Mouth to Mouth

Mouth to Mouth

Track Listings

1. As It Was

2. She Breathes In (She Breathes Out)

3. Let's Live

4. Hey Buddy

5. Be Your Hand

6. I Can't Find Your Pulse

7. Mouth to Mouth

8. Mary Mac

9. Shadow of Her Smile

10. I Need You

11. End of the Line

Tracks:

Overture To 'Tannhauser'
Domna, Pos Vos Ay Chausida
We Don't Merely Use Instruments, We Play On Them. And They Play On Us.
Hungarian Dance No.7
The Violin Is One Of The Most Tender And Beautiful Instruments Ever Invented.
Violin Concerto In D Major (Adagio)
But For A Long Time It Was Seen As The Instrument Of The Devil.
The Soldier's Tale: Triumphal March Of The Devil
The Manipulative Seductiveness Of The Gypsy Violin.
Csardas Music
The Violin And The Initiation Of Nature
The Four Seasons (Spring, Mvt 1)
Birds Are Again Evoked In The Second Concerto, Especially Music's Natural Favourite.
The Four Seasons (Summer, Mvt 1)
Like The Devil, The Violin Is A Master Of Disguise.
Old Viennese Dance No.3 'Schon Rosmarin'
The Menacing Sensuality Of Ravel's Tzigane: A Very Different Side Of The Violin:
Tzigane
Do We Now Have The True Measure Of This Instrument? Not Just Yet.
Caprice No.24
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.
Variations On A Theme Of Frank Bridge (No.7)
Prokofiev's Tremolo In Romeo And Juliet Should Not Be Heard Just Before Bedtime.
Romeo And Juliet: Act IV
Vivaldi Use It To Illustrate The Shivering Of Travellers Crossing The Ice.
The Four Seasons (Winter, Mvt 1)
The Violin Muted
Clair De Lune
The Gentleness Of Muted Strings Persists Even When A Whole Orchestra Plays.
Piano Concerto No.21 In C Major, K.467 (Slow Mvt)
The Pizzicato Violin
Pizzicato Polka
In Prokofiev's Second Violin Concerto, The Accompaniment Is Pizzicato.
Violin Concerto No.2 In G Minor (Slow Mvt)
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...
The Planets (Mars - The Bringer Of War)
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
Hungarian Dance No.4
Double-Stopping Is A Standard Feature Of A Lot Of Folk Music.
The Four Seasons (Autumn, Mvt 1)
Now The Same Technique, But The Sound Might Have Come From Another World.
Bolero
Double-Stopping Can Only Approximate The Sound Of A Real Violin Duet.
Cadenza To The Violin Concerto By Brahms
Now Compare That With A Real Violin Duet.
Forty-Four Duos (No. 1: Teasing Song)
Another Duo By Bartok, Demonstrating The Violin's Rich Lower Register
Forty-Four Duos (No.2: Maypole Dance)
And Now What May Be The Most Beautiful Accompanied Violin Duet In History
Concerto In D Minor For Two Violins (Largo)
The Soul Of The Violin Is In Song; But What About This Weird Passage?
Violin Concerto No.1 In D Major (Mvt 2)
The Use Of Harmonies In The Orchestra Can Be Both Magical And Unsettling.
Symphony No.1 'Titan' (Mvt 1, Opening)
Tchaikovsky's Use Of Harmonics In The Sleeping Beauty Is Both Strange And Darling.
The Sleeping Beauty (Act II, No.15: Entr'Acte)
Ravel's Harmonics In Mother Goose Effect A Magical Transformation.
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Beauty And The Beast)
Stravinsky's Harmonics In The Firebird Transport Us Almost Into Another World./The Firebird (Introduction)
The Natural Upper Notes Of The Violins Have A Unique Emotional 'Grab'.
Also Sprach Zarathustra (Of The Afterworldsmen)
Still In Their Upper Register, The Violins Unleash The Energy Of A Young Colt.
Variations On A Theme Of Frank Bridge (No. 4)
Elsewhere, Britten Uses The Same High Register To Create A Very Different Mood.
Four Sea Interludes (Dawn) From 'Peter Grimes'
To End This Outing With The Violins, A Charming Little Elfin Dance
Elfenreigen

Tracks:

Introduction To The Viola
Viola Concerto (Mvt 1)
Khatchaturian Gets A Very Different Sound From It: Fuller, Fruitier, More Exotic.
Gayane Suite No.1 (Armen's Solo)
Very Nearly The Whole Of The Violin's Upper Register Is Also Available To The Viola.
Passacaglia, Op.33b From 'Peter Grimes'
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.
Harold In Italy (Mvt 4)
The Muted Viola: Intimate, Gentle, Poignant In Dvork
Cypresses (No.9)
The Massed Violas Of The Modern Symphony Orchestra In Mahler
Symphony No.4 (Mvt 3)
The 'Period' Viola In Bach
Brandenburg Concerto No.6 (Last Mvt)
The Cello: A Voice Of Unique Nobility
Suite No.1 For Unaccompanied Cello (Prelude)
Brahms And The 'Soul' Of The Cello
Piano Concerto No.2 In B Flat Major (Mvt 3)
Most Orchestral Composers Tend To Emphasize The Cello's Lower Register.
Cantata 'Herz Und Mund Und Tat Und Leben', BWV 147 (Soprana Aria: Bereite Dir, Jesu)
In The Time Of Beethoven The Cello Remained As Fundamental As Ever.
Symphony No.3 'Eroica' (Finale)
But The Cello Is Not Condemned To Spend Its Life In The Basement.
Elfentanz, Op.39
Not Only In Recital Showpieces Like That Is The Cello Is Used In Its Highest Register.
The Protecting Veil (Opening)
A Cello With An Identity-Crisis: The Pizzicato Flamencan
Flamenco
Double-Stopping In The Lower Reaches Of The Cello's Range
Solo Suiet For Cello And Piano (Sardana)
It's In The Middle Register That The Cello Really Comes Into Its Own.
Oriental Dance, Op.2 No.2
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.
Symphony No.9 (Finale)
Introduction To The Double-Bass
The Carnival Of The Animals (The Elephant)
But The Double-Bass Can Be Intensely Expressive And Graceful.
Elegy No.1 In D Major
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.
Capriccio Di Bravura
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)
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....
Symphony No.5 (Mvt 3)/So Much For The Strings/On Now To The Winds

Tracks:

The Antiquity And Magic Of The Flute
Prelude A L'Apres-Midi D'Un Faune
The Versatility And Agility Of The Flute
Orchestral Suite No.2 In B Minor (Badinerie)
The Flute In Fifteenth-Century Spain
Sa'Dawi
Other Flutes: The Bass And Alto
Chamber Music No.II
The Piccolo - Aptly Named
La Naissance D'Osiris (Mvt 6)
From A Piccolo Of The Eighteenth Century To One Of Its Descendants In The Twentieth
Suite No.1 For Small Orchestra (Valse)
A Variety Of Techniques
Chamber Music No.II
Flutter-Tonguing. But Tchaikovsky Got There Eighty Years Before.
The Nutcracker (Act II, No.2: Scene)
From The Transverse To The Vertical: The Baroque Recorder
Recorded Suite In A Minor (Menuet II)
An Unfamiliar, Early Vision Of The Instrument
Naelden, Naelden
The Bachian Oboe
Cantata 'Ein Feste Burg Ist Unser Gott', BWV 80 (No.7: Duetto)
Introduction To The Cor Anglais Or 'English Born'
Symphony No.9 'From The New World' (Mvt 2)
The Loneliness Of The Cor Anglais
The Swan Of Tuonela
The Cor Anglais Joins The French Horn In Haydn.
Symphony No.22 'The Philosopher' (Opening)
Introduction To The Oboe D'Amore, Beloved Of Bach - But Also Of Ravel
Bolero
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...
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)
As The High Clarinets Tend To Be Loud, So The Bass Tends To Be Soft:
Gayane Suite No. 1 (Mvt 5)
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).
The Range Of The Normal Clarinet Parts Goes Quite High...
The Snow Maiden (Scene 5: Melodrama)
...And Quite Low.
Peter And The Wolf (The Cat)
The Clarinet As Concerto Soloist
Clarinet Concerto In A Major (Rondo)
But That's Not The Instrument Mozart Wrote It For; This Is:
Clarinet Concerto In A Major (Rondo)
Introduction To The Saxophone
Hary Janos Suite (Mvt 4)
The Soprano Saxophone Has Quite A Different Feel To It.
L'Arlesienne Suite No.1 (Minuet)
The Little Sopranino Sax Goes Even Higher.
Bolero
The Most Famous Use Of The Saxophone Is In An Orchestration By Ravel.
Pictures At An Exhibition (The Old Castle)
The Saxophone Can Be Quite Contagiously Good-Humoured.
Sax-O-Phun
The Puffa-Puffa Image Of The Bassoon
Peter And The Wolf (Grandfather)
The Bachian Bassoon, In Accompanimental Mode
Cantata 'Weichet Nur, Betrubte Schatten' ('Wedding Cantata'), BWV 202 (Aria No.1)
Bizet Leaves The Puffa-Puffa Image Out, Allowing The Bassoon To Sing./Carmen Suite No.1 (Les Dragons D'Alcala)
And Ravel, Also In Spanish Mode, Does Likewise.
Bolero
The Bassoon As A Voice Of High Seriousness, Indeed Desolate Loneliness
Symphony No.3 (Opening)
The Eerie Bassoon In Its Highest Register
The Rite Of Spring (Opening)
Stravinsky Now Draws On Its Lowest Register, Lonely And Melancholy.
The Firebird Suite (1919, Berceuse)
The Bassoon As Concerto Soloist, Avoiding All Exaggeration
Bassoon Concerto In G Minor (Finale)
The Deep-Voiced Contra-Bassoon, As A Fairy-Tale Beast
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Beauty And The Beast)
The French Horn Under Its Woodwind Hat
Wind Quintet, Op.43 (Last Mvt)
Now A More Prominent Role, In A Woodwind Quintet From An Earlier Era
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Op.100 No.5 (Mvt 2)
The Horn In Harmonious Blend With Strings In Another Quintet
Horn Quintet, K.407 (Finale)

Tracks:

The Trumpet As Virtuoso Soloist
Brandenburg Concerto No.2 (Last Mvt)
The Special Brillance Of Paired Trumpets
Concerto In C For Two Trumpets, RV537 (Mvt 1)
The Ceremonial Trumpet
Fanfare For The Common Man
Trumpets And Drums - An Incomparable Alliance
Messiah (The Trumpet Shall Sound)
The Versatility Of The Trumpet, From The Most Public To The Most Lonely
Piano Concerto In F (Slow Mvt)
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
Carmen Suite No.2 (Habanera)
The Trumpet As The Voice Of Strength And Courage
Carmet Suite No.2 (Toreador's Song)
The Trumpet Muted/Petrushka (No.4: The Blackamoor)/Lieutenant Kije Suite (Opening)/The Trumpet As The Voice Of Weariness
Billy The Kid
The Trumpet As Character Actor
Pictures At An Exhibition (No.6)
The Trumpet As The Voice Of God
Mass In B Minor ('Et Exspecto')
The Birth Of The Trombone
Aenmerckt Nu Hier
The Birth Of The Brass As A Family
Canzon 12 In Double Echo
The Trombone In The Eighteenth Century
Trombone Concerto In B Flat Major (Finale)
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.
Hosannah
The Trombones Become Part Of The Orchestra.
Symphony No.5 (Finale)
The Wagnerian Trombone:/Overture To 'Tannhauser'
The Trombone As Caricaturist
Pulcinella (No.19: Vivo)
The Trombone As Raspberry/Concerto For Orchestra (Intermezzo)
The Horn And The Hunt
Horn Concerto No.4 In E Flat, K.495 (Finale)
The Challenging Horn Of The Baroque
Abaris Ou Les Boreades (Menuet)
The Scarcity Of First-Rate Players In Handel's Time
Walter Music (Minuet 1)
The Horn As Magician/The Firebird Suite (1919, Finale)
Horns And The Sound Of Nobility
Overture To 'Tannhauser' (Opening)
The Special Sound Of The Horn In Its Higher Register
Mass In B Minor ('Quoniam Tu Solus Sanctus')
The Trumpet-Like Sound Of Massed Horns
Symphony No.3 (Mvt 1, Opening)
The Tuba - Unfairly Maligned?
Symphony No.6 (Mvt 3)
The Tuba Perfectly Cast By Ravel
Pictures At An Exhibition (Bydlo)

Tracks:

Introduction. And We Begin With A Bang.
Fanfare For The Common Man/The Bass Drum On The Battlefields/Wellington's Victory, Op.91 (Opening)
At The Opposite Extreme Is The Triangle.
Piano Concerto No.1 In E Flat (Scherzo)
Categories Of Percussion: Tuned And Untuned. The Side Drum
Overture To 'La Gazza Ladra' - The Thieving Magpie (Opening)
The Side Drum In An Effective But Unexpected Role/Clarinet Concerto (Mvt 1)
The Tambourine. One Of The Oldest Instruments In The World
Den Hoboecken Dans
Even Older Is The Originally Oriental Gong.
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Laideronette)
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.
Gymnopedie No.2
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...
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)
More Versatile Than The Whip Are The Wood Blocks.../Studio Example/...Which Crop Up All Over The Place In Twentieth-Century American Music.
Rodeo (Hoe-Down)
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.
Scherzi Musicali (Damigella Tutta Belle)
A Still Earlier Example From Fifteenth-Century Spain
Yo M'Enamori D'Un Aire
The Birth Of The Bongo
Symphonic Dances From 'West Side Story'
From The Streets Of New York To The Blacksmith's Shop/Il Trovatore ('Anvil Chorus')
Desert-Island Decibels: Grand Canyon Suite (On The Trail)/Arcana
From One Vegetable To Another: The Humble Squash, Or Marrow/Huapango
Onwards To The Tuned Percussion. First, The Timpani
Also Sprach Zarathustra (Introduction)
But The Drum Roll Can Be More Effectively Frightening Than The Big Bang.: Symphony No.2 'Resurrection' (Mvt 3)
Not One Drum Roll, But Many/Grand Canyon Suite (Sunrise)/Symphonie Fantastique (Last Mvt)
Taking Advantage Of Tunability
Music For Strings, Percussion And Celeste (Mvt 2)
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.
Introducing The Glockenspiel/Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)
Saint-Saens And The Xylophone
The Carnival Of The Animals (Fossils)
Ravel And The Xylophone
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Laideronette)
Introducing The Marimba/Carmen Suite (First Intermezzo)
Introducing The Vibraphone
The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (Narange Dolce)
The Vibraphone Goes Russian.../Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)/...And Is Joined By The Marimba./Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)
Introducing The Hungarian Cimbalom
Folk Dances
The Cimbalom And The Symphony Orchestra
Hary Janos Suite (Mvt 3)
Introducing The Tubular Bells
Hary Janos Suite (Viennese Musical Clock)
A More 'Up-Front' Approach From Rodion Shchedrin
Carmen Suite (Introduction)
But The Bells Can Also Make The Sinister Even More Sinister./Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Mvt 1)
Introducing The Celeste
The Nutcracker (Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy)
Magic, In The Use Of Collective Percussion
Miroirs (La Vallee Des Cloches)
Plucked Instruments: The 'Undercover Percussion'/Carmen Suite (Scene)
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
The Traditionally Subservient Role Of The Harpsichord In The Baroque Orchestra
Brandenburg Concerto No.2 (Slow Mvt)
The Piano: King Of The Tuned Percussion/Symphony No.3 'Organ' (Mvt 3)/And A Quarter Of A Century After That:
Petrushka (Russian Dance)
The Anti-Romantic Piano As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra
Music For Strings, Percussion And Celeste (Last Mvt)

Tracks:

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

Tracks:

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

Customer Reviews:

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!

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!

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!

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.

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.

Average customer rating:

Remarkable album...

A Little Balance and Perspective please - . . . ALL THE RAGE is Much Better

Hand to Mouth , Music to Ears

Overlooked gem--really something remarkable, don't miss!

One of the best Cds by General Public.

Hand to Mouth
General Public
Manufacturer: Capitol
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
New Wave | New Wave & Post-Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
Ska General | Ska | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
Britain | British Isles | Europe | International | Styles | Music
General | Pop | Styles | Music
Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
General | Rock | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

All the Rage

Rub It Better

Beat This: The Best of the English Beat

No Warning

Inside My Head

ASIN: B000000QGJ
Release Date: 1993-01-26

Tracks:

Come Again!
Faults And All
Forward As One
Murder
Cheque In The Post
Too Much Or Nothing
Love Without The Fun
In Conversation
Never All There
Cry On Your Own Shoulder
General Public (12' Version)
Limited Balance
All The Rage
Taking The Day Off
Day To Day (Live)
Where's The Line? (Live)
Tenderness (Live)
Hot You're Cool (Live)

Customer Reviews:

Remarkable album..........2007-03-08

Though none of the individual tracks are "unforgettable singles", somehow the net effect of all the songs together achieves that rare impact that distinguishes really great albums. It's not a bunch of happy kids making silly dance music here (not that there's anything wrong with that!) These are rockin New Wave laments by disillusioned (but undefeated) adults coping with the agony of an imperfect world of flawed relationships--yet determined to plow on through it with style, grace, wry humor, poetry, and a solid 80's beat! And somehow, the whole is more than the sum of the parts... you have to listen to the entire album--preferably after a breakup, job loss, etc. Good medicine for bad times.

One of the other reviewers thinks "Come Again" is about the return of J.C. Heh heh... er, no. :) Listen again... second time'll be twice as nice... :)

A Little Balance and Perspective please - . . . ALL THE RAGE is Much Better.......2005-08-14

So even though RAGE is currently rated lower, that's the one to get. It's a classic 80's party album that's also much more than just a party album. HAND TO MOUTH is more for committed fans. I do especially like "In Conversation" and "Come Again!" is a plea for Jesus Christ's return as well as a very fun, upbeat song. I no longer subscribe to Christianity, but I can still appreciate the tune.

Hand to Mouth , Music to Ears.......2000-07-22

Hand To Mouth is an outstanding example how well written, performed pop music from the mid-eighties should've sounded like. Forget about the over produced, heavily synthesized Euro schlock. This is the real fun stuff. At times some of the tracks had almost a retro feel or throwback to the music styles of the 50's and 60's. Love Without The Fun resonates with the 50's drive-in, soda pop sound while Come Again has a 60's (almost Burt Bacharach feel with early Motown undertones) sugar coated infectious groove. The reggae cloaked Forward As One is a special throwback to General Public's days with their old group English Beat. The last track, Cry On Your Own Shoulder is a smooth and suave r&b/dance track which closely resembles something witten or performed by ABC off the Lexicon of Love album.

My consensus on General Public's Hand To Mouth is that of other reviewers; It was an underrated and underpromoted project that could've soared back then !

Overlooked gem--really something remarkable, don't miss!.......2000-03-04

This one was never a huge success commercially. Why? I have no idea, because this album is simply brilliant. Even more evolved than GP's first album (_All the Rage_), yet still just as catchy, and still sounds great today. As with their first album, the lyrics are wickedly clever, and come at you from within songs that are at once both musically complex and sing-along catchy. The complexity is evidenced in the striking horn arrangements sprinkled throughout the entire album-- the way the horns interact with the vocals is evidence that there was a lot of talent and thought behind the songwriting. This version of the cd (which I thought was out of print? ) comes with EIGHT bonus tracks-- including an obscure one that alone is worth the price of the whole CD: "Taking the Day Off", a bouncy gem that conks you over the head with fun and isn't otherwise available, aside from being heard in the background in "Ferris Bueller" (in the Cameron Swimming Pool scene, I think). So don't miss this album!

One of the best Cds by General Public........1999-02-04

This cd is great. The first time I listened to the cd it sounded kind of dead but then I sat down and listened to the whole cd from beginning to end and I have to say that its one of the best Cd's I've ever heard. This Cd also contains some of the music from the General Public Concert which includes one of their greatest songs, Tenderness. If you want to buy one of General Publics Cd's I recommend this one.

Average customer rating:

Mouth to Mouth
The Levellers
Manufacturer: Wea International
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Rock | Celtic | International | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000RGUGWO
Release Date: 2007-08-09

Tracks:

Dog Train
Beautiful Day
Celebrate
Rain & Snow
Far Away
C.C.T.V.
Chemically Free
Elation
Captains' Courageous
Survivors
Sail Away
Too Real
Bar Room Jury (Bonus Track)
Angels (Bonus Track)
All Your Dreams (Bonus Track)
Windows (Bonus Track)

Album Description

2007 digitally remastered and expanded edition of this UK band's 1997 album featuring four bonus tracks: 'Bar Room Jury', 'Angels', 'All Your Dreams' and 'Windows'. The Levellers began life in the late '80s and their brand of punky Folk, Rock and Celtic flavoring has earned them a large and devoted following. They outlived nearly a dozen major music scenes in the UK yet have remained steadfast in their musical vision. Rhino.

Album Details

2007 Digitally Remastered Edition of the Group's Fifth Album that Originally Appeared in 1997 and Made it to No. Five on the UK Album Charts. The Original 12 Songs Are Augmented with Four More on this Edition: "Bar Room Jury", "Angels", "All Your Dreams" and "Windows".

Average customer rating:

Sweet Schizo Brilliance
The heir apparant to Frank Zappa

Moth to Mouth
Moris Tepper
Manufacturer: Candlebone
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Roots Rock | Rock | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Head Off
Big Enough to Disappear

ASIN: B00005Q3BS
Release Date: 2004-11-23

Tracks:

Milkweed Man
Copperhead
Frankenstein's Daughter
Matter Of Time
Gorilla
Impossible Things
Fat Sandy
Out And Down
Tears Of Love
Magic 8 Ball
Sweet Cherry Pie
Fifth Of The Pain
Do The Spaceworm
Moth To Mouth
Woodbine
Blue Face Man
Gonna See Her (Sometime)
Curious Bi-Coasters
Skullclown
When The Rain Stops
Sandpaper
Magic 8 Ball (Reprise)
Buckets Of Blood
The Palm Of His Hand

Customer Reviews:

Sweet Schizo Brilliance.......2002-09-30

I saw Moris open up for Frank Black in SF and was somewhat shocked by the immediacy and raw sound he and his band put out. It was like Sonic Youth from back in the day. Amazing surprise... I got the album soon after, and it's never left my cd player. It's best with a bottle of something because the level of derange progresses with the cuts. Once past Woodbine, you're well into pure genius. It's by far one of the most original, brilliant albums released in the past 5 years. This guy is a true original and a master songwriter with a great temperment for the bizarre. "Blue Face Man" is one of the most wonderfully deranged songs I've ever heard. "When the Rain Stops" is completely degenerate and fantastic at once. He's brilliant...

The heir apparant to Frank Zappa.......2002-03-28

Moris Tepper's CD Moth to Mouth shows that in this day of churned out soundtrash there's someone out there who dares to be original. This is creativity cranked up to level 10. If you like the work of Frank Zappa, Tom Waits, Frank Black or anyone else who is a brilliant musician not afraid to stay out of the mainstream and swim strongly against the current, then you've got to get this CD. There are great riffs, fun songs, sad songs, crazy songs and a genius that shines through on every one of them. If you are a guitarist, or you like guitars, then this is an essential CD for your collection.

Average customer rating:

Mouth to Mouth
Mental as Anything
Manufacturer: Mushroom Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

New Wave | New Wave & Post-Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Rock | Imports | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Fundamental as Anything
Creatures of Leisure

ASIN: B00000G6DU
Release Date: 1999-08-10

Tracks:

Don't Tell Me Now
My Door Is Always Open to You
Put Me Back
Let's Go to Paradise
Mad King
He's Just No Good for You
Thinking Out Loud
Stay at Home Girl
Mouth to Mouth
I'm Glad
Ruby Baby
Wandering Through Heaven

Album Description

Reissue of 1987 album for Columbia by the Australian pure pop act with a pub/ rootsy edge and resembling a cross between Rockpile and Squeeze. 12 tracks, including 'Let's GoTo Paradise'. The original five members are still together &are celebrating their 20th anniversary in 1998. 1998 Festival Records release.

Album Details

Australian Budget Re-Issue. Originally Released in 1988.

Average customer rating:

What a voice

Susan Marshall Is Honey Mouth

Manufacturer: Humongous
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Folk Rock | Folk | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Addicted To the Motion

ASIN: B00007K7J0
Release Date: 2002-12-10

Tracks:

Eyes Of Love
Act That Way
These Things
Arkabutla
Love Me Again
Black Sea Blues
Let You In
I Don't Have To Crawl
Giving It Up
Nightime
October Song

Customer Reviews:

What a voice.......2003-09-05

I first heard Susan Marshall when she was a backup singer for the Afghan Whigs (the best, most underrated American rock band of the 1990's); she toured with them in 1998, and her rendition of the Whigs' song "My Curse" was to me the highlight of the show. This is (I think) her first solo record, and in general it's great. You can tell she's worked with a lot of different people and bands in the past, as the songs range from piano-and-vocal Rodney Crowell covers to deep, dark hard rock grooves. The songwriting is uneven, and some of the songs are a little too middle-of-the-road blues rock for my taste, but all that's a bit beside the point. The reason to buy this album is the Voice. Marshall has a huge, clear, gorgeous voice, an instrument that she can work wonders with. She can do the growly blues mama, the operatic soprano, the sexy coo, whatever you want. And you can feel that she feels it too, which is the element lacking in so many of today's plasticized multi-octave divas.
I hope Susan Marshall gets a record deal, I hope she either works on her songwriting or gets Greg Dulli and other songsmiths to help her more, and I hope she someday records a studio version of "My Curse," because she has too much talent to not be heard by more people.

Rude Awakening [special edition / bonus medley track]

Average customer rating:

Rude Awakening [special edition / bonus medley track]
Megadeth , ******TRACK LISTINGS****** , DREAD & THE FUGITIVE MIND / KILL THE KING / WAKE UP DEAD / IN MY DARKEST HOUR , ANGRY AGAIN / SHE WOLF / RECKONING DAY / DEVIL'S ISLAND , TRAIN OF CONSEQUENCES / A TOUT LE MONDE / BURNING BRIDGES / HANGAR 18 , RETURN TO HANGAR / HOOK IN MOUTH / ALMOST HONEST / 1000 TIMES GOODBYE , MECHANIX / TORNADO OF SOULS / ASHES IN YOUR MOUTH / SWEATING BULLETS , and TRUST / SYMPHONY OF DESTRUCTION / PEACE SELLS / HOLY WARS / ***SPECIAL BONUS TRACK*** "PEACE SELLS MEDLEY"
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B000RDQR48

Average customer rating:

THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME
a voice teacher and early music fan

George Frideric Handel: Esther

Manufacturer: CORO
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Oratorios | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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

Classical | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Handel: Jeptha
Handel - Joshua / Kirkby, Bowman, Oliver, Ainsley, George, The King's Consort
Samson
Handel: Alexander's Feast
Handel: Joseph and his Brethren / Robert King

ASIN: B0001B0A94
Release Date: 2004-06-01

Tracks:

Overture Andante - Larghetito - Allegro
Recitative Habdonah/Haman: " 'Tis greater far to spare"
Aria Haman: " Pluck root and branch from out the land"
Recitative Persian Officer: "Our souls with ardour glow"
Chorus: "Shall we the God of Israel fear?"
Recitative First Israelite: " Now persecution shall lay by her iron rod"
Aria: " Tune your harps to cheerfull strains"
Chorus: " Shall we of servitude complain"
Aria Israelite Woman: " Praise the Lord with cheerful noise"
Recitative Israelite Woman: " 0 God, who from the suckling's mouth"
Aria Second Israelite: " Sing songs of praise, bow down the knee"
Chorus: " Shall we of servitude complain"
Recitative Priest of the Israelites: " How have our sins provoked the Lord!"
Chorus: "Ye sons of Israel mourn"
Aria Priest ofc The Israelites: "0 Jordan, Jordan, sacred tide"
Chorus: "Ye sons of Israel mourn"
Andante
Allegro
Adagio
Allegro

Tracks:

Recitative Esther/Mordecai: " Why sits that sorrow on thy brow?"
Aria Mordecai: " Dread not, righteous Queen, the danger"
Recitative Esther: "I go before the King to stand"
Aria Esther: " Tears assist me, pity moving"
Chorus: " Save us, O Lord"
Recitative Ahasuerus/Esther: "Who dares intrude into our presence"
Duet Esther/Ahasuerus: " Who calls my parting soul from death?"
Aria Ahasuerus: "0 beauteous Queen, unclose those eyes!"
Recitative Esther: " If I find favour in thy sight"
Aria Ahasuerus: " How can I stay when love invites?"
Recitative Third Israelite/Fourth Israelite: " With inward joy his visage glows"
Chorus: " Virtue, truth and innocence"
Arioso Priest of the Israelites: " Jehovah, Crown'd with glory bright"
Chorus: " He comes, he comes to end our woes"
Recitative Ahasuerus/Esther: " Now, a Queen, thy suit declare"
Arioso Haman: " Turn not, a Queen, thy face away"
Aria Esther: " Flatt' ring tongue, no more I hear thee!"
Recitative Ahasuerus: "Guards, seize the traitor, bear him hence!"
Aria Haman: " How art thou fall'n from thy height!"
Chorus: "The Lord Our enemy has slain"

Album Description

Handel's oratorios vary greatly in their presentation. In many ways, Esther is a rarity;it is by far the most intimate, not surprisingly as it was composed for the Duke of Chandos. The Duke's Palladian palace near the village ofEdgware had not been completed in time for the first performance so this may have taken place (as did Acis and Galatea) in the intimate surroundings of a small church, St Lawrence, Whitchurch.

We decided, therefore, that we should attempt to convey that intimacy of performance on disc; so we performed in the round with microphones in the middle, the orchestra in front of me, the choir behind and the soloists alongside. The result is everything that chamber music should be where players and singers can enjoy every aspect of Handel's masterpiece.

"The 'sound' of Esther, superbly communicated in the recorded performance here, is pure enchantment... The choral singing has an exceptional grandure, and the instrumental playing a shimmering beauty. Among the soloists, none of whom is less than accomplished, Nancy Argenta and Michael Chance dominate... Both singers affirm a new golden age of Handel interpretation".

Customer Reviews:

THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME.......2007-01-26

Esther is the first of Handel's oratorios by a good many years, written when he was 33 and enjoying the patronage of the Duke of Chandos. When he later became his own impresario and was running into trouble as a composer and producer of Italian operas he turned to oratorio as a strategic alternative, but at this early date his concern was to deliver staged entertainments for the Duke, and Esther, contemporary with the work that later gained the title Acis and Galatea, seems to have been just an unusually serious specimen of its type.

As often with Handel, there is no fully official version of the score, and this particular score may not even be fully complete from any point of view. The libretto seems to have been the work of someone in the frivolously named association of big literary figures called the Scriblerus Club, perhaps Dr John Arbuthnot, dedicatee of Pope's great poetic Epistle, but Pope himself may have had a hand in it too. As we have it here, the work breaks into two very asymmetrical parts. Scenes 1 and 2 start with a recitative lasting only seconds from Habdonah followed by a longer one in which Haman announces his onslaught on the Israelites, and from there on feature only anonymous participants. Esther herself and the other named characters make their appearance first in scene 4, but the change of tone occurs in scene 3. At this point the music gains gravity first in the chorus Ye sons of Israel with its extraordinary modulations and then in the striking aria O Jordan, Jordan. I myself feel that this weightier tone is maintained to the end, whether or not the writer of the liner note is correct in saying that the long final chorus with solos is out of proportion to its context.

Throughout - in the first part as well as in scenes 3-6 - the instrumental writing is vivid and varied, with an extraordinary pizzicato accompaniment to Tune your harps and then an even more extraordinary obbligato from the harp itself at Praise the Lord. The harpist is no less than Jan Walters, but sometime I would like to see the score and check out what seem some odd rhythmic interactions here between her and the soloist Nancy Argenta. There are no fewer than ten vocal soloists in a work lasting a little over an hour and a quarter, and a very distinguished bunch they are. I was particularly pleased to find Michael Chance in the countertenor role of the Priest of the Israelites as I admire the strength of his tone, but there is no real weakness among them, unless Lynda Russell as Esther has a couple of very slightly awkward high notes in Flatt'ring tongue, which must be a little nerve-wracking to sing as she has to find her note for herself unaccompanied at the start and later at the reprise. You will see some big names among the instrumentalists too, with Crispian Steele-Perkins on the trumpet making a predictably fine contribution towards the end, and of course with Jan Walters in that marvellous harp part early on. The chorus gets some wonderful work to do, and rises to it fully. I really am unable to worry about the proportionateness of the final chorus when I hear that incomparable Handelian build of tone, sung by 18 singers and sounding as if there were 100.

There is a good liner note by Graydon Beeks Jr, not perhaps the last word in lucidity (neither is the plot of the libretto come to that) but worth re-reading. Harry Christophers himself contributes a short foreword largely concerned with the recording process and highlighting the contributions of Mark Brown and Mike Hatch, his long-time technical collaborators. I was interested to see also the name of Geoff Miles in a role described as `editor'. What responsibilities this involved is not stated and perhaps I ought to know without being told, but I know the work of Geoff Miles as recording engineer from elsewhere and it gave me confidence just to see that he is involved in the proceedings, and the technical work is predictably excellent.

My collection of Handel oratorios is now almost complete, and what a wonderful musical experience they are. Each is unique in its own way, but Esther is unique in some very special ways, and I suggest that you do not wait until you are my age to get to know it.

a voice teacher and early music fan.......2006-04-04

Handel began composing the oratorio 'Esther' in 1718. There is some confusion as to who actually worte the libretto for it, but the story follows very closely the biblical story of Esther in the Book of Esther in the old testament. The story tells of a plot of Haman, the Agagite (Michael George-bass) jealous and powerful vizier of King Xerses (Ahasuerus-Tom Randle-tenor) of Persia(485-464), to destroy in a single day all the Jews living in the Roman Empire. He is moved to this out of hatred for the Jewish servant Mordecai (Mark Padmore-tenor),who for religious motives refuses to render him homage. The day of the proposed massacre is determined by lot. Meanwhile, Esther,niece and adopted daughter of Mordecai, is chosen Queen by King Xerses. She averts the pogrom planned against her people and has the royal decree of extermination reversed against Haman and the enemies of the Jews. Mordecai replaces Haman, and together with Esther, works for the welfare of their people. As you can see this makes for an interesting Oratorio, which it truly is!
This is a "small" contribution compared to many of Handel's other works. However, it is not "small" in a musical sense. There is much creativity on the part of Handel as to orchestral scoring; he exploits his small orchestra and chorus in surprising ways, introducing new vocal and instrumental colours throughout the score, adding and subtracting instruments and voices in many and varied ways. This is a listening surprise as it moves along. And what a great performance on the part of the Christophers as well as some outstanding vocal soloists. Mark Padmore's (Mordecai) aria "Tune Your Harps to Cheerful Strains" was superb as was the Duet between Lynda Russell (Esther) and Tom Randle (Ahasuerus).But the aria that really drew me into the entire drama was sung by Michael Chance (Priest) "O Jordan, Jordan, sacred Tide." It was perfection itself!!!!The Chorus was extremely good and dictionally perfect. It is a great listening experience.