The Mother of Us All

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Poet-novelist Gertrude Stein was dying of cancer as she constructed this typically playful, nonlinear, but deadly earnest meditation on Susan B. Anthony in collaboration with composer Virgil Thomson. The result is a complex, even profound, cross section of Anthony's time, but it's also more delicate than Thomson and Stein's previous collaboration, the wacky, childlike Four Saints in Three Acts. Sadly, this 1976 recording from the Santa Fe Opera shows what Mother is like when it fails to take off. British conductor Raymond Leppard is hardly the sort to find the rustic humor in Thomson's quasi hymn tunes. While the cast headed by Mignon Dunn as Susan B. Anthony has lots of vocal riches, the singers' diction is as unclear as their sense of purpose. --David Patrick Stearns

The Mother of Us All, Music, Virgil Thomson, Raymond Leppard, Santa Fe Opera, Ashley Putnam, Aviva Orvath, Batyah Godfrey, Billie Nash, D'Artagnan Petty, David Fuller, Douglas Perry, Gene Ives, Helen Vanni, James Atherton, James McKeel, Jimmie Lu Null, Joseph McKee, Karen Beck, Linn Maxwell, Marla McDaniels, Mignon Dunn, Paul Mabrey, Sondra Stowe, Stephen Bryant, Steven Loewengart, Thomas Parker, Webster Booth, Will Adams, American 20th/21st Century Opera, Classical, Classical Music, Opera, Opera / Operetta / Oratorio

Average customer rating: Mamma Mia Mamma Mia Musical CD JUST GREAT MUSIC Mamma Mia Not good at all

Mamma Mia! The Musical Based on the Songs of ABBA: A Decca Broadway Original Cast Recording (1999 London Cast) Benny Andersson , Julian Poole , Jenny Galloway , Nicolas Colicos , Paul Clarkson , Bjorn Ulvaeus , Lisa Stokke , Eliza Lumley , Melissa Gibson , Siobhan McCarthy , Louise Plowright , Jenny Galloway , Bjorn Ulvaeus , and Stig Anderson Manufacturer: Decca Broadway ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Pop | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Swedish Pop | Euro Pop | Pop | Styles | Music General | Musicals | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music Contemporary Musicals | Musicals | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music General | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music The Decca Records Store | Specialty Stores | Music $9.99 and Under | Blowout Music | Stores | Music Pop | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music Soundtracks | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music Classical | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music All Blowout Music | Blowout Music | Stores | Music $9.99 and Under | Prices | Blowout Music | Stores | Music More Titles at Least 25% Off | Blowout Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: ABBA - Gold: Greatest Hits Hairspray (2002 Original Broadway Cast) Movin' Out (Based on the Songs and Music of Billy Joel) (2002 Original Broadway Cast) Wicked (2003 Original Broadway Cast) Jersey Boys (2005 Original Broadway Cast) ASIN: B000031WEN Release Date: 2000-10-17

Tracks:

1. Overture/Prologue
2. Honey, Honey
3. Money, Money, Money
4. Thank You For The Music
5. Mamma Mia
6. Chiquitita
7. Dancing Queen
8. Lay All Your Love On Me
9. Super Trouper
10. Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!
11. The Name Of The Game
12. Voulez-Vous
13. Entr'acte
14. Under Attack
15. One Of Us
16. S.O.S.
17. Does Your Mother Know
18. Knowing Me, Knowing You
19. Our Last Summer
20. Slipping Through My Fingers
21. The Winner Takes It All
22. Take A Chance On Me
23. I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do
24. I Have A Dream

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

Mamma Mia.......2007-03-22

Mamma Mia Musical CD.......2007-03-21

JUST GREAT MUSIC.......2007-03-08

Mamma Mia.......2007-01-29

Not good at all.......2007-01-09

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

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

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

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

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

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: A Masterpiece, Magnificently Performed Impression Sacred music at its mind-blowing best

Evening Star: The Rachmaninov Vespers Manufacturer: Philips ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Rachmaninov | Rachmaninov, Sergei | ( R ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Similar Items: Rachmaninov: Vespers Sergei Rachmaninoff: Vespers (Mass for Unaccompanied Chorus) ASIN: B00000419G Release Date: 1994-09-20

Tracks:

1. The Rachmaninoff Vespers: Priidite, poklonimsya
2. The Rachmaninoff Vespers: Blagoslovi, dushe moya
3. The Rachmaninoff Vespers: Blazhen muzh
4. The Rachmaninoff Vespers: Svete tikhyi
5. The Rachmaninoff Vespers: Nyne otpuschchayeshi
6. The Rachmaninoff Vespers: Bogoroditse Devo
7. The Rachmaninoff Vespers: Slava v vyshnikh Bogu
8. The Rachmaninoff Vespers: Khvalite imya Gospodne
9. The Rachmaninoff Vespers: Blagosloven esi, Gospodi
10. The Rachmaninoff Vespers: Voskreseniye Khristovo videvshe
11. The Rachmaninoff Vespers: Velichit dusha moya Gospoda
12. The Rachmaninoff Vespers: Slava v vyshnikh Bogu
13. The Rachmaninoff Vespers: Dnes spasniye
14. The Rachmaninoff Vespers: Voskrez iz groba
15. The Rachmaninoff Vespers: Vzbrannoy voevode

Customer Reviews:

A Masterpiece, Magnificently Performed .......2006-02-07

Impression.......2000-04-13

Sacred music at its mind-blowing best.......1999-01-14

Average customer rating:

Music from Russian Monasteries & Churches Manufacturer: Capriccio ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music Compilations | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Similar Items: Bortnyansky: Sacred Concertos for Double Choir, Vol. 6 Mystery of the East: Music from Russian Churches and Monastaries ASIN: B000001WS3 Release Date: 1996-05-21

Tracks:

1. Intro: Our Father
2. Monastery Songs: Heavenly Powers Serve Now Invisibly With Us
3. Monastery Songs: Extract From The Akathistos For The Holiest Mother Of God
4. Monastery Songs: O Most Marvellous Miracle!
5. Monastery Songs: Let Us, O Lord, Keep This Evening Without Sin!
6. Monastery Songs: God Is With Us!
7. Monastery Songs: Bortnianski No.7: Cheruvikon
8. Christmas Hymns: All The Angels In Heaven Do Rejoice, And Every Man On Earth
9. Christmas Hymns: Extracts From The Canon Of Matins For Christmas Morning
10. Christmas Hymns: Stichire For The Feast Of The Nativity
11. Chor Conc: Hear, O Lord, My Voice, And Receive My Prayer!
12. Easter Hymn: Christ Has Risen From The Dead
13. Composers Of The 'Moscow School': Friendly Light Of Holy Splendour - Vladimir Makarov
14. Composers Of The 'Moscow School': Glory Be To God On High And Peace On Earth To All Men!
15. Composers Of The 'Moscow School': Save, O God, Thy People And Bless Thy Inheritance - Vladimir Surgenko
16. Old Religious Songs: How Glorious Is Our Lord In Zion!
17. Old Religious Songs: Heaven And Earth, Rejoice, For Christ Is Born!
18. Wish For Blessing: For Many Years!

Average customer rating: A Comic-Opera Treasure! an obscure delight!

Dittersdorf: Arcifanfano, King of Fools Manufacturer: Video Artists Int'l ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Dittersdorf | Dittersdorf, Karl Ditters | ( D ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | 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 Operettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Similar Items: Anna Russell Takes On... Nabucco & The Magic Flute Anna Russell Again? The Anna Russell Album Encore? Hansel and Gretel: An Opera Fantasy ASIN: B000003LIK Release Date: 1994-12-12

Tracks:

1. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act I: Overture
2. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act I: Chorus - We've Traveled Far (Semplicina, Gloriosa, Garbata, Sordidone, Malgoverno, Furibondo)
3. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act I: Recitative - Approach! What Is Your Name, Sir? (Furibondo)
4. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act I: Aria - With A Sword That Is Sterner Than Moses (Furibondo)
5. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act I: Recitative - Unhappy Oddling (Gloriosa)
6. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act I: Aria - My Fair Skin, My Bare Chin (Gloriosa)
7. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act I: Recitative - Was Ever There Insanity (Sordidone)
8. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act I: Aria - Snugly Hidden Safe From Prying (Sordidone)
9. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act I: Recitative - Madness Beyond All Measure (Malgoverno)
10. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act I: Aria - When The Purse Is Clinking (Malgoverno)
11. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act I: Recitative - There, Like A Vapor (Semplicina)
12. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act I: Aria - O Look So Woeful (Semplicina)
13. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act I: Recitative - Such As She Seems To Be Frigid (Garbata)
14. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act I: Aria - Let's Sing, Let's All Be Jolly (Garbata)
15. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act I: Recitative - For All Types Of Confusion
16. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act I: Aria - The Fierce One Lives Only For The Slaughter
17. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act II: Recitative - I Beg You To Stop (Malgoverna, Gloriosa, Garbata)
18. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act II: Aria - We Praise The Sun For Beauty (Malgoverna)
19. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act II: Recitative - Bumpkin, Coarse-grained (Gloriosa, Garbata)
20. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act II: Aria - If You Will Love Me, I Will Love You (Garbata)
21. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act II: Recitative - No, They Cannot Persuade Me! (Gloriosa)
22. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act II: Aria - Lovely Ladies, You Enjoying (Gloriosa)
23. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act II: Recitative - Where's My Lover, Sweetheart (Sordidone)

Tracks:

1. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act II: Aria - Sordidone, Be A Bunny
2. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act II: Recitative - Are You Hiding? (Sordidone, Garbata)
3. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act II: Duet - See Comely Phyllis Wander (Garbata, Sordidone)
4. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act II: Recitative - Don't Come Near Me (Semplicina, Furibondo)
5. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act II: Aria - The High And Mighty Lion (Furibondo)
6. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act II: Recitative - Quiet At Last (Semplicina)
7. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act II: Duet - Semplicina, Do You Hear Me? (Semplicina)
8. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act II: Quartet - Ever More Bitter Shall Be My Raging (Gloriosa, Garbata, Malgoverno, Furibondo)
9. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act II: Recitative - What Now? What New Forms Of Madness? (Gloriosa, Sordidone, Malgoverno, Furibondo)
10. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act II: Chorus - Long Live King Arcifanfano (Semplicina, Gloriosa, Garbata, Sordidone, Malgoverno, Furibondo)
11. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act III: Aria - Earth, Our Dearest, Good And Nearest (Sordidone)
12. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act III: Aria - That His Sowing Yield A Growing (Malgoverno)
13. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act III: Recitative - What Has The Fool Committed (Malgoverna, Gloriosa)
14. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act III: Aria - Ask Of Beauty, She Will Answer (Gloriosa)
15. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act III: Recitative - Hop And Stop It! (Furibondo, Gloriosa)
16. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act III: Aria - All Of This Planet, I Cry To Each Man (Furibondo)
17. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act III: Recitative - What's Unleashed These Dreadful Roars? (Garbata, Furibondo)
18. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act III: Aria - I'm Simple And I'm Candid (Garbata)
19. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act III: Recitative - What Mischief And Load This Purse Is!
20. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act III: Aria - Goddess Bright As Morning
21. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act III: Recitative - Mother Always Used To Tell Me (Sordidone, Semplicina)
22. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act III: Aria - What A Lot I Need What I Need Lot's Of! (Sordidone)
23. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act III: Recitative - May He Not Come To Harm (Semplicina)
24. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act III: Aria - There's A Devil In A Ducat (Semplicina)
25. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act III: Recitative - Gather, O Subjects, About Us (Gloriosa, Garbata, Semplicina)
26. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act III: Duet - If You Marry Me (Semplicina)
27. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act III: Chorus - With Curiosity All Aflame (Semplicina, Gloriosa, Garbata, Sordidone, Malgoverno, Furibondo)
28. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act III: Recitative - Quiet, Please, We Implore You!
29. Arcifanfano, King Of Fools: Act III: Chorus - The Wise And The Mad Have Got One Word For Their Dwelling

Customer Reviews:

A Comic-Opera Treasure!.......2007-01-28

an obscure delight!.......2002-07-31

Average customer rating: English is an asset and a drawback You Will Love Opera After Hearing Carmen In English A wholly credible "Carmen" -- finally! I love Carmen!

Carmen (Sung in English) Bizet , Bardon , Gavin , Plazas , Magee , and Parry Manufacturer: Chandos ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Operettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Similar Items: Mozart: The Magic Flute The Barber of Seville / B. Ford, D. Jones, A. Opie; G. Bellini [in English] Verdi: La Traviata Mozart: The Marriage of Figaro Mozart - Don Giovanni / Garry Magee · Cullagh · Banks · Plazas · Shore · Tierny · PO · David Parry ASIN: B00007JGRN Release Date: 2003-03-11

Tracks:

1. Prelude
2. In The Plaza
3. Just Look At That Delicious Morsel
4. Here Come Our New Soldier Boys
5. Jose! There Was A Girl Here Looking For You Just Now
6. Off With You Old Soldier Boys
7. Corporal! Sir!
8. We Have Heard The Bell Summon Us To Meet Here
9. Ah, Just Look!
10. But Why Hasn't She Come, Our Carmencita?
11. Love's A Bird Wild As Any Rebel
12. Carmen! We Will Follow You High And Low!
13. The Cheek Of It!
14. Give Me News Of My Mother!
15. Your Dear Mother And I Were Leaving Church This Morning
16. I See My Mother's Face!
17. Wait A Moment - I'm Going To Read The Letter
18. Come And Help
19. So, Corporal: Tell Me What Happened
20. Well, Carmencita: What Do You Have To Say For Yourself?
21. Where Are You Taking Me?
22. There's An Old Bar In The City
23. Careful - It's Lieutenant!
24. Entr'acte
25. From Far Away Mysterious Sounds
26. Bravo, Bravo! More! Keep Dancing!
27. Hurrah! Hurrah! The Torero!
28. Who's That? It's Escamillo, The Bullfighter From Granada
29. Hurrah! Hurrah! The Torero!
30. You're Most Kind
31. We'll Come With You, Senor Torero
32. Toreador, Be Ready!
33. At Last! We Got Rid Of Them As Quickly As We Could
34. There's A Little Job That We're Starting!
35. Being In Love Is Not A Reason

Tracks:

1. To Bid You Welcome To Our Bar
2. La La La La La La La La...
3. Back To Camp!... Go At Once!
4. That Flow'r You Threw To Me I Treasured
5. No, It's Not Love At All!
6. Hello! Carmen!
7. Lieutenant Fair, It's True
8. The Sky Above The Open Road
9. Entr'acte
10. Keep Going, Dear Old Friend, Kep Going!
11. Right! Let's Stop For A While
12. Shuffle! Cut Them!
13. In Vain You Would Avoid The Bitter Things They're Saying
14. You're Back!
15. As For That Man, It Should Be Easy!
16. Is This The Place?
17. I Say That There's Nothing To Fear
18. It's Him! I'm Sure It's Him Over There!
19. Escamillo Is My Name, And I Come From Granada
20. She Had A Lover Here
21. Hola! Hola! Jose!
22. You Should Take Care, Carmen
23. Alas! Jose, Your Mother Is Ill
24. Entr'acte
25. A Few Cuartos! A Few Cuartos!
26. Here They Come! Here They Come!
27. If You Love Me, Carmen
28. It's You! It's Me!
29. Viva! Viva! What A Corrida!

Customer Reviews:

English is an asset and a drawback.......2004-07-20

You Will Love Opera After Hearing Carmen In English.......2004-02-09

The real strength of this version is the dynamic drama. With the advantage of being sung in English, we get better insight on characters' emotions and motives, and we understand the drama a lot better. Carmen is all about great drama. Bizet drew the plot from the French writer Prosper Merimee's dark short story. Carmen is the ultimate femme fatale- a devil-may-care, sexy Gypsy living in Spain, seduces the conservatively raised soldier Don Jose, stealing him away from his fiancee, the passive Micaela, living a life of underground smuggling and rowdy taverns. "Habanera" and "The Gypsy Song and Dance" are very expressive of Carmen's extraordinarily liberal lifestyle. Don Jose, however, has fallen deeply in love- as he shows us in his song/aria "The Flower Song". But Carmen soon becomes tired of his constancy. Don Jose wants a committed, monogamous relationship with Carmen. But Carmen will not submit to love, since she is first and foremost a carnal creature. Eventually, she falls for the handsome Toreador Escamillo. Don Jose, consumed by jealousy, stabs Carmen at a bullfight after Carmen declares her love for Escamillo and rejects Don Jose's love. Don Jose's crazed, obscessive personality shines through in the English version as well. This tragedy has been done in English before so don't think this is the first time. Back in the 50's, there was a film, starring black actors "Carmen Jones" which was treated the same way as this opera- more like an English Broadway musical and with the dubbed singing voice of Marilyn Horne as Carmen. All in all, this recording is excellent.

A wholly credible "Carmen" -- finally!.......2003-09-17

I love Carmen!.......2003-08-15

And what of this recording? Carmen sits well in English, so it is good to hear in translation, although some of the detais in the text jar. Escamillo refers to Jose as "my dear", which sounds rather peculiar, and the guide's line to Micaela: "it's not exactly inviting, is it?" sounds distinctly Middle England rather than Rural Spain. Some of the performers, not least Carmen herself, make the words work, although there are long tracts, especially with the chorus, where the language is distinctly indistinct.

The soloists are, by and large, strong. Patricia Bardon's deep, Handel-friendly voice adapts well to Carmen and she colours the music with phenomenal detail, sounding sexy and provocative from the start with an edge of pride and anger that emerges as the show goes on. She is out of her depth above the stave, though, and some extra top notes in the second act don't show her off to her best advantage. I have previously said that Julian Gavin is poorly served by recordings, though here he sounds much more even and gives a thrilling and musical performance (but his wooden spoken lines let him down). Mary Plazas is a lovely Micaela, rich-voiced and sincere (and word-perfect), but Garry Magee sounds miscast as Escamillo, lacking the ballast at the bottom of the voice to do justice to this tricky role.

The supporting cast is good (Mary Hegarty seems to do nothing but Frasquita these days!) but the really treasurable thing is the conducting. Stepping out of Italian Ottocento, David Parry turns his hand to this French Comedie with an appropriate lightness of touch. His pacing and handling of the set pieces is exemplary and the enrtractes go with a real swing.

A pleasure, then, for the Carmen naive or a novelty for the Carmen-acquainted. I nearly wrote Carmen-weary - but I don't think it's possible.

Average customer rating:

Undine - Complete Opera in Four Acts Manufacturer: Capriccio ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Cowboy | Country | Styles | Music General | Country | Styles | Music Nashville Sound | Traditional Country | Country | Styles | Music General | Pop | Styles | Music ASIN: B00002604Q Release Date: 1995-12-12

Tracks:

1. Rhinestone Cowboy
2. Gentle on My Mind
3. By the Time I Get to Phoenix
4. Dreams of the Everyday Housewife
5. Heartache Number Three
6. Please Come to Boston
7. It's Only Make Believe
8. Crying
9. Blue Grass Medley
10. Milk Cow Blues

Average customer rating: words and music disappointing I just couldn't get into it Seriously flawed Worth the hearing

The Mother of Us All Manufacturer: New World Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Thomson | Thomson, Virgil | ( T ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music English | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Similar Items: Virgil Thomson: Four Saints In Three Acts The Mother of Us All: Vocal Score (2809) Happy Endings: Comic Chamber Operas ASIN: B0000030CZ Release Date: 1992-12-08

Tracks:

1. Overture: A Political Meeting - Santa Fe Opr/Raymond Leppard
2. Act I: Scene 1-Prologue - Mignon Dunn/Aviva Orvath/Batyah Godfrey/Gene Ives
3. Act I: Scene 2 - Gene Ives/Philip Booth/James Atherton/Aviva Orvath/Linn Maxwell/Mignon Dunn/Joseph McKee...
4. Act I: Interlude: Cold Weather-Scene 3 - Thomas Parker/Billie Nash/Douglas Perry/Helen Vanni/William Lewis/Karen Beck/Ronald Raines...
5. Act I: Scene 4 - Mignon Dunn/James Atherton/D'Artagnan Petty/Paul Mabrey/Thomas Parker/Douglas Perry/Philip Booth...
6. Act I: Scene 5 - Mignon Dunn/Batyah Godfrey/Jimmie Lu Null/James Atherton/Linn Maxwell/William Lewis/Helen Vanni...

Tracks:

1. Act II: Scene 1-Last Intermezzo - Batyah Godfrey/Mignon Dunn/Jimmie Lu Null/James Atherton/Linn Maxwell/Thomas Parker...
2. Act II: Scene 2 - Batyah Godfrey/Mignon Dunn/Jimmie Lu Null/Karen Beck/Helen Vanni/William Lewis/Philip Booth...
3. Act II: Scene 3 - Batyah Godfrey/Mignon Dunn/Gene Ives/Ronald Raines/Ashley Putnam/William Lewis/Thomas Parker...

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

words and music disappointing.......2006-08-13

I just couldn't get into it.......2004-02-16

Seriously flawed.......2002-08-19

Sadly, this 1977 recording from the Santa Fe Opera has several serious flaws. Sound quality is not especially good, and the singers are performing in a self-consciously "operatic" mode that doesn't always suit this piece. (That said, the final aria "My Long Life" is still a knockout.) The orchestra, however, sounds fine; tempi are fairly brisk, and the ensemble holds together.

I'm splitting the difference with my rating -- five stars for the source material and three (at best) for the performance. The time has come for another, better recording.

Worth the hearing.......1999-06-22

. Since it is available on the venerable New World Records label (NW 288/289-2), I want to bring it to your attention. Purporting to tell the story of Susan B. Anthony, it uses a libretto by Gertrude Stein that is maddeningly "deconstructionist." For those who didn't major in English, that means sentences are reduced (Japanese style) to basic words. Try this for size: "And in a way, yes, in a way, yes, really in a way, in a way, really in a way, it is useful to be right. It does what it does, if you are right." Fine for a while, but since the entire libretto is made up of such "Rose is a rose is a rose" sentiments it quickly palls. On the other hand, the New Englandy Churchy music of Thomson provides the perfect setting for Stein's jargon and leads me to wonder if the whole thing is a put on. In this recording, Raymond Leppard's conducting does not quite catch the basic New Worldliness that I feel the music should have; although the performances of The Sante Fe Opera, while not spectacular, are certainly idiomatic. At any rate, this work is miles better than the pap served up recently under the name "A Streetcar Named Desire" which failed for me on all levels. Again "Mother" fails if compared with the far more tuneful "Ballad of Baby Doe." Still it is worth a hearing.

Average customer rating:

A Hyperion Treasury Manufacturer: Hyperion UK ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Dowland | Dowland, John | ( D ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Handel | Handel, George Frideric | ( H ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Franz Joseph Haydn | Haydn, Franz Joseph | ( H ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Hildegard of Bingen | ( H ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Liszt | Liszt, Franz | ( L ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Monteverdi | Monteverdi, Claudio | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Pergolesi | Pergolesi, Gio Battista | ( P ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Purcell, Henry | ( P ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Schubert | Schubert, Franz | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Tallis | Tallis, Thomas | ( T ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Taverner | Taverner, John | ( T ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Vaughan Williams, Ralph | ( V ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Vivaldi | Vivaldi, Antonio | ( V ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Rachmaninov | Rachmaninov, Sergei | ( R ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Concertos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Classical | Symphonies | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Romantic | Symphonies | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Scherzo | 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 Vocal & Song | Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | 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 | Early Music | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Vaughan Williams, Ralph | Composers | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Sacred & Religious | Renaissance (c.1450-1600) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Vocal & Song | Renaissance (c.1450-1600) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Vocal & Song | Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Allen, Thomas | ( A ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Oratorios | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Choruses | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Masses | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Motets | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Odes | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Oratorios | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Renaissance (c.1450-1600) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Solo Instrumental | New Age | Styles | Music ASIN: B00008F7GL Release Date: 1994-09-27

Average customer rating: Excellent Excellent performance - but faulty recording

Missa Russica-1000 Years of Russian Liturgy Manufacturer: Koch Schwann (Germ.) ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Sacred & Religious | Early Music | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music | Requiems Vocal & Song | Early Music | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music | Requiems General | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Rachmaninov | Rachmaninov, Sergei | ( R ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Chants | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music ASIN: B000001SRS Release Date: 1994-09-15

Tracks:

1. Come let us worship (17th Century)
2. Praise the Lord, o my soul (Greek Hymn)
3. Lord, have mercy
4. O gentle light (17th Century)
5. The Lord is King
6. Lord, now lettest thou
7. Hail, Virgin Mother of God
8. Glory to God in the highest (Rachmaninov)
9. Praise the name of the Lord (Titov)
10. For many years
11. Holy God (17th Century)
12. The Hymn of the Cherubim
13. Adoration of the Lamb
14. The Opening of the Seven Seals
15. Holy Jerusalem
16. Lord, save thy people
17. For many years

Customer Reviews:

Excellent.......2003-10-13

A passionate, moving, spiritual, uplifting selection of Russian church music presented by a variety of different groups and performers. I was happy with the sound quality. I have listened to this cd many times and always find new pleasures its powerful and joyful content.

Excellent performance - but faulty recording.......2001-05-02

This CD brings us a true superproduction of excellent Russian liturgical music, exquisitely performed by a large choir of men and boys. But unfortunately many of the louder passages are plagued by severe overload distortion which detracts quite a lot from the listening joy. Without this technical flaw, this album would have earned 5 stars.

Music Review:

1. Thys Yool: A Medieval Christmas
2. Uccellini - Sonatas / Romanesca - Manze · North · Toll
3. Villa-Lobos: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 - 5 [Import]
4. Vivaldi - Gloria · Magnificat / Biccirè · Mingardo · York · Concerto Italiano
5. Vocal Music
6. Walking Tune: The Music of Charles Amirkhanian
7. Wayfaring Stranger
8. A Mediaeval Banquet: Music from the Age of Chivalry [Box set]
9. Aim Right for the Holes in Their Lives
10. At the Octoroon Balls: String Quartet No. 1

Music Review

music review

Music Review

Me and a Monkey on the Moon

Celtic Wanderers: The Pilgrim's Road

Beethoven / Lizst: The Symphonies Nos. 1-9

Urban Gypsy

Central Energy Black Label V.11 [Import]

Classic Fantasy II

Bulgarian Custom Songs

Bodies and Minds

Beat Im Westen [Import]

Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 "Choral"; Fidelio Overture

Beyond

Bachata De Gala

Bate Que Bate

Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 4; Three Songs from "Youth's Magic Horn"

Among the Living