Traveler's Prayer

Traveler's Prayer

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
A lion of British folk music, guitarist John Renbourn has journeyed further back into his Renaissance and pre-industrial roots since his late '60s tenure as one of the driving forces behind the adventurously jazz-inflected Pentangle. Traveller's Prayer finds Renbourn on busman's holiday, casting the album reportorial net west toward Ireland. Chamber-folk settings marry his reliably elegant, lyrical guitar with gentle tattoos of hand percussion, lovely skeins of fiddle, and stately yet concise blooms of wind instruments including clarinets, recorder, uilleann pipes, and whistles. By now, Renbourn can make his underlying erudition sound offhand, mingling Irish planxties, folk songs from both edges of the Irish Sea, Scottish airs, and his own chameleon originals into a seamless, timeless fabric by turns earthy, courtly, and always lovely. Two haunting vocal interludes ("Wexford Lullaby" and the title song) arranged for a lovely mixed quartet, yield a gently haunting whole that will appeal as much to new age and Celtic music fans as his own hardy cadre of British folk loyalists. --Sam Sutherland

Tracks:

Ev'ry Time I Feel The Spirit - Various Artists
Let Us Break Bread Together On Our Knees - Various Artists
His Name So Sweet - Various Artists
'Roun' About The Mountain - Various Artists
Swing Low , Sweet Chariot - Various Artists
Sit Down, Servant - Various Artists
Were You There - Various Artists
He's Got The Whole World In His Hands - Various Artists
Deep River - Various Artists
Honor! Honor! - Various Artists
My Soul's Been Anchored In De Lord - Various Artists
On Ma Journey - Various Artists
A City Called Heaven - Various Artists
Ride On, King Jesus - Various Artists
I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free - Various Artists
Sinner, Please Don't Let This Harvest Pass - Various Artists
Sweet Little Jesus Boy - Various Artists
There Is A Balm In Gilead - Various Artists
Let Us Cheer The Weary Traveler - Various Artists
Ev'ry Time I Feel The Spirit - Various Artists
My Way Is Cloudy - Various Artists
Nobody Knows The Touble I've Seen - Various Artists
I Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray - Various Artists

Tracks:

Holy, Holy, Holy - Leontyne Price
Lead, Kindly Light - Leontyne Price
Blessed Assurance - Leontyne Price
Ave Maria - Leontyne Price
What A Friend We Have In Jesus - Leontyne Price
Amazing Grace - Leontyne Price
The Lord's Prayer - Leontyne Price
Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior - Leontyne Price
The Church's One Foundation - Leontyne Price
Bless This House - Leontyne Price
I Need Thee Every Hour - Leontyne Price
Schlesische Volkslieder: Fairest Lord Jesus - Leontyne Price
I Wonder As I Wander - Leontyne Price
Ave Maria - Leontyne Price
Porgy And Bess: Summertime - Leontyne Price
America The Beautiful - Leontyne Price
Lift Ev'ry Voice And Sing - Leontyne Price
A Mighty Fortress Is Our God - Leontyne Price
Battle Hymn Of The Republic - Leontyne Price

Customer Reviews:

The Price Club.......2005-04-28

"I am here," said Leontyne Price when interviewed as she opened the new Metropolitan Opera with Samuel Barber's underrated ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA, "and you will know that I am the best and will hear me. The color of my skin or the kink of my hair or the spread of my mouth has nothing to do with what you are listening to." Back in the 1960s Price was one of the greatest divas in all of opera, and it wasn't just her voice but her magnificent stage presence, combined with her social activism. All of the above come into play in this collection of secular songs and ditties, some of them traditional plantation chanties and others, art songs and a scattering of pop music. And some of them, like Gershwin's "Summertime," cross the ever-permeable boundaries between Broadway and classical. These recordings were made at different times in Price's career, and her voice, while always angelic, has different shadings and reaches a different range of timbre in each separate recording date, but there is no question that, as time goes by, she is able to impart a richness of life experience noticeably absent from some of her earlier work.

"Ave Maria" sounds heavenly no matter which way you slice it, and as for "I Wonder As I Wander," it brings tears to your eyes. If you have a heart that's beating you will be moved by this rendition. "Ein feste Burg" is pretty strong, but Price seems more comfortable with the traditional spirituals, though perhaps it is the slightly off-kilter sounds of the Ambrosian Singers (what a name) who back her up on many of these tracks, that detract slightly from the experience. Compare "Lead Kindly Light" for a clear sense of what constitutes authority vs. what is a wee bit overproduced. If you had this compilation, and perhaps one of Leontyne Price's Christmas albums, you could attain nirvana any time you wanted to, just flip a switch and close your eyes, let her lift you up on wings of song.

A living legend.......2005-03-10

Leontyne Price (still alive) and already passing into immortality amongst vocal artists, both classical and popular. Leontyne Price stands at the pinnacle of her classical art, but those who only know her work in La Forza del destino or the Verdi Requiem are in for a heart rending treat with this album where Leontyne Price goes home to her roots in Mississippi and gives an unabashed account of the classic spirituals she sang as a young woman. Like John Mc Cormacks rendering of Irish songs there is a personal longing and devotion expressed here that reveals a side of the artist not known in the bulk of their "classical" repetoire. A sense of going home like Citizen Kane's rosebud, or as Dorothy Gale observes at the end of the Wizard of Oz "everything I could ever have wanted was right in my own backyard "

not your daddy's old timey spiritual.......2004-06-23

Agreed this is a good cd for a beautiful voice, but this is not, repeat not, for someone who wants to hear that old-timey religious fervor that you think of when you've been to a Black Baptist hand-clapping, standing, swaying, and singing service.

Immaculate Vocals of Leontyne Price.......2003-12-31

IMMACULATE, SUPERB vocal range and style! There's no other words that can complement Miss Leontyne Price's vocal arrangements. Miss Price's voice is strong, and shrills very nicely to the instruments played on many songs listed on this double CD which is a joy to treasure; every song listed are songs I was raised to hearing and singing. Miss Price is the reason why many of these songs remain in popularity and presently used. Miss Leontyne Price has been incredible in many of her past performances. This is my fourth CD of Miss Price and I am glad to own this particular CD forever and ever. Many thanks to the executors who found this remarkable album and upgraded it to a CD format! **Angi**

Great Gospel Stuff.......2001-04-12

This is a great CD. The only problem I have with it is that on some of the selections there is a boy's choir screaming in the background, and this takes away (a bit) from her performance. That said, her best selections are those that are either unaccompanied or those where her voice is not buried. Songs that strike me are - His Name So Sweet, He's Got The Whole World, Were You There, I Wonder as I Wander, Lift Every Voice and Sing, and my all time favourite Summertime. Enough said.

Average customer rating:

A fleet-fingered elf plucking notes of grace
Familiar Territory
Travelers Prayer
Doesn't change, but keeps getting better
*Beautiful* acoustic music

Traveler's Prayer
John Renbourn
Manufacturer: Shanachie
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Blues | Styles | Music

Traditional Blues | Blues | Styles | Music

British Folk | Traditional British & Celtic Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music

Traditional Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

Celtic New Age | New Age | Styles | Music

Folk Rock | Rock | Styles | Music

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

John Renbourn's Ship Of Fools
The Enchanted Garden
A Maid in Bedlam
The Nine Maidens
The Lady and the Unicorn

ASIN: B000007MZJ
Release Date: 1998-06-16

Tracks:

Bunyan's Hymn (Monks Gate)
When The Wind Begins To Sing
Wexford Lullaby
I Saw Three Ships/Newgate Hornpipe
Planxty Llanthony/Loftus Jones
Fagottanz
At The Break Of Day
Travellers' Prayer
South Wind/Feathered Nest
Estampie

Amazon.com

A lion of British folk music, guitarist John Renbourn has journeyed further back into his Renaissance and pre-industrial roots since his late '60s tenure as one of the driving forces behind the adventurously jazz-inflected Pentangle. Traveller's Prayer finds Renbourn on busman's holiday, casting the album reportorial net west toward Ireland. Chamber-folk settings marry his reliably elegant, lyrical guitar with gentle tattoos of hand percussion, lovely skeins of fiddle, and stately yet concise blooms of wind instruments including clarinets, recorder, uilleann pipes, and whistles. By now, Renbourn can make his underlying erudition sound offhand, mingling Irish planxties, folk songs from both edges of the Irish Sea, Scottish airs, and his own chameleon originals into a seamless, timeless fabric by turns earthy, courtly, and always lovely. Two haunting vocal interludes ("Wexford Lullaby" and the title song) arranged for a lovely mixed quartet, yield a gently haunting whole that will appeal as much to new age and Celtic music fans as his own hardy cadre of British folk loyalists. --Sam Sutherland

Customer Reviews:

A fleet-fingered elf plucking notes of grace.......2004-02-11

It's hard not to lean heavily on the adjectives when trying to convey just how fine "Traveller's Prayer" sounds. John Renbourn, as venerable and talented as any acoustic guitarist, has crafted a collection of traditional material drawn from English and Celtic traditions, but arranged and interpreted in a fresh, at time delicate manner.

Many critics have rightly praised this collection, perhaps without pausing to listen to the nuances and subtleties that shimmer and shine. The interplay of guitar, flute, fiddle (not too much fiddle), percussion, recorder, whistles, and voice creates an elemental essence, as though the music is transformed into a sweet smoke. Mr. Renbourn shines thoughout, a fleet-fingered elf plucking notes of grace.

A wealth of skilled guests accompany Mr. Renbourn, who in his unassuming way even includes all-vocal tracks.

The excellent liner notes explain how these sessions came to be, what Mr. Renbourn set out to, and did, accomplish, and what history accompanies each selection.

Part balm, part joy, "Traveller's Prayer" will ease the road before you or brighten your hearth. Share this CD with your quieter friends.

Familiar Territory.......2003-03-15

John Renbourn has been working in early music for over thirty years, and it's clearly territory with which he's familiar. The music on this recording displays a profound understanding of early music arranging and performance. The work is not overorchestrated; for such complex music, it's very easy to listen to. "Wexford Carol," sung by Mairead Ni Domhnaill, is a wonderful slow melody that stays with the listener. "Traveller's Prayer," a choral piece, revisits the closing cut on Renbourn's "Ship of Fools" recording, and added voices and a key-change make this already-impressive arrangement shine still more. As usual, Renbourn's guitar playing is impeccable; he sets a very high standard for playing this music.

Travelers Prayer.......2001-10-27

The English aren't known for for their cooking, exquisite lodging or other comforts. However the thousands of years of blending medevil, and other classic types make their traditional music unique. Especially when done by an interpreter like Renbourn. Very nice.

Doesn't change, but keeps getting better.......2000-12-28

John Renbourn's style and choice of material has hardly changed since the late 1960s, but his basic starting point is so flexible and--musical--that he still finds new directions to move in. In some respects "Traveller's Prayer" very much resembles in format, material and forces the other small ensemble projects he has been involved in as group leader (specifically, three or four albums as the John Renbourn Group, and one as Ship of Fools), but over his post-Pentangle years he has managed to slowly but surely remove from his music one of its very few weaknesses, a tendency toward over-tension (i.e., being just a bit too tightly wound). "Traveller's Prayer" is totally relaxed, totally balanced, and fully musical--without lacking an appropriate dose of tension and drama in the right places. And we are still offered some real gems of straight virtuostic play on the old 6-string. For those who are unfamiliar with Renbourn, this is the best place to start--though they should be alerted that his catalog is at this point quite extensive, including in addition to the items mentioned several duet albums with country blues master Stefan Grossman, the early Pentangle albums, and over half a dozen solo and small forces albums extending from the mid-60s through the early 90s. The good news is that every one of them is worth getting: Renbourn has never made a bad, or even mediocre, album.

*Beautiful* acoustic music.......2000-07-16

Traveler's Prayer is a personal favorite, with tasteful renditions of traditional favorites (I Saw Three Ships, Bunyan's Hymn, At the Break of Day - known to me as Be Thou My Vision) and original melodies powerful in their simplicity and clarity. This recording has always impressed me for it's production values, best realized on a quiet evening with no interruptions.

The Wizard of Oz - Vintage Recordings from the 1903 Broadway Musical

Average customer rating:

A Collection of the Original Oz Stage Productions
Ain't it a Shame!
Why the 1903 "Wizard" was forgotten
A long overdue revisit to a classic American musical
Long-Forgotten Broadway Hit Gets First Rate Revival

The Wizard of Oz - Vintage Recordings from the 1903 Broadway Musical

Manufacturer: Original Cast Record
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Musicals | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

General | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

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General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music

Broadway & Vocalists | Indie Music | Stores | Music

General | Soundtracks | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

The Shirley Temple Storybook Collection: Land of Oz/The Reluctant Dragon
The Wizard of Oz (1988 London Cast)
The Wizard Of Oz In Concert: A Benefit Performance For The Children's Defense Fund (1996 Lincoln Center Cast)
Shock Treatment (1981)
The Wizard Of Oz: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack - The Deluxe Edition

ASIN: B00009MPYQ

Tracks:

Wizard of OzSelection (Arthur Pryor's Band)
The Bullfrog and the Coon (Ada Jones)
Pocahontas (Edward M. Favor)
Daisy Donohue (Harry Tally)
Down on the Brandywine (Collins & Harlan)
Come Take a Skate with Me Sung (Collins & Harlan)
I Love You All the Time (Harry Macdonough)
The Moon Has His Eyes on You (Ada Jones)
When You Love, Love, Love (Thomas E. Whitbred)
When We Get Whats a-Comin to Us
Mister Dooley Sung (Edward M. Favor)
Julie Dooley (J. W. Myers)
Meet Me Down at the Corner (Jones & Spencer)
Budweisers a Friend of Mine (Billy Murray)
Theres a Lot of Things You Never Learn at School (Bob Roberts)
Under a Panama (Billy Murray)
Good Bye Fedora (Collins & Harlan)
Sitting Bull (Collins & Harlan)
I Love Only One Girl in this Wide Wide World (Harry Macdonough)
Sammy (Harry Macdonough)
The Tale of a Stroll (Morgan & Stanley)
Cant You See Im Lonely? (Ada Jones)
Are You Sincere? (Byron G. Harlan)
Hurrah for Baffins Bay (Collins & Harlan)
Football (Dan W. Quinn)
Id Like to Go Halves in That (Burt Shepard)
Rejoice!The Wizard is No Longer King
The Traveler and the Pie
Must You? (Dan W. Quinn)
Thats Where She Sits All Day (Dan W. Quinn)
The Sweetest Girl in Dixie (Henry Burr)
Scarecrow Laugh (Fred Stone)

Tracks:

Sammy Mira (Music Box Disc)
Must You? (Mira Music Box Disc)
Opening Prayer
Phantom Patrol
Just a Simple Girl from the Prairie
Poppy Song
Love is Love
When We Get What's A-Comin' to Us
The Traveler and the Pie
When You Love, Love, Love
Rejoice! The Wizard is No Longer King
Phantom Patrol (Aeolian Piano Roll)
My Little Maid of Oz Aeolian Piano Roll
The Tik-Tok Man of OzSelection (Rythmodik Piano Roll)
The Tik-Tok Man of OzSelection (Piano Roll)
Ask the Flowers to Tell You (Macdonough & Dunlap)
My Beautiful Dream Girl (John Barnes Wells)
My Pretty Little Piece of Dresden China (Bessie Wynn)
Gay Paree (Montgomery & Stone)
Travel Travel Little Star (Montgomery & Stone)
A Scotch Moriah (Montgomery & Stone)
Hurrah for Baffins Bay (Dan W. Quinn)
Daisy Donohue (Trombone Solo by Arthur Pryor)
Mr. DooleyMedley (Xylophone Solo J. Frank Hopkins)
Down on the BrandywineMedley (Edison Military Band)
The Bullfrog and the CoonMedley (Six Brown Brothers)
Ill Take You Back to Italy (Ada Jones & Billy Murray)
Father Goose Songs (Sallie Osbourne)

Album Description

The Wizard of Oz a musical with book and lyrics by L. Frank Baum and music by Paul Tietjens premiered on June 16, 1902, at the Grand Opera House in Chicago. It was an instant hit and made stars of David Montgomery (the Tin Woodman) and Fred Stone (the Scarecrow). On January 21, 1903 the show opened at the Majestic Theatre in New York. It ran for nine months and set out on the road with a second company right on its heels. The show toured, came back to New York, toured, and returned to New York again many times until finally disbanding around 1911. Stock and amateur companies continued to present it into the 1930s when it was overshadowed by the classic MGM film starring Judy Garland.

The show was legendary for its success and its impact on American culture. It was the Cats or Les Mis of the early 1900s--but the show has been swallowed by history. What made audiences of the early 1900s devour the show and return for more again and again? In this unprecedented 2-CD set—featuring over 145 minutes of vintage recordings and 64 pages of lyrics, photos, notes and synopsis—you can discover how The Wizard of Oz entertained the American public for the first two decades of the 20th century. And like the audiences of nearly a hundred years ago, you can hum along to "Budweiser," "Sammy," and "Hurrah for Baffin's Bay"—everyone's favorite songs from The Wizard of Oz! Also included in this comprehensive collection are recordings from later Oz musicals, The Woggle-Bug and The Tik-Tok Man of Oz written by Oz creator L. Frank Baum, as well as vintage non-Oz recordings by original "Wizard of Oz stars" Montgomery & Stone and Bessie Wynn

Customer Reviews:

A Collection of the Original Oz Stage Productions.......2006-12-07

This Double-Disk Collection contains music from the original and varied Oz Stage Productions: "the Wizard of Oz", "the Woggle-Bug" (based on 'Marvelous Land of Oz) and "the Tik-Tok Man of Oz" (based on 'Ozma of Oz'). There are plenty of "Wizard" songs and music, but there isn't a lot of "Woggle-Bug" and/or "Tik-Tok Man".
I often wondered how different the 1st & Original Production of 'Oz Wizard' was different to the book, and thanks to Mark Evan Schwartz's book "Oz: Before the Rainbow" I found out for myself (WORTH A READ!!). Later I got this CD to go along with the book's stage telling (more or less) and I listened in interest to the songs which, I read, were entirely different to the future Musicals of Oz. The songs are good, but not all of them are actually completely restored to perfection, so the singing may/will sound somewhat muffled. Also, due to the time it was made (for some reason), the songs don't actually fit into the story (even the stage's rewritten story) and sound distant/unrelated. But there are songs that sound similar to the original story ("Rejoice! The Wizard is No Longer King"). CD 2's Track 3 has music played during Silent Oz Film "His Majesty, Scarecrow" on the MGM 3-Disk DVD.
The best thing about this CD Collection is the two booklets packaged along with the disks: the first (entitled "The Records") has writing on "What the Wizard Was" with a synopsis of the stage production story and "About the Recordings", a listing of all the songs on CD 1 (which are helpful for "Selection" Tracks not specifically named on the back) and notes on the songs like their origins and background. Booklet 2 (entitled "The Lyrics") has the words to the songs (in case you can't make out the words/want to sing-along). BOTH CDs include b&w photos of the actors, performance (few of which can be seen in "Oz: Before the Rainbow" book) and even reprints of a few illustrations made for the stage. The pictures are the best part of this purchase.
The Entirely Different Songs may not fit with the story, original or rewritten, but there's nothing really wrong with the music when one enjoys to what they're listening to.
I know that there is also another 'Oz on Stage' CD Collection called "Before the Rainbow" . . . hmmm, I wonder if I should get that too?

Ain't it a Shame!.......2006-05-20

I think that this is a wonderful album of HISTORICAL value. Not too many people know this, but "the wizard of oz" was made into a smash hit in 1903, but because all the history was BARELY in obscurity, hungry tiger press wanted to educate the blockheads in the world about this remarkable piece of history. that being said, david maxine collected all of the old material, such as Piano rolls (my especial favorite of all of them is "the poppy song", i LOVE the bass notes: "nnn-ded-deh mmmm-ded-deh"), and music boxes, and cylinders, and records!
however, it is quite a shame that that CRAPPY movie with judy garland pushed this lovely musical into obscurity. i would have liked to see it in my day, but it was already lost in darkness, but thanks to the highly DIGNIFIED people in the world, this cd is available!! BUY IT!!!! I *ORDER* YOU!!! YOU CANNOT BE DIGNIFIED WITHOUT THIS REPLACING YOUR "RAP" GARBAGE WITH THIS JEWEL!!!!

Why the 1903 "Wizard" was forgotten.......2004-03-20

This truly remarkable 2-disc collection of old cylinders, discs, music boxes and piano rolls explains why the 1903 musical version of "The Wizard of Oz" did not survive the early thirties. It wasn't because it was before its time or even of its time, but simply because it was way behind the times. Its producers resisted composer's Paul Tietjens' attempts to write plot-driven numbers. His contribution survives only in the incidental music preserved on piano rolls (and the most interesting element on this collection) linking very disparate and even incongruous vaudeville acts by various authors and performers that graced the stage during the musical's multi-decade run. In other words, Baum was telling a story and the songs were telling another... As fascinating as they are for historical reasons, those numbers are commonplace, mostly uninspired flash-in-the-tin-pan ditties, with timid syncopation and a stong reliance on musical clichés. There is not a single standard among them and not even a decent lyric where "fine" doesn't rhyme with "mine" and "love you" doesn't rhyme with "I do"- or even "I know you know I know you do", as happens more than once. As an assemblage of shtick pieces and ephemeral sentimental or nonsensical ditties, this collection cannot be topped and it represents a monumental effort. Without it and its very generous and informative liner notes, I would not have the same appreciation for the absolute genius of Victor Herbert's operettas ("Babes in Toyland" came out the same year) where the more memorable songs are plot-driven and introduced and linked by the most luscious, inventive and varied incidental music ever heard outside an opera house. This sort of unified concept would culminate in Jerome Kern's "Show Boat" and it remains a truth today that the integration of plot and music - reminiscent of opera - is the true secret of successful and perennial musicals, whatever the current idiom. This collection also makes one appreciate the complete originality of the Hollywood film for actually going back to Baum's books, entrusting the songs, lyrics and music to Harold Arlen, Yip Harburg and Herbert Stothart and scrapping the musical's colourful but checkered history (except for casting ex-vaudevillians as the main characters, of course!). Highly recommended for its nostalgia value, its irreplaceable rarities and a better understanding of the history of American popular music.

A long overdue revisit to a classic American musical.......2003-09-30

Although it was one of the most financially successful stage musicals of the early 1900's, very little information is presently available on the 1903 production of THE WIZARD OF OZ. In what was obviously a labor of love, David Maxine has done much to correct this oversight by releasing a 2-CD set with over 145 minutes worth of extremely rare recordings of music from this and other OZ-themed musicals dating back to before World War I. Recorded materials include vintage acoustical disc and cylinder phonograph records, piano rolls, and music box discs, many of which go back almost a century. In addition, he has included two booklets worth of historical background information on the 1903 WIZARD OF OZ production, its stars, the individual musical numbers, and lyrics for the songs included on the CDs. (Lavishly illustrated with rare old black and white photos and artwork, these booklets, and the information they contain, are themselves worth the price of the set!) Several bonus CD tracks are included that offer rare recordings by Montgomery & Stone (the original Tin Woodsman and Scarecrow) and Bessie Wynn, who was also in the 1903 cast. Not just for dedicated Oz fans, this set is a "must have" for anyone interested in the history of American musical theater and American popular culture of the early 1900's.

Long-Forgotten Broadway Hit Gets First Rate Revival.......2003-09-17

One hundred and three years ago, author L. Frank Baum published the best-selling children's book of the 20th century, THE WIZARD OF OZ. Although the book was adapted several times as plays, silent motion pictures, animated cartoons, and radio shows in the next few decades, it is the 1939 MGM film that most people think of as THE WIZARD OF OZ. The success and popularity of that film completely eclipsed the memories of previous incarnations and even the book itself in popular culture. However, prior to the film's release, there was a successful stage version which premiered on Broadway in 1903 and delighted audiences for many years, making stars of Fred Stone and David Montgomery, the original Scarecrow and Tinman. As with the MGM film, chilren who saw THE WIZARD OF OZ on stage carried fond memories of the production into adulthood. Ray Bolger was so impressed with the Fred Stone's Scarecrow, that he remembered it vividly as an adult and based his own protrayal of the character in the movie on Mr. Stone's stage version.

Unfortunately, time and Judy Garland have pushed the once popular Broadway Smash into history. It has been all but forgotten...until now.

As the show moved from theater to theater and casts changed, so did the songs. Many of these were recorded on the primative equipment of the day: Wax cylinders, 78-RPM records, piano rolls, and music Boxes, and surprisingly many of these still exist. Now, thanks to those hard-working gents at HUNGRY TIGER PRESS, you can own these historic recordings on this awesome 2-CD set. THE WIZARD OF OZ: Vintage Recordings From The 1903 Broadway Musical contains over 145 minutes of terrific early 20th century music. You won't find "Over the Rainbow" or "Ding! Dong! The Witch Is Dead!" here. Instead, this WIZARD OF OZ contains tracks like "Budweiser's a Friend of Mine", "Sammy", "Hurrah for Baffin's Bay", and "Rejoice! The Wizard is No Longer King", each one a portal over the rainbow to the Broadway stage of a century ago.

Tracks:

Aida: Act I: Ritorna vincitor!
Aida: Act I: E l'amor mio?
Aida: Act I: I sacri nomi di padre, d'amante
Aida: Act III: Qui Radames verra!
Aida: Act III: O patria mia
Un Ballo in Maschera: Act II: (Prelude)
Un Ballo in Maschera: Act II: Ecco l'orrido campo
Un Ballo in Maschera: Act II: Ma dall'arido stelo divulsa
Un Ballo in Maschera: Act III: A tal colpa e nulla il pianto
Un Ballo in Maschera: Act III: Morro, ma prima in grazia
Il Trovatore: Act I: Che piu t'arresti?
Il Trovatore: Act I: Tacea la notte placida
Il Trovatore: Act I: Di tale amor che dirsi
Il Trovatore: Act IV: Siam giunti
Il Trovatore: Act IV: D'amor sull'ali rosee
Ernani: Act I: Surta e la notte
Ernani: Act I: Ernani! Ernani, involami
Ernani: Act I: Tutto sprezzo che d'Ernani
La forza del destino: Act II: Son giunta! Grazie, o Dio!
La forza del destino: Act II: Madre, madre, pietosa Vergine
La forza del destino: Act II: La Vergine degli angeli
La forza del destino: Act IV: Pace, pace, mio Dio

Tracks:

Cosi fan tutte: Act I: Come scoglio immoto resta
Madama Butterfly: Act II: Piangi? Perche?; Un bel di vedremo
Madama Butterfly: Act III: Tu? tu? piccolo Iddio!
TOSCA: Act II: Vissi d'arte
Manon Lescaut: Act II: In quelle trine morbide
Manon Lescaut: Act IV: Sola, perduta, abbandonata
Dialogues des Carmelites: Act III: Mes filles, voila que s'acheve
Don Giovanni: Act I: Don Ottavio, son morta!
Don Giovanni: Act I: Or sai chi l'onore
Don Giovanni: Act II: Crudele? Ah, no, mio bene!
Don Giovanni: Act II: Non mi dir
Turandot: Act I: Signore, ascolta!
Turandot: Act III: Tu che di gel sei cinta
Ariadne auf Naxos: Es gibt ein Reich
Antony And Cleopatra: Act III: Give me my robe

Tracks:

Otello: Era piu calmo?
Otello: Mia madre aveva una povera ancella (Willow Song)
Otello: Ave Maria
Fidelio: Act I: Abscheulicher! Wo eilst du hin?
Suor Angelica: Senza mamma, o bimbo, tu sei morto!
Carmen: L'amour est un oiseau rebelle (Habanera)
La Traviata: Act I: E strano, e strano !
La Traviata: Act I: Ah, fors' e lui
La Traviata: Act I: Sempre libera
Le nozze di Figaro: Act III: E Susanna non vien!
Le nozze di Figaro: Act III: Dove sono
Die Agyptische Helena: Act II: Awakening Scene
La rondine: Ore dolci e divine
Salome: Finale

Tracks:

Eugene Onegin: Act II: Puskai pogibnu ya
Eugene Onegin: Act II: Ya k vam pishu
Eugene Onegin: Act II: Net, nikomu na svete
Eugene Onegin: Act II: No tak i byt'!
La rondine: Act I: Chi il bel sogno di Doretta
VANESSA: Act I: He Has Come, He Has Come!
VANESSA: Act I: Do Not Utter A Word
Carmen: Act I: Pres des remparts de Seville (Seguidilla)
Manon: Act II: Allons! il le faut!
Manon: Act II: Adieu, notre petite table
Macbeth: Act IV: Sleepwalking Scene: Vegliammo invan due notti
Macbeth: Act IV: Sleepwalking Scene: Una macchia e qui tuttora
La Boheme: Act IIII: Addio. Donde lieta usci (Mimi's Addio)
Die Frau ohne Schatten: Act II: Empress's Awakening Scene
Dido and Aeneas: Act III: Thy Hand, Belinda!
Dido and Aeneas: Act III: When I Am Laid In Earth
Don Carlo: Act V: Tu che le vanita conoscesti del mondo

Tracks:

Otello: Act I: Gia nella notte
Otello: Act I: Quando narravi
Otello: Act I: Venga la morte!
Cosi fan tutte: Act I: Ah, guarda, sorella
Madama Butterfly: Act I: Bimba, bimba, non piangere
Madama Butterfly: Act I: Bimba dagli occhi
Madama Butterfly: Act I: Vogliatemi bene
Requiem: Recordare
Porgy And Bess: Act II: Bess, You Is My Woman
Norma: Act III: Me chiami, o Norma
Norma: Act III: Mira, o Norma
Ernani: Act II: Tu, perfida!
Ernani: Act II: Ah, morir, potessi adesso
Cosi fan tutte: Act II: Sorella, cosa dici?
Cosi fan tutte: Act II: Prendero quel brunettino
Aida: Act IV: La fatal pietra sovra me si chiuse
Aida: Act IV: Presago il core della tua condanna
Aida: Act IV: Vedi? Di morte l'angelo
Aida: Act IV: O terra, addio

Tracks:

Un Ballo in Maschera: Act II: Teco io sto!
Aida: Act III: Ciel! mio padre!
Aida: Act III: Rivedrai le forest imbalsamate
Aida: Act III: In armi ora si desta il popol nostro
Aida: Act III: Padre! a costoro schiava non sono
Requiem: Angus Dei
Manon Lescaut: Act I: Oh, saro la piu bella!; Tu, tu, amore?
Cosi fan tutte: Act I: Soave sia il vento
Porgy And Bess: Act II: I Loves You, Porgy
Aida: Act II: Silenzio! Aida verso noi s'avanza
Aida: Act II: Fu la sorte dell'armi
Aida: Act II: Pieta ti prenda del mio dolor
Aida: Act II: Alla prompa che s'appresta
Il Trovatore: Act IV: Udiste?
Il Trovatore: Act IV: Mira, di acerbe lagrime
Il Trovatore: Act IV: Vivra! Contende il giubilo
Madama Butterfly: Act II: Scuoti quella fronda di ciliegio (Flower Duet)
Carmen: Act IV: C'est toi! - C'est moi!
Carmen: Act IV: Ou vas-tu? - Laisse-moi!

Tracks:

Les nuits d'ete, Op.7: Villanelle
Les nuits d'ete, Op.7: Le spectre de la rose
Les nuits d'ete, Op.7: Sur les lagunes
Les nuits d'ete, Op.7: Absence
Les nuits d'ete, Op.7: Au cimetiere (Clair de lune)
Les nuits d'ete, Op.7: L'ile inconnue
Four Last Songs: Fruhling
Four Last Songs: September
Four Last Songs: Beim Schlafengehen
Four Last Songs: Im Abendrot
Clair de lune, Op.46, No.2: Clair de lune
Notre amour, Op.23, No.2: Notre amour
Au cimetiere, Op.51, No.2: Au cimetiere
Au bord de l'eau, Op.8, No.1: Au bord de l'eau
No.1, Cinq melodies de Venise, Op.58: Mandoline
Main dominee par le coeur
Miroirs brulants No.2: Je nommerai ton front
Miroirs brulants No.1: Tu vois le feu du soir
Ce doux petit visage

Tracks:

Knoxville: Summer Of 1915, Op.24: Knoxville: Summer Of 1915
Frauenliebe und -leben, op.42: Seit ich ihn gesehen
Frauenliebe und -leben, op.42: Er, der Herrlichste von allen
Frauenliebe und -leben, op.42: Ich kann's nicht fassen
Frauenliebe und -leben, op.42: Du Ring an meinem Finger
Frauenliebe und -leben, op.42: Helft mir, ihr Schwestern
Frauenliebe und -leben, op.42: Susser Freund, du blickest
Frauenliebe und -leben, op.42: An meinem Herzen, an meiner Brust
Frauenliebe und -leben, op.42: Nun hast du mir den ersten Schmerz getan
Widmung (No.1, Myrthen, Op.25): Widmung
Mignon (No.28, Liederalbum fur die Jugend, Op.79): Mignon
Volksliedchen, Op.51, No.2: Volksliedchen
Schone Wiege meiner Leiden (No.5, Liederkreis, Op.24): Schone Wiege meiner Leiden
Er ist's (No.23, Liederalbum fur die Jugend, Op.79): Er ist's
Heiss mich nicht reden (No.5, Lieder und Gesand aus Wilhelm Meister)
Lust der Sturmnacht, Op.35, No.1: Lust der Sturmnacht
Allerseelen, Op.10, No.8: Allerseelen
Schlagende Herzen
Freundliche Vision, Op.48, No.1: Freundliche Vision
Wie sollten wir geheim, Op.19, No.4: Wie sollten wir geheim
Der Gartner (Morike-Lieder No.17)
Lebe wohl (Morike-Lieder No.36)
Morgentau (From An Old Songbook)
Geh, Geliebter, geh jetzt (Spanisches Liederbuch No.34)

Tracks:

Ev'ry Time I Feel The Spirit - Various Artists
Let Us Break Bread Together On Our Knees - Various Artists
His Name So Sweet - Various Artists
'Roun' About De Mountain - Various Artists
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot - Various Artists
Sit Down, Servant - Various Artists
Were You There - Various Artists
He's Got The Whole World In His Hands - Various Artists
Deep River - Various Artists
Honor! Honor! - Various Artists
My Soul's Been Anchored In De Lord - Various Artists
On Ma Journey - Various Artists
A City Called Heaven - Various Artists
Ride On, King Jesus - Various Artists
I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free - Various Artists
Sinner, Please Don't Let This Harvest Pass - Various Artists
Sweet Little Jesus Boy - Various Artists
There Is A Balm In Gilead - Various Artists
Let Us Cheer The Weary Traveler - Various Artists
Ev'ry Time I Feel The Spirit - Various Artists
My Way Is Cloudy - Various Artists
Nobody Knows The Touble I've Seen - Various Artists
I Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray - Various Artists

Tracks:

Holy, Holy, Holy
Lead, Kindly Light
Blessed Assurance
Ave Maria
What A Friend We Have In Jesus
Amazing Grace
The Lord's Prayer
Pass Me Not, O Gentle Saviour
The Church's One Foundation
Bless This House
I Need Thee Every Hour
Fairest Lord Jesus
I Wonder As I Wander
Ave Maria
Porgy And Bess: Summertime
America The Beautiful
Lift Ev'ry Voice And Sing
A Mighty Fortress Is Our God
Battle Hymn Of The Republic

Tracks:

Chants tziganes, Op. 103: He Zigeuner
Chants tziganes, Op. 103: Hochgeturmte Rimaflut
Chants tziganes, Op. 103: Wisst ihr, wann mein Kindchen
Chants tziganes, Op. 103: Lieber Gott, du weisst
Chants tziganes, Op. 103: Brauner Bursche
Chants tziganes, Op. 103: Roselein dreie in der Reihe
Chants tziganes, Op. 103: Kommt dir manchmal in den Sinn
Chants tziganes, Op. 103: Rote Abendwolken
Adriana Lecouvreur: Act I: Io son l'umile ancella
This Little Light O'Mine
Interview With Leontyne Price By John Pfeiffer

Amazon.com

This 11-CD set, one might say jokingly, contains all the music ever written for the soprano voice and a bit for mezzo as well. And indeed, it's a staggering collection: In addition to her great Verdi heroines (the two Leonoras, Aida, Amelia, and Elvira in Ernani), Price is heard in her Puccini roles--Manon Lescaut, Butterfly, Tosca--and at least two dozen other roles, most of which she never sang on stage. Here are her heroic, secure Leonore in Fidelio, Strauss's high-flying Egyptian Helen, Purcell's Dido, Barber's Cleopatra, Bellini's Norma, Ariadne, Verdi's Violetta and Desdemona, Bizet's Carmen, Mozart's Countess, and Fiordiligi. Some are, naturally, more successful than others; almost none are embarrassing (Carmen comes close). In addition, she sings songs by Schubert, Schumann, and Strauss--none of them as well as say, Janet Baker or Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, and Barber's Knoxville, etc.--quite beautifully. Berlioz's Les Nuits d'été is not very good, but a group of spirituals is. In all, however, this is an amazing display by one of the century's greatest sopranos. There may be no new depths plumbed here, but the singing is a knockout. --Robert Levine

Customer Reviews:

A Long Time Coming..........2006-03-30

This compilation of Ms. Price's career is almost as complete as anything I've ever come across!!
An American Icon....I will forever be a loyal fan and admirer!!

Her Best Album.......2006-01-01

Along with the equally extensive "Prima Donna Collection" this is Leontyne Price's best album. Anyone who wants to become familiarized with her vocal technique and her art on record should own this album. It features her best work ever recorded. A lot of these arias and their respective soprano roles were not roles she sang on stage. Leontyne Price was not only a consummate artist, but a cautious one. The reason these arias, Lieder, Gospel and spirituals sound so beautiful and technically brilliant is because Leontyne was smart enough to sing them infrequently and in concert form. She did not take on new roles other than her repetitive Aidas, Leonoras, Butterfly, Toscas and Madame Lidoins, etc, because she was afraid of ruining her glorious voice too soon as many of her contemporary sopranos. Like soprano Zinka Milanov, Leontyne Price preserved the freshness and vitality of her voice through "operatic abstinence". Thus, the Norma, Salome, Manon, Lady Macbeth and even Traviata we hear on this album are well-rendered because she did NOT sing them on stage. She would have worn out her beautiful voice if she sung so many roles.

This collection is overwhelming. Leontyne Price proves herself to be a masterful artist of diverse repertoire. Pity she didn't really sing these on stage because she would have put Maria Callas and all the reigning divas before and after her to shame. Listen to her remarkable, unsurpassed Mozart repertoire. This she did sing in opera houses, probably because Mozart does not require a true lyrico-spinto heavyness and smaller opera houses can accomodate Mozartian voices that do not often rise above the staff/orchestra. She sang exquisite Fiordiligis at the Met. The arias from Cosi Fan Tutte here - Soave sia il vento, O Guarda Sorelle and the fiendishly difficult vocal showcase "Come Scoglio" with its vertiginious scales are all fine samples of Miss Price's artistry. She sang Susanna and Donna Anna with beauty and bravura. The Salome excerpt is quite thrilling. She would have made a terrific Salome but the role is quite difficult and it would have surely killed her voice. Leontyne Price was the number one Verdi soprano. Every opera cognoscente will tell you that. When you hear the excerpts from Verdi operas here - Lady Macbeth's Sleepwalking Scene, Aida's arias, Leonora's arias from Trovatore and Leonora's arias from Forza Del Destino, particularly La Virgine Del Angeli and the ravishing Pace Pace Mio Dio- are the best renditions of Verdi soprano singing. Anyone who wants to study how to sing in the letter-to-letter Verdi lyrico spinto style should hear these arias. A voice like Leontyne cannot be easily imitated. Maria Callas's own voice can be imitated as Romanian diva Angela Gheorghiu has proven. Leontyne was in a class of her own, a voice that is both dramatic and beautiful to hear. However, most people find fault in her lack of dramatic interpretation. I say they're not hearing hard enough. Yes, there is excessive beauty in her singing but she understood that the opera heroines should sound beautiful because they are beautiful and though I never saw her on stage, from the recordings I hear she sounds dramatic and character-driven enough for me to be satisfied. For a devoted fan of Leontyne Price, this album is the Holy Grail. She sings the most beautiful Norma, Madame Butterfly, Tosca, Aida, Violetta, Madame Lidoin, Suor Angelica, Susanna, Dona Ana, Gilda, Fiordiligi, Desdemona and countless other heroines. The last cd is a collection of Gospel, spirituals and patriotic songs. These "American", non-opera selections find her in beautiful voice and she is actually paying tribute to her roots. She was not only African-American, but a Southerner from Mississippi. Her voice must have been heavenly to hear in Church! This is the album that made me love Leontyne.

Price At Her Peak.......2005-05-02

Originally a Gospel singer, Leontyne Price rose to the heights of operatic superstardom in the 60's and 70's. She enjoyed the same success Maria Callas did in the 50's. Although Callas will forever be most people's idea of the greatest soprano of the 20th century, Leontyne Price was not a force to be reckoned with. In my opinion, and this is just me, she outshone Callas and was the greater singer as far as techinicality and musicianship. Leontyne Price's best work is recorded in this album. It is her best album, together with the Prima Donna Collection. The price is expensive but it's worth every penny. Prepare to be riveted and blown away by the dynamic strength and passion of her voice as it blasts through yours stereo. While many often point out that Leontyne Price was not much of an actress, from a purely operatic/vocal level, her voice was faultless and virtuosic, powerful, passionate, beautiful, lyrical, soulful. Never have I heard a soprano so richly endowed with strong chest register- she could sing the low octaves that are found in the roles of mezzo-soprano voices or contralto voices. But she was a dramatic soprano and that's dramatic with a capital D- all the high C's were there, perfectly in place, and she was a thrilling singer when reaching for the stratosphere with her voice.

This album contains arias from operas that I didn't even know she performed- La Traviata (yes, Leontyne Price as Violetta is a moving and powerful interpretation, executed with sublime beauty. She finds herself the equal to Callas in the role- for Callas had a big voice for a role that calls for the "dying" effect. Thus, Price, like Callas, could sing roles that call for beauty and not just dramatic vigor. It's unfortunate that unlike the stars that were rising in her time- Joan Sutherland, Beverly Sills and Montserrat Caballe- Price never mastered the bel canto repertoire - Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini (although she sang a sensational Norma, excerpts are found in this recording). But her strongest suit was Verdi. She had the voice Verdi was looking for in a soprano- rich, dramatic, beautiful, able to fill up the lines with smoky and velvety hues and a gleaming high top. Check out her Amelia in Un Ballo In Maschera, her Leonora in Trovatore, her Leonora in La Forza Del Destino. Of course, her greatest role, her signature role, and one which she connected with on a personal/ancestral level was that of Aida. The first selections in this recording are from that masterpiece. As Aida, she was at her best. It was easy for her somehow, when most other sopranos tackle the role with difficulty. She conveys grace, nobility, passion and spirituality in the role of the tragic Ethiopian princess.

Further roles she excelled in that are on this recording is Desdemona in Otello, which she sung opposite Placido Domingo. Their masterful voices blend together harmonically and gloriously in the Act 1 Love Duet. She's quite the ground-breaking artist. Most Violettas in Traviata or Desdemona in Otello are Caucasian lyric soprano (Desdemona was white, Otello was black, that was Shakespeare's intention) but in opera, race does not matter and Leontyne Price's voice made her a star in a time when it was incredibly difficult for a black woman to sing opera. From the start of the century, opera was always associated with white Europeans and later on Americans. But Leontyne Price followed the inspirational example of the gutsy contralto Marian Anderson, who suffered a lot of rejection in opera due to skin color in pre-Civil Rights Movement 30's, 40's and 50's. Finally in the late 50's, Anderson, after a lifetime of singing only in private concerts and recitals, debuted at the Met as Ulrica in Un Ballo. Leontyne Price immediately picked up where she left- singing all the soprano diva roles typically associated with white singers - especially Tosca. Her Tosca is second to her Aida. As Tosca, she encompasses the diva who dies for love in the most thrilling way.

Other than Tosca, Puccini heroines were just as magnificent vehicles for her voice. She sang Madame Butterfly to great acclaim. I dont know how she did it but she suddenly ceased to be herself and became the frail, naive, lovesick Japanese Geisha. Softness and fragility is also mixed with the maturity of a woman in love, with passion and dramatic vocal color. She sang La Rondine with equal success, though this role is more along the lines of Violetta/Traviata. She sang Suor Angelica, she sang in modern works such as Barber's Antony and Cleopatra- in that infamous Zefferelli production- she sang Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, she sang in Dialoge of the Carmelites. All these are on here, along with her Baroque specialties- Dido in Dido and Aeneas. Her Mozart voice is also the best I've heard, really, even with a more dramatic and beautiful charm than other singers I've heard. She sang the acrobatic role of Fiordiligi in Cosi Fan Tutte, both Dona Ana and Donva Elvira in Don Giovanni. I prefer her as Dona Ana, she is all fire, despair, intensity and repressed desire, but she sings a hysterical and lovesick Elvira with a passion as well. She even sang the Countess in Le Nozze Di Figaro. But the sky was the limit to Price. She even sang, in a Jessie Norman way, the Wagner role of Isolde. Her "Liebestod" is the greatest I've heard since Birgit Nilsson, with a passion that stemmed from her religious Gospel heart.
This is a great album and I recommend it to any fan of Price and any fan of opera in general. If you have never heard Price and want to start somewhere, start with this one. This one or the Prima Donna Collection.

of course world class.......2000-08-14

Price is amazing. I will have to also mention that Joan Sutherland in the 1960 is even more incredible, if that's possible. Check Dame Joan out, you will not be sorry. But Price is a D flawless diamond set by Cartier, in my opinion.

the greatest american soprano of the 20th century.......1999-12-12

This collection of arias, art songs, and spirituals is truly amazing for the sheer breadth and depth of this soprano's artistry. It is hard to imagine any Verdi soprano after Ms. Price who could offer us the smoky richness of her vocal color, and there are so many wonderful selections, many of them being roles she did not perform on stage. Among my personal favorites are her scene from Dialogues of the Carmelites, the Letter Scene from Eugene Onegin, and the drama of her Lady Macbeth. For those of us who heard Ms. Price over the years in opera and concert, this collection brings back wonderful memories...It is truly a must-have for any serious opera lover.

Music Review:

Music Review

music review

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