The Songs We Sing

1. Leyv Tahor

2. AdonOlam

3. L’ma’an Achai

4. Ayshet Chayil

5. Shalom Aleychem

6. Erev Shel Shoshanim

7. Kol HaOlam Kulo

8. Bashana Haba’a

9. Yerushalayim Shel Zahav

10. Dodi Li/Miserlu

11. Y’did Nefesh

12. Bilvavi

13. Oifn Pripitshik/Belz/Tumbalalaika

14. Eitz Chayim Hi

Editorial Reviews

Jewish Community Online
"...peaceful, romantic harmonies throughout the recording are spiritually uplifting and emotionally elevating."

Product Description
The Songs We Sing...a contemporary approach to sixteen classics of popular Jewish music, performed with passion and precision by Sam Glaser and his world-class seven piece band. Includes nearly seventy minutes of music, lyrics, translations and sources.

The Songs We Sing

Tracks:

Cold December
Astair
Sweet Thursday
Sunshine
These Arms
Ballad Of Miss Kate
Sweet Rose
Songs We Sing
Yellow Taxi
I Tried
Behind The Moon
Oh Dear
Wash Away

Amazon.com

Sincere but not too sincere, cute but not gorgeous, and smart enough to know to steal from the very best, former skateboard pro Matt Costa signed to surfer Jack Johnson's label on the strengths of some very workman-like pop songs and a smooth, appealing voice. Goldilockses of the world are bound to find Costa's unassuming songs just right--and if his work fails to find its way onto the soundtracks of all the hottest television shows, there is little justice in the world. Costa may croon that "These are the songs that I sing/To make the day better," but these really aren't songs so much as they're rock & roll equations. The dude combines the anglophilic sonority of Belle & Sebastian and Donovan with a taste of Elliott Smith's gorgeous downer vibe, heaping doses of the Beatles thrown in throughout. It's pleasantly chiming enough stuff to be sure: it'll just be far more interesting to see what happens once Costa has worked his way through his influences. --Mike McGonigal

Customer Reviews:

much better than anticipated.......2007-06-18

A great first album, both the brushfire version and the original. It's too bad 'whiskey and wine' was taken off of the brushfire release, it's a catchy song. Either way certainly worth a listen.

Similar Sounds.......2007-04-11

This CD is very Jack Johnson, Beatles and Phish all in one. I enjoy it, but was very surprised by the close sounding similarities to the Beatles. It is a good mellow CD that I would recommend buying if you enjoy artists such as Jack Johnson, Beatles and Phish.

not what i was expecting.......2007-02-06

After hearing cold december on the radio and loving it i decided to purchase this cd. none of the rest of the songs on the cd compare to the first track. albums that i don't love right off the bat usually get several rounds of play before i warm up to them but i could barely make it through listeining to this album from beginning to end once.
if you are into folkish music this cd is for you..for me it was not

Best album I bought last year.......2007-01-10

I bought dozens and dozens of CDs last year and Costa's Songs We Sing was my favorite acquisition. If you're enjoying that trendy, troubadour sound of barefoot, pensive guys strumming their accoustic guitars to licks that hook you, this is as upbeat, clear, and good-mood-provoking as they come. A friend and peer of Jack Johnson's, Costa is coming into his own a bit less produced (very welcome, indeed!). His melodies stick with you. I'm looking forward to more great stuff from Costa.

# 1 Costa fan in Vegas.......2006-12-19

I happened upon Cold December and bought Songs We Sing. I can't stop listening to it! I love (and know by heart) every song. All my friends are getting this album for Christmas, and I think I want to marry Matt Costa ;)

I would try to compare to other groups/artists - but really it is too original (unlike the vibe you get from the Amazon review) and this album deserves an objective listen - just get it!

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

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ASIN: B00006O0NT
Release Date: 2002-12-03

Tracks:

Overture To 'Tannhauser'
Domna, Pos Vos Ay Chausida
We Don't Merely Use Instruments, We Play On Them. And They Play On Us.
Hungarian Dance No.7
The Violin Is One Of The Most Tender And Beautiful Instruments Ever Invented.
Violin Concerto In D Major (Adagio)
But For A Long Time It Was Seen As The Instrument Of The Devil.
The Soldier's Tale: Triumphal March Of The Devil
The Manipulative Seductiveness Of The Gypsy Violin.
Csardas Music
The Violin And The Initiation Of Nature
The Four Seasons (Spring, Mvt 1)
Birds Are Again Evoked In The Second Concerto, Especially Music's Natural Favourite.
The Four Seasons (Summer, Mvt 1)
Like The Devil, The Violin Is A Master Of Disguise.
Old Viennese Dance No.3 'Schon Rosmarin'
The Menacing Sensuality Of Ravel's Tzigane: A Very Different Side Of The Violin:
Tzigane
Do We Now Have The True Measure Of This Instrument? Not Just Yet.
Caprice No.24
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.
Variations On A Theme Of Frank Bridge (No.7)
Prokofiev's Tremolo In Romeo And Juliet Should Not Be Heard Just Before Bedtime.
Romeo And Juliet: Act IV
Vivaldi Use It To Illustrate The Shivering Of Travellers Crossing The Ice.
The Four Seasons (Winter, Mvt 1)
The Violin Muted
Clair De Lune
The Gentleness Of Muted Strings Persists Even When A Whole Orchestra Plays.
Piano Concerto No.21 In C Major, K.467 (Slow Mvt)
The Pizzicato Violin
Pizzicato Polka
In Prokofiev's Second Violin Concerto, The Accompaniment Is Pizzicato.
Violin Concerto No.2 In G Minor (Slow Mvt)
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...
The Planets (Mars - The Bringer Of War)
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
Hungarian Dance No.4
Double-Stopping Is A Standard Feature Of A Lot Of Folk Music.
The Four Seasons (Autumn, Mvt 1)
Now The Same Technique, But The Sound Might Have Come From Another World.
Bolero
Double-Stopping Can Only Approximate The Sound Of A Real Violin Duet.
Cadenza To The Violin Concerto By Brahms
Now Compare That With A Real Violin Duet.
Forty-Four Duos (No. 1: Teasing Song)
Another Duo By Bartok, Demonstrating The Violin's Rich Lower Register
Forty-Four Duos (No.2: Maypole Dance)
And Now What May Be The Most Beautiful Accompanied Violin Duet In History
Concerto In D Minor For Two Violins (Largo)
The Soul Of The Violin Is In Song; But What About This Weird Passage?
Violin Concerto No.1 In D Major (Mvt 2)
The Use Of Harmonies In The Orchestra Can Be Both Magical And Unsettling.
Symphony No.1 'Titan' (Mvt 1, Opening)
Tchaikovsky's Use Of Harmonics In The Sleeping Beauty Is Both Strange And Darling.
The Sleeping Beauty (Act II, No.15: Entr'Acte)
Ravel's Harmonics In Mother Goose Effect A Magical Transformation.
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Beauty And The Beast)
Stravinsky's Harmonics In The Firebird Transport Us Almost Into Another World./The Firebird (Introduction)
The Natural Upper Notes Of The Violins Have A Unique Emotional 'Grab'.
Also Sprach Zarathustra (Of The Afterworldsmen)
Still In Their Upper Register, The Violins Unleash The Energy Of A Young Colt.
Variations On A Theme Of Frank Bridge (No. 4)
Elsewhere, Britten Uses The Same High Register To Create A Very Different Mood.
Four Sea Interludes (Dawn) From 'Peter Grimes'
To End This Outing With The Violins, A Charming Little Elfin Dance
Elfenreigen

Tracks:

Introduction To The Viola
Viola Concerto (Mvt 1)
Khatchaturian Gets A Very Different Sound From It: Fuller, Fruitier, More Exotic.
Gayane Suite No.1 (Armen's Solo)
Very Nearly The Whole Of The Violin's Upper Register Is Also Available To The Viola.
Passacaglia, Op.33b From 'Peter Grimes'
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.
Harold In Italy (Mvt 4)
The Muted Viola: Intimate, Gentle, Poignant In Dvork
Cypresses (No.9)
The Massed Violas Of The Modern Symphony Orchestra In Mahler
Symphony No.4 (Mvt 3)
The 'Period' Viola In Bach
Brandenburg Concerto No.6 (Last Mvt)
The Cello: A Voice Of Unique Nobility
Suite No.1 For Unaccompanied Cello (Prelude)
Brahms And The 'Soul' Of The Cello
Piano Concerto No.2 In B Flat Major (Mvt 3)
Most Orchestral Composers Tend To Emphasize The Cello's Lower Register.
Cantata 'Herz Und Mund Und Tat Und Leben', BWV 147 (Soprana Aria: Bereite Dir, Jesu)
In The Time Of Beethoven The Cello Remained As Fundamental As Ever.
Symphony No.3 'Eroica' (Finale)
But The Cello Is Not Condemned To Spend Its Life In The Basement.
Elfentanz, Op.39
Not Only In Recital Showpieces Like That Is The Cello Is Used In Its Highest Register.
The Protecting Veil (Opening)
A Cello With An Identity-Crisis: The Pizzicato Flamencan
Flamenco
Double-Stopping In The Lower Reaches Of The Cello's Range
Solo Suiet For Cello And Piano (Sardana)
It's In The Middle Register That The Cello Really Comes Into Its Own.
Oriental Dance, Op.2 No.2
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.
Symphony No.9 (Finale)
Introduction To The Double-Bass
The Carnival Of The Animals (The Elephant)
But The Double-Bass Can Be Intensely Expressive And Graceful.
Elegy No.1 In D Major
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.
Capriccio Di Bravura
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)
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....
Symphony No.5 (Mvt 3)/So Much For The Strings/On Now To The Winds

Tracks:

The Antiquity And Magic Of The Flute
Prelude A L'Apres-Midi D'Un Faune
The Versatility And Agility Of The Flute
Orchestral Suite No.2 In B Minor (Badinerie)
The Flute In Fifteenth-Century Spain
Sa'Dawi
Other Flutes: The Bass And Alto
Chamber Music No.II
The Piccolo - Aptly Named
La Naissance D'Osiris (Mvt 6)
From A Piccolo Of The Eighteenth Century To One Of Its Descendants In The Twentieth
Suite No.1 For Small Orchestra (Valse)
A Variety Of Techniques
Chamber Music No.II
Flutter-Tonguing. But Tchaikovsky Got There Eighty Years Before.
The Nutcracker (Act II, No.2: Scene)
From The Transverse To The Vertical: The Baroque Recorder
Recorded Suite In A Minor (Menuet II)
An Unfamiliar, Early Vision Of The Instrument
Naelden, Naelden
The Bachian Oboe
Cantata 'Ein Feste Burg Ist Unser Gott', BWV 80 (No.7: Duetto)
Introduction To The Cor Anglais Or 'English Born'
Symphony No.9 'From The New World' (Mvt 2)
The Loneliness Of The Cor Anglais
The Swan Of Tuonela
The Cor Anglais Joins The French Horn In Haydn.
Symphony No.22 'The Philosopher' (Opening)
Introduction To The Oboe D'Amore, Beloved Of Bach - But Also Of Ravel
Bolero
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...
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)
As The High Clarinets Tend To Be Loud, So The Bass Tends To Be Soft:
Gayane Suite No. 1 (Mvt 5)
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).
The Range Of The Normal Clarinet Parts Goes Quite High...
The Snow Maiden (Scene 5: Melodrama)
...And Quite Low.
Peter And The Wolf (The Cat)
The Clarinet As Concerto Soloist
Clarinet Concerto In A Major (Rondo)
But That's Not The Instrument Mozart Wrote It For; This Is:
Clarinet Concerto In A Major (Rondo)
Introduction To The Saxophone
Hary Janos Suite (Mvt 4)
The Soprano Saxophone Has Quite A Different Feel To It.
L'Arlesienne Suite No.1 (Minuet)
The Little Sopranino Sax Goes Even Higher.
Bolero
The Most Famous Use Of The Saxophone Is In An Orchestration By Ravel.
Pictures At An Exhibition (The Old Castle)
The Saxophone Can Be Quite Contagiously Good-Humoured.
Sax-O-Phun
The Puffa-Puffa Image Of The Bassoon
Peter And The Wolf (Grandfather)
The Bachian Bassoon, In Accompanimental Mode
Cantata 'Weichet Nur, Betrubte Schatten' ('Wedding Cantata'), BWV 202 (Aria No.1)
Bizet Leaves The Puffa-Puffa Image Out, Allowing The Bassoon To Sing./Carmen Suite No.1 (Les Dragons D'Alcala)
And Ravel, Also In Spanish Mode, Does Likewise.
Bolero
The Bassoon As A Voice Of High Seriousness, Indeed Desolate Loneliness
Symphony No.3 (Opening)
The Eerie Bassoon In Its Highest Register
The Rite Of Spring (Opening)
Stravinsky Now Draws On Its Lowest Register, Lonely And Melancholy.
The Firebird Suite (1919, Berceuse)
The Bassoon As Concerto Soloist, Avoiding All Exaggeration
Bassoon Concerto In G Minor (Finale)
The Deep-Voiced Contra-Bassoon, As A Fairy-Tale Beast
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Beauty And The Beast)
The French Horn Under Its Woodwind Hat
Wind Quintet, Op.43 (Last Mvt)
Now A More Prominent Role, In A Woodwind Quintet From An Earlier Era
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Op.100 No.5 (Mvt 2)
The Horn In Harmonious Blend With Strings In Another Quintet
Horn Quintet, K.407 (Finale)

Tracks:

The Trumpet As Virtuoso Soloist
Brandenburg Concerto No.2 (Last Mvt)
The Special Brillance Of Paired Trumpets
Concerto In C For Two Trumpets, RV537 (Mvt 1)
The Ceremonial Trumpet
Fanfare For The Common Man
Trumpets And Drums - An Incomparable Alliance
Messiah (The Trumpet Shall Sound)
The Versatility Of The Trumpet, From The Most Public To The Most Lonely
Piano Concerto In F (Slow Mvt)
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
Carmen Suite No.2 (Habanera)
The Trumpet As The Voice Of Strength And Courage
Carmet Suite No.2 (Toreador's Song)
The Trumpet Muted/Petrushka (No.4: The Blackamoor)/Lieutenant Kije Suite (Opening)/The Trumpet As The Voice Of Weariness
Billy The Kid
The Trumpet As Character Actor
Pictures At An Exhibition (No.6)
The Trumpet As The Voice Of God
Mass In B Minor ('Et Exspecto')
The Birth Of The Trombone
Aenmerckt Nu Hier
The Birth Of The Brass As A Family
Canzon 12 In Double Echo
The Trombone In The Eighteenth Century
Trombone Concerto In B Flat Major (Finale)
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.
Hosannah
The Trombones Become Part Of The Orchestra.
Symphony No.5 (Finale)
The Wagnerian Trombone:/Overture To 'Tannhauser'
The Trombone As Caricaturist
Pulcinella (No.19: Vivo)
The Trombone As Raspberry/Concerto For Orchestra (Intermezzo)
The Horn And The Hunt
Horn Concerto No.4 In E Flat, K.495 (Finale)
The Challenging Horn Of The Baroque
Abaris Ou Les Boreades (Menuet)
The Scarcity Of First-Rate Players In Handel's Time
Walter Music (Minuet 1)
The Horn As Magician/The Firebird Suite (1919, Finale)
Horns And The Sound Of Nobility
Overture To 'Tannhauser' (Opening)
The Special Sound Of The Horn In Its Higher Register
Mass In B Minor ('Quoniam Tu Solus Sanctus')
The Trumpet-Like Sound Of Massed Horns
Symphony No.3 (Mvt 1, Opening)
The Tuba - Unfairly Maligned?
Symphony No.6 (Mvt 3)
The Tuba Perfectly Cast By Ravel
Pictures At An Exhibition (Bydlo)

Tracks:

Introduction. And We Begin With A Bang.
Fanfare For The Common Man/The Bass Drum On The Battlefields/Wellington's Victory, Op.91 (Opening)
At The Opposite Extreme Is The Triangle.
Piano Concerto No.1 In E Flat (Scherzo)
Categories Of Percussion: Tuned And Untuned. The Side Drum
Overture To 'La Gazza Ladra' - The Thieving Magpie (Opening)
The Side Drum In An Effective But Unexpected Role/Clarinet Concerto (Mvt 1)
The Tambourine. One Of The Oldest Instruments In The World
Den Hoboecken Dans
Even Older Is The Originally Oriental Gong.
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Laideronette)
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.
Gymnopedie No.2
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...
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)
More Versatile Than The Whip Are The Wood Blocks.../Studio Example/...Which Crop Up All Over The Place In Twentieth-Century American Music.
Rodeo (Hoe-Down)
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.
Scherzi Musicali (Damigella Tutta Belle)
A Still Earlier Example From Fifteenth-Century Spain
Yo M'Enamori D'Un Aire
The Birth Of The Bongo
Symphonic Dances From 'West Side Story'
From The Streets Of New York To The Blacksmith's Shop/Il Trovatore ('Anvil Chorus')
Desert-Island Decibels: Grand Canyon Suite (On The Trail)/Arcana
From One Vegetable To Another: The Humble Squash, Or Marrow/Huapango
Onwards To The Tuned Percussion. First, The Timpani
Also Sprach Zarathustra (Introduction)
But The Drum Roll Can Be More Effectively Frightening Than The Big Bang.: Symphony No.2 'Resurrection' (Mvt 3)
Not One Drum Roll, But Many/Grand Canyon Suite (Sunrise)/Symphonie Fantastique (Last Mvt)
Taking Advantage Of Tunability
Music For Strings, Percussion And Celeste (Mvt 2)
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.
Introducing The Glockenspiel/Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)
Saint-Saens And The Xylophone
The Carnival Of The Animals (Fossils)
Ravel And The Xylophone
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Laideronette)
Introducing The Marimba/Carmen Suite (First Intermezzo)
Introducing The Vibraphone
The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (Narange Dolce)
The Vibraphone Goes Russian.../Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)/...And Is Joined By The Marimba./Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)
Introducing The Hungarian Cimbalom
Folk Dances
The Cimbalom And The Symphony Orchestra
Hary Janos Suite (Mvt 3)
Introducing The Tubular Bells
Hary Janos Suite (Viennese Musical Clock)
A More 'Up-Front' Approach From Rodion Shchedrin
Carmen Suite (Introduction)
But The Bells Can Also Make The Sinister Even More Sinister./Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Mvt 1)
Introducing The Celeste
The Nutcracker (Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy)
Magic, In The Use Of Collective Percussion
Miroirs (La Vallee Des Cloches)
Plucked Instruments: The 'Undercover Percussion'/Carmen Suite (Scene)
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
The Traditionally Subservient Role Of The Harpsichord In The Baroque Orchestra
Brandenburg Concerto No.2 (Slow Mvt)
The Piano: King Of The Tuned Percussion/Symphony No.3 'Organ' (Mvt 3)/And A Quarter Of A Century After That:
Petrushka (Russian Dance)
The Anti-Romantic Piano As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra
Music For Strings, Percussion And Celeste (Last Mvt)

Tracks:

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

Tracks:

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

Tracks:

Love Divine All Loves Excelling - Choir Of Gloucester Cathedral
Father Hear the Prayer We Offer - Choir Of Gloucester Cathedral
Now Thank We All Our God - Choir Of Gloucester Cathedral
This Day, The First of Days - Choir Of Gloucester Cathedral
Stars of the Morning So Gloriously Bright - Choir Of Gloucester Cathedral
God Save the Queen - Choir Of Gloucester Cathedral
Day of Resurrection - Choir Of Gloucester Cathedral
God Rest You Merry Gentlemen - Choir Of Gloucester Cathedral
Of the Father's Heart Begotten - Choir Of Gloucester Cathedral
O Come All Ye Faithful - Choir Of Gloucester Cathedral
Awake My Soul and With the Sun - Choir Of Norwich Cathedral
Thine Arm O Lord in Days of Old - Choir Of Norwich Cathedral
All People That on Earth Do Dwell - Choir Of Norwich Cathedral
Good Christian Men Rejoice and Sing - Choir Of Norwich Cathedral
There Is a Green Hill - Choir Of Norwich Cathedral
Lord of Beauty - Choir Of Sheffield Cathedral
Rejoice Today With One Accord - Choir Of Sheffield Cathedral
New Every Morning - Choir Of Sheffield Cathedral
Lead Us Heavenly Father Lead Us - Choir Of Sheffield Cathedral
O God Our Help in Ages Past - Choir Of Sheffield Cathedral

Tracks:

Morning Has Broken - Choir Of Marlborough College Chapel
Happy Are They - Choir Of Marlborough College Chapel
In Christ There Is No East or West - Choir Of Marlborough College Chapel
Silent Night - Choir Of Marlborough College Chapel
Be Thou My Guardian - Choir Of Marlborough College Chapel
Ye Servants of the Lord - Choir Of Marlborough College Chapel
At the Name of Jesus Every Knee Shall Bow - Choir Of Marlborough College Chapel
To Thee O Lord Our Hearts We Raise - Choir Of Marlborough College Chapel
Behold the Great Creator Makes - Choir Of Marlborough College Chapel
Rejoice the Lord Is King - Choir Of Marlborough College Chapel
Creator of the Stars of Night - Ely Cathedral Choir
He Comes With Clouds Descending - Ely Cathedral Choir
O Little Town of Bethlehem - Ely Cathedral Choir
Alleluya Alleyluya Alleyluya - Ely Cathedral Choir
This Is the Day the Lord Hath Made - Ely Cathedral Choir
How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds - Ely Cathedral Choir
Lord Thy Word Abideth - Ely Cathedral Choir
Jesus Lord We Look to Thee - Ely Cathedral Choir
O Lord Our God Arise - Ely Cathedral Choir
Lord of All Hopefulness - Ely Cathedral Choir

Tracks:

Soldiers of Christ Arise - Choir Of Wakefield Cathedral
Lift Up Your Hearts - Choir Of Wakefield Cathedral
Holy Father, Cheer Our Way - Choir Of Wakefield Cathedral
Maker of the Sun - Choir Of Wakefield Cathedral
O King Most High - Choir Of Wakefield Cathedral
O Praise Our Great and Glorious Lord - Choir Of Wakefield Cathedral
Forgive Our Sins as We Forgive - Choir Of Wakefield Cathedral
We Love the Place O God - Choir Of Wakefield Cathedral
Let Us With a Gladsome Mind - Choir Of Wakefield Cathedral
Give Rest O Christ - Choir Of Wakefield Cathedral
Come Holy Ghost Our Hearts Inspire - Choir Of Truro Cathedral
O Thou in All Thy Might So Far - Choir Of Truro Cathedral
O Christ, Who Art the Light and Day - Choir Of Truro Cathedral
O God Thy Soldiers' Crown and Guard - Choir Of Truro Cathedral
Strife Is O'er the Battle Done - Choir Of Truro Cathedral
O Christ Our Hope, Our Hearts' Desire - Choir Of Truro Cathedral
Jesus Shall Reign - Choir Of Truro Cathedral
God of Love My Shepherd Is - Choir Of Truro Cathedral
O Jesu Saviour of Mankind - Choir Of Truro Cathedral
Immortal Invisible God Only Wise - Choir Of Truro Cathedral

Tracks:

Ride on Ride on in Majesty - Choir Of All Saints - Margaret Street, London
All Glory Laud and Honour - Choir Of All Saints - Margaret Street, London
Come Rejoicing - Choir Of All Saints - Margaret Street, London
God Is Love and Where True Love Is - Choir Of All Saints - Margaret Street, London
Magnificat: The Great Advent Antiphons - Choir Of All Saints - Margaret Street, London
Come, Christ's Beloved - Choir Of All Saints - Margaret Street, London
Children of the Hebrews (Palm Procession) - Choir Of All Saints - Margaret Street, London
Veneration of the Cross/The Reproaches (Veneratum and Reproaches) - Choir Of All Saints - Margaret Street, London
Once in Royal David's City - Choir Of Keble College
God Be in My Head - Choir Of Keble College
O Thou Who Camest from Above - Choir Of Keble College
Judge Eternal Throned in Splendour - Choir Of St Edmunsbury Cathedral
Christ the Lord Is Risen Again - Choir Of St Edmunsbury Cathedral
For All the Saints - Choir Of St Edmunsbury Cathedral
Thy Hand O God Has Guided - Choir Of St Edmunsbury Cathedral
Christ the Dawn of Our Salvation - Choir Of Eastbourne College Chapel
I Was Glad - Choir Of Eastbourne College Chapel
Dear Lord and Father of Mankind - Choir Of Eastbourne College Chapel
Locus Iste - Choir Of Eastbourne College Chapel
Praise My Soul the King of Heaven - Choir Of Eastbourne College Chapel

Tracks:

Stand Up! Stand Up for Jesus! - The Choir of the Abbey School, Tewkesbury
While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks - The Choir of the Abbey School, Tewkesbury
O Worship the King - The Choir of the Abbey School, Tewkesbury
O Heavenly Word of God on High - Choir Of The Collegiate Church Of St Mary
Praise to the Lord, The Almighty - Choir Of The Collegiate Church Of St Mary
Jesus Christ Is Risen Today - The Choir of York Minister
First Nowell - The Choir of York Minister
Abide with Me - The Choir of York Minister
Breathe on Me Breath of God - Choir Of Keble College
Rock of Ages - Choir Of Keble College
On This Day, The First of Days - Choir Of Keble College
Jesu Sweet and Mary - Choir Of Eastbourne College Chapel
O Quam Gloriosum - Choir Of Eastbourne College Chapel
Ye Holy Angels Bright - Choir Of Eastbourne College Chapel
O for a Closer Walk With God - Choir Of Eastbourne College Chapel
Prayer of St Patrick - Choir Of Eastbourne College Chapel
Lord's Prayer - Choir Of Eastbourne College Chapel
Blessed Be the God and Father - Choir Of Eastbourne College Chapel
Day Thou Gavest Lord Is Ended - Choir Of Eastbourne College Chapel
Jerusalem (And Did Those Feet in Ancient Times) - Choir Of Eastbourne College Chapel

Album Description

Full Title - 100 Hymns & Songs Of Inspiration. UK box-set featuring 100 tracks performed by Britain's finest Cathedral Choirs including, Gloucester Cathedral, Norwich Cathedral, Sheffield Cathedral, & many more. Five standard jewel cases housed in a slipbox. Castle Pulse. 2003.

Customer Reviews:

The picture.......2006-12-11

I haven't purchased the CD but the picture of the inside of a church on the cover is not of a British church, like one would assume since it says its a recording of British choirs. This picture is of Notre Dame Basilica in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Just thought i'd let you know. I'll be honest; I'm one to judge things by it's cover and if the company took such care to choose a 'British' church for their British choir CD, I'm willing to bet the music is equally well selected... I'm being sarcastic. But I gave the product 5 stars because I didn't want to hurt its ratings just because i'm cynical. But check out the church if you're ever in Montreal, it's truly beautiful... here I'm not being sarcastic.

The Essential Leontyne Price: Spirituals, Hymns & Sacred Songs

Average customer rating:

The Price Club
A living legend
not your daddy's old timey spiritual
Immaculate Vocals of Leontyne Price
Great Gospel Stuff

The Essential Leontyne Price: Spirituals, Hymns & Sacred Songs

Manufacturer: RCA
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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

Price, Leontyne | Divas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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Leontyne Price: The Ultimate Collection
Spirituals in Concert
Leontyne Price Christmas Songs Chants de Noel.Weihnachtslieden Wiener Philharmoniker Herbert Von Karajan
Amazing Grace: Jessye Norman
Spirituals

ASIN: B000003FWE
Release Date: 1997-01-14

Tracks:

Ev'ry Time I Feel The Spirit - Various Artists
Let Us Break Bread Together On Our Knees - Various Artists
His Name So Sweet - Various Artists
'Roun' About The Mountain - Various Artists
Swing Low , Sweet Chariot - Various Artists
Sit Down, Servant - Various Artists
Were You There - Various Artists
He's Got The Whole World In His Hands - Various Artists
Deep River - Various Artists
Honor! Honor! - Various Artists
My Soul's Been Anchored In De Lord - Various Artists
On Ma Journey - Various Artists
A City Called Heaven - Various Artists
Ride On, King Jesus - Various Artists
I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free - Various Artists
Sinner, Please Don't Let This Harvest Pass - Various Artists
Sweet Little Jesus Boy - Various Artists
There Is A Balm In Gilead - Various Artists
Let Us Cheer The Weary Traveler - Various Artists
Ev'ry Time I Feel The Spirit - Various Artists
My Way Is Cloudy - Various Artists
Nobody Knows The Touble I've Seen - Various Artists
I Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray - Various Artists

Tracks:

Holy, Holy, Holy - Leontyne Price
Lead, Kindly Light - Leontyne Price
Blessed Assurance - Leontyne Price
Ave Maria - Leontyne Price
What A Friend We Have In Jesus - Leontyne Price
Amazing Grace - Leontyne Price
The Lord's Prayer - Leontyne Price
Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior - Leontyne Price
The Church's One Foundation - Leontyne Price
Bless This House - Leontyne Price
I Need Thee Every Hour - Leontyne Price
Schlesische Volkslieder: Fairest Lord Jesus - Leontyne Price
I Wonder As I Wander - Leontyne Price
Ave Maria - Leontyne Price
Porgy And Bess: Summertime - Leontyne Price
America The Beautiful - Leontyne Price
Lift Ev'ry Voice And Sing - Leontyne Price
A Mighty Fortress Is Our God - Leontyne Price
Battle Hymn Of The Republic - Leontyne Price

Customer Reviews:

The Price Club.......2005-04-28

"I am here," said Leontyne Price when interviewed as she opened the new Metropolitan Opera with Samuel Barber's underrated ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA, "and you will know that I am the best and will hear me. The color of my skin or the kink of my hair or the spread of my mouth has nothing to do with what you are listening to." Back in the 1960s Price was one of the greatest divas in all of opera, and it wasn't just her voice but her magnificent stage presence, combined with her social activism. All of the above come into play in this collection of secular songs and ditties, some of them traditional plantation chanties and others, art songs and a scattering of pop music. And some of them, like Gershwin's "Summertime," cross the ever-permeable boundaries between Broadway and classical. These recordings were made at different times in Price's career, and her voice, while always angelic, has different shadings and reaches a different range of timbre in each separate recording date, but there is no question that, as time goes by, she is able to impart a richness of life experience noticeably absent from some of her earlier work.

"Ave Maria" sounds heavenly no matter which way you slice it, and as for "I Wonder As I Wander," it brings tears to your eyes. If you have a heart that's beating you will be moved by this rendition. "Ein feste Burg" is pretty strong, but Price seems more comfortable with the traditional spirituals, though perhaps it is the slightly off-kilter sounds of the Ambrosian Singers (what a name) who back her up on many of these tracks, that detract slightly from the experience. Compare "Lead Kindly Light" for a clear sense of what constitutes authority vs. what is a wee bit overproduced. If you had this compilation, and perhaps one of Leontyne Price's Christmas albums, you could attain nirvana any time you wanted to, just flip a switch and close your eyes, let her lift you up on wings of song.

A living legend.......2005-03-10

Leontyne Price (still alive) and already passing into immortality amongst vocal artists, both classical and popular. Leontyne Price stands at the pinnacle of her classical art, but those who only know her work in La Forza del destino or the Verdi Requiem are in for a heart rending treat with this album where Leontyne Price goes home to her roots in Mississippi and gives an unabashed account of the classic spirituals she sang as a young woman. Like John Mc Cormacks rendering of Irish songs there is a personal longing and devotion expressed here that reveals a side of the artist not known in the bulk of their "classical" repetoire. A sense of going home like Citizen Kane's rosebud, or as Dorothy Gale observes at the end of the Wizard of Oz "everything I could ever have wanted was right in my own backyard "

not your daddy's old timey spiritual.......2004-06-23

Agreed this is a good cd for a beautiful voice, but this is not, repeat not, for someone who wants to hear that old-timey religious fervor that you think of when you've been to a Black Baptist hand-clapping, standing, swaying, and singing service.

Immaculate Vocals of Leontyne Price.......2003-12-31

IMMACULATE, SUPERB vocal range and style! There's no other words that can complement Miss Leontyne Price's vocal arrangements. Miss Price's voice is strong, and shrills very nicely to the instruments played on many songs listed on this double CD which is a joy to treasure; every song listed are songs I was raised to hearing and singing. Miss Price is the reason why many of these songs remain in popularity and presently used. Miss Leontyne Price has been incredible in many of her past performances. This is my fourth CD of Miss Price and I am glad to own this particular CD forever and ever. Many thanks to the executors who found this remarkable album and upgraded it to a CD format! **Angi**

Great Gospel Stuff.......2001-04-12

This is a great CD. The only problem I have with it is that on some of the selections there is a boy's choir screaming in the background, and this takes away (a bit) from her performance. That said, her best selections are those that are either unaccompanied or those where her voice is not buried. Songs that strike me are - His Name So Sweet, He's Got The Whole World, Were You There, I Wonder as I Wander, Lift Every Voice and Sing, and my all time favourite Summertime. Enough said.

Average customer rating:

Uneven quality but great value
A superb collection of Mendelssohn

Mendelssohn: The Masterworks [Box Set]

Manufacturer: Brilliant Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Octets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

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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

Te Deum | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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Dvorák: The Masterworks [Box Set]
Haydn: The Masterworks [Box Set]
Vivaldi: The Masterworks (Box Set)
Brahms: The Masterworks (Box Set)
Handel: The Masterworks (Box Set)

ASIN: B00062FLJ2
Release Date: 2004-11-30

Customer Reviews:

Uneven quality but great value.......2007-04-30

Brilliant Classics has found a niche with their extremely low-price multi-disc collections of the work of a single composer or performer. The Bach, Mozart and Chopin Complete Editions are legitimately considered to be artistic and economical triumphs. But the Masterworks series are more uneven. Currently available from Amazon France at about a buck per CD, they're still a bargain for those interested in quickly building a music library. But it's worth keeping a few things in mind. Unlike the Bach and Mozart Editions, these are not always historically informed performances. In this Mendelssohn set, the Hanover Band puts in a cameo (in Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage), but most of the ensembles use modern instruments, techniques and proportions. This doesn't always work out, as in the case of the ponderously heavy recordings of the String Symphonies by an apparently full complement of Gewandhausorchester Leipzig strings (Mendelssohn likely wrote these early works for a much smaller group). The caliber of the performances varies too, ranging from good to poor, and from marquis musicians such as Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau to a few Dutch who-dats. The chamber musicians generally acquit themselves well (though the Octet recording is marred by an engineering flaw in the last movement, distortion, at least on my copy). But the symphonies suffer from some substandard performances, such as the Italian Symphony's live recording with not only audience noise but also ensemble flaws such as a distracting clarinet squeak in the first movement's recapitulation. Another strike is the lack of program notes. Brilliant's Complete Editions provide a booklet or CD-ROM with program notes, but here you'll need to do your own research.

Despite these shortcomings, this set is still good value (at least at Amazon France's current price of 31 Euros). And it's a fine way to become acquainted with Mendelssohn's music.

A superb collection of Mendelssohn.......2007-03-24

Let me preface this by saying that most of these works were not new to me - I own many other Mendelssohn CDs and have enjoyed his compositions for some time now. Also, this set is available much cheaper elsewhere, particularly from European retailers.
The symphonies are well-performed. 'Reformation' is an inspired live recording. The 12 string symphonies, written in Mendelssohn's youth, are also included. The concertos are exceptional - the violin concerto is as good as you'll find anywhere. The oratorios Elijah and Paulus are included, as well as the complete chamber works and a diverse assortment of choral works. The last few discs include the Lied ohne worte, the epic organ sonatas, and excellent renditions of A Midsummer Night's Dream and Fingal's Cave. While there are a few sketchy performances in the choral and chamber works, the performances and recordings are generally very solid, and the body of work couldn't be better.

Average customer rating:

Songs That We Sing

ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

4-for-3 All Music | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music
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5:55
The Reminder
Love Etc.
The Originals
No Promises

ASIN: B000J3FGXY
Release Date: 2006-11-07

Album Description

French Enhanced CD single from Madame Gainsbourg, taken from the 2006 album 5:55. The title track is backed with the 'Set Yourself On Fire' (previously only available on the limited edition pressing of the album) as well as the enhanced video to the title track. Warner.

The Promise of Ages : A Christmas Collection

Average customer rating:

Superb Choral Christmas Music
Unique and special
Beautiful Harmonies and Vocalizations
A "top ten" Christmas album
A "top ten" Christmas album

The Promise of Ages : A Christmas Collection

Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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

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

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

General Christmas | Holiday | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music

Opera & Vocal | Holiday | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music

General Christmas | Holiday Music | Special Features | Music

Opera & Vocal | Holiday Music | Special Features | Music

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Carol Album: Seven Centuries of Christmas
The Naxos Book of Carols
Christus Natus Est: Early English Christmas
Mass for Christmas Morning
Sing We Christmas

ASIN: B00000DFNP
Release Date: 1998-10-20

Tracks:

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Nos Galan (Deck the Halls)
Lullay, Thou Tiny Little Child
Ther Is No Rose of Swych Vertu
I Sing of a Maiden
There Is No Rose from "A Ceremony of Carols"
O Magnum Mysterium (Responsory at Matins for Christmas Day)
Song of the Nuns of Chester, Verses 1-3: "Qui Creavit Celum"
Fader of Heven (Ca. 1450 Mystery Play)
Song of the Nuns of Chester, Verses 4-6: Lactat Mater Domini
O Magnum Mysterium (Responsory at Matins for Christmas Day)
Lullay, Lullow: I Saw a Swete Semly Syght
I Wonder as I Wander
Staines Morris (Blessed Be That Maid Marie)
Hayl, Mary, Ful of Grace
Seven Joys of Mary
Illuminare, Jerusalem
Good People All
Sing We the Virgin Mary
In Bethlehem City
Christmas Eve
Hodie Christus Natus Est (Antiphon from Chester Processional)
Jesu, Thou the Virgin-Born
As Dew in Aprille from " a Ceremony of Carols"
Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending

Amazon.com

No one has recorded more innovative Christmas anthologies than Andrew Parrott--and this disc is no exception. The Promise of Ages presents a collection of wonderful seasonal music arranged for women's voices (all arrangements were either made or sanctioned by the composers). The selection includes 15th-century English works such as "There is no rose of swych vertu"; traditional tunes both genuine ("Deck the Halls" in an 18th-century Welsh arrangement for harp) and fake (J. J. Niles's "I Wonder as I Wander" and "Lullay, thou little tiny child"); rollicking Irish dance tunes; and 20th-century works by such composers as Britten, Holst, and Judith Weir on traditional Christmas texts. One ingenious and effective suite combines Peter Maxwell Davies's "O magnum mysterium" and "The Fader of Heven" with the 14th-century "Song of the Nuns of Chester." All of the performances are exemplary, but Emily van Evera deserves special praise for her beautifully simple rendition of the Niles tunes. This collection can stand alongside Parrott's The Carol Album as the thinking person's Christmas albums. --Matthew Westphal

Customer Reviews:

Superb Choral Christmas Music.......2007-01-20

Andrew Parrott, and the Taverner Concert and Choir have done it again !

This is a superb collection of traditional music from the past, some of it familiar, some not so well known, all performed so very well.

Unique and special.......2007-01-09

Loved this album the entire thing. An English flavour.
Especially loved the Lo He Comes With Clouds Descending..
heart stirring. A great way to get into the Christmas
spirit and lift your heart.

Beautiful Harmonies and Vocalizations.......2000-12-13

Like another reviewer, I am thrilled at Lo! He Comes, as well as with the unfamiliar setting for Hark the Herald Angels Sing and the beautiful Sing We the Virgin Mary.

If you love beautiful vocalizations, especially rare soprano-alto harmonizations, this is the album for you.

A "top ten" Christmas album.......2000-11-13

If this album contained nothing but it's splendid rendition of Madan's Lo! He Comes, with Clouds Descending, the album would be worth owning. Fortunately, the entire album is a brillant mix of voices, instrumentals and performance styles; the resulting album can be played several times in successiion without becoming repetative - no small feat for a Christmas album.

The album ranges from the 13th century Nuns of Chester to contemporary composers - Judith Weir - or nearly comtemporary - Britten, Holst ... with excellent sequencing so that no piece seems out of place.

The instrumentation varies from the traditional organ with SATB choir to fiddle, flute, concertina and cello. This provides the variety that makes the album so listenable.

For traditional Christmas music this album is a must.

A "top ten" Christmas album.......2000-11-13

The instrumentation varies from the traditional organ with SATB choir to fiddle, flute, concertina and cello. This provides the variety that makes the album so listenable.

Album Description

2003 Grammy nominee for Best Choral Performance! An assortment of carols from traditional to modern, in familiar and new arrangements, featuring America's preeminent choral ensemble, which retired in 2004 after a legendary 31 seasons. This album includes a cappella tunes as well as accompaniment for harp, guitar, organ, handbells, and other instruments.

Average customer rating:

THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME
a voice teacher and early music fan

George Frideric Handel: Esther

Manufacturer: CORO
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Handel: Jeptha
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Handel: Alexander's Feast

ASIN: B0001B0A94
Release Date: 2004-06-01

Tracks:

Overture Andante - Larghetito - Allegro
Recitative Habdonah/Haman: " 'Tis greater far to spare"
Aria Haman: " Pluck root and branch from out the land"
Recitative Persian Officer: "Our souls with ardour glow"
Chorus: "Shall we the God of Israel fear?"
Recitative First Israelite: " Now persecution shall lay by her iron rod"
Aria: " Tune your harps to cheerfull strains"
Chorus: " Shall we of servitude complain"
Aria Israelite Woman: " Praise the Lord with cheerful noise"
Recitative Israelite Woman: " 0 God, who from the suckling's mouth"
Aria Second Israelite: " Sing songs of praise, bow down the knee"
Chorus: " Shall we of servitude complain"
Recitative Priest of the Israelites: " How have our sins provoked the Lord!"
Chorus: "Ye sons of Israel mourn"
Aria Priest ofc The Israelites: "0 Jordan, Jordan, sacred tide"
Chorus: "Ye sons of Israel mourn"
Andante
Allegro
Adagio
Allegro

Tracks:

Recitative Esther/Mordecai: " Why sits that sorrow on thy brow?"
Aria Mordecai: " Dread not, righteous Queen, the danger"
Recitative Esther: "I go before the King to stand"
Aria Esther: " Tears assist me, pity moving"
Chorus: " Save us, O Lord"
Recitative Ahasuerus/Esther: "Who dares intrude into our presence"
Duet Esther/Ahasuerus: " Who calls my parting soul from death?"
Aria Ahasuerus: "0 beauteous Queen, unclose those eyes!"
Recitative Esther: " If I find favour in thy sight"
Aria Ahasuerus: " How can I stay when love invites?"
Recitative Third Israelite/Fourth Israelite: " With inward joy his visage glows"
Chorus: " Virtue, truth and innocence"
Arioso Priest of the Israelites: " Jehovah, Crown'd with glory bright"
Chorus: " He comes, he comes to end our woes"
Recitative Ahasuerus/Esther: " Now, a Queen, thy suit declare"
Arioso Haman: " Turn not, a Queen, thy face away"
Aria Esther: " Flatt' ring tongue, no more I hear thee!"
Recitative Ahasuerus: "Guards, seize the traitor, bear him hence!"
Aria Haman: " How art thou fall'n from thy height!"
Chorus: "The Lord Our enemy has slain"

Album Description

Handel's oratorios vary greatly in their presentation. In many ways, Esther is a rarity;it is by far the most intimate, not surprisingly as it was composed for the Duke of Chandos. The Duke's Palladian palace near the village ofEdgware had not been completed in time for the first performance so this may have taken place (as did Acis and Galatea) in the intimate surroundings of a small church, St Lawrence, Whitchurch.

We decided, therefore, that we should attempt to convey that intimacy of performance on disc; so we performed in the round with microphones in the middle, the orchestra in front of me, the choir behind and the soloists alongside. The result is everything that chamber music should be where players and singers can enjoy every aspect of Handel's masterpiece.

"The 'sound' of Esther, superbly communicated in the recorded performance here, is pure enchantment... The choral singing has an exceptional grandure, and the instrumental playing a shimmering beauty. Among the soloists, none of whom is less than accomplished, Nancy Argenta and Michael Chance dominate... Both singers affirm a new golden age of Handel interpretation".

Customer Reviews:

THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME.......2007-01-26

Esther is the first of Handel's oratorios by a good many years, written when he was 33 and enjoying the patronage of the Duke of Chandos. When he later became his own impresario and was running into trouble as a composer and producer of Italian operas he turned to oratorio as a strategic alternative, but at this early date his concern was to deliver staged entertainments for the Duke, and Esther, contemporary with the work that later gained the title Acis and Galatea, seems to have been just an unusually serious specimen of its type.

As often with Handel, there is no fully official version of the score, and this particular score may not even be fully complete from any point of view. The libretto seems to have been the work of someone in the frivolously named association of big literary figures called the Scriblerus Club, perhaps Dr John Arbuthnot, dedicatee of Pope's great poetic Epistle, but Pope himself may have had a hand in it too. As we have it here, the work breaks into two very asymmetrical parts. Scenes 1 and 2 start with a recitative lasting only seconds from Habdonah followed by a longer one in which Haman announces his onslaught on the Israelites, and from there on feature only anonymous participants. Esther herself and the other named characters make their appearance first in scene 4, but the change of tone occurs in scene 3. At this point the music gains gravity first in the chorus Ye sons of Israel with its extraordinary modulations and then in the striking aria O Jordan, Jordan. I myself feel that this weightier tone is maintained to the end, whether or not the writer of the liner note is correct in saying that the long final chorus with solos is out of proportion to its context.

Throughout - in the first part as well as in scenes 3-6 - the instrumental writing is vivid and varied, with an extraordinary pizzicato accompaniment to Tune your harps and then an even more extraordinary obbligato from the harp itself at Praise the Lord. The harpist is no less than Jan Walters, but sometime I would like to see the score and check out what seem some odd rhythmic interactions here between her and the soloist Nancy Argenta. There are no fewer than ten vocal soloists in a work lasting a little over an hour and a quarter, and a very distinguished bunch they are. I was particularly pleased to find Michael Chance in the countertenor role of the Priest of the Israelites as I admire the strength of his tone, but there is no real weakness among them, unless Lynda Russell as Esther has a couple of very slightly awkward high notes in Flatt'ring tongue, which must be a little nerve-wracking to sing as she has to find her note for herself unaccompanied at the start and later at the reprise. You will see some big names among the instrumentalists too, with Crispian Steele-Perkins on the trumpet making a predictably fine contribution towards the end, and of course with Jan Walters in that marvellous harp part early on. The chorus gets some wonderful work to do, and rises to it fully. I really am unable to worry about the proportionateness of the final chorus when I hear that incomparable Handelian build of tone, sung by 18 singers and sounding as if there were 100.

There is a good liner note by Graydon Beeks Jr, not perhaps the last word in lucidity (neither is the plot of the libretto come to that) but worth re-reading. Harry Christophers himself contributes a short foreword largely concerned with the recording process and highlighting the contributions of Mark Brown and Mike Hatch, his long-time technical collaborators. I was interested to see also the name of Geoff Miles in a role described as `editor'. What responsibilities this involved is not stated and perhaps I ought to know without being told, but I know the work of Geoff Miles as recording engineer from elsewhere and it gave me confidence just to see that he is involved in the proceedings, and the technical work is predictably excellent.

My collection of Handel oratorios is now almost complete, and what a wonderful musical experience they are. Each is unique in its own way, but Esther is unique in some very special ways, and I suggest that you do not wait until you are my age to get to know it.

a voice teacher and early music fan.......2006-04-04

Handel began composing the oratorio 'Esther' in 1718. There is some confusion as to who actually worte the libretto for it, but the story follows very closely the biblical story of Esther in the Book of Esther in the old testament. The story tells of a plot of Haman, the Agagite (Michael George-bass) jealous and powerful vizier of King Xerses (Ahasuerus-Tom Randle-tenor) of Persia(485-464), to destroy in a single day all the Jews living in the Roman Empire. He is moved to this out of hatred for the Jewish servant Mordecai (Mark Padmore-tenor),who for religious motives refuses to render him homage. The day of the proposed massacre is determined by lot. Meanwhile, Esther,niece and adopted daughter of Mordecai, is chosen Queen by King Xerses. She averts the pogrom planned against her people and has the royal decree of extermination reversed against Haman and the enemies of the Jews. Mordecai replaces Haman, and together with Esther, works for the welfare of their people. As you can see this makes for an interesting Oratorio, which it truly is!
This is a "small" contribution compared to many of Handel's other works. However, it is not "small" in a musical sense. There is much creativity on the part of Handel as to orchestral scoring; he exploits his small orchestra and chorus in surprising ways, introducing new vocal and instrumental colours throughout the score, adding and subtracting instruments and voices in many and varied ways. This is a listening surprise as it moves along. And what a great performance on the part of the Christophers as well as some outstanding vocal soloists. Mark Padmore's (Mordecai) aria "Tune Your Harps to Cheerful Strains" was superb as was the Duet between Lynda Russell (Esther) and Tom Randle (Ahasuerus).But the aria that really drew me into the entire drama was sung by Michael Chance (Priest) "O Jordan, Jordan, sacred Tide." It was perfection itself!!!!The Chorus was extremely good and dictionally perfect. It is a great listening experience.