One Second [Import]

One Second [Import]

One Second [Import]

Track Listings
 
1. One Second
2. Say Just Words
3. Lydia
4. Mercy
5. Soul Courageous
6. Another Day
7. Sufferer
8. This Cold Life
9. Blood of Another
10. Disappear
11. Sane
12. Take Me Down

One Second,Paradise Lost,Import [Generic],Doom Metal,Goth Metal,Heavy Metal,Pop,Rock
An Introduction to Der Ring des Nibelungen
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Ring introduction critique
  • FASCINATING STUDY FOR NOVICES AND AFFICIONADOS ALIKE
  • Welcome back to a classic analysis
  • Essential for Understanding Wagner's Ring Cycle
  • Very Functional
An Introduction to Der Ring des Nibelungen
Deryck Cooke , Georg Solti , Wiener Philharmoniker , Anita Valkki , Berit Lindholm , Birgit Nilsson , Brigitte Fassbaender , Christa Ludwig , Claire Watson , Claudia Hellmann , Dame Gwyneth Jones , Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau , Eberhard Wächter , George London , Gerhard Stolze , Gottlob Frick , Grace Hoffmann , Gustav Neidlinger , Hans Hotter , Helen Watts , Helga Dernesch , Hetty Plumacher , Ira Malaniuk , James King , Jean Madeira , Joan Sutherland , Kirsten Flagstad , Kurt Böhme , Lucia Popp , Marga Höffgen , Marilyn Tyler , Maureen Guy , Oda Balsborg , Paul Kuen , Régine Crespin , Set Svanholm , Vera Little , Vera Schlosser , Waldemar Kmentt , Walter Kreppel , and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00000424H
Release Date: 2005-09-13

Tracks:

  1. Of All Great Musical Compositions... (Examples 1-4)
  2. The Fundamental Symbol... (Examples 5-11)
  3. Returning Now To The Nature Motive... (Examples 6, 12-16)
  4. A Number Of Further Motives... (Examples 5, 17-21)
  5. A Second, Much Smaller Family... (Examples 22-25)
  6. So Much For Nature. (Examples 26-38)
  7. The Cause Of The Deterioration... (Examples 39-44)
  8. The Other Transformation... (Examples 45-48)
  9. Several Other Motives... (Examples 49-52)
  10. Two Further Motives... (Examples 41, 53-61)
  11. The Basic Motive Associated With The Spear... (Examples 62-68)
  12. Along Another, More Complex Line... (Examples 69-72)
  13. In Act Two Of Walkure... (Examples 69, 73-75)
  14. Returning Now To Act Two Of Walkure... (Examples 76-79)
  15. Love Is Another Of The Central Symbols... (Examples 80-83)
  16. Later In The Same Scene... (Examples 84-87)
  17. Freia's Motive Has Two Independent Segments... (Examples 88-91)
  18. The Label 'Flight'... (Example 92)
  19. When Fasolt, In Scene Two Of Rhinegold... (Examples 93-98)
  20. A Little Later In The Interlude... (Examples 99-103)

Tracks:

  1. The Other New Motive... (Examples 104-109)
  2. There Are Several Independent Love-Motives... (Examples 110-114)
  3. The Characters In Whose Lives... (Examples 115-120)
  4. One Further Motive Belongs... (Example 121)
  5. The Sword Motive Recurs... (Examples 122-130)
  6. Ironically, This Phrase... (Examples 131-135)
  7. Closely Associated With Gutrune's Motive... (Examples 136-140)
  8. Here We Come To The End... (Examples 141-146)
  9. Complemtary To This Symbol... (Examples 147-149)
  10. One Last Central Symbol... (Examples 150-157)
  11. One Further Motive Connected... (Examples 158-161)
  12. There Are One Or Two Motives... (Examples 162-168)
  13. These Motives Of Alberich And Mime... (Examples 169-171)
  14. Quite A Number Of The Subsidiary Motives... (Examples 172-176)
  15. Besides This Family Of Motives... (Examples 177-180)
  16. Our Final Example... (Examples 10, 181, 182)
  17. In The Final Scene Of Gotterdammerung... (Examples 181-183)
  18. Even More Masterly... (Examples 184-188)
  19. Now If We Return... (Examples 189-191)
  20. This Masterly Way... (Examples 192, 193)

Amazon.com

When Wagner set the Ring to music, he intended the orchestra to act in the fashion of a chorus from a classic Greek tragedy--setting the mood and commenting on the action. In order to allow a nonverbal musical line to reflect on the plot, Wagner developed a psychologically and musically complex symbology to communicate his thoughts to the listener. From the beginning the Ring has spawned numerous written commentaries on the relationships of the motif structure, but by using examples from the Decca Ring recording, Deryck Cooke's thoughtful spoken commentary is by far the most accessible guide for either the fledgling Ring enthusiast or the seasoned veteran. --Christian C. Rix

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Ring introduction critique.......2006-11-04

This is very worthwhile, at the same time it requires time, patience and attention, but it does provide some keys to better enjoyment of a sensational piece of music.

5 out of 5 stars FASCINATING STUDY FOR NOVICES AND AFFICIONADOS ALIKE.......2006-08-16

This may look an intimidating, daunting and dull prospect - a 2+ hour lecture on the motifs in the Ring. Don't be put off. Whether you're a relative novice to the Ring and want to find out what it's all about, more experienced with a desire to understand the composer's methods better or an afficionado who thinks he knows it all inside out, there is great pleasure as well as elucidation to be had from this set. Originally made to accompany the Decca Solti Ring, it contains a multitude of musical illustrations taken from those recordings as well as some specially recorded by Solti just for this Introduction.

It wasn't the first time this has been tried. The famous HMV sets from the late 20's also included recorded examples of over 100 motifs. (These, by the way, are available as part of the Pearl reissue of those wonderful HMV recordings). What that set lacked was the wonderful insights as well as the approachability of the talk by Deryck Cooke. Cooke was a great and much missed musicologist - a Mahler expert responsible for the performing edition of the Tenth Symphony still most played today, a fascinating explorer into the nature of music's basic building-blocks in his excellent book, The Language of Music, and an inspiring and elucidating critic of Wagner's work as shown by the fascinating book he left unfinished at his death, I Saw the World End.

On these CDs he does much more than list the leitmotifs and identify them as calling-cards. He shows the amazingly integrated and organic growth of the musical material that Wagner uses throughout his vast work. He demonstrates how motifs can change their sense and meaning as they evolve through the drama. And he shows how the complex combinations of motifs can radically advance both the musical and the dramatic narrative of the piece. There are even places where he corrects the misinterpretation of some of the motifs that had become ingrained from early commentators' false labels.

This set should engage and enlighten anyone with an interest in Wagner's huge and inexhaustible tetralogy. Do give it a try - no matter how far down the road to Wagnerianism you are.

4 out of 5 stars Welcome back to a classic analysis.......2006-05-28

Deryck Cooke's lecture series upon THE RING is almost as much a classic by now as the Solti RING cycle, with which it was originally issued on LP, and from which it derives its musical examples. The difference is that whereas the Solti RING has been continuously in print ever since it was completed, and was among the first opera sets to benefit from the CD revolution, the Cooke analysis was for long almost totally unobtainable. Now we have it back. It should be welcomed: it is a classic. Cooke's mellow, deep voice with the hint of a Celtic burr - which made him ideal on BBC radio - patiently explains Wagner's melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic metamorphoses to such good effect that if you own this recording, you really require no other RING analysis. (A pity about the abrupt beginnings and endings of too many vocal and orchestral illustrations, though.) Musicology lost a fine, sensitive thinker with Cooke's premature death in 1976.

If all you want is dilettantish baby food, there are plenty of dumbed-down Wagner commentaries on the market, stretching from Anna Russell's famous monologue (which doesn't pretend to be anything other than a parody aimed at morons) to the latest standard-issue "Wagner-was-a-Nazi-boo-hiss" feuilleton (which, unfortunately, does). Without reasonable score-reading skill you will find Cooke useless, however diligently you have ploughed through Marx, Jung, Freud, or other gurus purportedly relevant to THE RING. Cooke expects you to use your brains and your musical sense. Quelle horreur. At today's BBC his "elitism" would render him unemployable.

5 out of 5 stars Essential for Understanding Wagner's Ring Cycle.......2006-05-15

I originally bought this set on vinyl in the early 70s when I discovered the Ring in college. I studied the records and booklet assiduously, and after about three run-throughs I finally started getting it. Wow! Thirty-five years later, I still remember Mr. Cooke's analyses of various motive families, and I don't know how I could have mastered and loved the Ring without him. I now own this set on CD and listen again on the rare occasion of attending a Ring performance. My wife calls me a "Ring nut," but of course I'm nuts about many other things as well.

Bottom line, buy this set and study it if the Ring has captivated you as it has countless others. The presentation is dry, but sticking with it brings measureless and longlasting rewards.

4 out of 5 stars Very Functional.......2006-03-19

This CD set is excellent for what it sets out to do: present the leitmotives of the Ring according to their relationship to one another and their role in developing both characters and plotlines. Deryck Cooke's lectures on each motive are very insightful, very helpful at cueing the listener into the semantic aspect of Wagner's orchestral writing. The one drawback is that the musical examples are a bit jarring. Without fade-ins or -outs, the engineering is quite barbaric. And though the orchestra was, I believe, conducted by Solti, and is beautifully done, the vocal performances can be quite unpleasant. Point being: this is not background music, but in accomplishing what it sets out to do, it is very successful, and I don't know of anything else like it.
Let Yourself Go
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • One of the best ever!
  • Kristen Chenowith
  • Has its moments
  • Great CD!
  • This woman has what it takes, and then some...
Let Yourself Go
Kristin Chenoweth , Jule Styne , George Gershwin , Richard Rodgers , Jeanine Tesori , Kurt Weill , Jerome Kern , Vincent Youmans , Ricky Ian Gordon , Richard Dworsky , Lawrence Ellington Duke / Brown , Harry Warren , Bobby Troup , Jason Alexander , Irving Berlin , Rob Fisher , and The Coffee Club Orchestra
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000059T4T
Release Date: 2001-05-29

Tracks:

  1. Let Yourself Go
  2. If
  3. How Long Has This Been Going On?
  4. My Funny Valentine
  5. Hanging Around with You (with Jason Alexander)
  6. The Girl in 14G
  7. I'll Tell the Man in the Street
  8. I'm a Stranger Here Myself
  9. Nobody Else But Me
  10. Nobody's Heart Belongs to Me/Why Can't I?
  11. Should I Be Sweet?
  12. He's Just an Ordinary Guy
  13. Going to the Dance with You
  14. On a Turquoise Cloud
  15. You'll Never Know
  16. Daddy

Amazon.com

Kristin Chenoweth won a Tony for the supporting role of Sally Brown in the 1999 revival of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, made a memorably vampy Lily in the 1999 television film of Annie, and had an NBC sitcom created for her, Kristin! Now she grabs the spotlight in Let Yourself Go, her first solo recording. She mixes torchy standards ("My Funny Valentine," "How Long Has This Been Going On?") with Faith Prince-style sauciness ("If"), gets to show off her operatic and scat chops in the miniplay "The Girl in 14G," and shares a light duet with Jason Alexander (reviving his musical theater career post-Seinfeld). Perhaps her "Stranger Here Myself" isn't the weightiest you've ever heard, but this is an enjoyable album with a good deal of old-fashioned class, expertly accompanied by Rob Fisher and the Coffee Club Orchestra. --David Horiuchi

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars One of the best ever!.......2007-04-24

Do I mean the best album or the best singer? You are correct if you said both! I saw Kristin Chenoweth on a PBS show "Broadway's Best at the Pops," (though it was not the first time I had heard her) and decided to check out the offerings here. This is a collection of the kind of music and performances I love. She has a great range, a precise pitch, and a great style that is at the same time true to the music and to herself. In an era when singers try to outdo each other re-interpreting the composer's original work, not usually with great success, she is a blessing!

5 out of 5 stars Kristen Chenowith.......2007-02-26

I bought this CD for the Girl in 14G. Yes, it's that good...

4 out of 5 stars Has its moments.......2007-02-19

After watching Candide endlessly and going to see Ms. Chenoweth in The Apple Tree, I was hungry for something more portable to listen to. At times this fits the bill, but what surprised me the most is how thin her voice comes across on this recording. Perhaps it was the joy of seeing her live that has ruined this listener; perhaps I need to upgrade my aging music system. Then again, maybe the recording is just not as good as Ms. C singing Bernstein or as good as staring at Ms. C command a Broadway stage.

4 out of 5 stars Great CD!.......2007-01-19

I truly enjoy listening to this CD. Kristin Chenoweth's vocal style and abilities are very well-matched to the songs selected for this album. If you enjoy classic, older-style Broadway/popular tunes, I would highly recommend this CD. Ms. Chenoweth has a bright, expressive voice and does a fantastic job with this material.

As with any full-length CD, there are a couple of songs I am not as crazy about, but that has to do with the songs themselves, not Ms. Chenoweth's vocal performance. Overall, I love this album and have listened to it several times now, since receiving it as a Christmas gift last month.

5 out of 5 stars This woman has what it takes, and then some..........2007-01-12

Kristin Chenoweth brings new life to some timeless Broadways tunes while introducing a few wonderful new ones. This high pitched vocal goddess effortlessly provides for a nearly flawless and easy listening experience. I definitly recommend this CD for anyone who enjoys jazz vocals, showtunes, or just a new spin on some old classics.
Instruments of the Orchestra
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Instruments of the Orchestra - Great Reference Material!
  • Beginner or Expert
  • Very Informative and Enjoyable
  • Frank's view
  • Excellent Intro for Those Not Familiar with the Orchestra
Instruments of the Orchestra
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00006O0NT
Release Date: 2002-12-03

Tracks:

  1. Overture To 'Tannhauser'
  2. Domna, Pos Vos Ay Chausida
  3. We Don't Merely Use Instruments, We Play On Them. And They Play On Us.
  4. Hungarian Dance No.7
  5. The Violin Is One Of The Most Tender And Beautiful Instruments Ever Invented.
  6. Violin Concerto In D Major (Adagio)
  7. But For A Long Time It Was Seen As The Instrument Of The Devil.
  8. The Soldier's Tale: Triumphal March Of The Devil
  9. The Manipulative Seductiveness Of The Gypsy Violin.
  10. Csardas Music
  11. The Violin And The Initiation Of Nature
  12. The Four Seasons (Spring, Mvt 1)
  13. Birds Are Again Evoked In The Second Concerto, Especially Music's Natural Favourite.
  14. The Four Seasons (Summer, Mvt 1)
  15. Like The Devil, The Violin Is A Master Of Disguise.
  16. Old Viennese Dance No.3 'Schon Rosmarin'
  17. The Menacing Sensuality Of Ravel's Tzigane: A Very Different Side Of The Violin:
  18. Tzigane
  19. Do We Now Have The True Measure Of This Instrument? Not Just Yet.
  20. Caprice No.24
  21. The Many Effects Of The String Tremolando: Brandenburg Concerto No.4 (Last Mvt)/From Joy To Fright/Quartettsatz In C Minor/The String Tremolo Practically Spells The World Agitato.
  22. Variations On A Theme Of Frank Bridge (No.7)
  23. Prokofiev's Tremolo In Romeo And Juliet Should Not Be Heard Just Before Bedtime.
  24. Romeo And Juliet: Act IV
  25. Vivaldi Use It To Illustrate The Shivering Of Travellers Crossing The Ice.
  26. The Four Seasons (Winter, Mvt 1)
  27. The Violin Muted
  28. Clair De Lune
  29. The Gentleness Of Muted Strings Persists Even When A Whole Orchestra Plays.
  30. Piano Concerto No.21 In C Major, K.467 (Slow Mvt)
  31. The Pizzicato Violin
  32. Pizzicato Polka
  33. In Prokofiev's Second Violin Concerto, The Accompaniment Is Pizzicato.
  34. Violin Concerto No.2 In G Minor (Slow Mvt)
  35. Varieties Of Pizzicato: Colas Breugnon (The People's Feast)/Now A Drier, Leaner, Hungrier Pizzicato. There's Not A Lot Of Comfort Here./Capriol Suite (Tordion)/The Use Of Pizzicato As 'Percussion'/Romeo And Juliet (Act I)/Mahler Used Pizzicato...
  36. The Planets (Mars - The Bringer Of War)
  37. The Technique Of Double-Stopping Enables The Violin To Play Duets With Itself./Sonata No.3 In C Major For Unaccompanied Violin (Fugue)/Now A Later Example Of The Same Technique
  38. Hungarian Dance No.4
  39. Double-Stopping Is A Standard Feature Of A Lot Of Folk Music.
  40. The Four Seasons (Autumn, Mvt 1)
  41. Now The Same Technique, But The Sound Might Have Come From Another World.
  42. Bolero
  43. Double-Stopping Can Only Approximate The Sound Of A Real Violin Duet.
  44. Cadenza To The Violin Concerto By Brahms
  45. Now Compare That With A Real Violin Duet.
  46. Forty-Four Duos (No. 1: Teasing Song)
  47. Another Duo By Bartok, Demonstrating The Violin's Rich Lower Register
  48. Forty-Four Duos (No.2: Maypole Dance)
  49. And Now What May Be The Most Beautiful Accompanied Violin Duet In History
  50. Concerto In D Minor For Two Violins (Largo)
  51. The Soul Of The Violin Is In Song; But What About This Weird Passage?
  52. Violin Concerto No.1 In D Major (Mvt 2)
  53. The Use Of Harmonies In The Orchestra Can Be Both Magical And Unsettling.
  54. Symphony No.1 'Titan' (Mvt 1, Opening)
  55. Tchaikovsky's Use Of Harmonics In The Sleeping Beauty Is Both Strange And Darling.
  56. The Sleeping Beauty (Act II, No.15: Entr'Acte)
  57. Ravel's Harmonics In Mother Goose Effect A Magical Transformation.
  58. Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Beauty And The Beast)
  59. Stravinsky's Harmonics In The Firebird Transport Us Almost Into Another World./The Firebird (Introduction)
  60. The Natural Upper Notes Of The Violins Have A Unique Emotional 'Grab'.
  61. Also Sprach Zarathustra (Of The Afterworldsmen)
  62. Still In Their Upper Register, The Violins Unleash The Energy Of A Young Colt.
  63. Variations On A Theme Of Frank Bridge (No. 4)
  64. Elsewhere, Britten Uses The Same High Register To Create A Very Different Mood.
  65. Four Sea Interludes (Dawn) From 'Peter Grimes'
  66. To End This Outing With The Violins, A Charming Little Elfin Dance
  67. Elfenreigen

Tracks:

  1. Introduction To The Viola
  2. Viola Concerto (Mvt 1)
  3. Khatchaturian Gets A Very Different Sound From It: Fuller, Fruitier, More Exotic.
  4. Gayane Suite No.1 (Armen's Solo)
  5. Very Nearly The Whole Of The Violin's Upper Register Is Also Available To The Viola.
  6. Passacaglia, Op.33b From 'Peter Grimes'
  7. The Viola Can Bring A Special, Rich Twanginess To Pizzicato That The Violins Lack./Don Quixote/Berlioz Drew Sounds From It That Retain Their Metallic Strangeness Even Today.
  8. Harold In Italy (Mvt 4)
  9. The Muted Viola: Intimate, Gentle, Poignant In Dvork
  10. Cypresses (No.9)
  11. The Massed Violas Of The Modern Symphony Orchestra In Mahler
  12. Symphony No.4 (Mvt 3)
  13. The 'Period' Viola In Bach
  14. Brandenburg Concerto No.6 (Last Mvt)
  15. The Cello: A Voice Of Unique Nobility
  16. Suite No.1 For Unaccompanied Cello (Prelude)
  17. Brahms And The 'Soul' Of The Cello
  18. Piano Concerto No.2 In B Flat Major (Mvt 3)
  19. Most Orchestral Composers Tend To Emphasize The Cello's Lower Register.
  20. Cantata 'Herz Und Mund Und Tat Und Leben', BWV 147 (Soprana Aria: Bereite Dir, Jesu)
  21. In The Time Of Beethoven The Cello Remained As Fundamental As Ever.
  22. Symphony No.3 'Eroica' (Finale)
  23. But The Cello Is Not Condemned To Spend Its Life In The Basement.
  24. Elfentanz, Op.39
  25. Not Only In Recital Showpieces Like That Is The Cello Is Used In Its Highest Register.
  26. The Protecting Veil (Opening)
  27. A Cello With An Identity-Crisis: The Pizzicato Flamencan
  28. Flamenco
  29. Double-Stopping In The Lower Reaches Of The Cello's Range
  30. Solo Suiet For Cello And Piano (Sardana)
  31. It's In The Middle Register That The Cello Really Comes Into Its Own.
  32. Oriental Dance, Op.2 No.2
  33. It Was To The Cellos That Beethoven Gave Two Of His Most Famous Themes./Symphony No.5 (Mvt 2)/Still More Famous Than That Theme Is This One From The Ninth Symphony.
  34. Symphony No.9 (Finale)
  35. Introduction To The Double-Bass
  36. The Carnival Of The Animals (The Elephant)
  37. But The Double-Bass Can Be Intensely Expressive And Graceful.
  38. Elegy No.1 In D Major
  39. The Range Of The Double-Bass Is The Greatest Of All The String Instruments/Allegro Di Concerto, 'Alla Mendelssohn'/And It's Also Capable Of Very Considerable Virtuosity.
  40. Capriccio Di Bravura
  41. Double-Bass Solos In Orchestral Scores Are Rare But Often Memorable./Symphony No.1 'Titan' (Mvt 3)/In His Third Symphony Mahler Makes A Very Different Use Of The Instrument./Symphony No.3 (Mvt 1)
  42. The Double-Bass Muted In Prokofiev/Lieutenant Kije Suite (Kije's Wedding)/In Another Work Prokofiev Uses The Double-Bass To Enhance The Winds./Romeo And Juliet (Act III)/And He Combines The Bass Clarinet With A Shivering Tremolo From The Double-Basses....
  43. Symphony No.5 (Mvt 3)/So Much For The Strings/On Now To The Winds

Tracks:

  1. The Antiquity And Magic Of The Flute
  2. Prelude A L'Apres-Midi D'Un Faune
  3. The Versatility And Agility Of The Flute
  4. Orchestral Suite No.2 In B Minor (Badinerie)
  5. The Flute In Fifteenth-Century Spain
  6. Sa'Dawi
  7. Other Flutes: The Bass And Alto
  8. Chamber Music No.II
  9. The Piccolo - Aptly Named
  10. La Naissance D'Osiris (Mvt 6)
  11. From A Piccolo Of The Eighteenth Century To One Of Its Descendants In The Twentieth
  12. Suite No.1 For Small Orchestra (Valse)
  13. A Variety Of Techniques
  14. Chamber Music No.II
  15. Flutter-Tonguing. But Tchaikovsky Got There Eighty Years Before.
  16. The Nutcracker (Act II, No.2: Scene)
  17. From The Transverse To The Vertical: The Baroque Recorder
  18. Recorded Suite In A Minor (Menuet II)
  19. An Unfamiliar, Early Vision Of The Instrument
  20. Naelden, Naelden
  21. The Bachian Oboe
  22. Cantata 'Ein Feste Burg Ist Unser Gott', BWV 80 (No.7: Duetto)
  23. Introduction To The Cor Anglais Or 'English Born'
  24. Symphony No.9 'From The New World' (Mvt 2)
  25. The Loneliness Of The Cor Anglais
  26. The Swan Of Tuonela
  27. The Cor Anglais Joins The French Horn In Haydn.
  28. Symphony No.22 'The Philosopher' (Opening)
  29. Introduction To The Oboe D'Amore, Beloved Of Bach - But Also Of Ravel
  30. Bolero
  31. The Clarinet Family: Boxing The Compass, From The Depths Of The Bass Clarinet.../The Egyptian (Violence)/...To The Raucous And Squealy.../Taras Bulba (The Death Of Ostap)/...To The Shrill And Complaining...
  32. Petrushka (No.8: Peasant With Bear)/...To The High Sprits Of A Playful Puppy./Symphonie Fantastique (Last Mvt)/And To The Downright Jazzy/Romeo And Juliet (Act II)
  33. As The High Clarinets Tend To Be Loud, So The Bass Tends To Be Soft:
  34. Gayane Suite No. 1 (Mvt 5)
  35. The Bass Clarinet Is Used By Most Composers Mainly As A Colouring Agent.../Petrushka (No.4: The Blackamoor)/...But It Does Occasionally Get A Whole Tune To Itself./Iberia (Almeria).
  36. The Range Of The Normal Clarinet Parts Goes Quite High...
  37. The Snow Maiden (Scene 5: Melodrama)
  38. ...And Quite Low.
  39. Peter And The Wolf (The Cat)
  40. The Clarinet As Concerto Soloist
  41. Clarinet Concerto In A Major (Rondo)
  42. But That's Not The Instrument Mozart Wrote It For; This Is:
  43. Clarinet Concerto In A Major (Rondo)
  44. Introduction To The Saxophone
  45. Hary Janos Suite (Mvt 4)
  46. The Soprano Saxophone Has Quite A Different Feel To It.
  47. L'Arlesienne Suite No.1 (Minuet)
  48. The Little Sopranino Sax Goes Even Higher.
  49. Bolero
  50. The Most Famous Use Of The Saxophone Is In An Orchestration By Ravel.
  51. Pictures At An Exhibition (The Old Castle)
  52. The Saxophone Can Be Quite Contagiously Good-Humoured.
  53. Sax-O-Phun
  54. The Puffa-Puffa Image Of The Bassoon
  55. Peter And The Wolf (Grandfather)
  56. The Bachian Bassoon, In Accompanimental Mode
  57. Cantata 'Weichet Nur, Betrubte Schatten' ('Wedding Cantata'), BWV 202 (Aria No.1)
  58. Bizet Leaves The Puffa-Puffa Image Out, Allowing The Bassoon To Sing./Carmen Suite No.1 (Les Dragons D'Alcala)
  59. And Ravel, Also In Spanish Mode, Does Likewise.
  60. Bolero
  61. The Bassoon As A Voice Of High Seriousness, Indeed Desolate Loneliness
  62. Symphony No.3 (Opening)
  63. The Eerie Bassoon In Its Highest Register
  64. The Rite Of Spring (Opening)
  65. Stravinsky Now Draws On Its Lowest Register, Lonely And Melancholy.
  66. The Firebird Suite (1919, Berceuse)
  67. The Bassoon As Concerto Soloist, Avoiding All Exaggeration
  68. Bassoon Concerto In G Minor (Finale)
  69. The Deep-Voiced Contra-Bassoon, As A Fairy-Tale Beast
  70. Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Beauty And The Beast)
  71. The French Horn Under Its Woodwind Hat
  72. Wind Quintet, Op.43 (Last Mvt)
  73. Now A More Prominent Role, In A Woodwind Quintet From An Earlier Era
  74. Wind Quintet In A Minor, Op.100 No.5 (Mvt 2)
  75. The Horn In Harmonious Blend With Strings In Another Quintet
  76. Horn Quintet, K.407 (Finale)

Tracks:

  1. The Trumpet As Virtuoso Soloist
  2. Brandenburg Concerto No.2 (Last Mvt)
  3. The Special Brillance Of Paired Trumpets
  4. Concerto In C For Two Trumpets, RV537 (Mvt 1)
  5. The Ceremonial Trumpet
  6. Fanfare For The Common Man
  7. Trumpets And Drums - An Incomparable Alliance
  8. Messiah (The Trumpet Shall Sound)
  9. The Versatility Of The Trumpet, From The Most Public To The Most Lonely
  10. Piano Concerto In F (Slow Mvt)
  11. The Trumpet As The Voice Of The City/An American In Paris/The Trumpet As Recruitment Officer/The Soldier's Tale (The March)/The Trumpet As Swaggerer
  12. Carmen Suite No.2 (Habanera)
  13. The Trumpet As The Voice Of Strength And Courage
  14. Carmet Suite No.2 (Toreador's Song)
  15. The Trumpet Muted/Petrushka (No.4: The Blackamoor)/Lieutenant Kije Suite (Opening)/The Trumpet As The Voice Of Weariness
  16. Billy The Kid
  17. The Trumpet As Character Actor
  18. Pictures At An Exhibition (No.6)
  19. The Trumpet As The Voice Of God
  20. Mass In B Minor ('Et Exspecto')
  21. The Birth Of The Trombone
  22. Aenmerckt Nu Hier
  23. The Birth Of The Brass As A Family
  24. Canzon 12 In Double Echo
  25. The Trombone In The Eighteenth Century
  26. Trombone Concerto In B Flat Major (Finale)
  27. The Tone Of The Tenor Trombone/Romance For Trombone And Organ/The Memorable Voice Of The Bass Trombone/Requiem (Mvt 2)/But The Bass Trombone Is More Than An Instrumental Bullfrog.
  28. Hosannah
  29. The Trombones Become Part Of The Orchestra.
  30. Symphony No.5 (Finale)
  31. The Wagnerian Trombone:/Overture To 'Tannhauser'
  32. The Trombone As Caricaturist
  33. Pulcinella (No.19: Vivo)
  34. The Trombone As Raspberry/Concerto For Orchestra (Intermezzo)
  35. The Horn And The Hunt
  36. Horn Concerto No.4 In E Flat, K.495 (Finale)
  37. The Challenging Horn Of The Baroque
  38. Abaris Ou Les Boreades (Menuet)
  39. The Scarcity Of First-Rate Players In Handel's Time
  40. Walter Music (Minuet 1)
  41. The Horn As Magician/The Firebird Suite (1919, Finale)
  42. Horns And The Sound Of Nobility
  43. Overture To 'Tannhauser' (Opening)
  44. The Special Sound Of The Horn In Its Higher Register
  45. Mass In B Minor ('Quoniam Tu Solus Sanctus')
  46. The Trumpet-Like Sound Of Massed Horns
  47. Symphony No.3 (Mvt 1, Opening)
  48. The Tuba - Unfairly Maligned?
  49. Symphony No.6 (Mvt 3)
  50. The Tuba Perfectly Cast By Ravel
  51. Pictures At An Exhibition (Bydlo)

Tracks:

  1. Introduction. And We Begin With A Bang.
  2. Fanfare For The Common Man/The Bass Drum On The Battlefields/Wellington's Victory, Op.91 (Opening)
  3. At The Opposite Extreme Is The Triangle.
  4. Piano Concerto No.1 In E Flat (Scherzo)
  5. Categories Of Percussion: Tuned And Untuned. The Side Drum
  6. Overture To 'La Gazza Ladra' - The Thieving Magpie (Opening)
  7. The Side Drum In An Effective But Unexpected Role/Clarinet Concerto (Mvt 1)
  8. The Tambourine. One Of The Oldest Instruments In The World
  9. Den Hoboecken Dans
  10. Even Older Is The Originally Oriental Gong.
  11. Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Laideronette)
  12. No Single Instrument Can Match The Gong In Evoking The Breaking Of Waves./Passacaglia, Op.33b From 'Peter Grimes'/But Gongs Don't Have To Be Struck To Be Effective.
  13. Gymnopedie No.2
  14. The Cymbals Are Generally Discovered Early In Life./The Sanguine Fan/And They Do More Than Clash Together Loudly. They Can Be Clashed Together Softly./Studio Example: But They Needn't Be Clashed Together At All/Studio Example: They Can Be Lightly...
  15. Other Untuned Percussion Instruments Include The Whip.: Piano Concerto In G Major (Opening)/And Here Are No Fewer Than Twenty, Cracked By Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker (Act I, Scene 5)
  16. More Versatile Than The Whip Are The Wood Blocks.../Studio Example/...Which Crop Up All Over The Place In Twentieth-Century American Music.
  17. Rodeo (Hoe-Down)
  18. Related To The Wood Blocks, By Sound, Are The Castanets./Jota Aragonesa/But The Castanets Were Also Used By Monteverdi Back In The Seventeenth Century.
  19. Scherzi Musicali (Damigella Tutta Belle)
  20. A Still Earlier Example From Fifteenth-Century Spain
  21. Yo M'Enamori D'Un Aire
  22. The Birth Of The Bongo
  23. Symphonic Dances From 'West Side Story'
  24. From The Streets Of New York To The Blacksmith's Shop/Il Trovatore ('Anvil Chorus')
  25. Desert-Island Decibels: Grand Canyon Suite (On The Trail)/Arcana
  26. From One Vegetable To Another: The Humble Squash, Or Marrow/Huapango
  27. Onwards To The Tuned Percussion. First, The Timpani
  28. Also Sprach Zarathustra (Introduction)
  29. But The Drum Roll Can Be More Effectively Frightening Than The Big Bang.: Symphony No.2 'Resurrection' (Mvt 3)
  30. Not One Drum Roll, But Many/Grand Canyon Suite (Sunrise)/Symphonie Fantastique (Last Mvt)
  31. Taking Advantage Of Tunability
  32. Music For Strings, Percussion And Celeste (Mvt 2)
  33. The Russian Composer Rodion Shchedrin Takes A Downward Turn./Carmen Suite (Changing Of The Guard)/Tuned, Yes; But For The Truly Melodic We Must Look Elsewhere.
  34. Introducing The Glockenspiel/Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)
  35. Saint-Saens And The Xylophone
  36. The Carnival Of The Animals (Fossils)
  37. Ravel And The Xylophone
  38. Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Laideronette)
  39. Introducing The Marimba/Carmen Suite (First Intermezzo)
  40. Introducing The Vibraphone
  41. The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (Narange Dolce)
  42. The Vibraphone Goes Russian.../Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)/...And Is Joined By The Marimba./Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)
  43. Introducing The Hungarian Cimbalom
  44. Folk Dances
  45. The Cimbalom And The Symphony Orchestra
  46. Hary Janos Suite (Mvt 3)
  47. Introducing The Tubular Bells
  48. Hary Janos Suite (Viennese Musical Clock)
  49. A More 'Up-Front' Approach From Rodion Shchedrin
  50. Carmen Suite (Introduction)
  51. But The Bells Can Also Make The Sinister Even More Sinister./Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Mvt 1)
  52. Introducing The Celeste
  53. The Nutcracker (Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy)
  54. Magic, In The Use Of Collective Percussion
  55. Miroirs (La Vallee Des Cloches)
  56. Plucked Instruments: The 'Undercover Percussion'/Carmen Suite (Scene)
  57. A Prime Case In Point Is The Harp, Irresistible To The Romantics./The Nutcracker (Act II, No.1: Scene)/The Non-Solo Harp As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra/Hungarian Rhapsody No.1
  58. The Traditionally Subservient Role Of The Harpsichord In The Baroque Orchestra
  59. Brandenburg Concerto No.2 (Slow Mvt)
  60. The Piano: King Of The Tuned Percussion/Symphony No.3 'Organ' (Mvt 3)/And A Quarter Of A Century After That:
  61. Petrushka (Russian Dance)
  62. The Anti-Romantic Piano As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra
  63. Music For Strings, Percussion And Celeste (Last Mvt)

Tracks:

  1. Keyboard Instruments In The Orchestra - The Most Powerful Of Them All:
  2. Symphony No.3 'Organ' (Finale)
  3. But Things In Handel's Day Were Very Different.
  4. Organ Concerto In B Flat, Op.4 No.3 (Last Mvt)
  5. The Organ Is Difficult To Classify.
  6. An Unexpected, Organ-related Guest
  7. Concerto Pour Zampogna (Last Mvt)
  8. Peasant-Fancying... And A Touch Of The Roaming Cowboy
  9. Les Miserables (Drink With Me)
  10. Outside Artefacts And The Power Of Association
  11. Mahler's Sleighbells
  12. Symphony No.4 (Opening)
  13. A Roll-Call Of Some Unusual Guests/The Typewriter/Parade
  14. Chains, And More/Integrales/An American In Paris/Sandpaper Ballet
  15. Purpose-Built Oddities: Wind Machines/Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Opening)
  16. Don Quixote (Variation VIII)
  17. National Calling Cards: The Guitar For Spain/Concierto De Aranjuez (Finale)
  18. And The Guitar's Poor American Relative, The Banjo/Washington Breakdown
  19. And Poorer Still, The Mouth Organ/The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (Packing Up)
  20. The Balalaika For Russia/Romeo And Juliet (Act II: No.14)
  21. The Maracas For Mexico/The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (El Desayuno)
  22. The Bongos And Congas And A Whole Wealth Of Other Drums For Africa And Central America/Studio Example
  23. The Sitar Of India/Evening Raga: Bhapoli
  24. The Accordion For France (Especially Paris)/Paris Canaille
  25. The Zither For Vienna/The Third Man (Theme)
  26. The Cimbalom For Hungary/Folk Dances
  27. The Guitar As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra/Rondena
  28. There Are Whole Orchestras Of Balalaikas./Sveit Mesiats
  29. The Effect Of The Wordless Human Voice, Used Purely As An Instrument/Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Mvt 1)
  30. Nocturnes
  31. Instruments And the Imitation Of Nature. The Clarinet As Cuckoo
  32. The Carnival Of The Animals (The Cuckoo)
  33. The Flute As An All-purpose Aviary
  34. The Carnival Of The Animals (The Aviary)
  35. The Oboe As Duck
  36. Peter And The Wolf (The Duck)
  37. The Recording Of Reality. Does It Work As Well?
  38. The Pines Of Rome (The Pines Of The Janiculum)
  39. The Recording Of Reality Electronically Reborn In New Guises
  40. Cantus Articus - Concerto For Birds And Orchesra (Mvt 2)
  41. Beethoven Turns Avian: Cuckoo, Nightingale, And Quail
  42. Symphony No.6 'Pastoral' (Andante Molto Mosso)
  43. Some Improbable Casting: The Violin As Braying Donkey
  44. The Carnival Of The Animals (Persons With Long Ears)
  45. A Truly Orchestral Hee-haw To Be Reckoned With
  46. Overture To 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'
  47. A Thunderstorm In A Million
  48. Symphony No.6 'Pastoral (Allegro-Allegretto)
  49. the Instrumental Depiction Of A Silent World
  50. The Carnival Of The Animals (The Aquarium)
  51. Saint-Saens' Menagerie Takes A Curtain Call.
  52. The Carnival Of The Animals (Finale)

Tracks:

  1. The Grouping Of Instrumental Families. An Additive Approach. First, Two Violins
  2. Forty-Four Duos (No.4)
  3. A Great Contrast, Of Both Pitch And Character: Violin And Viola
  4. Duo For Violin And Viola In B Flat Major, K.424 (Finale, Vars 1 & 2)/Studio Example
  5. Arrival Of The Standard String Trio: Violin, Viola, And Cello
  6. String Trio In B Flat (Menuetto)
  7. The String Quartet: Two Violins, Viola, And Cello
  8. String Quartet In F, Op.18 No.1 (Mvt 3)
  9. The String Quintet - When The Extra Instrument Is A Second Viola
  10. String Quartet No.5 In D, K.593 (Adagio)
  11. The String Quintet - When The Extra Instrument Is A Second Cello
  12. String Quintet In C (Mvt 3)
  13. The String Sextet: Two Violins, Two Violas, And Two Cellos
  14. String Sextet In B Flat (Mvt 2)
  15. The String Octet: The Standard String Quaret Times Two
  16. Octet In E Flat, Op.20 (Mvt 1)
  17. Double The String Octet: A Fully Fledged String Orchestra
  18. String Symphony No.2 (Finale)
  19. The Massed Strings Of A Symphony Orchestra
  20. Fantasia On A Theme Of Thomas Tallis
  21. Contrasts Of Pitch And Instrumental 'Colour' In The Woodwind Section
  22. Wind Quintet In A Minor, Op.100 No.5 (Theme)
  23. In The First Variation It's The Horn That Gets The Lion's Share.
  24. Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 1
  25. In Variation Two The Torch Is Handed To The Bassoon.
  26. Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 2
  27. In Variation Three The Oboe Leads.
  28. Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 3
  29. Variation Four: Conversation Before Returning To A Solo-dominated Texture
  30. Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 4
  31. And Variation Five is Dominated By The Clarinet.
  32. Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 5
  33. The Next To Be Featured Is The Virtuoso Flute.
  34. Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 6
  35. Individual Farewells And A Closing Chorus
  36. Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 7
  37. A Mixed Group: Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, String Quartet, And Double-Bass
  38. Octet In F (Mvt 3)
  39. The Early Classical Symphony Orchestra Of Haydn And Mozart
  40. Symphony No.29 In A, K.201 (Finale)
  41. Strings, Wind, But No Brass. What Haydn And Mozart Never Knew
  42. Canzon 28
  43. Beethoven's Fifth: Two Horns, Two Trumpets, And Three Trombones Join The Team.
  44. Symphony No.5 (Finale)
  45. From Beethoven To The Massive Orchestras Of Berlioz, Wagner, And Mahler
  46. Beethoven Changed The Face Of The Symphony And The Orchestra Forever
  47. Symphoy No.6 'Tragic' (Mvt 1)
  48. The Cult Of Orchestral Elephantiasis Reaches Its Peak.
  49. Symphony No.1 'Gothic' (VI: Te Ergo Quaesumus)
  50. When Large Doesn't Necessarily Mean Loud: Debussy
  51. Images (Gigues)
  52. A Crisis Of Confidence; The Orchestra's Survival Hangs In The Balance, But It Still Develops. The Ondes Martenot:
  53. Turangalila Symphony (Chant D'amour 1)
  54. The Advent Of The 'Early Music' Movement Brings A New Vitality And Freshness.
  55. Balle De Xerxes (Gavotte En Rondeau)
  56. Computer And Synthesiser: Friends Or Foes?
  57. Concerto In D Minor For Two Violins (Largo)
  58. A Speculative Look Ahead/Mass In B Minor ('Dona Nobis Pacem')

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Instruments of the Orchestra - Great Reference Material!.......2007-04-04

This set lends itself to greatly enhancing one's knowledge of the orchestra, instruments in it, and their usage. I am a huge music buff, and I still picked up a great deal I previously did not know. I highly recommend this for all who wish to understand the origin of music, as well as the processes that are employed to create music!

5 out of 5 stars Beginner or Expert.......2007-03-12

This CD is excellent for the beginner or expert! To be able to haear the instrumets separately and then together really provides a good education. and/or refresher. The book thaty comes with the CD is alomost worth the price by itself!

5 out of 5 stars Very Informative and Enjoyable.......2006-11-20

Whether you're a music novice or pro, "The instruments of the Orchestra" is a very worthwhile purchase. The 7 CDs, with a total of 8 hours, are expertly narrated by Jeremy Siepmann. He's a great speaker, very much like the late Leonard Bernstein was. Mr. Siepmann takes you on an unforgetable musical journey covering the origins and use of the various orchestral instruments throughout musical history. The balance between his narration and a wealth of musical examples, which range from snippets to entire movements, is superb. The comprehensive enclosed booklet is excellent and faithfully follows the 7 CDs in content. Even with my 40+ years of music training I still learned new things from this wonderful collection. Considering the excellence of the content, and a cost that translates to about $5 per disc, this collection is a great value. Grab it, you won't regret that you did. Five solid stars!

3 out of 5 stars Frank's view.......2006-08-19

This boxed set of CD's with booklet achieved all I had hoped that it would. There are good samples of individual instruments and well done commentary on each. The only drawback was that some of the samples were too brief and could have been longer, hoiwever I guess this fits in with time constraints of the medium. It has given me a lot of clues as to future purchases of CD's for listening to individual instruments. Altogeth a satisfactory purchase and a welcome addition to my collection.

5 out of 5 stars Excellent Intro for Those Not Familiar with the Orchestra.......2003-11-08

I've listened to classical music for years and am interested in composition. I bought this CD set to learn how an orchestra and its instruments work. I thought the CDs would be a nice but boring lecture. They aren't! Not only are they FUN but they are informative as well. I learned a huge amount from each CD and couldn't wait to listen to the next one.

The narrator and writer is a great speaker and holds your attention well. He is definitely knowledgeable. He provides musical examples for each point he makes, so you get to "hear" what he just talked about. I'd say the CDs are about 65% music and 35% narration. You'll learn about the range of instruments, some history, different ways to play them, how they sound, and how they are used in the orchestra. This CD set was a great learning experience and is sold at such a low price!

I recommend this CD for those who want to learn about classical music and those who know about it but are interested in learning more about the inner workings of an orchestra. You'll learn much useful information. For instance, the Rite of Spring (with that eerie start) is written for bassoon! I never knew a bassoon could sound like that but now I do.

The one complaint I have is the last CD. This deals with the orchestra. I wanted more of a tour of how the orchestra has been used through history up to the present. Instead, it was a tour of how different groups of instruments sound. I thought it could have been better. The other 6 CDs are excellent.
All At Once Well Met: English Madrigals; The King's Singers
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Very pleased
  • Sumptuous and mellow
  • One of the Best Collections of English Madrigals
  • A Delightful Collection of English Madrigal
  • A wide variety
All At Once Well Met: English Madrigals; The King's Singers
John Dowland , Thomas Morley , Thomas Weelkes , John Wilbye , William Byrd , John Farmer , and The King's Singers
Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Byrd, WilliamByrd, William | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
All Works by DowlandAll Works by Dowland | Dowland, John | ( D ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Renaissance (c.1450-1600) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
King's SingersKing's Singers | ( K ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Classical | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
MadrigalsMadrigals | Songs & Lieder | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Songs & Lieder | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
PartsongsPartsongs | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music
A CappellaA Cappella | Folk | Styles | Music
$9.99 and Under$9.99 and Under | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music
All Classical Music BlowoutAll Classical Music Blowout | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music
Byrd, WilliamByrd, William | ( B ) | Composers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music
Dowland, JohnDowland, John | ( D ) | Composers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music
King's SingersKing's Singers | ( K ) | Performers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music
Opera & VocalOpera & Vocal | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music
Similar Items:
  1. English and Italian Renaissance Madrigals
  2. The King"s Singers: English Renaissance
  3. Olde English Madrigals & Folk Songs at Ely Cathedral
  4. Madrigal History Tour
  5. Annie Laurie ~ Folksongs of the British Isles / Barrueco · The King's Singers

ASIN: B000002RPZ
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

  1. English Madrigals: A Little Pretty Bonny Lass
  2. English Madrigals: Weep No More, Thou Sorry Boy
  3. English Madrigals: Shoot False Love
  4. English Madrigals: Now Is The Month Of Maying
  5. English Madrigals: Four Arms, Two Necks, One Wreathing
  6. English Madrigals: Hark, All Ye Lovely Saints Above
  7. English Madrigals: Since Robin Hood
  8. English Madrigals: Though Philomela Lost Her Love
  9. English Madrigals: O Wretched Man
  10. English Madrigals: Weep, O Mine Eyes
  11. English Madrigals: The Nightingale, The Organ Of Delight
  12. English Madrigals: Come, Sirrah Jack, Ho!
  13. English Madrigals: Cruel, Behold My Heavy Ending
  14. English Madrigals: Fair Phyllis I Saw Sitting All Alone
  15. English Madrigals: Sing We And Chant It
  16. English Madrigals: On A Fair Morning
  17. English Madrigals: Oft Have I Vowed
  18. English Madrigals: Is Love A Boy?
  19. English Madrigals: Say, Love, If Ever Thou Didst Find
  20. English Madrigals: All At Once Well Met
  21. English Madrigals: Construe My Meaning
  22. English Madrigals: Lord! When I Think
  23. English Madrigals: Cruel, Wilt Thou Persever
  24. English Madrigals: Fine Knacks For Ladies
  25. English Madrigals: Strike It Up, Tabor
  26. English Madrigals: I Love, Alas I Love Thee
  27. English Madrigals: Farwell, Dear Love
  28. English Madrigals: See, See The Shepherd's Queen
  29. English Madrigals: Have I Found Her
  30. English Madrigals: Lady Your Words Do Spite Me
  31. English Madrigals: Were I A King
  32. English Madrigals: Come Again
  33. English Madrigals: Tan Ta Ra, Cries Mars
  34. English Madrigals: Why Should I Love?
  35. English Madrigals: This Sweet And Merry Month Of May

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Very pleased.......2007-06-10

I wasn't sure what to expect when I bought this CD. True, I could have listened on line before buying but that would have taken the fun out of the purchase. Besides, I really didn't care for the CD the first couple of times I listened but now I really love it. It's not something to listen to all the time but given the right circumstances e.g. a small gathering of friends, it's perfect. If I'd listened to online, I wouldn't have purchased it.

5 out of 5 stars Sumptuous and mellow.......2002-11-28

The six men of the King's Singers present sweet and light-hearted madrigals of such English composers as Morley, Weelkes, Dowland, Wilbye and Byrd. The thirty five selections include "Now is the Month of Maying", "Though Philomela Lost Her Love", "Sing We and Chant It," the celebration of tobacco entitled "Come, Sirrah Jack, Ho!" and a host of other fa-la-la-la-la venues interspersed with wistful laments. I love the rich, sonorous sound of a male vocal ensemble, with countertenors, tenor, baritones and bass, and these six singers do a great job. Occasional instrumental accompaniments by lute and tabor are included, but this group doesn't really need it--I could listen to them for hours all by themselves. Also quite enjoyable, as well as educational, is their earlier release, "The King's Singers' Madrigal History Tour: Italy, England, France, Spain and Germany". For a more risque' take on the vocal music of Renaissance England, you might get a kick out of "The Art of the Bawdy Song" by the Baltimore Consort with the Merry Companions.

5 out of 5 stars One of the Best Collections of English Madrigals.......2002-03-27

Any fan of the King's Singers will regret not having this album in their collection.

This album offers a veritable feast of the choicest English madrigals found on any comparable album. From the obligatory "Now is the Month of Maying" and "Fair Phyllis" to the more obscure "Tan ta ra, cries Mars," there is certainly enough on this album to bring a smile to lovers of Renaissance music - and a spark of recognition to anyone who sang traditional madrigals in high school or university. For serious students of early music, this album comes very highly recommended.

Among the more sonorous offerings on this album, Jones' "Farewell, Dear Love" and Dowland's "Come Again," cannot be ignored. Nor can Bennet's immortal "Weep O mine eyes" be matched more musically than here by the King's Singers.

This album has been played again and again for almost 6 years as both serious listening and background working music. And it has yet to lose its delight.

4 out of 5 stars A Delightful Collection of English Madrigal.......2000-08-16

With 35 tracts to enjoy you're sure to find a couple of favorites. I gave this CD 4 of 5 stars compared to 5 stars for the King's Singers World Madrigal Tour CD. If you prefer all your songs in English, this will be your 5 star CD. Tract 32 "Come again" is my favorite due to the surperb tenor lead and melodic development. Compared to many polyphonic early music styles (1300s-1485), this era (1500-1610) provides many memorable melodies.

4 out of 5 stars A wide variety.......2000-04-28

This is an excellent sampling of English madrigals. This presentation, given by an older roster of the Singers, is a nice introduction to the world of the madrigal, and English madrigals in particular.
One Second
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • When in a funky mood?
  • One second, Forever
  • Bueller...
  • The album divine
  • Sound wizards at their best
One Second
Yello
Manufacturer: Fontana Island
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Dance PopDance Pop | Compilations | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
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  1. Essential
  2. Stella
  3. The Eye
  4. Pocket Universe
  5. Baby

ASIN: B000001FMS
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

  1. La Habanera
  2. Moon In Ice
  3. Call It Love
  4. Le Secret Farida
  5. Hawaiian Chance
  6. The Rhythm Divine
  7. Santiago
  8. Goldrush
  9. Oh Yeah
  10. Dr. Van Steiner
  11. Si Senor The Hairy Grill
  12. L'Hotel

Customer Reviews:

3 out of 5 stars When in a funky mood?.......2006-02-25

Very different music! It's like taking a trip in a foreign country. Overall, eclectic interesting sound meshed together with a catchy rhythm. Try it, you might like it!

5 out of 5 stars One second, Forever.......2006-02-25

Great tunes dripping with latin up beat melodies and smooth syncopation. One track could have easily appeared in a 007 flick.
Slick production and sound makes for great party music ; dancing or sitting ! "Oh yeah" will always turn an ear with or without the accompaning movie.......

5 out of 5 stars Bueller..........2003-08-14

This CD has the song Oh Yeah! that is most commonly recognized from Ferris Bueller's Day Off. But, you cannot judge this CD by that song alone. Compared to the rest of the CD, 'Oh Yeah!' is a horribly boring track.

The music is timeless. Each track is different, different style, different language. There are great rhythms, some latin, some electronic, some heavy metal. Far from boring. Great music to accompany just about any activity.

4 out of 5 stars The album divine.......2002-07-30

This album is the best of Yello's earliest albums. My favourite song is Si Senor The Hairy Grill, but Call It Love is also good as well as Goldrush, Dr Van Steiner, The Rythm Divine and L'Hotel. I havn't quite get used to the other songs (as you often have to do with Yello's songs). Buy this album!

5 out of 5 stars Sound wizards at their best.......2002-04-10

Late Billy MacKenzie & Shirley Bassey are the icing on this
cake (sorry...LP, sorry....CD).Two voices adding an almost
operatic decor to this truly inspired album. Although Moon
On Ice is the premier among equals here, I myself prefer
dancing to the breath-taking rhythm of the Habanera. As far as
I'm concerned YELLO is a name synonymous with DRIVING. All
their songs have this drivy feeling nowhere else to be
found. Stella's dance anthem Oh Yeah is a bonus track here
reminding us of all these funny movie scenes it was heard in :
1)K 9, starring J. BELUSHI (while big boy dog is doing the wild thing with little lady dog in the back of a limousine),
2)The Secret Of My Success, starring M. J. FOX (while auntie Vera is trying to provoke nephew driver, again in the back of
a limousine)& 3)one of my all time favourite movies Ferris
Bueller Day Off (starring M. BRODERICK) while the two blokes
in the parking lot go cruisin with dad's Ferrari.
Though what a shame for this album to be the peak just before
the decline of the career of this superb Swiss duo.
Christopher Parkening - The Great Recordings ~ By America's Preeminent Guitar Virtuoso
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Excellent recording
  • Highly Recommended!
  • Amazing
  • A gentleman musical agreement!
  • Extreme virtuosity
Christopher Parkening - The Great Recordings ~ By America's Preeminent Guitar Virtuoso
Johann Sebastian Bach , François Couperin , Gabriel Fauré , Isaac Albeniz , Anonymous , Francisco Tarrega (y Eixea) , Silvius Leopold Weiss , Claude Debussy , Maurice Ravel , Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , Gordon Young , Georg Philipp Telemann , Heitor Villa-Lobos , Manuel de Falla , Manuel Ponce , Enrique Granados , Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco , Andrew York , Fernando Sor , Gaspar Sanz , Joaquin Rodrigo , and Christopher Parkening
Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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  2. Simple Gifts: Christopher Parkening
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ASIN: B000002RTR
Release Date: 1993-09-14

Tracks:

  1. Fugue From Violin Sonata No. 1, BWV 1001 - J S Bach
  2. Estudio brillante
  3. Etude No. 1 In E Minor
  4. Recuerdos de la Alhambra
  5. Leyenda
  6. Romance
  7. Rumores de la Caleta
  8. Capricho Arabe
  9. Cantata 147: Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring
  10. Well-Tempered Clavier: Prelude No. 1
  11. Well-Tempered Clavier: Prelude No. 6
  12. Cantata 140: Sleepers Awake
  13. Prelude, Fugue, And Allegro: Allegro
  14. Cantata 208: Sheep May Safely Graze
  15. Les Barricades mysterieuses
  16. Preambulo & Allegro vivo: Preambulo And Allegro vivo
  17. Passacaglia
  18. The Girl With The Flaxen Hair
  19. Gymnopedie No. 1
  20. Empress Of The Pagodas
  21. Afro-Cuban Lullaby

Tracks:

  1. Fourth Lute Suite: Praludium
  2. Fairest Lord Jesus
  3. Praise Ye The Lord, K. 339
  4. Simple Gifts
  5. Hymn Of Christian Joy
  6. Cantata 29: We Thank Thee, Lord
  7. Cantata 156: Arioso
  8. Cantata 99: What God Hath Done
  9. Canon
  10. Dolly Suite: Berceuse
  11. La Vida breve: Spanish Dance No. 1
  12. Terezinha De Jesus
  13. Prelude (In The Baroque Style)
  14. Goyescas: Intermezzo
  15. Prelude & Fugue No. 4 In E: Fugue
  16. Evening Dance
  17. Variations On A Theme Of Mozart
  18. Canarlos
  19. La Maja de Goya
  20. El Noi de la Mare
  21. Concierto de Aranjuez: Adagio - J. Rodrigo

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Excellent recording.......2007-05-12

If you are a fan of classical guitar than this is a must own set. I enjoy every moment.

5 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended!.......2006-12-23

I would recommend this CD to anyone who loves music--period! Christopher Parkening is unquestionably one of the greatest classical guitarists of all-time. He embodies personal excellence like no other and is a brilliant artist. This CD is a must-have for any classical enthusiast. My favorite pieces include: Tárrega's "Recuerdos de la Alhambra," "Romance," Bach's "Prelude No. 6," and Rodrigo's "Concierto de Aranjuez." There are other versions of these pieces as well, but I always prefer Parkening's renditions, as they are oh so extraordinary--especially the recording of Aranjuez!! Other guitarists never seem to capture the essence of Rodrigo's musical masterpiece (e.g., Göran Söllescher in "Mad About Guitars"). But Parkening did! And the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra was a perfect accompaniment.

This CD is definitely worth buying. Included is a CD booklet, which illustrates the history of Parkening's illustrious career, interesting tidbits about all 25 recorded pieces, and several photos of his early life to his "breathtaking performance" at Rodrigo's 90th birthday celebration at the Royal Festival Hall in London, 1992.

5 out of 5 stars Amazing.......2006-05-08

I am not going to go into great detail. I am working on a degree in classical guitar and I can say this is something to strive for. His musical interpretation of the peices represented here are some of the best I've heard. His tone,color, and phrasing is incredible.

5 out of 5 stars A gentleman musical agreement! .......2006-03-16

In guitar ` s playing there have been many renowned performers, gifted of exuberant technique. But curiously the Apollonian playing is not by itself strictly enough. The guitar is the instrument which is closer to heart as any other one. It demands from you passion and sentiment. There have been three well known guitarists, one of them from England and the other one from Spain and the third one from Japan whose sensibility was totally absent in their performances.

But fortunately for us, there have been notable interpreters that have been maintained a desired balance and contrast between brain and heart, achieving great distinction and total acknowledgement around the world. I would name seven primordial names along the instrument `s story. First of all: the mythic soloist Andres Segovia, Regino Sainz de la Maza, John Williams, Alirio Diaz, Manuel Berrueco, Siegfried Behrend and Christopher Parkening, among the most representative ones of a great list.

Christopher Parkening `s career has made a brilliant colorist, an impeccable and sensitive interpreter of this well reduced repertoire. His profound artistic conviction and convincing phrasing has been a perpetual motive of constant invitations and presentations around the world.

5 out of 5 stars Extreme virtuosity.......2005-09-25

CP has become my chief inspiration to improve as a classical guitarist. His performances here are, without exception, phenomenal. He makes the most difficult pieces sound effortless. I prefer CP over John Williams because, while Williams is also unquestionably a master, he sounds a bit robotic to me at times. CP, on the other hand, never sacrifices musicality to precision. He sublimely maintains both.
Mahler: Symphonie No.3 in D Minor
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Bernstein's Symphony No. 3 Not Mahler's
  • Mahler creates a massive world...
  • A Mahler's Third for the ages
  • The bigger and lesser of two Bernstein Mahler Thirds
  • Surprisingly Impressive
Mahler: Symphonie No.3 in D Minor

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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  5. Mahler: Symphonie No. 6; Kindertotenlieder

ASIN: B000001GAG
Release Date: 1989-07-20

Tracks:

  1. Symphonie No. 3: Part I, 1st Movement - Kraftig. Entschieden
  2. Symphonie No. 3: Part I, 1st Movement - Immer das gleiche Tempo
  3. Symphonie No. 3: Part I, 1st Movement - Tempo I
  4. Symphonie No. 3: Part I, 1st Movement - Zeit lassen
  5. Symphonie No. 3: Part I, 1st Movement - Zeit lassen
  6. Symphonie No. 3: Part I, 1st Movement - Immer dasselbe Tempo. (Marsch). Nicht eilen
  7. Symphonie No. 3: Part I, 1st Movement - Im alten Marschtempo (Allegro Moderato)
  8. Symphonie No. 3: Part I, 1st Movement - Tempo I
  9. Symphonie No. 3: Part II, 2nd movement - Tempo di Menuetto. Sehr massig
  10. Symphonie No. 3: Part II, 2nd movement - L'istesso tempo
  11. Symphonie No. 3: Part II, 2nd movement - A tempo (Wie im Anfang)
  12. Symphonie No. 3: Part II, 2nd movement - Ganz plotzlich gemachlich. Tempo di Menuetto
  13. Symphonie No. 3: Part II, 3rd movement - Comodo. Scherzando. Ohne Hast
  14. Symphonie No. 3: Part II, 3rd movement - Wieder sehr gemachlich, wir zu Anfang
  15. Symphonie No. 3: Part II, 3rd movement - Etwas zuruckhaltend
  16. Symphonie No. 3: Part II, 3rd movement - Schnell und schmetternd wie eine Fanfare-Tempo 1. Mit geheimnisvoller Hast
  17. Symphonie No. 3: Part II, 3rd movement - Wieder sehr gemachlich, beinahe langsam

Tracks:

  1. Symphonie No. 3: Part II, 4th Movement - Sehr langsam. Misterioso. Durchaus
  2. Symphonie No. 3: Part II, 4th Movement - Piu mosso subito
  3. Symphonie No. 3: Part II, 5th Movement - Lustig im Tempo und keck im Ausdruck
  4. Symphonie No. 3: Part II, 6th Movement - Langsam. Ruhevoll. Empfunden
  5. Symphonie No. 3: Part II, 6th Movement - Nicht mehr so breit
  6. Symphonie No. 3: Part II, 6th Movement - Tempo I. Ruhevoll
  7. Symphonie No. 3: Part II, 6th Movement - Nicht mehr so breit
  8. Symphonie No. 3: Part II, 6th Movement - Tempo I
  9. Symphonie No. 3: Part II, 6th Movement - Langsam. Tempo I

Amazon.com essential recording

Leonard Bernstein more or less owned this symphony, and both this and his earlier Sony recording are superb. He was one of the few conductors who wasn't afraid of the musical insanity that Mahler unleashes in the first movement (a collision between two marches of very different character), and the New York Philharmonic is one of the few orchestras in the world with the stamina to carry the whole thing off. This is the longest symphony ever written that's in the international repertoire, but listening to Bernstein's way with it, you'd never guess. This recording is also included in DG's magnificent box set of the complete Mahler symphonies. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Bernstein's Symphony No. 3 Not Mahler's.......2005-11-08

So some of this is oustanding and thrilling in its own special way. It is pure musical bravado and showmanship. Leonard Bernstein, who died in 1989, remains the most renowned American conductor of all time and has a huge following that will not go away. He makes the music so visceral and in-your-face, that one would think he was possessed as he conducted. This symphony is perhaps the most dramatic interpretation and never fails to electrify the ear. But even with the theatricality of it all, it cannot compare to Herbert Von Karajan's interepretation of Berstein's Symphony No. 3 or Zubin Mehta's. At least Karajan and Mehta understand the significance of honoring the composer's vision. Bernstein, more than any other conductor, gained notoriety for HIS particularly charged, intense and overblown interpretations of Beethoven and especially Mahler symphonies. While most classical music lovers enjoy and even laud his Mahler as the all-around best, I disagree. Mahler should not be treated with such monstrous force. Mahler was the last German Romantic, and that entails a spirituality, a mellowness, a mysticism which Bernstein never suffused his recordings with. His orchestra is taught to pull out all the stops in a modern showman way. Sure, being a German Romantic, Mahler was influenced by Wagnerian fatalism and harshness. However, he strayed from using too much Wagnerian techniques in his own music and only when warranted does the music become dark and dramatic. Mahler's symphonies, his later ones in particular, described in musical phrasing, the existential questions about God, man's purpose and the universe as a living entity. Bernstein fails to show us any of this. If you're a fan of Bernstein, then you will regard this as his best work and it actually is. He pulls out all the stops here. He is at his best here. The music is alive and roars with majestic power. It is really LOUD in some parts and it is sure to invade your stereosystem and even make your windows shake. The power of the music, however, is misguided. It ought to be about the inner notes. If you're more of a purist and prefer old-school conductors who treat Mahler reverently, go for Karajan's complete Mahler symphony recordings.

4 out of 5 stars Mahler creates a massive world..........2005-08-09

What a huge symphony. It's enormous. Both discs of this recording together run approximately an hour and forty-five minutes (64'12 + 41'40). Throughout this seemingly impossible span the melodic themes intertwine like celtic knots, the dynamics range from a whisper to a SCREAM, and along the way we meet Friedrich Nietzsche, a solo vocalist, and a boys choir. Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic pelt this one out with gusto, but some listeners have complained that Berstein meddles too much with the production (the symphony does balance on the fence of melodrama in places, and a steady guide needs to keep it from tipping into the mushy goo on the wrong side). The recording overflows with full lush strings and horns throughout giving it a very dramatic texture. It's not a piece or a recording suited for background music. It demands attention.

Six movements (in two parts) spontaneously and linearly create Mahler's symphonic world. Mahler originally drew up program notes to go along with the work's multifarious parts (with titles such as "Pan Awakes", "What the Animals in the Forest Tell me", "What the Angels Tell me", and "What Love Tells me"), but he later abandoned them as too stringent. He didn't want to shove his interpretation down the throats of his audience and stifle the carte blanche experience of listening.

The first movement (composed in 1896, a year after the following five movements) opens with a triumphal imposing horn blasting melody. Allusions to Brahms and Wagner lurk beneath the melodies and harmonies. The movement itself is as dynamic as the entire structure of the symphony. From loud and garrulous to near silence, the movement marches and trunches forth while throwing some diversions here and there along with some lovely solo violin speckles. This movement alone makes up Part I of the symphony. The remaining movements make up Part II.

The second movement opens in great contrast to the first. A lonely but danceable horn melody leads us into a beautiful minuet which later transforms into downright danceable and bouncy music. It eventually flutters out with strings.

Next, in the third movement, some shades of the "nature sounds" of Mahler's first return. A "cuckoo" whistles and the orchestra performs some dramatic loopty-loops before breaking out into full song. Musical hints of birds flitter everywhere in this movement. It ends with a clenching creshendo buildup and finally with an unmistakable, almost shocking, bang.

Over an hour of music passes between the beginning of the work and the first vocal movement (the fourth). Here Mahler puts to music the "Midnight Song" from Nietzsche's "Thus Spake Zarathustra". Following the bang of the previous movement, Mahler treats us to a tense painfully beautiful song. Nietzsche was still alive while Mahler composed this symphony, though he had fallen into his "famous" madness (he died in 1900). Mahler also apparently had some regard for Nietzsche -at one point he was going to name the entire symphony after Nietzsche's 1882 work "The Gay Science".

Once again, in great contrast, the next song (and the work's shortest movement at only slightly over 4 minutes) gives off a joyous feeling. The boy choir even chants happy bell sounds.

And then the big finale. The sixth and final movement. A painfully beautiful buildup of some twenty minutes brimming with juicy strings and a few explosions precedes the final thumping drums and majestic climax. It contrasts greatly with the symphony's first mostly raucous movement. And here's another of Mahler's big endings. The sixth movement as a whole provides a stunning conclusion to the piece.

Mahler's Third Symphony is simply overwhelming. It's as difficult to get one's mind around as it is to get one's arms around an aircraft carrier. It's a hulk, a behemoth. But it's also amazing and more than worth the numerous listens required for the symphony to begin to reveal its nuances and hidden gems. Did Mahler attempt to reflect life itself in this gargantuan work? Does that explain its complexity and size? Possibly, but regardless of how one interprets it, the work is full of great Mahlerian music that doesn't require picky granular analysis to enjoy.

5 out of 5 stars A Mahler's Third for the ages.......2003-08-09

Mahler's Third is a very difficult piece to play and understand. Not only is the longest symphony in the standard repetoire, it also showcases Mahler's desire to show the entire universe in a symphony. There are more contrasts between light and dark, happy and sad, loud and soft, fast and slow, etc, in this symphony than in any other Mahler symphony. It makes this symphony a very difficult piece to listen to, and perhaps Mahler's most inaccessible for the casual listener or Mahler novice. That said, one must still agree that Bernstein gives this symphony a reading that is simply unforgettable. Bernstein manages emphasize the essential contrasting elements of the music, especially in the seemingly endless first movement, and keep the listener at the edge of his seat from the tension and emotion Bernstein elicits. Plus, this recording has excellent sound. Some of the best I've heard, in fact. The explosions are more explosive than in any other recording I've heard. It's something you have got to hear for yourself! I've grown to love this symphony and now it's one of my favorites; however, without this recording, who knows how positively I'd feel about this difficult (yet very fulfilling) composition.

3 out of 5 stars The bigger and lesser of two Bernstein Mahler Thirds.......2002-11-12

As anyone happening across other reviews I've written about Bernstein conducting Mahler will gather, I've come to distrust the latter-day Bernstein performances in recent years. Yes, I too once thought that the cycle the seventy-ish conductor did for DG was one of the marvels of the universe, but since then I've come to understand that Mahler's music doesn't need quite as much "intervention" as the great Massachusetts-born maestro heaped upon his hero's exhaustively detailed scores. That tendency to superimpose his own personality onto Mahler's was especially pronounced late in Bernstein's career, around the time he made this rapturously received set of Mahler's Symphony #3.

Listen to this side-by-side with Lenny's first go-round with this symphony (now on Sony Classical) from the early 1960s, and you may get a sense, as I do, that this remake is a caricature of the earlier, fresher performance. Everything here is heavier, slower, stiffer, more coarse and blatant--if conceived from the same basic point of view as the '60s set. Even the second and third movements, which should provide a contrast to the massiveness of the half-hour (or, in this performance, 35-minute) opener, galumph along with a weighty tread. (Or, to paraphrase an old review of Klaus Tennstedt's recording of this symphony, what "the flowers in the meadow" and "the creatures in the forest" told Bernstein was not what they told Mahler.) A friend of mine put it beautifully: He compared Bernstein's Mahler conducting (with the DG cycle as his primary frame of reference) to "putting thick makeup on actors to make them somehow seem more lifelike." The acoustically dry digital recording is of a piece with Bernstein's performance and the circa-1988 New York Philharmonic's playing: higher-impact than the natural (if dated) analog sound picture of the Sony and warmly responsive (if imperfect) playing of the circa-1961 N.Y. Phil, but also more contrived and even sterile by comparison.

There are high points: Christa Ludwig's darkly rapt singing of the fourth-movement "Midnight song," the snarling trombones and bass-drum cracks in the opening movement, the time-suspending spell cast by the opening pages of the finale (which, by the way, runs a full three minutes longer than the already expansive 25 minutes of Bernstein's 1961 version. The CD booklet says otherwise, but then the CD booklet also claims that the opening track of the finale plays for 2 minutes, which would be impossibly fast; it's actually 5 minutes). And it must be acknowledged that the symphony here is not distorted out of shape, as happens with the DG set's renditions of the Second, Fifth and Ninth Symphonies. Yet there's too much that suggests an enlarged ego deluded into believing his every mannerism and ponderous elongation of a phrase casts more light on this composer's mysteries than anyone else did or does.

You may vehemently disagree, arguing that larger-than-life music demands a larger-than-life performance. If so, you may find this presentation enthralling and moving. For me, the Third is better served by Bernstein in his first recording of it, and by Sir John Barbirolli (despite some horrendous orchestral playing and Glorious John's comically audible grunts in the finale), Jesus Lopez-Cobos, Bernard Haitink in his 1966 recording with the Royal Concertegbouw (only available these days as part of a hard-to-locate boxed set) or, especially, Jascha Horenstein. Each man in his own way held this sprawling structure together beautifully, presenting it as Mahler's evolving hymn to nature, humankind and God--not as a showpiece for the conductor.

5 out of 5 stars Surprisingly Impressive.......2002-09-21

Most of the live recordings done by NY PHIL sound rather mushy in texture and are just unsettling to the ear, especially for a listener who craves the extremely dry timbre of the orchestral brass. But this recording has an unusuall clarity to it that makes you want to turn your volume louder and louder. I would recommend this recording to anyone who prefers the brass to dominate the orchestra; the trumpets and trombones are are a little overbearing. I wouldn't reccomend it to anyone seeking the type of lyrical textures that are common in Mahler 5 and 9. Mahler 3 is very dry, dark, and percussive.
Magical Musicals / Kunzel, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra
Average customer rating: 3 out of 5 stars
  • Not impressed
  • Inexorable wonder!
Magical Musicals / Kunzel, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra

Manufacturer: Telarc
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Elfman, DannyElfman, Danny | ( E ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
General ModernGeneral Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
Cincinnati PopsCincinnati Pops | ( C ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Classical | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Pop | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Easy Listening | Pop | Styles | Music
Orchestral PopOrchestral Pop | Easy Listening | Pop | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music
Movie ScoresMovie Scores | Soundtracks | Styles | Music
Movie SoundtracksMovie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Soundtracks | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Musicals | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music
Similar Items:
  1. The Magical Music of Disney
  2. Ragtime at the Magical Kingdoms
  3. The Big Picture

ASIN: B00001QGKF
Release Date: 1999-09-28

Tracks:

  1. Hercules: Introduction
  2. Hercules: The Gospel Truth
  3. Hercules: One Last Hope
  4. Hercules: I Won't Say
  5. Hercules: Zero To Hero
  6. Hercules: A Star Is Born
  7. Hercules: Go The Distance
  8. Aladdin And the King Of Thieves: Party In Agrabah
  9. Pocahontas: Just Around The River Bend
  10. The Return Of Jafar: You're Only Second Rate
  11. The Return Of Jafar: Forget About Love
  12. The Return Of Jafar: I'm Looking Out For Me
  13. The Return Of Jafar: Nothing In The World
  14. Toy Story: You've Got A Friend In Me
  15. 101 Dalmations: Cruella De Vil
  16. Pocahontas: Colors Of The Wind
  17. Oliver And Company: Once Upon A Time In New York City
  18. Oliver And Company: Why Should I Worry?
  19. The Nightmare Before Christmas: What's This?
  20. James And The Giant Peach: Good News
  21. Mulan: Orchestral Suite
  22. The Hunchback Of Notre Dame: The Bells Of Notre Dame
  23. The Hunchback Of Notre Dame: Someday
  24. The Hunchback Of Notre Dame: God Help The Outcasts
  25. The Hunchback Of Notre Dame: Topsy Turvy
  26. The Hunchback Of Notre Dame: Court Of Miracles
  27. The Hunchback Of Notre Dame: A Guy Like You
  28. The Hunchback Of Notre Dame: Heaven's Light

Customer Reviews:

1 out of 5 stars Not impressed.......2003-11-25

I was not terribly impressed with this CD. Fortunately, I decided to get it from the library to see if it was good before deciding whether or not to buy it.

Although the orchestration of the songs is well done, most of them simply were not meant to be performed by a chorus; and they sound terrible in that form. If you want some of the songs on this CD, I suggest you look at one of Disney's compilation CDs in the Classic Disney Vol. 1-5 series or the actual soundtracks of the movies.

5 out of 5 stars Inexorable wonder!.......2001-06-23

Where to start?! Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra have had a track record for recording some of the most stupendous movie music ever. Magical Musicals is just another example of how audaciously bold, yet beautiful Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops have taken the original scores, molded them into the same pieces, yet at the same time, creating life of their own in each and every note. If you are looking for ANY soundtrack containing Disney music, this should be the first CD you listen to. There are others out there, and yes, they may sound beautiful and enchanting, but you won't find such a unique and compelling score anywhere else other than this CD. Check it out!!
William Byrd: The Complete Keyboard Music
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Very, very nice set
  • Very, very nice set
  • Plain And Simple - GET THIS!!!
  • a delight
  • Excellent Set, Authentic perfromance
William Byrd: The Complete Keyboard Music

Manufacturer: Hyperion UK
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Byrd, WilliamByrd, William | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
Character PiecesCharacter Pieces | Short Forms | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music
GroundsGrounds | Variations | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music
VariationsVariations | Variations | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music
Chamber MusicChamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Keyboard | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music
Moroney, DavittMoroney, Davitt | ( M ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Classical | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
ClassicalClassical | Box Sets | Stores | Music
ClassicalClassical | Imports | Stores | Music
Similar Items:
  1. Dowland: Complete Lute Works, Vol.1-5
  2. Scarlatti: The Keyboard Sonatas
  3. The William Byrd Edition, Vol. 4: Cantiones Sacrae 1575
  4. The Byrd Edition, Vol. 1: Early Latin Church Music & Propers for Lady Mass in Advent
  5. The William Byrd Edition, Vol. 6: Music for Holy Week & Easter

ASIN: B00002EIUD
Release Date: 1999-10-12

Amazon.com

Today, English composer William Byrd (1540-1623) is mostly remembered for his vocal works, but his keyboard output--a vast array of pavans, galliards, plainsong interpretations, preludes, and popular-song arrangements--is just as noteworthy. Indeed, as Byrd sought to find his voice in writing music for the (relatively) new instrumental genre, he employed experimentation, creativity, and virtuosity that still sound fresh today. This ambitious set features virtually all Byrd's keyboard music, performed by Davitt Maroney on a handful of replica instruments. Spread over seven CDs (and with a solid 100 pages of liner notes dissecting the works), it's an impressive set for keyboard buffs and people curious about what music in Elizabethan England sounded like. Throughout, Maroney plays these challenging pieces impeccably, whether on harpsichord, church organ, clavichord, or muselar virginal (a type of plucked keyboard instrument). Sometimes musical labors of love don't translate to good listening, but in the case of William Byrd: The Complete Keyboard Music, we should all be thankful for Maroney's efforts. --Jason Verlinde

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Very, very nice set.......2003-08-23

I've been a fan of William Byrd's choral music (and have performed a few pieces, such as the Mass for Five Voices), but this is the first time I've really gotten deep into his keyboard music. I was not disappointed.

Some period keyboard recordings sound relentless--I have to admit that I cannot endure more than about 45 minutes of harpsichord music at a sitting, because it just lacks too much color and variation. Moroney has dealt with that by using a collection of period instruments and varying the mix. But (unlike Glenn Gould) he does not add in the piano. (I think the piano has a superior sound, simply because its dynamic range is wider, but it's wrong for Byrd's period. Moroney has answered that pretty well without cheating.)

If you are a polyphonic, contrapuntal music maniac the way I am, you will really enjoy wallowing in this stuff the way a hog wallows in mud. (OK, maybe I feel a little guilty for pigging out on Byrd music by buying 7 CDs of it. But I only feel a LITTLE guilty.)

5 out of 5 stars Very, very nice set.......2003-08-23

I've been a fan of William Byrd's choral music (and have performed a few pieces, such as the Mass for Five Voices), but this is the first time I've really gotten deep into his keyboard music. I was not disappointed.

Some period keyboard recordings sound relentless--I have to admit that I cannot endure more than about 45 minutes of harpsichord music at a sitting, because it just lacks too much color and variation. Moroney has dealt with that by using a collection of period instruments and varying the mix. But (unlike Glenn Gould) he does not add in the piano. (I think the piano has a superior sound, simply because its dynamic range is wider, but it's wrong for Byrd's period. Moroney has answered that pretty well without cheating.)

If you are a polyphonic, contrapuntal music maniac the way I am, you will really enjoy wallowing in this stuff the way a hog wallows in mud. (OK, maybe I feel a little guilty for pigging out on Byrd music by buying 7 CDs of it. But I only feel a LITTLE guilty.)

5 out of 5 stars Plain And Simple - GET THIS!!!.......2003-02-28

If you're even _looking_ at this set of music, then chances are that you are already enamoured of either it (under the guise of a different performer) or similar early keyboard music. So . . . um . . . what are you waiting for?!? If such a thing as "definitive" Byrd exists on recording --- _this_ is definitive! The instruments (two organs, two harpsichords, a muselar virginal, and a clavichord) are breathtaking --- especially the muselar in "The Battell!" (Yes, the poor thing's a little clackety, but --- holy cow!! You'll hear what I mean.) And Moroney's technique does complete and utter justice to the music. I remember futzing my way through _The Fitzwilliam Virginal Book_ and _My Ladye Nevell's Book_ like a clod; Moroney, in contrast, makes the notes spring off of the pages and into life, with generous (but not overbearing) ornamentation and sprightly tempi (never too fast, never too slow, but always "just right" - I can't say such a thing very often). I don't know if Byrd sounded like he does here, but I can't imagine this music sounding any better. I'm done raving now. ;-)

5 out of 5 stars a delight.......2001-01-28

As I write this I am listing to one after another of these CD. One can find scraps of this keyboard of the Tudor age on all sorts of `collection' CDs from `The Best Of ...' to those really featuring `a consort of viols' or the lute. Variation, I guess. And, of course, there is a large collection of Byrd on MIDI.

This set surpasses all of those by an astronomical margin.

Some will not like this set. If one enjoys Rap turned to an ear bleeding volume at 4 in the morning the chances are that you will not care for this quiet, intellectual music.

Likewise if your idea of the sounds of everlasting bliss is the Mormon Tabernacle Choir rendition of A MIGHTY FORTRESS ... well ,you're going to recall that Byrd was a Catholic and lay curses against these truly wonderful works from Nephi to the border.

Everyone else needs this set.

I have more then 200 classical CD. These 7 are recorded well, the notes are great, the playing top notch and the music itself exquisite.

5 out of 5 stars Excellent Set, Authentic perfromance.......2000-06-29

This wonderful set contains all Byrd's keyboard work, from organ to harpsichord. The playing style of Moroney is greatly correct and neatly fresh. His interpretation of these almost neglected music is wonderful. The touch and the tone of his performance, as well as the ornament, is natural and elegant. This is a must for those who love old keyboard music. The record is excellent too.
Top 100 Masterpieces of Classical Music (Collectors Edition) (Box Set)
Average customer rating: Not rated
    Top 100 Masterpieces of Classical Music (Collectors Edition) (Box Set)

    Manufacturer: Delta
    ProductGroup: Music
    Binding: Audio CD

    MinuetsMinuets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music
    PolkasPolkas | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music
    PolonaisesPolonaises | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music
    WaltzesWaltzes | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music
    QuartetsQuartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
    GeneralGeneral | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
    All Works by AlbinoniAll Works by Albinoni | Albinoni, Tomaso | ( A ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
    All Works by J.S. BachAll Works by J.S. Bach | Bach, Johann Sebastian | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music