A Change For Life

Editorial Reviews
About the Artist
Pianist/Composer Rick Saint Pierre, born in Springfield, Mass. currently resides in Steamboat Springs, Colo., performs a variety of venues five nights a week, is a music teacher, a level (III) fully certified ski instructor, and a graduate of "the Berklee College of Music" Boston, Mass.

Product Description
"A Change For Life" displays the pure and simple essence of the heartfelt romance of Rick Saint Pierre's compositions. All tracks recorded live at a major recording studio on a Yamaha concert grand piano, recorded digitally capturing the pure and raw sounds of the instrument. State of the art recording quality allows the listener to bring the piano right into your room. These beautiful piano compositions come to life creating a variety of initmate and relaxing situations.

A Change For Life,Rick Saint Pierre

A Change For Life

Tracks:

First Booke Of Songes: I. Unquiet Thoughts
First Booke Of Songes: II. Who Ever Thinks Or Hopes Of Love
First Booke Of Songes: III. My Thoughts Are Wing'd With Hopes
First Booke Of Songes: IV. If My Complaints Could Passions Move
First Booke Of Songes: V. Can She Excuse My Wrongs
First Booke Of Songes: VI. Now, O Now, I Needs Must Part
First Booke Of Songes: VII. Dear, If You Change
First Booke Of Songes: VIII. Burst Fourth My Tears
First Booke Of Songes: IX. Go Crystal Tears
First Booke Of Songes: X. Think'st Thou Then By Thy Feigning
First Booke Of Songes: XI. Come Away, Come Sweet Love
First Booke Of Songes: XII. Rest Awhile, You Cruel Cares
First Booke Of Songes: XIII. Sleep, Wayward Thoughts
First Booke Of Songes: XIV. All Ye, Whom Love Or Fortune Hath Betray'd
First Booke Of Songes: XV. Wilt Thou Unkind Thus Reave Me
First Booke Of Songes: XVI. Would My Conceit
First Booke Of Songes: XVII. Come Again: Sweet Love Doth Now Invite
First Booke Of Songes: XVIII. His Golden Locks
First Booke Of Songes: XIX. Awake, Sweet Love
First Booke Of Songes: XX. Come, Heavy Sleep
First Booke Of Songes: XXI. Away With These Self-Loving Lads

Tracks:

Second Booke Of Songs: I. I Saw My Lady Weep
Second Booke Of Songs: II. Flow My Tears
Second Booke Of Songs: III. Sorrow, Stay
Second Booke Of Songs: IV. Die Not Before Thy Day
Second Booke Of Songs: V. Mourn, Mourn, Day Is With Darkness Fled
Second Booke Of Songs: VI. Time's Eldest Son
Second Booke Of Songs: VII. Then Sit Thee Down
Second Booke Of Songs: VIII. When Others Sing Venite
Second Booke Of Songs: IX. Praise Blindness Eyes
Second Booke Of Songs: X. O Sweet Woods
Second Booke Of Songs: XI. If Floods Of Tears
Second Booke Of Songs: XII. Fine Knacks For Ladies
Second Booke Of Songs: XIII. Now Cease My Wand'ring Eyes
Second Booke Of Songs: XIV. Come Ye Heavy States Of Night
Second Booke Of Songs: XV. White As Lilies Was Her Face
Second Booke Of Songs: XVI. Woeful Heart
Second Booke Of Songs: XVII. A Shepherd In A Shade
Second Booke Of Songs: XVIII. Faction That Ever Dwells
Second Booke Of Songs: XIX. Shall I Sue
Second Booke Of Songs: XX. Toss Not My Soul
Second Booke Of Songs: XXI. Clear Or Cloudy
Second Booke Of Songs: XXII. Humour Say What Mak'st Thou Here

Tracks:

Third Booke Of Songs 1603: I. Farewell, Too Fair
Third Booke Of Songs 1603: II. Time Stands Still
Third Booke Of Songs 1603: III. Behold A Wonder Here
Third Booke Of Songs 1603: IV. Daphne Was Not So Chaste
Third Booke Of Songs 1603: V. Me, Me, And None But Me
Third Booke Of Songs 1603: VI. When Phoebus First Did Daphne Love
Third Booke Of Songs 1603: VII. Say, Love, If Ever Thou Didst Find
Third Booke Of Songs 1603: VIII. Flow Not So Fast, Ye Fountains
Third Booke Of Songs 1603: IX. What If I Never Speed?
Third Booke Of Songs 1603: X. Love Stood Amazed
Third Booke Of Songs 1603: XI. Lend Your Ears To My Sorrow
Third Booke Of Songs 1603: XII. By A Fountain Where I Lay
Third Booke Of Songs 1603: XIII. O What Hath Overwrought
Third Booke Of Songs 1603: XIV. Farewell, Unkind
Third Booke Of Songs 1603: XV. Weep You No More, Sad Fountains
Third Booke Of Songs 1603: XVI. Fie On This Feigning!
Third Booke Of Songs 1603: XVII. I Must Complain
Third Booke Of Songs 1603: XVIII. It Was A Time When Silly Bees
Third Booke Of Songs 1603: XIX. The Lowest Trees Have Tops
Third Booke Of Songs 1603: XX. What Poor Astronomers Are They
Third Booke Of Songs 1603: XXI. Come When I Call

Tracks:

A Pilgrimes Solace: I. Disdain Me Still
A Pilgrimes Solace: II. Sweet Stay Awhile
A Pilgrimes Solace: III. To Ask For All Thy Love
A Pilgrimes Solace: IV. Love, Those Beams That Breed
A Pilgrimes Solace: V. Shall I Strive Wih Words To Move?
A Pilgrimes Solace: VI. Were Every Thought An Eye
A Pilgrimes Solace: VII. Stay, Time, Awhile Thy Flying
A Pilgrimes Solace: VIII. Tell Me, True Love
A Pilgrimes Solace: IX. Go Nightly Cares
A Pilgrimes Solace: X. From Silent Night
A Pilgrimes Solace: XI. Lasso vita mia
A Pilgrimes Solace: XII. In This Trembling Shadow Cast
A Pilgrimes Solace: XIII. If That A Sinner's Sights
A Pilgrimes Solace: XIV. Thou Mighty God
A Pilgrimes Solace: XV. When David's Life
A Pilgrimes Solace: XVI. When The Poor Cripple

Tracks:

A Pilgrimes Solace: XVII. Where Sin Sore Wounding
A Pilgrimes Solace: XVIII. My Heart And Tongue Were Twins
A Pilgrimes Solace: XIX. Up Merry Mates
A Pilgrimes Solace: XX. Welcome Black Night
A Pilgrimes Solace: XXI. Cease, Cease These False Sports
Keyboard Transcriptions Of Dowland's Music By Other Musicians: Lachrimae Pavane
Keyboard Transcriptions Of Dowland's Music By Other Musicians: Can Shee
Keyboard Transcriptions Of Dowland's Music By Other Musicians: Paduana
Keyboard Transcriptions Of Dowland's Music By Other Musicians: The Frogge
Keyboard Transcriptions Of Dowland's Music By Other Musicians: Frog's Galliard
Keyboard Transcriptions Of Dowland's Music By Other Musicians: Pavana And Galiarda
Keyboard Transcriptions Of Dowland's Music By Other Musicians: Paduana Lachrymae
Keyboard Transcriptions Of Dowland's Music By Other Musicians: Can She Excuse
Keyboard Transcriptions Of Dowland's Music By Other Musicians: Pavion Solus cum sola
Keyboard Transcriptions Of Dowland's Music By Other Musicians: Dowland's Almayne
Keyboard Transcriptions Of Dowland's Music By Other Musicians: Piper's Paven And Galliard
Keyboard Transcriptions Of Dowland's Music By Other Musicians: Pavan Lachrymae

Tracks:

Mr. Henry Noell Lamentations: I. The Lamentation Of A Sinner
Mr. Henry Noell Lamentations: II. Domine ne in furore
Mr. Henry Noell Lamentations: III. Miserere mei Deus
Mr. Henry Noell Lamentations: IV. The Humble Suit Of A Sinner
Mr. Henry Noell Lamentations: V. The Humble Complaint Of A Sinner
Mr. Henry Noell Lamentations: VI. De profundis
Mr. Henry Noell Lamentations: VII. Domine exaudi
Lachrimae: Lachrimae Antiquae
Lachrimae: Lachrimae Antiquae Novae
Lachrimae: Lachrimae Gementes
Lachrimae: Lachrimae Tristes
Lachrimae: Lachrimae Coactae
Lachrimae: Lachrimae Amantis
Lachrimae: Lachrimae Verae
Lachrimae: Mr. John Langton's Pavan
Lachrimae: Mr. Nicholas Gryffith His Galiard
Lachrimae: Sir John Souch His Galiard
Lachrimae: Semper Dowland Semper Dolens
Lachrimae: Mr. Giles Hobies Galiard
Lachrimae: The King Of Denmark's Galiard
Lachrimae: Sir Henry Umpton's Funerall
Lachrimae: Mr. Henry Noell His Galiard
Lachrimae: The Earl Of Essex Galiard
Lachrimae: Mr. Bucton His Galiard
Lachrimae: Mr. George Whitehead His Almand
Lachrimae: Captain Digorie Piper His Galiard
Lachrimae: Mr. Thomas Collier His Galiard
Lachrimae: Mrs. Nichols Almand

Tracks:

Sacred Songs: Sorrow, Come!
Sacred Songs: I Shame At Mine Unworthiness
Sacred Songs: An Heart That's Broken And Contrite
Psalms: Psalm 100: All People That On Earth Do Dwell
Psalms: Psalm 38: Put Me Not To Rebuke O Lord
Psalms: Psalm 130: Lord To Thee I Make My Moan
Psalms: Psalm 104: My Soul Praise The Lord
Psalms: Psalm 100: All People That On Earth Do Dwell
Psalms: Psalm 134: Behold And Have Regard
A Prayer For The Queen's Most Excellent Majesty
Instrumental Music: Solus cum sola pavan
Instrumental Music: Lachrimae
Instrumental Music: Galliard
Instrumental Music: Pipers Pavan
Instrumental Music: Lachrimae
Instrumental Music: Lady Rich Galliard
Instrumental Music: Earl Of Essex Galliard
Instrumental Music: If My Complaints
Instrumental Music: Lachrimae Doolande
Instrumental Music: Lord Willoughbie's Welcome Home
Instrumental Music: My Lord Chamberlaine His Galliard
Instrumental Music: Comagain
Instrumental Music: Pavan Lachrymae
Instrumental Music: Sorrow Stay

Tracks:

Lute Music: Preludium
Lute Music: Lachrimae
Lute Music: Can She Excuse
Lute Music: Dr. Case's Pavan
Lute Music: Melancholy Galliard
Lute Music: Sir John Smith, His Almain
Lute Music: Fantasia
Lute Music: A Dream
Lute Music: Almain
Lute Music: The Queen's Galliard
Lute Music: Coranto
Lute Music: Resolution
Lute Music: Mrs. Vaux Galliard
Lute Music: Almain
Lute Music: Mr. Dowland's MIdnight
Lute Music: Fantasia
Lute Music: Loth To Depart
Lute Music: The Most Sacred Queen Elizabeth, Her Galliard
Lute Music: The Earl Of Essex, His Galliard
Lute Music: Pavan
Lute Music: John Dowland's Galliard
Lute Music: Aloe
Lute Music: The Lady Clifton's Spirit
Lute Music: What If A Day
Lute Music: Mr. Giles Hobie's Galliard
Lute Music: Come Away (Song arrangement)
Lute Music: Galliard
Lute Music: Fancy (Fantasia)

Tracks:

Lute Music: Lachrimae (Basic Version)
Lute Music: Galliard To Lachrimae
Lute Music: [Jig]
Lute Music: Galliard On 'Wasingham'
Lute Music: Complaint (Ballad Setting)
Lute Music: Mignarda (Galliard)
Lute Music: Semper Dowland Semper Dolens (Pavan)
Lute Music: The Frog Galliard
Lute Music: A Fancy (Fantasia)
Lute Music: Fancy (Fantasia)
Lute Music: Piper's Pavan
Lute Music: Captain Digorie Piper's Galliard
Lute Music: Lady Laiton's Almain
Lute Music: Dowland's Galliard
Lute Music: Dowland's First Galliard
Lute Music: Tarleton's Jig
Lute Music: Walsingham (ballad Setting)
Lute Music: Lord Willoughbie's Welcome Home (Ballad Setting)
Lute Music: Sir Henry Guilforde, His Almain
Lute Music: Pavan (Related To 'Lachrimae')
Lute Music: Mr. Langton's Galliard
Lute Music: Mrs. Clifton's Almain
Lute Music: Galliard
Lute Music: Lady Hunsdon's Puffe (Almain)
Lute Music: Galliard
Lute Music: Go From My Window (Ballad Setting)
Lute Music: Fancy (Fantasia)

Tracks:

Lute Music: Pavana Johan Douland
Lute Music: Mrs. Brigide Fleetwood's Pavan (Solus sine sola)
Lute Music: La mia Barbara
Lute Music: Sir Henry Umpton's Funeral (Pavan)
Lute Music: Lachrimae
Lute Music: Farewell Fancy (Chromatic Fantasia)
Lute Music: Farewell (On The 'In Nomine' Theme)
Lute Music: The King of Denmark's Galliard
Lute Music: Mrs. Vaux's Jig
Lute Music: Mrs. Nichol's Almain
Lute Music: Galliard
Lute Music: Lord Strang's March
Lute Music: Mrs. Winter's Jump
Lute Music: Can She Excuse (Galliard)
Lute Music: The Shoemaker's Wife, A Toy
Lute Music: Mrs. Norrish's Delight
Lute Music: Galliard
Lute Music: Mrs. White's Thing (Almain)
Lute Music: Mrs. White's Nothing
Lute Music: The Frog Galliard
Lute Music: Solus cum sola
Lute Music: The Lord Viscount Lisle, His Galliard
Lute Music: Orlando Sleepeth (Ballad Setting)
Lute Music: Robin (Ballad Setting)
Lute Music: Galliard (On A Galliard By Daniel Bacheler)
Lute Music: Forlorn Hope Fancy (Chromatic Fantasia)

Tracks:

Lute Music: The Lady Russell's Pavan
Lute Music: Fancy (Fantasia)
Lute Music: Sir John Langton's Pavan
Lute Music: Earl Of Derby, His Galliard
Lute Music: A Coy Toy
Lute Music: Fortune My Foe
Lute Music: [Almain]
Lute Music: Mr. Knight's Galliard
Lute Music: Sir John Souch His Galliard
Lute Music: Tarletone's Riserrectione
Lute Music: The Lady Rich, Her Galliard
Consort Music: Lachrimae Pavan
Consort Music: Can She Excuse Galliard
Consort Music: Captain Piper's Pavan And Galliard
Consort Music: The Frog Galliard
Consort Music: Round Battell Galliard
Consort Music: Fortune My Foe
Consort Music: Dowland's First Galliard
Consort Music: Katherine Darcie's Galliard
Consort Music: Tarleton's Jigge
Consort Music: Almain a 2
Consort Music: Mistress Nichols Almain a 2
Fullsack And Hildebrandt: Auserlesener Paduanen und Galliarden: Susanna Fair (Galliard)
Haussmann: Rest von polnischen und andern Tanzen: Mistress Nichols Alman a 5
Opusculum: Mr. John Langton Pavan And Galliard
Opusculum: La mia Barbara Pavan and Galliard
Opusculum: Lachrimae Antiquae Novae Pavan and Galliard

Tracks:

Consort Music: Mistress NIchols Almain
Consort Music: Volta a 4 ('Ioh. Douland')
Consort Music: Were Every Thought an Eye
Consort Music: Lady If You So Spite Me
Consort Music: Pavan a 4
A Musicall Banquet: I. My Heavy Sprite (Anthony Holborne)
A Musicall Banquet: II. Change Thy Mind Since She Doth Change (Richard Martin)
A Musicall Banquet: III. O Eyes, Leave Off Your Weeping (Robert Hales)
A Musicall Banquet: IV. Go, My Flock, Go Get You Hence (Anon.)
A Musicall Banquet: V. O Dear Life, When Shall It Be? (Anon.)
A Musicall Banquet: VI. To Plead My Faith (Daniel Bacheler)
A Musicall Banquet: VII. In A Grove Most Rich Of Shade (Guillaume Tessier)
A Musicall Banquet: VIII. Far From Triumphing Court
A Musicall Banquet: IX. Lady, If You So Spite Me
A Musicall Banquet: X. In Darkness Let Me Dwell
A Musicall Banquet: XI. Si le parler et le silence (Pierre Guedron)
A Musicall Banquet: XII. Ce penser qui sans fin tirannise ma vie (Pierre Guedron)
A Musicall Banquet: XIII. Vous que le Bonheur rappelle (Pierre Guedron)
A Musicall Banquet: XIV. Passava Amor su arco desarmado (Anon. Spanish)
A Musicall Banquet: XV. Sta notte mi sognava (Anon. Italian)
A Musicall Banquet: XVI. Vuestros ojos tienen d'Amor (Anon. Spanish)
A Musicall Banquet: XVII. Se di farmi morire (Domenico Maria Megli)
A Musicall Banquet: XVIII. Dovro dunque morire? (Giulio Caccini)
A Musicall Banquet: XIX. Amarilli mia bella (Giulio Caccini)
A Musicall Banquet: XX. O bella piu (Anon, Italian)

Customer Reviews:

The greatest songs ever?.......2007-07-26

I heard 'clear or cloudy', from this recording, on the radio recently and had to purchase it. It is strange but it is the sort of song that makes life prior to listening to it different from life after. I find it sad that so many people haven't heard it. There are also many other wonderful works in this collection. Given you get twelve well recorded CDs with top quality performances, this has to be one of the bargains of the age.

Please buy it.

A musical treasure-box.......2006-09-10

Both the music and this actual product are masterpieces. John Dowland's collected works here - covering 12 compact discs - exhibit the depth and power of this composer, a composer who many now regard as suffering from clinical depression. I doubt that the issue of the diagnosis of Dowland's depression can ever be settled, however, it is certainly obvious from his music, so completely on display here, that he was a man with very dark depths and corners in his mind. Dowland's various manifestations and "takes" on his own tune, "Flow my tears"/"Lachrimae" are here. This tune has haunted me ever since I first heard it when I was a child. It seems to sum up Dowland's feelings - at least Dowland seems to have thought so.

The First, Second, Third and Fourth Bookes of Songes, A Musicall Banquet, the keyboard transcriptions, all the lute music, consort music are here and virtually everything else written or supposedly written by John Dowland. Anthony Rooley and The Consort of Musicke perform this music with style and feeling throughout. This 12 CD set is something of a monument to the ensemble - I only wish they'd finished their collection of Monteverdi madrigals, which was equally good (La Venexiana are currently doing a magnificent job of recording all Monteverdi's books of madrigals for the GLOSSA label).

This is an expensive set, however, you will probably never need to buy another John Dowland CD again after buying and listening to this collection.

I bought this CD set on a mild Summer evening of 1998 and listened to it while sitting in my sun room - which a glorious orange sunset in progress, and a glass of wine. It brought back so many memories.

a beautiful journey into melancholy.......2001-06-15

I'm amazed at how many people tend to associate John Dowland's music with a tragic sense of drama. While no doubt this is art highly based on sadness, the "tragic" sense of it is more a legacy from the Romantic period. During the Renaissance, however, sadness was undestood as a very aesthetic way of approaching life. That is also the reason why Shakespeare's tragedies appear more sophisticated than his comedies.

Dowland, a contemporary of Shakespeare, discovered that meditating on a sad theme is, at the same time, a way of discovering a special beauty that we tend to avoid (maybe because of the "tragic" heritage of the Romantics). So, in the end, meditating on sadness is an uplifting experience! This box set is a journey into melancholy that includes songs, chamber music, pieces for lute, some rare sacred music and -as a highlight- Dowland's beautiful collection of seven pieces for viola which he called "Lachrimae" (Tears).

Music for a Darkened Theatre, Vol. 1: Film & Television Music
Average customer rating:

Great compilation - and that's just the first half.

The best of Elfman!!!

Great Collection, A LIttle Too Eclectic

What Great Music

super

Music for a Darkened Theatre, Vol. 1: Film & Television Music

Manufacturer: Fontana Mca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Elfman, Danny | ( E ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
Movie Scores | Soundtracks | Styles | Music
Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music
General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music
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1990s | By Decade | Pop | Styles | Music
1980-1989 | Decades | Compilations | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music
1990-1999 | Decades | Compilations | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music
The Simpsons | Specialty Stores | Music
Music | The Simpsons | Amazon.com Stores | us-stores
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ASIN: B000002OEB
Release Date: 1990-10-15

Tracks:

Excerpts From: Pee Wee's Big Adventure
Excerpts From: Batman
Excerpts From: Dick Tracy
Excerpts From: Beetlejuice
Excerpts From: Nightbreed
Excerpts From: Darkman
Excerpts From: Back To School
Excerpts From: Midnight Run
Excerpts From: Wisdom
Excerpts From: Hot To Trot
Excerpts From: Big Top Pee Wee
Excerpts From: The Simpsons
Excerpts From: Alfred Hitchcock Presents: The Jar
Excerpts From: Tales From The Crypt
Excerpts From: Face Like A Frog
Excerpts From: Forbidden Zone
Excerpts From: Scrooged

Customer Reviews:

Great compilation - and that's just the first half........2005-09-14

I first got this on cassette in the summer of '94 and listened to it every day, drawn by its thematic range and compositional depth. And that was just side-one.

Elfman pioneered the sound that drives today's movie adaptations of comic-books and darker-themed children's stories. Side-One kicks things off with a rollicking, hyper-cartoonish theme from the first Pee-Wee movie - the one where Pee-Wee searches for his beloved bike. Elfman's theme contains layers of different rides - on tightropes, highways, in the middle of a NASCAR rally - which rudely yet melodically crash into each other.

The Batman entry actually contains several pieces - the opening credits, the extended sequence in the cathedral and the climax - which show Batman's darkened extreme at its "Frank Miller" best. (Dir. Tim Burton couldn't sustain the mood in the next sequel, and the franchise took a turn towards the camp of the TV series with the next 2 movies.)

The theme for "Dick Tracy" is perhaps the most romantic on this disc, a quality that surpasses the theme's comic-book origins, but ends on an ironic note that's pure Elfman.

"Beetlejuice" (opening & closing credits) gives Elfman's childish ID a chance to stretch its legs, or in this case, slam-dance.

"Nightbreed" is an enigma wrapped in a dark mystery, and that's just Elfman's score. Elfman's work on this movie is as good as the movie wasn't, having a more powerful narrative than the script - easily the best track on the entire disc, one likely to exceed the movie in its dose of chills.

"Darkman" doesn't quite rise to the occasion, though the score may be hobbled by the movie itself, which seldom surpassed one of the many "Batman" clones of the early 1990's. "Darkman" (the movie, I mean) excelled as a parody of many comicbook staples (the wronged hero, the relentless villain, the scientific breakthrough with just one flaw), but not enough to escape being largely anonymous. Within those constraints, it's still a moving if scary piece.

When is Elfman not like Elfman? When he was in the mid-late `80's and scored "Back to School" (A Rodney Dangerfield vehicle) and "Midnight Run". Horns in "School" bring it closer to Elfman's over-the-top style, while "Run" sounds like a love-theme for the run-down, out-of-the-way parts of America that seldom appear in Elfman-movies. "Run" is a fun score for a fun movie - it's nothing like Elfman's previous work but it perfectly captures the on-the-road-without-a-map craziness of the movie.

To this day, I don't know why I never ventured to Side-two, but it's irrelevant. Even half this disc is worth it

The best of Elfman!!!.......2005-09-05

I was obsessed about getting this CD right from when I heard about it. I found it at the library and was so excited about it, and it didn't let me down. In fact, it was a lot better than I expected. It's a fun and creepy (strange mix, but it really works!) collection of Danny Elfman's film and television soundtracks. The first track, Pee Wee's Big Adventure, is probably my favorite. Also, I really like Batman and Wisdom. Batman is creepy and dark, and Wisdom is just weird, in the best possible way.
I'd recommend this to anyone who likes film music, or everyone who is even the tiniest bit an Elfman fan. It's amazing!

Great Collection, A LIttle Too Eclectic.......2003-08-19

You should be able to tell from the movies and TV shows listed here whether or not you'd be interested in this collection. It's a little too eclectic for my tastes (hence only 4 stars) but better than volume 2. I think thatthe miscellaneous collected ites here along with the previously unreleased stuff should make this worth buying. Especially if you're a fan of Elfman's movie soundtrack work.

What Great Music.......2003-05-11

I fell in love with the music of Danny Elfman when Beetlejuice came out. There was something different about the music that he made. When Edward Scissorhands, and then Nightmare Before Christmas - I knew this man was a musical master. Its the verbal form of surrealism.

super.......2003-04-17

What a great CD. Danny's music is so original and inventive. this CD contains his pre 90's quirky, gothic music. it's all very well written and beautifully orchestrated. batman and darkman contain some really excellent long, dark, gothic cues that really take u away from reality. in my opinion no one, apart from howard shore, is as inventive and original as danny in the world of filmmusic. he far surpasses the repetitive works of williams or horner. buy this, and volume two, and keep supporting one of the greatest film composers of all time.ohh...and buy fellowship of the ring and two towers by howard shore....amazing work!

Average customer rating:

ISSUE RESOLVED ON THE EUPHRATES
Enjoiyable, but lacking, too.

Handel: Belshazzar

Manufacturer: Archiv Produktion
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0001ZWGHY
Release Date: 2004-06-15

Tracks:

Overture
Vain, Fluctuating State Of Human Empire!
Thou, God Most High, And Thou Alone
The Fate Of Babylon, I Fear, Is Nigh
Lament Not Thus, Oh Queen, In Vain!
Behold, By Persia's Hero Made
Well May They Laugh/Oh Memory! Still Bitter To My Soul
Opprest With Never-Ceasing Grief
Dry Thoes Unavailing Tears
Be Comforted: Safe Though The Tyrant Seem/Methought, As On The Bank Of Deep Euphrates
Now, Tell Me, Gobrias
Behold The Monstrous Human Beast
Can You Then Think It Strange
Great God! Who, Yet But Darkly Known
My Friends, Be Confident
All Empires Upon God Depend
Oh Sacred Oracles Of Truth!
Rejoyce, My Countrymen
Sing, Oh Ye Heav'ns!

Tracks:

Let Festal Joy Triumphant Reign!
For You, My Friends
The Leafy Honours Of The Field
It Is The Custom, I May Say, The Law
Recall, Oh King! Thy Rash Command
They Tell You True
Oh Dearer Than My Life, Forebear!
By Slow Degrees The Wrath Of God
See, From His Post Euphrates Flies!
You See, My Friends, A Path
Amaz'd To Find The Foe So Near
To Arms, To Arms! No More Delay!
Ye Tutelar Gods Of Our Empire
Let The Deep Bowl Thy Praise Confess
Where Is The God Of Judah's Boasted Pow'r?
Call All My Wise Men

Tracks:

A Singony (Allegro Postillions)
Ye Sages! Welcome Always To Your King/Alas! Too Hard A Task The King Imposes
Oh Misery! - Oh Terror! - Hopeless Grief!
Oh King, Live For Ever!
No! To Thyself Thy Trifles Be
Yet, To Obey His Dread Command
Oh Sentence To Severe!
Oh God Of Truth! Oh Faithful Guide!
You, Gobrias, Lead Directly To The Palace
Oh Glorious Prince!
Alternate Hopes And Fears
Fain Would I Hope
Can The Black Aethiop Change His Skin?
My Hopes Revive
Bel Boweth Down!
I Thank, Thee, Sesach
A Martial Symphony
To Pow'e Immortal My First Thanks
Be It Thy Care, Good Gobrias
Great Victor, At Your Feet I Bow
Say, Venerable Prophet
Tell It Out Among The Heathen
Yes, I Will Build Thy City
I Will Magnify Thee

Customer Reviews:

ISSUE RESOLVED ON THE EUPHRATES.......2005-06-19

One question I might find among the more difficult in my life would be - which is my favourite Handel oratorio? I suspect that my answer would generally be 'the one I heard most recently', and that, as I write this, is Belshazzar. It is a magnificent thing, a heavenly thing. It has taken me longer than it should have to come to an appreciation of what makes Handel the phenomenon - as a genius, as an artist, as a craftsman - that he is, but I am comforted to reflect that no less a genius than Haydn, at the age of nearly 70 gaining a more thorough knowledge of Handel in performance, was driven to say that he felt a mere apprentice. In his sense of how to pace a dramatic narrative, in his instinct for how to use the human voice in song and above all in chorus, in the matchless flexibility and adroitness he displays at word-setting and in the audacity of his melodic and harmonic effects I can think of nobody who can approach Handel on his own terms.

Belshazzar was not a great success at the box-office, although this may have had more to do with difficulties in the casting than because it was deemed insufficiently biblical for oratorio, which seems to have been the fate of Hercules. It seems to me to be perfectly well described as oratorio in other ways too, with (for one thing) the extensive use of the chorus that we find in, say, Samson but not in Hercules. The one passage that cries out for visual effects is of course the apparition of the moving finger itself. Even here the composer can go a long way with sheer power of suggestion, by the strange unaccompanied violin figure creeping upwards and the frightened brevity of the vocal numbers. Otherwise for me Belshazzar is as much an oratorio as Samson is. It has the same librettist too, the crusty and formidable Jennens, who had also collaborated with Handel on Saul and on Messiah itself. Jennens' full text is not provided, but I think if you read the synopsis first and then follow the work from the headlines to each number you will have no difficulty in catching the words, so clear is the enunciation by soloists and chorus alike. As usual, Handel was driven to make alterations to the score for practical reasons. He had been a little concerned about its length, roughly 2 hours and 50 minutes in this performance, but where he wishes to be expansive he gives us full measure - two arias in Act I scene 4 take well over 7 minutes each. The liner-essay (a good one, by Anthony Hicks) goes into the issue of the version of the score used here, and I personally have no problem with it.

I have no faults to find with the performance in any way. Pinnock is an established specialist, the instruments are period instruments and vocal cadenzas at the end of the arias are kept minimal. Anthony Rolfe Johnson, James Bowman and David Wilson-Johnson are tried and trusted Handel singers and at their best here, and Nicolas Robertson and Richard Wistreich in the smaller parts are every bit as good. The part of Cyrus is a soprano part, taken by Catherine Robbin, and when I thought I heard just one touch of strain in `Destructive War' in the final scene she makes up for it instantly in her superb duet with Arleen Auger in the following number. Auger as Nitocris the mother of Belshazzar has the biggest part, and she covers herself with glory all the way through.

The recording is perfect, and when I saw an aria entitled `Destructive War, thy limits know' near the end I felt a sharp sense of irony in the year 2005. Cyrus, Handel, Jennens, you should all have been living at this hour.

Enjoiyable, but lacking, too........2004-08-16

This 3CD set of George Frederic Handel's (1685-1759) "Belshazzar", from Archiv Production, a division of Universal Music, is proof again that transfer from vinyl to tape to disc brings with it improvements in listening that make the purchase a worthwhile addition to anyone's listening library. Written in 1744, "Belshazzar" is an oratorio in the operatic style that is wonderful oratorio, but lacking the true depth one expects to hear in an opera. London opera audiences of Handel's day agreed, as both "Belshazzar" and Handel's other offering of the period in the same style, "Hercules", were not terribly successful. Instead of the scheduled 24 performances only 16 were given and Handel never offered a full season of oratorio again. The Libretto by Charles Jennens (1700-1773) is, as the production notes say, meant "not only to show the fall of Babylon but to show it as a fulfillment of divine prediction and to confirm the biblical testimony by reference to classical history." There's only one problem, as good a quality as the CDs are, it is not possible to follow the full libretto and the accompanying booklet includes no text, which is a shame. I think the listening experience would have been increased immeasurably if one was able to follow the text of what is being sung. Nonetheless the dramatic narrative is fluid and even, and the English Concert and Choir provide nice balance to the less full vocal passages, as in Disc 3s "Oh Glorious prince", cut 10. There is enough of this throughout to keep one's interest, but disappointing if what one expects is another ""Messiah".

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a voice teacher and early music fan
SUPERB
Absolute Scholl

Andreas Scholl - A Musicall Banquet
John Dowland , Giulio Caccini , and Andreas Scholl
Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

The Decca Records Store | Specialty Stores | Music
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The Voice
Andreas Scholl - English Folksongs & Lute Songs (17th Century)
Arcadia
Vivaldi: Nisi Dominus; Motets
Wayfaring Stranger: Folksongs

ASIN: B0000523PF
Release Date: 2001-03-13

Tracks:

A Musicall Banquet 1610: My Heavy Sprite
A Musicall Banquet 1610: Lady, If You So Spite Me
A Musicall Banquet 1610: In Darkness Let Me Dwell
A Musicall Banquet 1610: O Dear Life, When Shall It Be
A Musicall Banquet 1610: Ce Penser Qui Sans Fin Tirannise Ma Vie
A Musicall Banquet 1610: Si Le Parler Et Le Silence
A Musicall Banquet 1610: Change Thy Mind Since She Doth Change
A Musicall Banquet 1610: Go, My Flock, Go Get You Hence
A Musicall Banquet 1610: Se Di Farmi Morire
A Musicall Banquet 1610: Amarilli Mia Bella
A Musicall Banquet 1610: Passava Amor Su Arco Desarmado
A Musicall Banquet 1610: Far From Triumphing Court
A Musicall Banquet 1610: Sir Robert Sidney His Galliard
A Musicall Banquet 1610: In A Grove Most Rich Of Shade
A Musicall Banquet 1610: Vous Que Le Bonheur Rappelle
A Musicall Banquet 1610: Vuestros Ojos Tienen D'Amor
A Musicall Banquet 1610: Sta Notte Mi Sognava
A Musicall Banquet 1610: To Plead My Faith
A Musicall Banquet 1610: O Eyes, Leave Off Your Weeping
A Musicall Banquet 1610: Dovro Dunque Morire?
A Musicall Banquet 1610: O Bella Piu

Customer Reviews:

a voice teacher and early music fan.......2006-02-09

Robert Dowland,the son of John Dowland, is really only remembered today for the two collections he published in 1610:'Varieties of Lute Lessons' and 'A Musicall Banquet'-the subject of this recording. In both cases,however, there are grounds for suspecting that the prime mover behind the collections was John Dowland rather than Robert, and that he put Robert's name on the title-pages as a wayof launching his son's musical career. 'A Musicall Banquet'was the first lute song collection to include material drawn from continental collections, and marked the beginning of a more eclectic phase in the history of the English song.This album was somewhat of a disappointment to me. Oh, the voice is excellent as usual, but the repertoire chosen for this recording lacked variety as well as performing aptitude on the part of Scholl. Over half of the songs were English lute songs that Scholl sang as if they were arias from an opera by Handel. He just doesn't come across with this kind of song. And his English diction is very difficult to understand even with songs that are known. On the other hand there were a few renditions of Spanish and Italian as well as French songs that were very well done. The accompaniments were excellent in every case, so the disc is worth purchasing if you are a fan of Andreas.

SUPERB.......2001-04-30

Andreas Scholl, arguably, the finest countertenor singing today, has released this new, superb album. It consists of a collection of songs accompanied by lute put together by Robert Dowland, a minor composer (1591-1641) under the title A MUSCALL BANQUET (no, I didn't misspell it). It is a fine cross-section of songs in English, Spanish, Italian and French.

Scholl has many "hit" CD's to his credit, including a beautiful collection of Vivaldi songs, an album called "Heroes" in which he sings some gorgeous Handel & Gluck opera arias and he is the male soloist on a new recording of Pergolisi's "Stabat Mater." His voice is absolutely pure and beautiful.

Three fine musicians accompany him on lute, guitar, harpsichord. etc. Recommended.

Absolute Scholl.......2001-02-27

These lovely songs are full of period metaphor, subtle music and complexity despite the deceptive simplicity of the presentation. They challenge the listener unused to the poetry of the period but more than repay a little concentration. If you like melancholy, you'll love it. Scholl himself described this genre of English song as `incredibly melancholy' - but not everything on this CD is, and not all the songs are English: there is lyrical Italian and French material, as well as fiery Spanish music.

These are not easy songs for a singer to do well but Andreas Scholl is ready for them, now: his voice bigger, deeper and more resonant than formerly. His thoughtful approach to text shines, as usual. His ornamentation in all the songs is just ... so. Not too much, and nothing is wanting.

He imbues In Darkness Let Me Dwell with an incredibly dark sound and a powerful intensity that I don't think he could have executed as well in earlier years. The final bars of To Plead My Faith are wrenchingly sad. The Spanish songs are spectacular in his live performance, especially Vuestros Ojos, which, live, he takes at one hell of a lick, to the immense pleasure of the audience; a fraction slower on the recording, but still very exciting. The coloratura tour de force of Sta Notte Mi Sognava is accomplished with almost throw-way ease. The genteel innuendo of Lady If You So Spite Me is done with sardonic humour and energy alternating with pathos - quite a combination. In Go My Flock, Go Get You Hence, he sounds about seventeen and full of teenage desperation: at `No, she hates me!' you can imagine the infatuated teenager flinging his arms about. The final track, O Bella Piu, is a little miracle of interpretation. Apart from the sheer perfection of voice and delivery, he does `pining' so well! He begins with quiet adoration; `non piu dolore!' is a gnat's whisker from a sob but without any loss of control or musicality - no extraneous funny business - moving into pleading in the first `Pieta!', and sheer desperation in the second. A heart-stopper.

The accompanying instrumentalists are all first rate. Christophe Coin's bass viol solo in O, Dear Life When Shall It Be is fascinating. Edin Karamazov - a star in his own right if ever there was - is a perfect match for Scholl and he also gets a short, beautiful lute solo. All the performers are on top form, as are the recording engineers. The whole CD is distilled pleasure from start to finish: each song is fully revealed and brought to vibrant life. Andreas Scholl's singing on this recording is peerless - but `Lieber erstmal Lieder', as he would say (he puts the music he sings before what he calls, self-deprecatingly, the present cult of his stardom) and on this CD he certainly lives up to his motto.

JOURNEY LIKE A SHAMAN! Instructions and Shamanic Drumming For a Complete Journey Experience
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JOURNEY LIKE A SHAMAN! Instructions and Shamanic Drumming For a Complete Journey Experience
Instructional Portion: Rena Reese & Drumming: Gary Sosias
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Meditation | New Age | Styles | Music
Healing | New Age | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000QJMDCS
Release Date: 2007-04-24

Tracks:

Shamanic Journey Instructions
Ten Minute Meditation
Twenty Minute Meditation

amazon.com

This soulful practice has been used by people all over the world and in all walks of life. The Shaman of indigenous societies were the ones who first originated this practice tens of thousands of years ago. They would journey for information in the interest of the tribes survival and healing. The practice is still used today for the same reasons and simply because its power is unmatched in communicating with your spriritual guides and helpers. You can journey to access personal divine guidance, for power and for healing. There are many levels of experience with the Shamanic Journey. The meditation tracks are suitable for all levels while the instructional portion is most helpful to the beginner. The drumming portion of this CD is only to be used during a deep meditation and never while your attention must be focused elsewhere. Allow this meditation to take you to a higher reality in your mind's eye to retrieve information for positive change in any area of your life. There is no limit to the number of times you can journey for information on your health, relationships, spirituality and life purpose. This is truly a life transforming practice!

Guide for Living: The Great Secret of Gratitude - Why Being Grateful Will Change Your Life

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Guide for Living: The Great Secret of Gratitude - Why Being Grateful Will Change Your Life

Manufacturer: Sculptured Noise
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B000QTD6B0
Release Date: 2007-04-24

Tracks:

Introduction
What Is Gratitude?
Negative And Positive Emotions

Tracks:

What Is And What Is Not
Practical Approaches And Adopting the Positive
Conclusion

amazon.com

Why should you be thankful for everything in your life? In the book, you'll learn the secret to attracting everything you've ever wanted in life. And it all starts with being thankful for what you already have. Once you understand the Law of Attraction, you'll experience greater joy, better health, quality relationships, and unlimited money. This book will give you everything you need to understand the Law of Attraction and a step-by-step process on how to apply it to your everyday life. You'll get a better sense of how your relationships, health issues, finances, career concerns, and other aspects of life are influenced by this universal law.

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A century of British art songs to delight those who love them

English Song

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Compilations | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

A Treasury of English Song
Favorite English Songs
Silent Noon
Songs by Roger Quilter
Bryn Terfel - The Vagabond & other songs by Vaughan Williams, Butterworth, Finzi & Ireland

ASIN: B0002JEG6I
Release Date: 2005-03-22

Tracks:

A Soft Day - Bernadette Greevy
Irish Skies - Bernadette Greevy
Cherry Ripe - Janice Watson
Mustard And Cress - Neal Davies
The Lily Of A Day - Janice Watson
Henry King - Neal Davies
Fain Would I Change That Note - Graham Johnson
In Summer-Time On Bredon - Christopher Maltman
The Lads In Their Hundreds - Christopher Maltman
Among The Rocks - Graham Johnson
It Was A Lover And His Lass - Anthony Rolfe Johnson
The Water Mill - Anthony Rolfe Johnson
On Wenlock Edge - Anthony Rolfe Johnson
The Call - Graham Johnson
Silent Noon - Graham Johnson
Now In These Fairylands - Philip Langridge
The Dream-City - Philip Langridge
Margrete's Cradle Song - Susan Gritton
The Heart Worships - Christopher Maltman
Take, O Those Lips Away - Anthony Rolfe Johnson
Now Sleeps The Crimson Petal - Graham Johnson
Love Calls Through The Summer Night - Anthony Rolfe Johnson
I Will Go With My Father A-Ploughing - Graham Johnson
The Rio Grande (Capstan Shanty) - Ian Partridge
Theodore, Or The Pirate King - Ian Partridge
A Long Time Ago (Hilliard's Shanty) - Ian Partridge
Oh Dear, What Can The Matter Be? - Bernadette Greevy

Tracks:

The Grenadier - Richard Edgar-Wilson
The Young Lover - Richard Edgar-Wilson
Betty And Johnny - Richard Edgar-Wilson
Rise Up And Reach The Stars - Richard Edgar-Wilson
The Bells - Nik Hancock-Child
Ann's Cradle Song - Nik Hancock-Child
As I Lay In The Early Sun - Nik Hancock-Child
The Cherry Tree - Nik Hancock-Child
Dusk - Nik Hancock-Child
Peter Warlock's Fancy - John Constable
The Frostbound Wood - John Constable
Chopcherry - John Constable
A Sad Song - John Constable
Rutterkin - John Constable
Bethlehem Down - John Constable
Wapping Old Stairs - Felicity Lott
Long Steel Grass - Martyn Hill
Tango-Pasodoble - Martyn Hill
Popular Song - Martyn Hill
Beatriz's Song - Felicity Lott
Lay Your Sleeping Head, My Love - Philip Langridge
Early One Morning - Felicity Lott
The Foggy, Foggy View - Philip Langridge
Now The Leaves Are Falling Fast - Philip Langridge
Tell Me The Truth About Love - Della Jones
The Choirmaster's Burial - Philip Langridge

Customer Reviews:

A century of British art songs to delight those who love them.......2006-06-26

These 53 songs have been collected by Naxos from their extensive acquisitions from Collins Classics, and perhaps other British sources now out of business. There's a steady cottage industry, year after year, producing the typical English art song, which is usually based on folk songs, but even in more modern idioms is profuondly conservative and nostaligic. Half these songs, not to mention half the composers, are totally unknown to American audiences, but the familiar names of Vaughan Williams and Britten represent high quality, and the lesser lights, such as Warlock and Quilter, are mainstays in this repertoire.

I'd challenge all but the most addicted listener to make it through more than ten songs at a sitting, and many of these pieces are tepid, offering comfort rather than inspiration. The singers are among the best, but Graham Johnson and Steuart Beford, who do most of the accompaniments, are lackluster. I know that won't be a popular comment, yet if you compare any of these songs with rendiitons done by Janet Baker, John Shirley-quirk, and most recently Bryn Terfel and Ian Bostridge, you immediately notice how much more intensity and drama is pesent than htis colleciton reveals.

Guide for Living: The Great Secret of Gratitude - Why Being Grateful Will Change Your Life - CD 2

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Guide for Living: The Great Secret of Gratitude - Why Being Grateful Will Change Your Life - CD 2

Manufacturer: Sculptured Noise
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B000QJMDAA
Release Date: 2007-04-24

Tracks:

The Great Secret Of Gratitude: Why Being Grateful Will Change Your Life
The Great Secret Of Gratitude: Why Being Grateful Will Change Your Life
The Great Secret Of Gratitude: Why Being Grateful Will Change Your Life

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Still

Manufacturer: The Eastridge Band
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000CA37SU
Release Date: 2003-05-20

Tracks:

Nothing Stands in the Way
Oh What Joy
Still
God Be Glorified
His Love Remains
Worshiper of God
Alive
Satisfied
Thank You Lord
A Passion Lord for You
We Exalt You
You Alone Jesus

The Life and Works of Antonín Dvorák, Narration with Musical Excerpts

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An Extraordinary User-Friendly Multimedia Dvorák Biography

The Life and Works of Antonín Dvorák, Narration with Musical Excerpts

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Dances | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Quintets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Trios | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Scherzo | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Czech | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Russian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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The Life and Works of Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky
The Life and Works of Franz Schubert
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ASIN: B0001HOXLO
Release Date: 2004-04-20

Tracks:

Slavonic Dance In G Minor, Op.46 No.8/Childhood, Boyhood, Youth
Symphony No.8 In G, Op.88 (Mvt 3: Allegretto Grazioso - Molto Vivace)
A Secret Life: Early Manhood, Determination And First Love
Cypresses, B.152 (No.3: When Thy Sweet Glances)
A Change Of Job, Marriage And Increasing Success
Symphony No.3 In E Flat, Op.10 (Mvt 1: Allegro Moderato)
Hope, Grief And Sublimation/Stabat Mater, Op.58 (Quando Corpus Morietur)
International Celebrity And Deceptive Simplicity
Serenade In E For Strings, Op.22 (Mvt 2: Walzer)
A New Championing, A New Friendship: Brahms Weighs In
String Quartet In D Minor, Op.34 (Mvt 1: Allegro)

Tracks:

A Populist Commission
Slavonic Dance In C, Op.46 No.1
An Amateur Pianist's Dream
Slavonic Dance In A, Op.46 No.5
A Token Of Gratitude
Serenade For Wind Instruments, Op.44 (Mvt 1: Moderato, Quasi Marcia)
An Explosion Of Popularity - On Both Sides Of The Atlantic
Romance In F Minor For Violin And Orchestra, Op.11
Personal Glimpses: The Outer Man
Symphony No.6 In D, Op.60 (Mvt 1: Allegro Non Tanto)
The Anti-Czech Stance Of Vienna
Piano Trio In F Minor, Op.65 (Mvt 3: Poco Adagio)
Dvorak In London
Vysoka: A New Home, A Simple Life
The Second London Visit
Symphony No.7 In D Minor, Op.70 (Mvt 1: Allegro Maestoso)
Dvorak The Conductor
Czech Suite, Op.39 (Preludium: Pastorale)
London, Birmingham - And Brighton Belles
Dvorak The Czech
Symphony No.6 In D, Op.60 (Mvt 3: Scherzo: Furiant)

Tracks:

Discord With Simrock
Slavonic Dances In A For Piano Duet, Op.72 No.15
'Orchestra!'
Slavonic Dance In B, Op.72 No.1
Dvorak In Leeds
Piano Quintet In A, Op.81 (Mvt 3: Finale: Allegro Con Brio)
Dvorak And Tchaikovsky
Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin: (Act III: Polonaise)
Dvorak In Russia
Schezo Capriccioso, Op.66
Dvorak The Teacher
Mozart: Symphony No.29 In A, K.201 (Mvt 4: Allegro Con Spirito)
Dvorak In Cambridge
Dvorak In New York
String Quartet In F, Op.96 ('American' - Mvt 1: Allegro Ma Non Troppo)

Tracks:

Dvorak In Iowa
Sonatian In G For Violin And Piano, Op.100 (Mvt 2: Larghetto)
Niagara Falls
Symphony No.9 In E Minor, Op.95 ('From The New World' - Mvt 1: Adagio - Allegro Molto)
The Dark Side
Cello Concerto In B Minor, Op.104 (Mvt 3: Finale: Allegro Moderato - Andante - Allegro Vivo)
Home Again
Symphony No.9 In E Minor, Op.95 ('From The New World' - Mvt 4: Allegro Con Fuoco)
The Death Of Brahms And A Change Of Direction
A Hero's Song, Op.111
The Return To Opera
Rusalka (Act I: Song To The Moon)
Distraction, Disappointment And Death
Symphony No.6 In D, Op.60 (Mvt 4: Finale: Allegro Con Spirito)

Customer Reviews:

An Extraordinary User-Friendly Multimedia Dvorák Biography.......2004-04-28

I have followed with interest the series of CDs explaining popular operas by Jeremy Siepmann, an American musicologist long resident in Britain. Each of those is a single CD with a spoken text interspersed with longish excerpts from the opera in question. This 4-CD set, though, is something else again. It is a combination of music/audio CDs with superimposed CD-ROM material (on the same discs). One plays the audio portion on your regular stereo equipment. When put in your PC or Mac CD drive, the CD-ROM portion of the discs brings up an extensive set of hyperlinked text materials as well as links to the CDs from which the musical examples are taken (all from the Naxos music recordings library, of course). Also included in the CD-ROM material is the full text of Siepmann's detailed biography of Dvorák. There is also a thick booklet that includes cast lists (various actors playing various important people in Dvorák's life), an extensive essay about the sociopolitical and cultural conditions extant during Dvorák's life, an longish essay about his major works and their significance, a graded listening plan, an article outlining recommended reading, biographical snippets about each of the important people in Dvorák's life, a chronological calendar of Dvorák's life, and an extensive glossary of musical and other pertinent terms.

Siepmann's four-and-a-half-hour exploration of Dvorák's life and works is in his wonted polished, often witty, prose. It is read gracefully by Siepmann himself. Dvorák is played by the suave-voiced British actor, Sean Barrett. The musical examples are extensive, often including complete movements, arias, etc., and are placed expertly within the flow of the text. Production values for this budget-priced set are quite high.

I will admit that I had a particular interest in this production as I grew up in a rural Oklahoma town settled by Bohemians (Czechs) and came to love some of Dvorák's music before even that of Bach, Mozart and Beethoven. I've already recommended this set to the public schools and town library in my hometown.

I am not quite sure who the intended audience for this set is. Presumably there are those, like me, who are insatiable when it comes to increasing their knowledge of classical music, its composers and their sociocultural milieu. One also imagines that even in these days of decreasing support for music and music appreciation courses in our schools, there are teachers who could make wonderful use of this material for their students. Whoever the audience is, I cannot imagine a listener coming away from this set without a great deal more information and appreciation for the genius of Antonin Dvorák.

Recommended.

Scott Morrison

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