Sweet Harmony

Track Listings

1. No Mark - from Four Pastorales (Cecil Effinger)

2. Noon - from Four Pastorales (Cecil Effinger)

3. Basket - from Four Pastorales (Cecil Effinger)

4. Wood - from Four Pastorales (Cecil Effinger)

5. To Daffodiles - from Five Flower Songs (Benjamin Britten)

6. , The Succession of the Four Sweet Months - from Five Flower Songs (Benjamin Britten)

7. Marsh Flowers - from Five Flower Songs (Benjamin Britten)

8. The Evening Primrose - from Five Flower Songs (Benjamin Britten)

9. Ballad of Green Broom - from Five Flower Songs (Benjamin Britten)

10. May - from The Rossetti Songs (James Hopkins)

11. Echo (Come to Me in the Silence of the Night) - from The Rossetti Songs (James Hopkins)

12. Song (When I am Dead, My Dearest) - from The Rossetti Songs (James Hopkins)

13. A Birthday - from The Rossetti Songs (James Hopkins)

14. Soir sur la plaine (Lili Boulanger)

15. There Will Be Rest (Frank Ticheli)

16. In Praise of Music (John Alexander)

17. Sweet Harmony (John Alexander)

Editorial Reviews
About the Artist
Pacific Chorale’s JOHN ALEXANDER SINGERS Since 1968, Pacific Chorale has been providing national and international audiences with great choral music performed at the highest musical standards. Under John Alexander’s direction, Pacific Chorale produces its own series of concerts each year at Southern California’s beautiful Orange County Performing Arts Center. The John Alexander Singers, Pacific Chorale’s professional chamber ensemble, has performed with the Mark Morris Dance Company, the Royal Ballet, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra. The Singers have also been the Resident Chorus for the CSU Summer Arts Festival and California State University, Fullerton’s California Conducting Symposium. The John Alexander Singers have performed at the American Choral Directors Association’s conference and have been featured in the Philharmonic Society of Orange County’s renowned Eclectic Orange Festival.

JOHN ALEXANDER Artistic Director of Pacific Chorale since 1972, John Alexander has consistently received acclaim by critics and audiences for his inspired conducting. He has conducted his singers with orchestras throughout Europe, Asia, the former Soviet Union and South America and, closer to home, with Pacific Symphony Orchestra, Pasadena Symphony Orchestra and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. Equally versatile whether on the podium or behind the scenes, Alexander has prepared choruses for many of the world’s most outstanding orchestral conductors, including Seiji Ozawa, Leonard Slatkin, Zubin Mehta, Pierre Boulez, Lukas Foss, Keith Lockhart, Michael Tilson Thomas, Gerard Schwarz and Max Rudolf. Alexander’s achievements were recognized in 1999 with the distinguished "Outstanding Individual Artist" Award, presented by Arts Orange County. Alexander is the composer of several choral works, all published by Hinshaw Music, and is also the editor of the John Alexander Choral Series, which includes some of his own compositions as well as music by Frank Ticheli and Jan Sanborn.

Album Description
This album features Pacific Chorale's 30-voice professional chamber ensemble performing both a cappella and accompanied choral music.

Cecil Effinger’s set of four songs is based on the poems of Thomas Hornsby Ferril. All of the songs are accompanied by the mournful and beautiful tones of a solo oboe.

Benjamin Britten wrote his Five Flower Songs in 1950 as a "floral" tribute to his friends Leonard and Dorothy Elmhirst on their silver wedding anniversary.

James Hopkins composed "Echo (Come to Me in the Silence of the Night)" as a gift to Pacific Chorale. The successful reception of that movement encouraged Hopkins to create an entire song cycle featuring the beautiful, mostly wistful poetry of Christina Rossetti.

Lili Boulanger entered the Prix de Rome competition in 1913, becoming one of the few women ever permitted to attempt the contest—and the first to win it. "Soir sur la plaine" was Boulanger’s first-round submission. This recording features the piano reduction of the restored orchestral score.

Sara Teasdale’s "There Will Be Rest," one of her last poems, is a perfect summary of her lifelong concern for the stars and their ancient promise of peace. Frank Ticheli’s choral setting is designed to capture the poem’s purity of spirit and delicate lyricism.

In 1996 John Alexander embarked on a project to compose a collection of songs using texts which demonstrate the extraordinary effect music has on the human experience. "Musica," (which is featured on Pacific Chorale’s recording of the same name), uses an anonymous Latin text, first set to music by Orlando di Lasso in the 16th century. "In Praise of Music" is set to John Dryden’s A Song for St. Cecilia’s Day and "Sweet Harmony." is set to text from Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, Act V, Scene 1.

Tracks:

Frenesi - Artie Shaw And His Orchestra
Don't Get Around Much Any More - Duke Ellington And His Orchestra
Holiday For Strings - David Rose And His Orchestra
Pompton Turnpike - Charlie Barnet And His Orchestra
Daddy - Swing And Sway With Sammy Kay/The Kay Choir
Chattanooga Choo Choo - Glenn Miller And His Orchestra/Tex Beneke And.....
There Are Such Things - Tommy Dorsey And His Orchestra/Frank Sinatra.....
The Hut-Sut Song - The King Sisters
Piano Concert - Freddy Martin And His Orchestra /Jack Fina
Blues In The Night - Dinah Shore With Orchestra
Night And Day - Frank Sinatra With Orchestra/Alex Stordahl
Boogie Woogie - Tommy Dorsey And His Orchestra
Moonlight Cocktail - Glenn Miller And His Orchestra
Star Dust - Artie Shaw And His Orchestra
I Hear A Rhapsody - Charlei Barnet And His Orchestra/Bob Carroll
Cocktails For Two - Spike Jones And His City Slickers/Carl Grayson
I'm Beginning To See The Light - Duke Ellington And His Orchestra/Joya Sherrill
There I've Said It Again - Vaughn Monroe And His Orchestra
Stormy Weather - Lena Horne With Orchestra/Lou Bring
Pistol Packin' Mama - Glenn Miller And His Orchestra

Customer Reviews:

Nipper turns his attention to the best of music in the 40's.......2001-12-23

Having been impressed with what Nipper turned up from the 30's, I was slightly disappointed to find the pickings are not as good in Volume I of the Greatest Hits from the 40's. Yes, there is "Star Dust," Lena Horne singing "Stormy Weather," Glenn Miller's Orchestra doing "Chattanooga Choo Choo" and Spike Lee's immortal take on "Cocktails for Two," but this is the first Nipper collection where I did not recognize at least half the tracks. True, these songs were all done long before I was born, but I did a lot better than this with the two volumes covering the 30's. Young Frank Sinatra is here crooning his way "There Are Such Things" with Tommy Dorsey and "Night and Day" in an early solo effort and I do recognize most of the artists if not most of the songs. Still, Nipper's Greatest Hits is the best collection of eclectic oldies this side of Time-Life. My rule of thumb is always pick up any greatest hits album that adds five new songs to your music collection, and Nipper never disappoints by that standard.

Solid, Man, Solid.......2001-01-09

Another solid entry in the NGH series, with much cooler songs than Volume 2 of the 40s. This is a good mixture of standards (Glenn Miller's Chatanooga Choo Choo, Artie Shaw's Frenesi, Dinah Shore's version of Blues in the Night), classic novelty songs (The Hut-Sut Song and Spike Jones' Cocktails for Two), and one classic rarity that wasn't really a "hit" (Glenn Miller's Armed Forces band remake of Pistol Packin' Mama with lyrics about an eponymous bomber that need to be heard). Most of this is entertainment not art, but it is good entertainment of its time.

Average customer rating:

Spirited performance of charming work
Alexander's Feast - English version
One of Handel's great works
Handel's Great "Feast" in an Impeccable Rendition

Handel: Alexander's Feast
G. F. Handel , The Sixteen , Harry Christophers , and Symphony Of Harmony And Invention
Manufacturer: Coro
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Oratorios | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Oratorios | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Samson
Handel - Joshua / Kirkby, Bowman, Oliver, Ainsley, George, The King's Consort
Handel: The Occasional Oratorio /Gritton * Milne * Bowman * Ainsley * George * The King's Consort * King
Handel: Belshazzar
George Frideric Handel: Esther

ASIN: B0007DBXJC
Release Date: 2005-03-15

Tracks:

Alexander's Feast: Overture
Alexander's Feast: 'Twas at the Royal Feast
Alexander's Feast: Happy, Happy, Happy Pair
Alexander's Feast: Timotheus plac'd on high
Harp Concerto Op.4, No.6 in B flat: Allegro
Harp Concerto Op.4, No.6 in B flat: Larghetto
Harp Concerto Op.4, No.6 in B flat: Allegro moderato
Alexander's Feast: The song began from Jove
Alexander's Feast: The list'ning Crowd
Alexander's Feast: With ravish'd Ears
Alexander's Feast: The praise of Bacchus
Alexander's Feast: Bacchus, ever fair and young
Alexander's Feast: Sooth'd with the sound
Alexander's Feast: He chose a Mournful Muse
Alexander's Feast: He sung Darus Great and Good
Alexander's Feast: With downcast Looks
Alexander's Feast: Behold Darius Great and Good
Alexander's Feast: The Mighty Master smil'd to see
Alexander's Feast: Softly sweet
Alexander's Feast: War, he sung, is Toil and Trouble
Alexander's Feast: The Many rend the Skies
Alexander's Feast: The Prince, unable to conceal
Alexander's Feast: The Many rend the Skies

Tracks:

Alexander's Feast: Now strike the Golden Lyre
Alexander's Feast: Revenge, Revenge, Timotheus cries
Alexander's Feast: Give the Vengeance due
Alexander's Feast: The Princes applaud with a furious joy
Alexander's Feast: Thais led the way
Alexander's Feast: Thus long ago
Alexander's Feast: At last Divine Cecilia came
Alexander's Feast: Let old Timotheus yield the Prize
Alexander's Feast: Let old Timotheus yield the Prize
Organ Concerto Op.4, No.1 in G minor: Larghetto e staccato
Organ Concerto Op.4, No.1 in G minor: Allegro
Organ Concerto Op.4, No.1 in G minor: Adagio
Organ Concerto Op.4, No.1 in G minor: Andante
Alexander's Feast (conclusion): Your Voices tune

Album Description

"A remarkable recording." - REPERTOIRE

The nature of Alexander's Feast is perhaps better summed up by its other title, The Power of Music. It is a celebratory ode for St. Cecilia's Day, written by Dryden in 1697 for the traditional celebration of the patron saint of music and set in celebratory style by Handel in 1736. At its first performance that year, he incorporated two delightful concertos, one for harp and one for organ, and these are included on this recording. Winner of the Deutschen Schallplattenkritic prize.

Customer Reviews:

Spirited performance of charming work.......2007-03-10

This performance of Alexander's Feast is, in my opinion, exactly right for the work; beautiful, clear voices singing the solos with good diction, a lovely balance in the small chorus, and superb playing of appropriate instruments for the piece and for the period. The notes on the flyer are also excellent, presenting the background and intention of the work.

Alexander's Feast - English version.......2006-02-26

This recording is a very complete version of Alexander's Feast, following the composer's practice of inserting other pieces to create a performance of appropriate length. Excellent soloists, orchestra, and chorus. A high quality recording.

One of Handel's great works.......2005-11-19

I just attended a live performance of Alexander's Feast and I saw many people who probably never heard anything else than Messiah, suddenly finding out that there is more to Handel than Hallelujah chorus. This music is exciting and original, you may know several arias like "War he said is toil and trouble" or "Revenge!" but it is great as a complete work. It was written for St. Cecilia's Day celebration, then re-written several times, but it remains as a beautiful example of Handel's mastery in choral composition and writing showcase arias. The soloists are great, especially Ian Partridge, and the chorus is outstanding. This is a wonderful performance of one of Handel's great works.

Handel's Great "Feast" in an Impeccable Rendition.......2005-08-22

"Alexander's Feast," Handel's 1736 setting of Dryden's ode in honor of St. Cecilia's Day (patron saint of music) is a masterpiece and a delight, but its odd length - too long for a mixed program, too short for a full evening - gave Handel trouble and apparently still presents a problem: this is at present the only recording of this inspired work in the catalogue, though some good ones have come and gone. Fortunately, this reissue of the Sixteen's 1990 version is first-rate, in fact the best I ever recall hearing, with chorus, orchestra, soloists and conductor all in top form. Furthermore, music director Harry Christophers has wisely chosen to include the two concerti - one for harp, the other for organ - that Handel inserted in his original performances. Not only do they lengthen the piece to a satisfactory 115', they serve a satisfactory dramatic purpose by representing respectively the power of music in its pagan form - the bard Timotheus's lyre represented by the harp - and Christian - Cecilia's (apocryphal) organ. Both receive sparkling interpretations here.
If you enjoy such Handel works as "L'Allegro..." and "Acis and Galatea," you will certainly enjoy "Alexander's Feast," which finds the composer in peak form, responding with eagerness to the high quality of the English verse before him. And it's hard to imagine a better way to get to know it than this wonderful performance.

Dunstable: Sweet Harmony - Masses and Motets

Average customer rating:

Dunstable masses and motets: recording by Tonus Peregrinus
The harmonic building blocks of Renaissance music
THE GREAT LEAP FORWARD

Dunstable: Sweet Harmony - Masses and Motets

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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

$6.99 and Under | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music

All Classical Music Blowout | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music

Opera & Vocal | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Leonin, Perotin: Sacred Music from Notre-Dame Cathedral
John Dunstable: Motets / Hilliard Ensemble
Nicolas Gombert: Missa Media Vita in Morte Sumus
Dufay: Missa L'homme armé; Supremum est mortalibus bonum
Das Gänsebuch (The Geese Book): German Medieval Chant

ASIN: B000B6N67M
Release Date: 2005-10-18

Tracks:

Quam Pulchra Es
Kyrie
Gloria A 4
Credo A 4
Gloria: Jesu Christe Fili Dei
Credo: Jesu Christe Fili Dei
Sanctus
Credo: Da Gaudiorum Premia
Sanctus: Da Gaudiorum Premia
Agnus Dei
Veni Sancte Spiritus-Veni Creator
Gloria In Canon

Customer Reviews:

Dunstable masses and motets: recording by Tonus Peregrinus.......2007-07-21

This CD includes the wonderful short motet "Quam Pulchra Es" and the better-known "Vene Sancte Spiritus/Veni Creator", together with movements from four of Dunstable's settings of the Mass ordinary. It is difficult to imagine a better recording. Tonus Peregrinus have a full intellectual and emotional understanding of Dunstable's ground-breaking musical achievement; the individual lines are clear and precise; the selection of works provides a fine illustration of the composer's range of techniques; the acoustics of Chancelade Abbey, where the recording was made, are perfect for the task; and the recording quality (Naxos) is flawless. I strongly recommend it to anyone interested in early Renaissance church music in general or of Dunstable in particular.

The harmonic building blocks of Renaissance music.......2006-06-07

Take a journey back to early 15th century Europe with Tonus Peregrinus' recording of the works of English composer John Dunstable (c. 1390-1453). Dunstable worked in English-occupied France during the early 1400s, and his sweet English harmonies influenced French composers such as Dufay and Binchois. The incorporation of English harmonic technique into the Continental style was a major factor in the development of Renaissance counterpoint.

Dunstable was a master of isorhythm, a technique that involved repetition of lengthy melodic and harmonic figures (sometimes in sync and sometimes in overlapping fashion). While isorhythm contributes to the compositional integrity of Dunstable's music, it's not readily discernible by modern ears. What's most apparent in the music of John Dunstable is the forceful delivery of a new style: the sweet harmony resulting from the use of parallel 3rd and 6th intervals. Dunstable's harmonic writing is not particularly disciplined: unprepared dissonances occur, sometimes in jarring fashion. But overall, a spirit of jubilation pervades Dunstable's work, which should impress modern listeners just as it did the European composers who heard it nearly six centuries ago.

Tonus Peregrinus, a vocal consort named for an ancient chant that Christ might have sung at the Last Supper, delivers an evocative performance of Dunstable's works. The group performs Dunstable's motets "Quam pulchra es" and "Veni Sancte Spiritus - Veni Creator", sandwiched around a collection of Mass movements. "Quam pulchra es" exhibits a stately, graceful quality later found in the works of Binchois, while the first "Sanctus" achieves an otherworldly beauty that may have influenced the motets of Dufay. The acoustics of this recording, captured in an echo-filled French abbey, create a sense of time and place that enhances the authenticity of the performance.

In 1476, music theorist Johannes Tinctoris remarked, "There is no composition written over forty years ago which is thought by the learned as worth of performance." Tinctoris' dismissal presumably included the works of Dunstable. Fortunately, Dunstable's music has survived Tinctoris' sentiment, and now awaits your discovery, courtesy of this fine recording.

THE GREAT LEAP FORWARD.......2005-11-29

Goodness me, how many superlative groups of ancient music specialists can there be? Here is yet another, predictably brought to us by Naxos. There are 8 singers directed by Anthony Pitts, and the group photograph also shows us Jeremy Summerly himself in a daft-looking hat as producer, and also, most properly, the engineer Geoff Miles whose work I would call absolutely outstanding.

England was not always `the land without music'. In particular, it seems that a sudden and spectacular leap in musical development occurred precisely there in the early 15th century, and, if we are to believe the musical historian of the time Tinctoris (cited by Pitts in his liner-note), the main driving-force behind this revolution was John Dunstable, whose innovations were picked up promptly by his contemporary Dufay and thereafter by Europe in general. My own knowledge of this period is deplorably patchy, but it is quite clear that by the 12th century the ecclesiastical tradition of monodic plainsong, believed to date from the 8th century, had not changed much, even at the hands of the frumious Hildegard of Bingen. There was a parallel secular tradition, probably more than one, but if the music of the troubadours during this same period is anything to go by it had primitive instrumental accompaniment for the voices, but nothing by way of genuine `harmony' much less polyphony or counterpoint.

Enter the English, Dunstable in the lead. Not a lot seems to be known about him except that he appears to have been associated with St Albans in Hertfordshire, where his name survives in the name of a town not far away, as does that of the author of Dunstable's epitaph and Abbot of St Albans Abbey John Wheathampstead. All this information is conveyed with admirable brevity in Pitts's notes, and I take it on faith entirely. Faith of another kind shows through his phraseology here and there, as in his dedication of the recording to `a God-fearing man' (not the kind of terminology one encounters much in England these days) and in his sniffy comment in his resume that he left the BBC in protest over its screening of `a blasphemous musical'. I would only remark that the BBC never actually broadcast anything by such a description, nor did the public in general realise that they were listening to such. At the musical level by and large the liner-note is awesomely learned but slightly heavy going. It is worth absorbing slowly, but the most significant thing it says is really its naïve proclamation of how marvellous the music is. This is the dawn of the elaborate harmonisation that makes European music, so far as I know, unique, and the thrill and sense of awe that go with that are enormous for one kind of listener at least.

If I understand Pitts aright, the various sections of the mass here - including 2 glorias, 3 credos and 2 settings of the sanctus - don't incorporate one specific `mass' although they approximately follow the order of the parts normally set to music: indeed if there were a single coherent mass in it what would be the point of such duplications? The way they have sequenced it all is appropriate to isolated settings, sensibly programmed so as to avoid having the same text in successive tracks. The recital starts with one motet and ends with another, followed by a gloria that `we' have completed from the restored but deficient MS. `We' have done just brilliantly if I may say so - this is what music-making is all about, but it needs the right level of talent. The performing artists consist of 2 sopranos, 1 female and 1 male alto, 3 tenors and a single bass. I have to take the historical authenticity of this, just as I have to take the tempi adopted, on faith once again. I believe the phrase is `It works for me'. What is beyond much question is the sheer quality of the singing, and what I want to sing my own praises of is the recording, which has a perfect sense of spaciousness together with perfect clarity.

I hope I will be believed when I say that I have no link of any kind with Naxos. I collect their discs because of what these are and because of what my tastes and standards in good music are. This particular disc is from this very year 2005, and the recording was done in Chancelade Abbey in the Dordogne. Over and above the learned inputs of Mr Pitts we are given brief resumes of all the performers, and all texts are provided with English translations. These latter are a great deal better than many I have seen in the last year or two. My suspicions having relaxed, I have been less hawk-eyed than sometimes, and I don't believe that there are any serious misrenderings. In the Veni Creator if the text is right at lines 11-12 the meaning must be `Thou duly enriching our mouths with the promised utterance of the Father'; 4 lines later `perpetim' is a simple misprint for `perpeti', but as usual the translator thinks `perpeti' is some kind of adjective. It is a prolative infinitive, and lines 15-16 therefore mean `Strengthening what in our bodies is weak so as to be steadfast through virtue'.

Go forth in droves at the Christmas season and acquire this disc.

Average customer rating:

American Music of Hope and Glory
Unbridled spiritual energy

The Shapenote Album
John P. Reese , Stephen Jenks , C. Dingley , William Billings , Seaborn McDaniel Denson , Jeremiah Ingalls , Lucius Chapin , Paine Denson , Nehemiah Shumway , The Tudor Choir , and Doug Fullington
Manufacturer: Loft Recordings
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Psalms | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Rivers of Delight (American Folk Hymns From the Sacred Harp Tradition)
Sacred Harp Singing
Early American Choral Music, Vol. 1
Early American Choral Music, Vol. 2
Southern Journey, Vol. 10: And Glory Shone Around - More All Day Singing From The Sacred Harp

ASIN: B00005NHNL
Release Date: 2001-09-04

Tracks:

Montgomery
Windham
Sweet Prospect
China
Soar Away
The Better Land
Weeping Mary
White
Mortality
Eternal Day
Heavenly Union
Expression
Evening Shade
Kedron
Love The Lord
Condescension
All Is Well
Africa
Traveling On
Happy Land
New Jerusalem
Primrose
Hallelujah
Peace And Joy
Schenectady

Customer Reviews:

American Music of Hope and Glory.......2007-04-09

Although I have known about Sacred Harp Music for many years, this album utterly overwhelmed me in its power, beauty and expression of pure American strength and faithful surety. I grew up in the churches of Christ, one of the few American denominations that uses only a capella four-part harmony vocal music in their worship services. Shape notes were known to me since I was able to understand a musical staff, and we used shape notes for each note on the scale (a few more than The Sacred Harp Tradition). Alas, over time, the immense power and beauty of true Sacred Harp music was "homogenized" into congregational singing that remains quite beautiful, but no longer has the vigor of The Sacred Harp tradition. (The churches of Christ still, to this day, occasionally have "Sings" - an all afternoon singing festival with food and fellowship, as do Sacred Harp "Singing Classes" today). This album above all speaks - rather SINGS to the immense faith of Frontier America, and the absolutely majesterial beauty of music well-sung from the human heart, which is, of course, The "Sacred Harp". To any who want to experience a new (and very old) musical tradition, this recording will be one that you will never forget. All choral music singers and admirers should own this marvelous album. (Having a copy of the "1991 Sacred Harp Hymnal" in hand will make your enjoyment all the better!)

Unbridled spiritual energy.......2005-01-01

Anyone who saw "Cold Mountain" and was struck by the vitality and energy of the hymn singing in that one brief scene in church will be immediately impressed with this stunning album. The album's only flaw is that, unfortunately, it does not include that hymn that was in "Cold Mountain" (it is titled "I'm Going Home").

Otherwise, it is pure joy to listen to. The singing is full of that same raw passion that makes it sound so primitive. I've heard other albums where the sound is polished, concert-hall like, and as a result very dead. This is not that way; it moves and stirs as good spiritual music ought to.

This is a new field of music for me, even though I've sung in church choirs for years and listened to all kinds of classical music. Hearing this album makes me want to go find the sheet music and start singing it myself, it is so infectious.

Average customer rating:

Chart-Toppers of the Forties
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Asv Living Era
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Swing General | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

Classic Big Band | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

Contemporary Big Band | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

Traditional Jazz General | Traditional Jazz & Ragtime | Jazz | Styles | Music

Vocal Jazz General | Vocal Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music

Traditional Pop | Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music

Easy Listening | Compilations | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Easy Listening | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music

Classic | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music

Traditional Vocal Pop | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

Easy Listening | Pop | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Big Band Magic: The Sound of the Fabulous Forties
Chart-Toppers of the Thirties
Chart-Toppers of the Twenties
Songs That Got Us Through WWII
Great Records Of The Decade: 40's Hits, Vol. 1

ASIN: B00000I9FU
Release Date: 1999-03-23

Tracks:

In The Mood - Glenn Miller
I'll Never Smile Again - Frank Sinatra
Tuxedo Junction - Glenn Miller
Frenesi - Artie Shaw
Only Forever - Bing Crosby
Chattanooga Choo Choo - Glenn Miller
Amapola - Jimmy Dorsey
Moonlight Cocktail - Glenn Miller
Paper Doll - The Mills Brothers
I've Heard That Song Before - Harry James
Pistol Packin' Mama - Al Dexter
Shoo-Shoo Baby - The Andrews Sisters
Swinging On A Star - Bing Crosby
Rum And Coca-Cola - The Andrews Sisters
Sentimental Journey - Doris Day
Till The End Of Time - Perry Como
Oh, What It Seemed To Be! - Frankie Carle
The Gypsy - The Ink Spots
To Each His Own - Eddy Howard
Rumours Are Flying - Frankie Carle
Heartaches - Ted Weems
Peg O' My Heart - Jerry Murad
Near You - Francis Craig
Ballerina - Vaughn Monroe
White Christmas - Bing Crosby

Small Fry: Capitol Sings Kids' Songs for Grownups

Average customer rating:

Great Music for Toddlers and Mom, but Dad isn't a Fan
Come out and play with me.
I LOVE this CD!!!
Another interesting musical anthology from Capitol's artists
The best compromise!!

Small Fry: Capitol Sings Kids' Songs for Grownups
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Capitol
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Swing General | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

Classic Big Band | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

Contemporary Big Band | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

Traditional Jazz General | Traditional Jazz & Ragtime | Jazz | Styles | Music

Vocal Jazz General | Vocal Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music

Traditional Pop | Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music

Classic | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music

Orchestral Pop | Easy Listening | Pop | Styles | Music

Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Television Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Musicals | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

Traditional Vocal Pop | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

General | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

General | Children's Music | Styles | Music

Compilations | Children's Music | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Vintage Children's Favorites
Jazz for Kids: Sing, Clap, Wiggle and Shake
Nicky's Jazz for Kids
Hello Children Everywhere
For The Kids

ASIN: B00000HY5Z
Release Date: 1992-08-25

Tracks:

The Teddy Bears' Picnic - Frank De Vol
Glow Worm - Johnny Mercer
The Pussy Cat Song (Nyow! Nyot Nyow!) - Gordon Macrae/Jo Stafford
I Wanna Be A Friend Of Yours - Nat King Cole Trio
Swinging On A Star - The Four Freshmen
Give A Little Whistle - June Christy
A Bushel And A Peck - Margaret Whiting And Jimmy Wakely
Pop! Goes The Weasel - Merry Macs
A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes - The Jubalaires
Playmates - Kay Kyser
'A' -You're Adorable (The Alphabet Song) - Gordon Macrae And Jo Stafford
Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah - Johnny Mercer And The Pied Pipers
There's A Train Out For Dreamland - Nat King Cole
Jeepers Creepers - Tony Bennett
Woody Woodpecker - MEL BLANC AND THE SPORTSMEN
The Hokey Pokey - Ray Anthony
Mairzy Doats - The Pied Pipers
Three Little Fishes - Kay Kyser
Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo - Gordon Macrae And Jo Stafford
Shortnin' Bread - Johnny Mercer
Small Fry - June Christy
When You Wish Upon A Star - The Lettermen
(Go To Sleep) My Sleepy Head - Nat King Cole
Three Blind Mice - Van Alexander

Customer Reviews:

Great Music for Toddlers and Mom, but Dad isn't a Fan.......2006-11-13

Simply stated, the entire CD is fantastic. It is a nice change from the traditional sing-along tunes and exposes a new generation to music from another era. Personally I love it because it contains songs that my grandmother sang to me and now my little ones can learn the lyrics to sing the songs to her. Our three-year-olds giggle during Woody Woodpecker and Three Little Fishes, hiss on cue during The Pussy Cat Song (Nyow! Nyot Nyow!), they do The Hokey Pokey in their carseats, and sing along to Jeepers Creepers, Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah, and Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo.

Come out and play with me........2006-09-21

This CD features Capitol Records recording artists performing "kids songs". Kids songs is this case are songs based on nursery rhymes, or songs from Disney movies, or silly novelty songs that kids like. The performers are mostly "pop singers" from the pre-rock and roll era. People like Nat King Cole, Tony Bennett and the Lettermen. Sadly, Frank Sinatra singing "Old MacDonald" is not included. But the songs that are included are pretty entertaining. This is a fun, lighthearted CD.

I LOVE this CD!!!.......2006-06-15

My cousin gave this CD to me when my daughter was 2, that was 3 years ago... I didn't even open it for about 6 months after it was given to me, it just didn't look like something I would like. I was SO wrong.

We just moved and this CD was somehow destroyed, and I was devestated, I am so happy that I can purchase it here. I am having "withdrawl" symptoms!! Fun and happy, I can't imagine anyone NOT enjoying this music.

I am thrilled that I can listen to music that does not drive me insane (Barney-type songs), and that my children are learning different musical styles. They enjoy this CD more than any of the others.. which goes to show that truly good music, performed by wonderfully talented performers, will never go out of style.

Another interesting musical anthology from Capitol's artists.......2005-08-16

The Capitol Sings collection is one of my favorite musical anthology series. During the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s the record label basically had its artists singing just about every song ever written (well, it sure seems that way). Most of the volumes I had are devoted to a particular composer or team thereof (e.g., Cole Porter, Rodgers & Hammerstein), but "Small Fry: Capitol Sings Kids' Songs for Grownups" takes a different approach, providing some of Capitol's big names, such as Nat King Cole and Gordon MacRae, singing what are essentially novelty songs.

That means you will recognize the songs, such as "Teddy Bear's Picnic" and "Swinging on a Star," but you probably have never heard these versions, done respectively by Frank DeVol and the Four Freshman. There might be some exceptions to this rule, such as Johnny Mercer's "Glow Worm" and "Mairzy Doats" by the Pied Pipers, but you get the idea. There is something charming about Gordon MacRae doing the "Pussycat Song (Nyot Nyow)" and "'A' You're Adorable (The Alphabet Song)" (he likes parenthetical song titles apparently). Sometimes you just have to smile at the idea of the Merry Macs recording "Pop Goes the Weasel" or Tony Bennett doing "Jepers Creepers." You have no other choice when Mel Blanc does the "Woody Woodpecker Song."

I had never heard the whole version of "Bushel and a Peck," so it was nice to finally hear that and everybody needs to know about the "Hokey Pokey." It is also interesting to hear covers of a lot of tunes from Disney films, with June Christy doing "Give a Little Whistle," the Jubalaires singing "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes," Mercer doing "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah," MacRae's "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo," and the Lettermen doing "When You Wish Upon a Star." You also get a couple of nice lullabies from Nat King Cole, "There's a Train Out for Dreamland" and "(Go to Sleep) My Sleepy Head." You will recognize enough of the songs and the artists to appreciate that you will probably enjoy the rest. All of these Capitol Sings albums are worth at least a listen for those who appreciate such musical stylings.

The best compromise!!.......2004-04-22

My Sister-in-Law gave us this when my daughter (now 15 months) was born. It is "her" CD when we are in the car - and she kicks along to the rhythm of the songs! But the best part is that it's great to listen to for adults too...
Not your usual, insipid, sing-songy giggly-gaggle-of-children songs... classics by big bands and great artists!
Sure, one or two WILL get on your nerves after several repetitions - but that's what the fast-forward button is for!

Tracks:

How Great Thou Art
Ode To Music
The Vocal Majority: Sweet Hour Of Prayer
The Long Day Closes
I'll Walk With God
Suddenly You're Older
Love At Home
I Walked Today Where Jesus Walked
The Windows Of The World
One Voice
The Lost Chord
Danny Boy
Home On The Range
Nearer My God To Thee

Customer Reviews:

Mormon Tabernacle and Vocal Majority.......2006-11-10

This has got to be one of the most incredible musical presentations that I've ever experienced. These two groups together in concert effect more joy, sorrow, remorse, nostalgia, victory, hope and power in 30 minutes that most of us experience in years. Amazing!

Great Music.......2001-01-19

With the incredible proliferation of rock, and now rap music, this album is a great example of what music can me - simply beautiful. The MTC is, as always, splendid, and the Vocal Majority is truly wonderful. This a great album of sacred and secular songs, beautifully performed, and a genuine pleasure to hear.

two excellent choral ensembles strut their stuff.......1999-02-16

This CD features two renowned groups in some of their best work. The MTC, of course [of chorus], is known around the world. Vocal Majority is less global in its familiarity but equal in its skill. For my part, I prefer the sound of an all-male ensemble. This is not to gainsay the MTC, however: only a preference. If you want to hear two great groups performing a popular array of songs, this choice will not disappoint.

Average customer rating:

Bad day at work? Enter another realm
Ahhhh....

Stillness And Sweet Harmony

Manufacturer: Collegium
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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

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

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

Requiems | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Brother Sun, Sister Moon
John Rutter Collection
Faire is the Heaven: Music of the English Church
Be Thou My Vision
The John Rutter Christmas Album

ASIN: B0000031IC
Release Date: 1996-10-10

Tracks:

Adoro te devote - Gregorian Chant
Requiem: Pie Jesu - Gabriel Faure
Visita, quaesumus Domine - William Byrd_
Draw On, Sweet Night - The Cambridge Singers directed by John Rutter
O Can Ye Sew Cushions - The Cambridge Singers directed by John Rutter
The Silver Swan - Orlando Gibbons
Down By The Sally Gardens - The Cambridge Singers directed by John Rutter
In manus tuas - The Cambridge Singers directed by John Rutter
Miserere - Gregorio Allegri
Tantum ergo - Gabriel Faure
Justorum animae - William Byrd_
O quam suavis - William Byrd_
Laudi alla Vergine Maria - Giuseppe Verdi
Alma Redemptoris Mater - Gregorian Chant
What Sweeter Music - John Rutter

Amazon.com

Compilations from a performer's catalog are often musically hit-and-miss and programmatically shaky. But when you have a catalog as strong, varied, and musically rich as the Cambridge Singers', the question is not how to find appropriate material but how to reduce the first-rate choices to fit on a single CD. This one offers a wide range of selections, including chant, Renaissance sacred and secular works, folk song, and 20th-century pieces. Every track contains a gem--music and performance--so it's hard to list only a few highlights. There's the Pie Jesu from Fauré's Requiem, Allegri's famous Miserere, several classics by Byrd, Orlando Gibbons's popular "The silver swan," and two masterful folk-song arrangements by Rutter. But among the 15 works featured, John Sheppard's "In manus tuas" (one of the glories of the English Renaissance) and Rutter's "What sweeter music" (his most famous piece) alone make this disc worth owning. --David Vernier

Customer Reviews:

Bad day at work? Enter another realm.......2005-07-31

This is a wonderfully mellow selection of choral works in the English tradition, and a particularly well-balanced program: You can set the CD to play and relax with a good glass of wine.

The Cambridge Singers come across as a single, smooth instrument--not a group of belting soloists. Rutter's arrangements and orchestrations avoid here some of the cutesy movie-style effects on some of the Christmas albums.

This album is a compilation from previous Cambridge Singers recordings, so it's very suitable as a gift from someone who has expressed an early interest in English choral music, to lead them into the area. The CD is a wonderful value and highly recommended.

Ahhhh...........2004-06-30

Very pleasant music for rattled nerves. I'm no expert on choral music, but this is a calming and enjoyable CD to listen to while driving.

Average customer rating:

Traditional songs of the sea.

Homeward Bound
Revels
Manufacturer: Revels Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | International | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

General | International | Indie Music | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00006JM8D
Release Date: 2002-10-01

Tracks:

Roll Down
Can't You Dance The Polka?
Threescore And Ten
The Maid On The Shore
Ocean
The Leaving Of Liverpool
Here's A Health To The Company
Drake's Drum
Run Th eRiggin' Again
Noah's Ark
The Herring's Head
The Fush Of The Sea/Yea Ho, Little Fish
Dance Set
Euroclydon
Adieu, Sweet Lovely Nancy
Boston
Blood-Red Roses
Anchor Song
Lady Franklin's Lament
The Last Leviathan
Rolling Down To Old Maui
The Jamestown Homeward Bound
Rolling Home To Old New England

Customer Reviews:

Traditional songs of the sea........2007-07-07

If one likes traditional songs created during the days of the sail ship from the U.S. and England, then this is a good cd for that. I enjoyed it very much.

Average customer rating:

Only 10 tracks but some great hits if you do not have them

Billboard Pop Memories: 1940-1944
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Rhino / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Swing General | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

Classic Big Band | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

Contemporary Big Band | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

Traditional Jazz General | Traditional Jazz & Ragtime | Jazz | Styles | Music

Vocal Jazz General | Vocal Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

Swing Jazz & Big Band | Compilations | Jazz | Styles | Music

Nostalgia | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music

General | Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music

Traditional Pop | Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music

Classic | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music

Traditional Vocal Pop | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

Rhino Records | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Billboard Pop Memories: 1945-1949
Billboard Pop Memories: The 1930s { Various Artists }
Billboard Pop Memories: 1950-1954
Great Records Of The Decade: 40's Hits, Vol. 1
Songs That Got Us Through WWII

ASIN: B00000336Y
Release Date: 1994-02-22

Tracks:

I've Heart That Song Before - Harry James & His Orch
Frenesi - Artie Shaw & His Orch
Paper Doll - Mills Brothers
Swinging On A Star - Bing Crosby/Williams Brothers Quartet/John Scott
I'll Never Smile Again - Tommy Dorsey & His Orch
Amapola - Jimmy Dorsey & His Orch/Bob Eberly
You'll Never Know - Dick Haymes & The Song Spinners
Don't Fence Me In - Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters
In The Mood - Glenn Miller & His Orc
Star Dust - Artie Shaw & Is Orc

Customer Reviews:

Only 10 tracks but some great hits if you do not have them.......2003-03-09

"Billboard Pop Memories: 1940-1944" is the third collection in this series from Rhino dealing with the pre-rock years of popular music. The first two albums were restricted to an entire decade, which is rather limiting when you are only going to have 10 tracks, but at least for the 1940s we get a pair of albums dividing the decade in half. At this point in American music history (the years of World War II) the big bands are still dominant, which means big names like Glenn Miller, Jimmy Dorsey, Tommy Dorsey, Harry James, and Artie Shaw (and their orchestras), all of who get one hit apiece here including the classics "In the Mood" and "Stardust." This speaks to what might be the biggest problem with this album: if you are a fan of big band music you must already have these songs in your music library. Der Bingle is the biggest singer in the land and you probably already have his hit "Swinging on a Star" as well, same thing with "Don't Fence Me In" by the Andrews Sisters. What you might find new and of value here would by "Paper Doll" by the Mills Brothers and "You'll Never Know" by Dick Haymes & the Song Spinners. As is always the rule with the Billboard hit collections, the question is whether you can find five or more tracks you do not already own that make picking up this CD worth it.

Track Listings:

Track Listings

track listings

Track Listings

Edge of a Girl

Guitars of Richard Jacob Weissgerber

Love Songs

Cornbread, Earl & Me (1975 Film) [Soundtrack]

For Every Solution There's... [Import]

Knocking on Heaven's Door

Manilow Sings Sinatra

germanbooks88.com Music: 8 Symphonien

Maximum Gwen Stefani: The Unauthorised Biography Of Gwen Stefani

Jackson Berkey meets the Seattle Girls¿ Choir

Jazz Samba Encore!

Drew's Famous Latin Pop Sensations

Homenaje Agustin Lara

Mr. D.J., You Know How to Make Me Dance

Fat Albert Rotunda

1. No Mark - from Four Pastorales (Cecil Effinger)
2. Noon - from Four Pastorales (Cecil Effinger)
3. Basket - from Four Pastorales (Cecil Effinger)
4. Wood - from Four Pastorales (Cecil Effinger)
5. To Daffodiles - from Five Flower Songs (Benjamin Britten)
6. , The Succession of the Four Sweet Months - from Five Flower Songs (Benjamin Britten)
7. Marsh Flowers - from Five Flower Songs (Benjamin Britten)
8. The Evening Primrose - from Five Flower Songs (Benjamin Britten)
9. Ballad of Green Broom - from Five Flower Songs (Benjamin Britten)
10. May - from The Rossetti Songs (James Hopkins)
11. Echo (Come to Me in the Silence of the Night) - from The Rossetti Songs (James Hopkins)
12. Song (When I am Dead, My Dearest) - from The Rossetti Songs (James Hopkins)
13. A Birthday - from The Rossetti Songs (James Hopkins)
14. Soir sur la plaine (Lili Boulanger)
15. There Will Be Rest (Frank Ticheli)
16. In Praise of Music (John Alexander)
17. Sweet Harmony (John Alexander)