The Fairy Garden

Track Listings

1. New Dawn

2. Star-Shine

3. Silhouettes

4. Fairy Garden

5. Passing Clouds

6. Magic in You

7. Earth Mother

8. Morning Dew

9. Wind Awakens

10. Ancient Oak

11. Secret Path

12. Winds of Time

13. Lilly Pond

The Fairy Garden,John "Rabbit" Bundrick,North Star UK,New Age / Meditation,Pop

The Fairy Garden

Tracks:

Bolero
Pavane For A Dead Princess
Alborada Del Gracioso
Rapsodie espagnole: Feria
Le tombeau de Couperin: Rigaudon
La Valse
Piece In The Form Of A Habanera
Mother Goose Suite: The Fairy Garden
Daphnis et Chloe, Suite No. 2: Daybreak
Daphnis et Chloe, Suite No. 2: Pantomime
Daphnis et Chloe, Suite No. 2: General Dance

Customer Reviews:

Ravels Greatest hits.......2007-07-20

Listen to the genuis of Ravel on a clean sounding recording that you can enjoy time and time again without deterioration.Be advised the recording levels are not dampened so dinner guests and headset wearers will certainly be awokened especially at the end of Bolero.If you listen closely the music pages can be heard turning ,nice sense of being there ,get the cd they dont make em like this anymore.

Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker (Complete); The Sleeping Beauty (Highlights)

Average customer rating:

one cold bland nutcracker
so HOT, it set my speakers on fire...

Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker (Complete); The Sleeping Beauty (Highlights)

Manufacturer: Philips
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Ballets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General Christmas | Holiday | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music

Opera & Vocal | Holiday | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music

General Christmas | Holiday Music | Special Features | Music

Opera & Vocal | Holiday Music | Special Features | Music
Similar Items:

Swan Lake
Pytor Illych Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker - Complete Ballet
George Balanchine's The Nutcracker
The Sleeping Beauty
Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake (complete ballet); Wolfgang Sawallisch; Philadelphia Orchestra

ASIN: B0000041A8
Release Date: 1994-10-11

Tracks:

The Nutcracker: Overture
The Nutcracker: Act 1, Tableau 1: The Christmas Tree
The Nutcracker: Act 1, Tableau 1: March
The Nutcracker: Act 1, Tableau 1: Galop & Dance Of The Parents
The Nutcracker: Act 1, Tableau 1: Dance Scene - The Presents Of Drosselmeyer
The Nutcracker: Act 1, Tableau 1: Scene - Grandfather Dance
The Nutcracker: Act 1, Tableau 1: Clara And The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker: Act 1, Tableau 2: The Nutcracker Battles Against The Army Of The Mouse King - He Wins And Is Transformed Into Prince Charming
The Nutcracker: Act 1, Tableau 2: In The Christmas Tree
The Nutcracker: Act 1, Tableau 2: Scene and Waltz Of The Snowflakes
The Nutcracker: Act 2, Tableau 3: The Magic Castle On The Mountain of Sweets
The Nutcracker: Act 2, Tableau 3: Clara And Prince Charming
The Nutcracker: Act 2, Tableau 3: Character Dances (Divertissement): A. Chocolate (Spanish Dance)
The Nutcracker: Act 2, Tableau 3: Character Dances (Divertissement): B. Coffee (Arabian Dance)
The Nutcracker: Act 2, Tableau 3: Character Dances (Divertissement): C. Tea (Chinese Dance)
The Nutcracker: Act 2, Tableau 3: Character Dances (Divertissement): D. Trepak (Russian Dance)
The Nutcracker: Act 2, Tableau 3: Character Dances (Divertissement): E. Dance Of The Reed Pipes
The Nutcracker: Act 2, Tableau 3: Character Dances (Divertissement) F. Polchinelle (The Clown)

Tracks:

The Nutcracker: Act 2, Tableau 3 (Conclusion): Waltz Of The Flowers
The Nutcracker: Act 2, Tableau 3 - Pas de Deux: Intrada
The Nutcracker: Act 2, Tableau 3 - Pas de Deux: Variation I (Tarantella)
The Nutcracker: Act 2, Tableau - Pas de Deux: Varion II (Dance Of The Sugar-Plum Fairy)
The Nutcracker: Act 2, Tableau - Pas de Deux: Coda
The Nutcracker: Act 2, Tableau 3: Final Waltz And Apotheosis
The Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66 (Highlights): Introduction And Marche
The Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66 (Highlights): Scene (The Palace Garden)
The Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66 (Highlights): Waltz
The Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66 (Highlights): Aurora's Variation
The Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66 (Highlights): Panorama
The Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66 (Highlights): Rose Adagio
The Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66 (Highlights): Polacca
The Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66 (Highlights): Vision Of Aurora
The Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66 (Highlights): The Lilac Fairy
The Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66 (Highlights): The Diamond Fairy
The Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66 (Highlights): Puss In Boots
The Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66 (Highlights): Adagio
The Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66 (Highlights): Russian Dance
The Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66 (Highlights): Sarabande
The Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66 (Highlights): Finale - Apotheosis

Amazon.com

Antal Dorati was probably the great dance conductor of our age, and he pioneered recording the complete Tchaikovsky ballets. He made an outstanding stereo Nutcracker for Mercury Living Presence, and that has been reissued on CD. Fine as that version is, this one is even better because the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra simply plays the music more elegantly than the London Symphony Orchestra on the earlier recording. In fact, this has been the version of choice for a couple of decades now, and it's amazing that it took Philips so long to get the thing onto CD. At two discs for the price of one, however, you'll agree that it was worth the wait. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews:

one cold bland nutcracker.......2005-07-08

fast tempos at times, bland interpretation,no emotion or magic for that matter this is what you need in this work of tchaikovsky and you dont get it here from dorati,the amsterdam players play well still dorati ruins it.get his sleeping beauty with this same orchestra its better, but if you want a great performence of the nutcracker get ansermet,dutiots complete version with the montreal synphony,or eugene ormandys 1960 version there alot better.

so HOT, it set my speakers on fire..........2004-12-08

I bought this CD from over 30 different choices because of the Philips label; their digital remastering of old stereo recordings is first rate and I expected no less from this recording. Having never heard of the orchestra or the conductor, I was reluctant and unsure of what to expect. Little did I know what legends were performing here! That said...

WHAT A SHOCK!!! I have NEVER heard an orchestra play with such gusto, spark, and verve... I own dozens of classical recordings, but this one is, by far, the most dynamic and passionate. The Nutcracker's overplayed music is freshened by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra with youthful, razor-sharp accuracy, bringing out undercurrents in the score that I never noticed before, even in a live performances. It is wonderfully overwhelming to hear a live orchestra play with mechanized MIDI precision and still find room for an enormous amount of expression.

Antal Dorati's conducting is legendary, to say the least. The orchestra seems to have a spinning sound, with different instruments flying wildly out from a very tight epicenter. The orchestra gets so carried away that at times I worried there would be a musical train wreck, but Dorati holds the reins tightly and the frighteningly fast tempos work, providing a white-knuckle ride. His conducting is reminiscent of Herbert Von Karajan and Leonard Bernstein, though without the erratic speed changes and unnecessary theatrics. He brings out the best in the orchestra time and again, especially in the battle with the Mouse King, the Trepak, and the Pas de Deux.

The result is one of the most exquisitely tight, compact, and lustrous sounds I've ever heard. The recording quality is first rate; no static, hiss, crackles, or splats. The uncanny sparkle in the music makes it sound almost digitally recorded while the dynamic breadth allows for rumbling low notes and shattering high notes. Even Telarc and EMI can't match the crisp clarity of the sound. I had to bust many of my pervious reviews down to 3 or 4 stars because this CD set a new standard for me. Money VERY well spent!

(And if you want The Sleeping Beauty, buy the complete recording by Dorati with the Concertgebouw Orchestra... Fistoulari is good and the recording will put most others to shame, but the LSO is simply not as alive as the Concertgebouw.)

Come, Gentle Night: Music of Shakespeare's World

Average customer rating:

Ensemble Galilei's music is lilting, elegant and unexpected!
beautiful
Excellent!
It will bring about many gentle nights
Visualizing Beauty

Come, Gentle Night: Music of Shakespeare's World

Manufacturer: Telarc
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

From The Isles To The Courts
Shakespeare Songs
Music In The Great Hall: Instrumental Music From The Ancient Celtic Lands
The Renaissance Album (Windham Hill)
Songs and Dances from Shakespeare

ASIN: B0000478S3
Release Date: 2000-01-25

Tracks:

Mister Issac's Maggot, Chestnut (Dove's Vagary)
Woodycock
Death's Second Self
Jack's Health, Vale Of Years, Jack's Health Reel
Come, Gentile Night
Departe, Departe, The Cobbler's Hornpipe, Third Act Tune
But Let Them Go, Ladies, Sight No More
In A Garden So Green, Childgrove
Fire, Burn, and Cauldron Bubble
The Asp
Rumble Thy Bellyful
Pastime With Good Company, O Lusty May
Irish Lament
Joy To THe Person Of My Love
The Winter's Tale Set: Love's Winter Light, Apples In Winter, Drive The Cold Winter Away, Jenny Pluck Pears
Lilli Burleo
The Scottich Play Set: Life Is But A Walking Shadow, Mill, Mill O', Pawky Adam Glen
Heart's Ease, Now That The Spring, Gathering Peascods
No Longer Mourn For Me

Customer Reviews:

Ensemble Galilei's music is lilting, elegant and unexpected!.......2002-11-29

With their soulful playing and artful, sometimes even ephemeral arrangements, the six women of Ensemble Galilei convey a rare depth of emotion. In the insert notes, gamba player Carolyn Ann Surrick describes their creative process: "[In making this recording, we engaged in]...a kind of work that is so focused and intense that years can go by in one afternoon... Extraordinary music-making requires trust... [We] live for the times when the only thing that exists right then is the music--when the instruments are speaking as if we don't exist, and they are having their own conversation." Thank you, Ensemble Galilei, for allowing the rest of us the privilege of coming along for the ride! It's simply delectable. This chamber ensemble, featuring fiddle, harp, gamba, oboe, pipes and percussion, can also be heard on their other Telarc release, "From the Isles to the Courts", and "The Mystic and the Muse: Celebrating 600 Years of Women in Music", on the Dorian label.

beautiful.......2001-01-22

Sheer beauty, as a lover of English music I found this to be one of the most beautiful of all Shakespearean albums. Such harmony, such subtlety, one wishes that the gentle night will never stop.

Excellent!.......2001-01-04

Ensemble Galilei provide some excellent arrangements of English renaissance compositions. I believe that John Playford (English Dancing Master) fans will be particularly satisfied with the renditions presented here. It is very unfortunate that E.G. did not provide more arrangements from such early music sources. Some of E.G.'s own compositions seem very weak and not in the renaissance spirit of the rest of the CD. Nonetheless, this CD is highly recommmended.

It will bring about many gentle nights.......2000-11-22

I found this album to be solid. Very sweet, but not afraid to use percussion which makes it livelier and more fun. I adore the quiet, peacefulness of the music and the flawless execution of these renaissance songs.

Visualizing Beauty.......2000-08-20

I recently had the good fortune to direct a performance of King Lear--the ENTIRE five acts, in a community theatre, non-profit setting. I used twenty-four fully committed non-actors, who for the love of the ideas, participated in this performance. The first and main challenge that I faced was, how do I go "behind" the words, and invoke the right emotions, etc., to give these actors the range and tools needed for an effective, powerful performance? Critical to this performance was the beauty and brilliance of this recording, which I used throughout the various scenes of the play. This helped the performers tremendously, creating the different tapestries in the mind of the Bard. In short, this work is real genius, that I was so happy that I stumbled across. I am now putting in our performance programs, along with our most heart-felt thanks to E.G., the name of the recording and I have copies from Telarc to sell at each performance!

Average customer rating:

If stranded on an island and had one disc...
Truly inspired collection
Encore! Encore!
Encore! Encore!
Surprised and ... inspired

Classical Dreams: Music to Inspire

Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Ballets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Pavanes | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Compilations | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Choruses | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Cathedral Dreams: Music to Inspire
Williams: The Five Sacred Trees (Bassoon Concerto) / Takemitsu: Tree Line / Hovhaness: Symphony No. s, Op. 132 "Mysterious Mountain" / Picker: Old and Lost Rivers
The Most Relaxing Classical Album in the World...Ever!
Modern Times

ASIN: B00005Q467
Release Date: 2001-10-09

Tracks:

Antiphon: Ecce Annuntio Vobis - Dominique Vellard
Symphony No. 5: Adagietto - Jukka-Pekka Saraste
Gymnopedie No. 1 - Paul Tortelier
Pavane - Paul Tortelier
The Planets: Venus - Sir Charles Mackerras
Old And Lost Rivers - Christoph Eschenbach
Prld To The Afternoon Of A Faun - Dmitri Kitaenko
Summer Pastorale - Jesus Lopez-Cobos
Masques Et Bergamasques: Pastorale - Jean-Bernard Pommier
Summa - Bournemouth Sinfonietta
Pictures At An Exhibition: The Old Castle - Sir Charles Mackerras
The Wounded Heart - Jonathan Rees
Ser in e: Larghetto - Andrew Litton

Tracks:

Apollon Musagete: The Birth Of Apollo - Jukka-Pekka Saraste
Adagio for Strings - City Of London Sinfonia
The Swan Of Tuonela - Paavo Jarvi
Enigma Vars: Nimrod - RPO/Andrew Litton
Petite Ste: En Bateau (Orch. Busser) - Jean-Bernard Pommier
Holberg Ste: Air - Jonathan Rees
Fantasia On 'Greensleeves' - Christopher Warren-Green
Gymnopedie No. 3 - Paul Tortelier
Pavane Pour Une Infante Defunte - Jukka-Pekka Saraste
The Last Spring - Jonathan Rees
Thais: Meditation (From Thais) - Paul Tortelier
Vocalise - Andrew Litton
Mother Goose: The Fairy Garden - Dmitri Kitaenko
Antiphon: Ecce Annuntio Vobis - Dominique Vellard

Customer Reviews:

If stranded on an island and had one disc..........2006-01-23

I'd be tempted to make this the one, and I own over 2,000. I agree with what has been said above, but have a few thoughts of my own. I live near a major city with a known orchestra. Why are classical audienced declining? Maybe they're overplaying hackneyed works, and not playing some neglected masterpieces. In this double album there are some well known works, but some exquisite finds, like Picker's Old and Lost Rivers, Honegger's Pastorale, Arvo Part's Summa (!!!). Most highly recommended, with a good bottle of red wine.

Truly inspired collection.......2004-12-07

I came upon this compilation while researching a somewhat obscure piece called "Summer Pastorale", which is contained in the collection. One look at the play list and I was sold - here were most of my favorite tone poems, adagios, and assorted short works, all on one CD (OK, two CD's...)

Another gem here that I had never heard before is Pick's "Old and Lost Rivers". Ravel's final movement from Mother Goose is one of his best orchestrations and at the top of my 'A' list.

About the only pieces I missed here were Debussy's Engulfed Cathedral and Respighi's fourth church window, St. Gregory the Great. Perhaps they would be a bit too dramatic for this collection, though.

The only shortcoming of this collection is the lack of liner notes, but this is a minor issue. The music is superb.

Encore! Encore!.......2004-06-17

Like a few other reviewers here, I purchased this disc for Tobias Picker's "Old and Lost Rivers." But from the Gregorian chants that open this two-CD set to the closing strains of Ravel's "Mother Goose: The Fairy Garden," I was absolutely captivated by the beauty and cohesiveness of this compilation. Producer Robert Laporta has created a disc that passes muster with neophytes and long time classical music lovers alike. I humbly suggest -- make that BEG -- that Virgin Classics turn "Classical Dreams" into a series. I would love to hear a second volume featuring such favorites as the BBC Symphony Orchestra's interpretation of Delius' "On Hearing the 1st Cuckoo In Spring," the Royal Philharmonic's version of Vaughan Williams' "Fantastia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis" and the London Symphony's recording of Vaughan Williams' "Symphony No. 3 Pastoral" (Andre Previn conducting both Vaughan Williams' selections). By far, this is the finest classical collection I have yet heard. Encore!

Encore! Encore!.......2004-06-17

Like a few other reviewers here, I purchased this disc for Tobias Picker's miraculous (and criminally underrated) "Old and Lost Rivers." But from the Gregorian chants that open this two-CD set to the closing strains of Ravel's "Mother Goose: The Fairy Garden," I was absolutely captivated by the beauty and cohesiveness of this compilation. Producer Robert Laporta has created a disc both neophytes and long time classical music lovers can approve of. I humbly suggest that Virgin Classics turn Classical Dreams into a series. I would love to hear a second volume featuring such favorites as the BBC Symphony Orchestra's interpretation of Delius' "On Hearing the 1st Cuckoo In Spring," the Royal Philharmonic's version of Vaughan Williams' "Fantastia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis" and the London Symphony's recording of Vaughan Williams' "Symphony No. 3 Pastoral" (Andre Previn conducting both Vaughan Williams' selections). By far, this is the finest classical compilation I have yet heard. Encore!

Surprised and ... inspired.......2002-05-10

What a pleasant surprise this double CD turned out to be. I bought it used just for Picker's gorgeous and poetic "Old and Lost Rivers" but fell in love with the whole thing. I'm not usully one for "Best Of ---" or themed classical collections, but this one's in a class by itself. The selections are unusual and achingly lovely in themselves and as a whole. This is my new favorite disk. It's a relaxation or concentration tool... hell, it's a companion - it goes wherever my laptop and headphones go. You get over two hours of gorgeous and lyrical - never mushy, sentimental or tired - classical music, the perfect backdrop for everything from dinner dates to writing code. This CD has added sustained moments of beauty and poise to a busy life - which is more than I could have asked for!

Average customer rating:

A mixed bag from Giulini
Thanks to EMI ; Thanks to Amazon.
A nostalgic return to an outstanding period for Giulini
Splendid EMI Commemorative of Giulini and CSO
Genius Well Served

The Chicago Recordings

Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Ballets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
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Mahler: Symphony No. 9 / Schubert: Symphony No. 8
Beethoven: Symphonies 6, 8 & 9; Carlo Maria Giulini; London Symphony Orchestra
Bruckner: Symphony No. 2
Schumann: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 4 (The Mahler Arrangements)
Bruckner: Symphonie No. 9

ASIN: B0001ZMBV0
Release Date: 2004-06-15

Tracks:

I. Langsam, Schleppend, Wie Ein Naturlaut
II. Kraftig Bewegt, Doch Nicht Zu Schnell
III. Feierlich Und Gemessen, Ohne Zu Schleppen
IV. Sturmisch Bewegt
Combat And Tumult - Interview Of The Prince
Romeo Alone - Melancholy - Distant Noises Of Music And Dancing - Festivities At The Capulets'

Tracks:

Scherzo: Queen Mab, Or The Dream Fairy
Love Scene - Night - The Capulets' Garden
Romeo At The Tomb Of The Capulets - Invocation - Juliet's Reawakening - Frenzied Joy, Despair - Last Agonies And Death Of The Two Lovers
I. Poco Sostenuto - Vivace
II. Allegretto
III. Presto - Assai Meno Presto - Presto - Assai Meno Presto - Presto
IV. Allegro Con Brio

Tracks:

I. Felerlich, Misterioso
II. Scherzo (Bewegt, Lebhaft) - Trio (Schnell) - Scherzo (Da Capo)
III. Adagio (Langsam, Felerlich)
I. Allegro Non Troppo

Tracks:

II. Andante Moderato
III. Allegro Giocoso
IV. Allegro Energico E Passionato
Introduction
Dance Of The Firebird
Round Dance Of The Princess
Dance Of King Kastchel
Berceuse
Finale
Russian Dance
Petrushka's Room
The Moor's Room
The Shrovetide Fair

Amazon.com

The recordings that Giulini made with the Chicago Symphony between 1969 and 1976 document an extraordinary partnership and remain among the finest of the conductor's career. Giulini's Mahler First is more lyric than most, yet with enough energy to satisfy Mahlerians; the last movement a tribute to the conductor's unerring sense of orchestral balances even in crushing climaxes. His rendition of the orchestral movements of Berlioz's "dramatic symphony" Romeo and Juliet excels in its poetry, the warmly caressing Chicago strings in the Love Scene irresistible. The Beethoven Seventh is an eloquent blend of the Dionysian and Apollonian approaches to this "dance symphony," with glowing horns, driving rhythms and lovely solo turns. Giulini's later remakes of the Beethoven and other works in the set often were soporific; here, he's on target. This Bruckner Ninth, for example, is grandly rhetorical but full of passion. The Brahms Fourth is a highly personal account, with a ravishing slow movement, while the Stravinsky ballet suites reveal the Chicagoans at their most refined; the Firebird exquisitely colored, Petrushka, amazingly precise. Classic recordings, well transferred; a bargain that shouldn't be missed. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews:

A mixed bag from Giulini.......2006-12-14

I have always been a fan of Giulini's conducting since I began listening to Classical. In this case, I bought this disk for four reasons 1. You can never have too many recordings of Bruckner or Mahler. 2. It's Giulini for God's Sake. 3. I was curious to hear a remastering of his sensational Brahms 4. 4. I could finally get his fantastic Firebird Suite on CD. Mission accomplished...however the Brahms and Stravinsky are the highlights on this disk and I already had those recordings (although it was nice to get an upgrade to CD). The Mahler is clearly outclassed by competition from Kubelik and Horenstein. The Bruckner bested by Jochum or Tintner on Naxos. I don't regret buying the disk, however, while I have multiple recordings of the Brahms and Stravinskky...Giulini's readings will always have a special place for me.

Thanks to EMI ; Thanks to Amazon. .......2005-10-14

Giulini is always among my favorite conductors and this set includes some of his great recordings with CSO(1969-1976,studio,stereo) that you can not find their another editions: Beethoven 7 and Bruckner 9 ( + Mahler 1, Brahms 4, Berlioz-Romeo&Juliet, Stravinsky-Petroushka&Firebird Suites.)
CSO on its top form under the baton of Giulini...Very well recorded sounds by EMI...Wonderfull edition(not cardboard!)...Incredible price for 4 CD... Highly,highly,highly recommended...

A nostalgic return to an outstanding period for Giulini.......2005-10-09

The reviewer who says that these are among the most celebrated of classical recordings is exaggerating. Giulini's Chicago recordings for EMI were mostly commercial failures and quickly vanished from sight after a brief life on LP. After a spectacular early stretch with Don Giovanni, the Marriage of Figaro, and the Verdi Requiem, Giulini should have shot to the top tier of recording artists.

But as one hears on this excellent but not great collection, Giulini's Mahler is not as exciting as Bernstein's, his Berlioz not as gripping as Colin Davis's, his Brahms not as full of integrity as Klemperer's or Karajan's. He stood well below those great condcutors for much of his career, and yet Giulini was undoubtedly special. He just continued throughout his career to be spotty. His Bruckner Seventh on a live BBC recording is spectacular, even better than his inward, mystical recordings of the Burckner Eighth and Ninth for DG. I greatly admire his DG Schumann Rhenish Sym., his Erocia and Beethoven Fifth, and a live War Requiem and Schubert Ninth, both on BBC--while also acknowledging that he made many other recordings that didn't touch greatness.

I think Giulini had greatness in him, but there was some inner chemistry that had to fire, and even he didn't know when that would happen. In this regard he was like Klaus Tennstedt, who was even more erratic.

Giulini should have given us a great Mahelr Ninth and Das Lied von der Erde, but he didn't. HIs Missa Solemnis and Beethoven Ninth should have been towering spiritual achievements, but they are actually almost routine by great conductor standards. Sadly, he had no sublime autumn to his career; the late recordings on Sony and DG are distressingly slack and ponderous, often parodying his famous spirituality on the podium.

I think eveyrthing in this bargain set is of a high standard, not Giulini at his very peak but close.

Splendid EMI Commemorative of Giulini and CSO.......2005-02-22

During the period from 1969 to 1976, distinguished conductor Carlo Maria Giulini made magnificient recordings for both EMI and Deutsche Grammophon with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, while serving as the orchestra's Principal Guest Conductor. These recordings remain among the most celebrated classical music recordings ever made, most notably his Mahler symphony recordings. In honor of the retired conductor's 90th birthday, EMI has issued most of his finest Chicago Symphony Orchestra recordings; most notably a very intensely lyrical Mahler 1st Symphony that earned a 1971 Grammy Award for best orchestral recording and a fine Brahms 4th Symphony. Often underrated as among the 20th Century's greatest conductors, I am delighted that EMI has recognized Giulini's legacy by issuing this fine 4 CD set.

Genius Well Served.......2004-10-07

Carlo Maria Giulini's long collaboration with the musicians of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra yielded some of the most magnificent performances of the twentieth century. But while the CSO's brilliance was widely known, Giulini's success in focusing attention on the music rather than himself kept his own prodigious talents hidden from portions of the art-music world. This remarkable four-CD set helps to correct that oversight. Included in the collection is the long-overdue reissue of the Giulini-CSO Mahler Symphony #1, which won a Grammy for best orchestral LP in 1971, and a ravishing account of the Brahms Symphony #4, which Giulini first conducted at a concert celebrating the liberation of Rome in 1944.

Giulini performances mesmerized listeners from the opening downbeat, and the spell was rarely broken. Every phrase was shaped, yet sounded entirely natural. The music breathed as if driven by the human soul, rather than by the inanimate metronome. No detail was too small, yet the whole was not lost. The sound had an inner glow, with the viola and cello parts bathing the top and bottom lines with color and warmth. Lyrical passages flowed with a transcendent beauty; fiery sections cut the air with knife-edged precision and power. Climaxes accomplished their purpose without skewing orchestral balances. Through it all, players eagerly and lovingly responded to Giulini's overarching request: "Touch the heart."

Because of his sensitivity to the music's architecture, Giulini preferred to record entire movements in a single take. As such, his performances should be experienced in context, i.e., from beginning to end. Also, Giulini's extraordinary attention to detail is best appreciated in a suitably quiet setting, and on excellent sound equipment.

Giulini sought to make every moment of every performance meaningful and memorable. He loathed the mundane in music-making, and saw his role as "serving genius." Giulini interpretations often left listeners with the sense that they had just heard a great masterpiece for the first time.

"There was never any show about him," longtime Philharmonia Orchestra violinist Gillian Eastwood told WFMT Radio and EMI Classics as part of a four-hour documentary celebrating the now-retired conductor's ninetieth birthday in May 2004. "He was genuine, he was sincere in his music, he worried about everyone individually. The likes of him we shall never, ever see again."

Which is all the more reason to treasure these performances for the ages.

Average customer rating:

How could one not wish for more?
An excellent but flawed disc
Any Arthur Sullivan fan MUST buy this CD
An excellent recording, long overdue
A ground-breaking release

Sullivan & Co.: Operas That Got Away.

Manufacturer: Jay Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

English | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Operettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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Candide (1974 Broadway Revival Cast)

ASIN: B00000AFKM
Release Date: 1998-08-25

Tracks:

The Martyr Of Antioch: Now Glory To The God Who Breaks - NSO/David Steadman
The Martyr Of Antioch: Io Paean - Gillian Knight
Ivanhoe: O Moon Art Thou Clad - Valerie Masterson
Ivanhoe: Ho! Jolly Jenkins - Gareth Jones
Haddon Hall: When The Budding Bloom Of May - Gareth Jones/Gillian Knight/Valerie Masterson/Frances McCafferty
Haddon Hall: The Sun's In The Sky - Frances McCafferty/Arthur Davies
Haddon Hall: In Days Of Old - Gareth Jones
Haddon Hall: Queen Of The Garden - Gillian Knight
The Chieftain: The Gay Hussar - Arthur Davies
The Chieftain: Ah, Oui, J'etais Une Pensionnaire - Valerie Masterson/Arthur Davies
The Beautry Stone: Since It Dwelt In That Rock - Richard Suart
The Beautry Stone: Mine! Mine At Last!...Ride On! - Valerie Masterson
The Rose OF Persia: I Care Not If The Cup I Hold (The Drinking Song) - Arthur Davies
The Emerald Isle: If You Wish To Appear As An Irish Type - Richard Suart
The Emerald Isle: On The Heights Of Glentaun - Frances McCafferty/Gareth Jones/Arthur Davies
The Emerald Isle: 'Come Away' Sighs The Fairy Voice - Valerie Masterson/Gillian Knight/Arthur Davies/Richard Suart

Customer Reviews:

How could one not wish for more?.......2003-08-30

I love and hate this cd. I love it because it thrills whom ever listens to it with the beautiful but neglected works of Arthur Sullivan that were not written in partnership with W.S. Gilbert. The recording and the quality of the preformances are fantastic. I especially loved 'The Emerald Isle' and 'The Beauty Stone'. It filled me with the desire to consume these operas en total. Unfortunatly this is also the reason I hate it. It is quite difficult to find complete recordings of these operas (Besides the dreadull Pearl Label ones). From just a few scraps of the Emerald Isle I am in love with it, but seemingly doomed to either subpar recordings of nothing at all...woe to me!

An excellent but flawed disc.......2003-01-08

This is in many ways an excellent and very welcome addition to the growing range of recordings of Sullivan's "non-G" music. The items selected are enjoyable and are well-sung and well-performed. However, the disc is not generously filled. While this may well have been unavoidable, what is not is the decision to occupy a significant chunk of the limited time available with selections from "The Martyr of Antioch". While I personally am an admirer of this sacred music drama, it is just that, and from 1880 too. The fact that it was semi-staged for a few performances in the 1890s no more makes it an 1890s opera than (eg) a modern concert performance of "Ivanhoe" would turn the latter into a 21st century cantata! The inclusion of the "Martyr" items is all the more annoying in view of the lack of coverage of some bona fide 1890s operas, notably "The Rose of Persia". So one star off for poor judgement in this respect - but still a very worthwhile disc for Sullivanians!

Any Arthur Sullivan fan MUST buy this CD.......2000-02-22

Many people claim that outside his partnership with librettist Sir William Gilbert, Sir Arthur Sullivan was unable to write music that could be remembered. This recording has precisely the goal of making us remember what a truly marvellous composer Sullivan really was. All the recordings on this CD are excerpts from Sullivan "operas" written without Gilbert's involvement. Even though most of these pieces (apart from "Ho! Jolly Jenkin!") are now completely forgotten, hidden behind the success of the Savoy Operas, such as Sullivan's "Mikado" or "HMS Pinafore", written in collaboration with Gilbert, they deserve more recognition.

All pieces are sung by recognized Gilbert and Sullivan singers, and their professionalism is at its usual level.

The two flaws that I can find to this album are: 1) It is too short (approximatively 50 minutes) but I suspect it was the result of lack of funds. 2) The booklet makes no mention whatsoever of Gilbert, even though his influence on Sullivan's musical career was essential. Gilbert had collaborated on the adaptation of "The Martyr of Antioch", but is not even mentioned. Furthermore, Sullivan might have never considered operetta (or light opera) as an adequate musical genre (for Sullivan, in his early years, wanted to achieve fame as a "serious" composer) had it not been for the success of "Trial by Jury" and other successful operettas all written during his partnership with Gilbert.

But these are just mere details. The music is impeccable, so I encourage everyone, especially all the Savoyards out there who only know Sullivan's music through his collaboration with Gilbert, to buy this CD.

An excellent recording, long overdue.......1999-03-11

This CD spotlights Sullivan's non-Gilbert works, and, as such, is full of surprises. Still, the producers seemed to have decided to put in as much material that is "Sullivanesque" as possible. "Ho jolly jenkin" from Ivanhoe is probably the most familiar, and perhaps should have been replaced by something else from the same work. The biggest failing is the neglect of The Rose of Persia in favor of The Emerald Isle. The selections from The Emerald Isle that appear on this recording are not even Sullivan's arrangements, since he died before he finished it. Besides, The Rose of Persia is much better, both as drama and as music. The biggest surprises are "The gay hussar" from The Chieftain and the two selections from The Martyr of Antioch. The madrigal from Haddon Hall is performed a little too slow. The pace of "The sun's in the sky" may be too brisk for those familiar with earlier recordings, but I like it. "Ride on" (The Beauty Stone) is perhaps the most uncharacteristic selection. The soloists are okay, though the tenor creaks once or twice. All in all, a recording not to be missed by any G&S fan. Maybe the next time a recording like this is undertaken, we'll get an entire work -- how long must we wait to hear The Martyr of Antioch in its entirety in a modern recording?! (And yes, I know The Rose of Persia is due out this year . . . .)

A ground-breaking release.......1999-02-21

This is the recording which finally proves that Sullivan's lesser-known operas should be rated more highly than they are. There are no poor excerpts on this recording, but those that particularly stand out are When the Budding Bloom of May (Haddon Hall), both items from The Beauty Stone and the Finale from The Emerald Isle. Those people who think that Sullivan was not much of a composer away from Gilbert should be pleasantly surprised. Hopefully, this recording will prove successful enough to encourage some enterprising recording company to release complete professional recordings of Sullivan's unjustly neglected works.

Kiri Te Kanawa Sings French Songs and Arias

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Kiri Te Kanawa Sings French Songs and Arias

Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

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

General | Arias | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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

4-for-3 Classical | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music

4-for-3 All Music | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music
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The Songs of Henri Duparc
Kiri Te Kanawa Sings Verdi and Puccini Arias
Debussy - Mélodies / Ameling · Mesplé · Command · Souzay · von Stade · Baldwin
French Cafe

ASIN: B0009LNQZG
Release Date: 2005-06-21

Tracks:

Phidyle
L'Invitation Au Voyage
La Vie Anterieure
Le Manoir De Rosemonde
Testament
Au Pays Ou Se Fait La Guerre
Chanson Triste
I. Asie
II. La Flute Enchantee
III. L'Indifferent
Depuis Le Jour
L'Annee En Vain Chasse L'Annee...Azael! Azael!
D'amour L'Ardente Flamme

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Nocturne

Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Compilations | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00007H4E9
Release Date: 2003-07-08

Tracks:

Pavane - English Chamber Orchestra
Reve D'Amour N 3 - Kun Woo Paik
I-Adagio Sostenuto - Mikhail Pletnev
II-Adagio - Mikhail Pletnev
Nocturne In C Sharp Minor Op Posth. - Mikhail Pletnev
The Last Sleep Of The Virgin - English Chamber Orchestra
The Old Castle (From Pictures At An Exhibition) - Mikhail Pletnev
Clair De Lune - Kun Woo Paik
Nocturne In C Sharp Minor Op.48 No.1 - Mikhail Pletnev
Notturno (From Lyric Pieces Op.54) - Leif OVe Andsness
The Fairy Garden (From Mother Goose) - Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
Gymnopedie N 1 - Anne Queffelec
Gnossienne N 1 - Anne Queffelec
Berceuse - Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
Finale - Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra

Tracks:

II Adagio - Sharon Isbin
Nocturne (From A Midsummer Night's Dream) - Enlightenment
Nocturne For Cello And Orchestra - Steven Isserlis
The Swan Of Tuonela - Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
Pavane Pour Une Infante Defunte - Scottish Chamber Orchestra
II Adante - Borodin Quartet
II Adagio - Andrew Litton
Coeru Blesse - Jonathan Rees
Last Spring - Jonathan Rees
Meditation (From Thais) - Jose Luis Garcia

Love's Old Sweet Song: Twenty Five Singers in Popular Ballads

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Remember-Mckinley was president when these tunes were new
Loves Old Sweet Song Leaves a Bitter Taste

Love's Old Sweet Song: Twenty Five Singers in Popular Ballads

Manufacturer: Asv Living Era
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Compilations | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music

Traditional Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Nostalgia | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music

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Traditional Pop | Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music

Traditional Vocal Pop | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music
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Victorian Parlour Evening

ASIN: B000001HHT
Release Date: 1994-07-26

Tracks:

The Last Rose Of Summer - Landon Ronald
For You Alone - Enrico Caruso
By The Waters Of Minnetonka (An Indian Love Song) - Landon Ronald
The Green Hills O' Somerset - Peter Dawson
She Wandered Down The Mountainside - Rosina Buckman
The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise - Charles Hackett
By The Bend Of The River - Grace Moore
I Know Of Two Bright Eyes (Myrrha) - Walter Widdop
A Fairy Went A-Marketing - Clara Butt
Myself When Young (In A Persian Garden) - Norman Allin
Love's Old Sweet Song - Amelita Galli-Curci
Bird Songs At Eventide - John McCormack
Ciribiribin - Lucrezia Bori
The Song Of Songs - Richard Crooks
Homing - Percy B. Kahn
The Blind Ploughman - Fyodor Chaliapin
The Fairytales Of Ireland - Florence Austral/Hils Nelson
Ich Liebe Dich, My Dear - Armand Crabbe
I Love You Truly - Dusolina Giannini
Love Sends A Little Gift Of Roses - Gerald Moore
Danny Boy (Londonderry Air) - Dora Labette
Kashmiri Song (Pale Hands I Loved) - Richard Tauber
Deep River - Marian Anderson
Leanin' - Harold Williams
A Perfect Day - Rosa Ponselle

Customer Reviews:

Remember-Mckinley was president when these tunes were new.......2007-03-10

In the 1890s and the early years of the 20th century sound recordings were very new and very fascinating to the population at large..Being able to hear a recording of a popular song,or listen to a piano roll transcription was,at the time,considered something of a miracle...Alas,since the technology was new the recording process was primitive...VERY primitive...often entire orchestras played into a recording horn,and the resulting sound reminds one of listening to something in a tunnel...very little could be done to make the sound pristine,and because of it the recordings from that period all have an antique and primitive atmosphere to them...recordings that old,and not saved upon tape,or disc,often poorly kept and poorly maintained,tend to deteriorate ,and,in many cases with regard to the items presented upon this album,the original"master"recording is lost,and only a copy remains,often a badly deteriorated,commercial copy..scratches,recording anaolomies,as well as warpage and general age have taken thier toll..Some would think,rather foolishly as it turns out,that such modern restorative processes such as"Cedar" might erase the imperfections,the scratches,the warpage,the cracks and hisses,but this is just not so...
For those of you old enough to have had long-playing records,45s,or 78s,just imagine that the ONLY copy of a particular album or song title is your old,scratched,worn disc...not some master tape or disc held in a vault somewhere,but your old beat up copy...Imagine further that you submit this old beat up copy for restoration...Sure,it may sound better afterwards than it did before,but,all in all,it still sounds pretty bad,at least by modern standards...
This is the sort of sound reproduction one gets on this album...Efforts were made to restore these sides(contrary to the opinion of another review found here about this album)but when one is dealing with recordings 100 or so years old,made when recording tecniques were primitive,and ,in some cases,having to attempt restoration on a used COPY sold to and played by someone like you and I way back when,restoration to a"perfect" sense is just not possible..Indeed,even if "perfection"could be achieved,the original sound of some of these old sides never was too good to begin with..
Be this as it may,the sides presented here are historic,to say the very least,and representative of what the public of the 1890s liked to hear...Listening to these sides,imperfections and all,gives one a sense of that time,a sense of the enormous technological gulf between these recordings and the ones available today,and,perhaps most importantly,gives us an overview of the sort of entertainment that drove our great great grandparents wild...
If you can get over the primitive sound of these recordings,or get yourself used to it,then give this album a try...

Loves Old Sweet Song Leaves a Bitter Taste.......2003-04-27

While the performances on this CD are great the transfers from the original recordings are about the worst i have ever heard. No care whatever was spent in dubbing these records to Cd. The originals in my collection sound many times better than these. I bought this for convenience but find it too terrible to listen

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A Wee Bit O'Heaven
Legendary selections by a legendary voice

Legendary Irish Tenor

Manufacturer: Goldies
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

French | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music

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

General | Celtic | International | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

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Jazz | Imports | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Great Voices of the 20th Century
The Voice of Ireland: 25 Popular Songs and Ballads

ASIN: B00005RVT2
Release Date: 2001-11-26

Tracks:

Mother Machree
Kathleen Mavourneen
Killarney
Dear Little Shamrock
Ave Maria
Little Love, A Little Kiss
Macushla
Wearing of the Green
Where the River Shannon Flows
Eileen Alannah
Molly Brannigan
Low Back'd Car
I'll Sing Thee Songs of Araby
Angels Guard Thee

Tracks:

My Wild Irish Rose
Serenata
Come into the Garden, Maud
Turn Ye to Me
Somewhere a Voice Is Calling
Beautiful Isle of Somewhere
Barcarolle
Sunshine of Your Smile
When Irish Eyes Are Smiling
Rose of Tralee
Ireland, Mother Ireland
Mother O' Mine
Bard of Armagh
Irish Emigrant

Tracks:

I Hear You Calling Me
Star of the County Down
Londonderry Air
She Moved Thro' the Fair
Believe Me, If All Those Endearing Young Charms
Kerry Dance
South Winds
By the Shortcut to the Rosses
Fairy Tree
Harp That Once Thro' Tara's Halls
Garden Where the Praties Grow
I Dream of Jeannie With the Light Brown Hair
Bantry Bay
Dawning of the Day

Customer Reviews:

A Wee Bit O'Heaven.......2007-07-26

I have been looking for John McCormack on CD for years. I was thrilled when I found this and other CDs on Amazon. I have an LP that I bought decades ago and I have almost worn it out. The CD quality music is so much better!

Legendary selections by a legendary voice.......2004-03-24

With special emphasis on the variety presented in this collection, this album has a broadness of scope that will appeal to anyone who appreciates the magic of the human voice.
McCormack was perhaps the most popular entertainer in the world during his career, comparable with the superstars of today, only richer in the currency of his day.
Though purists may have criticized his shift to the popular venue as opportunism, and perhaps desertion of his training in the classical tradtions, he was simply presenting what people wanted to hear. Whether he set a pattern of career management followed by modern entertainers or was simply happiest when the accolades flowed over him matters not. The talent and richness are his legacy to us.
His range and vocal dexterity are well illustrated and represented by this larger than usual collection, and anyone with a particular favorite tune in his rather loose genre will likely find it here.
After a journey through this collection, listeners may well gain another special melody or two for addition to their personal list of "best ever" songs and singers.
Although it may be considered a bit foolish, some will choose this album for only one or two tracks. Some call that trait wasteful, but when a jewel of performance is played again and again, the teardrop may fall once more, and the heart will thrill yet again.
This album will please many musical palates, even those who claim no special fondness for "Irish Tenors."

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