Sol

The Washington Post
"Exotic tapestries of sound laced with shimmering melodies, rsonating chords and percolating bass lines."

Product Description
Chapman Stick player and compser Greg Howard explores his Latin side with this collection of Latin and Spanish-inspired ensemble tracks. Featuring some great performances on trumpet, guitar and African percussion

Sol

Sol,Greg Howard

Average customer rating: Here's what the fuss was all about! Beverly Sills - The Best Beverly Sills' highs are breathtaking! THE 2005 OPERA CD OF THE YEAR EMI Does It Again: Beverly Sills - A Tribute

The Very Best of Beverly Sills Manufacturer: EMI Classics ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Donizetti | Donizetti, Gaetano | ( D ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Lehár, Franz | ( L ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Massenet | Massenet, Jules | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Verdi | Verdi, Giuseppe | ( V ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Rossini | Rossini, Gioacchino | ( R ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Sills, Beverly | ( S ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music London Philharmonic Orchestra | ( L ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music New York Philharmonic Orchestra | ( N ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Romances | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Donizetti, Gaetano | C to G | Featured Composers, A-Z | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Massenet, Jules | M to P | Featured Composers, A-Z | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Rossini, Gioacchino | Q to T | Featured Composers, A-Z | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Vocal Works by Verdi | Verdi, Giuseppe | U to Z | Featured Composers, A-Z | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Lehar, Franz | H to L | Featured Composers, A-Z | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music French | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Italian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Operettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Similar Items: The Great Recordings Beverly Sills: Made in America Art of Beverly Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor: Complete Opera (with full libretto and translation) Verdi: La Traviata / Sills, Gedda, Panerai; Ceccato ASIN: B0006VYELE Release Date: 2005-04-26

Tracks:

1. Una Voce Poco Fa - Sherrill Milnes
2. Dunque Io Son - Sherrill Milnes
3. Contro Un Cor - Sherrill Milnes
4. Ah, Qual Colpo Inaspetatto! - Sherrill Milnes
5. E Il Sol Dell'anima... Addio! Speranza Ed Anima - Ambrosian Opera Chorus
6. Gualtier Malde... Caro Nome - Ambrosian Opera Chorus
7. Tutte Le Feste Al Tempio... Compiuto Pur Quanto... Si, Vendetta - Ambrosian Opera Chorus
8. V'ho Ingannato... Lassu In Cielo - Ambrosian Opera Chorus
9. Quel Guardo Il Cavaliere... So Anch'io La Virtu Magica - Ambrosian Opera Chorus
10. Pronta Io Son... Vado, Corro - Ambrosian Opera Chorus
11. Via, Caro Sposino - Ambrosian Opera Chorus
12. Tornami A Dir Che M'ami - Ambrosian Opera Chorus
13. La Morale In Tutto Questo - Ambrosian Opera Chorus

Tracks:

1. Vilia - Beverly Sills
2. Ah! Je Suis Seule... Dis-Moi Que Je Suis Belle - Beverly Sills
3. Cielo! Che Diverro?... Si, ferite... Dal Soggiorno... Ah! Che Spiegar - Beverly Sills
4. Libiamo Ne' Lieti Calici - John Alldis Choir
5. Un Di Felice, Eterea - John Alldis Choir
6. E Strano... Ah, Fors'e Lui... Follie! Follie!... Sempre Libera - John Alldis Choir
7. Pura Siccome Un Angelo... Ah! Dite Alla Giovine - John Alldis Choir
8. Che Fai? - John Alldis Choir
9. Addio Del Passato - John Alldis Choir
10. Parigi, O Cara - John Alldis Choir

Amazon.com

Beverly Sills hardly needs an introduction. She sang on the radio as a child and on the operatic stage as a teenager; her meteoric international career was launched by appearances in several virtually unknown bel canto operas at the New York City Opera. This compilation of arias and ensembles from some of her signature roles, recorded in the 1970s, with splendid partners like Nicolai Gedda, Alfredo Kraus, and Sherrill Milnes, displays her unique vocal and dramatic artistry at its peak. Her voice, effortlessly produced over an enormous range, is bright, pure, infinitely variable in color, inflection and intensity. Her intonation is impeccable even in huge leaps, and her breath is endless. The coloratura roulades are like strings of perfect, luminous pearls, clearly articulated in seamless legato. But this stunning technique (whose only flaw is a sometimes wide, wobbly vibrato) is never used for show; every note has life and expression, serving the music and the dramatic situation. Indeed, her characters are flesh-and-blood human beings, whose thoughts, emotions and interactions, from inwardness to ecstasy, from lamentation to overflowing joy, she projects with riveting concentration. Rosina in Rossini's The Barber of Seville is a charming, mischievous minx who succumbs to delighted tenderness; Pamira's great scene from his Siege of Corinth shows clearly why her Metropolitan Opera debut in that role was a sensation. In Verdi's Rigoletto, Gilda's hopeful innocence turns into hopeless despair: she dies, palpably, on a floating, celestial pianissimo. In his La traviata, Violetta's initial cool, hesitant restraint gradually melts as she opens herself (and her voice) to Alfredo's ardor and the bliss of love. The vocal balance in their final duet is uncanny; its tremulous tenderness in the shadow of death breaks the heart, as does her duet with Germont. Massenet's Thais is sensuous; Donizetti's Don Pasquale and Lehár's The Merry Widow provide comic relief. --Edith Eisler

Album Description

Details TBA. EMI. 2005.

Customer Reviews:

Here's what the fuss was all about!.......2007-07-17

It would have been even better if they had included at least one Cleopatra aria and something from Baby Doe, but it doesn't really matter, because this collection will allow younger listeners especially to hear what the fuss was all about! There are moments listening to Sills, especially from Traviata or Manon, that are so beautifully sung and so genuine that they are heartbreaking. I feel so fortunate to have heard her Queen of the Night, Manon, Violetta, and Baby Doe. She was so generous as a performer and as a humanitarian, and she really brought opera into the American mainstream.

Beverly Sills - The Best.......2007-04-01

What a voice. No coloratura can compare, and she makes it seem so easy.

Beverly Sills' highs are breathtaking!.......2006-09-18

Adio del Passato is incredible! Beverly's high, floating coloratura is no less than ethereal which takes you to another world. Her voice has given me so much joy that it is hard to say one recording is better than another because I love her Mozart album equally with her Bellini/Donizetti. It is so wonderful to have these recordings captured on CD! Enjoy!

THE 2005 OPERA CD OF THE YEAR.......2006-08-19

THIS CD WAS THE BEST OPERA CD ISSUED LAST YEAR, AND HAS CAUGHT THE WORLD'S EAR IN NO TIME. I WAS BUSY WRITING IN SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL, WHILE THE STATEOWNED FM RADIOSTATION, DEDICATED TO CULTURE, WAS SOFTLY PLAYING OPERA ARIAS IN THE BACKGROUND. SUDDENLY I HEARD THE MOST FANTASTIC RENDERING OF "SEMPRE LIBERA" FROM "LA TRAVIATA". I GOT UP, SAT BY THE RADIO AND WAITED TO KNOW WHO WAS SINGING... THEN GOT BACK TO THE COMPUTER TO ORDER THIS CD FROM AMAZON! INCREDIBLE: ONLY 17 BUCKS FOR THIS, WHILE QUITE A BIT OF TRASH IS SOLD FOR 30.40 AND MORE...
A LADY FRIEND ONCE TOLD ME SHE COULD NOT LISTEN TO THE DUET IN "MADAMA BUTTERFLY" WITH MIRELLA FRENI AND LUCIANO PAVAROTTI (RECORDED IN 1974, BY VON KARAJAN) WITHOUT CRYING. WELL, YOU CANNOT LISTEN TO SILLS IN "LA TRAVIATA" DRY-EYED, NO MATTER WHO THE TENOR IS. SHE PROJECTS THE SAME DRAMATIC FEELING OF "LA DIVINA" CALLAS WITHOUT THOSE SHRIEKED HIGHNOTES; SHE OFFERS THE SAME COLORATURA VOCAL GYMNASTICS AS "LA STUPENDA" SUTHERLAND BUT WITH WARMTH... WHEN BEVERLY SANG, AS IN EVERYTHING ELSE SHE DID, SHE ALWAYS GAVE HER UTMOST. SHE WAS "LA GENEROSA" TO BE SURE.
DON'T JUST SIT THERE READING WHAT OTHERS THINK.
ORDER THIS CD NOW AND MARVEL AT HOW THIS GREAT AMERICAN LADY, IN SO MANY OTHER WAYS, ALSO COULD SING!

EMI Does It Again: Beverly Sills - A Tribute.......2005-07-22

EMI's "Very Best Of" series are perfect introductions to operatic singers of the 20th century. Once you hear these artist tribute albums (much like The Singers series) you will get hooked on the singer and seek out their full-length studio recordings. Beverly Sills was the first truly famous American opera star. One may argue that she was not, that she was merely a continued tradition of American divas such as Mary Garden and Lily Pons and which still continues today with Renee Fleming, Elizabeth Futral and Susan Graham. Beverly was raised in New York City, which is still her home, and which is the home of the New York City Opera and the Met, opera houses which rocketed her to fame. Her first success (not featured in this recording...UH WHY ?) was Cleopatra of Handel's Julius Caesar, a performance she sang opposite the illustrious baritone Norman Treigle. Those performances were legendary because coincidentally at the same time the Met was opening its new theatre and season with what became a disastrous Samuel Barber's Antony and Cleopatra starring Leontyne Price in an overblown, big-budget, epic fiasco. The great roles that followed the 1965 Cleopatra were Manon, Queen Elizabeth I in Roberto Deveraux, Maria Stuarda and Anna Bolena in the Donizetti Tudor Queen operas, Pamira in The Siege of Corinth (which were Sill's La Scala and belated Met debut. None of the Queens are featured in this recording, though its supposedly the Very Best Of. An aria from Rossini's Siege of Corinth is featured here however. What we are treated to however are fine lyric roles- Beverly Sills shone brightly and acted convincingly as Gilda in Rigoletto (the final scene is featured here) as Violetta in La Traviata, Thais, The Merry Widow (the beautiful Vilja is featured here)and the ingenue role of Norina in Don Pasquale is also showcased here. To each of these roles, Beverly Sills delivered an authenticity and dramatic interpretation, not ot mention beautiful, sweet tone. I love her pianissimos, her high notes, her chest register. It was the voice of Beverly Sills who first hooked me into opera. For a recording that should showcase her best work, Manon is not featured nor any of her prized French heroines- Marie in The Daughter of the Regiment and the heroines in Tales of Hoffman. Also not in here is the role that was her first success- the Broadway opera Ballad of Baby Doe. Even as such, the arias here are gorgeous. The Barber of Seville is in here and as Rosina she is playful and charming. Sills was a modern singer, with a voice that was beautiful but willing to sacrifice beauty for the sake of dramatic content. When Sills was once asked what she thought of the supposed rivalry with Joan Sutherland (which was never real and only gossip from partisan fans) Beverly said something to this effect -Joan and I are apples and oranges in our take on opera, we are Picasso and Monet. She would do anything for the effect of beauty and tone, I'd sacrifice beauty for the sake of dramatic text. Even as such, I see no ugliness to any of the roles here. All of them are beautiful to hear, full of rich floating celestial tones. It would have been nice to hear the roles that did call for Sills to step up the tense drama - Norma, will her recording ever be reissued by EMI ? Also, few people know that Beverly Sills sung role most would consider dangerous for her voice (though she sang them long before her career even took off)- Aida and Carmen!!

Average customer rating: Can't go wrong Most Famous??? Only one song knew well The Most Famous Opera Duets Good selection of opera highlights

The Most Famous Opera Duets Manufacturer: EMI Classics ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Delibes, Léo | ( D ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Donizetti | Donizetti, Gaetano | ( D ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Puccini | Puccini, Giacomo | ( P ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Strauss | Strauss, Richard | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Verdi | Verdi, Giuseppe | ( V ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Wagner | Wagner, Richard | ( W ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra | ( B ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music London Philharmonic Orchestra | ( L ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music National Philharmonic Orchestra London | ( N ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Romances | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Delibes, Leo | C to G | Featured Composers, A-Z | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Donizetti, Gaetano | C to G | Featured Composers, A-Z | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus | M to P | Featured Composers, A-Z | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Puccini, Giacomo | M to P | Featured Composers, A-Z | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Strauss, Richard | Q to T | Featured Composers, A-Z | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Wagner, Richard | U to Z | Featured Composers, A-Z | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Vocal Works by Verdi | Verdi, Giuseppe | U to Z | Featured Composers, A-Z | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music French | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Italian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Operettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Ludwig, Christa | Divas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Price, Leontyne | Divas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Scotto, Renata | Divas | 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 Similar Items: The Most Famous Opera Arias The Best of Italian Opera The #1 Opera Album Nessun Dorma ~ 20 Great Tenor Arias / Pavarotti, Carreras, Domingo, Bergonzi, Aragall, Björling, Di Stefano, Kollo, Corelli, Del Monaco... Rapture: Opera's Most Heavenly Moments ASIN: B000002SCA Release Date: 1994-04-12

Tracks:

1. Les Peurs des perles Act 1 - Au fond du temple saint
2. Madama Butterfly Act 1- Vogliatemi bene, un bene piccolino
3. Le Nozze di Figaro Act III - Sull'aria - Le Nozze di Figaro
4. La Traviata Act I - Un di, felice, eterea
5. Lucia Di Lammermoor Act I - Ah! Verranna a te sull'aure
6. Tristan und Isolde Act II - O sink hernieder, Nacht der Liebe
7. Carmen Act I - Parle-moi de m
8. Die ZauberflAct I - Bei Mern, welche Liebe F
9. Lakmct I - Viens, Mallika
10. Rigoletto Act I - il sol dell'anima
11. Der Rosenkavalier Act II - Mir ist die Ehre wilderfahren
12. Don Giovanni Act I - Li darem la mano
13. La Boh Act IV - O Mimi, tu pi torni
14. Il Trovatore Act IV - Miserere...Quel suon, quelle preci

Amazon.com

This is a misnomer--not all of these duets are all that famous--but it's a fine compilation nonetheless. You'll hear selections from Bizet's The Pearl Fishers (Nicolai Gedda and Ernest Blanc at their most elegant French), Madama Butterfly (Carlo Bergonzi and Renata Scotto--an impassioned pair), Lucia di Lammermoor (a classy Alfredo Kraus and Edita Gruberova), the lovely Lakme duet, The Presentation of the Silver Rose from Der Rosenkavalier (with the earnest Christa Ludwig and the other-worldly Teresa Stich-Randall), and a fine Trovatore "Miserere" (with Leontyne Price and Franco Bonisolli singing up a storm). There are many others, too--a veritable cornucopia of couplings--and a treat for the opera lover. --Robert Levine

Customer Reviews:

Can't go wrong.......2007-07-14

This is a really great CD for the price. It has many of the famous Arias on it and although the singers may not be the best out there they are certainly very good. This is cheaper than the price of a take away lunch; you can't go wrong with this CD.

Most Famous???.......2007-05-14

The title of this cd is misleading and I found myself wondering whose list did they use. That is not to say that there aren't some real treasures included here. The duet from Lakme is lovely in every way, Mady Mesple in particular, very beautful and very french, and far superior to Sutherlands hooty approach. Scotto and Bergonzi are superb, the Tristan and Isolde of Vickers and Dernesch truly other worldly, and the presentation of the rose duet with the young Ludwig and the astonishing Teresa Stich- Randell had me playing it over and over and I still can't believe it, but the most famous??? This cd is definitly worth buying, and I hated giving it only 3 stars but if you're talking most famous you could fill a couple of cd's with Puccini, not to mention Verdi, Mozart, etc. before Bizet's Les Pecheurs des perles, beautiful as it is, made the most famous list.

Only one song knew well.......2007-05-14

I should have done more research. The last song is the only one I could easily recognize. Live and learn.

The Most Famous Opera Duets.......2007-01-05

This seller truly makes a purchaser confident in the product as well the time in which is promised.

Thanks again!!!!!

Good selection of opera highlights.......2006-11-04

Super performances by famous opera artists of the 20th century, most of them no longer performing and some of them deceased. I enjoy having their voices available at home.

Average customer rating: Instruments of the Orchestra - Great Reference Material! Beginner or Expert Very Informative and Enjoyable Frank's view Excellent Intro for Those Not Familiar with the Orchestra

Instruments of the Orchestra Various Artists Manufacturer: Naxos ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra | ( H ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music London Philharmonic Orchestra | ( L ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra | ( M ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music National Philharmonic Orchestra London | ( N ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music General | Instructional | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music Blowout Box Sets | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music More Titles at Least 20% Off | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music All Classical Music Blowout | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra | ( H ) | Performers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music London Philharmonic Orchestra | ( L ) | Performers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra | ( M ) | Performers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music National Philharmonic Orchestra London | ( N ) | Performers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Instrumental | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Similar Items: Britten: Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra Op34; Simple Symphony Op4 The Mahler Symphonies: An Owner's Manual (includes 1 CD) The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra (Book & CD) Study of Orchestration, Third Edition The Life and Works of Ludwig van Beethoven ASIN: B00006O0NT Release Date: 2002-12-03

Tracks:

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

Tracks:

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

Tracks:

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

Tracks:

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

Tracks:

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

Tracks:

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

Tracks:

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

Customer Reviews:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Average customer rating: Not my cup of tea Brilliant Medieval and modern bash heads beautifully ... The best alternative to Jochum Simply the best Carmina

Orff: Carmina Burana Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Orff | Orff, Carl | ( O ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Levine, James | ( L ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Cantatas | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Cantatas | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Deutsche Grammophon: Music | Specialty Stores | Music Similar Items: Carl Orff: Carmina Burana Carl Orff: Carmina Burana Orff - Carmina Burana: Battle, Allen, Lopardo, Ozawa, Berlin / Beethoven - Symphony No. 9: Schwanewilms, Groves, Dever, Hawlata, Ozawa, Saito Kinen Orchestra Orff: Carmina Burana Orff: Carmina Burana ASIN: B000001G5X Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

1. Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi: O Fortuna
2. Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi: Fortune plango vulnera
3. I Primo Vere: Veris leta facies
4. I Primo Vere: Omnia Sol temperat
5. I Primo Vere: Ecce gratum
6. Uf dem Anger: Tanz
7. Uf dem Anger: Floret silva
8. Uf dem Anger: Chramer, gip die varwe mir
9. Uf dem Anger: Reie Swaz hie gat umbe Chume, chum, geselle min! Swaz hie gat umbe
10. Uf dem Anger: Were diu werlt alle min
11. II In Taberna: Estuans interius
12. II In Taberna: Olim lacus colueram
13. II In Taberna: Ego sum abbas
14. II In Taberna: In taberna quando sumus
15. III Cour d'amours: Amor volat undique
16. III Cour d'amours: Dies, nox et omnia
17. III Cour d'amours: Stetit puella
18. III Cour d'amours: Circa mea pectora
19. III Cour d'amours: Si puer cum puellula
20. III Cour d'amours: Veni, veni, venias
21. III Cour d'amours: In trutina
22. III Cour d'amours: Tempus est iocundum
23. III Cour d'amours: Dulcissime
24. Blanziflor et Helena: Ave formosissima
25. Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi: O Fortuna

Customer Reviews:

Not my cup of tea.......2007-02-18

Maybe I am not ready to appreciate this, but for the moment, this cd is just awful to my ears. Sorry for the die hard fans.

Brilliant.......2007-01-12

Joseph's Levine's production of Carmina Burana is brilliant. Although most everyone will recognize O Fortuna from "Excalibur" or other Hollywood fare, there is a tremendous depth and power in all of this masterpiece.

Medieval and modern bash heads beautifully ..........2006-01-09

Carl Orff may not have attained "household name" status, but the dazzling "Carmina Burana" has become a staple in the modern classical music repertory. The work has appeared in so many concert halls, recordings, movies, television spots, rock concerts, and presentations that it may rank as one of the twentieth century's most famous classical pieces. And this CD presents a great recording of Orff's most famous work.

But "Carmina Burana" doesn't always sound like twentieth century music. "O Fortuna", the blaring ominous opener, sounds like a blend of classical, medieval, and modern. And the themes of fortune, Spring, Love (and lust), and drinking sound anything but modern. The latin text doubtless lends a large part of the medieval flavor, but German also appears throughout the song cycle.

The text comes from a now famous 11th-13th century collection of some 1,000 poems and songs. Historians believe that the "goliards" (wandering freethinking poets) composed these poems, which laid undiscovered until 1803. In the 1930s these secular and sometimes bawdy songs caught the attention of the very Roman Catholic Orff. "Carmina Burana" premiered in Nazi Germany in 1937 to great acclaim (though some found it "degenerate"). Initially written as accompaniment for elaborate theater stagings, the work usually gets performed in concert halls without the visuals. The music definitely warrants such a performance. It stands completely on its own; ranging from the inexorably powerful to the delicate and lovely. Orff pulled out all the stops when he composed this incredible music.

"O Fortuna" remains justifiably famous with its riveting rhythms and staccato chorus. This tune bookends the entire song collection, suggesting that the work as a whole deals with the ineffable viscissitudes of life. Next, Spring arrives and brings with it dancing (track 6 will get any feet moving), drinking, and the pursuit of sensual pleasures. Though some gain from this happiness, some wallow in misery. "Olim lacus colueram" ("Once I Lived On Lakes") tells a ghastly story from the point of view of a swan roasting on a spit. The tenor solo sings with the perfect amount of agony as the music provides appropriately horrifying accompaniment. "Floret silva nobilis" ("The Noble Woods are Burgeoning") finds a lover bemoaning the parting of her lover. The music punctuates her woe with horse hoof beats fading into the distance. Woes of Fortune and the changes brought with springtime provide the thematic structure for the songs. In the end, the refrain of "O Fortuna" provides a reminder that our pleasures and our misery remain fleeting and subject to the wiles of fortune. Thematically, the piece is timeless.

James Levine and the Chicago Symphony Chorus and Orchestra pull off quite a performance on this CD. Anyone looking for a solid straight through recording of this famous work will find it here. The CD booklet doesn't give much information on Orff or on the work, but it does contain all of the lyrics in Latin/German and English. Regardless, the music prevails and this recording will not disappoint.

The best alternative to Jochum.......2005-08-08

While Eugen Jochum's definitive recording of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana concentrated on a rustic, unrefined presentation of the miraculous choral hodgepodge, James Levine's modern, Grammy Award-winning 1984 recording gives the hypnotic work a smooth, meticulous treatment. Levine, a notoriously "glossy" conductor, is in excellent form here, taking the twenty-five mini-masterpieces that comprise the work somewhat slower than Jochum with three of the best soloists ever to be recorded.

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus are in terrific order. The choral selections (the primitive "Fortune plango vulnera," the jovial "Ecce gratum," the appropriately flowery "Floret silva," and, of course, the calamitous "O Fortuna!") are presented with almost perfect accuracy and calculation. The pacing is only occasionally disappointing; the Tanz, which contains excellently elaborate percussive sections, is taken too quickly and most of the rich subtleties are lost.

Philip Creech's rendition of the song of the roasting swan, "Olim lacus colueram," is a hilarious and slightly disturbing instance of petrified and bizarre caterwauling. Bernd Weikl, a rather rough-hewn baritone-bass, is a somewhat unsteady but altogether satisfying choice for the baritone soloist. "Ego sum abbas" is definitely his best moment; it is presented accusingly and voraciously, easily juxtaposed to the supercilious ravings and fire-and-brimstone-preaching of a Biblical prophet. June Anderson is simply a treasure as the soprano soloist. Gundula Janowitz, the Jochum soprano, has a less dense, more ethereal voice, which was more fitting for the orgiastic "Stetit puella." However, due to one of Levine's more inspired (and slow) moments, Anderson is able to uncover some of the solo's most invigorating and atmospheric subtleties. She also survives "Dulcissime," a brief but extraordinarily tiring piece that causes most sopranos to languish.

Simply the best Carmina .......2005-05-03

When I bought this CD, I expected a beautiful, powerful, austere, haunting, loud piece all rolled into one CD. The CSO, bless their hearts, obliged me here. The brass, as usual are painstakingly precise( as is the chorus when the score calls for staccato passages such as the pianissiomo section on the first track)as seen in tracks such as track 10, the last part of Uf dem Anger. Of course I cannot diminish the other parts of the orchestra but my mind often freezes up when doing these reviews because I have so much I want to say and don't want you to think I'm a babbling idiot. Anyway, really, the only detraction to this recording is the tenor, Creech I believe it is. I find his sqawking irritating( I am speaking specifically of the Roasted Swan Song). I cannot attest to whether that's what Orff actually wanted as another critic here suggests. If that is what Orff wanted, then shame on him. Regardless of that minor flaw, the disc is a proud testament to what happens when Levine meets the CSO.

Average customer rating: Essential recording for every brass player Antiphonal Masterpiece All-star brass Instant playing A VERY special album

The Antiphonal Music of Gabrieli Manufacturer: Sony ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Gabrieli, Giovanni | ( G ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Fantasies | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music General | Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music $7.99 and Under | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music All Classical Music Blowout | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Gabrieli, Giovanni | ( G ) | Composers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Instrumental | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Classical Instrumental Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Similar Items: Music Of Gabrieli Gabrieli · Monteverdi · Vivaldi - Venetian Church Music / Taverner Consort, Choir & Players · Andrew Parrott The Chicago Principal: First Chair Soloist Play Famous Concertos The Glory of Gabrieli Glorious Sound of Brass ASIN: B0000029PE Release Date: 1996-10-01

Tracks:

1. Giovanni Gabrieli: Canzon Septimi Toni No. 2
2. Giovanni Gabrieli: Canzon Duodecimi Toni
3. Giovanni Gabrieli: Canzon A 12
4. Giovanni Gabrieli: Sonata Octavi Toni
5. Giovanni Gabrieli: Canzon Per Sonare No. 27
6. Giovanni Gabrieli: Canzon Quarti Toni
7. Giovanni Gabrieli: Canzon A 12
8. Giovanni Gabrieli: Canzon Per Sonare No. 28
9. Giovanni Gabrieli: Sonate Pian'e Forte
10. Giovanni Gabrieli: Canzon Primi Toni
11. Giovanni Gabrieli: Canzon Septimi Toni No. 1
12. Giovanni Gabrieli: Canzon Noni Toni
13. Giovanni Gabrieli: Canzon Per Sonare No. 2
14. Giovanni Gabrieli: Primo Tono
15. Giovanni Gabrieli: Secondo Tono
16. Giovanni Gabrieli: Terzo E Quarto Tono
17. Giovanni Gabrieli: Canzon Per Sonare No. 1 La Spiritata
18. Giovanni Gabrieli: Ottavo Tono
19. Giovanni Gabrieli: Nono Tono
20. Giovanni Gabrieli: Decimo Tono
21. Giovanni Gabrieli: Canzon Per Sonare No. 3 Intonazioni D'organo
22. Giovanni Gabrieli: Undicesimo Tono
23. Giovanni Gabrieli: Duodecimo Tono
24. Giovanni Gabrieli: Canzon Per Sonare No. 4
25. Giovanni Gabrieli: Fantasia In The Sixth Tone
26. Giovanni Gabrieli: Tocata In D Minor
27. Giovanni Gabrieli: Canzon Prima In G Major
28. Giovanni Gabrieli: Canzon Seconda In C Major
29. Giovanni Gabrieli: Canzon Terza In A Minor
30. Giovanni Gabrieli: Canzon Quarta In G Minor
31. Giovanni Gabrieli: Canzon Quinta In G Minor
32. Giovanni Gabrieli: Toccata In G Major

Amazon.com

Venice was a good place to be in the 17th century if you liked to hang out in church--not that you had much choice in those days. Gabrieli's reputation rests on his "polychoral" compositions: works for several choirs, a choir being any size group of voices or instruments. For example, a sacred composition for three choirs might have two brass groups and one chorus, or two choruses and one brass ensemble. The idea was to keep things flexible to allow for changing local conditions. The result, in any case, was a magnificent "question and answer" style of writing, in which great blocks of harmony challenged each other from opposite sides of San Marco Cathedral. If this sort of thing intrigues you, then you owe it to yourself to hear this terrific collection. It's a cosmic experience. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews:

Essential recording for every brass player.......2007-07-24

The Gabrieli selections on this CD represent the most important brass recording ever released. I received the vinyl LP as a gift from a member of a brass quintet in which I played in the early 1980's. It inspired me to organize a performance of Gabrieli's antiphonal music. I have organized about 20 other performances since then and have transcibed 8 of the canzons not readily available in the United States. All this began with inspiration from this recording. The music was originally written for Renaissance instruments but works superbly on modern brass instruments. The music is hardly somber. Most of it is joyous and exultant, and not a few canzons play tricks on the audience. I also recommend the Empire Brass recording with Carl St. Clair as conductor (the CD with the dome of St. Mark's in front of the orange sky). The Philadelphia/Cleveland/Chicago recording emphasizes the collection of 1597. The Empire Brass recording emphasizes the postumous collection of 1615. The 1597 collection is the more lyrical. The 1615 collection is the more spectacular.

Antiphonal Masterpiece.......2007-05-16

This recording unifies arguably the 3 best brass sections from American Brass orchestras in a performance of the antiphonal music of Giovanni Gabrieli. The Chicago, Philadelphia, and Cleveland brass sections are used here and they work together as groups as well as they ever did with their corresponding orchestras. This was recorded without conductor, rehearsal, or even a tuning note, however, this is irrelevant when looking at the result. Given performers of the caliber of Adolph "Bud" Herseth, Arnold Jacobs, and Gilbert Johnson it is little wonder that this fine quality could be achieved with minimum preparation. I have looked at a number of other examples of this music including recordings by the Empire Brass and the Canadian Brass (and friends) and neither comes close to the emotion and beauty of this performance.

The different groups played directed off the vocal and instrumental parts written by Gabrieli making any adjustment for transposition in their head on sight, thus allowing them all to be as much focused on the music as possible as they were not looking at 3rd generation arrangements which always tend to leave out markings. These possibly were the best brass performers in America at the time and their interpretations are unified through exceptional listening across the ensemble for intonation, style, and tempo. A slightly non-justifiable reason that I hold for this album's excellence is the raw energy and beauty of this unprepared collaboration. In the time of Gabrieli, rehearsals were rare, and musicians would, on a daily basis, sit down and perform music that they hadn't studied, and while these are not the original instruments for which Gabrieli wrote, the quick pacing of this production (one weekend) to me lends more on the positive side for the enjoyment of the listener.

In short, this is a remarkable collaboration of some of the best performers on fantastic Renaissance literature and worthy of owning merely for that fact, and when combined with live and engaging performances where the music is played expertly from one section to the next off of each individual, this album becomes a gem for anyone with an interest in the brass ensemble sound.

All-star brass.......2007-01-17

If you like antiphonal music or even just music, it doesn't get any better! With the best brass players in the world playing Gabrieli, you couldn't want more musically!

Instant playing.......2006-07-11

I very like the diversity of instruments used in this recording, and it is shure something special to have all the first brass of so many US orchestras together. But they play on first sight, without preparation, and this results in lack of precision, it is just not the right kind of music to do "ad-hoc". They would do very well with Jazz, but not with Gabrieli. Nevertheless the performance is by far better then the one of Empire Brass. Overall I would recommend the complete Gabrieli Works on Naxos played by London Brass. They lack diversity of instruments because they play on Trumpets and Trombones only, but there is the precision adn musicality.

A VERY special album.......2005-08-03

If you've been into brass for 40 years, you probably already know that this is a very unusual gathering of the top of the top!
My only complaint is with the web site sound samples being MONO !
This album is in STEREO and really portrays the placement of the 3 major antiphonal quintets! You won't be disapointed.

Average customer rating: another winner from Naxos awesome value -- 5+ stars

Discover Early Music Manufacturer: Naxos ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Byrd, William | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Dowland | Dowland, John | ( D ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Dufay | Dufay, Guillaume | ( D ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Gesualdo | Gesualdo, Carlo | ( G ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Hildegard of Bingen | ( H ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Lassus | Lassus, Orlando di(Lasso) | ( L ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Obrecht | Obrecht, Jacob | ( O ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Tallis | Tallis, Thomas | ( T ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Taverner | Taverner, John | ( T ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Rondos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music General | Early Music | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Sacred & Religious | Early Music | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music | Requiems Vocal & Song | Early Music | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music | Requiems General | Renaissance (c.1450-1600) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Sacred & Religious | Renaissance (c.1450-1600) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music Compilations | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Oratorios | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Chansons | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Chants | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Lieder | Songs & Lieder | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Madrigals | Songs & Lieder | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Masses | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Motets | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Oratorios | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Psalms | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Renaissance (c.1450-1600) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Instructional | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music $7.99 and Under | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music All Classical Music Blowout | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Byrd, William | ( B ) | Composers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Dowland, John | ( D ) | Composers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Dufay, Guillaume | ( D ) | Composers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Gesualdo, Carlo | ( G ) | Composers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Hildegard of Bingen | ( H ) | Composers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Lassus, Orlando di(Lasso) | ( L ) | Composers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Obrecht, Jacob | ( O ) | Composers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Tallis, Thomas | ( T ) | Composers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Taverner, John | ( T ) | Composers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Opera & Vocal | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Similar Items: Discover Music of the Baroque Era Discover Music of the Classical Era Discover Music of the 20th Century Discover: Music of the Romantic Era The World of Early Music ASIN: B000B6N6BI Release Date: 2005-11-01

Tracks:

1. Antiphona Post Evangelium - In Dulci Jubilo
2. Versus Alleluiatici: Adorabo - Nova Schola Gregoriana
3. Ordo Virtutum: Procession - Oxford Camerata
4. Viderunt Omnes - Tonus Peregrinus
5. Fines Terre Salutare Dei Nostri Jubilate Deo Omnis Terra (Plainchant) - Tonus Peregrinus
6. Notum Fecit - Tonus Peregrinus
7. Dominus - Tonus Peregrinus
8. Salutare Suum Ante Conspectum Gentium Revelavit - Tonus Peregrinus
9. Justitiam Suam (Plainchant) - Tonus Peregrinus
10. Gaudete Christus Est Natus - Oxford Camerata
11. Cantiga De Santa Maria - Michael Posch
12. Exiit Diluculo - Unicorn Ensemble
13. Humils Forfaitz - Michael Posch
14. Adieu Ces Bons Vins De Lannoys - Michael Posch
15. Non Avra Ma'Pieta Questa Mia Donna - Michael Posch
16. Non Ara May Pieta Questa Mia Dona - Michael Posch
17. Veni Creator - Tonus Peregrinus
18. D'Ung Aultre Amer - Capilla Flamenca
19. Alleluya - Capilla Flamenca
20. El Grillo - Shirley Rumsey
21. El Grillo - Capilla Flamenca
22. Missa 'La Sol Fa Re Mi': Kyrie - Capilla Flamenca
23. Le Chant Des Oiseaux - The Scholars Of London
24. Passe & Medio/Den Iersten Gaillarde - Capilla Flamenca
25. Den III Ronde, Den VI Ronde-Les Quatre Branles - Convivium Musicum Gothenburgense
26. Gaillarde I, II, III - Convivium Musicum Gothenburgense

Tracks:

1. In Nomine - Rose Consort Of Viols
2. In Nomine No.20 - Rose Consort Of Viols
3. Spem In Alium - Oxford Camerata
4. Sanctus - Oxford Camerata
5. Du Fond De Ma Pensee - Christine Morel
6. The King Of Denmark's Galiard - Rose Consort Of Viols
7. Flow, My Tears - Dorothy Linell
8. Greiner Zancker - Ensemble Villanella
9. Stat ('Tsaat) Ein Meskin - Ensemble Villanella
10. Tiento - Shirley Rumsey
11. Tribulationem Et Dolorem - Oxford Camerata
12. Lagrime Di San Pietro: 'Il Magnanimo Pietro' - Bo Holten
13. Missa 'Susanne Un Jour': Kyrie - Oxford Camerata
14. Beau Le Crystal - The Scholars Of London
15. Missa 'O Magnum Mysterium': O Magnum Mysterium - Oxford Camerata
16. Missa 'Papae Marcelli': Kyrie - Oxford Camerata

Customer Reviews:

another winner from Naxos.......2007-02-21

This is another winning compilation from Naxos. My only comment is to provide a heads-up regarding the track list in the booklet. CD 1 puts the Leonin "Viderunt Omnes" on six tracks, while the booklet leaves room for only one. Thus, add five to booklet tracks five through 21 for CD1 to get them to match. (I.e., where the booklet says tracks 15 and 16 are two versions of Josquin's "El Grillo," your CD player will show them to be tracks 20 and 21.) With luck this will be corrected in later printings.

Also, I would have liked the booklet to include the words, but perhaps that is an inducement to get particular CDs from Naxos.

As for the music itself--breadth of selection, musicianship, sound quality, all are excellent. A great collection!

awesome value -- 5+ stars.......2006-07-15

I'm really enthusiastic about these CDs and booklet. I've had it for a few weeks now, in which I've explored Medieval and Renaissance music much more deeply than this little book and CD set. Yet I'm very glad I started with these.

The selection of composers gives an excellent, broad sweep across several centuries.

But the booklet contains one of the most informative essays I've found about early music, and I've spent a few dozen dollars buying books. If the booklet were separated from the CDs, it alone would be worth more than $10.

In short, if you're interested in exploring early music, this really is one of the best places to start; the best place that I know of. I'm sure, at any rate, that you can't beat the value.

Average customer rating: A good starting place Awesome--Te llevare al cielo open your house to music from a distance

Esenciales: Sol Maná Manufacturer: Warner Music Latina ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Latin Music | Styles | Music Latin Pop | Latin Music | Styles | Music Rock en Español | Latin Music | Styles | Music Mexico | International | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Similar Items: Esenciales: Luna Esenciales: Eclipse Amar Es Combatir Revolución de Amor Sueños Liquidos ASIN: B0000E6XLA Release Date: 2003-11-18

Tracks:

1. Te Llevare Al Cielo
2. Estoy Agotado
3. Buscandola
4. Perdido En Un Barco
5. De Pies A Cabeza
6. Oye Mi Amor
7. Sabanas Frias
8. Como Te Deseo
9. Me Vale
10. Dejame Entrar
11. Tonto En La Lluvia (Fool In The Rain De Led Zeppelin)
12. Clavado En Un Bar
13. Hechicera
14. Angel De Amor

Customer Reviews:

A good starting place.......2007-03-29

I'm a gringo and don't speak Spanish very well, but thanks to the Amores Perros soundtrack I've become a big Rock en Espanol fan. Mana is one of the bands that kept popping up in my searches, so I gave Sueños Liquidos a shot and since then I've collected all of their albums.

This disc is a good retrospective of their catalog with a track or two off of each album through Revolución de Amor and it focuses on my personal favorites: the upbeat dancable songs. They have a poppy, rock style and are often compared to U2. I find their music more joyous, but maybe it is just that I don't follow the lyrics too well.

That said...these discs are kind of expensive. Sueños Liquidos and Revolución de Amor are both chock full of great songs and you can pick up their older albums pretty cheap, so maybe the best thing to do is what I did: get Sueños and then work your way through their whole catalog.

Another option would be to pick up the Mana Unplugged album which also has a good selection, but while I enjoy it, I generally prefer the album versions.

Also, check out the Amores Perros soundtrack Amores Perros (2000 Film). It introduced me to Cafe Tacuba, Ely Guerra, Control Machete and a dozen other great artists.

Awesome--Te llevare al cielo.......2004-02-28

I have been searching far and wide for this song. I heard it first on the local Spanish radio stations and I hummed the beat to a friend and she gave me the name. I love this song. It inspires love in all that hear it. It truly requires genuine musical talent to come up with grooving beats and I think Mana has outdone themselves.

open your house to music from a distance.......2004-01-22

On New Year's Eve we flew to Mexico City. A week later we were having breakfast in Oaxaca and this album was being played in the restaurant. At first I thought "sting" was being dubbed in spanish. But then the next cut would have this wonderful latin style and rhythm? We asked the waitress,"who were we listening to?", she smiled..... "mana"! Later in the day we bought the cd in a marketplace.

Now back in Oklahoma,yet barely speaking a word of spanish,my husband and I love this albumn. The beat and rhythm.....
irresistable. Happy, upbeat music that takes me back to the other Americas.

Average customer rating: Sutherland/Pavarotti sublime Buy it! You won't be sorry! flawless A most recomended Rigoletto

Verdi: Rigoletto (Highlights) / Sutherland, Pavarotti Manufacturer: Decca ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Verdi | Verdi, Giuseppe | ( V ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Cassinelli, Ricardo | ( C ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Italian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Operettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Vocal Works by Verdi | Verdi, Giuseppe | U to Z | Featured Composers, A-Z | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music The Decca Records Store | Specialty Stores | Music Similar Items: Puccini - La Bohème / Freni, Pavarotti, Harwood, Berlin Phil., Karajan [Highlights] Puccini: Tosca (Highlights) / Freni, Pavarotti Rossini: The Barber of Seville (Highlights) Mozart: Don Giovanni [Highlights] Mozart: The Magic Flute (Highlights) ASIN: B00004T2FQ Release Date: 2000-08-08

Tracks:

1. Rigoletto: Preludio
2. Rigoletto: Questa O Quella
3. Rigoletto: Pari Siamo
4. Rigoletto: Figlia! Mio Padre
5. Rigoletto: E'Il Sol Dell'Anima
6. Rigoletto: Gualtier Malde...Caro Nome
7. Rigoletto: Ella Mi Fu Rapita! Parmi Veder Le Lagrime
8. Rigoletto: Duca, Duca!
9. Rigoletto: Passente Amor Mi Chiama
10. Rigoletto: Povero Rigoletto
11. Rigoletto: Cortigiani, Vil Razza Dannata
12. Rigoletto: Parla...Siam Soli...Tutte Le Feste Al Tempio
13. Rigoletto: La Donna E Mobile
14. Rigoletto: Bella Figlia Dell'Amore
15. Rigoletto: Chi E Mai, Chi E Qui In Sua Vece

Customer Reviews:

Sutherland/Pavarotti sublime.......2003-06-04

If you can't afford the full set of Rigoletto, this is the way to go. I have about 10 versions of this opera which is one of my all time favorites.
This Rigoletto is supreme. Sutherland sings up a storm, tossing of high D's and E's with extreme ease. Her trill is a marvel indeed. She is completely match with a young Pavarotti that matches Dame Joan's gorgeous voice. Pavarotti's high D is stunning.
The only competition with this Rigoletto is the one with Callas.
But Callas can't touch Sutherland in voice or technique.
In conclusion, this is the Rigoletto to get if you only want the highlights.

Buy it! You won't be sorry!.......2001-03-20

One word....FABULOUS! I've nearly worn it out! If you're new to opera, buy this; it's a sure hit!

flawless.......2000-08-14

flawless singing by dame Joan and Pavorotti. beautiful recording.

A most recomended Rigoletto.......2000-08-08

There is no equall to Pavarotti as the duke. No doubt. You'll hear no better "questa o quella" and no better "bella figlia dellamore" This alone is a good reason to buy this disc. Sutherland, as brilliant as ever, gives the best "caro nome" I've heard, and Milnes is an exellent Rigoletto. The "supporting" roles are sung beautifully, all and all a great recording, with one flaw - Richard Bonyng is no Verdi conductor. He should stick to bell canto. His conducting makes few of the duets, trios and quartets less pretty than they could have been. but mostly he doesn't harm the music much, and he conducts the solos well. All and all - the best rigoletto I've heard. Buy!

Average customer rating: Sound Track is AWESOME! Ancient Music for a Great Movie

Kramer Vs. Kramer Manufacturer: Sony ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Purcell, Henry | ( P ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Vivaldi | Vivaldi, Antonio | ( V ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Concertinos | Concertos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music General | Concertos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Incidental Music | Theatrical, Incidental & Program Music | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music General | Purcell, Henry | Composers | Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music Compilations | Classical | Styles | Music Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music Classical Instrumental Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Similar Items: Kramer vs. Kramer Reds (Special 25th Aniversary Collector's Edition) The Departed [Blu-ray] ASIN: B0000025FY Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

1. Concerto For Mandolin, Strings And Harpsichord In C Major: I Allegro (Abridged)
2. Sonata For Trumpet And Strings In D Major: II Adagio
3. Sonata For Trumpet And Strings In D Major: III Allegro
4. The Gordian Knot Untied: Rondeau Minuet
5. Concerto In C Major For Mandolin, Strings And Harpsichord, P.134: I Allegro
6. Concerto In C Major For Mandolin, Strings And Harpsichord, P.134: II Largo
7. Concerto In C Major For Mandolin, Strings And Harpsichord, P.134: III Alegro
8. Sonata In D Major For Trumpet, Strings, And Continuo: I Allegro
9. Sonata In D Major For Trumpet, Strings, And Continuo: II Adagio
10. Sonata In D Major For Trumpet, Strings, And Continuo: III Allegro
11. The Gordian Knot Untied: Overture
12. The Gordian Knot Untied: Air
13. The Gordian Knot Untied: Rondeau Minuet
14. The Gordian Knot Untied: Air
15. The Gordian Knot Untied: Jig
16. The Gordian Knot Untied: Air
17. The Gordian Knot Untied: Minuet
18. Concert In G Major For Two Mandolins, Strings And Organ, P.133: I. Allegro
19. Concert In G Major For Two Mandolins, Strings And Organ, P.133: II. Andante
20. Concert In G Major For Two Mandolins, Strings And Organ, P.133: III. Allegro

Customer Reviews:

Sound Track is AWESOME!.......2007-06-12

This soundtack changed the way I viewed "classical" music, which I did not think I liked. I was wrong. The music changed my mind entirely! It is mellow and nice to have in the background when I am on the computer, or reading, knitting, whatever. Mose restful!

Ancient Music for a Great Movie.......2000-11-30

How can classical music perfectly fit a movie made in the 70s? Surprisingly enough, in Kramer vs. Kramer it does. Vivaldi and Purcell are put in a wonderful, perfect way to describe the most intense, delicate, dramatic and intimate moments between father, mother and son, and no one missed great theme tunes from soundtrack composers. It's simple, sweet music for a small world and a everyday story that touches everybody's heart. A must even if you haven't seen the movie - this music goes far beyond the screen experience!

Average customer rating: Wonderfully captivating music by the tango master When styles mix Explains It All To Those Wounded in Love Great sex music! Comes from the heart! Piazzolla's Unofficial Interpreter

Hommage A Piazzolla Manufacturer: Nonesuch ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music Piazzolla, Astor | ( P ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Kremer, Gidon | ( K ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Tango | Latin Music | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Styles | Music Similar Items: Tracing Astor Vivaldi and Piazzolla: Eight Seasons Tango: Zero Hour La Camorra The Rough Dancer and the Cyclical Night (Tango Apasionado) ASIN: B000005J48 Release Date: 1996-09-24

Tracks:

1. Milonga En Re
2. Vardarito
3. Oblivion
4. Escualo
5. Histoire Du Tango: Cafe 1930
6. Concierto Para Quinteto
7. Soledad
8. Buenos Aires Hora Cero
9. Celos
10. El Sol Sueno (Hommage A Astor Piazzolla)
11. Le Grand Tango

Amazon.com essential recording

Gidon Kremer, who plays the standard violin repertoire so well, has remained a restless explorer of music. Here is his first album of Piazzolla arrangements, introduced by a moving and perceptive assessment of Piazzolla by composer John Adams. Kremer has completely steeped himself in the spirit of the tango, and of Piazzolla's transformation of this music into concert works. The selection (mostly larger-scale Piazzolla works), the varied arrangements, and the compelling quality of the playing make this one of the best albums of this music not involving the composer's own performances. And if you love it, you'll be glad to know that Kremer's second Piazzolla album is also available. --Leslie Gerber

Customer Reviews:

Wonderfully captivating music by the tango master.......2005-10-25

I was introduced to the music of Astor Piazzolla by the more than great violinist Gidon Kremer when he played a virtuosic tango as an encore. Whenever a rich new vein of wonderful music is opened to me, well, it makes for a bright and happy day. Not long after I picked up this CD and I can recommend it to you highly. This is more than just tango dance music, these are serious and contemplative compositions that use the Tango as the vehicle just as the classical and especially Baroque composers used their dance music for instrumental compositions. The music is full of mood, sensuality, rhythm, lush harmonies, dissonance, love, and pain. It is a music of contrasts and never gets too fussy or complicated. It wears its heart on its sleeve and draws us in because it is so charming.

Each piece has its own varied ensemble and the musicians in that ensemble also arrange the music for that track. Kremer leads from the violin in all of them, after all it is his album and his hommage to Piazzolla. However, the instruments used depend on the musical materials and mood of the piece. The piano is used quite a bit, and at times there are wind instruments. The bandoneón is required in tango, as well. It is a kind of concertina that was developed and made in Germany, but adopted in Argentina for the Tango. It has a wonderfully reedy sound and is played with buttons on each side of the bellows. Depending on the model, the note can change or stay the same whether you are pulling the bellows out or pushing them in, but in all of them there are two voices always at the octave and gives the bandoneón its characteristic sound.

The only composition not by Piazzolla is a very interesting tango included as a tribute to the master entitled "El sol sueño" by Jerzy Peterbushsky.

This is good music and a very enjoyable change of pace.

When styles mix.......2005-09-07

I bought this record following a live performance by Gidon Kremer et al. at the Verbier Festival. The mixture of classical music with a dose of jazz on a Latin base produces an interesting result that is quite surprising at first. However, the more one hears, the more the result grows on the listener, just as at the live show where the audience, somewhat stunned at the outset, gave a standing ovation at the end.

Overall, the mélange is pleasant, chill listening to be appreciated by fans of any of the three styles of music.

Explains It All To Those Wounded in Love.......2005-01-16

Ever have a moment where you loved someone so much you hated him?

Ever have a relationship you could not get out of your mouth, your mind, your heart, your system, but that you knew was over and done with forever and ever, and you'd never even see the other again?

Ever feel so happy you wanted to cry? No, sob? Wrenching, wracking sobs? From happiness, now.

Yes?

Have I got a CD for you: Hommage a Piazzolla, featuring Gidon Kremer.

Like many, I suspect, I have a mixed relationship to tango. When I put on a tango CD, I fear I'll be hearing something that sets my teeth to jangling and makes me want to slap someone in the face.

This isn't that. You could listen to most of this while sitting perfectly still, on a window sill, in fact, with the lights down low in your apartment, as you stare out at the rain-slicked city at night. A drink sits on a nearby table, unfinished...you have no will to finish it.

(It's hard not to imagine these things while listening to this music; really, it's all so poetic, cinematic, irresistable.)

At some point, though, you're probably not going to be able to sit still any more, and you'll have to put that rose in your teeth and cut a few moves.

Tango often sounds, to we non-Argentinians, like a parody of itself.

This CD does not.

Rather, when I put it on, not at all sure what to expect, I had one of those epiphanies that art can give you.

I had been brooding over a vexed relationship, one I did not understand, but knew was hurting me, not with any immediacy, but like a sore tooth that could stand to go a few more months before you get over your fear of the dentist to get it fixed.

What bugged me most of all was that I did not understand what was hurting. Rationally, I had no reason to feel troubled.

I put on this CD, with the relationship way in the back of my mind, and I just, immediately thought, "That's it. This music is explaining it all; this music is articulating everything."

Not bad.

This kind of music, music that allows in the true bittersweet of life, the unsolvable, the passion, is all too rare. If music that addresses those qualities is what you crave, this CD might be just what you need.

Great sex music! Comes from the heart!.......2004-07-21

The music and perforamance are so sensually played and achingly beautiful, the hairs on my neck and arms stand up on end. Listen to the opening track and tell me this is not great sex music. Yes, tango is a very sensual art form and this CD is great for those very intimate moments. Of course, sex aside, the music is nothing short of a miracle unto itself. That I was to discover this CD just last year meant I was without it for 7 years since it was released. My life is richer for this and other Piazzolla works done by Kremer.
This CD has become one of those "island" CDs that you would take if you wer so to become deserted on one. You should be so lucky!

Piazzolla's Unofficial Interpreter.......2001-04-12

I first became aware of this CD several years ago as its melancholy strains wafted through the air of a bookstore through which I was browsing. My ears perked up...Piazzolla!!! Upon inquiry, I was shown the CD and I immediately purchased a copy. I couldn't wait to get home and listen to it at elevated volume. What a recording!! Kremer has captured and distilled the essence of Piazzolla's music. Every song is a masterpiece and nearly all of my favorite mid-period Piazzolla compositions are contained within. A special treat is the magnum opus which closes the set, a 12-minute rendering of Le Grand Tango with just Kremer's violin and the restrained passion of Vadim Sakharov's piano to lead your mind into another musical dimension. Gidon Kremer has since recorded a number of Piazzolla-related CDs and in so doing has set himself up as the unofficial interpreter of El Maestro's music. If you like Piazzolla, you are sure to enjoy this CD. I give it my highest recommendation.

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