This Journey

Today's People, June 1997
Cy has built a professional reputation based on the talent he has displayed as a solo artist.

Product Description
A great mixture of smooth jazz and R&B make this CD a perfect end to a stressful day. Cy's blend of styles relax and soothe the listener as to not get in the way. Put it on and chill!!!

This Journey

This Journey,Cy Nelson Jr.

Jazz

Music

jazz

music

Average customer rating: I chose...poorly Great Self-Hypnosis CD!! Not that great big help Very Soothing

Overcoming Obstacles; A Self-Hypnosis Journey for Unlocking Creativity, Self-Confidence and Self-Esteem C. HT. Melissa Rose Manufacturer: Melissa Rose, C.Ht ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Self-Help | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music General | New Age | Styles | Music Self-Help | Miscellaneous | Indie Music | Stores | Music General | New Age | Indie Music | Stores | Music Meditation Music | New Age | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: The Ease of Being: Guided Meditations for Centering and Healing The Art of Letting Go Unleash Your True Potential (Diviniti) (Diviniti) (Diviniti) (Divinity) Meditations for Weight Loss Hypnosis for Self-Confidence and Self-Esteem (Hypnotic Empowerment for Self-Awakening) (Hypnotic Empowerment for Self-Awakening) ASIN: B0000544DX Release Date: 2000-10-22

Tracks:

1. Track 1 Introduction
2. Track 2 Self-Hypnosis/Guided Meditation Process

Album Description

In this powerful and inspiring CD, Melissa Rose, C.Ht. guides you with her soothing voice through the relaxing experience of guided meditation, self-hypnosis and transformational imagery. Her desire is to help you identify and unlock those obstacles keeping you from attaining your life's potential and give you the tools needed to accomplish your goals. This CD is perfect for those looking to improve their professional and personal lives and is ideal for all areas of self-improvement which include, but are not limited to Motivation, Habit Control, Stress Reduction, Sales & Sports Perfomance, Creativity and Confidence.

Customer Reviews:

I chose...poorly.......2007-02-24

Returned this CD after two weeks. The hypnotherapist tries to get you into a deep sleep way too early. Then the images she uses are disjointed. You're in a library, for example, then you look down at you feet, and suddenly you're on a mountaintop! What?? I was just in a library! And how is a mountaintop relaxing? It's freezing up there! So you try to adapt - but then all of the sudden, you're on a beach! Forget it. And she makes references to a baby - which is NOT at all relaxing. Kids stress me out. I was too jarred and uncomfortable. This CD harmed more than it helped. Really lousy.

Great Self-Hypnosis CD!!.......2006-09-24

I've had this CD for about 5 years and I can't believe I waited so long to review it. Every time I listen to it I am left feeling peaceful and relaxed. Melissa's voice is very soothing and I the background music is beautiful. I notice a difference in my attitude toward life when I include listening to this CD as a regular part of my weekly routine. To be honest, I didn't expect that at all!!! I took one star off because I think the session should have developed more slowly and lasted longer. I highly recommend this CD!!

Not that great.......2006-08-15

Some parts of this CD are good, but others are annoying.
I don't care for Melissa's voice, but perhaps this is a personal issue. In addition, there is a particular "guided visualization" in this CD that I find especially grating - "see yourself hitting the homerun, everyone is cheering you, you can do it" and "See yourself playing with a puppy and smelling it's litte puppy breath" Seeing myself hit a homerun in grade school is not going to further me along my path, sorry. My recommendation: "See yourself purchasing a better guided Visualization CD."

big help.......2006-07-11

I bought this cd last year. I finally took the time to pop it in and listen. The first time I listened to it I had trouble paying attention, but I loved her voice and the pace. I started listening to this at just the right time. I think it is helping me tremendously!

Very Soothing.......2006-06-14

Relaxing and soothing - a wonderful escape from the drama of day to day life - I highly recommend this peaceful journey - worth every penny - has made a great gift, too!

Average customer rating: remaster Nox Arcana keeps getting better A Stunning Debut! Nox Arcana: The project that truly represents Halloween and for people who simply love classical-oriented Gothic instrumentals A well-woven dark tale

Darklore Manor Nox Arcana Manufacturer: Monolith Graphics ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Goth | Goth & Industrial | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Sound Effects | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music Halloween | Holiday | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Similar Items: Necronomicon Transylvania Winter's Knight The 13th Hour Carnival Of Lost Souls ASIN: B0006OHMRY Release Date: 2004-03-20

Tracks:

1. Legend
2. Darklore Manor
3. Threshold Of The Dead
4. Trespassers
5. Veil Of Darkness
6. Sanctuary Of Shadows
7. The Grande Hall
8. Remnants
9. Phantom Procession
10. Belladonna
11. Nursery Rhyme
12. Music Box
13. The Forgotten
14. Nightmare
15. No Rest For The Wicked
16. Omen
17. Seance
18. Beyond Midnight
19. Darkness Immortal
20. Incantation
21. Resurrected

Album Description

Enter Darklore Manor, where creatures of the night lurk in shadows and ghostly sounds echo through unhallowed halls. Nox Arcana invites you to embark on a musical journey throughout a legendary haunted mansion with a dark and sinister history. This gothic soundscape contains 21 tracks of haunting melodies, eerie voices, Latin chants, and foreboding orchestrations to create a perfect dark and moody atmosphere.

Customer Reviews:

remaster.......2007-05-25

the remastered version is were its at. it actualy sounds eerie.

Nox Arcana keeps getting better.......2007-05-12

They are the best at what they do and this CD is just one more example. You cannot go wrong with any Nox Arcana CD

A Stunning Debut!.......2007-04-17

Nox Arcana's debut CD Darklore Manor is a stunning, chilling instrumental concept album that could easily serve as the soundtrack for a classic haunted house film. Very few debut CDs have the amazing musicianship and technical virtuosity that Joseph Vargo and William Piotrowski exhibit on this album. There are unforgettable, elegant piano-dominated melodies like "Veil of Darkness," as well as sinister organ pieces, moody harpsichord songs and elaborate, stirring orchestral set pieces that demonstrate an instinctive mastery of composition and melody. The entire gamut of Gothic music is presented here, and woven throughout the CD's 21 tracks are ghostly sound effects, chilling choirs and eerie narrations, all of which contribute to a mesmerizing musical tapestry. The CD's highlight may be "The Forgotten" - a beautiful, moving piano elegy that you will never forget. Many musicians strive their whole careers for an album this accomplished. The beautifully designed CD booklet by Joseph Vargo and Christine Filipak is another delight - this is an album that shows a rare attention to detail, from the packaging to the mixing. Highly recommended.

Nox Arcana: The project that truly represents Halloween and for people who simply love classical-oriented Gothic instrumentals.......2007-04-09

I was told, by a mysterious voice in the night, that I should seek Nox Arcana and await further instructions. But it all began years ago with the discovery of the Midnight Syndicate. So, I did the obvious and entered "Midnight Syndicate" in my computer search engine, and the lone website introduced itself to me. All went dark and quiet, and the room got cold, and I could see my breath as I panted in fear, and I heard laughter amongst terrifying screams, but yet, I was alone. This was only my introduction to the Midnight Syndicate and soon to follow was the birth of something even better, the nightmareish apparitions of Nox Arcana. I was compelled to bring Nox Arcana into my world, and so I've been in the dark ever since. But, then again, it became a blissful absence from the norm. Although, Halloween is never really mentioned with any of the Nox Arcana CD's, it does seem that everyday is Halloween in my world, and for the past four years, I've always feared that I've sold my soul somehow. I believe that I sacrificed my soul the day I got out my credit card and asked the cyber spirits to bring my first Nox Arcana CD into my home. It was this CD: "Darklore Manor"

Something became different about me. My very presence wasn't acknowledged in any normal way anymore. Was I being ignored, or am I even in the room at all? Something just wasn't right. I've had days that I've stared into the mirror, but somehow, I wasn't there. When I speak to strangers in the street, I don't think that they even acknowledge me. I speak with just a small hiss of words, and people respond as if they've just been pushed by a cold wind. My loved ones speak of me, as if I've departed from this world, but yet, I am in the room. Only when I laugh, do people respond as if they've heard something. They cuddle together, in fear of their safety, and cry out my name, in a past tense, as if I am torturing them. This wasn't fun anymore. It wasn't fun, THEN, anyway.

I wander aimlessly, finally coming to terms with this apparition that I have become. My only consolation, deep into the night, is to take some of my Nox Arcana CD's and my mini-CD player, to the cemetery and lay against a tombstone, and watch the wind swirl up the leaves in a satanic dance before my eyes, while the music plays and eats away at my scruples of logic. I feel a cold embrace of many condemned angels who've cast off all their inhibitions and indulged in lustful passion upon my defenseless mortal flesh. I am consumed into their ritual with reckless abandon. Returning to reality is all nonsense now. My only fear, is that the batteries in my CD player will weaken and diminish this clash of passion of my psychological pleasure and terror.

I am so glad that Nox Arcana has entered my once typical, pop culture world. However, I feel now, that if I should ever die, I may not know the difference. I've been enjoying this nocturnal bliss for a couple of years now and there's no going back. I walk this world in a cold absence where I question if my presence is perceived at all.

If you'd like to share in this experience with me, start off with this CD of "Darklore Manor". Then get "Necronomicon", "Winter's Knight", "Transylvania", "Carnival of Lost Souls", and their latest (as of 2007) called "Blood of the Dragon".

This music is not heavy metal. It's not satanic music. It's just a mix of classically-influenced instrumentals with various snippets of dark poetry and ghastly effects. You'll hear tormented screams, deathly bell tolls, sinister laughter, grandfather clocks, howling winds, and other little clever effects with piano, organ, and harpsichord, supported by rich strings and a mellotron sound, that promote a uniquely beautiful, but yet, horrifying terror that may claim your soul. It's a small sacrifice for the sake of a dark happiness.

Alas, here's one more way that I have benefited from the music of Nox Arcana. By listening to these CD's through headphones at the cemetery, alone, late at night, in the cold dark, there is a terror that I've experienced that has actually helped me lose weight. To be so terrified that my heart pulsated so intensely that I feared my heart would just burst! That, and the accidental soiling of myself, helped me lose about three pounds. Who would have thought that terror could promote weight loss?

So, if it's dark and disturbing, it has a place in my heart.

A well-woven dark tale.......2007-02-22

Though a bit more specific and talky than the Midnight Syndicate CDs (which was my first venture into this kind of atmospheric music), I found Nox Arcana's Darklore Manor to be quite creepy. It tells a story of an house under a curse, and the strange happenings therein. While it leaves less to the imagination than Midnight Syndicate's 13th Hour, it has plenty of frightening tracks for your next horror gaming session or Halloween party.

Average customer rating: NOX ARCANA THE ULTIMATE MOODLIFTER Vampire country This soundtrack drains your blood dry, it's that awsome! Wonderful Halloween Fare Yet another great album!

Transylvania Nox Arcana Manufacturer: Monolith Graphics ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Goth | Goth & Industrial | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Sound Effects | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music Halloween | Holiday | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music General | New Age | Styles | Music General | Pop | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music Similar Items: Winter's Knight Darklore Manor Carnival Of Lost Souls Necronomicon The 13th Hour ASIN: B000BO1JLY Release Date: 2005-10-21

Tracks:

1. Transylvania Overture
2. The Voyage
3. Gossamer Mist
4. The Black Coach
5. Sentinels of Stone
6. Into the Shadows
7. Castle Dracula
8. Visitors in the Night
9. Brides to Darkness
10. Grande Masquerade
11. Memento Mori
12. The Howling
13. Nocturne
14. Bats in the Belfry
15. Gothic Sanctum
16. Gypsy Caravan
17. From Dusk Till Dawn
18. Night of the Wolf
19. Echoes from the Crypt
20. Shadow Hunters
21. Lair of the Vampire

Album Description

Embark on a musical journey into the mysterious and forbidden land of vampires, werewolves and witches. This powerful, eerie and darkly romantic soundscape offers 21 tracks of symphonic orchestrations, gothic choirs and haunting sound effects, inspired by Bram Stoker's classic novel, Dracula.

Customer Reviews:

NOX ARCANA THE ULTIMATE MOODLIFTER.......2007-06-27

Theres not enough words to put down on what this group means to me....I wirte some of my best works by their music.

Vampire country.......2007-05-10

Books don't usually have soundtracks. "Dracula" definitely didn;t.

But when listening to Nox Arcana's "Transylvania," all I could think of was Bram Stoker's quintessential vampire, and the hauntingly creepy atmosphere of the book. The band forms plenty of rich neoclassical tunes, around a hazy storyline about (what else?) vampires.

It opens with a creepy organ, some smooth violins sweeping up from behind. A deep voice intones, "Darkness descends upon the land, wrap the world in night's black embrace... the restless dead stir within their ancient tombs, and creatures born of shadow rise to quench their savage hunger..." Imagine Bela Lugosi rising from a coffin.

It's followed up by some warmup songs -- the darkly enticing "Voyage," which expands out into an epic, eerie sweep, and the ghostly piano of "Gossamer Mist." The songs that follow are just as richly imagined -- ghostly fast-paced strings, magnificently dark organ and grim gypsy music, laced with church bells, shimmering vocals and ghostly little breezes.

Listening to "Transylvania" is like walking slowly through a cobwebbed, shadowy castle, and listening to Dracula playing a pipe organ in a dusty ballroom, with his brides singing accompaniment. It's not too hard to imagine that you're Jonathan Harker, after hearing songs like "Echoes From the Crypt."

Their music is an lush dusty tapesty of gothic instrumentation. Rich, hollow organ, shimmering harp, strings both windy and rapid, fast-moving percussion, a delicate piano, and some dark shimmers of keyboard all blend together into haunting slow-turning melodies. And as if that weren't good enough, they sprinkle the music with the flutter of bat wings, church bells, ghostly murmurs, and delicate music-box tinkles.

Fortunately Nox Arcana doesn't wreck all this eerie atmosphere with typical singing. Instead we get the occasional deep-voiced intonations, sort of like the introduction. And there are some delicate female vocals -- they murmur softly one minute, only to rise into echoing, wordless solos the next. It's absolutely stunning.

Nox Arcana's "Transylvania" does a brilliant job of capturing the ideal vampire-gothic atmosphere -- creepy and beautifully refined, with no kitschiness. The ideal soundtrack to Bram Stoker's classic (not to mention Halloween).

This soundtrack drains your blood dry, it's that awsome!.......2007-01-28

I have this one, its great. It's not only good for Halloween but its good for when you go to sleep at night, it actually puts you into another realm of dreams and nightmares. It helps you sleep and not only that, it gives you something to relax your body with. It's very good for one of those stormy and rainy or snowy nights. I am an artist and I use it to create monster theme pictures and other creepy drawings. It helps me put myself in that state of mind were I can listen to this and let my imagination flow. If you like this one you will really love the CARNIVAL OF LOST SOULS, WINTER KNIGHT. I still have to get the winter knight one. These soundtracks are classics, not that many peopl listen to them. They are for the soul purpose to escaping the real world and entering another of the bizzare and strange. They are just good to listen too, when ever you feel like it. But this is a good tool for some people who have trouble sleeping at night. But if you listen to the children of the night, and what lovely music they made, you will deffently get your money's worth on all 3 cd's Translyvania, Winter Knight, Carnival of lost Souls... It's worth it.

Wonderful Halloween Fare.......2006-11-01

You can hear a constant improvement in the musical quality of Nox Arcana's CD. This one, particularly, is a big step over Necronomicon. Not that Necronomicon is bad, but Transylvania is really good.
I'm glad I found Nox Arcana (quite by accident, I did a search for Halloween on Amazon and this was one of the hits) they are a treasure.

Yet another great album!.......2006-08-11

Nox Arcana is truly a original band for the era. The music is never boring and you always find something new when listening to it that you may not have heard before. Vargo is a very gifted artist in all the work he does and I for one am glad he formed his own band. The creative work behind the cd's really comes through not just in the music but in the album designs. Midnight Syndicate lost one of the most creative person's behind their success, but by starting the band Nox Arcana at least none of the fans are suffering. Keep up the great work and I look forward to the next album.

Average customer rating: Positive Charge Enjoyable Beautiful! SOUL GROUP FOR THE FUTURE My kind of music!

This Journey in Rebirth Manufacturer: Kajmere Sound ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Traditional Blues | Blues | Styles | Music General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music General | Dance Pop | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music General | R&B | Styles | Music General | Soul | R&B | Styles | Music Traditional | Bluegrass | Country | Styles | Music General | Dance & DJ | Indie Music | Stores | Music General | R&B | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: The Kajmere Sound, Vol. 1 Choklate The Revelation is Now Televised Sing (If You Want It) Bold and Beautiful ASIN: B0007Y8876 Release Date: 2005-11-27

Tracks:

1. This Journey In
2. Stray Away
3. Mark of His Ways
4. Shake It
5. Common Ends
6. Talking Me Down
7. Sinkin'
8. Walk Talkin' Mizell
9. Got Your Madness
10. Every Body Say Yeah
11. Revolving Door

Product Description

On this compelling new 11-track album recorded in the band's hometown, The Rebirth matches its musical vitality with a gift for lucid poetry and songwriting, creating a rich sound built on an organic blend of new and traditional soul, hip-hop, jazz, and funk. These elements make the group's music both highly progressive and a throwback to the classic soul bands like: Earth, Wind & Fire, Ramp, Pleasure, Rotary Connection, Side Effect and Roy Ayers. Over the last few years, The Rebirth has celebrated the successes of several smashing singles: "This Journey In," "Every Body Say Yeah," "Got Your Madness," and their critically acclaimed cover of The Might Ryders' "Evil Vibrations." The release of "This Journey In" quickly garnered airplay on radio stations from Los Angeles to the U.K. and Japan, and appeared on numerous CD's including: King Britt's Black to the Future, Gilles Peterson's Trust the DJ 9 and the Norman Jay MBE compilation entitled Giant 45. In addition, Gilles Peterson included the song on his list of "20 Best in 2003" and Norman Jay called it, "The anthem of the summer 2003." Poignant tracks that appear on This Journey In include "Shake It," a catchy mid-tempo jam that encourages one to feel uninhibited about getting out to the dance floor to simply let loose and enjoy the moment; the smooth dance song, with a funky base line, "Stray Away"; "Common Ends," an uplifting track that talks about the experiences in life that unifies people; and the funky, disco-Brazilianinspired song, "Talking Me Down," plus many other stellar compositions. The most recent release, "Evil Vibrations," was recorded exclusively for Ubiquity Records to appear on its innovative compilation, Rewind! 4. The result was a high-energy, textured sound in the original retro style that included some new lyrics, mixed with De La Soul's version of the classic track. Nominated for "Song of the Year" at Gilles Peterson's Worldwide Awards and concluding in 2004 at #6 on his playlist, "Evil Vibrations," continues to gain accolades for the group as one of the US' most promising neo-soul collectives. "A fabulous CD and a contender for album of the year!!" - Blues & Soul (London) "Evil Vibrations" & "This Journey In" named Gilles Peterson's Top 5 All Winners List 2003 & 2004 "The Rebirth explores the space between soul, ambient and jazz with refined musicianship to spare. Tight music. Period." - The Urban Network "...a storm of jazzy live action out of LA....solid R&B tinged tracks that remind us of the good old days of The Brand New Heavies and Jamiroquai's first albums and the original Giant Step parties...lots of thick, layered vocals mixed with inner city heat." - URB Magazine

Customer Reviews:

Positive Charge.......2007-05-23

Im a "Cog" head (Incognito fan) and The Rebirth give that same vibe. I had the same experience as another reviewer had where I played this durring a small gathering and everyone was like "WHO IS THIS? I GOT TO HAVE IT". I love when I score with some new music that my friends havent heard yet and it knocks them out!!! I'm such a big kid. Thanks Rebirth, my friends and I are waiting for your next one.

Enjoyable.......2007-05-14

The Journey was pleasurable however longwinded. Don't get me wrong the
songs are good but I think the CD was too long. Most times CD's are short with only 12 tracks which is typical but when it is good you don't want it to stop. THis Journey was good songs but somewhat redundant towards the end. When you relay a message you have to let it stand and move on. I think some of the messages were repeated, it may be that they really wanted the people to understand their position (stance0 in the music world. But definately a nice collection of music especially for the neo-jazz inspired listeners.

Beautiful!.......2007-01-30

This is a beautiful project and should hold a place in anyones collection. I placed this on during a dinner party, and in a short time everyone was "Wow! Who's this?" and groovin' to it. It's Great! GET IT!

SOUL GROUP FOR THE FUTURE.......2007-01-26

THE KAJMERE COMPILATION WHICH FEATURED THIS GROUP, WON ME OVER, HAD TO OWN THEIR CD , IT IS EXCELLENT RETRO SOUL, THROWBACK TO THE DAYS OF EWF,DONALD BYRD, HERBIE HANCOCK, THEY ALSO INCORPORATE MODERN GROOVES FOR THE NU-SOUL CROWD. OVERALL GOOD CD.

My kind of music!.......2006-12-23

My best friend, who's a singer and has a very sound knowledge of what kind of music I like, introduced me to this band. I only had to listen to the first few bars of the opener, "This Journey In" to know that I needed to have this CD. I immediately ordered two copies - one for me and one for him.

This seven-piece band with Noelle Scaggs and Carlos "Loslito" Guaico doing most of the lead vocals give us funky, jazzy modern soul at it's very best with a distinct retro vibe. If you're a fan of early Incognito or early Brand New Heavies, you'll like these guys. I really don't know what else to say. This album reflects everything I love about music - Jazz-inspired, and led by beautifully played electric piano; pleasant vocals and positive lyrics - and it's shot right to the top of my best buys for this year, (excluding jazz) even above albums from the likes of the Brand New Heavies and Frank McComb. I haven't stopped playing it since it arrived earlier today. I also haven't felt like dancing in a long while, due to this, that and the other but I tell you, with this on the player, I've been finding it very hard to stay still. I put this CD on and it just takes me away. It's almost as if the CD has lifted my spirits. From beginning to end, this is my kind of music!

Why we don't see more bands like this on so-called music television channels, I'll never know but this is one band I'll be looking out for with a keen eye from now on. This is also another band I cannot wait to see perform live. One (wo)man's meat can often be another's poison but I'll be shocked if anyone reviews this album with anything less than the five stars they deserve.

Heck, just like an earlier reviewer, I'd give them ten stars if I could.

Average customer rating: dark and beautiful Something is Out There Beautiful CD For All Who Would Not Suffer From Reality Peaceful

Fairy Night Songs Gary Stadler & Singh Kaur Manufacturer: Sequoia Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Styles | Music General | New Age | Styles | Music Meditation | New Age | Styles | Music Healing | New Age | Styles | Music Relaxation | New Age | Styles | Music Electronic | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music General | New Age | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Fairy Heart Magic This Universe Deep Within a Faerie Forest Fairy of the Woods Reflections of Faerie ASIN: B000009RB8 Release Date: 2000-03-09

Tracks:

1. NightSong
2. Fairy Ring
3. In The Hollows of Trees
4. Fly Away
5. Darkness
6. Midnight Myst
7. Laura's Hill
8. Lullaby
9. A Spark in the Night

Album Description

Charted on Billboard's New Age Top 25.

Deep in the night forest, fairies gather by firelight and fly to the song of the wind in the trees. Composer Gary Stadler and Vocalist Singh Kaur invite you to come with them on their magical travels through the fairy veil, into the realm of Fairy NightSongs. Your heart will open to the enchanted beauty of the Farie realm, as you relax in the beautiful melodies and angelic vocals.

Album Details

Gary released this discs worth of progressive / new age / Celtic tunes in 1998; features the vocals of the late Laura Drew.

Customer Reviews:

dark and beautiful.......2007-06-28

i had this album and lost it. i had to buy it again,it is so great.

Something is Out There.......2007-01-12

Yes, something is out there in the dark of the night. Mystical creatures from the days of yore where such creatues might have existed among humans. Soothing music shall transport you to this charming realm. Simply place the CD in your player and dream... best if used at night while you attempt to sleep. Sweet dreams.

Beautiful CD.......2006-11-13

This is one of my favorite CDs, both for use as a Reiki practitioner in my sessions, and for my own listening pleasure.

For All Who Would Not Suffer From Reality.......2005-04-24

I have an automatic, knee jerk relax response to Singh Kaur's voice. This dates back to my first discovery of her series of chants done on the independent
Invincible label with Kim Robertson on harp. This Crimson collection is the closest thing to 'healing music that I have ever heard. Unfortunately, the set has to be sought out or ordered, and many people simply have never heard what is one of the most powerful voices in new age music.

So it was with some delight that I discovered this collection done under Gary Stadler's aegis. Now albums entitled anything like 'Fairy night Songs' are almost guaranteed to put me off. I'm a new age music fan, but I don't think that cute titles do the genre any favors. Fortunately, despite the title, the music on this album is serious and the magic of Singh Kaur's voice quickly brushes aside any quibbles one might have with Stadler's branding.

In short order this has become a 'reach for' album when I get home after work in that fuzzy, edgy mood which happens when I forget to leave work behind and let the day fall away on the way back. I can feel a smile start as soon as the laser hits 'Fairy Ring.' By the time I get to the closing 'Spark in the Night,' which is a recasting of 'Guru Ram Das' from the Crimson set, the spell is complete - somehow, inside, you have returned to a semblance of balance. Singh Kaur saves Marc from the padded room once again.

Peaceful.......2004-11-11

This CD far exceeded my expectations of relaxing music. So much of the "new age" music bores you to tears after 3 songs. Gary Stadler's CDs (I own 2 & plan to purchase more) are original and sparkle with creativity and mood. Lisa G

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 All Works by Gershwin | Gershwin, George | ( G ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Gounod | Gounod, Charles | ( G ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Schubert | Schubert, Franz | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Vocal & Song | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Vocal & Song | Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Price, Leontyne | ( P ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Folk | Styles | Music Gershwin, George | C to G | Featured Composers, A-Z | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Gounod, Charles | C to G | Featured Composers, A-Z | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Schubert, Franz | Q to T | Featured Composers, A-Z | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Anonymous | A to B | Featured Composers, A-Z | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Folk Songs | Songs & Lieder | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Songs & Lieder | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Noels | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Price, Leontyne | Divas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General Christmas | Holiday | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music General Christmas | Holiday Music | Special Features | Music Classical Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Opera & Vocal | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Similar Items: Leontyne Price: The Ultimate Collection Leontyne Price Christmas Songs Chants de Noel.Weihnachtslieden Wiener Philharmoniker Herbert Von Karajan Amazing Grace: Jessye Norman Spirituals in Concert Spirituals ASIN: B000003FWE Release Date: 1997-01-14

Tracks:

1. Ev'ry Time I Feel The Spirit - Various Artists
2. Let Us Break Bread Together On Our Knees - Various Artists
3. His Name So Sweet - Various Artists
4. 'Roun' About The Mountain - Various Artists
5. Swing Low , Sweet Chariot - Various Artists
6. Sit Down, Servant - Various Artists
7. Were You There - Various Artists
8. He's Got The Whole World In His Hands - Various Artists
9. Deep River - Various Artists
10. Honor! Honor! - Various Artists
11. My Soul's Been Anchored In De Lord - Various Artists
12. On Ma Journey - Various Artists
13. A City Called Heaven - Various Artists
14. Ride On, King Jesus - Various Artists
15. I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free - Various Artists
16. Sinner, Please Don't Let This Harvest Pass - Various Artists
17. Sweet Little Jesus Boy - Various Artists
18. There Is A Balm In Gilead - Various Artists
19. Let Us Cheer The Weary Traveler - Various Artists
20. Ev'ry Time I Feel The Spirit - Various Artists
21. My Way Is Cloudy - Various Artists
22. Nobody Knows The Touble I've Seen - Various Artists
23. I Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray - Various Artists

Tracks:

1. Holy, Holy, Holy - Leontyne Price
2. Lead, Kindly Light - Leontyne Price
3. Blessed Assurance - Leontyne Price
4. Ave Maria - Leontyne Price
5. What A Friend We Have In Jesus - Leontyne Price
6. Amazing Grace - Leontyne Price
7. The Lord's Prayer - Leontyne Price
8. Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior - Leontyne Price
9. The Church's One Foundation - Leontyne Price
10. Bless This House - Leontyne Price
11. I Need Thee Every Hour - Leontyne Price
12. Schlesische Volkslieder: Fairest Lord Jesus - Leontyne Price
13. I Wonder As I Wander - Leontyne Price
14. Ave Maria - Leontyne Price
15. Porgy And Bess: Summertime - Leontyne Price
16. America The Beautiful - Leontyne Price
17. Lift Ev'ry Voice And Sing - Leontyne Price
18. A Mighty Fortress Is Our God - Leontyne Price
19. 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: A good value The Sound Track Since Bernard Hermann Good mix of film music A mixed collection of movie music Uplifts your soul, takes your mind into the heavens

Varese Sarabande 25th Anniversary Celebration Manufacturer: Varese Sarabande ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Elfman, Danny | ( E ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Herrmann | Herrmann, Bernard | ( H ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Holdridge, Lee | ( H ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Korngold, Erich Wolfgang | ( K ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Kamen | Kamen, Michael | ( K ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Schifrin | Schifrin, Lalo | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Waxman | Waxman, Franz | ( W ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Mancini | Mancini, Henry | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Korngold, Erich Wolfgang | Composers | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Movie Scores | Soundtracks | Styles | Music Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music Star Wars | Soundtracks | Styles | Music General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music Bargain Box Sets | Classical General | Classical | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music All Bargain Titles | Classical General | Classical | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music Similar Items: Paramount 90th Anniversary Collection: Scores In Session: Film Music Celebration The Essential Elmer Bernstein Film Music Collection Jerry Goldsmith: 40 Years of Film Music Music In Film (National Public Radio Milestones Of The Millennium) ASIN: B00008WI90 Release Date: 2003-04-22

Tracks:

1. The Man from Snowy River (Bruce Rowland)
2. The Winds of War (Bob Cobert)
3. Blue Velvet (Angelo Badalamenti)
4. Witness (Maurice Jarre)
5. Raising Arizona (Carter Burwell)
6. Pee Wees Big Adventure (Danny Elfman)
7. Halloween (John Carpenter)
8. A Nightmare On Elm Street (Charles Bernstein)
9. The Fly (Howard Shore)
10. RoboCop (Basil Poledouris)
11. The Empire Strikes Back (John Williams)
12. The Right Stuff (Bill Conti)
13. The Final Conflict (Jerry Goldsmith)
14. The Abyss (Alan Silvestri)
15. Brainstorm (James Horner)
16. Peggy Sue Got Married (John Barry)
17. My Left Foot (Elmer Bernstein)
18. The Dead (Alex North)
19. Stanley & Iris (John Williams)
20. The Milagro Beanfield War (Dave Grusin)
21. Driving Miss Daisy (Hans Zimmer)

Tracks:

1. Steel Magnolias (Georges Delerue)
2. Unforgiven (Lennie Niehaus and Clint Eastwood)
3. Raggedy Man (Jerry Goldsmith)
4. The Grifters (Elmer Bernstein)
5. Green Card (Hans Zimmer)
6. City Slickers (Marc Shaiman)
7. Father Of The Bride (Alan Silvestri)
8. While You Were Sleeping (Randy Edelman)
9. Babe (Nigel Westlake)
10. The Adventures Of The Great Mouse Detective (Henry Mancini)
11. The Adventures of Robin Hood (Erich Wolfgang Korngold)
12. The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (Laurence Rosenthal)
13. The Secret Garden (Zbigniew Preisner)
14. A Little Princess (Patrick Doyle)
15. Rudy (Jerry Goldsmith)
16. Iron Will (Joel McNeely)
17. Memphis Belle (George Fenton)
18. Eye Of The Needle (Mikl)
19. Total Recall (Jerry Goldsmith)
20. Back To The Future Part III (Alan Silvestri)

Tracks:

1. To Die For (Danny Elfman)
2. The Player (Thomas Newman)
3. Black Robe (Georges Delerue)
4. Medicine Man (Jerry Goldsmith)
5. 2001 (Alex North)
6. Star Wars: Shadows Of The Empire (Joel McNeely)
7. The Crow (Graeme Revell)
8. Blade (Mark Isham)
9. The Omen (Jerry Goldsmith)
10. Vertigo (Bernard Herrmann)
11. Scream (Marco Beltrami)
12. The Sixth Sense (James Newton Howard)
13. Xena: Warrior Princess (Joseph LoDuca)
14. Air Force One (Jerry Goldsmith)
15. Starship Troopers (Basil Poledouris)
16. The Matrix (Don Davis)
17. The Iron Giant (Michael Kamen)
18. Youve Got Mail (George Fenton)
19. A Little Romance (Georges Delerue)
20. Pleasantville (Randy Newman)

Tracks:

1. Sunset Boulevard (Franz Waxman)
2. L.A. Confidential (Jerry Goldsmith)
3. Rounders (Christopher Young)
4. The Score (Howard Shore)
5. The Replacements (John Debney)
6. Gone In 60 Seconds (Trevor Rabin)
7. The Bourne Identity (John Powell)
8. Rush Hour 2 (Lalo Schifrin)
9. XXX (Randy Edelman)
10. Die Hard (Michael Kamen)
11. The Last of the Mohicans (Trevor Jones)
12. Moby Dick (Christopher Gordon)
13. The Mists Of Avalon (Lee Holdridge)
14. Cleopatra (Alex North)
15. Life As A House (Mark Isham)
16. Emma (Rachel Portman)
17. In The Bedroom (Thomas Newman)
18. Cast Away (Alan Silvestri)
19. One True Thing (Cliff Eidelman)
20. Unfaithful (Jan A.P. Kaczmarek)
21. Far From Heaven (Elmer Bernstein)
22. Ice Age (David Newman)
23. Shrek (Harry Gregson-Williams and John Powell)

Customer Reviews:

A good value.......2007-05-17

I wasn't expecting to have 4 discs for this price, and the music is a quality selection of film music, giving a good scope of the genre, and a very listenable transfer.

The Sound Track Since Bernard Hermann.......2006-07-25

This collection is bound to capture your heart and evoke a tin ear on successive tracks. I found much to like and some duds - easy to skip over.
Very good value.

Good mix of film music.......2006-07-02

Good mix of films!
I'm a big fan of this soundtrack music and will be looking for more CD's like this.

A mixed collection of movie music.......2006-02-23

For the price, this CD is a great bargain. The musical selections, as you might expect, are mixed in quality ranging from extraordinary to so so, the balance being worthwhile and interesting. Sonically the CD is excellent.

Uplifts your soul, takes your mind into the heavens.......2006-01-06

I have been listening to great scores for many years and this collection is truly inspirational in so far as the choice of different scores takes you on a journey of listening pleasure matched by only a few collections.The price is incredibly reasonable for hours of listening pleasure. Don't pass this one up

Average customer rating: Excellent performances of one of our greatest symphonists. Unbelievable Sound Quality A Tale of Two Eighths Best "Sinfonia Antartica" Currently Available Pure music

Vaughan Williams: Symphonies Nos. 7 "Sinfonia antartica" & 8 Manufacturer: Naxos ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Vaughan Williams, Ralph | ( V ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Vaughan Williams, Ralph | Composers | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Symphonies | Forms & Genres | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music Modern & 20th Century | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music CDs Under $7 | Classical General | Classical | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music CDs $7 - $10 | Classical General | Classical | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music All Bargain Titles | Classical General | Classical | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music CDs Under $7 | Symphonies | Classical | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music CDs $7 - $10 | Symphonies | Classical | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music All Bargain Titles | Symphonies | Classical | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music 4-for-3 Classical | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music 4-for-3 All Music | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Vaughn Williams: Symphonies Nos. 5 and 9 Vaughan Williams: Phantasy Quintet/String Quartets 1 & 2 Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 2; The Wasps Vaughan Williams: A London Symphony (original 1913 version) / Butterworth: The Banks of Green Willow - London Symphony Orchestra / Richard Hickox Vaughan Williams: Symphonies Nos. 3 "Pastoral" & No. 6 ASIN: B00000AELD Release Date: 1998-08-25

Tracks:

1. Sinfonia Antartica (Symphony No. 7): Prelude: Andante maestoso - Lento - Poco animato - Piu mosso - Tranquillo - Andante moderato con moto - Largamente
2. Sinfonia Antartica (Symphony No. 7): Scherzo: Moderato
3. Sinfonia Antartica (Symphony No. 7): Landscape: Lento -
4. Sinfonia Antartica (Symphony No. 7): Intermezzo: Andante sostenuto - Allegretto - Pesante - Tempo primo tranquillo
5. Sinfonia Antartica (Symphony No. 7): Epilogue: Alla marcia, moderato (non troppo allegro) - Andante maestoso
6. Symphony No. 8 In D Minor: Fantasia (Variazioni senza Tema): Moderato - Presto - Andante sostenuto - Allegretto - Andante non troppo - Allegro vivace - Andante sostenuto - Largamente - Tempo primo ma tranquillo
7. Symphony No. 8 In D Minor: Scherzo alla Marcia (per stromenti a fiato): Allegro alla marcia - Andante - Tempo primo
8. Symphony No. 8 In D Minor: Cavatina (per stromenti ad arco): Lento espressivo
9. Symphony No. 8 In D Minor: Toccata: Moderato maestoso
10. Movement Superscriptions For Sinfonia antartica: Prometheus Unbound: Prelude: 'To Suffer Woes Which Hope Thinks Infinite' (Percy Bysshe Shelley)
11. Movement Superscriptions For Sinfonia antartica: Book Of Common Prayer, Psalm 104: Schezro: 'There Go The Ships'
12. Movement Superscriptions For Sinfonia antartica: Hymn Before Sunrise, In The Vale Of Chamouni: Landscape: 'Ye Ice Falls!' (Samuel Taylor Coleridge)
13. Movement Superscriptions For Sinfonia antartica: The Sun Rising: Intermezzo: 'Love, All Alike,' (John Donne)
14. Movement Superscriptions For Sinfonia antartica: Message To The Public: Epilogue: 'I Do Not Regret This Journey;' (Captain Robert Falcon Scott)

Customer Reviews:

Excellent performances of one of our greatest symphonists........2004-04-28

The posthumous fate of Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) has not always been a kind one. After his death, his music passed through a prolonged period of being deeply unfashionable. Stodgy, tweedy Vaughan Williams--who could get into that?! But, like Elgar, whose music is also cast in a stuffy, stereotypically "British" light, there is much more to Vaughan Williams than one might think.

First, the man was a superb melodist. He was not a mere tunesmith, to be sure, but crafted works that are primarily conceived in terms of melodic development, and this makes his work immediately appealing. Second, he was a highly original thinker who used his colossal technique (he had a doctorate in composition and studied with Ravel) for surprisingly modern ends. His music can at times sound like a mixture of Bach and Debussy, but it is always unmistakably Vaughan Williams. He had a penchant for modal counterpoint, and his streams of parallel chords place his work squarely in the 20th century.

Vaughan Williams' unique talent for scoring is evident throughout this excellent recording of his 7th and 8th symphonies. The "Sinfonia antartica" is based upon a film score he supplied for a film about the explorer Robert Scott. It is by turns brooding and wistful--an ideal introduction to this magnificent composer. Symphony No. 8 is a more eclectic affair, brighter in temperament overall, but a rewarding example of the surprises that lurk around every corner of RVW's work.

Was he the greatest symphonist of the 20th century? The jury's still out. He certainly created a body of symphonic work that is second to none in its richness, diversity, and consistency. Mahler, Sibelius, and Shostakovich are usually considered the most important symphonists of the last century, but for those who seek other fare, you can't do better than Vaughan Williams.

Unbelievable Sound Quality.......2002-03-17

The "Antarctica Symphony" portion of this disk has been called "the best digital recording ever made", and is often recommended for use as a demonstration disk on high-end audio equipment. One listen and you'll understand why...this is truly a sonic marvel.

Not a bad accomplishment for budget-price label Naxos!

A Tale of Two Eighths.......2001-07-30

I think many listeners (and reviewers) will focus more on the seventh symphony; so I leave the seventh to them, although I greatly enjoy this recording of the seventh, and am even modestly grateful that the recited superscriptions are included at the end, where they do not interrupt the sequence of the symphony itself.

The Vaughan Williams eighth symphony exhibits a few interesting parallels with the eighth symphony of the composer whose oeuvre established the "rule of nine" in the writing of symphonies: Beethoven.

Beethoven's Opus 93 strikes some listeners as both "a step backwards" from the rambunctious and expansive seventh (with its electrifying "double scherzo" and achingly intense theme-and-variations slow movement), and a mystification before the grandiose Opus 125. It is something of a look back towards Haydn; it is charming, and elegant, and seems to do entirely without the dramatic musical rhetoric of which Beethoven's third, fifth and seventh symphonies provide ample and potent illustration. It is the sort of thing which "musical progressivists" say we composers cannot do; you can almost hear the phrase spoken, "you can never go back."

Yet, in his eighth symphony, Beethoven succeeds, marvelously and musically; he does, and does not, "go back." Vaughan Williams does something of the same, in his eighth. Even though Vaughan Williams' seventh was composed originally as film music, and then adapted as a symphony in his `cycle' (or perhaps because of this), the eighth seems like a deliberate step away from musical dramtization, and into the realm of abstract, `pure' music, a music which functions on its own, not driven by any extra-musical `program.'

Now, the `point' to which Beethoven does and does not go back, is Haydn; the generation before, and a composer with whom Beethoven had taken lessons. The `point' to which Vaughan Williams does and does not go back, is musical Impressionism, and specifically Ravel. Vaughan Williams had taken some lessons with Ravel; and the `return to pure music' in the eighth is doubly apt here, as part of Ravel's Impressionism is a sort of `romantic neo-classicism' exemplified in "Le Tombeau de Couperin" and the piano concertos.

That Vaughan Williams made his eighth with the Beethoven-parallel in mind, seems to me confirmed in the opening of the second movement. Vaughan Williams' all-winds scherzo begins with too much of a `metronomic' gesture for this to be coincidental. This parallel does not become burdensome, because the `metronomic piece' functions differently in the two eighth symphonies: it is the slow movement in the Beethoven Op. 93, followed by the lovely Menuet and Trio (good heavens! didn't Beethoven realize how passé this was?), while in Vaughan Williams' eighth it serves as a scherzo followed by a richly beautiful slow movement for strings alone (in timbral balance of the string-less scherzo).

Where Vaughan Williams `does not go back' is, about two-thirds into the first movement, where, after some moments of trumpet-&-string doublings which seemed to evoke the sound-world of Prokofiev, the relatively smooth calm of most of the movement yields to the sort of orchestral menace normally associated with Shostakovich. This fury lasts but a moment, and gives way again to the idyllic calm of the opening material, but here is a musical point at which you wonder if it is really possible to `go back' ....

The last movement of the Vaughan Williams' eighth is bright and resplendent. It is almost mis-labeled; `toccata' traditionally means a `touched' piece, a keyboard work with figurations more characteristic of two hands at a keyboard, rather than a large ensemble of single-line instruments. But Vaughan Williams has a history of adapting the idea of the Toccata, as in his Toccata Marziale for band; and my musicological quibble does not get in the way of the piece, which reminds me more of a jubilant carillon.

--Karl

Best "Sinfonia Antartica" Currently Available.......2000-10-24

The classic recorded performance of Ralph Vaughan Williams' "Sinfonia Antartica" (completed 1952) is Sir Adrian Boult's on EMI from the mid-1960s; a slightly later performance on RCA led by André Previn boasted superior sound but misjudged by prefacing each movement with spoken versions of RVW's epigraphs. (Thus interrupting the musical continuity in a score that depends heavily on a seamless transition from one mood to another.) Bernard Haitink (also on EMI) issued an "Antartica" about fifteen years ago, very close to Boult's in merit, but - in this day of classical-music démorale - "no longer available." Haitink's countryman, Kees Bakels, has "burned" a CD cycle of the RVW symphonies for Naxos, with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, and one entry therein couples the Eighth with the "Antartica" (ordinally the Seventh). As James Day notes in his book on RVW, the "Antartica" calls on the largest orchestra that the composer ever stipulated, with parts for organ, wind-machine, an enormous percussion battery, and wordless soprano-solo with female choral vocalise. The "Antartica" shares with the "Pastoral" and the Sixth the evocation of inhuman nature and of human courage pitted (heroically but vainly) against such nature. Boult grasped this aspect of the work, but the limited capacity of mid-60s analogue recording took its toll on the realization of his understanding. (The vinyl pressings also posed an obstacle. I owned the American Angel pressing as well as an EMI import; neither struck me as adequate.) Bakels, like Boult, sees that this is a grim account, a genuine sequel to the tragic E-Minor Symphony of 1947. Notice how he takes the crescendi in the Prelude, with the great climax at 1.50: It's truly "majestic," as the score says it should be; the ensuing Lento, with prominent xylophone and wordless voices, sounds very icy and haunted indeed. The Scherzo presents the danger of sounding too comical; Bakels avoids this pitfall. Of the symphony's core, the "Landscape" (Third Movement), Bakels makes just the inhuman, implacable, frigid monster that RVW must have had in mind, although the organist (beginning at 8.30) does not achieve quite the hard-edged quality that I recall from Boult. The Eighth Symphony is a less monumental score, but possesses a playful seriousness all its own. The Finale can become a welter of sound, as it did unfortunately in the Boult/EMI; but here it sounds forth in all its polyphonic glory, with the tuned percussion caught with great definition by the engineers.

Pure music.......1999-07-26

As with Beethoven each of Vaughan Williams' nine symphonies has a distinct character of its own. the eighth is the most lighthearted one, ranging in mood form energetic to festive to downright comical, with a measure of gentle melancholy thrown in for contrast.The 2nd and 3rd movements- a funny march for winds and a beautifull cavatina for strings- show VW at his best.So what if he does not grab fate by the throat in this symphony? This is music in its best and purest form. The other work on the CD-Symphonia Antarctica- has its moments but it remains essentially what it is: a glorified movie-score.Director Kees Bakels proves again that he is one of the best Vaughan Williams interpreters of this time.

Average customer rating: Nice sampling magical fusion

Didgeridoo Groove Various Artists Manufacturer: Music Mosaic ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | International | Styles | Music General | International | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Didgeridoo Trance Dance Tribe Vibe Shaman Drums Didj Mania Didgeridoo Trance Dance 2 ASIN: B00009KXGX Release Date: 2003-05-01

Tracks:

1. Didgeridoo Groove (Ariel Kalma)
2. Universal Dance (Ed Drury)
3. Red Center Awakens (Sounds of the Outback)
4. Shade (Gondwana)
5. Little People (Steven Cragg)
6. Crooked (Orocol)
7. Taralinga Lila (Tarshito / Sangeet)
8. Balanda Dancing (Stephan Richter)
9. Intuvalation (Didjworkds)
10. Chamber 11 (Soulfood)
11. Kokopelli Dreaming (Kailash)

Album Description

Ethno-trance World-beat - From smooth jazz to funky jungle, from the vast Australian outback to the smoldering cyber-clubs of Bombay. Trip-out with this groove journey into the modern world of the ancient didgeridoo — enhanced with drums, guitar, sax, throat singing, bass, synthesizer, sitar, native American flutes and other multicultural instruments.

Customer Reviews:

Nice sampling.......2006-08-06

I really enjoyed this collection of tracks from some of the top didgeridoo players in the world. There is a nice variety of styles and approachs to using the ancient instrument in modern and sometimes not so modern ways. I think in many ways, this CD would be an excellent introduction to the didgeridoo for those curious about it's use in contemporary music.

magical fusion.......2004-03-10

What a great fusion of a variety of instruements and musical styles. Every track is great. This is the best cd I have bought in along while. Drums, sax, flute, didgeriedo and others to make a mesmerising collection of world music. You won't find music like this on popular radio. Can't say enough about this great collection of music.

Average customer rating: BEAUTIFUL....... Extraordinary Keep your eye on this one REALLY dig this CD

Take This Journey Christy Baron Manufacturer: Chesky Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Jazz | Styles | Music Vocal Jazz General | Vocal Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: I Thought About You Steppin' Retrospective Tangled Tell Me I'm Not Dreamin' ASIN: B00006NSIV Release Date: 2002-10-22

Customer Reviews:

BEAUTIFUL..............2007-07-14

Christy is a far too little known joy. This absolutely wonderful interpreter of Jazz standards records for a small company whose products are difficult to find [RIP Tower...we miss you]. Of course, every coin has two sides...Chesky Records may be small, but they are also one of two companies that produce the most perfect recordings on Earth.

This is Jazz the way it ought to be heard...sensitive, intelligent, skillful, and Sexy with a capital S. Opera touches our intellectual and esthetic side; when Jazz is done right, it goes straight to our inner being...we need to FEEL it. You won't find any better than Christy....

Naturally, some of the songs are more familiar than others; some have been recorded dozens of times, but NEVER more....OK, I'll say it...Seductively. The three Carole King numbers are an especial joy...everything she touches, either as performer, or as lyricist, is pure gold.

If you think I love this great singer you're right...if you think Diana Krall is wonderful[she is], try Christy. You'll fall in love, too...Promise.

Extraordinary.......2004-02-21

The grace, delicacy, wit, passion, and sheer musicality of Christy Baron is astonishing. Compare her "I'm All Smiles" to Dianne Reeves' version on "A Little Moonlight." Baron makes Reeves sound clumsy, uninspired, and downright unmusical--and Reeves won a Grammy for her work! Parenthetically, Baron's first CD, "I Thought About You," is even better than this one. On the other hand, "Steppin," is a farce. Chesky "wanted to do something different," why we're not told. The result is an absurd amalgam of jazz and "world music," with, for no particular reason, a (spoken) second-rate poem by the producer, and, lo and behold, throat music. Why Chesky took a jazz singer of the first water--whose musicality, by the way, is well beyond her producer's--and forced her talent into alien forms is one of life's more profound mysteries.

Keep your eye on this one.......2003-05-31

I picked this CD up after hearing this lovely voice at a Playboy Jazz concert in Pasadena. If she could affect me that way live, I wanted to know what she could do in the studio. The CD was OHHHH so sweet, and I was pleasantly surprised by the very different vibe (Live: synth, bass, drums, sax, trumpet / CD: guitar, bass, drums, sax). Her Chesky recording has a mellower approach, obviously for the audiophiles in us all, but truly lovely and this vocalist knows what she's singing about. I had never heard of this woman before, but if the concert in Pasadena is any indication of what she is capable of, LOOK OUT!! My advice: keep your eye her

REALLY dig this CD.......2002-12-20

She swings hard, I love her ballads (House Is Not A Home KILLS me), and on the funkier side, she can really sing in the groove. Great treatment of tunes, both standards and originals. I caught her live in New York recently. This CD is great, but you have GOT to see her let loose. She is beautiful, sexy, gets inside the lyrics, and really puts a song across.

Jazz Music:

1. Those Fabulous Big Bands
2. Timeless
3. Toast to Jimmy McGriff's Golden Classics
4. Tokyo: 1976 [Live]
5. Voices in the Wind
6. We Want Miles [Import]
7. Wheelin' & Dealin'
8. Windows of My Soul
9. Yes, Then Yes
10. 1959

Jazz Music

jazz music