Blush (+ Bonus Tracks)

Editorial Reviews
Album Details
Japanese Version featuring Bonus Tracks.

Tracks:

Cripplegate (Standing on Glass)
Animalitos (Ain't No Sunshine)
White Bird
Snake Bite
My Russia (Standing on Hands)
Way
Aeolian Harp (Under the World)
Your Russia (Without Hands)
Another White Bird
Story and Pictures

Customer Reviews:

No need for me to blush.......2006-09-20

I never wanted to be associated with country music or any religion but these guys make it sound okay for me.

It's an experiment on mixing styles and those styles are at opposite ends of the spectrum. Think about these duos religion-darkness, new age-bluegrass, classic-industrial sound etc... THE NICE PART: THEY ARE ALL THERE AND LIVE WELL TOGETHER maybe we should take exemple on that with humandiversity. Lyrics are exceptionals and singing use a nice tone.

Last year I went on their website and burnt 3 songs that I really liked "White bird", "My Russia" and "Sparrow falls". I ended up buying their 2 albums and discover a lot more. Songs I've downloaded were even better on cd because they were extended. I'd say now my two favorites are the heavy "Your russia" (where he sounds like he's angry but restrain himself to speak teeth close) and the happy "Cripplegate".

Blush.......2004-08-03

What you should know before buying this, is that it was the music for Wim Vandekeybus' "Blush" a wonderful choreography. Some voices and laughs you might hear are the voices of the dancers. I can't even begin to describe the feelings, or the memories of the choreography, that this CD caused to me. Enjoy the voyage

Darkwave meets bluegrass?.......2004-05-14

After listening to an album as beautiful as this, I feel that any attempt to describe it in words will destroy the beauty. But how else can I communicate the treasure that this album is?

During the first two songs, a succinct description that comes to mind is "darkwave meets bluegrass," mainly due to the use of banjo in these slow, haunting tunes. But after track two, the banjo disappears and the sound seems to move to a kind of alternative rock with the influence of Native American music sounds. So then is it "darkwave meets western"? I guess that's part of what appeals to me about this album: I've never heard anything like it, so I can't file it away in any category. It is fresh and unique.

All of the songs are dark and very slow, but never do I feel that the album drags; it is beautiful, it is mesmerizing.

Instrumentation varies somewhat by song. The first two songs use banjo with fluid, sliding electric guitars; "Aeolian Harp" uses an organ while the vocals and electric guitars groan. "The Way" is a brief instrumental that uses a slide guitar with interesting percussive instruments. The instruments in "Snake Bite" sound rusty, if you can imagine what I mean by that, then in the latter part of the song, a stringed instrument is used, perhaps a cello, and the bow is bounced on the strings for an interesting effect. "Story And Pictures" starts with floating darkwave-style strings, then moves to piano. Electric guitars are used in various ways in all the songs.

Added sound effects provide an imaginary landscape. A sound in "Story And Pictures" reminds me of a woodpecker or a slowly creaking door; it is accompanied by church tower bells. I can't even begin to describe the interesting sounds found in the 5-minute mood-setting introduction of the 14-minute song, "Animalitos." All I can say is, they paint a vivid mental picture through sound.

The male vocals are usually at low register, with a pensive mood. Several of the songs have no vocals at all.
Speaking of vocals, here are a couple lyrics that stand out to me:
From "Cripplegate": "I wish to know nothing here, save for the blood of the cross; in you alone there is no harm."
From "Story And Pictures": "...tough-skin cowboy; idle hands, they rust..."
From "Aeolian Harp": "There is no buffalo outside, rifle child; it is more than hunger that betrays my heart."

If you are interested in hearing something unusual, something dark and beautiful, I highly recommend this album.

Superb Music.......2003-12-02

This is quite the follow up album to the self titled release. The songs are much longer and drawn out, but not in a boring or tedious fashion. The fact that it is now a domestic release is a bonus to fans here, I imported this puppy. Well worth the $25 I paid for it.

The first album is a more traditionally structured album. This album is much darker and personal. Less sing-a-long.

Surprisingly Good for You
Average customer rating:

Surprisingly Great!

Surprisingly Good for You
Barbara Lusch
Manufacturer: Blush Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Barbara Lusch

Call Me Irresponsible

ASIN: B000K7UFLC
Release Date: 2006-11-14

Tracks:

Sentimental Journey
Crazy
I'd Be Surprisingly Good For You
I Won't Dance
Daddy
Baby Come Home
My Heart Belongs To Daddy
Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
Why Don't You Do Right
'Taint What You Do
Please Don't Rush Me
For All We Know
Stardust

Customer Reviews:

Surprisingly Great!.......2007-02-24

Barbara Lusch has raised the bar! I'm happy to report that her new CD "Surprisingly Good For You" is, not surprisingly... great! Ms. Lusch's second release reveals a first-class vocalist at the top of her game. Her song choices on this offering are inspired. Her interpretations of a couple of infrequently performed Peggy Lee compositions, "Baby Come Home" and "Please Don't Rush Me" are sung with a subtle passion and conviction. Other selections on this CD include "Sentimental Journey", "Why Don't You Do Right" and a wonderful version of "For All We Know." Barbara Lusch is one fine singer. Discover the "Lusch Factor", check out "Surprisingly Good For You", because... it really is!

Average customer rating:

A Knockout CD From Start To Finish!
Fine wine in a new bottle

Barbara Lusch
Barbara Lusch
Manufacturer: Blush Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Surprisingly Good for You
Half the Perfect World
Call Me Irresponsible

ASIN: B0002L57S2
Release Date: 2004-08-03

Tracks:

Come On-A My House
Ain't Doin' Bad Doin' Nothin'
Girl Talk
Light My Fire
Nature boy
I Love The Way You're Breaking My Heart
Black Coffee
Every Night
They Can't Take That Away From Me
So Nice
Now, Baby, Or Never
Bonita

Customer Reviews:

A Knockout CD From Start To Finish!.......2006-02-06

Just when you think the crowded female vocalist category has reached the point of no return, along comes the fantastic voice of Barbara Lusch! This talented lady's self titled debut CD is a real revelation. Her sultry jazz take on "Come On- A My House", as well as super versions of "Girl Talk", "Ain't Doin' Bad Doin' Nothin'" and "Light My Fire" among others, make this first release a knockout from start to finish. Barbara Lusch deserves to be heard by anyone who digs great jazz singers! Order this CD right away and I guarantee that by the time you reach the third or fourth track, you'll be a new Barbara Lusch fan!

Fine wine in a new bottle.......2004-12-27

Barbara Lusch descibes her style as fine wine in a new bottle. This self-titled first album is not another American songbook cover album. You won't get eight bars into track one without realizing this is the real deal, and she'll leave you begging for the next album.

Barbara's mature and controlled voice brings a well-crafted huskiness and melodic range bring a rare mix to the fore. No offense, Renee Olstead, but it takes a lot more than marketing and 15 yrs on this earth to sing out your heart. Ms. Lusch has been there and done that, and we profit from her breadth of experience.

Her cover of Rosemary Clooney's "C'mon A My House" is outplaying the Divine Miss M's version on syndicated adult radio nationwide. Neither Rosemary or Bette made "I'm gonna give you..pomegrante" sound like something you would cross broken glass barefoot to obtain.

The cut "Girl Talk" ought to attract Tony Bennett for a duet of his 1966 version. Barbara spins this one out like a velvet rope.

"Nature Boy" is an enigmatic ballad that Nat King Cole reportedly avoided recording until the songwiter wore him down. A Gibran/Flower Child sort of a story that is made even more haunting with Barbara's fluid stylings.

A couple of tracks, "Now Baby or Never" and "Every Night" include some backup vocals that evoke the portion of a night-club set when the band members stand up for a little feedback to the front girl.

The morose "Black Coffee" makes the listener want to either end her delicious sadness or let her go and see how deep her blues will plunge.

"I Love the Way you're Breaking My Heart" has a hook that can't be described. Suffice to say it's so terribly,terribly,terribly silky it might make you a bit misty.

At first, you'll have a favourite cut or two. With each listen the list will include more. Name another CD in your collection that has that kind of attraction --there's no "skip over" tracks.

The surprise "Light My Fire" is what The Doors could have done if Jim had turned around,faced the audience and been a whole lot more attractive. No Feliciano borrowing either --no way Jose' -- just pure Lusch.

'Barbara has a delicious sense of timing, drawing the listener in like a siren with a delivery that sways sexily behind the beat....'- Jazzscene, Kyle O'Brien, Portland Oregon

Average customer rating:

Big wings, soft sound
Guaranteed to blow your mind!
A Solid Album
undiscovered gem...
Too busy showing off to deliver the goods

Blush
Bows
Manufacturer: Too Pure / Beggars
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Ambient Pop | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Drum & Bass | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Techno | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Trip-Hop | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

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Similar Items:

Cassidy
The Night Garden
The Merkin Dream

ASIN: B00000JPDI
Release Date: 1999-08-24

Tracks:

Big Wings
Troy Polenta's Big Break
Blush
Overfor Kommer
King Deluxe
Speed Marina
No. 4
Britannica
Aquavella
It'll Be Half Time in England Soon
Girls Lips Glitter
Sleepyhead
Rockets

Amazon.com's Best of 1999

With lush, artful arrangements and vocals that float over hushed drum & bass beats, the debut record from Bows is like an unsettled dream filled with Freudian imagery and subconscious yearnings. Taking elements of Björk and Portishead, Bows give rise to something at once mysterious, disturbing, and beautiful. --Matthew Cooke

Amazon.com

Jungle is built on one essential tension--between hyperspeed drums and half-speed bass lines. Bows' debut, Blush, gives the screw another turn, setting tentative Björk-like vocals, languorous strings, and slow-motion keyboards to jarringly frantic beats. It's like a 4 a.m. dream, with a soundtrack by Roni Size. But there the New Forms comparisons end. Bows, the project of former Long Fin Killie frontman (and acclaimed novelist) Luke Sutherland, is an art project first and a dance-music crossover second. The emphasis is on mood, not momentum, and most of the time the mood is a barely articulated melancholy. That's no surprise coming from Glaswegian Sutherland; the "postrock" that Long Fin and Too Pure labelmates Pram and Laika made back in the day upended rock's rebel-boy verities, demoting its front-and-center aggression to background status and pushing its liquid substratum to the fore. Bows does the same thing to electronica traditions, producing an album that'll have you, to quote two wise men, dancing in your head and crying in your beer. --Jeff Salamon

Customer Reviews:

Big wings, soft sound.......2004-08-09

Somehow the sound of Bows' "Blush" is too earthy to be properly classified as dreampop. The stormy percussion and jazzy horns of the opening track set off the tone for a strange trip-hop experience -- mysterious and seductive, with the sense that you should wake up from this dream soon.

It starts off quietly with the gently peculiar "Big Wings," followed by the muted concert hubbub of "Troy Polenta's Big Break" and the lurching, aching title track. Subdued female vocals, sputtery drumbeats and dreamy string arrangements line songs like "King Deluxe," the elegantly ominous "Speed Marina." Stuck in the middle is a wickedly funny little advertisement for the band, a touch of humor that grounds all of it. It would have been better if placed at the beginning or end, though.

"Blush" comes across as a beautiful nightmare in the middle of a jazz club. Very sensuous and beautiful, but also surreal and disturbing. A feeling of unease runs all through the album, especially since the songs tend to run into one another, shifting and changing like dreams do.

The sound of the music is a mix of electronic beats, shimmers and soundscapes, layered smoothly with some very muted bass and solid percussion. The strings lift it up to the sky, and the jazzy horns pull it back down to earth. It's a surprisingly liquid sound, mixing gentle trip-hop with stormy underbeats.

The vocals come from three people -- Ruth Emond, whose voice is very sweet and airy; Signe Heirup Wille Jergesen, whose voice is a little less ethereal in songs like "Sleepyhead"; and frontman Luke Sutherland, with a sort of quiet falsetto that he keeps low. The feeling they give off is quite sultry, a bit like psychedelic torch singers.

"Blush" lives up to its name -- colorful and sweet. The lush instrumentation and dreamy vocals soften the uneasiness of Bows' debut, and make this a wonderful trip-hop album. Highly recommended.

Guaranteed to blow your mind!.......2002-06-16

Out of the hundreds of cd's I own, this is without a doubt my favorite. Once this disc hits your player I doubt you'll ever want to take it out. This record is filled to the brim with lush beats, beautiful vocals, and mesmerizing sounds that will fill your heart and soul with glee. Luke Sutherland is a creative genius, destined to go down as one of the finest artists of our time. The man doesn't only create beautiful music but is an up and coming author as well! "Blush" is a triumph, the type of record that will make you want to go out and buy everything the band has ever released (take that as a first class endorsement for the second release, Cassidy, which is also top notch) and everything the label that signed them has released (Too Pure Rocks!). Buy this record!

A Solid Album.......2002-04-25

This album's a real pleasure to listen to...something of a continuation of Long Fin Killie's "Amelia." Luke Sutherland did a good job balancing his falsetto on that final LFK album, and he should rely on it more here--the woman's got a great voice, but...

He should make more albums.

undiscovered gem..........2001-08-24

I have been impressed by this album and play it quite a bit. It is somewhat of an undiscovered gem and whenever people are round my house and hear it they all want to know what it is. Having said that, for all that I like it I find myself unable to really fall in love with it. There is a distance there which stops me from engaging with it fully. Possibly it is a bit to cold and clinical, no real sould to it. It sounds great though and gives Massive Attack or Portishead a run for their money.

Too busy showing off to deliver the goods.......2001-05-26

Now, I'm all for a bit of breakbeat, orchestral and sequence grandstanding, provided it doesn't detract from the beauty of the song. But all I'm finding here is... meandering, pompous streaks of breakbeats, samples, and wistful sighs. Without direction. There's something to be said for classical song structure! You know, chorus, bridge, clever interlude, magnificent recoil away from the symmetry, and circling back down into a haunting choral fade. This stuff is mostly all over the map - it makes for decent background prettiness, but closer study reveals that Bows are simply posing, while forgetting to entertain us. Witness a few of my favorite songs in a similar vein - Goldfrapp, Utopia or Lovely Head; Hooverphonic, Battersea or just about anything on the first 2 CDs; Lamb, Gorecki; Mono, Life In Mono; Emiliana Torrini, Baby Blue; Locust, Just Like You; Massive Attack/Cocteau Twins, Teardrop; Mythos, November; Saint Etienne, Goodnight Jack; etc. That fire just isn't here. This is a fairly good CD, but it just didn't move me - it sounded more like the Portishead B-Side remnants than anything else. Ah well, the search goes on...

Average customer rating:

I love this CD
Liltin' lute
Some rare offerings here

The Scottish Lute

Manufacturer: Dorian Recordings
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

British Folk | Traditional British & Celtic Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
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Highland King - The Scottish Lute, Vol. II / McFarlane

ASIN: B000001Q8C
Release Date: 1992-09-02

Tracks:

I. The Jane Pickeringe Lute Book: Drawe Neare Me And Love Me
I. The Jane Pickeringe Lute Book: A Scots Tune
I. The Jane Pickeringe Lute Book: The Scottish Huntsupe
II. The Straloch Lute Book: I Long For The Wedding
II. The Straloch Lute Book: I Long For Thy Virginitie
II. The Straloch Lute Book: The Canaries
II. The Straloch Lute Book: Canaries
III. The Skene Mandora Book: I Mett Her In The Medowe
III. The Skene Mandora Book: Let Never Crueltie Dishonour Bewtie
III. The Skene Mandora Book: Jennet Drinks No Water
IV. The Rowallen Lute Book: A Scots Tune
IV. The Rowallen Lute Book: Corne Yards
IV. The Rowallen Lute Book: Gypsies Lilt
IV. The Rowallen Lute Book: A Scots Tune
IV. The Rowallen Lute Book: A Scots Tune
V. The Skene Mandora Book: Alace I Lie My Alon I'm Lik To Die Awld
V. The Skene Mandora Book: The Flowres Of The Forrest
V. The Skene Mandora Book: Remember Me At Eveninge
V. The Skene Mandora Book: I Will Not Goe To My Bed Till I Suld Die
VI. The Straloch Lute Book: Port Rorie Dall
VI. The Straloch Lute Book: Lilt Ladie An Gordonn
VI. The Straloch Lute Book: Gallua Tom
VI. The Straloch Lute Book: Whip My Toudie
VI. The Straloch Lute Book: Hench Me Malie Gray
VI. The Straloch Lute Book: Wo Betyd Thy Wearie Bodie
VII. The Skene Mandora Book: Lesleis Lilt
VII. The Skene Mandora Book: Pitt On Your Shirt On Monday
VII. The Skene Mandora Book: Blew Breik
VII. The Skene Mandora Book: My Ladie Laudians Lilt
VII. The Skene Mandora Book: To Dance About The Baikeis Dubb
VII. The Skene Mandora Book: My Mistres Blush Is Bonie
VIII. The Straloch Lute Book: A Scots Tune
VIII. The Straloch Lute Book: Its A Wonder To See
VIII. The Straloch Lute Book: Port Priest
VIII. The Straloch Lute Book: An Thou Wer Myn Own Thing
VIII. The Straloch Lute Book: Port Jean Linsey
IX. The Rowallen Lute Book: Gabot
IX. The Rowallen Lute Book: Untitled
IX. The Rowallen Lute Book: Curent
IX. The Rowallen Lute Book: Volt
X. The Skene Mandora Book: Doun In Yon Banke
X. The Skene Mandora Book: Aderneis Lilt
X. The Skene Mandora Book: Ladie Cassilles Lilt
X. The Skene Mandora Book: I Serve A Worthie Ladie
XI. The Rowallen Lute Book: Ane Scottis Dance
XI. The Rowallen Lute Book: Swit Sant Nikcola
XI. The Rowallen Lute Book: Untitled
XI. The Rowallen Lute Book: Untitled
XII. The Straloch Lute Book: A Port
XII. The Straloch Lute Book: Gray Steel
XII. The Straloch Lute Book: Put On Thy Sark On Munday
XII. The Straloch Lute Book: The Old Man
XII. The Straloch Lute Book: A Port
XII. The Straloch Lute Book: Ladie Laudians Lilt
XII. The Straloch Lute Book: I Kist Her While She Blusht
XIII. The Skene Mandora Book: Adew Dundie

Amazon.com

This disc offers 56 pieces from 17th-century compilations, probably best described as early equivalents of the fake books that popular musicians use today. These dance tunes and songs were the pop music of their time, now turned into "classical music" entirely by the aging process. McFarlane bounces through these catchy tunes with great verve; he's obviously having a good time with the music. The mandora is a small member of the lute family, pitched an octave higher than the two other early lutes McFarlane plays. It sounds rather like a ukulele. There is no profundity to be heard on this disc, but it's highly entertaining. As usual with Dorian, the sound quality is superb. --Leslie Gerber

Customer Reviews:

I love this CD.......2007-06-12

I'm a Baroque musician and also a massage therapist. This is one of the CD's I use when I do massage; I've heard it now hundreds of times, and it still delights. Some very haunting, beautiful passages and excellent throughout. I agree with the other reviewer's assessment that I've never heard a bad performance on a Dorian recording.

Liltin' lute.......2000-05-19

Ronn McFarlane is the perfect man for the job. These pieces for the lute and mandora are what you'd expect from the time and place they were written. Surprising how many of the tunes sound like they were written yesterday. On some you may want to kick up yer heels a wee bit. Sonically, this CD is a gem; crystal clear sound. I've lent this to several persons and so far I've heard no complaints. McFarlane's Dowland CD is highly recommended also.

Some rare offerings here.......1999-09-26

As I keep saying, I have never heard a poor performance on a Dorian label, and their record remains intact with The Scottish Lute (DOR-90129) and Highland King: the Scottish Lute, Vol. II) (DOR-90257). Between the two, lutist Ronn McFarlane give us no less than 100 short excerpts from the different "Lute Books" that were so popular in the 15th to 17th centuries. There are even some examples of music for the mandora, half the size and an octave higher than a lute. This does not demand intense concentration and is excellent ambient music for relaxing or giving parties. I do wish, however, that more comprehensive notes were included and the multilingual text done away with to make room for them. But the playing is masterful and both CDs are highly recommended.

Average customer rating:

"Everybody's a critic!"
Superb work
A near miss hit.
A near miss hit.
Say it ain't so! We DO get what we pay for.

Gottschalk 40 Works for Piano

Manufacturer: Vox (Classical)
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Dances | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Galops | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Mazurkas | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Waltzes | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Ballads | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Etudes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Fantasies | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Scherzo | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Lullabies & Berceuse | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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

Gottschalk: Piano Music for 2 and 4 hands
A Gottschalk Festival
Louis Moreau Gottschalk: Piano Music

ASIN: B000001K6R
Release Date: 1995-03-14

Tracks:

Battle cry of Freedom: Grand caprice de conc, Op.55
Grand Scherzo, Op.57
Bamboula: Danse des negres, Op.2
Pasquinade, Op.59
Le Bananier, chanson negre, Op.55
Souvenirs d'Andalousie, Op.22
The Last Hope, Op.16
La Jota Aragonesa, Op.14
The Maiden's Blush, Op.106
La Galina, Op.53
Impromptu, Op.54
The Dying Poet, Op.110
L'Union, Op.48

Tracks:

Jeunesse: Mazurka brillante, Op.70
Love and Chivalry: Caprise elegant en forme de schottische, Op.97
Danza, Op.33
O! Ma Charmante, Espargnez Moi!
Sixth Ballade, Op.85
Suis-moi caprice, Op.45
Pensee peotique, Op.62
America, Op.41
Ricordati, Op.26
Tournament Galop
Berceuse, Op.47
Radieuse, Op.116
Brazilian Nat Anthem, Op.69

Tracks:

Souvenir de la Havane, Op.39
Chant du soldat, Op.23
The Banjo, Op.15
La Scintilla, Op.20
Souvenir de Porto Rico, marche des Gibaros, Op.31
Ojos Criollos, danse cubaine, caprice brillant, Op.37
Two Mazurkas: Colliers d'Or, Op.6
Marche de nuit, Op.17
Manchega, etude de conc, Op.38
Ossian: Deux Ballandes, Op.4
Minuit a Seville, Op.30
El Cocoye, Op.80
Forget Me Not, mazurka caprice

Customer Reviews:

"Everybody's a critic!".......2005-03-14

Without getting technical, and having listened to these superb performances/recordings myself, I must say that the truth lies more on the side of the prior reviewer who referred to the detractors as "musical simpletons." The vast majority of listeners will surely DELIGHT in this fine, 3-CD set, assuming, of course, that they do enjoy Gottschalk's music in the first place (and who could NOT enjoy it?!). In sum, just buy it, play it, and relish it!

Superb work.......2003-07-10

Mandel captures Gottschalk completely in this work. Every work is detailed well. I play much of Gottschalk, and Mandel's interpretation's are done to near perfection. I would dismiss the two previous reviewer's who talked about 'wrong note's' and other garbage, obviously reviewed by musical simpletons. I highly recommed this cd.

A near miss hit........2002-12-04

While I do have to agree with two other people who reviewed this cd, Mandel does lack some technical abilities. Be it as it may, even if these are his first takes, these are pretty darn good. However, Ability shouldn't be mostly considered when rating these works. Mandels' emotions are well played, tempo changes are great especially in Bamboula, and really well unlike most other ecordings, these sound crispy. What should matter the most is that we aren't listening to a robot play the piano, that would just be boring. Gottschalk doesn't want to be quoted, in my opinion, he wants to be interpreted. And like in all music something different is always better.

A near miss hit........2002-12-04

Say it ain't so! We DO get what we pay for........2002-10-04

It bedevils me every time I reflect that such a great composer is not more noticed and recorded. Gottschalk has a melodic touch that rivals Mozart (yes, this is my opinion), a dexterity that rivals Chopin and an emotion to rival Mendelssohn. Yet, where are the recordings.

Honestly, this is the most comprehensive recording of Gottshcalk, I think, that exists. And our favorite works are all here. L'union, The Last Hope, The Banjo, and in my opinion the pinnacle of emotional pot-boilers, The Dying Poet. This set will provide hours of listening and re-listening pleasure. So why's it so durn inexpensive?

No, this isn't a recording pulled out of the dustbin from 1940 and 'spruced up' for a bargain reissue. The sound quality is quite good, actually. The recording is inexpensive because, if I had to guess and I guess I do, the tracks are all first takes. Of course, Alan Mandel plays with good feeling and ept dexterity but he misses much of the crisp speed and technique that Gottschalk demands. The trills are not smooth and the runs are not clean. Geez! I'm sure they didn't let him redo anything as some of the mistakes were just obvious! Not to worry though. As most of the botched runs are lightning fast, they're only mildly noticeable.

Tracks:

Galliard
A Fancye
La Bounette/La Doune Cella
O Lux With A Meane
Exultet Cellum Laudibus With A Meane
Christe Qui lux
Lucem Tuam
Christe Qui Lux With A Meane
Sermone Blando Angelus
Eterne Rerum Conditor
Lam Lucis Orto Sidere
Te Deum
A Pavan
Fantasy
Bony Sweet Robin
The Old Spagnoletta
Trumpet Voluntary In D
Voluntary In G
Verse In G
Voluntary In D
Voluntary In A Minor
Voluntary In D Minor
Greensleeves And Yellow Lace
The Constant Lover
The British Toper
The Happy Clown
Salley's Fancy
The Maiden's Blush
London's Glory
Introduction & Voluntary In G Major
Prelude
Courante
Fugue
Voluntary In D Minor

Customer Reviews:

Brilliant performances.......2005-10-19

This is a very interesting collection of English Organ music, drawing from different sources: the Mulliner Book, the anonymously composed Dancing Master, a suite by John Blow, and smaller pieces from Farnaby, Purcell, Boyce, Croft, Walond and Gibbons (Christopher, not Orlando). This is good survey of early (and occasionally some not so early) English organ music, which has so shaped and been shaped by the English church since the Reformation in different ways.

Joseph Payne, the featured organist, was born in China to British missionary parent, and was trained in England and Switzerland before coming to America. Based in Boston since 1965, he has performed a full season of concerts for years on organ and harpsichord.

This particular recording features two different organs in New England - the Bozeman organ at St. Paul's Church, Brookline, Massachusetts, and the Adams organ in the Annisquam Village Church, Cape Ann, Massachusetts.

One of the features of this recording is the Voluntary, on seven separate tracks. According to Payne, during the Restoration, new organ technology from the continent was introduced into England, but it was also a time when the Anglican service was placing less emphasis on organ music. 'But the Voluntary continued to evolve as an indigenous musical form. Instead of the ill-defined piece that it was in the sixteenth century, it developed into a two-movement structure.' This often involved highlighting a particular stop, most frequently the trumpet.

These pieces are played with grace and gusto, which a lot of spirit behind them. Do not be fooled by the low price - cut-rate cost does not mean cut-rate quality in this case. Payne is an expert performer, and this recording by Naxos is a brilliant production.

Average customer rating:

Gottschalk by List
Good disc for pianists who want to play Gottschalk

Gottschalk, Vol.1

Manufacturer: Vanguard Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Dances | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Galops | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Waltzes | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Ballads | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Caprices | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0000023DA
Release Date: 1993-05-10

Tracks:

Fantasie Grotesque Op. 15: The Banjo
The Dying Poet - A meditation
Souvenir de Porto Rico - Marche des Gibaros
Chanson Ne Op. 5: Le Bananier
Les Yeux Cres (Danse Cubaine) Op. 37: Ojos Criollos
Danse des Negres, Op. 2: Bamboula
The Maiden's Blush, Le sourire d'une jeune fille (Grande Valse du concert)
Meditation Religieuse, Op. 16: The Last Hope
Suis Moi - Caprice
Caprice Op. 59: Pasquinade
Ballade Creole, Op. 3: La Savane
Tournament Galop

Customer Reviews:

Gottschalk by List.......2001-09-28

Charming piano solos. Portents of Ragtime and Copeland that will come in the future. Pieces use many piano skills not usually played in such a clear way. (Would be good recital pieces for moderately advanced piano students.) Just well done and lots of fun for someone who thinks the piano is special all by itself. Also, an eye-opener for those who listen for familiar folk melodies in unfamiliar style.

Good disc for pianists who want to play Gottschalk.......2000-04-05

Technically brilliant, but the disc was actually recorded in 1956, and as a result the sound quality is somewhat tinny.

I received the music book "Piano Music of Louis Moreau Gottschalk" (Dover, Richard Jackson, ed. -- highly recommended!) for my birthday, and needed a CD that let me know what the songs should sound like. (I hate to count, and have a lousy sense of rhythm.) This CD contained more of the songs in the book than any other I could find.

For a general introduction to all periods of Gottschalk's piano music, I'd suggest "Selected Piano Music of Louis Moreau Gottschalk" by Lambert Orkis (Smithsonian Collection of Recordings, 1988). The Orkis disc was recorded in 1982, and the sound quality is excellent. Orkis plays a Chickering grand piano of the sort that Gottschalk hauled around with him on tour, and the pieces shine brilliantly when played on the instrument for which they were written.

Divine Blush
Average customer rating:
Divine Blush
Marnie Jones
Manufacturer: Thrival Productions
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music
General | New Age | Styles | Music
General | New Age | Indie Music | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00000E95X
Release Date: 1990-10-01