Down in There

Down in There

Track Listings

1. If I Had Known

2. Hillbilly Girl

3. Little Place in the Country

4. Worrisome Years

5. Hacklebarney Time

6. Poor Back Slider

7. Fooled Me Once

8. Band of Gold

9. All Day Rain

10. You Are a Flower

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.

Tracks:

Give My Regards To Broadway- Joel Grey
Swanee- Al Jolson
When The Moon Shines On The Moonshine- Bert Williams
A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody- John Steel
My Man- Fanny Brice
Fascinating Rhythm- Fred Astaire, Adele Astaire
If You Knew Susie (Like I Know Susie)- 78rpm Version Eddie Cantor
Someone To Watch Over Me- Gertrude Lawrence
Bill- 78 rpm Version Helen Morgan
Ol' Man River- Paul Robeson
Ain't Misbehavin'- Louis Armstrong & His Orchestra
Ten Cents A Dance- Ruth Etting
Body And Soul- Libby Holman
Brother, Can You Spare A Dime- Bing Crosby
Night And Day- Fred Astaire
Heat Wave- Ethel Waters
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes- Tamara
You're The Top- Ethel Merman
Summertime- Anne Brown
September Song- Walter Huston
My Heart Belongs To Daddy- Mary Martin
It Never Entered My Mind- Shirley Ross
Bewitched, Bothered, Bewildered- Vivienne Segal
Oh, How I Hate To Get Up In The Morning- Irving Berlin
Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'- Alfred Drake

Tracks:

New York, New York- Cris Alexander,Adolph Green,John Reardon
If I Loved You- John Raitt,Jan Clayton
Come Rain Or Come Shine- Ruby Hill,Harold Nicholas
There's No Business Like Show Business- Ensemble
How Are Things In Glocca Morra? From "Finian's Rainbow"- Ella Logan
Once In Love With Amy- Ray Bolger
Wunderbar- Alfred Drake,Patricia Morison
Some Enchanted Evening- Ezio Pinza
Lost In The Stars- Todd Duncan
Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend- Carol Channing
Luck Be A Lady- Robert Alda,Guys
Getting To Know You- Gertrude Lawrence
Who Cares?- Jack Carson,Betty Oakes
Stranger In Paradise- from " Kismet" Doretta Morrow,Richard Kiley
Ballad Of Mack The Knife- Gerald Price
Hey There- from "The Pajama Game" John Raitt
Whatever Lola Wants- Gwen Verdon
I Could Have Danced All Night- Julie Andrews
Standing On The Corner- from "The Most Happy Fella, 1956" Shorty Long,John Henson,Alan Gilbert
The Party's Over- Judy Holliday
Glitter And Be Gay- Barbara Cook
Tonight- Larry Kert, Carol Lawrence

Tracks:

Seventy-Six Trombones- Robert Preston
I Enjoy Being A Girl- from "Flower Drum Song, 1958" Pat Suzuki
Everything's Coming Up Roses- Ethel Merman
My Favorite Things- from "The Sound Of Music" Mary Martin
Put On A Happy Face- from "Bye Bye Birdie" Dick Van Dyke
Try To Remember- Jerry Orbach
Camelot- from "Camelot" Richard Burton
Love Makes The World Go 'Round- Anna Maria Alberghetti
I Believe In You- Robert Morse And Co.
The Sweetest Sounds- Diahann Carroll,Richard Kiley
Comedy Tonight- Zero Mostel
What Kind Of Fool Am I?- Anthony Newley
As Long As He Needs Me- Georgia Brown
Hello, Dolly!- Carol Channing,Cast
People- Barbra Streisand
Anyone Can Whistle- from "Anyone Can Whistle" Lee Remick
If I Were A Rich Man- Zero Mostel
Night Song- Sammy Davis, Jr.
The Impossible Dream- Richard Kiley
If My Friends Could See Me Now- Gwen Verdon
Open a New Window- from Mame Voice

Tracks:

Willkommen- from "Cabaret" Joel Grey
Let The Sunshine In- James Rado,Lynn Kellogg,Melba Moore,Cast
I'll Never Fall In Love Again- Jill O'Hara,Jerry Orbach
The Ladies Who Lunch- from "Company" Elaine Stritch
Tea For Two- Roger Rathburn,Susan Watson
I'm Still Here- Yvonne De Carlo
I Don't Know How To Love Him- Yvonne Elliman
We Go Together- Adrienne Barbeau,Barry Bostwick,Walter Bobbie,Cast
Corner Of The Sky- John Rubinstein
Send In The Clowns- Glynis Johns
Ease On Down The Road- Stephanie Mills,Tiger Haynes,Ted Ross,Hinton
One- from "A Chorus Line" Cast
All That Jazz- Chita Rivera,Ensemble
Tomorrow- Andrea Mcardle
Don't Cry For Me Argentina- Patti Lupone
Come Follow The Band
Lullaby Of Broadway- Jerry Orbach
And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going- Jennifer Holliday
The Bells Of St. Sebastian- Raul Julia

Tracks:

Memory- Betty Buckley
I Am What I Am- George Hearn
Move On- Bernadette Peters,Mandy Patinkin
Do You Hear The People Sing?- Michael Maguire,Cast
The Music Of The Night- Michael Crawford
You're Nothing Without Me- James Naughton,Gregg Edelman
The American Dream- Jonathan Pryce,Cast
Doctor Jazz- Gregory Hines,Company
With One Look- Glenn Close
On Broadway- Adrian Bailey,Frederick B. Owens,Ken Ard,Victor Trent Cook
Le Jazz Hot- Julie Andrews,Ensemble
Seasons Of Love-
Hakuna Matata- Max Casella,Tom Alan Robbins,Scott Irby-Ranniar,Jason Raize
I Wanna Be A Producer- Matthew Broderick,Ensemble
Dancing Queen- Louise Plowright,Jenny Galloway
Good Morning Baltimore- Marissa Jaret Winokur
Movin' Out- Michael Cavanaugh,Band
I Go To Rio- Hugh Jackman,Company
Defying Gravity- Kristin Chenoweth,Idina Menzel

Customer Reviews:

Fabulous for any Broadway-lover.......2007-01-30

Packs into 5 CD's a sampling of Broadway tunes from the 20's thru (almost) today, mostly from original cast recordings. Includes not just well-known hits, but also some lesser-known gems. Sound quality is first rate, booklet is informative too. Have given this as a gift to several friends with rave reviews.

Top Shelf.......2007-01-04

This is THE definitive collection of Broadway hits. I have other collections, and none of them measure up. A great deal of care was obviously taken in compiling and presenting this box set. It covers a lot of ground, starting with some long-forgotten but still very enjoyable hits from the days of yore, and finishing with present-day favorites. To the best of my knowledge, the recordings are by those who made them famous. You won't be disappointed.

TERRIFIC CD'S.......2006-03-23

THESE BROADWAY MUSICALS CD'S ARE A BROADWAY LOVERS DREAM. WITH EACH SONG, MEMORIES COME FLOODING BACK. BOTH THE FAMILIAR AND THE FORGOTTEN SONGS ARE A TRUE LISTENING PLEASURE. IF YOU LIKE BROADWAY, YOU'LL LOVE THIS SET.

Great Collection of Broadways greatest Songs .......2005-06-14

This Collection was perfectly made it has almost all the most famous Broadway songs on this 5 cd set. The Music is great and has Broadways greatest treasures like "Memory""People""With One Look""Give my regards Too Broadway" just to name a few of this numerous cd set with over 100 songs. This is a great buy if you like musicals or The music of Broadway

Great Compilation!.......2005-01-17

If you are a fan of the Broadway Musicals, this is a collection that you should purchase. Since I got the 5 disc set I've enjoyed listening to it. The majority of the songs are done by the original singers. The collection is priceless considering that you will have over 100 songs from popular musicals since the beginning of Broadway

How Sweet the Sound: Spirituals & Traditional Gospel Music

Average customer rating:

Chanticleer, with Bp. Flunder: INDEED - How Very Sweet The Sound
Crystalline
Best Chanticleer CD Yet
How Angry the Sound?
This CD is the bomb!

How Sweet the Sound: Spirituals & Traditional Gospel Music
Chanticleer
Manufacturer: Teldec
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music

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

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Similar Items:

Where the Sun Will Never Go Down
Wondrous Love: A World Folk Song Collection
Our American Journey
Chanticleer: A Portrait
Sing We Christmas

ASIN: B00029CZPW
Release Date: 2004-09-14

Tracks:

Jesus Hits Like An Atom Bomb
Surely God Is Able
Amazing Grace
Medley: Soon One Mornin' - What You Goin' Do When The World's On Fire? - You Can't Hide - Run On For A Long Time
Didn't It Rain
Sit Down Servant - Plenty Good Room
Keep Your Hand On The Plow (Hold On)
My Soul Is A Witness
There Is A Balm In Gilead
Medley: Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child - Poor Pilgrim Of Sorrow - Walk In Jerusalem
Be Still And Know That I'm God

Amazon.com

Chanticleer's repertoire ranges through many centuries. On this recording, the group again proves its infinite versatility in a program of gospel music and spirituals. The singing is so authentic that one feels like a participant in a gospel meeting, swaying to the rhythm with the crowd. Contributing greatly to the impact is Chanticleer's guest, Yvette A. Funder. Possessor of a voice remarkable for its range, power, and flexibility, she brings to the music the empathy and authority of one born and raised in the tradition, whether leading call-and-response, engaging in improvisations that soar high above the chorus, crooning softly in meditation, or shouting in ecstasy. (She is also an active Bishop ministering to the poor and afflicted, and the founder of various social service agencies in California.) Several songs include soloists drawn from the chorus as well, most notably a tenor, a countertenor and a bass who provides a rhythmic ostinato. The program, designed for maximum variety of tempo, mood, character and texture, includes many favorite songs and spirituals, such as "Amazing Grace," "There is a Balm in Gilead," "Sometimes I Feel like a Motherless Child." The arrangements by Joseph Jennings, Chanticleer's Music Director for 20 years, are admirably simple and very good; only a few are marred by awkward modulations or overly sophisticated, Hollywood-inspired effects. Most of them are for a cappella voices. Jennings also contributes a new original composition: "Be still and Know that I'm God." Repeating these words like an invocation, it builds a cumulative drama with increasingly wild, elaborate improvisations in call-and-response between soloist and chorus; supported by a prominent piano part that includes solos, chordal and running passages, it ends with a rousing climax. --Edith Eisler

Customer Reviews:

Chanticleer, with Bp. Flunder: INDEED - How Very Sweet The Sound.......2006-02-10

On this standard red book 16-bit CD we are offered that rare and special invitation: Come now, pilgrim - take yet another good step forward in gospel praise or supplication. How can we progress in our individual and collective spiritual journeys towards whatever transcendent glories ground us, revive us, and lead us on despite life's challenges, unless we sing?. Are you having set backs? This CD is good medicine, and it is both a worthy addition to the gospel music shelf and perhaps just the sort of musical medicine that turns out to be good for you, on more than one level of body, mind, and soul. Not a bitter root aftertaste, nor a nagging fishy oil payback in any of this welcome elixir. I guess that is why we call it, Good News.

The arrangements of new and old gospel standards have been set by counter-tenor Joseph Jennings - a leading Chanticleer member of long standing - intently drawing upon both the florid improvisations of the soloists and gospel groups climbing ever so dazzlingly into the fiery chariots that sacred texts say carried off the prophet; and yes, rooted as well in the impeccably crafted close harmonies and inwardly solid strength of gospel quartets and ensembles like Fisk University's Jubilee Singers and many other exemplars.

So, when you listen to this one you will be immediately surrounded by that amazing and great, gathering could of witnesses. The messages are familiar: Keep your hands on the plow. Surely God is able. There is a balm in Gilead.

Like the famous vocal work by Ralph Vaughan Williams, his Serenade to Music as written for a star-crossed group of well-known British soloists of the era; so this gospel outing brings the small male ensemble Chanticleer to the fore - both as a vocal group and as a fabulous collection of solo voices who are prodigiously gifted vocal stars in their own rights. Capping off Chanticleer as an embarrassment of riches is a guest turn by San Francisco's own Bishop Yvette Flunder. She is the real deal, too, as both an ordained minister whose leadership in black churches has blazed fireworks in celebration of melding religion with social justice, and a Jen-U-Wine good news singer who can preach and pray and moan with the best of them.

Only the superhumanly perfected intonation of their cappella group singing, as well as the superb blend and polish of the Chanticleer dozen, will remind a listener than this group is as famous for its Flemish medieval polyphony or its unerring Purcellian clarity, as any other ensemble of twelve voices now appearing before us.

So, forget all the categories and musicology boxes which would seal off gospel music from pre-Bach cathedral masters of polyphony. With this CD we can just revel in the mysteries of good music, regardless. Yeah, Josquin, I'm talking bout you - Sit down servant, there's plenty good room.

Five stars. Highly recommended.

Crystalline.......2005-04-08

I'm not a huge fan of gospel, because I find it to be led by emotion, and musically undisciplined. Rousing, yes - but a little goes a long, long way. I've also found most gospel recordings to be sonically challenged. Almost as if microphones were incapable of capturing the music with clarity. None of this holds true for "How Sweet the Sound." This is a beautifully recorded cd, and every tune is both musically precise, and emotionally resonant. It is, however, a little hard to listen to in one sitting because of the "sameness" of the arrangements. That's a small quibble - who says any cd has to be experienced all at once - and "There is a Balm in Gilead," alone is worth the price of admission.

Best Chanticleer CD Yet.......2005-02-01

This is the Best Chanticleer CD yet. I have listened to it dozens of times. Money well spent. I have even given copies to several of my friends.

How Angry the Sound?.......2005-01-02

My daughter gave me this CD, because, while I'm not religious, I'm a long time fan of gospel music. The first pass through the record, I found myself wandering off to other tasks. So, the second time I put it on the player I forced myself to sit completely through the record. I'm not familiar with Chanticleer, so I had no idea whey she thought I'd like it, but she's is right more often than not. This would be one of the "not" times.

I guess this as an attempt to make gospel music "hip." With songs like "Jesus Hits Like An Atomic Bomb" and "What You Gon' Do When the World's On Fire?" the lyrics are like walking a American urban street being threatened by strangers. Far from being uplifting, the songs are decidedly unfriendly. The feel of the music reminded more of the howling noises I suffered as a forced member of my parent's Kansas Methodist Church than the sweet, honest sounds of real gospel music. That intangible thing I get from listening to gospel music that is heartfelt and painfully honest, even if deluded, was nowhere to be heard in "How Sweet the Sound." Instead, the music is chant-like, monotonous, and cold.

I would not recommend this record to anyone outside of the Midwest. If you miss the sterile sounds of a Midwestern protestant church in full howl, this might be your cup of weak wine. If gospel music is what you're looking for, look elsewhere.

This CD is the bomb!.......2004-11-28

From "Jesus Hits Like an Atom Bomb" to "Amazing Grace", this CD is packed with glorius gospel spirituals and terrific talent. Highly recommend to music lovers of all faiths!

The Ultimate Gilbert & Sullivan Collection

Average customer rating:

Well worth the price
Not Exactly "The Ultimate" Collection...
Where's the chicks?!?!
Not quite the ultimate....
Great Music - Questionable Selection

The Ultimate Gilbert & Sullivan Collection
Arthur Sullivan , Isidore Godfrey , Royston Nash , New Symphony Orchestra of London , Royal Philharmonic Orchestra , Colin Wright , Donald Adams , George Cook , Gillian Knight , Jean Hindmarsh , Jeffrey Skitch , John Ayldon , John Reed , Joyce Wright , Kenneth Sandford , Lyndsie Holland , Owen Brannigan , Pauline Wales , Peggy Ann Jones , Thomas Round , Valerie Masterson , and D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

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Operettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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Similar Items:

The Best of Gilbert & Sullivan
Gilbert & Sullivan - Highlights from The Mikado, The Pirates of Penzance, H.M.S. Pinafore, The Yeomen of the Guard, Trial of Jury
Topsy-Turvy - The Music of Gilbert & Sullivan: From the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Topsy-Turvy
The Complete Annotated Gilbert & Sullivan

ASIN: B000007OU0
Release Date: 1998-06-09

Tracks:

H.M.S. Pinafore: We Shall Sail The Ocean Blue
H.M.S. Pinafore: I'm Called Little Buttercup
H.M.S. Pinafore: My Galant Crew, Good Morning
H.M.S. Pinafore: I'm The Monarch Of The Sea
H.M.S. Pinafore: When I Was A Lad
H.M.S. Pinafore: Nevermind The Why And Wherefore
H.M.S. Pinafore: Kind Captain, I've Important Information
H.M.S. Pinafore: Carefully On Tip - Toe Stealing
H.M.S. Pinafore: For He Is An Englishman
The Pirates Of Penzance: I Am The Very Model Of A Modern Major - General
The Pirates Of Penzance: When A Felon's Not Engaged In His Employment
The Pirates Of Penzance: With Cat Like Tread
The Sorcerer: My Name Is John Wellinton Wells
The Gondoliers: Take A Pair Of Sparkling Eyes
Patience: If You're Anxious To Shine
The Mikado: If You Want To Know Who We Are
The Mikado: A Wand'ring Minstrel I
The Mikado: Behold The Lord High Executioner
The Mikado: As Someday It May Happen
The Mikado: Three Little Maids From School Are We
The Mikado: The Sun Whose Rays Are All Ablaze
The Mikado: Here's A How - De - Do!
The Mikado: From Ev'ry Kind Of Man Obedience I Expect
The Mikado: A More Humane Mikado Never Did In Japan Exist
The Mikado: The Criminal Cried As He Dropp'd Him Down
The Mikado: The Flowers That Bloom In The Spring, Tra La
The Mikado: On A Tree By A River A Little Tom Tit
The Mikado: There Is Beauty In The Bellow Of The Blast
The Mikado: For He's Gone And Married Yum-Yum

Customer Reviews:

Well worth the price.......2006-04-13

I love this CD. No, despite its name it is not the "ultimate" collection, as scarcely could be expected from a single CD. It is heavy on Mikado, as others have stated. It leaves out things I would have included and includes things I would have left out. But the performances are wonderful, traditional and all you expect from G&S. Considering the low price, it is well worth including in your G&S collection ... as PART of your collection. After the disappointment of the godawful Opera World video series (Don't buy it!) this CD is a joy and a relief.

Not Exactly "The Ultimate" Collection..........2004-12-23

It seems that a collection of Gilbert & Sullivan music that has the name "The Ultimate Collection" in its title would boast a wide range of music, but I found the selection disappointing. Half of the tracks are songs from The Mikado, and the other half is divided between five... yes, FIVE other operettas. This means that the representation from each operetta is awfully scant. I would have liked to see less Mikado and more of everything else, and perhaps some highlights from the more obscure operettas (Princess Ida and The Sorcerer, namely).

In addition, while most of the music is very well performed, some of the vocalists either go a bit overboard or, at the very opposite end, seem to lack expression. For example, this Nanki-Poo (in The Mikado) seems to be overly occupied with vibrato. Katisha's voice is annoying, and The Mikado's low voice often seems to lack feeling and humor. The other idiosyncracies, like the very frightening evil laughing during "A More Humane Mikado" and hissing during "Three Little Maids" really bug me.

Then again, I'm new to Gilbert and Sullivan, and was introduced to the music through the Topsy Turvy soundtrack, which has a noticeably less operatic style, and hardly includes "stage noise"... so perhaps all this is the norm. Do listen to the tracks for yourself, though, before you purchase the CD. Personally, I find that the Topsy Turvy soundtrack, while considerably less ecompassing, is much lighthearted and easier listening.

Where's the chicks?!?!.......2003-05-15

It wouldn't be G&S if not for the ladies - so where are they? How could they leave out Mabel's aria - or Josephine's!? The only female aria included on this disc comes from Mikado, which is the least exciting (if G&S could be un-exciting) of the three! Everything else on the recording is great, but I am still quite disappointed.

Not quite the ultimate...........2002-03-25

This is a great collection, but unfortunately it doesn't have songs from all the works of G&S. Most notably, there is nothing from the "Yeoman of the Guard". I still reccommed it however as John Reed is wonderful!!

Great Music - Questionable Selection.......2002-02-05

It's an ongoing challenge to find a recording of Gilbert and Sullivan that combines premium musicality and great theatrical performance. This recording is a true gem on both fronts. My only complaint is that for a "Best of" collection, this compilation is Mikado-heavy and scarcely touches on highlights from other masterpieces, particularly The Pirates of Penzance. This would be my favorite G&S CD of all time, of only it included tracks like "When the Foeman Bares his Steel," "Poor Wand'ring One," and "Dry the Glist'ning Tear," but then again, I guess there's no real consensus as to which are Gilbert and Sullivan's best works, and there are too many to fit on one CD.

The Essential Leontyne Price: Spirituals, Hymns & Sacred Songs

Average customer rating:

The Price Club
A living legend
not your daddy's old timey spiritual
Immaculate Vocals of Leontyne Price
Great Gospel Stuff

The Essential Leontyne Price: Spirituals, Hymns & Sacred Songs

Manufacturer: RCA
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Price, Leontyne | Divas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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Spirituals

ASIN: B000003FWE
Release Date: 1997-01-14

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:

Classy,Romantic, And Stirring.
Lovely - Just Lovely!
Encore!
Captivating
Sarah Brightman's Best

Encore
Sarah Brightman , Andrew Lloyd Webber , Richard Rodgers , Burton Lane , Peter Greenwell , Stephen Sondheim , George Gershwin , Giacomo Puccini , Harry Rabinowitz , and Michael Reed
Manufacturer: Decca Broadway
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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Sarah Brightman Classics
Eden (US Release - 16 tracks)
Surrender
Fly
Time to Say Goodbye

ASIN: B00005KBBX
Release Date: 2002-04-23

Tracks:

Whistle Down The Wind (Whistle Down The Wind)
Away From You (Rex)
Guardami (With One Look - Italian Version) (Sunset Boulevard)
Think Of Me (The Phantom Of The Opera)
One More Walk Around The Garden (Carmelina)
Surrender (Sunset Boulevard)
If I Ever Fall In Love Again (The Crooked Mile)
Half A Moment (Jeeves)
Piano (Memory - Italian Version) (Cats)
What More Do I Need (Saturday Night)
There Is More To Love (Apects Of Love)
The Last Man In My Life (Song And Dance)
In The Mandarin's Orchid Garden (East Is West)
Nothing Like You've Ever Known (Tell Me On A Sunday & Song And Dance)
Chil Il Bel Sogno Di Doretta (La Rondine)

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In a career that's veered from '70s pop chanteuse to Broadway star and neo-operatic diva, Sarah Brightman has brought a critics-be-damned sense of dramatic scale to nearly every project she's tackled. As the title suggests, the tracks here are largely culled from her Songs That Got Away and Surrender song anthologies, although they do include four previously unreleased outtakes from those collections. Her 1998 recording of the title song from ex-husband Andrew Lloyd Webber's Whistle Down the Wind succeeds by emphasizing its melodic grace with a deft, airy touch, while the remainder rescue worthy songs from obscure or failed musicals. From Lerner and Lane's 1959 Carmelina comes the lovely "One More Walk Around the Garden." Stephen Sondheim's youthful 1954 debut, Saturday Night, yields a sprightly take on "What More Do I Need," while an operatic reading of "In the Mandarin's Orchid Garden," from the Gershwins' unproduced 1929 East Is West, is also included. If the selection leans a little too heavily on the Lloyd Webber connection elsewhere (including Italian versions of "Guardami (With One Look)" from Sunset Boulevard and "Piano (Memory)" from Cats delivered in her patently restraint-free soprano), they're only reminders that shrewdness has hardly been the least of Brightman's talents. --Jerry McCulley

Customer Reviews:

Classy,Romantic, And Stirring........2007-03-09

Encore is the perfect CD for those who love diversity. Classy, Romantic and Stirring. My two favorites are Piano and One More Walk Around The Garden.
Piano (Memory)is even more soul stirring in Italian than the english version.If the english version was perfection she improved upon it. One More Walk Around The Garden is sad and soul stirring bringing a tear to the eye on every play.Sarah sings her way through every song with the voice that earned her the title Angel of Music.Everyone a Gem. A must have for every true fan.

Lovely - Just Lovely!.......2007-01-04

Overall I was very pleased with the content and quality of this CD. Once again, Sarah sings beautifully. I rated this 4 stars instead of 5 simply because, like another reviewer, I, too, felt that it contained too much old material. I used to enjoy 'Memory' but it's been overdone to the point that I cringe when I hear it now. It's sung in Italian here and called 'Piano' but it's still 'Memory'.

I especially liked 'One More Walk Around the Garden' (Carmelina), 'There is More to Love' (Aspects of Love), 'The Last Man in My Life' (Song and Dance) and 'Chi Il Bel Sogno Di Doretta' (La Rondine). 'If I Ever Fall In Love Again' (The Crooked Mile) is especially well done as well.

I do enjoy playing the CD but I find that I pick the songs that I play rather than allowing it to play all the way through.

Encore!.......2005-05-29

The title of the CD is perfect. Sarah has a beautiful and flawless voice and her singing just pulls you in. If you like Sarah Brightman, this is a wonderful CD to add to your collection. I have only started to collect her CDs from concerts she has done and I love every single one of them! BUY THIS!! You won't regret it!!!

Captivating.......2004-12-25

Sarah Brightman sings beautifully. That's not even up for debate. Her choice of material is generally interesting as well. She runs through a wide variety of genre and regularly comes up with excellent pieces from each of them.

`Encore' is a compilation of material recorded between the late 1980's and 2001. It features strong renditions of `Away from You' by Rodgers and Harnick and `In the Mandarin's Garden' by George and Ira Gershwin. The orchestration on `If I ever Fall in Love Again' is a bit overblown but she sings the piece with sincerity, and very well. Her cover of Lane and Lerner's `One More Walk Around the Garden' is a thing of beauty. The same can be said for her handling of Sondheim's `What More Do I Need'. The weakest moment in the set comes during Puccini's `Chi Il Bel Di Doretta'. She sings it well but her voice doesn't quite have the pure power needed for the piece and there are moments where the strain shows.

Sarah Brightman really shines when she sings music written by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Her voice takes on an extra richness. He wrote the music for nine of the fifteen cuts on this release and can be identified as the composer of each one just by the tone her voice takes on when she begins singing any one of them. It's softer, richer, more expressive- it's as if there's an extra facet in her voice and spirit just for his compositions. He produced this collection but I don't believe that was a factor. The same thing struck me when she performed the material from the Phantom of the Opera that appeared on her La Luna concert DVD. `Think of Me' as performed by her was the song that attracted me to her voice even when I was less than sure of the scope of her talent. The recording here is the recording from `Phantom' and it's still stunning. `Piano' is hauntingly beautiful. `The Last Man in My Life' is given a ravishing performance. `Half a Moment' is devastating. The list goes on. There's not a weak cut from among his material. Webber's songs stay with the listener. Their melodic are lush and rich and have enough scope and variety to remain interesting over a long period of time. His orchestration is sumptuous, elaborately textured and a little sweet in the way that touches the listener as a caress. When she sings them they become all they can be. This isn't his music or hers. It's their music.

This is an excellent collection because of the way it showcases this. The material here has been (unkindly) labelled as `ear worms'. To an extent the term is accurate. Show tunes do lean toward catchy and easily accessible melodic lines. Their lyrics are often shallow. What's presented on this collection has more than its share of all of these faults. It's impossible to be cynical about it though. These songs, particularly the numbers penned by Lloyd-Webber, are strong on their own. When they're performed this well, and with this amount of affection, they're captivating. The quality of the sound on the release compliments the material beautifully. It's rich, lush and always crystal clear. Sarah Brightman herself is always a pleasure to listen to. Her voice it has a sparkling quality that's radiantly beautiful. The material on this collection shows that beauty to its fullest.

Listen to her singing these songs and let them wash over you. It's the perfect antidote for cynicism.

Sarah Brightman's Best.......2004-02-17

When I bought this Cd, I knew that I already had much of the music already, but there were a few new songs. I just had to get it for that reason. And I had to get it so that I had more than one recording of Sarah's finest songs. I absolutely love her and feel she was and is the ultimate Christine in "Phantom." I know I would be in a minority. I think she is past that part of her life and could not play the part again, but how I wish I had seen her. I could only imagine. If you have never heard Sarah sing before, this is a perfect CD to introduce her voice. The fact that she can sing so many different styles always amazes me. I suppose I appreciate that since I am a singer myself. I recommend this Cd to anyone.

The Great War: Classical And Popular Selections From The Time Of World War I (National Public Radio Milestones Of The Millennium)

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Music and the Great War
How a Century Has Change Our Perception of War
Excellent Recording!
Good music, bad title

The Great War: Classical And Popular Selections From The Time Of World War I (National Public Radio Milestones Of The Millennium)

Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Great War
Over There - Songs From America's Wars
Words and Music of World War II
The Roaring Twenties
Songs That Got Us Through WWII

ASIN: B00000HXKX
Release Date: 1999-01-12

Tracks:

Military March No. 1 In D Major, Op. 39: Pomp Ad Circumstance
Waltz Fom Der Rosenkavalier Suite
'Von der Schonheit' From Das Lied von der Erde
'De l'aube a midi sur la mer' From La Mer
Symphony No. 1 in D Major, Op. 25 'Classical Symphony': III. Gavotta. Non troppo allegro
L'histoire du soldat Suite - IV. The Royal March
L'histoire du soldat Suite - V. The Little Concert
Le tombeau de Couperin - V. Menuet
Le tombeau de Couperin - VI. Toccata
Sinfonia From Pulcinella Suite
Walzer From Funf Klavierstucke, Op. 23
Interlude From Wozzeck, Act III
Prologue From Music Ffor The Theatre
'Shine On Harvest Moon'
'Alexander's Ragtime Band' - Irving Berlin
'Over There'
'How You Gonna Keep'em Down On The Farm (After They've Seen Paree)?'
'The Man I Love' From Stride Up The Band
'West End Blues'

Amazon.com

The first two-thirds of this disc is a fascinating cram course in concert music around the time of World War I. The programmer has put together some fascinating juxtapositions--for example, Strauss's Rosenkavalier leads almost seamlessly into Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde, and Schoenberg sounds out of context with everybody (including Berg). The selections are all short, and performance quality runs from great to mediocre, but this is still a thought-provoking educational experience, even though Bartók and Ives are conspicuously missing. The popular selections are less interesting, often campy, and although vintage recordings are used, they aren't always the right vintage. And someone missed a point by separating Copland's jazzy "Music for the Theatre" from Louis Armstrong, who could have followed immediately. --Leslie Gerber

Customer Reviews:

Music and the Great War.......2007-05-14

This is a fascinating compendium of popular and classical music from the World War One period. It evokes all the turmoil, anguish, and also humor, of the age, and is a vital CD to own if you have an interest in the Great War and the music it inspired or was inspired by.

How a Century Has Change Our Perception of War.......2005-10-29

War. Tough subject these days - tough subject since the beginning of time. Yet Americans tend to mend wounds and gradually allow the atrocities of yesteryear to fade into coated cases that signal more memories of 'how things used to be' rather than learning from the tragedies with which war has scarred the planet. National Public Radio issued this excellent memoir at the turn of the millennium and one wonders if it now has the same response that greeted it in 1999.

Linda Kobler reconstituted this mix of classical and popular music with a keen sense of history. The CD is twice divided (in both the classical and the popular music) into 'Before the War' 1901 - 1917, 'During the War' 1917 - 1922, and 'After the War' 1922 - 1928. In the first era are the works of Elgar ('Pomp and Circumstance'), Strauss (a waltz from 'Der Rosenkavalier'), Mahler (excerpt from 'Das Lied von der Erde'), and Debussy ('La Mer') joining the songs 'Shine On Harvest Moon' and 'Alexander's Ragtime Band'. The War period is represented by Prokofiev's 'Symphony No. 1', Stravinsky's 'L'histoire du soldat', and Ravel's 'Le tombeau de Couperin' in tandem with 'Over There'. After the war include Stravinsky ('Pulcinella Suite'), Schoenberg (Waltz from 'Five Piano Pieces'), Berg (excerpt from 'Wozzeck') and Copland ('Music from the Theatre') with popular songs 'How you gonna keep 'em down on the farm', 'The Man I Love', and 'West End Blues'.

The excerpts selected for this survey are exceptionally good: orchestras include NY Phil, LA Phil, Philadelphia Orchestra, London Symphony, and the Columbia Symphony under such batons a Ormandy, Bernstein, Salonen, Tilson Thomas, Schippers and Stravinsky; soloists include Glen Gould, Robert Casadesus, Lili Chookaskian, Louis Armstrong, et al. The sonics are very fine and the performances are each from significant full recordings remaining in the catalogue.

The booklet accompanying this concert of memories is written by Linda Kobler who uses each selection as a pivotal point in the atmosphere of the globe that accompanied the Great War: it is very well written and informative. This is one of those recorded collections that goes far beyond an accumulation of bits and pieces and instead gives food for thought about how our political and social actions intertwine with the arts in a prophetic way. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, October 05

Excellent Recording!.......1999-03-13

(It was called The "Great" War, because nobody knew about WWII at the time and it was the biggest war anyone had ever seen.)

I think this CD may be a bit choppy to "easy" listeners, but for anyone who has a sincere interest in delving into the musical senses of earlier generations it's VERY good! I recommend the entire NPR Milestones of the Millennium series to such aficionados.

Good music, bad title.......1999-02-11

Since when is war great? Life in the trenches waiting for the germans to attack you worrying about whether mustard gas is gonna loft your way isn't exactly like sipping chablis.

Average customer rating:

How can you call these "Hymns"
wonderful collection of magnificent music
Flawed but enjoyable
Hymns through the Centuries
A must own for classic church music lovers

Hymns Through the Centuries
J. Reilly Lewis , Cathedral Choral Society , William Gardiner , Johannes Cruger , Melchior Teschner , William Henry Monk , Virgil Thomson , George Elvey , Thomas Hastings , and John [composer] Goss
Manufacturer: Gothic Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music

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Similar Items:

Hymns Triumphant 1 & 2
Be Still My Soul: The Ultimate Hymns Collection
Hymns Through the Centuries 2
Abide With Me
Praise to the Lord - Hymns From St. Paul's Cathedral

ASIN: B00003XB8M
Release Date: 2000-02-22

Tracks:

When In Our Music God Is Glorified
Ye Watchers And Ye Holy Ones
A Mighty Fortress Is Our God
Where Cross The Crowded Ways Of Life
O Sacred Head, Sore Wounded
All Glory, Laud And Honor
Abide With Me; Fast Falls The Eventide
My Shepherd Will Supply My Need
Come, Ye Thankful People, Come
Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence
Rock Of Ages, Cleft For Me
Praise, My Soul, The King Of Heaven
Come, Risen Lord
Carillon Hymn: St. Peter
Eternal Father, Strong To Save
Amazing Grace! How Sweet The Sound
Holy, Holy Holy! Lord God Almighty
Nearer, My God, To Thee
Dear Lord And Father Of Mankind
In Christ There Is No East Or West
Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?
Crown Him With Many Crowns
Word Of God, Come Down On Earth
The Church's One Foundation
God Of Our Fathers
Father, In Thy Gracious Keeping
Peal Bells

Customer Reviews:

How can you call these "Hymns".......2006-08-05

Not to harp on anyone here, but it's obvious that none of you grew up in a church or environment that had a good choir. I know, a Hymn is a genre of music, but a recording of a hymn isn't one if it doesn't contain HARMONY. If they're a "choir," then why don't the tenors sing a different note than the sopranos, altos, and basses? The organist is quite good, I'll admit, but you're wasting your time if you're looking for a good recording of these beautiful songs that were COMPOSED with harmony, not unison. If they want to sing in unison like this, they need to be stripped of their "choir" status and simply be called a "group."

wonderful collection of magnificent music.......2006-01-18

Most everything on this CD is very well done. The recording environment might have been less than perfect, but that shouldn't dimish one's enjoyment very much. Most of the arrangements are very traditional, with the notable exception of Amazing Grace, which though it isn't terrible, it isn't very good either. Some songs had verses removed, which is understandable, though it was poorly done in Eternal Father, Strong to Save -- they did verse 1 ("Eternal Father"), then they skipped(!!!) verse 2 ("O Christ, the Lord") and went on to the final verses ("Holy Spirit" and "O Trinity") -- which is skipping Someone important! However, outside of that, it was excellent.

If you like sacred music, or hymns, then you'll thoroughly enjoy this CD. If you're a Christian, you should enjoy this as well, no matter your taste in music (and you might just learn to like hymns as well!). It is a well-chosen set of some of the most magnificent, God-honoring music of all time, done is a mostly very traditional manner, and it was done well.

Flawed but enjoyable.......2005-04-15

The huge size and reverberating acoustics of Washington National Cathedral make it difficult to hear any kind of live choral performance clearly, even if you're sitting in the front rows in the nave. The Cathedral Choral Society is handicapped by having to record in this acoustically mushy space, and it shows in this CD, often creating an uneven balance between the organ and the chorus as noted by other reviewers. The repertoire is well-chosen, but the quality of the arrangements is uneven. Too often, the chorus seems to be singing in unison right out of the Hymnal, like any parish church choir at an ordinary Sunday service. Certain pieces do suggest the heights which the Society is capable of attaining. But the group never achieves the splendor that the Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys displays every Sunday morning. Just when the Society seems to be getting there, the conductor pulls them back. And the shrill folk arrangement of "Amazing Grace" will have you covering your ears as the sopranos shriek clumsily, confusing volume with fervor.

Hymns through the Centuries.......2002-03-18

This is not a review. I just have a question. Does "Hymns through the Centuries" contain the hymn "It is Well with my Soul?" Thanks.

A must own for classic church music lovers.......2002-02-16

I purchased this CD just based on the titles and am very glad I did. There are only two downsides to the album. First is the fact that there isn't a companion CD with 26 more hymns! Second is picky, but I do agree with another rater that the organ could have been a little louder related to the singing. Hope you enjoy listening!

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Lerner & Loewe Songbook
Wouldn't it be lovely?
A Successful Sequel
Delightful Listening

Lerner & Loewe Songbook for Orchestra
Frederick Loewe , and Erich Kunzel
Manufacturer: Telarc
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

Rodgers & Hammerstein: Songbook for Orchestra (Orchestral Suites)
Rodgers & Hammerstein - The Complete Overtures ~ Opening Night / Hollywood Bowl Orchestra · Mauceri
Puttin' on the Ritz: The Great Hollywood Musicals
Classics of the Silver Screen
Sailing

ASIN: B000003D0E
Release Date: 1994-01-25

Tracks:

I Wonder What The King Is Doing Tonight - The March To Welcome Guenevere - Et Al.
Wouldn't It Be Loverly - With A Little Bit Of Luck - Et Al.
The Night They Invented Champagne - Waltz At Maxim's - Et Al.
They Call The Wind Mariah - I Still See Elisa - Et Al.
Sword Dance - Down On MacConnachy Square - Et Al.

Customer Reviews:

Lerner & Loewe Songbook.......2006-02-24

If you like Percy Faith's music, you'll like this one. He quit recording and died much too young. But while he lived, he recorded some great music.

Wouldn't it be lovely?.......2005-09-26

This CD represents some of the best of Broadway done in a great pops style. There are five orchestral suites, one each for the following: 'Camelot', 'My Fair Lady', 'Gigi', 'Paint Your Wagon', and 'Bridgadoon'. They are all arranged for orchestra by Robert Russell Bennett, save that for 'Paint Your Wagon', which was arranged by Cincinnati Pops Orchestra director Erich Kunzel.

The works of Lerner and Loewe were a mainstay of Broadway for decades in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, but it was during the late 50s and early 60s that their true glory days took hold. The presidential term of John F. Kennedy gained the nickname 'Camelot' in part because of the influence of the Lerner and Loewe production going on at the start. The songs contained in these suites are instantly recognisable by many, as the Lerner and Loewe songs have become so well known that many know the songs better than the musicals or the composers from which they come. 'I Could Have Danced All Night' and 'Wouldn't It Be Lovely' come from 'My Fair Lady', 'Thank Heaven for Little Girls' from 'Gigi' - these are but the most of famous of the familiar tunes.

There are a lot of pieces here that the listener will appreciate, both in remembering old pieces or in learning new nuances to the tunes.

This particular disc by Telarc has a feature called 'Spatializer', which gives a three-dimensional quality to the sterophonic sound, enhancing regular players and working well with surround-sound systems, too. The Cincinnati Pops are expert at this kind of music, having produced dozens of CDs of popular music and modern composers of musicals, film music, and pops-oriented major compositions.

This is a fun disc to have.

A Successful Sequel.......2005-08-03

This CD is a follow-up to the Rodgers & Hammerstein Songbook for Orchestra (1991) from the same team. It is a thoroughly successful sequel: I believe anyone who enjoyed the R&H will enjoy this one as well. If I am very slightly less enthusiastic about this one than the R&H, it's not because of any shortcoming of Kunzel, the Cincinnati Pops, or Telarc, all of whom are at the top of their form. Rather it's because Frederick Loewe, for all his undoubted expertise, is not quite in the same class as a composer with Richard Rodgers. But that's asking a lot, since Rodgers was the American musical theater's leading light. Lerner & Loewe's musicals were second only to R&H's during the golden age of the American musical, and their My Fair Lady is by any standard one of the best musicals ever staged. If Loewe did not create as many unforgettable numbers as Rodgers, he nevertheless wrote many delightful songs and much enjoyable music. This CD features five orchestral suites, ranging in length from 9 to 18 minutes (total playing time 68:06), from Brigadoon (1947), Paint Your Wagon (1951), My Fair Lady (1956), Gigi (film 1958; staged 1973), and Camelot (1960). The arrangements (all but one by Robert Russell Bennett) are expert. The performances are masterly (if perhaps lacking in just a tad of the infectious brio that the same team brought to R&H). And Telarc's robust sound (recorded 1993) would be hard to improve on. Warmly recommended.

Delightful Listening.......1998-12-05

Some of the nicest and nearly forgotten music (Paint your Wagon & Brigadoon) is nicely compiled here. It will make you want to listen to the full soundtracks again, but for a quick tour of Lerner & Lowe, it is very nice.

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Not for me
Simplicity is Grace
WOW!!!
Who is this amazing man?
Down In There

Down in There
Greg Brown
Manufacturer: Red House
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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