas' "Dust in the Wind" and The Moody Blues' chestnut "Nights in White Satin" to expected classical bowings "Nessun Dorma" and the obligatory nod to "Phantom of the Opera" Amazon.com

Sarah Brightman Photos

More from Sarah Brightman

Time to Say Goodbye
Classics
Eden

Diva: The Video Collection
Live from Las Vegas
La Luna (Live in Concert)

Customer Reviews:

AMAZING! She is so much better live!.......2006-12-02

This CD rocks! This is Sarah Brightman on her Harem World Tour, and this performance was recorded at her stop in Las Vegas. The first two tracks, "Kama Surta" and "Harem Overture" debut from her newest album, entitled HAREM. The two tracks are connected, but in the actual Harem Tour, the full piece "Harem" is sung. If you go to www.youtube.com and type in "Harem Tour" in the Search Bar, you can see live videos. I would prefer that the album has placed "Harem" instead of these other two tracks. The third track, "It's A Beautiful Day", is from Madame Butterfly, written by Puccini. This version is Brightman's twist, which some more pop and some English. It's pretty cool. The fourth track on the album, "Dust in the Wind" is from EDEN, an amazing album. Track 5 is, "Who Wants to Live Forever", and it seems as though Brightman never creates a tour without putting this piece in it. It's a beautiful tribute to Queen's rendition. Track Six is "Anytime, Anywhere", also from EDEN. I'm not really into the Foreign Language - English songs, but this works very well, especially because she ends the song with the classical foreign language. The seventh track is Brightman's rendition of Dvorak's "Song to the Moon", or "La Luna". The track is beautiful! The eighth track is Puccini's "Nessun Dorma", and Sarah masters this beautifully! There is no other soprano I know that can sing this piece one octave up and can hold the ending note for ever!!! Track 9 is "The War is Over", which is followed by "Free", both from HAREM. Track 11 is "A Whiter Shade of Pale", from LA LUNA. It's beautiful to listen to. Sarah's version is very gentle, but has a lot of energy in the chorus. The twelfth track on this album is "Twisted Every Way", followed by an instrumental version of "The Phantom of the Opera" Theme. The next track is "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again", which is extended at the end, in which you hear some men cry out "WE LOVE YOU SARAH!", and she responds cutely with an, "I love you, too." The audience laughs! Track 14 is "Time to Say Goodbye", the duet that made Andrea Bocelli famous, and skyrocketed as the number one single sold in German history! The last live track on the album is "A Question of Honour", from "Fly", which is awesome! The last track on the album is a bonus track, which I don't really prefer. However, the whole album is simply amazing. I much prefer Sarah when she is live. She has a more magical quality! If you love Sarah Brightman, then you will love this album.

ALSO RECOMMENDED : Since there is so much Sarah Brightman to choose from, I also recommend EDEN, TIME TO SAY GOODBYE, LA LUNA, CLASSICS, and DIVA.

AMAZING! She is so much better live!.......2006-12-02

Inspiring, Beautiful and The Sweetest Voice!.......2005-08-21

What an album, absolutly beautiful!
We, the fans of this great artist finelly have in our hands a live album, and it's amazing:
-The voice is totaly live, she sang about 24 complete songs in the show, but the album only contains 15.
-Snow In The Sahara is a lovely song.

If you have the chase of get this alubum, don't doubt and get it; It wond disapoint you!

astounding performance.......2005-06-07

an impeccable concert experience that successfully elevates the album to majestic heights. I had long been a fan of Dead Can Dance and the unparalleled work of Lisa Gerrard. When Sarah Brightman ventured into these Middle Eastern sounds on the Harem disc, I thought it was too derivative of the Dead Can Dance sounds (there is even a sample used on one of SB's songs that had previously been used within DCD).

However, experiencing this epic and intensely mystical concert compelled me to realize the individual and unique glory of Sarah Brightman. Also, this concert is so phenomenally entertaining at many levels that I couldn't help but fall absolutely in love with the special magic of Sarah Brightman. Obviously, the expansive Middle Eastern milieu can accommodate more than one angelic vocalist!

I now consider Lisa Gerrard and Sarah Brightman to be geniuses who both warrant goddess status in the pantheon of lyrical greats. To see either one of them perform live is surely one of the most powerful and memorable sensory experiences one could ever have!

Great, of course.......2005-03-18

Sarah's voice and style are terrific, as usual. However, I have to say that her version of Anggun's "Snow on the Sahara" is fairly bland, especially compared to the original Anggun version. Sarah has the chops but lacks soul on this great song. Everything els here is very nice.

Average customer rating:

Worthy...but not superior
Long Live "The Egyptian"!
Mummified Music
A Film Score by Both Hermann and Newman

The Egyptian

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Movie Scores | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

4-for-3 Classical | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music

4-for-3 Soundtracks | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music

4-for-3 All Music | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Tiomkin: Red River
Objective Burma!
The Maltese Falcon and Other Film Scores
King Kong: The Complete 1933 Film Score
Captain Blood and Other Swashbucklers

ASIN: B0007ACVKK
Release Date: 2005-02-22

Tracks:

Prelude [From the Egyptian]
Ruins [From the Egyptian]
Red Sea & Childhood [From the Egyptian]
Nile & Temple [From the Egyptian]
Her Name Was Merit [From the Egyptian]
Chariot Ride [From the Egyptian]
Pursuit [From the Egyptian]
Akhnaton - One Deity [From the Egyptian]
Taia [From the Egyptian]
Party's End [From the Egyptian]
Nefer-Nefer-Nefer [From "The Egyptian"]
Rebuke [From the Egyptian]
Deed [From the Egyptian]
Harp & Couch [From the Egyptian]
Perfection of Love [From the Egyptian]
Violence [From the Egyptian]
Valley of the Kings [From the Egyptian]
Homecoming [From the Egyptian]
Hymn to Aton [From the Egyptian]
Sights, Sounds & Smells [From the Egyptian]
Live for Our Son [From "The Egyptian"]
Am I Mad? [From the Egyptian]
True Pharoah [From the Egyptian] - Moscow Symphony Orchestra
Tomb [From the Egyptian]
Holy War [From the Egyptian]
Dance Macabre [From the Egyptian]
Death of Merit [From the Egyptian]
Death of Akhnaton [From the Egyptian]
New Pharaoh [From the Egyptian] - Moscow Symphony Orchestra
Exile & Death [From the Egyptian]

Customer Reviews:

Worthy...but not superior.......2007-04-15

I already own the original-issue MCA/Decca studio recording CD as well as the Film Score Monthly soundtrack CD for this rousing good score, so for the completist in me, I bought the NAXOS/Marco Polo digital re-recording.

It's a worthy effort, but the performance lacks the "enthusiasm" of the originals. I just didn't "feel it," even with the always-excellent recording standards of the Stromberg/Morgan team. This is most evident during the spiritual passages and particularly during the two Hymn to Aton sequences, where neither the glory nor the tragedy comes across.

No slam at the Soviet chorus (they've proved themselves well enough in other projects), but their accents on the English text really became distracting on this disc.

Also, the balance between the orchestra and the chorus is variable at best and at times the brass lines drown out the parts where the chorus is supposed to be prominant.

On the plus side, the liner notes for this CD were excellent and very informative. At 71 minutes, the addition of so much extra music not found on the original studio recording was welcome; and to have it presented in a "cleaner" digital version than on the FSM soundtrack CD was nice (though I hasten to add that the FSM disc is still THE recording to get).

Overall, a useful addition for completists or those who can't afford the higher-priced studio or soundtrack recordings, but just be aware that some of the "heart" is missing from this one.

Long Live "The Egyptian"!.......2006-02-17

I was extra glad to find this classic for sale through Amazon.

I have loved the movie since I was a little tyke, and after well over a thousand (Yes, 1000!) viewings have caused me to wear out copies of it firstly on Beta, and two subsequent copies on VHS (all self-taped from TV).

The CD of the Soundtrack by Herrmann and Newman is superb, and is every bit as fresh and melodic as it was in 1954 when it accompanied / complimented the film.

The 11 tracks by Alfred Newman are highlighted to indicate their different origins when compared to the bulk of the work by Bernard Herrmann, but the whole CD just blends into a seamless work, almost in the style of a tone poem. The tracks are all there, and it is a delight to listen to them in their full orchestral versions, rather than the snippets that you can hear (tantalising though they are) on the film soundtrack, cluttered up with dialogue and sound FX.

I would recommend this CD to anyone who has fond memories of the film, or admires the work of Herrmann and/or Newman.

(Would also like to see a CD made of Herrmann's music to "Journey to the Centre of the Earth"..........

Anubis Lives!

Mummified Music.......2005-12-11

What we have here is a film-score rarity from several perspectives. First, it's a composition co-created by two of the titans of classic-film music, Bernard Herrmann and Alfred Newman. However, there does seem to be much in the way of (or any) cue-by-cue collaboration; the result, unsurprisingly, is not particularly seamless. Mr. Herrmann is credited with independently writing (and conducting) the bulk of the cues--about two thirds of the score. Second, I would not call the score for 1954 film THE EGYPTIAN (TE) "a classic" (the same applies to the film). Not wishing to engender yet another debate over what constitutes "a classic" score or film, to my ears the score for TE is predominately colorless and undistinguished. To be blunt, the music is deadly dull. In this regard, the score mirrors the film which is also a dud! (On this, I can speak from some atmospheric experience, having spent time in Egypt.) And third, the marginal quality of the cues is a major surprise and disappointment given the immensity of the creative talent. Even legendary composers can have bad hair days! On a brighter note, Messrs. John Morgan and William Stromberg, who are unsurpassed masters of film score restoration, reconstruction, arrangement, and presentation, have once again worked their magic with this CD. Their combined execution is stunning, but I sure wish they had tackled a different project. The CD booklet is principally authored by Jack Smith. His analysis of each track is singularly lacking in musicality. He mostly just summarizes what's happening on screen. Mr. Smith also writes that "(w)hen THE EGYPTIAN premiered, critics were polite ... ticket sales were nowhere near the expected box-office tally ... (and the film) then settled into oblivion." Fortunately, the booklet contains a short essay by Mr. Morgan ("Arranger's Notes") and some brief comments by Mr. Stromberg ("Conductor's Note") which are far more informative reads. There is also a rare photograph of Messrs. Morgan and Stromberg slaving over a hot piano. By itself, almost worth the price of admission! The CD is a re-release at "popular prices" of the original which is on the Marco Polo label.

William Flanigan, Ph.D.

A Film Score by Both Hermann and Newman.......2005-05-08

Very unusually Darryl Zanuck assigned this film score to two of 20th Century Fox's stable of composers, one very established, Alfred Newman, and one a newcomer who was gaining a reputation as a superb writer, Bernard Herrmann. This was for expediency's sake because Newman was also involved at the same time in writing the score for another movie in production, 'There's No Business Like Show Business.' And, in fact, Herrmann wrote most of the score, although some of the cues had melodies written by Newman but expanded and orchestrated by Herrmann; each of those cues had the notation 'music developed by Bernard Herrman from themes composed by Alfred Newman.' (It is of note that Newman did not do any of his own orchestration, leaving that to Edward Powell; Herrmann did all his orchestrations.) Herrmann and Newman each conducted some of the original sound track recording. What is amazing is that there is no fault line between the music written by Newman, a composer of the old Austrian high-romantic camp, and Herrmann, whose style ultimately developed along much more advanced lines (witness his score for 'Psycho').

The movie itself was one of those blood-and-sandal epics so beloved by Hollywood in the 1950s. And it was one of the very first Cinemascope extravaganzas. It was not much of a movie, starring a cipher of an actor, Edmond Purdom. And the story isn't much, either. The music, accordingly, partakes rather too much of the faux-oriental style so familiar from such movies. Still, there are some really memorable passages, particularly those that are of the more intimate scenes. The love scene--the cue is titled 'Her Name was Merit' -- features a really lovely alto flute and oboe d'amore theme with harp and string accompaniment. There are also some scenes of religious splendor -- e.g. Hymn to Aton -- that are also quite striking for all they owe to the temple scene of 'Aïda.'

The score was cut down somewhat for this CD. Originally there were about 100 minutes of music. Film music arranger John Morgan gets credit for making what turns out to be an effective 70 minutes of music that can stand on its own, absent the film. It is played more or less without pause, moving from one cue to the other seamlessly. Veteran film music conductor William Stromberg gets a fairly decent performance out of the Moscow Symphony Orchestra and Choir. This performance was originally issued in 1998 on the full-price Marco Polo label.

This score is a superior example of its type and it is given a creditable performance here.

TT=71:30

Scott Morrison

Average customer rating:

pavarotti & friends for war child
Wonderfully diverse
Incredibly life-affirming! Musical diversity at its best.

For War Child

Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Reggae | International | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Movie Scores | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Easy Listening | Pop | Styles | Music

The Decca Records Store | Specialty Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Pavarotti & Friends For Guatemala And Kosovo
Together for the Children of Bosnia
Pavarotti & Friends: For Cambodia and Tibet
Pavarotti & Friends - For The Children Of Liberia
Pavarotti & Friends 2

ASIN: B00000429Q
Release Date: 1996-11-19

Tracks:

Holy Mother
Saint Teresa
I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues
New York, New York
My Love (Il volo)
Run, Baby, Run
Certe notti
Angel
Ave Maria
Spirito
Third Degree
Don Giovanni: La ci darem la mano
Le ragazze fanno grandi sogni
Granada
Mediterranean Sundance
Gesu bambino
Live Like Horses

Customer Reviews:

pavarotti & friends for war child.......2003-12-28

I'm still looking for this album in karaoke DVD version, but I still don't found it at all. So, please tell me, where I can get it. Thanks.

Wonderfully diverse.......2001-02-11

Recorded live from the Parco Novi Sad, in Modena Italy, on 20 June 1996, this is another of Pavarotti's wonderful concerts to benefit children who are caught up in the horrors of war. Some of the worlds best performers have gotten together for a diverse musical experience that defies language barriers, as well as musical genres. Practically everything is covered on this album. From rock, pop, classical, blues, sacred, jazz and latin...it's all here. Whatever your musical preference, this is an album that should appeal to all in it's diversity, and considering the worthy cause, a necessity for music lovers. And where else will you be able to hear Pavarotti exercising his chops with the likes of Eric Clapton, Liza Minelli, Sheryl Crow, Jon Secada, Joan Osborne and Elton John! And speaking of Sheryl Crow, you cannot miss her singing a Mozart opera aria with Pavarotti. She is truly amazing...who would have believed it. She more than holds her own with the maestro. This is a must have.

Incredibly life-affirming! Musical diversity at its best........1999-06-12

This CD has two levels of depth. Listen to it as blend of Euro-pop and US big-names, THEN try again.

"Holy Mother" travels from its prayer for strength to the junked-out streets screaming for survival in "Saint Teresa". On the journey continues to Elton's "Live Like Horses"-- his personal tribute to Versace. There, the classical truly melds with contemporary anthem-- and begs us to be free of our self imposed fences and walls. Food for thought and music to soothe the soul. This collection helped me survive my dear niece's suicide.

Thank you Pavarotti!

Psalms of David Complete
Average customer rating:

Brilliant Recordings

A- for effort

What can you say?

Psalms of David Complete
Choir of St Paul's Cathedral , and Scott
Manufacturer: Hyperion UK
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
General | Classical | Styles | Music
Classical | Imports | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

The Psalms of David from Kings Choir of Kings College, Cambridge, Vol. 1

Psalms For The Soul

Treasures of English Church Music

The Oxford Guide to The Book of Common Prayer: A Worldwide Survey

Praise to the Lord - Hymns From St. Paul's Cathedral

ASIN: B00006GO6J
Release Date: 2002-10-08

Amazon.com

This complete 12-disc survey of The Psalms of David from St. Paul's Cathedral is both a remarkable historical record of Anglican chant at its finest and an astonishing musical experience. Contained here are all 150 psalms in their traditional English garb from the 1549 Book of Common Prayer, with revised or entirely new musical settings as published in The New St. Paul's Cathedral Psalter, edited by the choir's musical director John Scott, itself a revision of the 1875 Cathedral Psalter. As such, these recordings represent the very backbone of the Anglican liturgy, but even a casual listener will be in no doubt that they also offer music that is both contemplative and richly varied when removed from its liturgical context.

The art of "pointing"--or setting--psalm texts has been essayed by many English composers, from William Croft through the Wesleys and William Boyce in earlier times to the great flowering in the late 19th century under Stainer and Barnby, with further contributions from Parry, Stanford, Elgar, Howells, and a host of choirmasters and organists, including Sir David Willcocks and John Scott himself. All are represented here. Recorded throughout in the vast acoustic of their cathedral, the St. Paul's choristers enunciate the words precisely, backed by inventive though unobtrusive organ accompaniment. Taken individually, it's possible to isolate moments when the choir seem to drag their feet or fail to give due weight to the words (Psalm 125, "They that put their trust in the Lord," seems far too subdued, for example), and the massive Psalm 119 is awkwardly split across discs 10 and 11, but overall this set is nothing less than a document of invaluable cultural and musical significance. --Mark Walker

Customer Reviews:

Brilliant Recordings.......2007-06-11

In our view the changes in pointing, and excellent selection of chants, give deeper meanings to the Psalms than those achieved in the "standard?" Parish Psalter.

We found great Spirituality and a wonderful sense of Worship whilst listening to this set. This is often sacrificed for brilliance of musical performance in other recordings.

Unfortunately the "St.Paul's Psalter" is not available (June 2007) but we are told that a new print run may happen within 12 months. This would be a most valuable companion to the recordings when and if it becomes available.

A- for effort.......2006-02-23

This grand undertaking deserves high praise, and I'm struck, listening to chant after chant, how much Anglican chant as it used to be until the changes of the 70s was one of the great Victorian contributions to English life and art. For anyone who wants to hear almost the entire repertoire of Anglican chant deployed in singing the whole book of Psalms, this is an unrivalled source. It is wonderful, too, to hear the Coverdale translation: you realize what the churches have lost by abandoning the proper & regular singing of the Psalms. So one is immensely grateful to Hyperion for putting out this recording. It's not perfect, though.

The rhythmic pacing, though a little slow for my taste, is steady and sensitive, the diction clear, and the organ accompaniment superb (Providing an expressive accompaniment to a choir singing in 4-part free rhythm, and improvising descants to the melody at the same time, isn't easy). And of course there's the cavernous acoustic of St. Paul's, very impressive in the more thunderous psalms. Unfortunately, though, the "forward" style favored for the St. Paul's boys produces a sound that's unpleasantly chesty in the lower registers and reedy in the higher ones. The poorly integrated choral sound caused by this kind of voice-production can be downright unpleasant for anyone used to, or trained in, the classic English choral style. In fact, one has to wonder why this choir was chosen for such a huge project: even allowing for the near-universal decline in standards of vocal training for boys in England, better sounds than this can still be heard.

What can you say?.......2003-01-03

I almost hate to criticize this terrific thing. After all, where else can you get all 150 Psalms in a single collection sung by one of the world's great choirs?

How much do I like it? I bought it *twice*. I originally bought all the CDs separately, before they came out with a single boxed set. They were stolen from my car (and, God willing, maybe they converted some poor thief to Anglican Cathedral Music and got him into church). After they were stolen, I immediately bought them again.

One of the great pleasures of life is listening to the Morning and Evening Psalms while driving to and from work, and making listening a regular feature of Morning and Evening Prayer.

So what's the criticism? The sound is a bit muddy, so the words can be rather difficult to understand without reading along (which is a real problem when driving), and personally, I prefer the Psalter from the 1979 BCP instead of the old one, from the Great Bible. But that's unreasonable. They ARE a British choir after all. Those are the only criticisms.

Tracks:

Overture
Vain, Fluctuating State Of Human Empire!
Thou, God Most High, And Thou Alone
The Fate Of Babylon, I Fear, Is Nigh
Lament Not Thus, Oh Queen, In Vain!
Behold, By Persia's Hero Made
Well May They Laugh/Oh Memory! Still Bitter To My Soul
Opprest With Never-Ceasing Grief
Dry Thoes Unavailing Tears
Be Comforted: Safe Though The Tyrant Seem/Methought, As On The Bank Of Deep Euphrates
Now, Tell Me, Gobrias
Behold The Monstrous Human Beast
Can You Then Think It Strange
Great God! Who, Yet But Darkly Known
My Friends, Be Confident
All Empires Upon God Depend
Oh Sacred Oracles Of Truth!
Rejoyce, My Countrymen
Sing, Oh Ye Heav'ns!

Tracks:

Let Festal Joy Triumphant Reign!
For You, My Friends
The Leafy Honours Of The Field
It Is The Custom, I May Say, The Law
Recall, Oh King! Thy Rash Command
They Tell You True
Oh Dearer Than My Life, Forebear!
By Slow Degrees The Wrath Of God
See, From His Post Euphrates Flies!
You See, My Friends, A Path
Amaz'd To Find The Foe So Near
To Arms, To Arms! No More Delay!
Ye Tutelar Gods Of Our Empire
Let The Deep Bowl Thy Praise Confess
Where Is The God Of Judah's Boasted Pow'r?
Call All My Wise Men

Tracks:

A Singony (Allegro Postillions)
Ye Sages! Welcome Always To Your King/Alas! Too Hard A Task The King Imposes
Oh Misery! - Oh Terror! - Hopeless Grief!
Oh King, Live For Ever!
No! To Thyself Thy Trifles Be
Yet, To Obey His Dread Command
Oh Sentence To Severe!
Oh God Of Truth! Oh Faithful Guide!
You, Gobrias, Lead Directly To The Palace
Oh Glorious Prince!
Alternate Hopes And Fears
Fain Would I Hope
Can The Black Aethiop Change His Skin?
My Hopes Revive
Bel Boweth Down!
I Thank, Thee, Sesach
A Martial Symphony
To Pow'e Immortal My First Thanks
Be It Thy Care, Good Gobrias
Great Victor, At Your Feet I Bow
Say, Venerable Prophet
Tell It Out Among The Heathen
Yes, I Will Build Thy City
I Will Magnify Thee

Customer Reviews:

ISSUE RESOLVED ON THE EUPHRATES.......2005-06-19

One question I might find among the more difficult in my life would be - which is my favourite Handel oratorio? I suspect that my answer would generally be 'the one I heard most recently', and that, as I write this, is Belshazzar. It is a magnificent thing, a heavenly thing. It has taken me longer than it should have to come to an appreciation of what makes Handel the phenomenon - as a genius, as an artist, as a craftsman - that he is, but I am comforted to reflect that no less a genius than Haydn, at the age of nearly 70 gaining a more thorough knowledge of Handel in performance, was driven to say that he felt a mere apprentice. In his sense of how to pace a dramatic narrative, in his instinct for how to use the human voice in song and above all in chorus, in the matchless flexibility and adroitness he displays at word-setting and in the audacity of his melodic and harmonic effects I can think of nobody who can approach Handel on his own terms.

Belshazzar was not a great success at the box-office, although this may have had more to do with difficulties in the casting than because it was deemed insufficiently biblical for oratorio, which seems to have been the fate of Hercules. It seems to me to be perfectly well described as oratorio in other ways too, with (for one thing) the extensive use of the chorus that we find in, say, Samson but not in Hercules. The one passage that cries out for visual effects is of course the apparition of the moving finger itself. Even here the composer can go a long way with sheer power of suggestion, by the strange unaccompanied violin figure creeping upwards and the frightened brevity of the vocal numbers. Otherwise for me Belshazzar is as much an oratorio as Samson is. It has the same librettist too, the crusty and formidable Jennens, who had also collaborated with Handel on Saul and on Messiah itself. Jennens' full text is not provided, but I think if you read the synopsis first and then follow the work from the headlines to each number you will have no difficulty in catching the words, so clear is the enunciation by soloists and chorus alike. As usual, Handel was driven to make alterations to the score for practical reasons. He had been a little concerned about its length, roughly 2 hours and 50 minutes in this performance, but where he wishes to be expansive he gives us full measure - two arias in Act I scene 4 take well over 7 minutes each. The liner-essay (a good one, by Anthony Hicks) goes into the issue of the version of the score used here, and I personally have no problem with it.

I have no faults to find with the performance in any way. Pinnock is an established specialist, the instruments are period instruments and vocal cadenzas at the end of the arias are kept minimal. Anthony Rolfe Johnson, James Bowman and David Wilson-Johnson are tried and trusted Handel singers and at their best here, and Nicolas Robertson and Richard Wistreich in the smaller parts are every bit as good. The part of Cyrus is a soprano part, taken by Catherine Robbin, and when I thought I heard just one touch of strain in `Destructive War' in the final scene she makes up for it instantly in her superb duet with Arleen Auger in the following number. Auger as Nitocris the mother of Belshazzar has the biggest part, and she covers herself with glory all the way through.

The recording is perfect, and when I saw an aria entitled `Destructive War, thy limits know' near the end I felt a sharp sense of irony in the year 2005. Cyrus, Handel, Jennens, you should all have been living at this hour.

Enjoiyable, but lacking, too........2004-08-16

This 3CD set of George Frederic Handel's (1685-1759) "Belshazzar", from Archiv Production, a division of Universal Music, is proof again that transfer from vinyl to tape to disc brings with it improvements in listening that make the purchase a worthwhile addition to anyone's listening library. Written in 1744, "Belshazzar" is an oratorio in the operatic style that is wonderful oratorio, but lacking the true depth one expects to hear in an opera. London opera audiences of Handel's day agreed, as both "Belshazzar" and Handel's other offering of the period in the same style, "Hercules", were not terribly successful. Instead of the scheduled 24 performances only 16 were given and Handel never offered a full season of oratorio again. The Libretto by Charles Jennens (1700-1773) is, as the production notes say, meant "not only to show the fall of Babylon but to show it as a fulfillment of divine prediction and to confirm the biblical testimony by reference to classical history." There's only one problem, as good a quality as the CDs are, it is not possible to follow the full libretto and the accompanying booklet includes no text, which is a shame. I think the listening experience would have been increased immeasurably if one was able to follow the text of what is being sung. Nonetheless the dramatic narrative is fluid and even, and the English Concert and Choir provide nice balance to the less full vocal passages, as in Disc 3s "Oh Glorious prince", cut 10. There is enough of this throughout to keep one's interest, but disappointing if what one expects is another ""Messiah".

Average customer rating:

"arguably the world's best in choral & dance"

Live in Paris

Manufacturer: Silva America
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

French | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Italian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Russian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Easy Listening | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Russian Favourites
Red Army Chorus: The Best of the Original Ensemble
Kalinka
Echoes of a Red Empire
Best of the Red Army Choir

ASIN: B00076OMVK
Release Date: 2005-02-08

Tracks:

Overture
Russian National Anthem
Oh Fields My Fields, Song Of The Plains
The Sacred War
In The Sunny Clearing
Kalinka
We Sing To Thee
On The Road
Smuglianka
A Partisan's Song
Along The Peterskaya Road
Dark Eyes
Chorus Of The Hebrew Slaves
Bandit's Chorus
Spanish Medley: Amapola/Valencia/Granada
Excerpt From 'Boris Godunov'
March Of The Toreadors
Nessun Dorma
Di Quella Pira
Katyusha
Moscow Nights

Customer Reviews:

"arguably the world's best in choral & dance".......2005-02-09

Silva Classics presents "Live in Paris", featuring The Red Army Choir, Orchestra and Dance Ensemble with some of the most impressive musicians and singers numbering over 400 members...when you listen to this album, voices ring true and clear with the gusto of "RUSSIAN NATIONAL ANTHEM" and "KALINKA" seem to jump out at you...these recordings are priceless and have brought the years to the forefront, when this male choir took first place at the Paris Universal Exhibition in 1937.

Silva Classics has taken the reins to bring the "ultimate" of full choir sounds, including classical suites and traditional songs...if you love superb vocals with rich and vibrant styles...21 selections guaranteed to take your breath away...rich harmonies and the amalgamation of voices makes the music eternal...among the best choirs of the planet...this album has it all.

My highlight picks are the "CHORUS OF THE HEBREW SLAVES" (from "Nabucco"), "BANDIT'S CHORUS" (from "Ernant"), "SPANISH MEDLEY:AMAPOLA I VALENCIA I GRANADA", Excerpt from "BORIS GODUNOV", "MARCH OF THE TOREADORS" (from "Carmen")", "NESSUN DORMA" (from "Turandot"), "DE QUELLA PIRA" (from "Il Travatore"), outstanding arrangements and excellent performances within each members sections, a must have for your music collection...every performance is remarkable, completely above all expectations...if you love the classics, this will satisfy your cravings.

Total Time: 77:00 on 21 Tracks ~ Silva America 6038 ~ (2/08/2005)

Christian Music: