Sinister History [Import]

Sinister History [Import]

Track Listings

1. Baphomet

2. Sorceress

3. Extermination Day

4. Flight 19

5. Hades Paradise

6. Devil's Tower

7. White Witch

8. Into The Dark [Live]

9. Devil's Tower [Live]

10. Night Is Calling [Live]

11. Angel of Death [Live]

12. Confused [Live]

13. Evil Games [Live]

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
Collection of unreleased demos & live material by this highly respected NWOBHM quartet. The first seven cuts are demo versions from 1978; the remaining six are live recordings from various shows in the U.K. in 1978 and 1981. 1999 release.

Tracks:

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

Tracks:

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

Tracks:

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

Tracks:

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

Tracks:

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

Tracks:

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

Tracks:

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

Customer Reviews:

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

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

Beginner or Expert.......2007-03-12

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

Very Informative and Enjoyable.......2006-11-20

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

Frank's view.......2006-08-19

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

Excellent Intro for Those Not Familiar with the Orchestra.......2003-11-08

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

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

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

The one complaint I have is the last CD. This deals with the orchestra. I wanted more of a tour of how the orchestra has been used through history up to the present. Instead, it was a tour of how different groups of instruments sound. I thought it could have been better. The other 6 CDs are excellent.

The 13th Hour
Average customer rating:

Eerie and dark music for the soul

Fantastic!

great music

very cool

Excellent Atmospheric c.d.

The 13th Hour
Midnight Syndicate
Manufacturer: Entity Productions
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Goth | Goth & Industrial | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
Electronica | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music
General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music
General | Soundtracks | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Vampyre : Symphonies from the Crypt

Darklore Manor

Gates of Delirium

Out of the Darkness (Retrospective: 1994-1999)

Necronomicon

ASIN: B0009S52ZG
Release Date: 2005-06-07

Tracks:

Mansion in the Mist
Forgotten Path
Time Outside of Time
Fallen Grandeur
Hands of Fate
The Drawing Room
Mausoleum d' Haverghast
Family Secrets
Last Breaths
Vertigo
The Watcher
Cellar
Cold Embrace
Hand in Hand Again
Harvest of Deceit
Footsteps in the Dust
Veiled Hunter
Sinister Pact
Grisly Reminder
Deadly Intentions
The Lost Room
Living Walls
Gruesome Discovery
Return of the Ancient Ones
The 13th Hour

Product Description

Over the past eight years, Midnight Syndicate has defined the gothic/horror soundscape genre and redefined the Halloween music industry. Their unique blend of dark orchestral movie-style instrumental music and carefully crafted sound effects make their "soundtracks for the imagination" truly interactive listening experiences, earning them a diverse worldwide following in the gothic music, Halloween, horror music, haunted attraction, and gaming industries.

Customer Reviews:

Eerie and dark music for the soul.......2007-03-08

Midnight Syndicate's 13th HOUR is the perfect album to listen to while you write; its dark mood and somber atmosphere are inspiring to me when I write a horror tale. It also serves as great background music to your Halloween party or gothic evening among friends.

This was the first album I got from them and I want all the others too because I'm hooked now. They recently re-released their early works under the title OUT OF THE DARKNESS. Also, check out VAMPYRE and GATES OF DELIRIUM.

Whether you're the Goth type or a casual fan wanting some cool music to set the ambiance at a party, 13th HOUR is an awesome symphonic horror album.

Fantastic!.......2007-02-03

I write gothic horror stories and love to listen to music that "puts me into another world". I'm so glad that I found this CD. It has definately inspired some of my best writing.

great music.......2007-01-11

used for a Halloween party, it was perfect really set the mood

very cool.......2007-01-10

I'm a halloween fan from wayyy back and this is the best cd I've found for just the occasion.

Excellent Atmospheric c.d........2007-01-08

We had this playing in all the rooms of our house during our Halloween party last year, all the tracks going in different order in a continuous loop. This set quite a mood! Everyone commented on the music and how great it was. Just the right amount and use of sound effects. So many Halloween type c.d.'s go too far and become just corny and that wrecks the mood you're trying to create in the first place. After the party, when everyone left but for my cousins and us, we just had this playing in the library and had a ball scaring the wits out of each other with our own "personal" ghost stories. We're not into the whole goth culture thing, but we can appreciate what M.S. is doing. To listen to this at only Halloween is a mistake, you're short changing yourself. Put this on curled up with you're favorite suspense, thriller or horror book for an added dimension to the experience.

Average customer rating:

remaster
Nox Arcana keeps getting better
A Stunning Debut!
Nox Arcana: The project that truly represents Halloween and for people who simply love classical-oriented Gothic instrumentals
A well-woven dark tale

Darklore Manor
Nox Arcana
Manufacturer: Monolith Graphics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Goth | Goth & Industrial | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Sound Effects | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music

Halloween | Holiday | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Necronomicon
Transylvania
Winter's Knight
The 13th Hour
Carnival Of Lost Souls

ASIN: B0006OHMRY
Release Date: 2004-03-20

Tracks:

Legend
Darklore Manor
Threshold Of The Dead
Trespassers
Veil Of Darkness
Sanctuary Of Shadows
The Grande Hall
Remnants
Phantom Procession
Belladonna
Nursery Rhyme
Music Box
The Forgotten
Nightmare
No Rest For The Wicked
Omen
Seance
Beyond Midnight
Darkness Immortal
Incantation
Resurrected

Album Description

Enter Darklore Manor, where creatures of the night lurk in shadows and ghostly sounds echo through unhallowed halls. Nox Arcana invites you to embark on a musical journey throughout a legendary haunted mansion with a dark and sinister history. This gothic soundscape contains 21 tracks of haunting melodies, eerie voices, Latin chants, and foreboding orchestrations to create a perfect dark and moody atmosphere.

Customer Reviews:

remaster.......2007-05-25

the remastered version is were its at. it actualy sounds eerie.

Nox Arcana keeps getting better.......2007-05-12

They are the best at what they do and this CD is just one more example. You cannot go wrong with any Nox Arcana CD

A Stunning Debut!.......2007-04-17

Nox Arcana's debut CD Darklore Manor is a stunning, chilling instrumental concept album that could easily serve as the soundtrack for a classic haunted house film. Very few debut CDs have the amazing musicianship and technical virtuosity that Joseph Vargo and William Piotrowski exhibit on this album. There are unforgettable, elegant piano-dominated melodies like "Veil of Darkness," as well as sinister organ pieces, moody harpsichord songs and elaborate, stirring orchestral set pieces that demonstrate an instinctive mastery of composition and melody. The entire gamut of Gothic music is presented here, and woven throughout the CD's 21 tracks are ghostly sound effects, chilling choirs and eerie narrations, all of which contribute to a mesmerizing musical tapestry. The CD's highlight may be "The Forgotten" - a beautiful, moving piano elegy that you will never forget. Many musicians strive their whole careers for an album this accomplished. The beautifully designed CD booklet by Joseph Vargo and Christine Filipak is another delight - this is an album that shows a rare attention to detail, from the packaging to the mixing. Highly recommended.

Nox Arcana: The project that truly represents Halloween and for people who simply love classical-oriented Gothic instrumentals.......2007-04-09

I was told, by a mysterious voice in the night, that I should seek Nox Arcana and await further instructions. But it all began years ago with the discovery of the Midnight Syndicate. So, I did the obvious and entered "Midnight Syndicate" in my computer search engine, and the lone website introduced itself to me. All went dark and quiet, and the room got cold, and I could see my breath as I panted in fear, and I heard laughter amongst terrifying screams, but yet, I was alone. This was only my introduction to the Midnight Syndicate and soon to follow was the birth of something even better, the nightmareish apparitions of Nox Arcana. I was compelled to bring Nox Arcana into my world, and so I've been in the dark ever since. But, then again, it became a blissful absence from the norm. Although, Halloween is never really mentioned with any of the Nox Arcana CD's, it does seem that everyday is Halloween in my world, and for the past four years, I've always feared that I've sold my soul somehow. I believe that I sacrificed my soul the day I got out my credit card and asked the cyber spirits to bring my first Nox Arcana CD into my home. It was this CD: "Darklore Manor"

Something became different about me. My very presence wasn't acknowledged in any normal way anymore. Was I being ignored, or am I even in the room at all? Something just wasn't right. I've had days that I've stared into the mirror, but somehow, I wasn't there. When I speak to strangers in the street, I don't think that they even acknowledge me. I speak with just a small hiss of words, and people respond as if they've just been pushed by a cold wind. My loved ones speak of me, as if I've departed from this world, but yet, I am in the room. Only when I laugh, do people respond as if they've heard something. They cuddle together, in fear of their safety, and cry out my name, in a past tense, as if I am torturing them. This wasn't fun anymore. It wasn't fun, THEN, anyway.

I wander aimlessly, finally coming to terms with this apparition that I have become. My only consolation, deep into the night, is to take some of my Nox Arcana CD's and my mini-CD player, to the cemetery and lay against a tombstone, and watch the wind swirl up the leaves in a satanic dance before my eyes, while the music plays and eats away at my scruples of logic. I feel a cold embrace of many condemned angels who've cast off all their inhibitions and indulged in lustful passion upon my defenseless mortal flesh. I am consumed into their ritual with reckless abandon. Returning to reality is all nonsense now. My only fear, is that the batteries in my CD player will weaken and diminish this clash of passion of my psychological pleasure and terror.

I am so glad that Nox Arcana has entered my once typical, pop culture world. However, I feel now, that if I should ever die, I may not know the difference. I've been enjoying this nocturnal bliss for a couple of years now and there's no going back. I walk this world in a cold absence where I question if my presence is perceived at all.

If you'd like to share in this experience with me, start off with this CD of "Darklore Manor". Then get "Necronomicon", "Winter's Knight", "Transylvania", "Carnival of Lost Souls", and their latest (as of 2007) called "Blood of the Dragon".

This music is not heavy metal. It's not satanic music. It's just a mix of classically-influenced instrumentals with various snippets of dark poetry and ghastly effects. You'll hear tormented screams, deathly bell tolls, sinister laughter, grandfather clocks, howling winds, and other little clever effects with piano, organ, and harpsichord, supported by rich strings and a mellotron sound, that promote a uniquely beautiful, but yet, horrifying terror that may claim your soul. It's a small sacrifice for the sake of a dark happiness.

Alas, here's one more way that I have benefited from the music of Nox Arcana. By listening to these CD's through headphones at the cemetery, alone, late at night, in the cold dark, there is a terror that I've experienced that has actually helped me lose weight. To be so terrified that my heart pulsated so intensely that I feared my heart would just burst! That, and the accidental soiling of myself, helped me lose about three pounds. Who would have thought that terror could promote weight loss?

So, if it's dark and disturbing, it has a place in my heart.

A well-woven dark tale.......2007-02-22

Though a bit more specific and talky than the Midnight Syndicate CDs (which was my first venture into this kind of atmospheric music), I found Nox Arcana's Darklore Manor to be quite creepy. It tells a story of an house under a curse, and the strange happenings therein. While it leaves less to the imagination than Midnight Syndicate's 13th Hour, it has plenty of frightening tracks for your next horror gaming session or Halloween party.

Average customer rating:

Angel Witch - 'Sinister History' (Zoom Club)
Good for die-hard Angel Witch fans

Sinister History
Angel Witch
Manufacturer: Zoom Club
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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

General | Rock | Styles | Music

British Metal | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Hard Rock | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Hard Rock & Metal | Imports | Stores | Music

Rock | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B000031WFG
Release Date: 2000-11-14

Tracks:

Baphomet
Sorceress
Extermination Day
Flight 19
Hades Paradise
Devil's Tower
White Witch
Into The Dark [Live]
Devil's Tower [Live]
Night Is Calling [Live]
Angel of Death [Live]
Confused [Live]
Evil Games [Live]

Album Description

Collection of unreleased demos & live material by this highly respected NWOBHM quartet. The first seven cuts are demo versions from 1978; the remaining six are live recordings from various shows in the U.K. in 1978 and 1981. 1999 release.

Customer Reviews:

Angel Witch - 'Sinister History' (Zoom Club).......2005-12-02

Angel Witch's story is like a total disaster.They're considered to be by some one of the most under-rated and under-appreciated bands from the 'New Wave Of British Heavy Metal' movement.I've read various good reviews about releases from this UK ensemble but I've come across vitually no fans of theirs.I mean,come on,someone out there has to be buying a few of their CD's.I know I have purchased a few.Anyway,founder/guitarist/vocalist Kevin Heybourne simply refuses to quit.Believe every few years Heybourne actually regroups with a 'new' line-up of Angel Witch.This disc isn't the best they have to offer,but it is a decent collection of demos of tunes from their first self-titled lp,like "Sorceress","Devil's Tower" and "White Witch" plus six(6)live cuts from various gigs they performed in their early years.Pretty much for die-hards.But,if you happen to be a new fan,what the heck!Give it a try - you never know.

Good for die-hard Angel Witch fans.......2003-10-16

One of the greatest NWOBHM bands to emerge from England in the early eighties was Kevin Heybourne's Angel Witch. These guys were one of the earliest melodic death metal groups, and their music was nothing short of excellent. Unfortunately, following the release of the group's first album, they continually went downhill and ultimately split up. Fortunately, the band released a collection of its early demos and live tracks. Read on for my review of one of them - Sinster History.

PROS:
-This album features some excellent live versions of tracks from the band's self-titled debut album, and some other similar tracks from the same era.
-The album also contains a variety of demo version tracks from very early in the band's career. It's quite interesting to compare these to the "final" versions.

CONS:
-Like all Angel Witch releases, this is extremely difficult to find. I almost guarantee you won't find this release in any store - I had to buy it here on Amazon.
-The demo and live versions of these Angel Witch classics are very nice, but for the most part, they fail to top their album counterparts. Don't buy this expecting these versions of the songs to be the best ones.
-Angel Witch (the song) and Atlantis, two of the band's best songs, don't appear on here in any shape or form. Since the former bares the band's name, it's a bit of a shock that there's no alternative version of it on here.

OVERALL:
This is a cool compilation, but it's for DIE-HARD ANGEL WITCH FANS ONLY. If you're new to the band, start with their 1980 self-titled debut album (but make sure you get the reissued version that has the bonus tracks.) Angel Witch is an excellent band, but this doesn't represent them nearly as well as it could have.

Sinister History
Average customer rating:
Sinister History
Angel Witch
Manufacturer: Zoom Club
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0002B6KQ0
Release Date: 2000-11-14