Solstice Live! [Live]

Product Description
The Paul Winter Consort's legendary annual "Winter Solstice Whole Earth Christmas Celebration," in the world's largest Gothic cathedral, New York's St. John the Divine. A world music festival, with twenty guest artists from around the world, SOLSTICE LIVE! captures the adventure and drama of this musical journey through the longest night of the year.

Solstice Live!,Paul Winter,Living Music,Christmas / Chanukkah,Ethnic Fusion,Folk-Jazz,Jazz Music,New Age,Pop,World Fusion

Average customer rating: This is a must hear; fantistic music!!!!!

Solstice Live! Paul Winter Consort Manufacturer: Living Music ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | International | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Styles | Music Jazz Fusion | Jazz | Styles | Music General | New Age | Styles | Music Holiday | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music | General Christmas | Today's Deals | Box Sets | Children's Music | Classical Instrumental | Halloween | Hanukkah | Kwanzaa | Opera & Vocal | Pop Instrumental & Easy Listening | Pop Vocal ASIN: B00000AFPT Release Date: 1998-08-25

Tracks:

1. Tomorrow Is My Dancing Day
2. Fog On The Hill
3. Shaman
4. Boon Song
5. Buena Nueva
6. Nevaga
7. Highland Heaven
8. The Sparrow
9. Hodie/ Good People All
10. Prelude: Marcha De San Benito
11. The Night Forest
12. River
13. Trickster
14. Return Of The Sun
15. Solstice Chant
16. Christmas Day Is Come
17. Duet For The Longest Night
18. Down In Belgorod
19. Minuit/ Adeste Fideles

Customer Reviews:

This is a must hear; fantistic music!!!!!.......1998-10-28

If you are interested in hearing a truly "BIG" sound of music, this is one CD that is a must for your collection. This CD coordinates, marvelously, the sounds of primitive instruments, woodwinds, percussion, gongs, etc., accompanied by the Great Organ of the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York, where the concert was performed live. You, too, will join the audience in thunderous applause for this magnificent production!

Average customer rating: If you're not sure, imagine this gong! Wonderful Creation Myths Just ok A celebration of diversity! Great introduction to a seasonal musical fest (and feast)

Solstice Live! Paul Winter Manufacturer: Living Music ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | International | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Styles | Music Jazz Fusion | Jazz | Styles | Music Fusion & World Fusion | Compilations | Jazz | Styles | Music General | New Age | Styles | Music Holiday | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music | General Christmas | Today's Deals | Box Sets | Children's Music | Classical Instrumental | Halloween | Hanukkah | Kwanzaa | Opera & Vocal | Pop Instrumental & Easy Listening | Pop Vocal General | International | Indie Music | Stores | Music General | New Age | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Wintersong Icarus Spanish Angel Common Ground Missa Gaia/Earth Mass ASIN: B0000000US Release Date: 2001-04-06

Tracks:

1. Fanfare
2. Tomorrow Is My Dancing Day
3. Fog on the Hill
4. Shaman
5. Boon Song
6. Buena Nueva
7. Nevaga
8. Highland Heaven
9. The Sparrow
10. Hodie
11. Marcha de San Benito
12. The Night Forest
13. River
14. Trickster
15. Return of the Sun
16. Solstice Chant
17. The Day is Come/Duet for the Longest Night
18. Down in Belgorod
19. Midnight/Adeste

Album Description

The Paul Winter Consort's legendary annual "Winter Solstice Whole Earth Christmas Celebration," in the world's largest Gothic cathedral, New York's St. John the Divine. A world music festival, with twenty guest artists from around the world, SOLSTICE LIVE! captures the adventure and drama of this musical journey through the longest night of the year.

Customer Reviews:

If you're not sure, imagine this gong!.......2004-12-23

We live in Michigan, get to spend some time in Tucson. After hearing a live broadcast on NPR, we got tickets, used frequent-flyer mileage and flew from Tucson-NYC-Tucson to see this spectacle. Didn't let us down; as the narrator on the live broadcast had described, at a climactic moment, this 5- or 6-foot gong at the back of this enormous cathedral is hauled up 100 feet, with this guy in a bosun's chair being hauled up with it, whacking away at it with a gong. It's all inspiring, entertaining. After, we walked down Amsterdam 30 blocks and heard folks around us singing and howling (the Howleluja Chorus). Not a review of the CD? Yes it is, the CD admirably invokes being there, even without the Howls. It's Dec. 22, 2004 and I can't find the CD and it's not on my iPod or in my computer and I can't get it delivered in time for Christmas, let alone the solstice. More to the point, Solstice Live is a grand recording, entirely representative of the performance. And if audio is sometimes a little quiet, consider that fixed microphones are sometimes recording processions down a very, very long aisle. That's Solstice Live!

Wonderful Creation Myths.......2004-12-08

I've been to Paul Winter's Solstice concert in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine a number of times, and this CD represents it superbly. The first time I attended, I was struck by the sense of participating in the telling of a great creation myth. Everyone in the cathedral is swept up in the narrative of rebirth, and I've never known anyone who left without feeling exuberant and enlivened. All of that is marvellously captured in the selections on this CD (the only thing missing is the "Howl-elullah Chorus, the pinnacle of audience participation). The selections themselves are well-chosen, from, I believe, more than one year's concerts. As several other reviews note, the sound quality is quite spectacular and true to the setting. It's very "world" and "new age," so if you don't enjoy those things, don't bother. Everyone else should enjoy it immensely!

Just ok.......2003-12-02

I wanted to love this cd but only ended up liking it marginally. About half the songs have a new-age sound to them, the other half are more like folk songs. The reason I'm giving it 3 stars is primarily the audio quality. Some songs were recorded at really low levels so you have to crank it up then others are really loud. On others the clarity just isn't there. The songs don't really flow together very well in my opinion either. There are some chants, some gospel singing, some bagpipes, some synthesizer, some group songs. Note that this was recorded live so there is clapping between songs too. Sounds like the audience really enjoyed it. Better solstice cds I've found are Beautiful Darkness, Winter Solstice Carols and A Winter Garden.

A celebration of diversity!.......2003-05-26

Fascinating, ever-evolving compositions and improvisations by musicians from around the world, performed in New York's Cathedral of St. John the Divine to celebrate the Winter Solstice. Even though this is a recording of new material with numerous guest artists, it plays almost like a "Best Of ..." compilation in that it showcases the variety of composition and performance styles that the Paul Winter Consort has explored and perfected over the years--classic jazz, "cathedral blues", chamber music, South American, world fusion and collaboration with animals. For the first few times you listen to "Solstice Live!", you many never quite know what to expect next, yet all the diverse selections fit and flow together, blending mystery and excitement, joy and lament into a satisfying whole. Highlights of this album include "Tomorrow is my Dancing Day", "Hodie" and "Midnight/Adeste Fidelis", all of which reinterpret traditional Christmas songs, blending them with other musical styles and suitable new harmonies. Also striking are the lovely, soaring flutistry of Rhonda Larson, and the joyfully dissonant Russian singing of the Dmitri Pokrovsky Singers. One number that particularly struck me is "Boon Song", a wonderful trio for saxophone, flute and the Uirapuru (an Amazon rainforest wren who was presumably recorded in its own home rather than in the cathedral itself). The song is a great example of how this group can take inspiration from one of nature's voices and craft beautiful ensemble music, which sounds particularly fresh and new since the melody is not of man. In fact, the Uirapuru is given top billing as composer in the credits, with only secondary credit going to keyboardist Paul Halley. This is very cool stuff--a celebration of diversity, artistry, spirit, and triumph of light over darkness. I like this CD better and better every time I listen to it! For more recordings of the Winter Consort's Solstice concerts, try also "Journey with the Sun" and "Celtic Solstice".

Great introduction to a seasonal musical fest (and feast).......2001-05-03

I have vivid memories of attending my first Paul Winter Consort "Winter Solstice" concert at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine some half-dozen years ago. At that time, I was perhaps just short of two years into acquiring and traversing his works available then, but this Solstice Live album was not one of those already in my library. And so that Winter Solstice concert was a certifiably new experience for me. And I was like and 8-year-old enjoying his first circus. I even had a stiff neck the morning after, just as that 8-year-old at his first circus would have had.

This annual gig is a perfect example of "theater in the round" (and an explanation for that stiff neck of mine). That it is "theater" as much as it is "music" may or may not come across in this excellent album, but I think that it will, in light of the sophisticated techniques used to record the program. And a good program this one was, fully up to the expectations of the thousands of members in the audience who have, since 1980, turned this event into an annual ritual.

The 66 minutes on this album makes it a "highlights" album, since Paul Winter's Solstice concerts typically run two hours or more.

But what highlights! The opening fanfare, a Solstice tradition, has Paul Winter high in the balcony of the cathedral, as far away as possible from the central stage placed at the "crossing" of the cathedral, followed by Gordon Gottlieb's wake-up call on timpani. A great pairing of two knock-your-socks-off voices: Nóirin Ní Riain singing "Christmas Day Is Come" and Kecia Lewis-Evans bringing the house down with "The Sparrow," a gospel song that truly soars. One of Rhonda Larson's virtuosic turns on flute in "Highland Heaven." World music from the Ecuadoran Andes (Andes Manta), Russia (the Dmitri Pokrovsky Singers), the Celtic world (Ireland, with Ms. Ní Riain, and Galicia, with Nando Casals), and just about everywhere else under the sun (with Glen Velez's world percussion turns).

Since these concerts celebrate the return of the sun, after the longest day of the year, an annual highlight is the "Turning Point Suite," which represents this return. The Suite on this album is a very good one, beginning with a procession through the cathedral by Nando Casals playing his Galician bagpipes (recorded with a terrific sense of space, and great "underpinnings" support by the cathedral organ), through "dark" improvisations, by the Consort musicians, representing the longest night, concluding with the raising of the "sun gong" (the world's largest such gong), finally breaking forth into sunlight with the "Solstice Chant."

A Paul Winter Consort performance at the cathedral would be incomplete without one of Winter's improvisations on his saxophone, in duet with the cathedral organ. The improvisation duet here, "Duet for the Longest Night," with Paul Halley at the organ console, is a soaring, yet melting, example of their way with "Cathedral Blues."

The finale, also a Solstice tradition, begins with a traditional Guinean song, "Minuit," made famous by Winter some years before this performance, segueing into "Adeste Fideles" with full audience participation. A good "wrap" on an excellent program.

Cathedrals can be notoriously difficult venues in which to capture music faithfully and clearly without destroying the acoustic ambience of such spaces. Not here; the recording is simply downright excellent, and one gets a clear sense of the ambience.

One of these Winter Solstice events is easily worth a visit to New York during the holiday season. Try to plan to take one in; it's well worth it. And watch out for your neck; it'll get a workout if you do catch one of these concerts for the first time.

Bob Zeidler

Average customer rating:

Solstice at the Cathedral Manufacturer: Free Will ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music ASIN: B000CA9XS8 Release Date: 2002-12-10

Average customer rating: Requiem for a wounded warrior

Henri Ledroit: Unpublished Live Recordings Manufacturer: Solstice ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Handel | Handel, George Frideric | ( H ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Jommelli, Niccolò | ( J ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Alessandro Scarlatti | Scarlatti, Alessandro | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Vivaldi | Vivaldi, Antonio | ( V ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Symphonies | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music | Baroque | Classical | General | Modern & 20th Century | Romantic | Sinfonia | Sinfonia Concertante General | Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Cantatas | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Italian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Cantatas | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music ASIN: B00000I5GF Release Date: 1999-03-02

Customer Reviews:

Requiem for a wounded warrior.......2000-07-20

This disk was released as a commemorative of the artist's tragic death from AIDS in 1988 and contained what one must call "bootleg" recordings of Ledroit's concert appearances. Well, they somehow cleared this with the estate (don't ask me how) and the disk is now for sale! Henri Ledroit was the most compelling, charismatic voice in the business. He wasn't actually the best singer of his counter-tenor day, but his voice has an ineffable melancholy that touches from beyond the grave. The recording features some rarities, a Cesti cantata and a Jomelli aria, of varying degrees of success. Ledroit had his good days and his not so good days, and we get a little of both. Vivaldi's Stabat Mater is deeply felt, his Handel and Scarlatti a shade less so, but are musts for the serious Ledroit fan. I also recommend buying the disk for the booklet that comes with, giving us a truly informative and touching portrait of the artist.

Average customer rating:

Winter Solstice Live Olympia's Daughters Manufacturer: Olympia's Daughters ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music General Christmas | Holiday | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music General Christmas | Holiday Music | Special Features | Music ASIN: B00008G3VJ Release Date: 1999-04-06

Tracks:

1. Chant
2. Something Told the Wild Geese
3. Dindirin
4. In the Bleak Midwinter
5. I Have a Million Nightingales
6. Coventry Carol
7. Lo, How a Rose
8. Star
9. We Are the Dance
10. Riu, Riu, Chiu
11. Personent Hodie
12. Carol of the Bells
13. Echo Carol
14. Tomorrow Shall Be My Singing Day
15. Good Wish
16. Silent Night
17. Ding Dong Merrily
18. Deck the Halls
19. Good Rest Ye
20. Deep Peace

Average customer rating:

Live: Beyond the Galaxy Solstice Manufacturer: Solstice ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Jazz | Styles | Music ASIN: B000CA2SMQ Release Date: 2005-09-27

Tracks:

1. Hyperspace to Earth
2. Trans-Phat Atmosphere
3. Intergalactic Freeway Shuttle Bus (Electric)
4. Spiritual Desire
5. Moondance
6. Stormcloud
7. Intergalactic Freeway Shuttle Bus (Acoustic)
8. Hyperspace to Jupiter
9. Kinetic Lunar Energy
10. Borealis
11. Return to Hyperspace

Average customer rating:

Henri Ledroit: Unpublished Live Recordings Manufacturer: Solstice ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Handel | Handel, George Frideric | ( H ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Jommelli, Niccolò | ( J ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Alessandro Scarlatti | Scarlatti, Alessandro | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Vivaldi | Vivaldi, Antonio | ( V ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Cantatas | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Italian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Cantatas | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music ASIN: B000026AN1

Average customer rating:

No Commercial Traffic Manufacturer: Solstice ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Folk | Styles | Music ASIN: B000CA77X6 Release Date: 2002-06-25

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