Thirty Years V.1 [Import]

1. Fuego En El 23

2. Yambeque

3. Date Cuenta

4. Borinquen

5. Ramona

6. Pano De Lagrimas

7. Snacocho Prieto

8. Hasta Que Se Rompa El Cue

9. Canta Al Amor

Thirty Years V.1,Sonora Poncena,Fania,Latin

Music

jazz

music

Jazz

Average customer rating: Very disappointing, considering what it could have been Always a pleaser JOHN WILLIAMS 40 Years of Film Music Movie Music Magic & Memorabilia John Williams: 40 Years of Outstanding Film Music

The Music of John Williams: 40 Years of Film Music Manufacturer: Silva America ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Movie Scores | Soundtracks | Styles | Music Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music Star Wars | Soundtracks | Styles | Music General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music Similar Items: John Williams - Greatest Hits 1969 - 1999 The Essential Elmer Bernstein Film Music Collection Jerry Goldsmith: 40 Years of Film Music John Barry: The Collection Summon the Heroes ASIN: B0000C6K09 Release Date: 2003-10-07

Tracks:

1. The Sugarland Express-Main Theme
2. Jaws-Main Theme
3. Close Encounters Of The Third Kind-Suite
4. Raiders Of The Lost Ark-March
5. Raiders Of The Lost Arc-The Map Room:Dawn
6. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrail-Adventures On Earth
7. Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom-Mine Car Chase
8. Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom-End Credits
9. Empire Of The Sun-Exsultate Justi
10. Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade-Indy's First Adventure

Tracks:

1. Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade-End Credits
2. Always-Follow Me/Dorinda's Solo Flight
3. Hook-Main Themes
4. Jurassic Park-Main Themes
5. Schindler's List-Main Theme
6. Amistad-Dry Your Tears, Afrika
7. Saving Private Ryan-Hymn To The Fallen
8. A.I. Artificial Intelligence-Where Dreams Are Made
9. Minority Report
10. Catch Me If You Can

Tracks:

1. The Rare Breed-Suite (Universal Emblem/Hilary's Plight/Scottish Romeo/The Hunt)
2. Jane Eyre-Suite: The Jane Eyre Theme
3. Jane Eyre-Suite: To Thornfield
4. Jane Eyre-Suite: Restoration
5. The Cowboys-Overture
6. The Poseidon Adventure-Prelude
7. The Towering Inferno-Main Titles
8. Family Plot-End Titles
9. The Fury-Main Titles
10. Superman-Main Theme
11. Dracula-Main Titles & Storm
12. The River-Main Theme & Love Theme
13. The Witches Of Eastwick- Dance Of The Witches

Tracks:

1. Born On The Fourth Of July-End Credits
2. Presumed Innocent-End Titles
3. JFK-Arlington/End Titles
4. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone-Hedwig's Theme
5. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets-Fawkes The Phoenix
6. Star Wars: A New Hope- Main Theme
7. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back-Hans Solo And The Princess
8. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back-The Imperial March
9. Star Wars: The Phantom Menace- Anakin's Theme
10. Star Wars: The Phantom Menace-The Flag Parade
11. Star Wars: Attack Of The Clones-Across The Stars
12. Star Wars: The Phantom Menace-Duel Of The Fates

Customer Reviews:

Very disappointing, considering what it could have been.......2007-04-20

Take a look at the running times:

Disc 1: 60 minutes
Disc 2: 50 minutes
Disc 3: 61 minutes
Disc 4: 58 minutes

What gives Silva? There is *MUCH* more John Williams in the silva screen back catalogue by the Prague Philharmonic than what is in this set, and thats not including their entire discs devoted to Star Wars Films, Indiana Jones Trilogy etc. Why isn't Hook "When You're Alone" included on Disc 2? There's room. Why isn't 1941 on Disc 1? There's room. Why isn't Earthquake on Disc 3? There's room. Why isn't Far and Away on disc 4? There's room. Where's the other ten minutes of the Rare Breed suite on disc 3? Why isn't Midway on disc 1? Where are the Land of the Giants, Time Tunnel and Lots In Space tv themes? Etc. Etc. Etc.

C'mon Silva, most of these 4 disc mega boxes released in the past few years are packed to the brim, but not this one, and with new recordings made after this was released (the terminal, munich, geisha, war of the worlds, star wars ep 3, harry potter 3), it only makes sense for a "re-do" in the next couple of years.

Further, with Silva releasing the 100 Greatest Film Themes on six discs in a couple of months, it's only a matter of time before we see the ultimate six disc john williams set.

This isn't a BAD set to own, but it could have been much better and when compared to the Jerry Goldsmith and John Barry sets in this same series, this one is a major letdown.

Always a pleaser.......2007-03-31

I listen to music all day with patients in my dental chair. This one is a winner with everyone. Patients always comment on how they recognize a song. Who doesn't love John Williams? His music transcends time.

JOHN WILLIAMS 40 Years of Film Music.......2007-01-10

This 4 cd pack is an anthology of all John Williams works. From his earlier works "The Poseidon Adventure" and "Jaws" right through "Indiana Jones" and the most recent"Star Wars" prequel movies are included. Williams work in thriller and horror are also included. If you are into soundtracks and love movie music this is an essential buy. The quality of the music is excellent. With ten or more tracks on each cd it's well worth the money.

Movie Music Magic & Memorabilia.......2006-12-13

This four CD set expands on the previously released John Williams Greatest Hits. It's a grand collection of nearly four hours of famous music scores from over forty years. There are many songs never before available in any collection. The short liner notes tell a great tale of musical movie history and include all of his numerous award nominations and wins. Each song (oddly enough) mentions the actors and the director, so fond are John Williams's memories of his work with these people. All of the conductors are mentioned along with specific orchestras, choirs, arrangement and orchestration specialists and even the publishers (contractual, I am sure). The only things missing are his early television scores, such as those for "Lost In Space" (by Johnny Williams back then). But with four discs, one has nothing to complain about and everything to enjoy!

John Williams: 40 Years of Outstanding Film Music.......2006-11-28

I have been a huge fan of John Williams and I have known about his music for years. However, I never actually bought any of his music on CD. I was rather skeptical about purchasing this CD but when it arrived I knew I had made the right choice. The sound quality of the compilation is outstanding. The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra do a great job under the direction of Paul Bateman. The original London Symphony Orchestra CDs of John Williams' Star Wars Trilogy CDs are marginally better but this is still a great CD compilation. If you love ET, Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Harry Potter, you will love this compilation soundtrack. Buy it, listen to these CDs in the car and enjoy every minute of the collection!!!

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

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

Tracks:

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

Tracks:

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

Tracks:

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

Tracks:

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

Tracks:

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

Tracks:

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

Tracks:

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

Customer Reviews:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Average customer rating:

The Early Years Chris Tomlin Manufacturer: Six Step Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Christian & Gospel | Styles | Music Christian Contemporary Music | Christian & Gospel | Styles | Music Similar Items: See the Morning Arriving Not to Us Live from Austin Music Hall Blessed Be Your Name the Songs of Matt Redman, Vol. 1 ASIN: B000JCETMO Release Date: 2006-11-21

Tracks:

1. The Noise We Make
2. Forever
3. Kindness
4. America
5. The Wonderful Cross
6. Captured
7. Be Glorified
8. Happy Song
9. Need You Now
10. This Is Our God
11. Forever (Radio Remix)
12. We Fall Down (Live)

Tracks:

1. Everything That's Beautiful
2. Enough
3. Not To Us
4. Wonderful Maker
5. Famous One
6. Come Let Us Worship
7. Thee River
8. Unchanging
9. Come Home Running
10. Overflow

Average customer rating: Ensemble Galilei's music is lilting, elegant and unexpected! beautiful Excellent! It will bring about many gentle nights Visualizing Beauty

Come, Gentle Night: Music of Shakespeare's World Manufacturer: Telarc ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Baroque Dance Suites | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music | Allemandes | Courantes | Gigue | Sarabande Purcell, Henry | ( P ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Character Pieces | Short Forms | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Incidental Music | Theatrical, Incidental & Program Music | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music General | Purcell, Henry | Composers | Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Keyboard | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music Ensemble Galilei | ( E ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music Similar Items: From The Isles To The Courts Shakespeare Songs The Renaissance Album (Windham Hill) Music In The Great Hall: Instrumental Music From The Ancient Celtic Lands Songs and Dances from Shakespeare ASIN: B0000478S3 Release Date: 2000-01-25

Tracks:

1. Mister Issac's Maggot, Chestnut (Dove's Vagary)
2. Woodycock
3. Death's Second Self
4. Jack's Health, Vale Of Years, Jack's Health Reel
5. Come, Gentile Night
6. Departe, Departe, The Cobbler's Hornpipe, Third Act Tune
7. But Let Them Go, Ladies, Sight No More
8. In A Garden So Green, Childgrove
9. Fire, Burn, and Cauldron Bubble
10. The Asp
11. Rumble Thy Bellyful
12. Pastime With Good Company, O Lusty May
13. Irish Lament
14. Joy To THe Person Of My Love
15. The Winter's Tale Set: Love's Winter Light, Apples In Winter, Drive The Cold Winter Away, Jenny Pluck Pears
16. Lilli Burleo
17. The Scottich Play Set: Life Is But A Walking Shadow, Mill, Mill O', Pawky Adam Glen
18. Heart's Ease, Now That The Spring, Gathering Peascods
19. No Longer Mourn For Me

Customer Reviews:

Ensemble Galilei's music is lilting, elegant and unexpected!.......2002-11-29

With their soulful playing and artful, sometimes even ephemeral arrangements, the six women of Ensemble Galilei convey a rare depth of emotion. In the insert notes, gamba player Carolyn Ann Surrick describes their creative process: "[In making this recording, we engaged in]...a kind of work that is so focused and intense that years can go by in one afternoon... Extraordinary music-making requires trust... [We] live for the times when the only thing that exists right then is the music--when the instruments are speaking as if we don't exist, and they are having their own conversation." Thank you, Ensemble Galilei, for allowing the rest of us the privilege of coming along for the ride! It's simply delectable. This chamber ensemble, featuring fiddle, harp, gamba, oboe, pipes and percussion, can also be heard on their other Telarc release, "From the Isles to the Courts", and "The Mystic and the Muse: Celebrating 600 Years of Women in Music", on the Dorian label.

beautiful.......2001-01-22

Sheer beauty, as a lover of English music I found this to be one of the most beautiful of all Shakespearean albums. Such harmony, such subtlety, one wishes that the gentle night will never stop.

Excellent!.......2001-01-04

Ensemble Galilei provide some excellent arrangements of English renaissance compositions. I believe that John Playford (English Dancing Master) fans will be particularly satisfied with the renditions presented here. It is very unfortunate that E.G. did not provide more arrangements from such early music sources. Some of E.G.'s own compositions seem very weak and not in the renaissance spirit of the rest of the CD. Nonetheless, this CD is highly recommmended.

It will bring about many gentle nights.......2000-11-22

I found this album to be solid. Very sweet, but not afraid to use percussion which makes it livelier and more fun. I adore the quiet, peacefulness of the music and the flawless execution of these renaissance songs.

Visualizing Beauty.......2000-08-20

I recently had the good fortune to direct a performance of King Lear--the ENTIRE five acts, in a community theatre, non-profit setting. I used twenty-four fully committed non-actors, who for the love of the ideas, participated in this performance. The first and main challenge that I faced was, how do I go "behind" the words, and invoke the right emotions, etc., to give these actors the range and tools needed for an effective, powerful performance? Critical to this performance was the beauty and brilliance of this recording, which I used throughout the various scenes of the play. This helped the performers tremendously, creating the different tapestries in the mind of the Bard. In short, this work is real genius, that I was so happy that I stumbled across. I am now putting in our performance programs, along with our most heart-felt thanks to E.G., the name of the recording and I have copies from Telarc to sell at each performance!

Average customer rating: Two mainstream tintinnabuli pieces and one peculiar oddity Music for Solace, for the Soul, for Contemplation Not serene The Beauty of Absence Very special, but not the best introduction to Part

Miserere Manufacturer: Ecm Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Part | Part, Arvo | ( P ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Hilliard Ensemble | ( H ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Strings | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music Avant Garde & Free Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music Vocal Works by Part | Part, Arvo | M to P | Featured Composers, A-Z | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music ECM Classical | ECM Records | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music ECM Jazz & World | ECM Records | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Similar Items: Lamentate Litany Arvo Pärt: De Profundis Tabula Rasa Arvo Part: Kanon Pokajanen ASIN: B000024ZBC Release Date: 2000-03-07

Tracks:

1. Miserere
2. Festina Lente
3. Sarah Was Ninety Years Old

Customer Reviews:

Two mainstream tintinnabuli pieces and one peculiar oddity.......2007-06-13

For over two decades ECM has been issuing disc after disc of Arvo Part's music to much acclaim, but MISERERE remains one of the more neglected such releases. Sure, there's nothing here that forms such a concise example of his mature output as on the legendary Tabula Rasa disc, but the three pieces here are nonetheless engaging. Plus, the performers here are world-class (and Part's own favourites): the Hilliard Ensemble on the two vocal pieces, featuring among others virtuoso organist Christopher Broadbent-Bowers and percussionist Pierre Favre, and the Beethovenhalle Orchestra conducted by Dennis Russell Davies in the piece for strings.

Clocking in at over half an hour, "Misere" for soloists, chorus, ensemble, and organ (1989) is one of Part's longest pieces. Mainly a setting of Psalm 51, the piece begins with the tenor intoning the psalm with the simplest accompaniment, and expands to include a counter-tenor and a few more instruments. Several minutes in, however, the full force of the choir and ensemble is unleashed as portions of the "Dies Irae" are included, before returning to a calmer mood and the text of the psalm. Usually this sort of soft-loud-soft transition is obnoxious--I'm thinking of composers such as Kancheli who do it all the time--but here it is quite moving. An usual touch in the loud section is the use of electric guitar and bass. It's interesting that for this generation of Soviet composers (Part alongside Gubaidulina and Schnittke) these instruments are exploited for darker or more threatening moods. At two thirds of the way through the music begins to sound outright joyful and ends on the same uplifting mood that the psalm does.

"Festina Lente" (1988-1990) is a mensuration canon, making it similar to the loud passage of "Misere" as well as earlier pieces such as "Cantus in memoriam Benjamin Britten" and "Arbos". Now, those latter two were slow and fast, respectively, but in "Festina Lente" Part expresses the mood of the title ("Make haste slowly") but keeping a slow tempo but adding a lot of spiky eighth notes. The lack of a brass makes the piece unusually lush for Part, making it seem in the end like a more contemplative Rautavaara. The piece is entertaining, but one can't help that Part is repeating himself.

The last piece on the disc is rather strange. "Sarah was Ninety Years Old" for soprano, 2 tenors, organ & percussion (1977) was written after Part ended his long silence in the 1970s and introduced his new tintinnabuli technique, but it itself is not a tintinnabuli piece. Most of the work consists of slow rhythms beaten out by the percussion that symbolize the many years that Sarah was barren, though at a couple of points the tenors intervene for a few minutes. Only towards the very end of the twenty-five minute span, however, do the soprano and organ enter. Certain portions of the piece are engaging; the percussion reminds me of Norgard's "Waves" and the writing for soprano is wild. However, when Part seeks to express dreary waiting, the audience is going to get rather bored as well. This is quite a curiosity, however, so the Part fan should check it out even if it's an unsuccessful work.

If you are looking for an introduction to Arvo Part, the famed Tabula Rasa disc is probably the best one. Nonetheless, you might find yourself enraptured by his soundworld, and the other ECM discs, including this one, would make a good addition to your collection.

Music for Solace, for the Soul, for Contemplation.......2005-02-21

Arvo Part fills a void in the musical network of contemporary compositions. He creates much out of little, using minimal notes and phrases, repeating these with subtle variations, as though he were creating an atmosphere for Zen-like trance states.

The three works here recorded with utmost clarity and restraint are from Part's deeply religious vein. The 'Miserere' emerges from the silence of the depths of the earth and transcends the human supplicants to become a pathway to the ethereal presence that in this realm is guardian to us all. The Hilliard Ensemble performs with radiant perfection. The 'Feste Lente' is an adagio for strings with ad libitum harp and is quiet and simple and in direct communication with the spirit. The final work 'Sarah was ninety years old' is more a cross between Buddhist intonations and Gregorian chant than anything else. This seems like music written for the high spaces in the domes of Europe's largest cathedrals, the area where the sounds of light distant winds suggest the flutter of angel wings. And Part achieves all of this with three solo voices, organ and timpani.

Perhaps saving this recording for darkened rainy afternoons brings this otherworldly music to life in an even more poetic way. There is an affinity for the transparency and repetition of notes in these works that marries well with birthing clouds and the rain that comes and goes. For soothing the soul this is one viable source. Grady Harp, February 2005

Not serene.......2004-09-10

The enclosed booklet states that Pärt's music is "unaffected by the...techniques...offered us in luxurious array by the music industry...his work remains pure and unpretentious." This last especially is true, but the ECM production enhances the power of these works immeasurably through a recording technique often used in pop music to make a singer's voice sound stronger and fuller. This is especially apparent in the opening of "Miserere" and the drumming in "Sarah was Ninety Years Old." Whether this was purely the composer's intention or added in production is difficult to say, as I have not heard any other versions of these compositions, but the result is magnificent. Pärt's work is often described as "serene;" that quality is not in evidence in "Miserere" which especially showcases his genius in the art of building and releasing tension. While not cacophonous and dissonant as some of Pärt's early works, such as "Perpetuum Mobile" and his Second Symphony, "Miserere" is a truly exciting and powerful work with a haunting and unforgettable opening. Pärt employs the hocket technique, or "call and response" of two melodic lines, often heard in African music, here alternating between voice and tones on the clarinet. The interpretation of "Festina Lente" is more lush than the version on Naxos 8.553750, although it may be overshadowed on that disk by its juxtaposition with several versions of "Fratres." Here it provides a transition between the expansive "Miserere" and the odd "Sarah," a 25-minute alternation between long sections of repetitive drumming and wordless vocalizations.

The Beauty of Absence.......2003-06-08

Despite Part's most recent work `Orient and Occident' or indeed his `LamenTate' scored for Anish Kapoor's remarkable sculpture at the Tate Modern, Miserere still exists as a celestial and cavernous masterpiece, overshadowing or rather still evidently commanding his present work.
Scored for an extraneous cacophony of the finest soloists (the favourites from the Hilliard Ensemble), chorus and orchestra, the dimension of sound created within the stases of extreme texture-both restrained and humble against the declarative and mighty his effect is extraordinarily overwhelming on both scales.
One is made ultimately aware of a direct embodiment of the composer's ineffable intent. And so with a conscious recourse to previous works such as `Arbos' scored simply for brass, rhythmic and harmonic themes are notably recurrent in the gigantic descending syncopated chorus of Miserere.

As one who is well acquainted with Part's penchant for divine simplicity, new listeners will become immediately infatuated with the striking delicacy of restrained melody and contrapuntal purity heard throughout all tracks in this compilation.
This is devotional music by a devotional man but do not be mislead by the apparently pristine and pious intent,. Part is often wrongly associated by means of orthodoxy with his contemporary, the somewhat priggish, Sir John Tavener. I can do no more for my readers than holler my own distaste for such associations, however biased I might appear. Part's music is clandestine as far as one can allow intellectually, and albeit religiously bound, it withholds an identity so profoundly unattainable elsewhere that is almost torturous to subject ones ear to it.

One does not find in Part, the pastoral reconcilement nor the vexatious Avant Gardism that might be expected from an Eastern European War Child. The silence, indeed the echo of nothingness imbued in that swarthy, infinite space is intoxicating to the very pinnacle of obsession.

What one is able to attain is the diaphanous awareness of a profound absence. However this absence is interpreted is, ultimately, the prerogative of the listener.

Very special, but not the best introduction to Part.......2001-02-08

This disc is a single-composer study, of which it can be said that some items are better examples of his work than others.

Two works on this disc show Part's tintinnabuli style in full bloom. "Miserere" itself is over thirty minutes long, and by far the best item in the programme. A setting of Psalm 51 in Latin (the same text as set in the famous Allegri "Miserere") with verses interpolated from the "Dies Irae" of the Missa pro Defunctis, this work shows how Part's style can magically draw a wealth of emotions from the simplest of musical concepts. Indeed, the work opens with the barest of motifs: the words of the psalm are chanted on three notes by a high solo tenor, interspersed with triadic statements (the so-called tintinnabuli pitches) on clarinet, and moreover bound together with distinct silences. This develops as the text unfolds: a solo counter-tenor joins the tenor in a haunting duet; meanwhile the instrumental ensemble expands to include other woodwinds and organ, all of which offer what appears to be a delicate wordless commentary. An abrupt change of pace comes with the "Dies Irae" verses, sung by a four-part chamber choir with massive, apocalyptic statements from woodwinds, brass, organ, percussion and electric guitars (!) - yet all is in the same style as the opening. After this massive outburst of terror, the opening discourse returns, sung by soloists (soprano, counter-tenor, two tenors and a bass). The interplay of voices and instruments carries the text forward in strikingly beautiful and sensitive ways. The work ends, in pure penitence and supplication, with a further choral statement, this time sung with heart-rending quietness: the "Rex tremendae" verse of the "Dies Irae," bringing the work to a close. It truly is one of Part's masterpieces - a proof that the extreme simplicity of the tintinnabuli style need not be limited to small-scale works, and can indeed break free of sounding annoying or repetitive. Recorded here in a very generous acoustic, played and sung with clarity and gravity, and carrying a beautifully sustained emotional weight, this is a definitive performance - a real gem.

The other tintinnabuli work (track 2) is "Festina lente" - "hurrying slowly" - which is scored for string orchestra and harp and makes use of the mensuration canon technique employed by the composer in "Miserere" and other works. This is a softer and more direct piece than "Miserere," but the effect is refreshing after the profound writing of the former - and like "Miserere," it is sensitively performed here.

The last work on the disc may at first seem off-putting. "Sarah was ninety years old" was composed just prior to Part's formation of tintinnabuli (he had previously written serial music, like that of Schoenberg). It is a minimalist piece - the first four minutes or so feature nothing but a single drum, played with two beaters to produce alternating timbres of sound. These timbres are hacked out in a single rhythmic pattern that never seems to end: this is said to symbolise the ninety years of barren life lived by Sarah, wife of Abraham in the biblical book of Genesis. Presently, two tenors enter with an array of chords, cycling around each other and also set to a basic repeating rhythm. After more knocking from the drum and more very simple vocal droning, the organ enters, massive yet restrained, and an ecstatic solo soprano takes up the wordless narrative - Sarah conceives a child, the first of many that became the Israelites in the Genesis story. At first hearing (and perhaps several subsequent ones) this piece will seem dull and pointless; it does have a remarkable meaning, however, and it is quite gem-like even as it is barren and seemingly devoid of musical content.

Having described the contents of this disc, I feel that ultimately no description, not even the more explicitly-detailed ones given in the booklet, can prepare the listener for this music. If you like Arvo Part, it is essential listening; if you like the Hilliard Ensemble, it is one of their outstanding performances beyond any doubt. Some listeners may find it tedious, others may simply find it too overwhelming and give it a miss. However, with its excellent performances and intricate designs (such as are a hallmark of ECM New Series), this record is certainly very special.

Average customer rating: Neat music & a neat style

Get-Go Paul Cebar Manufacturer: Don't Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Blues | Styles | Music General | R&B | Styles | Music General | Soul | R&B | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Similar Items: That Unhinged Thing Upstroke for the Downfolk Suchamuch ASIN: B000003JFA Release Date: 1997-08-26

Tracks:

1. She found A Fool
2. Don't Let It Pour
3. Bungalowing Big Time
4. Trying
5. Clap For The Couple
6. Keep You (Going Away)
7. He Forgot What He Knew
8. Got To Grind
9. Sending My Love
10. Spacelab Girls From Huntsville
11. Lovely As The Day Is Long
12. Wasabi
13. Itta Bena A Boy
14. Bonus Track

Customer Reviews:

Neat music & a neat style.......1998-06-12

The songs are a neat collection of cajun, funk, zydeco and other styles that are mixed in different ways to create a collection of unusual stuff. Cool, Van Morrison like, voice with a neat Southern style.

Average customer rating: Finally NYC's best stuff every day peoples

Early Years The Radiation Kings Manufacturer: Stubborn ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Third Wave Ska | Ska | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Ska General | Ska | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | International | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Ska | Alternative Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: The Aggrolites ASIN: B000031KC7 Release Date: 1999-11-23

Tracks:

1. Murder
2. Come Down
3. Spending Time
4. Gin & Tonic
5. Number 6
6. Carry
7. Messenger
8. NYC Blues
9. Can't Find A Way
10. Dub Me A Way
11. Dem Try
12. Hotter Fire
13. This I Know
14. Thank You

Customer Reviews:

Finally.......2006-01-13

Yes, after a year of trying, I have finally managed to get hold of this brills CD. Absolutely love it. 1st wave SKA sound at its best with the voice of an angel. Could have rivalled the one and only SLACKERS if they had not split up... So if any of the RADIATION KINGS are watching, reform and crack on with some more of your greatness, I'm sure Django wouldn't mind helping out again. All traditional SKA fans out there, get it, you won't be disapointed, you'll just love it. Play it LLOOOUUUDDDD!!!!

NYC's best.......2005-11-12

with King Django producing and assisting in the horn section, this album is one of the ripest to come from the stubborn records collection. I've also got thier vinyl EP, but I'm waiting for the turtable. I lament that these guys haven't stayed together as ska pop has died down, but "the Early Years" should stand the test of time if we can keep the thing in circulation.

All together, this is a jazzy and loose album, bringing in memories of the Miles Davis quartet and the Skatalites. I'd go so far to say that this is what "No Doubt" could have been if they tried hard enough and avoided being too commercial. It's worth the buy. I'd like to see what these guys are up to these days. I only wish there was a little more tightness in the lyrics.

stuff.......2000-10-16

These are hardworking young musicians. This "album" has good laughs, deep thoughts, good meditations, rocks, funk, groove, and a house full of heart. There, that sounds good and abstractly accurate. I respect the rules of the english language, but freeform thought is not about being under command(HWM). These sounds are so good they'll keep you soft and warm, hot with energy(in YOU), cool with a never too late freedom and a sparkling eye smile at the sun's set or rise. OK, goodbye.

every day peoples.......2000-10-16

These are hardworking young musicians. This "album" has good laughs, deep thoughts, good meditations, rocks, funk, groove, and a house full of heart. There, that sounds good and abstractly accurate. I respect the rules of the english language, but freeform thought is not about being under command(HWM). These sounds are so good they'll keep you soft and warm, hot with energy(in YOU), cool with a never too late freedom and a sparkling eye smile at the sun's set or rise. OK, goodbye.

Average customer rating: The First CD I've Been Excited About in a LONG Time!

Committed Pressure Cooker Manufacturer: Pressure Cooker ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | International | Styles | Music General | Reggae | International | Styles | Music Dance Pop | Dance & DJ | Indie Music | Stores | Music Reggae | International | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Future's History Transitions ASIN: B00009KP2K Release Date: 2003-05-03

Tracks:

1. Originators
2. Long Run
3. Criminal
4. Committed
5. Nuthin' Better
6. Melody Ruler
7. Queen of the Scene
8. Cookin' in the Kitchen
9. Oasis
10. Juicebox
11. NKA (No Known Address)
12. Divided Mind
13. Crimi-Dub
14. Commit-a-Dub

Album Description

Pressure Cooker's third full-length releases featuring members of The Skatalites, and mixes by former John Brown's Body engineer, Craig Welsch.

Customer Reviews:

The First CD I've Been Excited About in a LONG Time!.......2003-12-17

"Committed" is my first exposure to the incredibly cool sound of Pressure Cooker and it's an awesome blend of ska, reggae, and rock-steady sound that blends smooth vocals with rich harmonies, suave brass, pianos and organs and a creeping bassline. This band strikes me as one of the most under-appreciated finds out there. I used to love the kick-butt tunes of Madness, The English Beat, The Jam, and even the Style Council. Pressure Cooker has that feel and then brings even more to the table. If you've been looking for a warm mix of the best attributes of several musical styles - this is the CD for you. It's feel great music for the masses and it's about time they broke out big-style. Do yourself and your CD player a favor and pick this CD up. It will NOT disappoint. My faves on this album: "Cookin' In The Kitchen," "Divided Mind," and "NKA." Here's to many more successes for this incredible band!

Average customer rating: Great!

Red Jimmie Bratcher Manufacturer: Ransom Music ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Blues | Styles | Music ASIN: B000CA88LQ Release Date: 2005-09-20

Tracks:

1. Bad Religion
2. Mercy
3. I See Red
4. Drive
5. Dance with Me
6. Restless for the Sun
7. Beautiful People
8. Three Chords
9. I Love My Baby
10. Take It Back
11. Right Side of the Tracks
12. No Pretense
13. Happy

Customer Reviews:

Great!.......2006-01-25

This is Jimmie's latest CD and is his best yet. Visit him home page at www.jimmiebratcher.com

Average customer rating: Crazy different and insightful Third Option Delivers

Still Third Option Manufacturer: NQuit ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music Electronica | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music General | Dance & DJ | Indie Music | Stores | Music ASIN: B00005JJEY Release Date: 2001-01-01

Tracks:

1. Still Main Mix
2. Still Fade To Black Mix
3. Still Telephone Mix
4. Still Phase Motion Mix
5. Still Murphurd's Slow And Unrequited Love Mix

Album Description

The "Still" EP is five remixes (inlcuding the album mix) of the song "Still", off the full length Frosted Mini Wheats (upcoming). This EP is beautiful because Still is a beautiful, ethereal song with choral vocals and a pretty piano melody, but it's also historic, 'cause it's the first Third Option song involving the CyberPoet Tamara Nicholl.

Customer Reviews:

Crazy different and insightful.......2002-03-01

If you're searching for something out-of-the-ordinary, or would just like to know what Third Option has to offer, check this out. The mixes are awesome, and the lyrics are great. I'm a little biased, because I know the artists personally, but I promise they don't know I'm writing this review. I'M ESTATIC that I found their album [here]. Just released is "Cult of Nice" which can be ordered online at [another website]or here, soon, I'm sure. Enjoy the music!!!!

Third Option Delivers.......2001-07-12

This is an amazing recording. A fusion of techno and classical and spoken word. I have not heard anything like it. I can't wait to hear more stuff from them.

Jazz Music:

1. Tus Favoritas De Los Originales de San Juan
2. Ultimas Noticias
3. Vamonos de Fiesta Con
4. Vas
5. Voces del Milenio: Un Recuento Historico
6. Yo Soy El Tango V.2 [Import]
7. 15 Exitos Cantando Para Zacatecas y Michoacan
8. 30 Boleros Pegaditos
9. 70 Años Peerless Una Historia Musical
10. Aguascalientes

Jazz Music

jazz music