| 1. Wait Up |
| 2. Higher |
| 3. Do It |
| 4. Moving With U |
| 5. Let's Ride |
| 6. Things U Do |
| 7. All In |
| 8. Go Hard |
| 9. Breathe and Stop |
| 10. Vivrant Thing |
| 11. N.T. [Featuring Busta Rhymes] |
| 12. End of Time [Featuring Horn] |
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Breaking up is hard to do but sometimes the aftermath can shine a light on the individuals and just what they brought to the mix. Over the course of five albums (three of which are certified hip-hop classics), Q-Tip, the dominant wordsmith and resident sex symbol of A Tribe Called Quest, was the guy with the goods. With his adenoidal tone and nimble way with a rhyme, he was the focus of much of the attention Tribe justifiably received. Yet left to his own devices, Tip falls short and Amplified is not the triumph fans might have expected. Part of the fault lies in the production, which with the exception of two great cuts (both produced by DJ Scratch), is provided by Tip and partner J.D., who also worked the last two (weak) Tribe CDs. Tip's new sound is typified by the revved up, sexy push and pull of his smash "Vivrant Thing." But that song's sound and subject matter--sex--is the main theme throughout this album. Adding to the dilemma is the fact that the advances sent to press were sequenced as if Amplified was one continuous track, which makes the sameness of many of the cuts even more obvious. True, Tip is playful and pointed, but the lyrics are remarkably linear for a guy who once dubbed himself "abstract" and the similarity of the drum patterns and tempo start to grow tiresome. Sadly, what should have been a breakthrough solo debut from a truly gifted artist only makes you yearn for the subtle jazzy touches and deadpan retorts former Tribe members Ali and Phife provided. --Amy Linden
The emotion runs deep and true through this album without getting overbearing. A lot of that has to do with the songs themselves, which are just simple and powerful. But it's even more to do with the spare but rich production. The vocals are pitch perfect, and the choice of instrumentation prevents any song from getting overdone. When not to play is often as important as when to play. This album is one where every note seems to have a place and a meaning. The overall mood is longing, but thoughtful, profound, and mature.
I started out on Rollercoaster, jumped to Get Me, then found We Walk the Same Line, drove around on Two Star for a couple weeks, realized I Don't Understand Anything and just started playing the whole thing. There are many essentials that I'll be returning to for a long time.
Enjoy!
Their music is beautiful. On a piece like Metallica's "One," the strings dance through the intro in almost baroque fashion, only to plunge into a startling imitation of a guitar's grind, and then cut loose into the meat of the piece with a snarl you've probably never heard from a cello before. Maximizing the cello's rich tonal range from a deep bass growl to a soprano that soars into the upper atmosphere, the instruments lend power ballads a heart-rendingly beautiful sound, while they crash through the hard stuff with a vicious exuberance that'd make any metal band proud.
If you enjoy metal, if you admire the lyricism of a well-played string instrument, if you like discovering novel sounds, or if you're simply tired of hearing rehashes of the same old stuff over and over again, you owe it to yourself to check out Apocalyptica. This collection is an excellent place to start, with some of the highlights from all their albums up to this point. Dark, ferocious, beautiful, and ageless, every person I've played this album for has turned to me with a look of joyful surprise and asked where they could find a copy.
The album begins with "Wait Up," which uses nice keyboard and saxophone instrumentation for Tip to flow over. "Higher" has vibesy, soulful production and a good chorus. "Breathe and Stop" is a single, fast and simple sounding but very catchy. The electronic and experimental sounding "Moving With U" follows. I love "Let's Ride," it's a laidback, fun song about riding in cars and listening to music. Tip would never have made this kind of song with Phife and Shaheed, but I like hearing him do it by himself. "Things U Do" and "All In" follow, adding to the consistency of "Amplified." "Go Hard" is a funkier song aimed for the ladies. "Vivrant Thing" is one of the best, a song with good production and funny lyrics. Busta Rhymes collaborates on the piano-heavy "N.T." and rock band Korn make an unlikely appearance on "End of Time," which is a song I actually like a lot, it's really different from everything else on the album. A bonus track is also included, which lyrically is the best. It explains the rise and fall of A Tribe Called Quest, chronicling their career and breakup, with inside stuff a fan wouldn't have guessed.
I recommend "Amplified" mostly because it is an album of catchy, fun hip hop music even if lyrically it is not what a lot of fans expected. I think a lot of different kinds of music listeners will enjoy it, and Tribe fans such as myself will like it in a lot of ways too. Overall "Amplified" is an enjoyable album that I really like to listen to on a lot of occasions, and I definitely recommend it.
I don't care about the so-called change in their sound- I got into Suzuki with the, Your Love is a Gentle Whip, single. On that early release their garage sound was completely mechanical, and devoid of the blues/funk that they've evolved into today. They have changed/evolved with each album. Most good bands do.
This is a solid album. It would be a solid first album, and it is a solid third album. Their sound evolved and matured, and I hope it continues to. Yes, it was produced by the Matrix. Did that effect the sound. The producer always does. Primitive Condition, Alive & Amplified and Shake That Bush Again are all really great songs. I hope they made a few bucks licensing the title track to, appropriately enough, Suzuki for the Grand Vitara TV spot where the guy parachutes off the red-rock down to his SUV... You've heard it a dozen times, that's the song.
The first song is just naughty enough to make me smile, while the title track "Alive & Amplified" is a big energy romp through the highs of life.
I won't go into much detail after that, it's sort of something you need to experience for yourself.
I installed this CD in my car (which I use too much for work) and was instantly removed from the mundane. This is a quiet piece (the CD is one long hymn)but not so hushed that it doesn't counteract the sounds of motoring. A very rare find indeed.
This is a work of astounding beauty, and is ideal for a fan of any kind of music that is ambient, meditative, relaxing, etc. etc.
I once read a comment by Michael Walsh (music critic for Time Magazine) claiming that Makrokosmos is better if performed by a man. In general, I think he's right -- the shouting and speaking from the pianist in the various pieces just carry more gravitas with a deeper voice. I would also add the caveat that it should be an English-speaking pianist, too -- the recording of Bojan Gorisek on Audiophile Classics (if it's out there anymore) has its distractions thanks to Gorisek's heavy Slavic accent.
Since the recording here has an American man playing, and it's superb. It's not good because he's a man and he's American, but because the whole package is here. The recording quality and phrasing is excellent -- Mr. Shannon paces things perfectly so that you can hear and savor the resoanance that comes from inside the piano. The nutty piano techniques show their edge amazingly well -- for example, in the Phantom Gondolier movement, you can just imagine how hard Mr. Shannon scrapes his thimble-capped fingers on the strings inside the piano to produce the hair-raising sounds. Book 2, which I like less, also comes up a winner. It feels a little recycled after going through the 35 minutes of Book 1, but how often can one hear a coherent piece that demonstrates the effect of placing paper on strings of the piano?
My one gripe is that Mr. Shannon is not a strong vocalist. In some parts of both books, the score asks for "shouting" from the pianist, and he comes up quite short. In the Crucifixus movement of Book 1, his shout of "Christe!" is hardly the jolting climax from the depths of a deathly silence it's supposed to be. And this happens on several occasions. His whistling isn't bad, though.
Otherwordly Resonances seems quaint after getting through the string-plucking and knocking in Makrokosmos. It's pleasant enough, but it definitely takes second fiddle to the headliner on this CD. Which is a shame, because the performers of this work, Quattro Mani, do amazing things with the Makrokosmos III and IV on other Crumb CDs.
I wish Mr. Crumb would have made more comments about what techniques he actually used in his works. Without a score to look at (and they're HUGE, awkward, and expensive), how on earth is anyone supposed to know what we're listening to? The sounds generated from a prepared piano are just as interesting as learning how to prepare the piano in the first place.
I still think this CD is fabulous. It shows Elliott Carter's garbled messes from the same period have some worthy competition.
This has often been considered to be groundbreaking music. But it's important to build something after breaking ground. Xenakis has left us an empty lot.
Just for this recording of "Metastasis" alone the disc is worth for the price. This work, written for large orchestra between 1953 and 1954, was Xenakis' first mature effort. Of great proportions indeed, "Metastasis" has 61 instrumentalists playing 61 different parts. The opening is stunning, gradually each of the strings enters sustaining a single note, creating a massive wall of sound before some strings go astray via glissandi to other notes and pizzicato playing and the rest of the orchestra shows up. Closely related to the composer's design of the Couvent de la Tourette near Lyons, much of the dynamics of this first portion is based on the Fibonacci sequence, with nearly every decision in the work, from the structures of intervals to the length of dynamics and tones. The second section is more traditional, as the bulk of the orchestral forces remain silent with some strings playing a contrapuntal passage with drumrolls in the background and the occasional spotting of brass. This recording documents the world-premiere at the 1955 Donaueschinger Musiktage, where the SWF Symphony Orchestra conducted by Hans Rosbaud perform. While slightly lesser in sound-quality than the other two widely-available recordings, this one was considered to be the best by Xenakis, and even in 1950s mono sound it packs a tremendous punch.
Almost two decades passed between "Metastasis" and the next piece here. "Charisma" (1971) is written for clarinet, here Hans Deinzer, and cello, here the great Siegfried Palm. Unlike the wild energy typical of much of Xenakis' work, this duo consists of long-held sonorities and pregnant silences. Alone of the pieces here, it tends toward the forgettable, but some of the weird, noise-like sounds evoked unusual attacks on the instruments are quite interesting.
"N'Shima" (1975) is the only work here to include voices, and is also the smallest piece for ensemble. Two female voices, singing from a Hebrew text, are combined with two horns, two trombones, and a cello. The piece was rigorously constructed with the aid of a computer to create melodic patterns from probabilities, but the result, far from seeming inhuman or lifeless, is immensely elegant. Throughout each of the piece's six sections, a particular combination of instruments is explored, starting with voice and horns, the cello paired with breath sounds, and so forth. A strong effort, and this performance by Les Jeunes Solistes conducted by Rachid Safir, recorded at a 1991 festival in Metz, is admirably clear and confident.
In "Jonchaies" (1977) Xenakis returns to the massively large orchestra of "Metastasis", with 109 musicians, quadruple winds, six percussionists, and an extra-large string section. The piece is one of his late masterpieces, and it's got it all. The opening is for string alone, starting off with repetitive bowing reminiscent of the PSYCHO shower scene, then falling into some of Xenakis' most straightfowardly melodical writing. Gamelan-like sonorities appear in a long string continuum. Then, the piece launches into a series of rhythmic pulsations, with bouncy writing on drums and low strings similar to Per Norgard's much later piece "Terrains Vagues". The energy never lets up, even with most of the orchestra occasionally drops out to highlight one group. Gilbert Amy leads the Nouvel Orchesre Philharmonique in a splendid performance.
"Ata" (1987) similarly opens with a passage for string alone, but its main facet is not rhythm but texture. Overall it's one of the least "strange" pieces Xenakis wrote, resembling some of the work of Magnus Lindberg like "Fresco" or "Arena". I would have started the disc with "Metastasis" to show the fury that Xenakis is all about, but Col legno did well by putting this piece early to help new listeners gently acclimate to the composer's soundworld. This recording is from the premiere at the 1988 Donaueschinger Musiktage, with Michael Gielen leading the SWF Symphony.
"Ioolkos" (1996) was another piece premiered at Donaueschingen, and this recording is of that performance by the SWF Symphony Orchestra led by Kwame Ryan. In its numerous clusters and strong counterpoint, it looks back to "Metastasis", which appeared forty-one years earlier by the same orchestra at the same festival. However, it is much slower and a bit shorter, taking the gentle soundworld of "Ata" a bit further.
Xenakis was a notoriously inconsistent composer, and a few of his works are even well-nigh unlistenable. However, the material collected here is of a very high standard indeed. Unfortunately, the liner notes here, amounting to a single small paragraph on each work, are among the most unsubstantial I've ever seen. Fans of the composer would do best to seek out James Harley's excellent guide XENAKIS (Routledge, 2004) which covers the composer's entire oeuvre--don't worry, it doesn't assume that one can read music.
However fine "Metastaseis" is, there are plenty of other experimental works to be found here. For instance, track 2 called "N'Shima" (1975) has some truly wacked out vocal work, perfect background music for people who like to get drunk or high? Ha!
Another surprise was track 6, titled "Jonchaies" (1977). Is the opening an overt tongue-in-cheek jab at movie composer Bernard Herrmann? I know that Herrmann was certainly influenced by the avant-garde movements during the mid-century and incorporated it's ideas into his own film scores, Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" being one of them. So was Xenakis consciously trying to quote the score of "Psycho" so as to get back at Herrmann's continual lifting of ideas from avant-gardists like Xenakis himself in the first place? Can it all be just a coincidence? Who knows?
You'll have plenty of musical fun with this disc I assure you, the later featured Xenakis works are not as persuasive as Metastaseis but it's good to have such a well rounded 67 minute collage of his music on one CD. A definite buy.
Breaking up is hard to do but sometimes the aftermath can shine a light on the individuals and just what they brought to the mix. Over the course of five albums (three of which are certified hip-hop classics), Q-Tip, the dominant wordsmith and resident sex symbol of A Tribe Called Quest, was the guy with the goods. With his adenoidal tone and nimble way with a rhyme, he was the focus of much of the attention Tribe justifiably received. Yet left to his own devices, Tip falls short and Amplified is not the triumph fans might have expected. Part of the fault lies in the production, which with the exception of two great cuts (both produced by DJ Scratch), is provided by Tip and partner J.D., who also worked the last two (weak) Tribe CDs. Tip's new sound is typified by the revved up, sexy push and pull of his smash "Vivrant Thing." But that song's sound and subject matter--sex--is the main theme throughout this album. Adding to the dilemma is the fact that the advances sent to press were sequenced as if Amplified was one continuous track, which makes the sameness of many of the cuts even more obvious. True, Tip is playful and pointed, but the lyrics are remarkably linear for a guy who once dubbed himself "abstract" and the similarity of the drum patterns and tempo start to grow tiresome. Sadly, what should have been a breakthrough solo debut from a truly gifted artist only makes you yearn for the subtle jazzy touches and deadpan retorts former Tribe members Ali and Phife provided. --Amy Linden
Amplified,Q-Tip,Arista,Alternative Rap,East Coast Rap,Hip-Hop,Pop,Rap & Hip-Hop,Soul/Reggae/Rhythm & Blues
Average customer rating: 
|
Amplified Heart
Everything But the Girl Manufacturer: Atlantic / Wea ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD  General
| Alternative Rock
| Styles
| Music
General
| Rock
| Styles
| Music
Pop Rock
| Pop
| Styles
| Music
Contemporary
| Vocal Pop
| Pop
| Styles
| Music
General
| Dance Pop
| Dance & DJ
| Styles
| Music
Similar Items:
ASIN: B000002IZ1 Release Date: 1994-07-19 |
Tracks:
- Rollercoaster
- Troubled Mind
- I Don't Understand Anything
- Walking To You
- Get Me
- Missing
- Two Star
- We Walk The Same Line
- 25th December
- Disenchanted
Amazon.com essential recording
Amplified Heart marked a number of changes in Everything but the Girl's career, the most obvious of which was their sudden popularity when a Todd Terry remix of "Missing" became a dance-floor hit. But before the album was even recorded, Ben Watt--who with Tracy Thorn is EBTG--was hospitalized for a life-threatening intestinal disorder (see his book, Patient: The True Story of a Rare Illness, for a full account). His recovery invigorates Amplified Heart, making the love songs that much more passionate, the relationship songs that much more tender, and "25th December"--the one song in which Watt sings lead--that much more heartbreaking. Thorn's captivating vocals are the focus on the rest of the album, and she's as smooth as ever; combined with the focus that she and Watt share here, it makes for EBTG's best album. --Randy SilverAmazon.com
Mired in an easy-listening rut since Baby, The Stars Shine Bright (1986), Everything But the Girl's return to self-production is a plus and might account for "Amplified Heart" being their most striking and listenable album in eons. --Jeff BatemanCustomer Reviews:
Wow.......2007-03-07
Serious Music.......2006-06-10
Listen loud and feel it.......2006-01-30
The emotion runs deep and true through this album without getting overbearing. A lot of that has to do with the songs themselves, which are just simple and powerful. But it's even more to do with the spare but rich production. The vocals are pitch perfect, and the choice of instrumentation prevents any song from getting overdone. When not to play is often as important as when to play. This album is one where every note seems to have a place and a meaning. The overall mood is longing, but thoughtful, profound, and mature.
I started out on Rollercoaster, jumped to Get Me, then found We Walk the Same Line, drove around on Two Star for a couple weeks, realized I Don't Understand Anything and just started playing the whole thing. There are many essentials that I'll be returning to for a long time.
One Of The Best Albums Of The 90's.......2005-12-07
great album.......2005-10-10
Enjoy!
Average customer rating:
|
Amplified: A Decade of Reinventing the Cello
Apocalyptica Manufacturer: Umvd Import ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General
| Rock
| Styles
| Music
Progressive Metal
| Progressive
| Rock
| Styles
| Music
General
| Hard Rock & Metal
| Styles
| Music
Pop Rock
| Pop
| Styles
| Music
Hard Rock & Metal
| Imports
| Stores
| Music
Similar Items:
ASIN: B000FIHFDC Release Date: 2006-06-05 |
Tracks:
- Enter Sandman
- Harmageddon
- Nothing Else Matters
- Refuse/Resist
- Somewhere Around Nothing
- Betrayal
- Farewell
- Master of Puppets
- Hall of the Mountain King
- One
- Heat
- Cohkka
- Kaamos
- Deathzone
- Angel of Death
Tracks:
- Repressed [#] - Apocalyptica, Max Cavalera, Matthew Tuck
- Path, Vol. 2 - Apocalyptica, Sandra Nasic
- Bittersweet - Apocalyptica, Ville Valo,
- Hope, Vol. 2 - Apocalyptica,
- En Vie - Apocalyptica,
- Faraway, Vol. 2 - Apocalyptica, Linda Sundblad
- Life Burns - Apocalyptica,
- Seemann - Apocalyptica, Nina Hagen
Album Description
Two disc 2006 collection featuring the best moments from this classically based Finnish quartet's first decade, including a handful of tracks from their internationally successful Plays Metallica For Four Cellos. 23 tracks. Universal.Album Details
2006 Anthology of the Radical Group of Cellists from Finland that Took a Cue from Rasputina and Play Rock N Roll. Not Just Any Rock N Roll....their Repetoire Comes Primarily from the Metallica Canon...as Well as from Other Bands that Influenced Or Are Similar to their Heroes. Includes Two Previously Unreleased Recordings of "Angel of Death" and "Repressed" (Which is the First Single Release from this Set).Customer Reviews:
One of a kind........2006-09-11
Their music is beautiful. On a piece like Metallica's "One," the strings dance through the intro in almost baroque fashion, only to plunge into a startling imitation of a guitar's grind, and then cut loose into the meat of the piece with a snarl you've probably never heard from a cello before. Maximizing the cello's rich tonal range from a deep bass growl to a soprano that soars into the upper atmosphere, the instruments lend power ballads a heart-rendingly beautiful sound, while they crash through the hard stuff with a vicious exuberance that'd make any metal band proud.
If you enjoy metal, if you admire the lyricism of a well-played string instrument, if you like discovering novel sounds, or if you're simply tired of hearing rehashes of the same old stuff over and over again, you owe it to yourself to check out Apocalyptica. This collection is an excellent place to start, with some of the highlights from all their albums up to this point. Dark, ferocious, beautiful, and ageless, every person I've played this album for has turned to me with a look of joyful surprise and asked where they could find a copy.
Average customer rating: 
|
Amplified
Q-Tip Manufacturer: Arista ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General
| Soul
| R&B
| Styles
| Music
East Coast
| Rap & Hip-Hop
| Styles
| Music
General
| Rap & Hip-Hop
| Styles
| Music
Experimental Rap
| Rap & Hip-Hop
| Styles
| Music
Pop Rap
| Rap & Hip-Hop
| Styles
| Music
Similar Items:
ASIN: B00002R0K9 Release Date: 1999-11-30 |
Tracks:
- Wait Up
- Higher
- Do It
- Moving With U
- Let's Ride
- Things U Do
- All In
- Go Hard
- Breathe And Stop
- Vivrant Thing
- N.T.
- End Of Time
Amazon.com
Breaking up is hard to do but sometimes the aftermath can shine a light on the individuals and just what they brought to the mix. Over the course of five albums (three of which are certified hip-hop classics), Q-Tip, the dominant wordsmith and resident sex symbol of A Tribe Called Quest, was the guy with the goods. With his adenoidal tone and nimble way with a rhyme, he was the focus of much of the attention Tribe justifiably received. Yet left to his own devices, Tip falls short and Amplified is not the triumph fans might have expected. Part of the fault lies in the production, which with the exception of two great cuts (both produced by DJ Scratch), is provided by Tip and partner J.D., who also worked the last two (weak) Tribe CDs. Tip's new sound is typified by the revved up, sexy push and pull of his smash "Vivrant Thing." But that song's sound and subject matter--sex--is the main theme throughout this album. Adding to the dilemma is the fact that the advances sent to press were sequenced as if Amplified was one continuous track, which makes the sameness of many of the cuts even more obvious. True, Tip is playful and pointed, but the lyrics are remarkably linear for a guy who once dubbed himself "abstract" and the similarity of the drum patterns and tempo start to grow tiresome. Sadly, what should have been a breakthrough solo debut from a truly gifted artist only makes you yearn for the subtle jazzy touches and deadpan retorts former Tribe members Ali and Phife provided. --Amy LindenCustomer Reviews:
read this before the review up top.......2006-12-27
What's wrong with having a little fun?.......2006-12-18
The album begins with "Wait Up," which uses nice keyboard and saxophone instrumentation for Tip to flow over. "Higher" has vibesy, soulful production and a good chorus. "Breathe and Stop" is a single, fast and simple sounding but very catchy. The electronic and experimental sounding "Moving With U" follows. I love "Let's Ride," it's a laidback, fun song about riding in cars and listening to music. Tip would never have made this kind of song with Phife and Shaheed, but I like hearing him do it by himself. "Things U Do" and "All In" follow, adding to the consistency of "Amplified." "Go Hard" is a funkier song aimed for the ladies. "Vivrant Thing" is one of the best, a song with good production and funny lyrics. Busta Rhymes collaborates on the piano-heavy "N.T." and rock band Korn make an unlikely appearance on "End of Time," which is a song I actually like a lot, it's really different from everything else on the album. A bonus track is also included, which lyrically is the best. It explains the rise and fall of A Tribe Called Quest, chronicling their career and breakup, with inside stuff a fan wouldn't have guessed.
I recommend "Amplified" mostly because it is an album of catchy, fun hip hop music even if lyrically it is not what a lot of fans expected. I think a lot of different kinds of music listeners will enjoy it, and Tribe fans such as myself will like it in a lot of ways too. Overall "Amplified" is an enjoyable album that I really like to listen to on a lot of occasions, and I definitely recommend it.
Terrible commercial album.......2006-12-15
Abstract.......2006-02-14
stick this funking shiiit in your ear.......2006-01-10
Average customer rating:
|
Crumb: Ancient Voices Of Children
Manufacturer: Nonesuch ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by George Crumb
| Crumb, George
| ( C )
| Featured Composers, A-Z
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
General Modern
| Modern, 20th, & 21st Century
| Historical Periods
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
General
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
General
| Chamber Music
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
Avant Garde & Free Jazz
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
Similar Items:
ASIN: B000005IY6 Release Date: 1990-10-25 |
Tracks:
- Ancient Voices Of Children: El Nino Busca Su Voz
- Ancient Voices Of Children: Dances Of The Ancient Earth
- Ancient Voices Of Children: Me He Perdido Muchas Veces Por El Mar
- Ancient Voices Of Children: De Done Vienes, Amor, Mi Nino? (Dance Of The Sacred Life Cycle)
- Ancient Voices Of Children: Ghost Dance
- Ancient Voices Of Children: Se Ha Llenado De Luces Mi Corazon De Seda
- Music For A Summer Evening: Nocturnal Sounds (The Awakening)
- Music For A Summer Evening: Wanderer-Fantasy
- Music For A Summer Evening: The Advent
- Music For A Summer Evening: Myth
- Music For A Summer Evening: Music Of The Starry Night
Amazon.com
One of the most important and magical song cycles in contemporary music, Ancient Voices of Children, is the setting of a series of haunting texts by the Spanish poet Federico García Lorca for mezzo-soprano, boy soprano, and chamber orchestra. The piece made a huge impression on audiences at its initial performances. Indeed, this recording became something of a cult phenomenon, much like the Górecki Third Symphony today; and if you weren't around for the initial discovery, now's your chance. Music for a Summer Evening uses essentially the same forces as Bartók's Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion, and creates an evocative, glittering nightscape. Great stuff.--David HurwitzCustomer Reviews:
An Avant-Garde Must Get.......2003-05-07
About a few years after buying the vinyl record, I was looking through some CDs in a store (after I got my first CD player). I've found the Nonesuch CD that had "Ancient Voices of Children" AND "Music for a Summer Evening (Makrokosmos III)." I didn't buy it because I wanted to get it on sale. Well, time passed. One day, I saw one up for bid on eBay. I think I was the only bidder on it. The jewel case may have a few scratches (which I wouldn't worry about) but the CD itself was like new.
I'm glad that I got it on CD. I could listen to the music without any clicks or pops you would hear from a vinyl LP (especially since the music gets very quiet at times). Although you wouldn't get the "warm analog sound" you get from the vinyl. Nevertheless, it does sound very good considering that it's AAD. Whoever likes avant-garde music may want to get this.
One thing I want to let you know. Whoever did the tracking on the CD must've misjudged about the beginnings of "Myth" and "Music of the Starry Night." "Myth" begins at index 8:02 on track 9. Tracks 10 and 11 are the last movement, "Music of the Starry Night." Take note of that when listening to this CD.
Crumb in poetic and eerilie beautiful mood.......2002-06-17
Exceptional.......2002-06-15
Music for a Summer Evening is, perhaps, the lesser signifigant work of the two presented here. Even so, it is an astounding presentation of of Crumb's effective use of extended tequniques, and the ability of his atmospheric writing to stir up strong emotions. Here, Crumb has significantly built on the two pianos/percussion format that Bartok made famous in his Sonata.
Ancient Voices of Children is an important song cycle in the post-WWII repertoire. His extended singing tecniques are used to great effect, and the haunting, mystical effects that he cojours within the limited instrumentation are amazing.
Crumb is one a handfull of composers that can write atmospheric music so well, and pull off these avant-garde tecniques so usefully. If you do not know his music, start with this disc; it's breathtaking.
Just Listen.......2002-06-08
The perfomance is quintessential. Jan DeGaetani was marvelous in this style of music and is sorely missed as a performer. The ensemble is spirited and very precise. The only thing that you miss on this CD is the visual choreography of a live performance, which is hypnotizing.
Macrocosmos III was a new piece to me and is every bit as haunting as other Crumb music. The ending is luminous...en eternal spinning out of music in the Lydian scale.
Be aware, this is avant garde music, though I feel it is quite assessible to those who listen without preconceptions. It is certainly more assessible than Elliot Carter or Boulez. It is not Part or Gorecki...but then not everything has to be. For me, this is not about style but about substance. Crumb moves me every bit as much as more assessible composers. You just have to listen with different ears, that's all.
What is the Opposite of Music? Listen to this and find out!.......2001-11-02
I came at this CD - which I bought thanks to some of the aforementioned 5* which I was foolish enough to believe - with the expectation that it would be modern, avant-garde and probably rather ineffable initially. I am prepared for this, believing that often the best music is not instantly grasped and needs careful auditioning. When I listened to it, however, I found that my expectations were not nearly extreme enough. This is music trying so hard to establish its originality that it appears to have progressed well beyond my definition of what music actually is. It is music as art, as a statement and not music to listen to - think about this a little! Hence my opening line - this is the opposite of music.
Instead, this production seems to be comprised of irrelevant and inconsequential noises, none of them musical. To save you the money, and more importantly the time, I will precis this CD for you:
A womans shriek followed by about 20 seconds of silence.
A sound rather like a large rodent being let loose inside a piano.
Some blocks of wood being banged together.
More shrieking.
More silence.
A voice making a strange sound as if copying a phone ringing.
More silence.
More wood being banged together.
More silence
Etcetera, etcetera, ad nauseam
At some point in this avant-garde nonsense somebody is going to blow the whistle and irreverently point out that the "Emperors New Clothes" do not actually exist. In the service of music, as opposed to "art", I am prepared to do the pointing! This production is nothing more that a deeply unmusical joke against those pseudo-intellectuals who completely miss the concepts of humanity and accessibility in music. "Composers" who write this stuff do so as to hide their lack of musical creativity behind an intellectual argument. Don't believe the hype, leave this one on the shelf!
For those aesthetes and enthusiasts who are intent on heading down a progressive route of "classical" music which yet retains any humanity and sympathy, Part and Gorecki appear to have been able to create music of originality and humanity, proving that it can be done.
Leave this production to those pseuds more interested in wallowing in their own misconceived esoteric intellectualism than in actually enjoying music.
Average customer rating: 
|
Complete Crumb Edition 9; Ancient Voices of Children, Madrigals Books I-IV, Eine Kleine Mitternachtmusik
George Crumb , Tony Arnold , Justin Murray , David Colson , and Emanuele Arciuli Manufacturer: Bridge Records, Inc. ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by George Crumb
| Crumb, George
| ( C )
| Featured Composers, A-Z
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
General Modern
| Modern, 20th, & 21st Century
| Historical Periods
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
General
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
General
| Opera & Vocal
| Styles
| Music
Classical
| Indie Music
| Stores
| Music
Similar Items:
ASIN: B000AA4L50 Release Date: 2005-07-20 |
Tracks:
- Ancient Voices of Children - El nino busca su voz
- Ancient Voices of Children - "Dances of the Ancient Earth"
- Ancient Voices of Children - Me he perdido muchas veces por el mar
- Ancient Voices of Children - De donde vienes, amor, mi nino?
- Ancient Voices of Children - Todas las tardes en Granada, todas las tardes se muere un nino
- Ancient Voices of Children - "Ghost Dance"
- Ancient Voices of Children - Se ha llenado de luces mi corazon de seda
- Eine Kline Mitternachtmusik - Nocturnal Theme
- Eine Kline Mitternachtmusik - Charade
- Eine Kline Mitternachtmusik - Premonition
- Eine Kline Mitternachtmusik - Cobweb and Peaseblossom
- Eine Kline Mitternachtmusik - Incantation
- Eine Kline Mitternachtmusik - Golliwog Revisited
- Eine Kline Mitternachtmusik - Blues in the Night
- Eine Kline Mitternachtmusik - Cadenza with Tolling Bells
- Eine Kline Mitternachtmusik - Midnight Transformation
- Madrigals - Verte desnuda es recordar la tierra
- Madrigals - No piensan en la lluvia, y se han dormido
- Madrigals - Los muertos llevan alas de musgo
- Madrigals - Bebe el agua tranquila de la cancion aneja
- Madrigals - La muerte entra y sale de la taberna
- Madrigals - Caballito negro Donde llevas tu jinete muerto
- Madrigals - La noche canta desnuda sobre los puentes de marzo
- Madrigals - Quiero dormir el sueno de las manzanas
- Madrigals - Nana, nino, nana del caballo grande que no quiso el agua
- Madrigals - Por que naci entres espejos
- Madrigals - Tu cuerpo, con la sombra violeta de mis manos, era un arcangel de frio
- Madrigals - La muerto me esta mirando desde las torres de Cordoba!
Product Description
Volume Nine of Bridge's Grammy Award-winning George Crumb Edition features new recordings of two of Crumb's Lorca-inspired classics, as well as the premiere recording of the composer's latest piano piece. Ancient Voices of Children is the composition that brought George Crumb his greatest fame in the 1970s. Scored for soprano, boy soprano and a wild assortment of instruments including mandolin, musical saw, and toy piano, Ancient Voices is a dramatic masterpiece that influenced an entire generation of composers with its use of quotation, extremes of color and dynamics, and one of the most stunningly virtuosic vocal parts in the twentieth century repertoire. As sung in this composer-supervised recording, the young soprano, Tony Arnold, breathes new life and beauty into this cycle which has been virtually owned by the work's dedicatee, the legendary Jan DeGaetani. Eine Kleine Mitternachtmusik is George Crumb's latest work for solo piano- a twenty minute take on Thelonious Monk's famous tune Round Midnight. Though the work opens and closes with literal statements of Monk's tune, from the outset, we know that the music is the inimitable work of George Crumb, with its strummed strings, percussive rumblings inside the piano, and typically Crumbian harmony. Eine Kleine Mitternachtmusik includes a touching blues' movement, and a theatrical counting off' (in Italian) of the hours until Midnight. The work's dedicatee, the Italian piano virtuoso Emanuele Arciuli, is the performer in this premiere recording. George Crumb's four books of Madrigals comprise the longest work in his famed Lorca cycle. This new recording again features Tony Arnold in a spectacular realization of these seminal works by Crumb. From a field of nearly one hundred singers and instrumentalists at Holland's 2002 Gaudeamus International Interpreters Competition, the American soprano Tony Arnold triumphed, becoming the first singer ever to win the competition's First Prize. Ms. Arnold has recently completed a 10 city tour with George Crumb and the George Crumb Ensemble. The soprano's sensational performances of Mr. Crumb's works has inspired Crumb to compose a new work for Ms. Arnold, which will be featured on an upcoming volume in this series. The previous volumes in Bridge's Crumb edition are: BRIDGE 9028 - Songs, Drones, and Refrains of Death; Apparition, A Little Suite for Christmas, AD 1979 BRIDGE 9069 - Quest, Federico's Little Songs for Children, Night Music I BRIDGE 9095 - Star-Child, Three Early Songs, Mundus Canis BRIDGE 9105 - Music for a Summer Evening (Makrokosmos III), Zeitgeist BRIDGE 9113 - Easter Dawning, Celestial Mechanics, A Haunted Landscape, Processional, Easter Dawning BRIDGE 9127 - Lux Aeterna, Pastoral Drone, Four Nocturnes, Gnomic Variations, Echoes of Time and the River BRIDGE 9139 - Unto the Hills, Black Angels BRIDGE 9155 - Makrokosmos Vol. I-II, Otherworldly Resonances
Average customer rating:
|
Alive & Amplified
The Mooney Suzuki Manufacturer: Red Int / Red Ink ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General
| Alternative Rock
| Styles
| Music
Garage Punk
| Hardcore & Punk
| Alternative Rock
| Styles
| Music
Indie Rock
| Indie & Lo-Fi
| Alternative Rock
| Styles
| Music
General
| Rock
| Styles
| Music
Pop Rock
| Pop
| Styles
| Music
General
| Classic Rock
| Styles
| Music
Similar Items:
ASIN: B0002MPQTQ Release Date: 2004-08-24 |
Tracks:
- Primitive Condition
- Alive & Amplified
- Legal High
- New York
- Shake That Bush Again
- Sometimes Somethin
- Loose 'N' Juicy
- Hot Sugar
- Messin' In The Dressin' Room
- Naked Lady
- Love Bus
Customer Reviews:
Great Album.....dont believe the bad reviews.......2007-03-24
Dodge the Snobs, THIS IS A GREAT ALBUM.......2006-02-02
I don't care about the so-called change in their sound- I got into Suzuki with the, Your Love is a Gentle Whip, single. On that early release their garage sound was completely mechanical, and devoid of the blues/funk that they've evolved into today. They have changed/evolved with each album. Most good bands do.
This is a solid album. It would be a solid first album, and it is a solid third album. Their sound evolved and matured, and I hope it continues to. Yes, it was produced by the Matrix. Did that effect the sound. The producer always does. Primitive Condition, Alive & Amplified and Shake That Bush Again are all really great songs. I hope they made a few bucks licensing the title track to, appropriately enough, Suzuki for the Grand Vitara TV spot where the guy parachutes off the red-rock down to his SUV... You've heard it a dozen times, that's the song.
Alive!.......2005-08-07
Funkified!.......2005-05-26
The first song is just naughty enough to make me smile, while the title track "Alive & Amplified" is a big energy romp through the highs of life.
I won't go into much detail after that, it's sort of something you need to experience for yourself.
not great, not bad.......2005-04-15
Average customer rating:
|
The Passing Measures
David Lang , Marty Ehrlich , Birmingham Contemporary Music Group , City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra Chorus , and Paul Herbert Manufacturer: Cantaloupe ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Electronic
| Instruments
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
| Computer
General
| Symphonies
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
General
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
General
| Opera & Vocal
| Styles
| Music
Classical
| Imports
| Stores
| Music
Similar Items:
ASIN: B00005B67B Release Date: 2001-04-10 |
Tracks:
- The Passing Measures
Amazon.com
Hearing David Lang's The Passing Measures for the first time, you can't help but feel drawn into the composer's sound world. This CD consists of just one track: one hauntingly beautiful, 42-minute track. Reminiscent of the more soothing works by Morton Feldman, Brian Eno, and Gavin Bryars, Lang's piece is as ambient as they come; a single, extended chord ebbs and flows and resonates for nearly an hour. Performed by the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, clarinetist Marty Ehrlich, and a women's choir all playing as softly as possible, the entire performance was later amplified, bringing to light the eerie nature of these musicians holding back. Sounding both atmospheric and electric, the simple formula for this orchestral piece works; just don't expect much in the way of drama. The CD begins with the musicians already in flight and it ends with a simple contemplative touchdown. An acquired taste, for sure, but utterly mesmerizing. --Jason VerlindeCustomer Reviews:
On a level with Gavin Bryars' works...........2006-04-12
I installed this CD in my car (which I use too much for work) and was instantly removed from the mundane. This is a quiet piece (the CD is one long hymn)but not so hushed that it doesn't counteract the sounds of motoring. A very rare find indeed.
A truly amazing ambient piece..........2005-06-29
This is a work of astounding beauty, and is ideal for a fan of any kind of music that is ambient, meditative, relaxing, etc. etc.
shimmering, beautiful, timeless.......2004-07-11
absolutely beautiful.......2001-04-24
Average customer rating:
|
Complete Crumb Edition, Vol. 8; Makrokosmos Books I & II, Otherwordly Resonances
Manufacturer: Bridge ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by George Crumb
| Crumb, George
| ( C )
| Featured Composers, A-Z
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
Chamber Music
| Forms & Genres
| Classical (c.1770-1830)
| Historical Periods
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
General Modern
| Modern, 20th, & 21st Century
| Historical Periods
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
General
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
General
| Chamber Music
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
Classical
| Indie Music
| Stores
| Music
Similar Items:
ASIN: B0002W18OI Release Date: 2004-09-28 |
Tracks:
- Makrokosmos, Volumes 1 & 2
- Makrokosmos, Volumes 1 & 2
- Makrokosmos, Volumes 1 & 2
- Makrokosmos, Volumes 1 & 2
- Makrokosmos, Volumes 1 & 2
- Makrokosmos, Volumes 1 & 2
- Makrokosmos, Volumes 1 & 2
- Makrokosmos, Volumes 1 & 2
- Makrokosmos, Volumes 1 & 2
- Makrokosmos, Volumes 1 & 2
- Makrokosmos, Volumes 1 & 2
- Makrokosmos, Volumes 1 & 2
- Makrokosmos, Volumes 1 & 2
- Makrokosmos, Volumes 1 & 2
- Makrokosmos, Volumes 1 & 2
- Makrokosmos, Volumes 1 & 2
- Makrokosmos, Volumes 1 & 2
- Makrokosmos, Volumes 1 & 2
- Makrokosmos, Volumes 1 & 2
- Makrokosmos, Volumes 1 & 2
- Makrokosmos, Volumes 1 & 2
- Makrokosmos, Volumes 1 & 2
- Makrokosmos, Volumes 1 & 2
- Makrokosmos, Volumes 1 & 2
- Otherwordly Resonances
Album Description
The latest volume in BRIDGE'S award-winning survey of George Crumb complete works presents a new recording of a major Crumb cycle and the premiere of a new composition for two pianos. Makrokosmos I and II have come to be regarded as landmark compositions in the piano repertoire, requiring the pianist to display a virtuoso's control of both the keyboard and the inside of the piano. In addition, the performer is asked to whistle, speak, and sing, while simultaneously playing some of the most dramatic and fantasy-filled piano music of the late twentieth century. Robert Shannon, a leading exponent of Crumb's music, gives the 67 minute cycle of 24 "zodiac" pieces a spectacular reading. The duo piano team, Quattro Mani, has also had a long association with Crumb's music, and can be heard playing Crumb's music on BRIDGE 9105, a disc that received `Best of Year' honors from Fanfare, and highest ratings from France's Repertoire, and the USA's ClassicsToday.com. ! In 2002, Crumb composed "Otherworldy Resonances", a 10 minute quasi-passacaglia for Quattro Mani. Based on a hypnotic four-note motif, this 10 minute composition marks Crumb's return to writing piano music after a hiatus of nearly 15 years. Both of these recordings, as with the rest of this series, were supervised by the composer.Customer Reviews:
Close to perfect.......2007-05-29
I once read a comment by Michael Walsh (music critic for Time Magazine) claiming that Makrokosmos is better if performed by a man. In general, I think he's right -- the shouting and speaking from the pianist in the various pieces just carry more gravitas with a deeper voice. I would also add the caveat that it should be an English-speaking pianist, too -- the recording of Bojan Gorisek on Audiophile Classics (if it's out there anymore) has its distractions thanks to Gorisek's heavy Slavic accent.
Since the recording here has an American man playing, and it's superb. It's not good because he's a man and he's American, but because the whole package is here. The recording quality and phrasing is excellent -- Mr. Shannon paces things perfectly so that you can hear and savor the resoanance that comes from inside the piano. The nutty piano techniques show their edge amazingly well -- for example, in the Phantom Gondolier movement, you can just imagine how hard Mr. Shannon scrapes his thimble-capped fingers on the strings inside the piano to produce the hair-raising sounds. Book 2, which I like less, also comes up a winner. It feels a little recycled after going through the 35 minutes of Book 1, but how often can one hear a coherent piece that demonstrates the effect of placing paper on strings of the piano?
My one gripe is that Mr. Shannon is not a strong vocalist. In some parts of both books, the score asks for "shouting" from the pianist, and he comes up quite short. In the Crucifixus movement of Book 1, his shout of "Christe!" is hardly the jolting climax from the depths of a deathly silence it's supposed to be. And this happens on several occasions. His whistling isn't bad, though.
Otherwordly Resonances seems quaint after getting through the string-plucking and knocking in Makrokosmos. It's pleasant enough, but it definitely takes second fiddle to the headliner on this CD. Which is a shame, because the performers of this work, Quattro Mani, do amazing things with the Makrokosmos III and IV on other Crumb CDs.
I wish Mr. Crumb would have made more comments about what techniques he actually used in his works. Without a score to look at (and they're HUGE, awkward, and expensive), how on earth is anyone supposed to know what we're listening to? The sounds generated from a prepared piano are just as interesting as learning how to prepare the piano in the first place.
I still think this CD is fabulous. It shows Elliott Carter's garbled messes from the same period have some worthy competition.
Average customer rating:
|
Xenakis: Orchestral Works & Chamber Music
Iannis Xenakis , Safir , Swf So Baden-Baden , and Rosbaud Manufacturer: Col Legno ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Duets
| Chamber Music
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
General
| Chamber Music
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
Tone Poems
| Theatrical, Incidental & Program Music
| Forms & Genres
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
General Modern
| Modern, 20th, & 21st Century
| Historical Periods
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
General Contemporary
| Modern, 20th, & 21st Century
| Historical Periods
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
General
| Symphonies
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
General
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
Classical
| Imports
| Stores
| Music
Similar Items:
ASIN: B00004SZVO Release Date: 2000-04-15 |
Customer Reviews:
Promise unfulfilled.......2007-06-05
This has often been considered to be groundbreaking music. But it's important to build something after breaking ground. Xenakis has left us an empty lot.
THE introduction to Xenakis.......2007-02-11
Just for this recording of "Metastasis" alone the disc is worth for the price. This work, written for large orchestra between 1953 and 1954, was Xenakis' first mature effort. Of great proportions indeed, "Metastasis" has 61 instrumentalists playing 61 different parts. The opening is stunning, gradually each of the strings enters sustaining a single note, creating a massive wall of sound before some strings go astray via glissandi to other notes and pizzicato playing and the rest of the orchestra shows up. Closely related to the composer's design of the Couvent de la Tourette near Lyons, much of the dynamics of this first portion is based on the Fibonacci sequence, with nearly every decision in the work, from the structures of intervals to the length of dynamics and tones. The second section is more traditional, as the bulk of the orchestral forces remain silent with some strings playing a contrapuntal passage with drumrolls in the background and the occasional spotting of brass. This recording documents the world-premiere at the 1955 Donaueschinger Musiktage, where the SWF Symphony Orchestra conducted by Hans Rosbaud perform. While slightly lesser in sound-quality than the other two widely-available recordings, this one was considered to be the best by Xenakis, and even in 1950s mono sound it packs a tremendous punch.
Almost two decades passed between "Metastasis" and the next piece here. "Charisma" (1971) is written for clarinet, here Hans Deinzer, and cello, here the great Siegfried Palm. Unlike the wild energy typical of much of Xenakis' work, this duo consists of long-held sonorities and pregnant silences. Alone of the pieces here, it tends toward the forgettable, but some of the weird, noise-like sounds evoked unusual attacks on the instruments are quite interesting.
"N'Shima" (1975) is the only work here to include voices, and is also the smallest piece for ensemble. Two female voices, singing from a Hebrew text, are combined with two horns, two trombones, and a cello. The piece was rigorously constructed with the aid of a computer to create melodic patterns from probabilities, but the result, far from seeming inhuman or lifeless, is immensely elegant. Throughout each of the piece's six sections, a particular combination of instruments is explored, starting with voice and horns, the cello paired with breath sounds, and so forth. A strong effort, and this performance by Les Jeunes Solistes conducted by Rachid Safir, recorded at a 1991 festival in Metz, is admirably clear and confident.
In "Jonchaies" (1977) Xenakis returns to the massively large orchestra of "Metastasis", with 109 musicians, quadruple winds, six percussionists, and an extra-large string section. The piece is one of his late masterpieces, and it's got it all. The opening is for string alone, starting off with repetitive bowing reminiscent of the PSYCHO shower scene, then falling into some of Xenakis' most straightfowardly melodical writing. Gamelan-like sonorities appear in a long string continuum. Then, the piece launches into a series of rhythmic pulsations, with bouncy writing on drums and low strings similar to Per Norgard's much later piece "Terrains Vagues". The energy never lets up, even with most of the orchestra occasionally drops out to highlight one group. Gilbert Amy leads the Nouvel Orchesre Philharmonique in a splendid performance.
"Ata" (1987) similarly opens with a passage for string alone, but its main facet is not rhythm but texture. Overall it's one of the least "strange" pieces Xenakis wrote, resembling some of the work of Magnus Lindberg like "Fresco" or "Arena". I would have started the disc with "Metastasis" to show the fury that Xenakis is all about, but Col legno did well by putting this piece early to help new listeners gently acclimate to the composer's soundworld. This recording is from the premiere at the 1988 Donaueschinger Musiktage, with Michael Gielen leading the SWF Symphony.
"Ioolkos" (1996) was another piece premiered at Donaueschingen, and this recording is of that performance by the SWF Symphony Orchestra led by Kwame Ryan. In its numerous clusters and strong counterpoint, it looks back to "Metastasis", which appeared forty-one years earlier by the same orchestra at the same festival. However, it is much slower and a bit shorter, taking the gentle soundworld of "Ata" a bit further.
Xenakis was a notoriously inconsistent composer, and a few of his works are even well-nigh unlistenable. However, the material collected here is of a very high standard indeed. Unfortunately, the liner notes here, amounting to a single small paragraph on each work, are among the most unsubstantial I've ever seen. Fans of the composer would do best to seek out James Harley's excellent guide XENAKIS (Routledge, 2004) which covers the composer's entire oeuvre--don't worry, it doesn't assume that one can read music.
Xenakis! Yeah Baby, That's What I'm Talking About! .......2006-09-09
However fine "Metastaseis" is, there are plenty of other experimental works to be found here. For instance, track 2 called "N'Shima" (1975) has some truly wacked out vocal work, perfect background music for people who like to get drunk or high? Ha!
Another surprise was track 6, titled "Jonchaies" (1977). Is the opening an overt tongue-in-cheek jab at movie composer Bernard Herrmann? I know that Herrmann was certainly influenced by the avant-garde movements during the mid-century and incorporated it's ideas into his own film scores, Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" being one of them. So was Xenakis consciously trying to quote the score of "Psycho" so as to get back at Herrmann's continual lifting of ideas from avant-gardists like Xenakis himself in the first place? Can it all be just a coincidence? Who knows?
You'll have plenty of musical fun with this disc I assure you, the later featured Xenakis works are not as persuasive as Metastaseis but it's good to have such a well rounded 67 minute collage of his music on one CD. A definite buy.
"N'Shima", "Metastaseis", and "Jonchaies" are highlights.......2005-05-31
A strong disc that showcases Xenakis' remarkable style.......2003-12-18
The disc opens with the 1987 composition Ata, for large orchestra. This is a typical work in Xenakis' late style, with an overall tempo much slower than the surface activity might suggest and long sequences of atonal block chords overlaid with more dynamic material. The music is tense and energetic throughout, with vibrantly rhythmic, percussive passages keeping the music flowing. This is an excellent piece, superbly performed by the SWF Symphony under the predictably excellent Michael Gielen.
N'Shima, written in 1975, is for an unusual amplified ensemble: two mezzo-sopranos, two horns, two trombones and a cello. It has an intensely ritualistic feel to it, in part because much of the writing is in the same register. At times, this work reminded me of the 1970s music of Giacinto Scelsi, particularly in the incantatory nature of the vocal lines.
Next up is a recording with great historical significance, the 1955 Donaueschingen premiere of Xenakis' then-new Metastaseis. This work must have seemed quite outré to those expecting imitations of the pointillism of Boulez or Stockhausen at that time; with its wailing strings, siren-like brass, hushed percussion effects, glissandi and tone clusters this music now seems far more radical than, say, Le Marteau sans maitre. It is still disturbing listening even today--though it should be: Xenakis said it was in part drawn from his memories of watching crowds scatter under gunfire.
The next two works are less impressive. Ioolkos, written in 1996 and one of Xenakis' last works, might be considered an attempt to revisit the world of Metastaseis from a "late-Xenakis" vantage point. Its slow progress and rather curdled sounds do not appeal to me. Charisma, written in 1971, is a brief and rather fractured duet for cello and clarinet.
The disc closes as it began, with a hyper-energetic work for large orchestra. Jonchaies, written in 1977, is a bona-fide Xenakis classic, emerging from long string glissandi, travelling through more and more intensely rhythmic sections to a large climax before fading out in the sounds of piccolos and tiny bells. This is arguably the strongest work on the whole disc, but, unfortunately, this performance, with the Nouvel Orchestre Philharmonique under the French composer Gilbert Amy, has been superseded by a more recent recording on Timpani that has better orchestral playing and a generally higher level of tension (though there is one percussive passage that comes off better in this recording).
Overall, this recording is well-worth considering, particularly for those who have not heard Xenakis' music before. The recording of Ata should be considered as close to definitive as we're likely to get, and only Ioolkos and Charisma--the two shortest works on the disc--are weak. Xenakis' music may not be for everyone, but it has a potential audience much larger than many of the other avant-garde composers (and yes, you could mosh to Ata or to Jonchaies!)
Average customer rating:
|
LAMBERT ORKIS/20TH CENTURY CON
Manufacturer: INNOVA ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by George Crumb
| Crumb, George
| ( C )
| Featured Composers, A-Z
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
Fantasies
| Forms & Genres
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
Electronic
| Instruments
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
| Computer
General
| Keyboard
| Instruments
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
General
| Symphonies
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
General
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
General
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
ASIN: B0001ENYQC Release Date: 2004-02-17 |
Tracks:
- I. Alpha Centauri
- II. Beta Cygni
- III. Gamma Draconis
- IV. Delta Orionis
- Chamber Symphony For Piano And Electronic Sounds
- Fantasy For Solo Harpsichord
- 1. Ringing
- 2. Our Heart's Delight
- 3. Ragtime
Dance Music:
- Amplified [Explicit Lyrics]
- ...And Then There Was X [Clean]
- ...And Then There Was X [Explicit Lyrics]
- Anotha Day Anotha Balla [Explicit Lyrics]
- Ballers Don't Complain [Explicit Lyrics]
- Bass Check, Vol. 9
- Bassic Instinct, Vol. 2
- Bomb Hip Hop Comppliation [Explicit Lyrics]
- Born Again [Explicit Lyrics]
- Born Again [Explicit Lyrics]
Dance Music
The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra (finally) Plays "The Entertainer"
Again [CD-single] [Enhanced] [Import]
All the Way/Sincerely, Brenda Lee [Original recording remastered]
Bach: The Violin Concertos / Concerto for Violin and Oboe