Basta [Import]

Product Description
The Chilean Group Formed in 1965 Writing Lyrics Inspired by Social Issues Related to Its Country and Combining them with Autochthonous Musical Arrangements. In 1966, the Band Came in First Place at the Festival De Festivales, Releasing Its First Album that Same Year. Folk Singer and Songwriter Victor Jara Helped the Band by Promoting Quilapayun's Music and Making the Record Canciones Folkloricas De America Together. As Chilean New Song's Ambassador, Quilapayun Went on Its First European Tour in 1968. Due to Chilean Political and Social Changes in the Early '70s, the Group Settled in Foreign Countries for More Than a Decade.

Basta,Quilapayun,WEA International,Andes,Chile,Latin,Nueva Cancion

Music

jazz

music

Jazz

Average customer rating: Magnificent soprano! Vintage Mozart!! Bel Canto Sublime Why I love Kathleen

Kathleen Battle Sings Mozart Manufacturer: EMI Classics ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Vocal & Song | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music | Cantatas | Romances General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Battle, Kathleen | ( B ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus | M to P | Featured Composers, A-Z | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music | Cantatas | Romances German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Battle, Kathleen | Divas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Similar Items: Kathleen Battle · Wynton Marsalis ~ Baroque Duet / Anthony Newman · Orch St. Luke's · Nelson The Bach Album Kathleen Battle at Carnegie Hall The Best of Kathleen Battle Kathleen Battle - Bel Canto Arias ASIN: B000002RO3 Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

1. Vorrei spiegarvi, oh dio!
2. Exsultate, jubilate
3. Il re pastore: L'amero, saro costante
4. Basta, vincesti...ah non lasciarmi, no
5. Un moto di gioia
6. Ch'io mi scordi di te...non temer, amato bene - Scena And Rondo
7. Misera, dove son!...ah! non son'io che parlo

Customer Reviews:

Magnificent soprano!.......2007-03-28

Kathleen Battle is one in a line of incredibly talented American born sopranos including Anna Moffo, Renee Fleming, Leontyne Price, etc. She has a beautiful voice and perfectly suited to sing Bach, Handel and Mozart. This disc will open your eyes to the beauty of Mozart if you do not already appreciate his work. The standouts here are "Vorrei spiegarvi" which will send chills up your spine, "exsultate jubilate", "l'amero saro costante", "un moto di gioia", and "misera, dove son". Andre Previn does an outstanding job at the conductor's helm.
I was terribly saddened that this great diva's career was sidetracked by supposed temperament difficulties. I'll not fault her too much because we only know the Met Opera's version. Besides, Battle is forgiven for the sheer gorgeousness of her singing. Mozart himself would be so pleased if he heard this cd.

Vintage Mozart!!.......2007-01-12

I was not familiar with Kathleen Battle's voice prior to listening to this recording. I am now, and what a beautiful and talented voice she has!! She has reinforced my belief that Mozart is one of the greatest composers. I never tire listening to Mozart; I listen to this recording often. I am pleased, as I am sure you will be, to have this recording by Ms. Battle in my music library.

Bel Canto.......2006-12-30

The date on my copy, and I assume it is the recording date, I bought it very many years ago, is 1985. It used to be one of my favorite CDs. I won't call Battle an angel because there is no such thing, and I don't know how one would sound if there were. But her voice is warm and smooth and quintessentially beautiful. I love it. I was sorry to read in a review of another CD of hers that she is a gorgon. It diminishes my love greatly, as it did my liking for Callas, who had a poorer voice to begin with. I like to think well of my heroes. This compliation of Mozart is bel canto, but with not so much coloratura. It is deeply pleasurable and soothing. It is sublime, with the meaning that 100 years of Tin Pan Alley and pop tune lyric writers have given it (perfectly pleasurable and agreeable), not the meaning that the word originally or actually had/has (awesome). Compare this Mozart recital with Sutherland's collection of Mozart arias in her Art of collection. (I'm writing these comments under Battle's CD because Sutherland's is in a 6 disc collection that I just opened last night, the only disc I've listened to from it is the Mozart.) I do not like Mozart's operas. That's a fact, and that's all there is to it. Take it or leave it. They bore me green. However, some of his tunes (art songs) and some arias from his operas are divine. And Battle and Sutherland sang some of them. Sutherland's disc is coloratura all the way. It too is exquisitely beautiful, as I expect the whole collection to be. I don't know which I prefer. Must I choose? I perfer Sutherland's disc. Battle's selections are soothing and dreamy. Sutherland's are soothing but arousing at the same time. But that's just my preference. Bel canto (which means beautiful singing) is of course very beautiful (that's redundant), but I prefer coloratura singing, which comes from bel canto, and which many consider an excess, or at least that it can be an excess. I am not one of those. I love the ornamentation. It delights and pleases me. Mozart and the Italians of the 1st half of the 19th Century are considered the bel canto and coloratura masters (though there are instances of coloratura if not bel canto (?!) through the history of music). Notes. I paid full price for my Battle when it came out. Now it's available for a song. If you like just beautiful female music that can make an entire 6 or 7 minute piece with one word for a lyric, I highly recommend it. And if you do want it, and Newbury Comics is an Amazon Marketplace seller of it, you'd be in safe hands and save even more money buying it from them. Likewise the Sutherland Art of 6 disc set. I think I got that from Newbury Comics, and I saved $20, and by spending an extra $2 postage (for expedited shipping), had it in my hands in about 3 days. 4 wonderful things. Mozart's tunes, Battle, Sutherland, and Newbury Comics. I recommend them all.

Sublime.......2006-12-27

If there is a more exquisite CD in my collection, I don't know what it is. When I went shopping for stereo speakers years ago, I used this CD to test the high range. Mrs. Battle's voice is otherworldly in its purity, clarity, and delicacy. This recording is artistically, programmatically, and technologically flawless.

Steve

Why I love Kathleen.......2006-09-21

This album was the reason I fell in love with Kathleen Battle. Her voice is clean, beautiful and pure, just the right type of voice for Mozart.

Average customer rating:

Handel: The Masterworks (Box Set) Manufacturer: Brilliant Classics ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Trios | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Handel | Handel, George Frideric | ( H ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Concerto Grossi | Concertos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music General | Concertos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music General | Sonatas | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Trio Sonatas | Sonatas | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music General | Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Flute | Reeds & Winds | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music Oboe | Reeds & Winds | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music Recorder | Reeds & Winds | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music Violin | Strings | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Cantatas | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Italian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Oratorios | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Anthems | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Cantatas | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Hymns | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Oratorios | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Passions | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Blowout Box Sets | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music More Titles at Least 20% Off | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music All Classical Music Blowout | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Handel, George Frideric | ( H ) | Composers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Opera & Vocal | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Brilliant Classics | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Similar Items: Vivaldi: The Masterworks (Box Set) Haydn: The Masterworks [Box Set] Mendelssohn: The Masterworks [Box Set] Dvorák: The Masterworks [Box Set] Schubert: The Masterworks [Box Set] ASIN: B00062FLI8 Release Date: 2004-11-30

Average customer rating: A reckless night aboard musician-ship! FANTASTIC STUFF! One of the best RS albums out there! Gems, gems & gems Quintessential Scott collection

Microphone Music Raymond Scott Manufacturer: Basta Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music Jazz | Imports | Stores | Music Similar Items: Manhattan Research, Inc. Reckless Nights & Turkish Twilights The Unexpected Toonerville Trolley 1940-1944 Kodachrome ASIN: B000086B8X Release Date: 2003-02-04

Tracks:

1. Egyptian Barn Dance
2. The Penguin
3. Christmas
4. Pretty Petticoat #1
5. Square Dance For Eight Egyptian Mummies
6. Moment Whimsical
7. Devil Drums
8. A Little Bit Of Rigoletto
9. Hypnotist In Hawaii
10. Dinner Music For A Pack Of Hungry Cannibals
11. The Toy Trumpet
12. Suicide Cliff
13. Siberian Sleigh Ride
14. Steeplechase
15. Peter Tambourine
16. Celebration On The Planet Mars
17. Brass Buttons And Epaulettes
18. Bumpy Weather Over Newark
19. Pretty Petticoat #2
20. Turkish Mish-Mush
21. Bonus Track 1

Tracks:

1. Microphone Music
2. Twilight In Turkey
3. New Year's Eve In A Haunted House
4. Tobacco Auctioneer
5. The Girl With The Light Blue Hair
6. Sleepwalker
7. The Happy Farmer
8. Oil Gusher
9. Boy Scout In Switzerland
10. Reckless Night On Board An Ocean Liner
11. Swing, Swing Mother-In-Law
12. Girl At The Typewriter
13. Yesterday's Ice Cubes
14. Pretty Petticoat #3
15. War Dance For Wooden Indians
16. Dead End Blues
17. Harlem Hillbilly
18. The Quintet Goes To A Dance
19. Bugle Call Rag
20. Powerhouse
21. Bonus Track 2

Customer Reviews:

A reckless night aboard musician-ship!.......2004-02-09

"Once again, Basta Records presents the Raymond Scott Quintette...in another collection of their ultra-modern musical specialties, many presented for the first time anywhere!"

Thank you, Mr. Announcer...and now just a word to say why no Raymond Scott fan anywhere should be without this, the definitive, the supreme, nay, dare I say the canonical representation on record of this sublime supergroup. That's right, folks...no re-creations or reinterpretations here, just Ray's own reference recordings of the original Quintette, made at his own expense in the late 1930s and presented here in extra-crisp period fidelity.

A good number of these tracks first appeared on "The Raymond Scott Project" (Stash Records, 1991), but that's been hard to get for years now, and what's more, there's still other great stuff that hasn't previously seen the light of day. If your tail twitches at titles like "Turkish Mish Mush," "Square Dance for Eight Egyptian Mummies," or "Yesterday's Ice Cubes (are water today)"...well, this CD two-fer is the set for you.

If, on the other hand, you're still wondering what the big hairy deal is with five prehistoric radio studio musicians and one lovable tyrant of a pianist-composer-kook...I say, listen and be amazed! These cats could play music as challenging as stapling Jell-O to a greased pig and still stay tighter than Pee Wee Herman's bow tie. Johnny Williams's infectious proto-swing drumming was key to the Quintette's super-charged machine-age ricky-ticky. Pete Pumiglio made the impossible sound easy on the clumsy old Albert System clarinet. And the stuff Dave Harris could kick out on an ordinary tenor saxophone will have your head spinning on your shoulders.

Then, of course, there's ample opportunity to hear the madness of Raymond Scott himself as he literally composes "on" his musicians (including some work-in-progress recordings of tunes that never quite gelled). Much more than zing-boom animaniac music is afoot here. Ray's "out" harmonic sense was almost unequaled in those pre-bop days, as is evident on numbers like "Suicide Cliff," "Bumpy Weather Over Newark," and a radical recasting of the old war horse "Bugle Call Rag" (about the only standard this group ever played!).

To Basta, I say, "È NON BASTA!" Take us back to Aquackanack, where the sky is green and Raymond Scott and his quazy quintette forever mystify, enthrall, and groove hard.

FANTASTIC STUFF!.......2003-08-22

Here are two discs of this eccentric genius' music that sometimes will be more familiar than you'd expect! A bunch of his compositions were used in Warner Bros. cartoons!(ren & Stimpy,etc...also!) So,you see we were all pleasantly introduced to Raymond Scott at an early age!
His compositions are as lively as the cartoons we all remember so well,although not all of his music was used for that purpose.His music conjures up strange and wonderful mental pictures with the use of all sorts of zippy instrumental patter between the players.(His drummer was totally amazing!)
Not only that ,but there are pieces here that no one had heard in years because they were recorded and put "in the can" so to speak! So,now all of us luck listeners are gifted with this beauty of a set! A joy to behold and hear!
Please also look into his electronic recordings too!(Through the "Manhatten Research..."CD.) Raymond was an "unknown influence" on a young man named MOOG too! It's just that Mr.Scott liked to keep his innovations slightly out of public eye-shot.
Meet this amazing man and his music and you'll slaver for more and more! INCREDIBLE!

One of the best RS albums out there!.......2003-06-08

This CD is truely a fantastic addition to any Raymond Scott or cartoon fan's collection. This was the first Raymond Scott CD that I purchased, after learning that his melodies were used in many Carl Stalling scores that were in Looney Tunes and Merrie Mellodies cartoons. The songs are very catchy, and I'm sure anyone who's seen a Looney Tune cartoon in their life can recognize the jazzy tune "Powerhouse". A great collection.

Gems, gems & gems.......2003-05-15

This definitive RSQ collection does two jobs: exposing the quality of Scott and his Quintette, AND putting a spot on the quality of The Beau Hunks reconstructions (on their CD's "A Celebration on the Planet Mars" and "Manhattan Minuet", also BASTA releases). Beautifully laid out too, this must-have...

Quintessential Scott collection.......2003-03-02

Raymond Scott's late 1930s whiplash-jazz was more than just over-the-cliff soundtrack fodder for Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. As Scott's adherents often point out, Scott (many of whose compositions were adapted by Carl Stalling in classic WB 'toonery) never wrote a note for a cartoon in his life. His stuff just screams ANIMATION. With titles like "Dinner Music for a Pack of Hungry Cannibals" and "Square Dance for Eight Egyptian Mummies," who could resist thinking Scott (1908-1994) had cartoons on his mind when he wrote these? But he didn't -- he was advancing the frontiers of pop music in his own visionary way.

This 2-CD, 42-track set is the definitive collection of Raymond Scott Quintette recordings. It is more comprehensive than 1992's Reckless Nights and Turkish Twilights (on Columbia Legacy). Any Microphone Music tunes that also appeared on Reckless Nights are different versions, sometimes drastically so. Microphone Music contains unreleased titles, radio performances, first-rate rehearsals, and forgotten gems by Scott's idiosyncratic Quintette. The audio quality is exceptional, and the 32-page accompanying booklet features excellent liner notes by Scott authority Irwin Chusid (who produced the package), as well as photos, interviews, and reproductions of vintage magazine articles about the Quintette.

Besides the usual controlled chaos and ingenious rhythmic twists, these recordings feature tasteful solos by Scott's virtuoso sidemen; the savvy (and largely under-appreciated) percussive snap of the great drummer Johnny Williams; and even some less-animated works (e.g., "Girl With the Light Blue Hair," "Suicide Cliff") that display a more restrained (but never bland) side of the RSQ. The album title refers to Scott's penchant for considering the microphone a "seventh member" of his six-man "quintet." His pioneering studio and technical explorations reached greater fruition later in his career when Scott invented and recorded with electronic instruments. Learn more at RaymondScott.com.

Average customer rating: Great! An Essential Volume of the History of the Future of Music The Future Yesterday Raymond Scott History Lesson and Look to the Future How to knock a listener over...

Manhattan Research, Inc. Manufacturer: Basta Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Electronic | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music | Computer General | Jazz | Styles | Music Contemporary Big Band | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music General | New Age | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Electronica | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Retro Space Age | Easy Listening | Pop | Styles | Music Electronica | Dance & DJ | Indie Music | Stores | Music Rock | Imports | Stores | Music Similar Items: Reckless Nights & Turkish Twilights Microphone Music Soothing Sounds For Baby: Electronic Music By Raymond Scott, Vol. 1, 1 To 6 Months Soothing Sounds For Baby: Electronic Music By Raymond Scott, Vol. 2, 6 To 12 Months The Unexpected ASIN: B00004SYD6 Release Date: 2000-07-11

Tracks:

1. Manhattan Research, Inc. Copyright
2. Baltimore Gas & Electric Co. (Instrumental, Take 4)
3. Bendix 1: 'The Tomorrow People'
4. Lightworks
5. The Bass-Line Generator
6. 'Don't Beat Your Wife Every Night!'
7. 'B.C. 1675' (The 'Gillette' Conga Drum Jingle)
8. Vim
9. Auto-Lite: Sta-Ful (Intrumental)
10. Sprite: 'Melonball Bounce' (Instrumental)
11. Sprite: 'Melonball Bounce'
12. 'Wheels That Go'
13. 'Limbo: The Organized Mind'
14. 'Portofino' 1
15. County Fair
16. Lady Gaylord
17. Good Air (Take 7)
18. IBM MT/ST: 'The Paperwork Explosion'
19. Domino
20. Super Cheer
21. Cheer: Revision 3 (New Backgrounds)
22. 'Twilight In Turkey'
23. Raymond Scott Quote/Vicks: Medicated Cough Drops
24. Vicks: Formula 44
25. Auto-Lite: Spark Plugs
26. Nescafe
27. Awake
28. 'Backwards Overload'
29. Bufferin: 'Memories (Original)
30. Bandito The Bongo Artist
31. 'Night And Day'
32. Baltimore Gas & Electric Co. ('395')
33. K2r
34. IBM Probe
35. GMGM 1A
36. The Rhythm Modulator

Tracks:

1. Ohio Plus
2. 'In The Hall Of The Mountain Queen'
3. General Motors: Futurama
4. 'Portofino' 2
5. 'The Wild Piece' (a.k.a. 'String Piece')
6. 'Take Me To Your Violin Teacher'
7. 'Ripples' (Original Soundtrack)
8. Cyclic Bit
9. 'Ripples' (Montage)
10. The Wing Thing
11. County Fair (Instrumental)
12. 'Cindy Electronium'
13. 'Don't Beat Your Wife Every Night!' (Instrumental)
14. Hostess: Twinkies
15. Hostess: Twinkies (Instrumental)
16. Ohio Bell: Thermo Fax
17. 'The Pygmy Taxi Corporation'
18. Baltimore Gas & Electric Co. (Announce Copy, Take 1)
19. Baltimore Gas & Electric Co.
20. Lightworks (Slow)
21. 'The Paperwork Explosion' (Instrumental)
22. Auto-Lite: Ford Family
23. Auto-Lite: Ford Family (Instrumental)
24. Raymond Scott Quote/Auto-Lite: 'Wheels'
25. Bufferin: 'Memories' (Demo)
26. 'Space Mystery' (Montage)
27. 'The Toy Trumpet'
28. 'Backward Beeps'
29. Raymond Scott Quote/Auto-Lite: Sta-Ful
30. Lightworks (Instrumental)
31. 'When Will It End?'
32. Bendix 2: 'The Tomorrow People'
33. Electronic Audio Logos, Inc.

Amazon.com

The goofy chamber jazz of bandleader Raymond Scott lent itself perfectly to cartoon soundtracks ("Dinner Music for a Pack of Hungry Cannibals," anyone?), but, at heart, Scott was a serious composer. His electronic-music forays have been previously documented (the three volumes of Soothing Sounds for Baby), but nothing captures his diverse sound creations as well as Manhattan Research Inc. This previously unreleased two-CD collection features Scott's handmade electronics, top-secret creations he'd use to create ambient-sounding commercial jingles, as well as the odd soundtrack with budding filmmaker/Muppeter Jim Henson. Scott was impossibly ahead of his time: a snippet for "Baltimore Gas & Electric Co." could have been written by Terry Riley; "Limbo: The Organized Mind" is a hint at musique concrete; and 1960's "In the Hall of the Mountain Queen" could easily fit on an Aphex Twin disc. Gorgeous packaging, previously unreleased photos, and liner notes by Irwin Chusid, Robert Moog, and others make this a must for fans of electronic music. --Jason Verlinde

Customer Reviews:

Great!.......2006-10-30

Loads of info in the booklet (with photos and ads,etc),and more importantly....LOADS OF FUN LISTENING!
This is furturistic music that influenced people from Moog ,to Henson,to Stevie Wonder(and Mowtown)!
A treat to hear,read ,and see! Just GREAT!

An Essential Volume of the History of the Future of Music.......2005-01-30

This is absolutely necessary for anyone who regards himself or herself as an authority on matters of electronic and avant-garde music. To call this music experimental discredits the genius of Scott. Experimental is "try this and see what happens". This music is purely extracted from Raymond Scott's mind. A vast majority of musicians (particularly in the field of electronica) are limited in their creativity by the technology of time. To remedy this, Scott invented his own incredibly advanced proto-synth instruments. This man was the mentor to Bob Moog himself.

But enough drooling hero-worship.

This album is not for everyone. I played it for a class of my peers (largely republicans) and they declared it "the worst music in the world". For the sake of historical compilation, it is the second longest album i own (defeated by Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness). And because this is not actually an album, it has no flow or direction. So, there's no real reason to listen from beginning to end (although it can be a mind-blowing experience). Also, the quality of several recordings can be very aggravating. During MT/ST the sound of feedback makes me think my cell phone is ringing. There isn't a ringing sound, I mean it makes the same sound as when my phone rings near my CD player. Feedback. And in several other tracks there is a background sound that can best be likened to the buzzing of a printer that begins to print and finds itself out of paper. These minor grievances hardly detract from the sonic genius of the music. But i digress...

This compilation is music in its purest form: art. Most of it was never heard by the public, it was made for Scott's whims and fancies. Unrestrained by musical trends, corporate evil, or the limits of technology, this album is anything but Pop.

The Future Yesterday.......2003-10-17

This is more than 2 cds worth of the most charming, fun, electronically generated music you are ever likely to hear and a lot more. It is also a lavish 142 page history of Scott and his amazing adventures in music and sound, illustrated with beautiful, sometimes unbelievable photos. It is a historical document of Scott's part in the evolution in electronic music and it is a beautiful object.
The music is playful, inventive and often beautiful, as is Portifino or Scott's short take on Cole Porter's Night and Day. Scott's ad jingles for Sprite, Baltimore Gas & Electric Company and Bufferin (with a young pre-Muppets Jim Henson) are both inspired and crazy.
There is the makings of a great film here but now be satisfied with and wonder at the amazing sounds contained within.

Raymond Scott History Lesson and Look to the Future.......2003-08-13

Could this man be from the future? He certainly pushed the envelope with ALL his music. From the musical madness generated by his small groups to the unusual music to sooth babies in the 1950s to this illimitable collection of futuristic music/advertisements, Raymond continues to prove that he was a sheer genius with a vision singularly lacking from 99% of the other composers of his day. Personally I cannot tell if this package is a history book with an accopmanying CD or the other way around. In either case it is a release worth owning simply for the fact that it is a precurser for what was to come musically in our society. I was stunned when I first listened to it...the recordings simply could not have been from the era that they were. Raymond Scott owned the musical crystal ball hands down.

How to knock a listener over..........2003-06-05

If the listener doesn't like electronics and machinery, he or she will be knocked over by the sheer volume of information and fotos in this package, and be able to come to rest listening to the contents of the CD's. If he or she DOES like this part of it, sitting down BEFORE starting to read the "booklet" is recommandable too. One would say that, probably due to the "paranoia" of Scott, being afraid of having his ideas and inventions stolen and therefore never having published anything, he has always been out of sight when the history of elctronic music was discussed: now we'll all be glad to give him his place amongst Moog, Buchla and others. Oh, and the sheer sound quality of those tapes, some of which are over 40 years old... Yeehaaaaaaa!

Average customer rating: Not so great as lullabyes but my baby loves it (no joking!) Great for baby, hard on mom and pop Birth of Electronik The worldýs first 'ambient' synthesizer record

Soothing Sounds For Baby: Electronic Music By Raymond Scott, Vol. 1, 1 To 6 Months Manufacturer: Basta Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Electronic | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music | Computer General | Jazz | Styles | Music General | New Age | Styles | Music Meditation | New Age | Styles | Music Electronica | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music General | Children's Music | Styles | Music Lullabies | Children's Music | Styles | Music Novelty Music | Comedic Music | Comedy | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music Electronica | Dance & DJ | Indie Music | Stores | Music General | New Age | Indie Music | Stores | Music New Age | Imports | Stores | Music Similar Items: Soothing Sounds For Baby: Electronic Music By Raymond Scott, Vol. 2, 6 To 12 Months Soothing Sounds For Baby: Electronic Music By Raymond Scott, Vol. 3, 12 To 18 Months Manhattan Research, Inc. Reckless Nights & Turkish Twilights Microphone Music ASIN: B000001YCG Release Date: 1997-12-30

Tracks:

1. Lullaby
2. Sleepy Time
3. The Music Box
4. Nursery Rhyme
5. Tic Toc

Amazon.com

Alongside apple-cheeked watercolor paintings of infants, the original cover design for the Soothing Sounds series of records bore the charming inscription, "An Infant's Friend in Sound." Composer Harry Warnow was already legendary (as "Raymond Scott") for his whimsical electronic and big-band novelty musics. With this 1962-63 series, Scott turned his astonishing array of invented and modified keyboards and recording techniques toward pure electronic music with an infant-friendly spin. Intended as "aural toys" for the nursery, Soothing Sounds' deceptively simple "tic-tocs" and unthreatening seesaw melodies play on the calming properties of repetition--much like music boxes, Fisher-Price's mobiles, and the comforting "Again!" video mentality of the Teletubbies. Despite endorsement from the Gesell Institute of Child Development, the records sold poorly. But they had a curious afterlife, prefiguring such "adult" descendents as ambient music ("invented" by Brian Eno in 1975) and the mechanical pop-tronic textures of Kraftwerk and Gary Numan. --Gil Gershman

Customer Reviews:

Not so great as lullabyes but.......2006-10-29

These have got to be the best RINGTONES on the planet. With the right conversion tools and a little bit of editing, you'll have people thinking your telephone is receiving calls from the future!

my baby loves it (no joking!).......2001-11-05

I bought this album for my six week old baby girl, hoping to find a Kraftwerk for infants. And while i have't been disappointed in the least i am actually quite surprised that she likes it as much as she does. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that my girlfriend listened to Computerwelt incessently back when that little tyke was still swimming around in the womb. Still though, some of these songs seem anything but soothing to me. One song in particular sounds like it has a alarm clock blaring continuously throughout its ten minute running time. But what did my baby do but sleep soundly through it. You may object and say that a baby that age, when asleep, would slumber through anything. But i have put this on in the middle of screaming fits and it calms her right down. We love it! Raymond Scott makes me proud to be a parent! I just can't wait now until she is old enough to appreciate Bruce Haack.

Great for baby, hard on mom and pop.......2001-08-09

I gave this CD to some new parents. They reported that on a long car trip, whenever their two-month-old son got fractious, this CD quieted him down every time. But they are starting to hate it. It has a jangly, grating undertone and a monotonous melody that gets old fast. So 5 stars for meeting its promise, 3 stars for musical merit -- 4 on average.

Birth of Electronik.......2001-07-16

I had the random chance of hearing the first two tracks of this ingenuous set one late night while listening to my school's radio station. Kind of intrigued by the history of the creator (who also created the first Moog-type keyboard for his daughter who wanted to be able to play piano without lessons), I HAD to hear the tracks that would be played from this album. Well, this album isn't just for babies....the tracks repeat simple melodies arranged in a loop of sorts with little change throught the track. Now, this may seem monotonous, but it isn't much different than what a lot of Baroque music does....this isn't Baroque, by any means, but the effect is the same.....peace achieved through soothing simplicity....and you can't get enough. This album is on my "Must Buy" list...not only for my love of electronic music, but also as it is a cornerstone to today's musical stylings of the world's best producers of electronic music.

The worldýs first 'ambient' synthesizer record.......2000-08-13

Here's something to annoy your infant with. If you let your infant listen to this he's likely to think he's on another planet. Not that he knows what this planet is all about . Your job is to confuse him even more; make it hard for him to learn how to cope with the snot-nose Disney brats he's likely to meet in nursery school. This will make him a rebel of sorts in the future and unfit for the traditional type of what is called a `job.' This will be the basis of all his future happiness. Think of it as a sort of vaccination against all the bad music he's likely to hear in the future. All us grown infants who could use a bit of infant wonder back in our heads also very much dig this music. It's great stuff. In fact, I prefer this to the two ENO discs I have which tend to make things a little too lethargic. This puts you in a relaxed but demented zone, not too far from the Twilight Zone. It sounds like a PONG gone surreally melodic. This is what you put on in the background when you're ready to read `War and Peace.'

Average customer rating: Les Baxter, too! Good For A Trip To The Moon Unique & rewarding, but for hardcore fans only Delightful!!! Delightful!!!

Dr. Samuel J. Hoffman and the Theremin Samuel J. Hoffman Manufacturer: Basta Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music Lounge | Easy Listening | Pop | Styles | Music General | Easy Listening | Pop | Styles | Music General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music General | New Age | Styles | Music Meditation | New Age | Styles | Music General | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music Traditional Vocal Pop | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music Easy Listening & Lounge | Box Sets | Stores | Music General | New Age | Indie Music | Stores | Music Instrumental Pop & Lounge | Pop | Indie Music | Stores | Music Traditional & Vocal Pop | Pop | Indie Music | Stores | Music Broadway & Vocalists | Imports | Stores | Music Dance & DJ | Imports | Stores | Music New Age | Imports | Stores | Music Pop | Imports | Stores | Music Similar Items: The Art Of The Theremin Music from the Ether: Original Works for Theremin Theremin - An Electronic Odyssey Lost Theremin Album Waves in the Ether: The Magical World of the Theremin ASIN: B00000IJH7 Release Date: 1999-05-04

Tracks:

1. Lunar Rhapsody
2. Moon Moods
3. Lunette
4. Celestial Nocturne
5. Mist O' The Moon
6. Radar Blues

Tracks:

1. Toujours Moi (Always Me)
2. Tzigane (Gypsy)
3. Possession
4. L'ardente Nuit (Ardent Night)
5. Jet
6. Fame

Tracks:

1. This Room Is My Castle Of Quiet
2. The Darkness Gives Me You Again
3. Remembering Your Lips
4. My Troubles Float Away Like Fallen Leaves
5. Your Soft Hand On My Brow
6. I Dream Of A Past Love

Amazon.com

Originally released as a series of 78 rpm recordings for Capitol in the late 1940s, this set collects the work of Dr. Samuel J. Hoffman, the leading theremin virtuoso of his age. After adding theremin to a number of successful films (most notably, Spellbound, The Lost Weekend, and The Day the Earth Stood Still), Hoffman (a podiatrist by profession) teamed with British composer Harry Revel. The result: three albums that introduced this oddly provocative instrument to the world. On Music Out of the Moon, the tone is optimistic futurism with Hoffman guiding his instrument through dramatic swoops across the universe while an enthusiastic chorus oohs and ahhs at the wonder of it all. With tracks like "Lunar Rhapsody", "Mist O' the Moon," and "Radar Blues", Moon may be the most unintentionally hilarious disc in the set. The second disc, Perfume Set to Music was, according to the liner notes, inspired by "world famous perfumes." The music, of course, is as ridiculous as the concept. The chorus remains on Perfume, but the mood is a bit more sedate, stepping away from futuristic jazz and utilizing more string arrangements. On Music for Peace of Mind, listeners are instructed that "This music has a message, if you will open your mind and heart to receive it. Turn down the lights, relax in an easy chair, and listen. Then, for a few stolen hours, perhaps you will warm to happy memories and blissful hopes." Oh, you will, all right, you will. --S. Duda

Customer Reviews:

Les Baxter, too!.......2007-04-25

This is a package of 3 discs, each with its own sleeve, which replicate the very brief original 1947-50 albums.

Much of the music here is fairly tame cocktail stuff - all of it composed by Harry Revel and nothing at all like the film work Dr. Hoffman had done in Hitchcock (and Dali)'s SPELLBOUND or would be called upon to do in the 1950s. The collection was a disappointment to me in that regard, but as I'm a Baxter fan and 2 of the 3 original albums were Baxter/Hoffman projects, I enjoy the opportunity to hear some of Baxter's pre-Nat Cole work.

The first album, MUSIC OUT OF THE MOON, is mostly doo-wah pop vocals. The theremin might double the vocal line or take an occasional solo. This album reminds me a bit too much of the "Wake the Town and Tell the People" type of Baxter.

The second album, PERFUME SET TO MUSIC, is unquestionably exotica in spirit. There's far more variety of sound and mood and Dr. Hoffman's theremin is put to better use. His solos are more free - anticipatory of the vocalise for which Baxter would become renowned in the 1950s with Yma Sumac! Nice! I know that at least one of these tunes, "Jet", was released on 45 at the time of this recording (on RCA Victor), billed as "Orchestra and Chorus under the direction of Leslie Baxter / Samuel Hoffman - theremin" since I myself have it. Its B-side was another Revel ditty entitled "Struttin' with Clayton" which is not included here - no great loss actually, but cause to wonder whether more might be out there somewhere.

The Billy May album MUSIC FOR PEACE OF MIND may be my favorite of the three. The theremin is front and center from the outset. The ensemble playing is better. It's a good big band rather than the cocktail orchestra of the Baxter recordings. The piano work is stronger. Also, the sound is opened up - not so squelched as in the older Baxter projects. The whole thing is vigorous, if not quite as enchanting as the Baxter PERFUME recording.

This is a nice collection. For those out there who might not necessarily care about having the mini versions of the original album covers, the very same music is also available as a single disc entitled WAVES IN THE ETHER. Consequently and fortunately, if one DOES prefer this 3-disc presentation, the appearance of that alternative on the market has significantly decreased the price of this earlier-released product.

Good For A Trip To The Moon.......2004-07-23

I will be the first to confess that this is not the type of music that I would generally listen to on my own accord. The theremin is a peculiar instrument and it is used to good effect here. A word of caution though, if you are looking for a CD showcasing the theremin for the "spooky sounds" it is capable of, do not buy this CD. This is very melodic theremin and vocal jazz from the 1950s. All three volumes are very structured and emphasize harmonies. This is a strangely absorbing CD set, and I bought it for a very quirky reason.

I am an airline and former Air Force pilot, and Neil Armstrong has been my hero since childhood. When he went to the moon on Apollo 11 he took with him a tape of "Music Out Of The Moon", which he played in the tape player he shared with Buzz Aldrin and Mike Collins. He took it because it had long been a favorite of him and also his wife, Jan. He played some of the peculiar sounds over the NASA downlink at one point on the way home as a private message to Jan, much to the confusion of the flight controllers. Ever since I read the story I wanted to hear this recording and was not disappointed, although it isn't exactly what I expected, either. For more information, see "First On The Moon", by Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins. Since the time of these recordings many other artists have experimented with the theremin, including Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin.

If you like music from the 1950s you will like this. If you like experimental music you will like this. I only gave it four stars as a value statement: the set is rather expensive and contains three CDs, yet there is only about an hour of material total, which seems a bit excessive. A better package would have had all three volumes on one CD, but then nobody would pay thirty dollars for it I suppose.

Bottom line: give it a listen. If it's good enough for Neil, it's good enough for me.

Unique & rewarding, but for hardcore fans only.......2004-05-22

Be warned, most of your money spent on this so-called "box set" will be paying for the gatefold-style casing, paper disc sleeves and the accompanying 28-page booklet. Each of these albums clock in at under 20 minutes, combining for a total of only 54 minutes of music across all three discs. Nonetheless, this is truly vintage; embodying the rapid, dashing orchestral sounds of WWII movie previews and Warner Brothers cartoons. Whenever my wife's friends hear this music, they always get a crooked face and say, "This sounds like an old Disney movie."

The first two discs, "Music Out Of The Moon" and "Perfume Set To Music" (arranged by Les Baxter), sound like a game show orchestra tuning in some otherworldy sounds; Hoffman's theremin flirts alongside a piano, harp, strings, and even a vocal choir (not quite the Ray Conniff style if that irritates you). The great Billy May conducts the last disc, "Music For Peace Of Mind". The expressive song titles on this disc indicate the gentle mood that is intended, emphasized by wavy flutes and strings. The first track, "This Room Is My Castle Of Quiet", swallows my thoughts up and takes me away every time I hear this. Hoffman restrains himself with the theremin; most of the songs have small passages where he is buried deep within the orchestra or not heard at all.

The aforementioned booklet details the theremin's origin, as well as an explaination of Hoffman's induction into music (he was a chiropodist by trade). A couple of these tracks have appeared on Volume 3 of the Capitol Records Ultra-Lounge series, and I recommend buying that as well if this disc really excites you. I enjoy this box set but I would endorse it more for fans of lounge music than for fans of the theremin.

Delightful!!!.......2002-03-23

Beautiful light orchestral compositions in the classic post-WW2 style, featuring the Theremin as a solo instrument. If you're looking for spooky sci-fi Theremin sound effects, this ain't it. (For that, check out the DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL soundtrack.) Discs 1 and 2 were orchestrated and conducted by the great Les Baxter, disc 3 by Billy May, when both were only in their late 20s. I bought this set to add to my extensive Les Baxter collection, and am very glad I did! As to why 3 discs when all the music could've fit onto one, I wondered that too until my set arrived in this morning's mail. Each disc comes in its own little sleeve that reproduces the cover art and liner notes from the original 78rpm album, plus an excellent accompanying booklet with more notes. A perfect collector's item!

Delightful!!!.......2002-03-23

Beautiful light orchestral compositions in the classic post-WW2 style, featuring the Theremin as a solo instrument. If you're looking for spooky sci-fi Theremin sound effects, this ain't it. (For that, check out the DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL soundtrack.) Discs 1 and 2 were orchestrated and conducted by the great Les Baxter, disc 3 by Billy May, when both were only in their late 20s. I bought this set to add to my extensive Les Baxter collection, and am very glad I did! As to why 3 discs when all the music could've fit onto one, I wondered that too until my set arrived in this morning's mail. Each disc comes in its own little sleeve that reproduces the cover art and liner notes from the original 78rpm album, plus an excellent accompanying booklet with more notes. A perfect collector's item!

Average customer rating: Glad it was done, but some qualms Mixed review These interpretations have life Sheer magic! Great Scott

James Scott: The Complete Works 1903-1922 Guido Nielsen Manufacturer: Basta Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Jazz | Styles | Music Traditional Jazz General | Traditional Jazz & Ragtime | Jazz | Styles | Music Ragtime | Traditional Jazz & Ragtime | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music Traditional Jazz | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music Jazz | Imports | Stores | Music Similar Items: Complete Stark Rags of Joseph F. Lamb American Beauties: The Rags of Joseph Lamb Scott Joplin: The Complete Rags, Marches, Waltzes & Songs The Greatest Ragtime of the Century Complete Piano Music of Scott Joplin ASIN: B00005OW5Z Release Date: 2001-10-16

Tracks:

1. A Summer Breeze
2. The Fascinator
3. On The Pike
4. Frog Legs Rag
5. Kansas City Rag
6. My Girl From Anaconda
7. Grace And Beauty
8. Great Scott Rag
9. Valse Venice
10. The Ragtime "Betty"
11. Sunburst Rag
12. Sweetheart Rag
13. Hilarity Rag
14. Ophelia Rag
15. Hearts Longing
16. The Princess Rag
17. Quality Rag
18. Ragtime Oriole
19. The Suffragette

Tracks:

1. Climax Rag
2. Take Me Out To Lakeside
3. Evergreen Rag
4. Honeymoon Rag
5. Prosperity Rag
6. Efficiency Rag
7. Paramount Rag
8. Dixie Dimples
9. Rag Sentimental
10. Springtime Of Love
11. New Era Rag
12. Peace And Plenty Rag
13. Troubadour Rag
14. The Shimmie Shake
15. Modesty Rag
16. Pegasus
17. Don't Jazz Me Rag (I'm Music)
18. Victory Rag
19. Broadway Rag

Amazon.com

Ragtime has its loyal fans but doesn't get much attention from most modern listeners. It's often thought of as the generic saloon music you hear in Westerns and other period movies. But ragtime was one of the building blocks of early jazz, and the form is far from artless. Composer, arranger, and pianist James Scott was born in 1885 in southwestern Missouri, a ragtime hotbed. This beautifully packaged, finely annotated double CD traces Scott's development as a composer of piano rags. The earliest pieces, "A Summer Breeze" and "The Fascinator," date from 1903 and show the influence of ragtime legend Scott Joplin on the then-18-year-old Scott. Just six years later, Scott wrote "Grace and Beauty," an elegant piece that demonstrates the young composer's strong command of structure. Later pieces show Scott subtly expanding the form. "Rag Sentimental" strikes the ear with its minor key sonorities, while the quirky "Pegasus" should do much to dispel the uninformed notion that all rags sound alike. Throughout the album, Dutch-born pianist Guido Nielsen brings his virtuoso talents to this jaunty and physically demanding music. The Complete Works is a must for ragtime collectors and an eye-opener for all kinds of music lovers. --Fred Cisterna

Customer Reviews:

Glad it was done, but some qualms.......2005-08-29

I have been waiting for more than twenty years for this recording. I first heard James Scott's works in the 1970's, and hoped that there would be a "complete works" recording. So, I am very glad this has finally happened. First, let me say what I like about this recording.
1) It covers all of Scott's compositions (at least the ones we know of, and that are completely by him).
2) The notes that come with the recording are very well done and interesting.
3) The discs themselves are quite attractive (much effort went into this whole endeavor to give it a complete and consistent look and feel).
4) The sound on the recordings is very good.

Now my qualms. I tend to agree with the review that felt Mr. Nielsen's range of expressiveness is too limited. After hearing these pieces played by others (recorded and live), it seems that the pianist here simply has come up with a rather rigid formula for interpreting Scott's rags (the songs and waltzes are allowed a bit more freedom). For some of these rags, this jaunty, rather chipper style works well. For others (I'm thinking particularly of the Troubadour Rag and "Modesty" here - both of which have received richer, more nuanced recordings elsewhere), it doesn't. While Scott is clearly not as varied and subtle a composer as Joplin or Lamb (there is no frequent thread of melancholy, striving for innovation, or a sense of the "outsider looking in" quality I find in much Joplin and some Lamb), his later works allow for much more variety of interpretation than we get here. Sometimes, especially on the second disc, it sounds uncomfortably like a player-piano.

So, I would recommend this to anyone wanting to learn more of the core Classic Ragtime literature, but I hope that other recordings will eventually be made to explore this repertoire from a slightly more nuanced perspective.

Mixed review.......2005-06-15

I've been playing this music since the revival began circa 1970 with Joshua Rifkin's Nonesuch recordings, and it would later become an integral part of my music studies as I pursued a PhD. From a performance standpoint, I have to say that I'm disappointed. To my ear, Mr. Nielsen plays the notes, but that's about it. His playing reminds me of the technically proficient students who majored in piano performance and could knock out Chopin and Mozart with their eyes closed but couldn't master the performance subtleties of ragtime.

Bottom line: The playing just doesn't swing. To be fair, I come from a school of thought that believes these itinerant composers took their work seriously as compositions but played them with greater syncopated vigor than what I'm hearing in this recording. You can play those 8th and 16th notes literally and be perfect, or you can give them the triplet jazz feel that lifts them from the page to make you tap your feet. It's especially a disappointment with Mr. Scott's music as he was undoubtedly the best performer of the classic ragtime trinity and there's no way he couldn't have been exposed to the budding jazz music that was happening all around him. Surely, he didn't intend these pieces to sound like a march.

Compare Mr. Nielsen's performaces, for instance, of "Efficiency Rag" and "New Era Rag" to William Bolcom's from his now out-of-print Nonesuch recording of rags by James Scott and Artie Matthews. Bolcom's performances literally crackle with energy and brilliance; Scott's writing often calls for that kind of vigorous performance. Nielsen falls painfully short. Perhaps the difference is that one person is playing the notes, the other is making music.

The same comparison is even more grating with the more down-tempo numbers, the Troubador and Modesty rags. Bolcom's performances are rich, shaded, dynamic. Again, Nielsen just sounds like he's playing the notes and little else.

That's harsh, I realize, but either you have it in your fingers or you don't. With Mr. Nielsen, I feel like I'm watching a silent movie; with Mr. Bolcom (Max Morath is another who comes to mind), I feel like I'm listening to a real performance. Nonesuch would do well to re-release Bolcom's ragtime recordings on disc (including the wonderful Heliotrope Bouquet LP).

That said, this is still a valuable recording for any ragtime aficionado's collection. The extensive liner notes are matched only by the bountiful photos of the period, including sheet music covers with their rich color artwork. Scott is vastly underrated by scholars and fans and sorely underrepresented by recording artists. Anyone willing to undertake his entire output deserves credit and for that, a tip of the cap to Mr. Nielsen. One wishes he could've sounded more athletic and less clinical.

These interpretations have life.......2004-11-17

I play most of Scott myself and I realised pretty soon that his music cannot be approached in the same way as Joplin's. His accomplished keyboard style inclines people to go flat out as if they were playing a sort of syncopated Liszt study. While this is good fun it fails to transmit his musical personality which, in my opinion, combines earnest energy with endearing naivety. After a while you realise that the trick is to take a light approach, even if the writing is heavy. Take this too far though, and you lose the energy, not far enough and you lose his lyricism in a blur of notes - it's a delicate balance.

The first thing that impressed me was how well Mr Neilsen achieves this important balance. The life force in Scott's music is evident in abundance but there is never any of the heavy-handed thumping sometimes brought to bear on these rags by technically good players. He varies the tempo interestingly from piece to piece and his accents catch the ear. The piano sound is full and clear but never overwhelms with a lot of noise and pedal, which fault is a sure way to kill Scott.

While the Scott rags are not really hard piano music in the strictly physical sense, they do have, in places, a certain mild awkwardness under the hand which is difficult to describe in words. To play them well it is necessary to accommodate this awkwardness musically and with rhythmic fluency; again, this is something Mr Neilsen does very well indeed.

The liner notes are among the best I have read for any CD, with copious and interesting discussion of each rag and of Scott's music and life.

Speaking as one who has played these pieces for many years, this CD gives me much to think about and learn from.

Sheer magic!.......2003-12-13

Wow! That's it. Wow! This is a REMARKABLE two-CD set collecting the complete works (rags, waltzes, and songs) of James Scott--except for "Calliope Rag" which has been attributed to Scott (and Bob Darch who supposedly finished the piece from an incomplete manuscript). Others here have likened Guido Nielsen's interpretation of Scott's music with the legendary recordings Joshua Rifkin made of Scott Joplin in the 1970s, and that's certainly appropriate. James Scott has been ignored by those recording ragtime for too long, possibly because his pieces are so difficult to play (I play a few of them myself). Guido Nielsen plays these rags so gracefully! He plays the music as written (no embellishments), and proves that the pieces have plenty of pep and richness on their own. This is exciting ragtime music, played in concert style on a full-sounding piano, NOT some rinky-tink out-of-tune bar room piany. The accompanying booklet is worth the price alone. Its 36 pages are printed in full-color with the most extensive liner notes I have ever seen for a two-CD set (many thanks to Mr. Galen Wilkes!) We get the most complete biography of Scott available today, and detailed commentaries on each piece, along with a healthy dose of color reproductions of original sheet music covers. This entire production is top-notch, obviously a labor of love. Anyone with an interest in ragtime, early jazz, or classical music (and YES, I would consider this a type of classical music) should have this set. I can't begin to fathom the work that went into the production of this set, and I am extremely grateful to those involved for such an amazing tribute to James Scott that is long overdue.

Great Scott.......2003-05-29

James Scott seemed almost like a rumor . . . you could read about the legend in They All Played Ragtime and subsequent histories of the genre, and you could hear piano rolls (not even made by Scott himself) and even an occasional recording on a miscellaneous ragtime collection . . . but it just didn't seem possible to get an adequate overview of the man's works.

Until now. Guido Nielsen has performed a huge favor for fans of classic ragtime by recording the complete works of this important but neglected composer. The sound is great, the playing is invigorating, idiomatic, and first-rate, and the liner notes are an ample and informative bonus. You simply couldn't ask for a more ideal tribute to this marvelous composer. If you love the great recordings of Joplin's music, this two-disc set should be an automatic purchase.

No, Scott isn't *as* great or original a figure as Joplin, but his work is distinctive--typically livelier and more virtuostic than Joplin's. Scott tossed off such fare as the Liszt Hungarian Rhapsodies while still a teenager, and his principal devotion was to the extroverted style of "The Maple Leaf Rag" rather than to that of Joplin's later, more subtle and refined works (e.g., "Gladiolus Rag", "Solace", "Magnetic Rag"). But Scott does have his intimate moments . . . and unerring taste.

Like Joplin and Lamb, Scott's genius seemed perfectly suited to the strict ragtime form, even if in his later works Scott tends to favor three rather than the typical four strains. At least half a dozen of his rags--"Frog Legs", "Grace and Beauty", "The Ragtime Betty", "Quality", "Troubador", and "Broadway"--rank with the very best (and heaviest!) ever written. (Every Scott fan will probably want to add a few more to the list . . .)

Nielsen's set gives us a rare opportunity to appraise the total achievement of an undeservedly neglected figure who will remain of permanent interest to fans (and historians) of American music. Bravo!

Average customer rating: Not just for baby... The World's First Ambient Electronic albums!?

Soothing Sounds For Baby: Electronic Music By Raymond Scott, Vol. 2, 6 To 12 Months Manufacturer: Basta Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Electronic | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music | Computer General | Jazz | Styles | Music General | New Age | Styles | Music Meditation | New Age | Styles | Music Electronica | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music General | Children's Music | Styles | Music Lullabies | Children's Music | Styles | Music Novelty Music | Comedic Music | Comedy | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music Retro Space Age | Easy Listening | Pop | Styles | Music Electronica | Dance & DJ | Indie Music | Stores | Music General | New Age | Indie Music | Stores | Music New Age | Imports | Stores | Music Similar Items: Soothing Sounds For Baby: Electronic Music By Raymond Scott, Vol. 1, 1 To 6 Months Soothing Sounds For Baby: Electronic Music By Raymond Scott, Vol. 3, 12 To 18 Months Manhattan Research, Inc. Reckless Nights & Turkish Twilights Microphone Music ASIN: B000001YCH Release Date: 1997-12-30

Tracks:

1. Tempo Block
2. The Happy Whistler
3. Toy Typewriter

Amazon.com

The essential reissues of Raymond Scott's music continue with this second volume of his Soothing Sounds series. As the infant grows both mentally and physically, less of the day is spent in sleep. The senses awaken, the muscles strengthen, and the child's rapid cognitive development demands more sophisticated amusements. Scott was concerned that the appeal of Soothing Sounds would grow along with his audience, and volume 2 is in every way a progression from the lullabies heard in volume 1. These pieces are more percussive, more animated, and more stimulating--"Toy Typewriter" explores complex tip-tap and click-clack rhythms so engrossing that children of all ages are sure to be amused and amazed. --Gil Gershman

Customer Reviews:

Not just for baby..........2000-05-02

This is wonderful. It makes you rethink what a melody is, a string of code reiterating itself to you until it has replicated inside you. There is no longer an 'it' -- there is only you again. It makes you wonder if anyone whose parents actually played this stuff to them when they were a baby might somehow come across a copy of this CD, and put it on, and unknowingly allow it to trigger old, old memory-strings, and be turned, suddenly and perhaps only for an instant, back into a cribbed infant...

It's very soothing to work to, as well. I leave it on repeat when I'm writing, and fall calmly into a work-trance. It seems to help me concentrate. My dog stops dropping slobbery tennis balls in my lap when it's on, and instead lies curled in his dog-bed, staring at a spot on the ceiling and making small wet dog-sounds to himself. Hours pass. No one minds. Sssshhhh. It's bedtime already, and we still don't have to turn it off.

The World's First Ambient Electronic albums!?.......1998-07-22

Composed & performed by RAYMOND SCOTT on primitive home-built electronic instruments which SCOTT began to design & build in the 1940s. As ambient electronic music, these albums predate -- yet are comparable to; BRIAN ENO/FRIPP, PHILIP GLASS, APHEX TWIN, & KRAFTWERK. The 3 vinyl albums were originally released by Epic & had been out-of-print for over 35 years!

Average customer rating: Excellent product and service! A must if you love Mozart Opera Great CD but beware! A MUST-BUY treasure trove!

Mozart: The Concert Arias Manufacturer: Decca ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Arias | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus | M to P | Featured Composers, A-Z | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Te Kanawa, Kiri | Divas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Classical | Box Sets | Stores | 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 Bargain Box Sets | Opera & Vocal General | Opera & Vocal | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music All Bargain Titles | Opera & Vocal General | Opera & Vocal | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music The Decca Records Store | Specialty Stores | Music Similar Items: Mozart: Lieder; Notturni Mozart: Der Schauspieldirektor [Germany] Song: A Guide to Art Song Style and Literature Motezuma Mozart Arias ASIN: B0000042GL Release Date: 1997-11-11

Tracks:

1. K272: 'Ah, lo previdi!...Ah, t'invola,'
2. K583: 'Vado, ma dove? oh Dei!'
3. K79: 'Oh, temerario Arbace!...Per quel paterno amplesso'
4. K582: 'Chi sa, ch sa, qual sia'
5. K490: 'Non piu. Tutto ascoltai..Non temer'
6. K528: 'Bella mia fiamma, addio!...'
7. K383: 'Nehmt meinen Dank, ihr holden Gonner!'
8. K580: 'Schon lacht der holde Fruhling'
9. K78: 'Per pieta, bell'idol mio'
10. K369: 'Misera, dove son?...Ah! non son io che parlo'
11. K579: 'Un moto di gioia'

Tracks:

1. K496a: 'Basta, vincesti...Ah, non lasciarmi'
2. K578: 'Alma grande e nobil core'
3. K374: 'A questo seno deh vieni...Or che il cielo a me ti rende'
4. K83: 'Se tutti i mali miei'
5. K217: 'Voi avete un cor fedele'
6. 255: Ombra felice!...lo ti lascio
7. K77: 'Misero me!...Misero pargoletto'
8. K577: 'Giunse alfin il momento...Al desio di chi t'adora'
9. K82: 'Se ardire e speranza'

Tracks:

1. K23: Conservati fedele
2. K505: Ch'io mi scordi di te?... Non temer amato bene
3. K88: Fra cento affanni
4. K74b: Non curo l'affetto
5. K294: Ah! spiegarti, oh Dio
6. K119: Der Liebe himmlisches Gefuhl
7. K294 (Version 1): Alcandro, lo confesso... Non so d'onde viene
8. K294 (Version 2): Non so d'onde viene
9. K538: Ah se in ciel, benigne stelle

Tracks:

1. K368: Ma che vi fece, o stelle... Sperai vicino il lido
2. K416: Mia speranza adorata!... Ah non sai qual pena sia
3. K418: Vorrei spiegarvi, oh Dio!
4. K419: No, che non sei capace
5. K70: A Berenice... Sol nascente
6. K316: Popoli di Tessaglia!... lo non chiedo, eterni Dei
7. K21: Va, dal furor portata
8. K209: Si mostra la sorte
9. K210: Con ossequio, con rispetto
10. K431: Misero! O sogno... Aura, che intorno spiri

Tracks:

1. K368: Clarice cara mia sposa
2. K416: Se al labbro mio non credi
3. K418: Or che il dover... Tali e cotanti sono
4. K419: Per pieta, non ricercate
5. K433: Manner suchen stets zu naschen (Warnung)
6. K539: Ich mochte wohl der Kaiser sein!
7. K513: Mentre ti lascio, oh figlia
8. K432: Cosi dunque tradisci... Aspri rimorsi atroci
9. K541: Un bacio di mano
10. K512: Alcandro, lo confesso... Non so d'onde viene
11. K584: Rivolgete a lui lo sguardo
12. K612: Per questa bella mano

Customer Reviews:

Excellent product and service!.......2005-09-11

Love the product and received it record time overseas. Thank you!

A must if you love Mozart Opera.......2002-04-06

The LA Reviewer said it all and I totally agree. The sound is wonderful and singing top notch. A great discovery and a must for any opera collector. Mozart gets better the more you listen to his opera compositions - the set contains many of the outstanding arias not always done in concert but which are lovely and some rediscoveries. Also, our recent loss of Winbergh makes this a buy as we don't have alot of recordings of his beautiful tenor voice. This set features him on 4 arias and his Mozart singing is truly outstanding. This set of 5 CD's a great value and highly recommended.

Great CD but beware!.......2002-02-24

This has to be the ultimate compendium of these undeservedly neglected arias. Many of the arias themselves rival the most glorious moments in the operas, and some of them, particularly the high soprano arias, are highly-charged vocal stuntfests that have to be heard to be believed.

This set has much to recommend it but does have one major technical flaw. Every copy that I have heard (and that is several) has a skip near the end of Track 10 of Disc 1. It seems to be part of the master and many listeners will be able to live with it, but I do wish that producers would take the time to fix a defect like this for such a significant musical document. Purists beware!

A MUST-BUY treasure trove!.......1999-09-04

Can't get enough of sublime Mozartian aria music? This complete compilation of concert arias should be part of every Mozart lover's collection, especially as a supplement to better known opera arias. There are gems among the concert collection that challenge even the loveliest of Mozart's better known operatic work. I can't say this is the only version of the concert arias ever to buy... the more versions I hear, the more I love the different interpretations. But if you're only going to sample one set, this could be the winner. The singers represented are masters of the Mozart craft; one virtuoso piece after another - for five discs, each over an hour long! The arrangement of voices, mostly soprano (since they sing the originally castrati arias as well), is also wonderful; no one sound is heard for too long before a very different one takes its place to give a contrasting flavor. And they're all in top form: Kiri Te Kanawa with her trademark creamy mildness is followed by Edita Gruberova's agile, silver-haunted coloratura. Teresa Berganza, whom I usually link with mezzo roles, is a tour de force of golden warmth; her Ch'io mi scordi de te? on disc 3 (piano accompaniment originally played by Mozart himself) is magnificent and deserves special note. Krisztina Laki and Elfriede Hobarth were lesser known to me; both are quite fine, although Laki's crystal sweetness is stronger and more pitch-perfect than Hobarth's, particularly in the highest notes of some mind-boggling musical phrases. The final 1.5 discs are handed to the men; Gosta Winbergh sings the tenor arias with heroic beauty and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Fernando Corena as the bass-baritones are simply the richly toned legends one would expect. A very nice booklet with notes, lyrics and translations to each aria is included. It's a marvelous set; one of my favorite discoveries.

Average customer rating: Joseph F Lamb's music is a revelation Probably as close to perfect as anyone will come Move over Scott Joplin Gorgeous renditions of the most beautiful rags ever written

Complete Stark Rags of Joseph F. Lamb Guido Neilsen Manufacturer: Basta Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Jazz | Styles | Music Traditional Jazz General | Traditional Jazz & Ragtime | Jazz | Styles | Music Ragtime | Traditional Jazz & Ragtime | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music Traditional Jazz | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music Jazz | Imports | Stores | Music Similar Items: James Scott: The Complete Works 1903-1922 American Beauties: The Rags of Joseph Lamb The Greatest Ragtime of the Century Scott Joplin: The Complete Rags, Marches, Waltzes & Songs Scott Joplin: Piano Rags ASIN: B00000IJIB Release Date: 1999-04-06

Tracks:

1. Sensation
2. Excelsior
3. Champagne
4. Ethiopia
5. Contentment
6. American Beauty
7. Reindeer
8. Top Liner
9. Cleopatra
10. Patricia
11. Nightingale
12. Bohemia

Amazon.com

Between 1908 and 1919, when ragtime was at the height of its popularity, composer Joseph Lamb held a publishing contract with the John S. Stark Company. The relationship would yield 12 gorgeous rags, influenced by Scott Joplin but completely unmatched in their harmonics and structure. Guido Nielsen, a member of the Dutch ensemble the Beau Hunks, performs each Stark-published rag with a clean, angular style and quick tempos. He lacks some of the delicacy of Virginia Eskin, but--for Lamb fans--this is still required listening. The great liner notes feature color reproductions of each original sheet music cover, along with annotations. Great sound. --Jason Verlinde

Customer Reviews:

Joseph F Lamb's music is a revelation.......2004-07-30

I have been a ragtime fan since the 1970s revival. I have not had much exposure to Joseph Lamb, so wanted to fill the gap in my collection. I was in for a very pleasant surprise. I think Lamb is on a par with Joplin, although their styles are somewhat different.I would say Lamb's compositions are closer to those of James Scott than to Scott Joplin. Lamb is rather more of an acquired taste than Joplin, however it is worth the effort.
The playing, by Guido Neilsen, is masterly . Ragtime is often wrongly played too fast and in a honky-tank style but Nielsen never falls into this trap. His playing manages to be pleasing..robust when required, delicate at other times.
My personal favourite is Excelsior Rag.

Probably as close to perfect as anyone will come.......2003-05-05

It goes without saying that the music itself is excellent, but the written score means nothing unless the performer can execute it properly. Guido Nielsen does this. He plays these pieces smoothly and he doesn't play them too fast; and I have heard, in listening to this recording, absolutely *no* liberties taken by him to "jazz" up these works. He lets them speak for themselves instead of adding his own embellishments. This recording really is worth five stars and is probably as close as anyone will come to perfect in a ragtime recording. The information in the booklet that comes with this C.D. is also great; full-color reproductions of the covers of the sheet music to these pieces (and descriptions of each piece), and a short (but sweet) biography of Joseph Lamb.

Move over Scott Joplin.......2001-08-04

Only the most superlative of superlatives suffice to describe Lamb's rags. His music is melodious, lyrical and enchanting. A friend who heard only two cuts from this album begged me to order him a copy. What more can I say? This album is superb!

Gorgeous renditions of the most beautiful rags ever written.......1999-04-26

Nielsen does a splendid job of interpreting the works of Lamb. Neither exceedingly maudlin nor sugary sweet, Nielsen plays Lamb's "Nightingale," "American Beauty," and "Sensation" with a dearth of treacle and swoon. Nice Chris Ware cover too.

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