American Spiritual

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
"Ms. Nonken is a pianist from music’s leading edge, associated with new works and with pieces whose challenges have withstood the last half century…Her dominant qualities would be advantages in any music: lightness in attack, clarity of texture, singing lines (and singing chords), variety of nuance, certainty in defining climaxes and in moving toward or away from them, a sense that the end of a movement must matter." —Paul Griffiths, New York Times

Tracks:

Short Trip Home
Johnny Has Gone For A Soldier
1B
Appalachia Waltz
Soldier's Joy
Sliding Down
BT
Butterfly's Day Out
College Hornpipe
Fancy Stops and Goes
Old Tyme
Emily's Reel
Slumber My Darling
Death by Triple Fiddle
Amazing Grace
Song of the Liberty Bell (folk version)

Amazon.com

The likes of Yo-Yo Ma, Sam Bush, Edgar Meyer, Joshua Bell, and Mark O'Connor can be heard on Heartland, a compilation featuring the best tracks from Sony's ongoing Appalachian-themed series of CDs. Individually, these folk and classical stars have little in common, but when they meet to play these new bluegrass-meets-chamber-music arrangements, the results are pure magic. It's hard to pinpoint these Americana-tinged tunes--they could fit in either Carnegie Hall or a grange hall--but they're all great; this is as much Aaron Copland's version of roots music as it is Bill Monroe's. Whether on fast-and-furious breakdowns such as "Death by Triple Fiddle" or on mellow, almost New Agey instrumentals such as "Sliding Down" (featuring Bela Fleck on the banjo), these musicians excel. Guest vocals by James Taylor and Alison Krauss break up the instrumentals, though instrumental virtuosity is the real highlight of this disc. If you like what you hear on this sampler, check out the Grammy Award-winning Appalachian Journey next. --Jason Verlinde

Customer Reviews:

A piece of heaven.......2006-02-01

Heartland is a haven and a piece of heaven. I was transported.

Great CD.......2004-03-16

Great violin, appalachian music, brings out your country roots, beautiful song by Allison Krauss, good mix of slow and up beat songs, excellent cd!

A bit of a yawn-er.......2003-04-22

If you are planning to open up a high-end gift shop specializing in handcrafted wind chimes and micro-bakery scone mixes and the like, then you must have this CD playing for your customers. It might have a certain appeal there that it did not find in my living room. Not to say that the musicianship is not utterly outstanding, which it is most certainly. Aside from Short Trip Home, which is why I purchased this CD in the first place, I found the rest of the pieces somewhat vapid considering the caliber of the artists. Again, it has its appeal in an easy listening realm, but this was not what I was looking for.

Exquisitely good music!.......2002-05-04

Didn't expect an outstanding cd, don't know exactly why i got it,maybe because of yo yo and bela, but every piece is played
beautifully, even the vocal piece by James Taylor. The album is almost too good to be called Heartland, every piece is a class act. Bravo!

Great Music!.......2001-11-09

I drive alot commuting to and from my job. This music has served as the perfect backdrop to an lovely Indiana fall! I'm sure I'll recall those colorful images as I continue to listen to this CD through the colorless days of winter!

Average customer rating:

Excellent Duo
Dynamic Duo
Worth the wait!!!
Worth the wait!

Jubilation

Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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

Grace Like A River - Christopher Parkening
Jubilant
Grace Like a River
Simple Gifts: Christopher Parkening
David Russell: Art of the Guitar

ASIN: B000MGTFG2
Release Date: 2007-03-06

Tracks:

York: Jubilation
The Water Is Wide (Trad., arr. Dave Grusin)
Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child (Trad., arr. Russ)
He's Got the Whole World in His Hands (Trad., arr. Russ)
Myers: Cavatina
Pantoja: Ciranda Bambolé
Villa-Lobos: Modinha
Pantoja: Lamento
Almeida: Caçador
Carlevaro: Campo
Gustavino: La Rosa y El Sauce (arr. Russ)
America (My Country 'Tis of Thee) (Trad., arr. Phillip Lester)
Copland: At the River (arr. Russ)
Copland: Ching-a-ring Chaw (arr. Russ)
Rodrigo: Cançoneta
Anchieta: Con amores, la mi Madre (arr. Russ)
Torre: Pampano Verde (arr. Russ)
Castelnuovo-Tedesco: La Arrulladora (from Platero and I)
Granadinas (Trad., arr. Russ)
Domeniconi: Koyunbaba, Op. 19

Album Description

Christopher Parkening, whose remarkable life and career were recently chronicled in his autobiography and companion CD, Grace Like a River, described the young baritone Jubilant Sykes as "phenomenally gifted". Through the years, as Christopher and Jubilant's friendship grew, so did the scope of their individual careers. The two performed together in concert quite frequently so the idea of recording together seemed a natural progression. When Christopher Parkening and Jubilant Sykes walked into Capitol Studios' famous Studio A, where so many legendary artists have recorded, something special was going to happen. This recording, aptly named Jubilation, is a musical journey through Brazil, Spain and the Americas.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Duo.......2007-04-10

This CD is a collection of music both traditional and modern. Christopher Parkening and Jubilant Sykes are a perfect match for the completion of perfection in this collection of music. Christopher Parkening's performance of solos are brilliant and heart felt. Jubilant Sykes is excellent as well and his deep tones mix so well with the gentle harmony of the classical guitar. This is a must for any music library.

Dynamic Duo .......2007-04-03

Going out on a limb here. This cd may be as good or better than Pleasures of Their Company. There is some real magic going on here. Christopher's sensativity and willingness to let Jubilant take the spot light is really what makes this cd for me. The tunes with the vocalise are particularly satisfying. It's just great to see Christopher continue to put out such quality work so many years into his career. I have seen them play some of these tunes live and hope to again someday in the near future. If you like this cd check them out live... at times I thought Jubilant's voice was going to bring the ceiling down.

Worth the wait!!!.......2007-03-25

After hearing Jubliant and Christopher on a Christmas tour a couple years ago I have been waiting for them to record something since... Finally!!! After listening I am just amazed by Jubliant's virtuoso voice. I think all the Americal Idol hopefuls should really listen to true God given talent versus copying commerical radio stars. Amazingly good voice. Now, I have been playing guitar for 18+ years and am an avid player and fan of classical guitar. Christopher Parkening has always been my inspiration for starting and he shows no signs of letting up on his wonderful styling, phrasing and best of all his sound! This was a match made in Heaven. Literally!

Worth the wait!.......2007-03-16

Finally, these two great musicians who have toured this music for over a year have recorded a delightful collection of songs, spirituals and solo guitar works. Sykes' voice is complimented by Parkening's masterful playing of the classical guitar. I highly recommend this recording. What a treat!

American Virtuosa: Tribute to Maud Powell

Average customer rating:

Great Tribute--Wonderfully Performed

American Virtuosa: Tribute to Maud Powell

Manufacturer: Cedille
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Waltzes | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Volodos Plays Liszt
Scottish Fantasies for Violin and Orchestra with Rachel Pine (2 CDs)

ASIN: B000QGDZAU
Release Date: 2007-06-12

Tracks:

Amy Beach: Romance
Percy Grainger: Molly on the Shore
Dvorak: Songs My Mother Sang
Sibelius: Musette
Marion Eugenie Bauer: Up the Ocklawaha
Chopin: "Minute" Waltz
Carl Venth: Aria
Selim Palmgren: May Night
Coleridge-Taylor: Deep River
Dvorak: Humoreske
H.P. Danks: Silver Threads Among the Gold
Herman Bellstedt, Jr.: Caprice on Dixie
Henry Holden Huss: Romance
Harry Mathena Gilbert: Marionettes (Scherzo)
Cecil Burleigh: Four Rocky Mountain Sketches
Cecil Burleigh: Four Rocky Mountain Sketches
Cecil Burleigh: Four Rocky Mountain Sketches
Cecil Burleigh: Four Rocky Mountain Sketches
Massenet: Twilight
Max Liebling: Fantasia on Sousa Themes
J. Rosamund Johnson: Nobody Knows the Trouble I See

Album Description

"Everything about this release by violinist Rachel Barton Pine is exceptional." --ClassicsToday [10/10] (on Scottish Fantasies)

"Recordings don't get any better than this." -- ClassicsToday [10/10] (on Brahms & Joachim Violin Concertos)

Chicago native Rachel Barton Pine was a child prodigy who began performing in public at age seven. Today she is one of America's most acclaimed violinists, as well as the best selling artist on Cedille Records. Maud Powell (1867-1920) was the premier female American violinist of her era, and she made numerous classic recordings between 1904 and 1919 that are still sought after by collectors. This CD is a tribute from one eminent American violinist to another, honoring Maud Powell for the tremendous positive influence she had on later American artists. All of the selections are works recorded originally by Powell, now able to be heard in contemporary sound. Many of the selections are seldom or never recorded elsewhere, and all are extremely accessible.

Customer Reviews:

Great Tribute--Wonderfully Performed.......2007-07-13

This recording is just plain fun! Rachel Barton Pine is one of my favorite young violinists, and this may be my favorite of her albums! Not only is the music exceptionally well chosen, Mrs. Pine's performances are top-notch across the board. As usual, her technique is wonderful. And the musicality of the performances leaves nothing to be desired. Just listen to the sweetness of her playing in Amy Beach's Romance! I can listen to this one track over and over and not become bored. Then contrast the fiery virtuosity Pine exhibits in Bellstedt's Caprice on Dixie. Just wonderful! Let's just say this disc is going to remain in my CD player for a long time! Highly, highly recommended.

Average customer rating:

Beautiful
A few bright spots, but also some disappointments
This CD Deserves SIX Stars!
every good adjective
Fabulous!

Peace Like a River
James Lucas , Janice Kapp Perry , John Rutter , Jean Sibelius , John Tavener , American Traditional , English Traditional , Spiritual Traditional , Mack Wilberg , Craig D. Jessop , Clay Christiansen , John Longhurst , Richard L. Elliott , Daron Bradford , and Meredith Campbell
Manufacturer: Mormon Tabernacle
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

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Gospel | Christian & Gospel | Styles | Music

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Consider the Lilies
Love Is Spoken Here
America's Choir
Mormon Tabernacle Choir: The Sound of Glory-Battle Hymn of the Republic
Choose Something Like a Star

ASIN: B00020H9W0
Release Date: 2004-06-22

Tracks:

Sweet Peace
Be Still, My Soul
Peace Like a River
All Things Bright and Beautiful
Lord Is My Shepherd
This Is My Father's World
Wayfarin' Stranger
Lord, Make Me an Instrument of Thy Peace
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
Deep River
Lamb
Child's Prayer
It Is Well With My Soul
Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep
Gaelic Blessing
Thou Gracious God, Whose Mercy Lends
Come, Let Us Anew

Customer Reviews:

Beautiful.......2007-06-14

This CD is a must have for any Mormon Tabernacle Choir fans. The music is very reverent and gentle, and should also appeal to those not from the LDS church, seeing as how most of the music is common to the wider Christian community. This CD is a fantastic addition to any music collection.

A few bright spots, but also some disappointments.......2007-01-19

It Is Well With My Soul is one of my favorite-favorites and that is the main reason why I bought the CD; it turned out to be a huge let down on this album, they rearranged it so much that I almost didn't recognize it. Be Still My Soul is another reason why I bought it and it's good, but not great. Swing Low Sweet Chariot is where it starts to get good. The last two songs "Thou Gracious God, Whose Mercy Lends"
and "Come, Let Us Anew" are very good reasons to buy this CD, they each have truely powerful passages and make the CD worth having. The Mormon Tabernacle Choirs 2006 release entitled Then Sings My Soul is by far the best that I've heard from them.

This CD Deserves SIX Stars!.......2005-11-05

However, the rating scale has a limit of five. I own over 700 CDs of virtually every type of music. Peace Like A River belongs in a class by itself! I've never written a review before but, after listening to this STUNNING performance by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, I feel compelled to share my praise with that of the five other reviewers. If I were limited to one word, I would use the word "SUPERB" to describe this beautiful and moving CD. SIX stars for Peace Like a River! BRAVO!!!

every good adjective .......2005-08-06

This album is all beauty and solace. The singing is pristine, the arrangements lush and often stirring--never saccharine. As with the previous reviewer, my first listing of "Peace Like a River" brought me to tears (especially "Peace Like a River," the sopranos in "Swing Low," and the bagpipes in "Thou Gracious God"). Buy this one.

Fabulous!.......2005-05-29

The perfect recording to help you recover from a long, hard day. Showcasing the MTC's "new" sound in contemporary choral arrangements with its own orchestra and conductor, "Peace Like a River" brought tears to my eyes in selection after selection during my first listen -- and I'm not normally an emotional person! The title song together with "Deep River," "Swing Low" and "Be Still My Soul" are alone worth the cost of the recording. Get this one!

Average customer rating:

If you want your spirit touched.....
real and beautiful
Stunning harmonies, haunting themes.
Speaks a Universal Language
Orenda Had An Effect On My Spirit

Orenda: Native American Songs Of Life
Joanne Shenandoah
Manufacturer: Silver Wave
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Native American | North America | International | Styles | Music

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Similar Items:

Peace & Power: Best of Joanne Shenandoah
Peacemaker's Journey
Matriarch
Life Blood
Eagle Cries

ASIN: B00000C2HX
Release Date: 1998-08-25

Tracks:

Passage (Prelude)
Across The Sky
I Am Your Friend
Our Mind Is One
Creator's Song
The Great Feathered Horse
In Love
All My Relations
The Four Legged Ones
Garter Dance
Deer Dance
Life Giver
You Are My Friend
Hunting
Unity
Prophecy Song

Amazon.com

Multitalented, award-winning composer and musician Joanne Shenandoah gets better with every album. On Orenda, the singer and instrumentalist, herself of Iroquois descent, is joined by Mohawk Lawrence Laughing; and their duets, including "Deer Dance" and "Unity," are among the album's strongest tracks. Shenandoah's voice is a rare gift; on Orenda, it's rich and clear, and never falters. The mix of backing instruments works well, including several percussion and wind instruments as well as guitars, while the spare arrangements allow Shenandoah's and Laughing's voices to stand out. The blend of the traditional and the contemporary in her music works very well indeed, bringing out the best of both. --Genevieve Williams

Customer Reviews:

If you want your spirit touched............2006-08-16

Joanne Shenandoah and Lawrence Laughing have been gifted with beautiful voices that come from the soul, from the heart, from the spirit. I have found the music calming, thought provoking, and most enjoyable. I have it on my computer at work. It reminds me of what is really important when the world around me is petty and small. This CD is worth every cent it costs.

real and beautiful.......2005-09-12

I like this kind of music, it takes me to another world. Starting with the first song and the introduction spoken by Lawrence Laughing makes my flesh creep. Joanne has a beautiful voice and the duets together with Lawrence are a good combination!

Stunning harmonies, haunting themes........2002-05-26

I picked this disc up by chance on a vacation to Yellowstone with my family. It quickly became the signature music for a magical journey.

Joanne Shenandoah is a quietly powerful advocate for her musical and cultural heritage, which she represents on this disc with deep compassion. The album title means the oneness of all things, and the songs explore that theme in a few of its many components.

The album begins with the speaking voice of Lawrence Laughing describing the meaning behind the disc. We are here not just to live physically, but to be present and available spiritually. The final track brings this home in a most compelling way with lyrics (spoken in English by Shenandoah before they are sung in the native language) that emphasize our responsibility to stand up and be counted "in the spirit world." Like most good albums of its kind, this one represents life as a journey: "And when you are ready, O maker of life, I'll come home to you."

The female harmonies are simply stunning. Whether singing of love or friendship or reverence for life, they speak quietly but unmistakably to the central theme of the album --- oneness in different voices. A simple courtship dance, thoroughly accessible to children no less than to adults, is poignant in its simplicity and harmony.

Much recent "Native American" music has tended toward the New Age, and like artists in any genre, many Native American artists have sacrificed authenticity to make a buck. Not Shenandoah, at least not on this disc. The musical techniques are modernized, but the performers avoid catering to "pop" tastes and excessive sentimentality. Each tune is fresh, unique and purposeful, and Shenandoah uses rhythm as a complement to the music, not a substitute for it.

I recommend this as a first disc for anyone looking to begin exploring Native American themes through modern artists.

Speaks a Universal Language.......2002-01-09

Moo-zik = de uni-voice all lang which... Music IS the universal language!

And: Joanne Shenandoah speaks it fluently on this CD! - Kontemplatif +sympathetique y soothing. Let a healing sonic vibe wash over your being-ness. If you stop to listen - you'll hear a rare thing... a friendly message. - mrk (cornplanter -seneca)

Orenda Had An Effect On My Spirit.......2001-06-13

I'm not one to do this sort of thing so here goes...

I happened to be sitting on the porch alone on a VERY dark night when the stars were out. I had my stereo beside me playing Orenda. The effect it had on my spirit was unreal. I don't know what it was, but I could feel SOMETHING... this is powerful music. Joanne, of Iroquois descent, is joined by Lawrence Laughing who is Mohawk; and their duets 'Passage' & 'Across The Sky' are the best Native songs I've ever heard. Shenandoah's voice is a rare gift - never faltering. This is quite simply the best Native album I've EVER heard, and I have over 200 albums.

Tracks:

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

Tracks:

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

Customer Reviews:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Average customer rating:

"Lord, How Come Me Here"
WOW!
uhm......yeah right!!
scadalise my name
Broadway takes on the spiritual ...

Spirituals in Concert

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

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Deutsche Grammophon: Music | Specialty Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Amazing Grace: Jessye Norman
The Essential Leontyne Price: Spirituals, Hymns & Sacred Songs
Kathleen Battle · Wynton Marsalis ~ Baroque Duet / Anthony Newman · Orch St. Luke's · Nelson
Kathleen Battle & Christopher Parkening ~ Pleasures of Their Company
So Many Stars

ASIN: B000001GDC
Release Date: 1991-03-08

Tracks:

In That Great Getting Up Morning
Sinner, Please Don't Let This Harvest Pass
Over My Head/ Lil' David
Oh, What A Beautiful City
Lord, How Come Me Here
I Believe I'll Go Back Home-Lordy, Won't You Help Me
Ride On, King Jesus
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot-Ride Up In The Chariot
You Can Tell The World
Scandalize My Name
Great Day
Oh, Glory
Calvary-They Crucified My Lord
Talk About A Child
Gospel Train
My God Is So High
There Is A Balm In Gilead
He's Got The Whole World In His Hand

Customer Reviews:

"Lord, How Come Me Here".......2007-06-18

I must add, to the praises above, that Kathleen Battle's "Lord, How Come Me Here" is the best "quick" explanation of the long-lasting effects of slavery that I can think of. The line, "They sold my children away," says it all.

And the VERY funny "Scandelize My Name" is also worth the price of the total album!

Alinde O'Malley

WOW!.......2007-03-22

You know, after owning both the CD and VHS of this performance, and having been coached by Sylvia Olden Lee herself, it is no wonder why spiritual mean so much to me. And these two ladies bare their souls and bring these masterpieces to life! WOW!!!

uhm......yeah right!!.......2006-06-21

Clearly you are mistaken. I don't know who that guy is-the person below recommended-but there is NO COMPARISON to JESSYE NORMAN AND KATHLEEN BATTLE!!!! Jessye Norman herself has *30* HONARY DOCTRATES from places like Harvard, Juliard, Yale, Cambridge....I mean HELLO!!!! That guy had no where near the ease, the musicality or even the breath support as these two veterans show!! It is a beautiful CD though it came out in 1991 and I HIGHLY recommend it.

scadalise my name.......2004-10-29

this isn't that good specially after hearing William Warfeild sing it. You can find him at www.wlym.com

Broadway takes on the spiritual ..........2004-01-29

... takes it on and puts it on the canvas by the end of the first round.

I'm going to be the dissenting voice here: thank goodness I signed this disk out of the public library 'cause I'm sure not going to listen to it twice.

There is nothing wrong with the performances. Jessye Norman and Kathleen Battle sing beautifully, and there's no problem with the pick-up orchestra under James Levine.

The problem, and it's huge, is the conception of the show and the musical arrangements. To make the video marketable, I suppose, the producers decided that the concert had to be big: big names, big arrangements, big effects. So we have eighteen spirituals given the musical theatre treatment, with a philharmonic chorus providing chain-gang sound effects, big brass, and big percussion -- including a chinese gong. A chinese gong in a spiritual??? Spare me! Almost every track turns out sounding like either a curtain-raiser or a big, end-of-act production number with cute and predictable modulations between some of the stanzas and the sort of curly-cue orchestral ornamentation typical of Broadway shows.

And you know what? It all kills the spirituals stone dead. The spiritual is one of those musical forms where less is more and very little is best of all. That's how they started, after all. That's how and why they worked for their original audiences, and that's why they were powerful enough to make the transition from folk song to art song. If you want to hear Battle sing spirituals that are irresistible, listen to the set on her Salzburg recital CD, also with Levine (ASIN B00000E31B). There, the music speaks for itself and speaks with a strength and a beauty that the tracks on this disk never approach.

Ancient Power
Average customer rating:

Calming and comforting

Spiritually rich and imaginative musical flows

Ancient Power
Steve Gordon and Deborah Martin
Manufacturer: Spotted Peccary
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Native American | North America | International | Styles | Music
General | New Age | Styles | Music
Meditation | New Age | Styles | Music
General | New Age | Indie Music | Stores | Music
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Shaman's Vision Journey

Sacred Earth Drums

Drum Medicine

Drum Prayer

Sacred Drum Visions: 20th Anniversary Collection

ASIN: B00000DC1S
Release Date: 1998-10-06

Tracks:

Spirit Of The Mountain
Coming Of The Wolf
Heart Of Fire
Earth Dweller
Ancient Power
Sundancer
Moon Over Cloudless Sky
Wind Of Spirits

Album Description

Undercurrents of thundering tribal drums and primal rhythms awaken the wisdom of the ancients while haunting Native flute and keyboard melodies conjure the elements of the Earth in this greatly anticipated collaboration between best-selling Sequoia Records artist Steve Gordon (Sacred Earth Drums) and acclaimed Spotted Peccary Music artist Deborah Martin (Under the Moon). Rattles and shakers, ocarinas, acoustic guitars, textural electric guitars, hand drums, and sculpted electronic soundspaces are all combined to transport the listener to a world of delicate beauty and raw power.

Customer Reviews:

Calming and comforting.......2002-04-18

I enjoy New Age genre and Native American music and this collection was recommended to me by a 19 year old friend who shares the interest. Although my husband complains that it's a little "repetitious," I find Ancient Power very relaxing. It speaks for a more spiritual part of self than I can usually express in words. I have recently suffered the loss of a close personal friend, and this collection has allowed me to come to terms with it without the need to intellectualize. Calming and comforting.

Spiritually rich and imaginative musical flows.......1999-01-24

The liner notes accompanying this CD tell you about the instruments used -- Taos Drums, Shakers, Turtle Rattles, Keyboards, Rainstick and so on. And apparently both the artists (Deborah Martin/Under the Moon and Steve Gordon/Sacred Earth Drums) have achieved some recognition independently.

Their combined effort here is seamless. If you can imagine sitting out West in the high desert, perhaps a thousand years ago, and if you could hear the sounds of the spirits of the people and the elements of sun, wind and fire that were the basis of their spiritual life, this is what you'd hear.

Tracks:

Oh, Shenandoah (Traditional)
He's Goin' Away (Traditional)
Skip To My Lou (Traditional)
Steal Away (Spiritual)
Wayfarin' Stranger (Traditional)
Soldier, Soldier Won't You Marry Me? (Traditional)
Pretty Saro (Traditional)
Johnny Has Gone For A Soldier
Black Is The Color (Traditional)
Red River Valley 9 (Traditional)
Nelly Bly (Stephen Foster)
My Lord, What A Mornin' (Spiritual)
Jeanie With The Light Brown Hair (Stephen Foster)
Hard Times Come Again No More (Stephen Foster)
Single Girl (Traditional)
Deep River (Spiritual)
Buffalo Gals (Cool White [John Hodges])
The Water is Wide (Traditional)
Black Sheep (African-American lullaby)

Customer Reviews:

Outstanding.......2007-06-06

Robert De Cormier's remarkable arrangement and Marie Spar Dymit's and Lynette Johnson's pure vocals of "Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier" are well worth the price of the entire CD.

Incredible..Worth 30 stars.......2007-05-16

The Dale Warland Singers are my benchmark by which I judge all other choirs. The uniformity of sound, blend, and precise entrances, uniformity are incredible - almost inhuman. Excluding the all male Chanticleer from the roster, this was the finest choir in America. Now that they have broken up, buy all of their CD's you won't be disappointed!

Superb singing matched with superb arrangements.......2004-07-03

A project like this one inevitably highlights the skill of arrangers, and Dale Warland has selected some of the most talented anywhere. Most of these selections will be familiar to listeners, but I doubt most people have heard, for example, "Red River Valley" in Carol Barnett's haunting version here, and ditto for her magnificent "Deep River."

The disc opens with a spectacular, panoramic "Shenandoah" that takes maximum advantage of the Dale Warland Singers' refined sound, and things only get better (if that's possible). Other favorites are a cheery, fizzing "Nelly Bly" and Mark Keller's strong reworking of Stephen Foster's "Hard Times Come Again No More."

Throughout the recording, the freshness of the arrangements is matched by the irresistible singing. This group is known for its outstanding performances and recordings, but this must be counted as one of their all-time best. The sound quality is terrific, capturing the gorgeous blend and precision of the group in a natural-sounding acoustic. Just stunning.

Beautiful music.......2003-07-03

I bought this CD after hearing a few of the recordings on our local NPR radio station. I was not disappointed in any of the selections. Very beautiful.

Beautiful Music, Yet There Is No There Here.......2003-01-13

The Dale Warland Singers (DWS) are among the relatively few musical professionals, who by their aesthetic standards and demonstrated artistry, have taken the less traveled and narrow road to exemplary artistic excellence.

The sound quality and acoustics are excellently engineered in this 20-bit original recording. The most delicately blend and inflection of the singers' voice can be heard. This sheaf of choral works has once existed in real space and time in the kaleidoscopic folklife of past generations. In recording the "Blue Wheat", the 40-member DWS, the creme de la creme of professional choral ensembles, has elevated the common oral tradition of American folk music into a rarified choral art form a capella "in the style of the chapel."

If the soul of the DWS is a capella singing, then Warland and the arrangers are the wings of the same soul. Among the kapellmeisters whose arrangements have graced this folksong anthology are the late Norman Luboff and Roger Wagner. Also included in this album are contemporary arrangements by other esteemed composers: John Rutter (conductor of The Cambridge Singers), Carol Barnett (the DWS resident composer from 1992 to 2001), and Stephen Paulus.

Gertrude Stein is famous for saying of her childhood home, Oakland, California, "When you get there, there's no there there." Purportedly, Stein opined this city by the San Francisco Bay lacked a defining sense of place. Bel canto notwithstanding, the folk melodies of "Blue Wheat" invoke a longing for something no longer possible. The abyss between the America today and the its past is impossible to bridge. Already, we have yielded to the abstractness of political correctness. Our past is either neglected, actively destroyed, or selectively museumed. We do not live in an understood land and culture. There is no there here in the presence of this music. It is only the poignancy of the moment that these beautifully rendered tunes live in our mind. We have to accept this reality as part and parcel of our rootlessness.

If the Oakland Raiders do make it to and win the Superbowl in 2003, there is a there there for some in the football community, albeit fleeting.

British and American Band Classics
Average customer rating:

Fennell Interpretation

Symphonic Band Memories

Fennell - A Wind Band Pioneer

The Gold Standard for Symphonic Band Music

Hold On To Your Socks!

British and American Band Classics

Manufacturer: Philips
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

All Works by Holst | Holst, Gustav | ( H ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
All Works by Walton | Walton, Sir William | ( W ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
Marches | Theatrical, Incidental & Program Music | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music
General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music
General | Classical | Styles | Music
Marches | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music
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Fennell: Suites 1 & 2 / Folk Song Suite / Toccata Marziale

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British Wind Band Classics

ASIN: B0000057KR
Release Date: 1990-10-19

Tracks:

The Earle Of Oxford's Marche: Suite 'William Byrd'
Pavana: Suite 'William Byrd'
Jhon Come Kisse Me Now: Suite 'William Byrd'
The Mayden's Song: Suite 'William Byrd'
Wolsey's Wife: Suite 'William Byrd'
The Bells: Suite 'William Byrd'
A Coronation March: 'Crown Imperial'
'Hammersmith': Prelude And Scherzo, Opus 52
Serenade: Symphonic Songs For Band
Robert Russell Bennett: Symphonic Songs For Band
Celebration: Symphonic Songs For Band
Fanfare And Allegro

Customer Reviews:

Fennell Interpretation.......2007-05-14

For Band Conductors / Teachers, there is no better conducting interpretation than those of Frederick Fennell. Tho these recordings are not new recordings, they are still viable interpretations. Glad to see them still available.

Symphonic Band Memories.......2005-09-05

I bought this album primarily for the "Symphonic Songs for Band" suite by Robert Russell Bennett and the "Fanfare and Allegro" By Clifton Williams. They are the favorite pieces I was privledged to participate in performing while a member of the Cal Poly symphonic ban in the 70's. I also remember performing them in high school. I was not disappointed in purchasing this disc! The performances captured here are excellent! The music sends chills down my spine .... I highly recommend the entire album for anyone interested in the genre of symphonic band music!

Fennell - A Wind Band Pioneer.......2002-03-08

'British and American Band Classics' is a great disc for band lovers and music lovers in general. Frederick Fennell has been one of the top leaders in wind band music for decades. Here, one of his early recordings with the Eastman Wind Ensemble survives as a ground-breaking event in wind band music.

Anyone not familiar with Gordon Jacob's "William Byrd" Suite, "Crown Imperial," or any of the other greats on this disc should check out what serious band literature is available. In fact, this music has been available for many years, and has stood the test of time. I would buy the disc just for Clifton Williams' "Fanfare and Allegro," one of the most exciting works for band ever written. It will get your blood pumping!

Contrary to to other reviewers, these performances are not flawless. Intonation is a real problem that shows up especially in the William Byrd Suite, particularly in "The Earle of Oxford's March," and "The Bells." For me, the trumpets are too harsh in some of "Crown Imperial," but these factors wouldn't keep me from purchasing the disc. Remember, these recordings were made in 1958 and 1959...A lot has changed since then! However, no recording is perfect, and this one deserves a place in your collection of great music.

The Gold Standard for Symphonic Band Music.......2000-12-01

This is the second of the two gold standard recordings of symphonic band music, the first being the prior Mercury recording of Fennel conducting the Eastman Winds performing the Holst overture and Vaughan Williams' Folksong Suite. The arrangement, the conductor, the performance, the interpretation are all perfect; one can only wonder what a current all digital master would sound like. Close call whether the vinyl through a tube power amp gives cleaner bass, but by all means get this CD for an indelible recording of unforgettable music.

Hold On To Your Socks!.......2000-11-19

I waited sixteen years for this recording to become available again, after first hearing it on the radio, and it was well worth the wait. The sound on this release, as well as on the others in this Mercury series of vintage recordings, is amazingly spacious and dynamic. This disc's rousing version of the Crown Imperial Coronation March is THE definitive recorded performance of that work. Complete with a stirring, regal melody, startling cannon blast, majestic organ, chimes, cymbals, shattering gong crashes, and thunderous drums, it will literally blow your socks off!

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