Fire Works

Fire Works

Track Listings

1. Ready 4 Reaction

2. Never Mind

3. Sleeping All Alone

4. Champion

5. Don't Get Me Wrong

6. Sweet Obsession

7. Rock Me Know

8. American Nights

9. Give It a Try

10. Cold Days

Tracks:

Story Continues
Frank Dies
Quidditch World Cup
Dark Mark
Foreign Visitors Arrive
Goblet of Fire
Rita Skeeter
Sirius Fire
Harry Sees Dragons
Golden Egg
Neville's Waltz
Harry in Winter
Potter Waltz
Underwater Secrets
Black Lake
Hogwarts' March
Maze
Voldemort
Death of Cedric
Another Year Ends
Hogwarts Hymn
Do the Hippogriff
This Is The Night
Magic Works

Amazon.com

Big news on the Harry Potter musical front: After scoring the first three installments in the series, John Williams has been replaced by Patrick Doyle. Still, Williams never feels far away. His main theme pops up here and there, and a track like "Voldemort," which eloquently illustrates the soul of a blacker-than-black wizard with thunderous cymbal crashes, shrieking horns, tumultuous strings, and a stately finish, firmly belongs in the Williams mode. Overall, Doyle acquits himself well. He can do light when needed ("The Quidditch World Cup," which starts out like some kind of jig), but mostly he's required to be ominous ("The Quidditch World Cup," which ends in martial war chants). Among the highlights are the aforementioned "Voldemort," but also the frantic, overpowering "The Dark Mark." Note that the CD concludes on a jarringly different note with three songs by the Weird Sisters, the group that performs at Hogwarts' Yule Ball. Led by Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker, the ad hoc band also includes members of Radiohead and Cocker's side project Relaxed Muscle. "Do the Hippogriff" is a fast-paced rocker that somehow comes across like a grungy hybrid of Billy Idol's "White Wedding" and "Dancing with Myself." The other two songs--"This Is the Night" and "Magic Works"--are less obvious, and much better. Still, the contrast between these tracks and the instrumental score that precedes them may not be to everybody's taste. --Elisabeth Vincentelli

Album Description

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the fourth film (and soundtrack album) in the massively successful Harry Potter franchise-nearly $1 billion in U.S. box office alone-features a score by Academy Award-nominated composer Patrick Doyle and three songs written by modern rocker Jarvis Cocker, and performed by Cocker, Jonny Greenwood, Phil Selway, Steve Claydon and Jason Buckle-with all these musicians also appearing in the movie.

Customer Reviews:

A must have..........2007-07-30

This is a must have for any REAL HP fan.....had to have it! Along w/ the other ones available :)

Harry Potter moves on.. and so does the music.......2007-05-23

As a collector of movie soundtracks, it was unthinkable not to get this fourth album of the Harry Potter series. After reading the mixed reviews, I was apprehensive as to whether it would sit on my shelf collecting dust or get a good workout in the CD player.

I own all four albums, and as avid a fan as I am of John Williams, I would have to say "The Goblet of Fire" rates up there with "The Philosopher's Stone" (which really did set the standard for the rest of the following albums). In fact, I would have to say that "The Goblet of Fire" is my favourite. The music is quite simply beautiful and atmospheric. Standouts are "Harry In Winter" (this particular track I can't help but have on repeat mode in the car), "Death of Cedric" and "Foreign Visitors Arrive". "The Quidditch Cup" makes me want to catch the next plane to Ireland! And call me old-fashioned, but "Neville's Waltz" and "Potter Waltz" are pleasant and lovely to the ear.

As for the rock songs at the end, I usually bypass them. Some complain about the jarring disconnect between the orchestral aspect of the soundtrack and the loud rock of the end - well, at least they're at the end and not in the middle! And let's face it. How many people would have grumbled that those songs that featured at the Winter Ball were left out?

I've always loved the work of Patrick Doyle (e.g. "Sense and Sensibility" and "Much Ado About Nothing"), and this soundtrack is no exception. He didn't 'fill' John Williams' shoes on this score. He pretty much created a new pair. Harry's story and personality have shifted on. It would be remiss of us to think the music wouldn't evolve as well.

So has this soundtrack lost that feeling of magic? I would have to say a resounding 'no'. It's certainly a lot more listener-friendly than "Chamber of Secrets"!

The Magic is Gone.......2007-05-10

John Williams is not simply a hard act to follow...he's THE hard act to follow. Nonetheless this score falls far short. There was once magic in the land of Hogwarts.. themes were stated boldly and elevated the story, flurries of woodwinds nurtured scenes of flight. Doyle's score does dare to quote William's melodies at 3 points in this score. They are harmonized poorly and treated even worse. The rest of the score just goes downhill from here. He does introduce his own new "themes." These are presented as boring quarter note string lines that you can't seem to remember 10 seconds after you hear them. The rest of the scoreat it's best is a prime example of dated cliches. The dialogue scenes are overly sappy and the action scenes become hokey in an almost silent film music stlye. Watch the graveyard scene again and laugh, check out the dance scene where characters get lifted in the air as simple scales comically mirror their moves. The most common reaction to the music after viewing the film is "I don't really remember it as being good or bad." If you go back and watch it again I think you story will change. The magic is gone.

Atmospheric...But That's About All.......2007-03-31

One of the joys for me of the John Williams "Harry Potter" scores are the lush, melodic leitmotifs. On "The Chamber of Secrets" album alone there are wonderful themes for Fawkes, Dobby and Gilderoy Lockhart, not to mention Colin, Hedwig and The Flying Car. They're charming, evocative pieces that stand alone apart from the moodier, more percussive tracks composed to accompany the actual movie. Unfortunately, there's nothing that even comes close to these in Doyle's "Goblet of Fire" score. There's certainly drama ("The Maze") and pathos ("Death of Cedric"), but nothing thematic that you'd want to hear over and over again. And what themes there are ("Neville's Waltz" for instance) I find woefully banal. (And don't get me started on the acid rock songs that close the album.) So this is a true movie score in the sense that it's pretty much all background music; it certainly creates atmosphere and serves as a reminder of the film's superlative visuals. But what works well in the theater doesn't translate very well for the home audio listener.

Musically Spellbinding.......2007-01-09

This album is a must for an Harry Potter fan, both young and old, from the mild to the extreme. I also recommend the entire collection of soundtracks to the movies. Each one is full of calm, soothing melodies we have come to enjoy from Harry Potter.

Average customer rating:

Excellent 2-on-1 Reissue
Can't go Wrong With German Melodic Metal
Bonfire is awesome!
Bonfire is awesome!
Deutsche 80s Metal / Power Metal at its best!

Don't Touch the Light/Fire Works
Bonfire
Manufacturer: Collectables
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Rough Cutt/Rough Cutt Wants You!
Red, Hot and Heavy
Electrified
Time Will Tell
Double Eclipse

ASIN: B00004TFDF
Release Date: 2000-06-20

Tracks:

Intro
Starin' Eyes
No More
SDI
Hot to Rock
Don't Touch the Light
Longing for You
Ready 4 Reaction
Never Mind
Sleeping All Alone
Champion
Don't Get Me Wrong
You Make Me Feel
Sweet Obsession
Rock Me Now
American Nights
Fantasy
Give It a Try
Cold Days

Album Description

Bonfire ignited their career on both sides of the Atlantic in the early to mid-'80s. Originally from Germany, Bonfire fit right into the booming Heavy Metal world with their hard-rocking heavy metal sound. The two original albums collected together on this one CD offer over 75 minutes of head-banging music, including the radio hit, Sweet Obsession.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent 2-on-1 Reissue.......2007-05-10

If you look at European AOR and melodic rock today, the different styles are quite noticeable, with British, Swiss, Swedish, and German being the major sounds. The German melodic rock sound pretty much comes back to Bonfire (and later Fair Warning). Bonfire's brand of melodic rock merged the radio-friendly approach of Bon Jovi with the hard yet melodic style of their countrymen the Scorpions.

This affordable 2-on-1 reissue features Bonfire's first two albums in their entirety. Here's what you get:

Don't Touch the Light - With just 8 songs (9 if you count the instrumental introductory track) at 37 minutes, this 1986 release is a relatively brief introduction to the band. Still, you get a pretty good idea of what Bonfire's sound is all about, with plenty of hard rocking tracks like "Starin' Eyes", "Longing for You" and the title track, as well as the occasional ballad ("You Make Me Feel").

Fireworks - 20 years later, this 1987 release remains the best example of Bonfire's sound. The album features a great assortment of hard rockers (Ready 4 Reaction, Never Mind) and catchy party anthems (American Nights and the cover of Surgin's Sleeping All Alone), and as ballads go, Give It a Try isn't half bad. Great guitar work, great vocals, great melodies...great album!

Both Don't Touch the Light and Fireworks are important albums in AOR/melodic rock, and are albums that most 80's rock fans should check out. They don't make `em like this anymore!

If you're new to Bonfire and are looking for a place to start, look no further! If you're already a Bonfire fan and have had trouble tracking down one (or both) of these albums, this reissue is probably your best bet.

Can't go Wrong With German Melodic Metal.......2005-07-22

Recommended for fans of the Scorpions, in particular, and 80s style melodic metal in general. This disc is a fair value too, since it actually contains 2 albums (Don't Touch the Light 1986 and Fireworks 1988). The second release, and second half of this disc, is the better of the two. The first album, Don't Touch the Light, while not containing any bad tracks, is not quite strong enough to stand on its own, having only two standout tracks and being on the brief side -- only 7 tracks total.

Highlights of the disc in order of appearance are: No more, SDI, Champion, You Make Me Feel, Fantasy and Give it a Try.

Fans of the band should be pleased with this release. The two albums display a nice variety of rockers and ballads. Claus Lessman has an attractive voice and good sense of style. He often sounds quite similar to Klaus Meine, especially on the ballads.

Also of note -- the overall sound is crisp, unlike that heard on so many other 80s metal discs, where it seems as if the band are playing from the depths of a giant tin can.

Bonfire is awesome!.......2002-10-02

I got Fireworks on Vinyl while stationed in Germany in the Army back in '87. I just picked up the CD yesterday and it sounds as good as ever. Nevermind is my personal favorites on this disc and I've listened to it so many times! These guys have a nice edge but remain melodic - a fine balance. There are many other excellent songs on here including Ready 4 Reaction. This disc is one of my all time favorites & these guys are one of the best European metal bands to never quite make it in the US.

Bonfire is awesome!.......2002-10-02

Deutsche 80s Metal / Power Metal at its best!.......2002-06-05

Fireworks is undoubtedly one of the landmarks in the annals of 80s metal and power metal. Imagine Scorpions-style vocals with huge melodic choruses, keyboards, and heavy Teutonic guitar. Very inspirational, fist-pumping 80s metal at its best.

Average customer rating:

Healthy chunks of Wagner...
A great Wagner collection from Stokowski in his nineties

Wagner: Orchestral Works

Manufacturer: RCA
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

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Classical Instrumental Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music
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Bach - Stokowski
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ASIN: B0000DBDMV
Release Date: 2004-01-13

Customer Reviews:

Healthy chunks of Wagner..........2007-02-20

This near 80min. budget/German compilation, comprises of most of Meastro Stokowski's RCA/BMG stereo recorded Wagner output, from 1961-1974. The 2003 German remastering engineers do not add any significant sound enhancement to what were considered state of the art recordings from their era. Furthermore some of the tracks are either coarse or too heavy in the bass, requiring treble bass adjustments. Stokowski's great interpretation of "Ride of the Valkyries", with sopranos and contralto performers is included. My old LP of the same recording was just as thrilling. Included are orchestral excerpts from each of the "Ring" operas, as well as the Romanesque overture to "Rienzi". The disc is poorly annotated not even mentioning Stokowski's idiosyncrasies of interpretation, instrumentation, and tempo. So, the whole project has a half-hearted faceless effort put on it. Add a star if your a true die-hard Stokowski fan.

A great Wagner collection from Stokowski in his nineties.......2005-12-18

Stokowski grew to be very old but never venerable. Capable of chasing secretaries around his desk at 94, what problems could Wagner pose? None--these recordings from London (1973-74) when the conductor was only 91 and 92 are vigorous, sweeping, immensely enjoyable performances. RCA has bounced this material around in several previous releases, and the sound was always spectacular. Both the LSO and Royal Phil. sound terrific, and without wallowing in the sonic Mardi Gras of Phase 4 Stereo, the kind he got form Decca during this period, this CD throws the music at us, as Stokowski himself did.

As to the famous Stokowski penchant for taffy-pulling, his tempos are almost straight here, and when he does lean into the rubato, as in the Tristan Prelude and Liebestod, one feels the ghost of Wagner smiling down. Stokowski must be his kindred spirit for romantic fervor. Five stars for a cllection rivalled only by Furtwangler, Karajan, and Klemperer (really).

Average customer rating:

Hey Mercedes - "Everynight Fire Works".
Forget this title. Just read my review.
Great CD!
....Wow.
HM ENFW

Everynight Fire Works
Hey Mercedes
Manufacturer: Vagrant Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Emo | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

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Frame & Canvas
Hey Mercedes
Weekend
This Conversation Is Ending Starting Right Now
The Age of Octeen

ASIN: B00005LQPQ
Release Date: 2001-10-23

Tracks:

The Frowning Of A Lifetime
Every Turn
A-List Actress
The Slightest Idea
Eleven To Your Seven
Que Shiraz
Our Weekend Starts On Wednesday
Haven't Been This Happy
What You're Up Against
Quit
Let's Go Blue

Album Description

Personal vocals, angular guitar work, syncopated drumming and soaring anthematic choruses. Bob Nanna and company have returned with an infiltration of new influences that has created an entity of sound that is second to none. Produced by J. Robbins (of Jawbox) from Vagrant Records.

Customer Reviews:

Hey Mercedes - "Everynight Fire Works"........2007-06-16

I find it very hard to describe this record.

Take everything you loved about Braid, add pop, growth, and even more off time signiture.

That is Hey Mercedes, and this record is a classic. Not to mention, Bob Nanna has the best guitar tone in the world. I love this record, along with "Loses Control. I highly recommend both.

You really just need to hear it.

Forget this title. Just read my review........2004-02-02

If I had written this review . . . say . . . oh, a year ago or more, I would have probably given this album 4 stars. But Hey Mercedes has a weird way of growing on me as time passes. And now that I think about it . . . I just gave "Loses Control" 4 stars. Hmph. Maybe I should have waited on that one. We'll see. I love everything about this album, even that really weird song "Quit." But the best songs on this CD are "The Frowning Of A Lifetime", "Eleven To Your Seven", and "Let's Go Blue". Those songs are the rockinest. Not much else can be said. This album's just really good rock 'n roll.

Great CD!.......2003-10-04

1/4 Alkaline Trio + 1/4 Jawbox + 1/4 Creeper Lagoon + 1/4 Buffalo Tom = Hey Mercedes

Some fantastic songs on this CD. The best of which would have to be "Let's Go Blue"..this song really blew me away, not to say that several other songs on the CD didn't..this one just stands out most to me.

The vocals meet in a very warm place between Jawbox(whose vocalist produced this CD) and Alkaline Trio...and the music is somewhere between Buffalo Tom and Creeper Lagoon.

A fresh and original CD that I would recommend to anyone looking for a solid rock and roll experience.

....Wow........2003-04-14

I had downloaded "Eleven to your Seven" and "Frowning of a Lifetime" from this CD to see if I wanted to buy it. I liked those songs a lot, and I kept listening to them, so I decided "Hey, why not buy the CD, I have a few spare bucks on me." Well, to say the least, I've had it for about a week, and its all I've been listening to. It hasn't left my CD player. I can't think of a bad song on this CD. You have to listen to it with an open mind, trying to like them I guess for it to have the full effect. Every song is just so powerful and amazing. This CD is truly mindblowing. It might be a turnoff to some people, you have to be a litle bit into the more underground emo/indie scene, instead of just listening to the emopop bands like dashboard confessional, (new)saves the day, thegetupkids, etc.
3 Favorite Songs: Quit, Eleven To Your Seven, Que Shiraz.

HM ENFW.......2003-03-13

Good CD with FARM
Good Band with FARM
Bad without the farm...
Farm's creativity and rock solid heavy handed style will be forever missing...

Average customer rating:

Sibelius: Works for Mixed Choir

Manufacturer: Bis
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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

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

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

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

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Sibelius: Complete music for cello & piano

ASIN: B0000016OT
Release Date: 1997-01-21

Tracks:

The Lover, Op.14
Play, Beautiful Girl
Alone In The Dark Forest's Clasp
In The Morning Mist
To Therese Hahl
25th October 1902: To Therese Hahl
Not With Lamentations
Men From Land And Sea
Bell Melody Of Kallio Church
Two Songs, Op.65: The Dreams
The Dreams
The Way To School
The Lofty Heaven
Christmas Song
Festive March
March Of The Labourers
Song Of The People Of Uusimaa
Finlandia Hymn
To The Fatherland
Fire On The Island
Busy As A Thrush
Song Of My Heart
The Broken Voice
The Boat Journey

Average customer rating:

One of the best etudes ever composed
Rautavaara Looks Back at Bruckner

Einojuhani Rautavaara: Works for Piano

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Etudes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Preludes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

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Rautavaara: Violin Concerto; Angels and Visitations; Isle of Bliss

ASIN: B00000JMYG
Release Date: 1999-07-20

Tracks:

Etudes, Op.42: Thirds
Etudes, Op.42: Sevenths
Etudes, Op.42: Tritones
Etudes, Op.42: Fourths
Etudes, Op.42: Seconds
Etudes, Op.42: Fifths
Icons, Op.6: The Death Of The Mother Of God
Icons, Op.6: Two Village Saints
Icons, Op.6: The Black Madonna Of Blakernaya
Icons, Op.6: The Baptism Of Christ
Icons, Op.6: The Holy Women At The Sepulchre
Icons, Op.6: Archangel Michael Defeats The Antichrist
Prlds, Op.7: 1. Elastically Hammering
Prlds, Op.7: 2. Slowly Enough
Prlds, Op.7: 3. Nervously But In Rhythm
Prlds, Op.7: 4. Chor And Var
Prlds, Op.7: 5. Fugato
Prlds, Op.7: 6. Shivering
Prlds, Op.7: 7. Alla Finale
Partita, Op.34: 1. (Untitled)
Partita, Op.34: 2. (Untitled)
Partita, Op.34: 3. (Untitled)
Pno Son No.1, Op.50 'Christus Und Die Fischer': I. (Untitled)
Pno Son No.1, Op.50 'Christus Und Die Fischer': II. Attacca
Pno Son No.1, Op.50 'Christus Und Die Fischer': III. (Untitled)
Pno Son No.2, Op.64 'The Fire Sermon': Molto Allegretto
Pno Son No.2, Op.64 'The Fire Sermon': Andante Assai
Pno Son No.2, Op.64 'The Fire Sermon': Allegro Brutale

Customer Reviews:

One of the best etudes ever composed.......2006-08-03

This is 20th century music, so "Mozart or nothing" fans need not apply. Rautavaara's typical piano style consists of two basic forms: dazzlingly dense and sparse/muted. Both occur in his large pieces. Tveitt, in his later piano concertos, is somewhat similar to Rautavaara in his concertos. Fans of one should check out the other.

The "Thirds" etude alone is worth the price of the disc. It is one of the best pieces of music I've heard. If I were a pianist, it would be part of my debut recital programme. The rest of the etudes are good, particularly the fast ones, but not absolutely perfect like the first one. "Icons" is a scintillating collection that is reminiscent of Satie, albeit with many more notes in fast sections and a greater emphasis on chromaticism. Rautavaara's musical language on this disc is apparent in his piano concertos. The often harsh Preludes are reminiscent of early Ornstein. As with the Etudes, the pieces are arranged so that an energetic, even frenetic, piece is followed by a slow and sparse piece. Partita is a bit reminiscent of Allen Sapp, particularly in the third movement. The first Sonata has a very unusual structure. It's opening movement could be mistaken for a central movement and vice-versa, although the final quarter of the movement has a dense progression of notes like the 2nd concerto or some of the faster etudes. The second movement opens in a rapid expository fashion that one would expect from a first movement and abruptly becomes spare and spacious, space that continues into the brooding third movement, which closes with a bell-like motif. This sonata is very unique among those I've heard, being difficult to recognize as a sonata. I don't yet consider it a strong piece; perhaps further listening will change my mind. The second sonata is absolutely different. It opens with typical sonata expository "pull", albeit with Rautavaarian flurry-of-notes language that you'll find in the concertos. This opening transitions to a lovely and very simple progression of chord, which go from heavenly to dour. The second movement is more abtract, with rather sparse and dour chords in the first third, climaxing with two brilliant "white noise" chords that consist of every note vertically and horizontally in a large space between hit simultaneously, and the flurry-of-notes structure. A somewhat macabre dance comes later, reminiscent of Ornstein and perhaps Stravinsky, while being still thoroughly Rautavaarian. The first movement's chordal progression returns, but it is changed, being more ethereal, as if the notes are moving into plasma (or flame). The second sonata is more accessible, despite its harder edge, because it contains more emotive material than the first. The ending may be a bit anticlimactic, however, since the chordal progression in the first movement and the climax in the middle of the second movement are perhaps more effective, but the ending is rather haunting. Perhaps if the chords were given more space in performance it would be even better...

Rautavaara Looks Back at Bruckner.......2000-10-04

Finland (through its Swedish-speaking minority) gave the twentieth century one of its towering symphonic masters, Jean (born Johann) Sibelius. Others, like Leevi Madetoja and Uuno Klami, tended to live in the master's colossal shadow. After Sibelius' death in 1957, Finland's other composers began to emerge, at least as far as the rest of the world was concerned, from undeserved obscurity. The younger generation especially benefited from what one might call a leveled playing-field. By the late 1950s - and at the very latest, by the end of the 1960s - Joonas Kokkonen (recently deceased) and Einojuhani Rautavaara (born 1928) seemed to offer the most striking profiles. Aulis Sallinen and Kalevi Aho had not quite come into their own. Kokkonen maintained steadfast consistency as a composer, cultivating a modified, even a mollified, type of serialism while dealing in quasi-tonal harmonies and clear outlines that made him accessible to a fairly broad audience. Rautavaara, by contrast, showed himself Protean, beginning as a serialist and then, commencing around 1960, returning, via an admiration for Bruckner, to a more conventional idiom. The Naxos disc of Rautavaara contains three works, including the one that indicated his retreat from the earlier avant-garde orientation: The Symphony No. 3, Opus 20. Sharing the program are the Piano Concerto No. 1 (1969) and the Cantus Arcticus (1972), a "Concerto for Birds and Orchestra." The Third Symphony's opening movement comes dangerously close to parodying Bruckner, emerging out of a slow horn-call and developing into climaxes dominated by chorale-like orations in the brass; it is not finally a parody but a reinvention, as one might say, of Brucknerian "Ruhigkeit" in modern terms. The slow movement combines Brucknerian rhetoric with Scriabinesque birdsong-imitations in the woodwind. The scherzo looks again to the Austrian for its model, as does the final movement, with the familiar marking, in German, of "Bewegt" ("With Motion"). The Cantus Arcticus, Rautavaara's most popular work, uses tape-recordings of Northern birds carefully integrated into the orchestral textures. The description sounds corny but the effect is remarkably natural and beautiful. Here Rautavaara is closer than ever to Sibelius. Cantus Arcticus definitely foreshadows Rautavaara's development over the last decade, during which his idiom has become more tonal, lyrical, even mystical. The Piano Concerto serves up thicker fare and shows the composer in his modernist mood, complete with tone-clusters played with the palms smashing down on the keyboard. This is a great introduction to an important contemporary composer.

Average customer rating:

ENGLAND, THEIR ENGLAND

Britten & Holst: Orchestral Works

Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

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Mussorgsky: The Nursery: Sunless; Songs and Dances of Death

ASIN: B0000CG8EM
Release Date: 2003-10-07

Tracks:

I: Lacrymosa (Andante Ben Misurato)
II: Dies Irae (Allegro Con Fuoco)
III: Requiem Aeternam (Andatne Molto Tranquillo)
I: Dawn (Lento E Tanquillo)
II: Sunday Morning (Allegro Spiritoso)
III: Moonlight (Andante Comodo E Rubato)
IV: Storm (Presto Con Fuoco)
'Peter Grimes' - Passacaglia, Op. 33b
I: Andante
II: Dance Of Spirits Of EArth (Moderato - Andante)
III: Dance Of Spirits Of Water (Allegretto)
IV: Dance Of Spirits Of Fire (Allegro Moderato)
Egdon Heath (Homage To Thomas Hardy), Op. 47

Customer Reviews:

ENGLAND, THEIR ENGLAND.......2004-05-30

Previn has a conspicuous penchant for 20th century English music, both the music I am myself enthusiastic about such as Britten and Walton and the kind for which my mania is rather muted such as Holst and Vaughan Williams. I was therefore expecting a lot of this disc and I have not been disappointed.

Britten did not always dislike Brahms, and even after he had gone off him in general he retained his admiration for the D minor concerto. For me, the start of the Sinfonia da Requiem should create the same kind of impact as the start of that mighty effort, and it absolutely does as Previn gives it. The peremptory call to attention, the glowering sense of hostility as well as tragedy, the lapse into uneasy quiet - this is the way I feel it should be. First impressions count as no other impressions do, and Previn had got me on his side right away. The rest was plain sailing, across a dark sea admittedly, and the power and the sadness of this great and probably still undervalued work are as strongly conveyed as I think I can ever remember.

East Anglia is a part of the country that I am particularly fond of, and Crabbe is a poet who gets through to me. There is something I find hypnotic about the peculiar `tramp tramp' of Crabbe's couplets at their best, so music that evokes that coast both directly and via its own poet is music that I start predisposed to. First impressions helped again, and in the first number `Dawn' Previn's tempo struck me as perfectly judged, with the `lento' not too slow and the sense of drifting mist perfectly caught. The later extracts were pretty much ideally to my taste too, the contrasts in mood strong and effective but not overplayed, and the final grim passacaglia caught the mood as I imagine it powerfully indeed - Crabbe humanised but not sentimentalised.

Hardy's Wessex , and Hardy's novels, have always been a `dead zone' in my own sensibility, and that sadly coincides with a lifelong inability to respond to the school of English music that includes Holst. I suppose I can be `objective' about the Holst pieces here, but hardly in the best sense. They are obviously very well done, and Previn's handling of Egdon Heath, more rhapsodic than say, Boult's, is, I would guess, likely to win admirers among aficionados of the work. I can't say how well it evokes that part of the country because the only places I know in Dorset are Bournemouth and Lyme Regis. I can however report that the playing of the LSO is admirable - in my view Previn worked marvels with them whatever battles that involved - and the recordings, made in 1975/6 and much admired in The Gramophone, are unexceptionable even if not quite outstanding by the highest up-to-date standards. There are not likely to be better accounts of any of this music for some time to come.

Beach: Piano Music, Vol. 3 - Fire-Flies
Average customer rating:

BEACH AT HER BEST (YET AGAIN, AND LASTLY)

Beach: Piano Music, Vol. 3 - Fire-Flies

Manufacturer: Arabesque Recordings
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

All Works by Beach | Beach, Amy Marcy Cheney | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
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Nocturnes | Short Forms | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music
Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
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Similar Items:

Beach: Piano Music, Vol. 2 - Under the Stars

Beach: Piano Music, Vol. 1 - By the Still Waters

ASIN: B00000DMVN
Release Date: 1998-11-17

Tracks:

Four Sketches, Op. 15: In Autumn
Four Sketches, Op. 15: Phatoms
Four Sketches, Op. 15: Dreaming
Four Sketches, Op. 15: Fire-Flies
Fantasia Fugata, Op. 87
Transcription Of Richard Strauss' Sereande
Five Improvisations, Op. 148: Lento molto tranquillo, A Major
Five Improvisations, Op. 148: Allegretto grazioso e capriccioso, A Major
Five Improvisations, Op. 148: Allegro con delicatezza, G Major
Five Improvisations, Op. 148: Molto lento e tranquillo, G-Flat Major
Five Improvisations, Op. 148: Largo maestoso, E-Flat Minor
Tryolean Valse-Fantasie, Op. 116
Eskimos, Four Characteristic Pieces, Op. 64: Arctic Night
Eskimos, Four Characteristic Pieces, Op. 64: The Returning Hunter
Eskimos, Four Characteristic Pieces, Op. 64: Exiles
Eskimos, Four Characteristic Pieces, Op. 64: With Dog-Teams
Nocturne, Op. 107
From Grandmother's Garden, Op. 97: Morning Glories
From Grandmother's Garden, Op. 97: Heartease
From Grandmother's Garden, Op. 97: Mignonette
From Grandmother's Garden, Op. 97: Rosemary And Rue
From Grandmother's Garden, Op. 97: Honeysuckle

Amazon.com

After By the Still Waters and Under the Stars, Fire-Flies is Joanne Polk's third and final recorded volume devoted to the piano works of the American composer Amy Beach, who was born in 1867 and died in 1944. The varied and always beguiling works span the composer's career and include "sketches" and "improvisations" as well as her piano transcription of Richard Strauss's lied (German art song), Standchen. Polk's interpretations are fluid and clear, by turns impassioned and ethereal. In the laudable effort to bring Beach's music greater recognition, Polk is in good company; the Hildegard Publishing Company has recently reprinted a number of Beach's works and Adrienne Fried Bloch has written a Beach biography, published this year by Oxford University Press. --Gwendolyn Freed

Customer Reviews:

BEACH AT HER BEST (YET AGAIN, AND LASTLY).......2003-03-05

With this third installment, Joanne Polk completes her consistently thoughtful, exceptionally performed and unforgettably diverse traversal of the solo piano music of New England's own, Mrs. Amy Beach [1867-1944].

In reviews of Volume 1 ("By the Still Waters") [February 11, 2003] and Volume 2 ("Under the Stars") [October 24, 2000], never having heard any of these works before, and being caught completely off guard by the continuous melodic invention, ingenuity and personal voice of Beach, I had hoped to adequately express my excitement and enthusiasm. There were wonders here unique to the repertoire--- the marvelous Variations on Balkan Themes, Op. 60, the attractive miniatures of Op. 128, the Valse-Caprice, Op. 4, the mournful Hermit Thrush "dialogues" of Op. 92--- that needed talking about.

Volume 3 ("Fireflies") offers, if possible, piano music even more strikingly original than its predecessors. There are inspired creations here, too--- the lyrical, Schumannesque Four Sketches, Op. 15, the delightfully comic, almost jazzy Fantasia, Op. 87, with its slips and slurs trippingly mindful of Bach, the forward-looking miniatures of Op. 148, which subtly recall Brahms, Scriabin and, of all people, Ernesto Lecuona, the atmospheric impressionism of the Nocturne, Op. 107, the wistful Elgar-like ruminations aptly titled From Grandmother's Garden, Op. 97--- that cry out to be recognized and heard.

The apostolic Ms. Polk enables us to do both. By her absolute communion with the composer, she transfixes, her breadth of vision, every thought, whim and nuance captured to perfection in a recording of incredible clarity and warmth. Absorption such as this precludes the notion that these pieces can be played any other way.