Percussion Works

1. 3rd Construction, for 4 percussionists
Composed by John Cage
with Percussion Ensemble of Eastman School of Music , Percussion Ensemble of Eastman School of Music , Gabriel Dionne , J. Riely Francis , Christopher Rose , Richard Skains

2. Logo I for clarinet, piano & percussion quartet Introduction and Breakdown
Composed by Eugene Kurtz
with Percussion Ensemble of Eastman School of Music , Percussion Ensemble of Eastman School of Music , Gabriel Dionne , J. Riely Francis , David Nale , Christopher Rose , Richard Skains , Richard Nunemaker
Conducted by David Colson

3. Petite Suite for percussion quartet
Composed by John (Billy) Verplanck
with Percussion Ensemble of Eastman School of Music , Percussion Ensemble of Eastman School of Music , Gabriel Dionne , J. Riely Francis , Christopher Rose , Richard Skains

4. Fourscore for percussion
Composed by Irwin Bazelon
with Percussion Ensemble of Eastman School of Music , Percussion Ensemble of Eastman School of Music , Gabriel Dionne , J. Riely Francis , Christopher Rose , Richard Skains

5. Ku-Ka-Ilimoku for percussion
Composed by Christopher Rouse
with Percussion Ensemble of Eastman School of Music , Percussion Ensemble of Eastman School of Music , Gabriel Dionne , J. Riely Francis , Christopher Rose , Richard Skains

6. Concerto for Violin & Percussion
Composed by Lou Harrison
with Percussion Ensemble of Eastman School of Music , Percussion Ensemble of Eastman School of Music , David Colson , Gabriel Dionne , J. Riely Francis , Janna Lower , Christopher Rose , Richard Skains

Percussion Works,Richard Nunemaker,Irwin Bazelon,John Cage,Lou Harrison,Eugene Kurtz,Christopher Rouse,John (Billy) Verplanck,David Colson,Richard Brown [percussionist/producer],Percussion Ensemble of Eastman School of Music,Christopher Rose,Gabriel Dionne,J. Riely Francis,Richard Skains,David Nale,Janna Lower,New World Records,Chamber,Chamber Music,Classical,Classical Music,Concerto,Orchestral & Symphonic,Percussion,Percussion Chamber Music,Violin Concerto

Average customer rating: Superb with just one reservation Go ahead, test your intelligence... The definitive recordings. Sound Splitting Music An aural knockout

Varèse - The Complete Works / Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra · Asko Ensemble · Chailly Edgard Varese , Riccardo Chailly , Mireille Delunsch , Sarah Leonard , Royal Concertgebouw Orhcestra , and Asko Ensemble Manufacturer: Decca ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Octets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Vocal & Song | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General Contemporary | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Percussion | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Songs & Lieder | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music The Decca Records Store | Specialty Stores | Music Similar Items: Varese: Arcana; Ameriques; Ionization; Offrandes; Density 21.5; Octandre; Integrales Penderecki: Anaklasis; Threnody; etc. Xenakis: Orchestral Works & Chamber Music Anton Webern: Complete Works, Opp. 1-31 Arnold Schoenberg: Serenade/Five Pieces For Orchestra ASIN: B00000AFR8 Release Date: 1998-09-15

Tracks:

1. Tuning Up
2. Amques (Original Version)
3. Po ectronique
4. Arcana
5. Nocturnal
6. Un Grand Sommeil Noir (Orchestral Version)

Tracks:

1. Un Grand Sommeil Noir (Original Version)
2. Offrandes: Chanson de laut
3. Offrandes: La Croix du Sud
4. Hyperprism
5. Octandre: Assez lent
6. Octandre: Trvif et nerveux
7. Octandre: Grave - Animt jubilatoire
8. Intales
9. Ecuatorial
10. Ionisation
11. Density 21.5
12. Drts: 1st Episode
13. Drts: 1st interpolation of organized sound
14. Drts: 2nd episode
15. Drts: 2nd interpolation
16. Drts: 3rd episode
17. Drts: 3rd interpolation
18. Drts: 4th episode
19. Dance for Burgess

Amazon.com essential recording

For a composer who is (now) recognizably part of the 20th-century classical canon, the French émigré Edgard Varèse's output was astoundingly meager. Just 15 compositions from his entire life (he destroyed the compositions from his early years, and was a merciless editor of his own material in general) made it out to the listening world. Varèse was caught in the chasm between the music of yesterday and the music of tomorrow: scoring music for modified theremin, steamboat whistles, or air sirens, all balanced with the force of a large orchestra; writing pieces based on the flows of water and wind because that's what shapes the earth; using the concepts of chemical reactions and specific gravity as a basis for his music. Using extremes of contrast, dissonance, and variety in sound, Varèse's pieces had power in the way he attacked and shaped the sound he imagined. From Ionisation (1929), scored almost entirely for unpitched percussion, to the electronic-only, three-dimensionally produced Poeme Electronique (1958), he's provided a foundation that many genres, musicians, and composers were to build from not only for the next 40 years, but inevitably beyond. --Robin Edgerton

Customer Reviews:

Superb with just one reservation.......2006-11-10

This complete works of Varèse, superbly performed and recorded, is a fine accomplishment. My only disappointment was its version of Poème Elèctronique being the sole representation of that ground-breaking work that still holds up for me today as one of the finest pieces of electronic music yet created. It is interesting to be able to hear the version in this collection, which appears to be a loving restoration of what must have been primarily the raw, performing version, to be further enhanced during its performances in a very large space? What I miss in the present version is the more clearly heard textures of its huge sound palette; the resonant and often humerous interplay between them, and its dramatic sweep as it was presented on a sparcely documented stereo mix that first appeared on a Columbia Records LP, later reissued on a CD, now out of print. That one is surely more like an actual performance, presumably mixed to re-create as well as possible then what it might have sounded like over its four hundred loudspeakers in the Philips Pavillion. I hope there will be further reissues. To me the CBS version's drama and energy are more like that of the performances of the other pieces in this wonderful Complete Works set. -Curt Wittig

Go ahead, test your intelligence..........2006-06-18

Frank Zappa used to play Varese to test the intelligence of his friends, and most of them used to look at him like he was "out of his f---ing mind" as he put it. As a major Zappa fan, I bought this compliation, and I love every minute of it. This 2 CD set contains all of Varese's work (needless to say, Edgar wasn't very prolific). You really hear Varese's influence in Zappa's work. Some favorite pieces are Deserts, Poem Electronique, and Un Grand Sommeil Noir (Original Version). Varese's music reminds me of universes being created, in all their violence, beauty, and glory. Instruments crashing down upon one another. This music is reminiscent of Zappa's Weasels Ripped My Flesh and his orchestral work especially. Varese is one of the great American composers, like Aaron Copland, John Cage, and Conlon Nancarrow. Superb....

The definitive recordings........2005-11-09

Riccardo Chailly once said Varèse was going to be the Brahms of the XXI Century. I really don't know if he will be right or wrong, specially because of the very conservative auditoriums we have all around the world, but it should be this way, as the french composer has died too many years ago and his music should be understood but most of the public. It's sad to know that composers, like the own Mahler said, use to be years, decades, even centuries in advance to the general public .

Anyway, it's very important for the popular knowledge of this composers to have recordings like this, in which everything works perfectly as if it was a clock. After many years having some good recordings conducted by Boulez (Sony) and Nagano (Erato) mainly, we have now the possibility of listening one of the most musical and technical orchestra & baton of this time: The Concertgebouworkest and Riccado Chailly.

Most of the versions in this 2CDs set are the best I know, specially the orchestral works, played with conviction and precision by the Concertgebouworkest, an orchestra that had some problems with Mr.Chailly when they begin to play this, for them, `rare' music. The way Arcana sounds its incredible, full of power, mistery and perfection, the performing of Ameriques is breathtaking and I can only compare it with the truly outstanding version by Pierre Boulez with the CSO for DG. Deserts is a new dimension in Chailly's hands, really terrible and full of dark emotions.

Of course, there are little things that could be a bit better, like the Spanish sung in Ecuatorial, better sung in Nagano's version, but generally the performing is marvellous and the instrumental and ondes Martenot's playing in this piece is perfect in Chailly's version.

The ASKO Ensemble versions are outstanding too, showing a very modern Varèse. The performing of Ionisation, that great jewel, listened with a good Hi-Fi system is a experience not to be lost.

The recordings are very good, not outstanding, as it sounds like distant sometimes, but clear and with good definition, of course better with good electronics.

Booklet and presentation of the box is marvellous too; as it has to be in real event in recorded music in the last decades.

Sound Splitting Music.......2002-06-25

First, let me state that I am a long-time Varese fanatic. I first heard Ionisation live at a contemporary music concert in my town when I was 12, and I was hooked. I immediately bought the old Robert Craft double album on Columbia and played it until there were scratches on the scratches. So I was overjoyed to see a modern "complete" recording with up to date sonics. For the most part, I haven't been too disappointed with the performances either.

Chailly is great on much of this music. Ameriques and Arcana are sonic extravagazas. And this is the best recording I've heard of Nocturnal and Ecuatorial. Chailly does a good job with the chamber pieces of the 20s and 30s, though I agree with other reviewers, Boulez is much clearer on Ionisation. Chailly misses some of my favorite parts, and I find it hard to hear the first snare drum theme. (I'm also quite partial to Craft's version, but I don't think it's available anymore.)

I also must add to the chorus of exceptions on the questionable material. The orhestrated version of the solo song has no place on this CD. It doesn't sound like Varese, more like Debussy, and though the song is quite impressionistic, I think we presume too much to orchestrate it and pass it off as "complete" Varese. And neither Tune Up nor Dance for Burgess really add much to our understanding of Varese, and are of questionable value. I suspect that Varese would have destroyed them completely had he been able. Much better to have a recording of the revised version of Ameriques. The revision is so extensive, that a side by side comparison would be illuminating.

All in all, I like this CD. Chailly's take on Varese is big and passionate, something that I think both Boulez and Craft miss. Abravanel comes close to this passion, but Chailly wins because of the gorgeous sonics. I highly recommend this CD to those interested in exploring the unique sound world of Varese.

An aural knockout.......2002-02-01

Here are two discs with some of the most exciting 20th-century music around. Chailly and the Concertgebouw give definitive readings of Varèse's complex pieces, some written for a huge orchestra, and recorded in typically opulent London sound.

My favorites are, without a doubt, "Ameriques" and "Arcana," two explosive showpieces that will give your sound system quite a workout. But far from being merely loud, the scores have many beautiful textures (including quiet ones) scattered throughout the orchestra, and Chailly captures much of the glittering detail.

I even like "Tuning Up," which may seem like a less substantial work to most ears. To be fair, if the piece is not the last word in Varèse's imagination, it is clever enough for its short duration, and as with everything on this disc, the orchestra sounds superb and totally undaunted. Their virtuosity is both satisfying and thrilling, especially in such seldom-performed music.

Make sure your neighbors are away before turning up the performance of "Ameriques," though - the last few pages will blow your roof off.

I suspect Varèse would have loved this collection.

Average customer rating: Witty and Charming

Ill-Conceived PDQ Bach Anthology Manufacturer: Telarc ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Bach, P.D.Q. | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Schickele | Schickele, Peter | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Overtures | Theatrical, Incidental & Program Music | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Vocal & Song | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General Contemporary | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Percussion | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Oratorios | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Oratorios | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music General | Comedy | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music General | Comedic Music | Comedy | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music Similar Items: The Wurst of P.D.Q. Bach 1712 Overture & Other Musical Assaults Music for an Awful Lot of Winds and Percussion P.D.Q. Bach: The Short-Tempered Clavier P.D.Q. Bach in Houston - We Have a Problem! ASIN: B00000FDBK Release Date: 1998-11-24

Tracks:

1. This Is Professor Pete
2. 1712 Overture (S. 1712)
3. Introduction
4. II. Aria With Chorus: 'Howdy There'
5. Recitative: 'It Wasn't Long'
6. III. My Heart
7. Recitative: 'When Oedipus Heard'
8. VI. Chorale And Finale
9. Introduction
10. Love Me
11. WTWP Station ID
12. Oo-La-La Introduction
13. Oo-La-La: Cookin' French Like The French Cook French - Dana Krueger
14. Introduction: The Musical Sacrifice (S. 50% Off)
15. I. Fuga Meshuga - Susan Palma
16. Introduction
17. Classical Rap (S. 1-2-3) - Grandmaster Flab
18. Introduction
19. I. C Major - Christopher O'Riley
20. Introduction
21. II. Simply Grand Minuet
22. Introduction
23. Little Bunny Hop Hop Hop
24. Introduction
25. Minuet Militaire
26. Enough Already

Customer Reviews:

Witty and Charming.......2000-08-15

This CD is fun and action packed as much as you could hope for in a CD. He uses quotes from many famous folk and classical songs and implements them into his own compositions with a bit of a twist. For example, in Classical rap, where he raps about being the best rapper in the world with terrific brass interludes between the verses. The orchestra plays a clip from Vivaldi's "Spring" and then he twists it into a record "wicky-wicky" to the same tune. He introduces every peice before it is played in a hilarious manner in which he talks about the peice and something else that was going on in the composers mind as he wrote the peice. Starting at the begining-

This is Professor Pete- Peter Schickele introduces himself as well as P.D.Q.

1712 Overture- A takeoff of the 1812 overture of course, with snatches of some famous folktunes thrown in here and there.

Oedipus Tex- A parady of the Greek Myth Oedipus Rex where he murders his father who is the King. Oedipus Tex lives a life like his brother but in Texas style.

The next tracks are more comedy than exactly music like the WTWP station giving options over the phone about how you would like to hear a certain peice of music. Cooking French... is a woman cooking a French gourmet meal but flubbing up the entire time.

What I have already said pretty much sums it up. The rest of the tracks are equally hilarious and as witty as all the others. If you buy this CD you will not regret it no matter what type of music you listen to.

Average customer rating: Nice Voice a voice teacher and early music fan Sumi Jo- coloratura supreme Prayerful and beautiful A spectalce of voice and vocalization

Sumi Jo - Prayers / James Conlon Gioachino Rossini , Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , Richard Strauss , Giulio Caccini , Maurice Ravel , Gabriel Fauré , Anonymous , Franz Schubert , Charles Gounod , Gaetano Donizetti , Zbigniew Preisner , Leonard Bernstein , Johann Strauss II , Frederick Loewe , James Conlon , Sumi Jo , and Susan Graham Manufacturer: Erato ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Bernstein | Bernstein, Leonard | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Donizetti | Donizetti, Gaetano | ( D ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Fauré, Gabriel | ( F ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Gounod | Gounod, Charles | ( G ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Ravel, Maurice | ( R ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Rossini | Rossini, Gioacchino | ( R ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Schubert | Schubert, Franz | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Strauss Jr., Johann | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Strauss | Strauss, Richard | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Requiems | Forms & Genres | Early Music | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Vocal & Song | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Vocal & Song | Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Italian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Oratorios | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Requiems | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Similar Items: Sumi Jo sings Mozart Sumi Jo - Virtuoso Arias ~ Verdi, Rossini, Donizetti, Meyerbeer Sumi Jo - La Promessa / Vincenzo Scalera Sumi Jo - Only Love Sumi Jo - Bel Canto / Arevalo · ECO · Carella ASIN: B0000560N6 Release Date: 2001-03-20

Tracks:

1. Kaddisch
2. Laudate Dominum
3. Ave Maria
4. Amazing Grace
5. Breit' Uber Mein Haupt
6. L'assedio Di Corinto: L' Ora Fatal S'appressa... Guisto Ciel !
7. Pie Jesu
8. Der Vierjahrige Posten: Gott! hore Meine Stimme!
9. Sanctus
10. Maria Stuarda: Preghiera Di Maria
11. Lacrimosa
12. 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue: Take Care Of This House - Sumi Jo/Phil Chor Koln/Susan Graham
13. Nun's Chor/Casanova: Laura's Song
14. Gigi: Say A Prayer For me Tonight
15. Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child

Amazon.com

This program seems designed primarily to display soprano Sumi Jo's fabulous singing and famous stylistic eclecticism. However, it also exhibits an admirable religious inclusiveness, encompassing expressions of faith from the Latin liturgy to Negro spirituals; there is even a Richard Strauss song that is essentially a paean to love. An incongruous note is struck by a nun's song from an operetta by Benatzky that is a corny Viennese waltz and by a soundtracklike arrangement of a 16th-century Ave Maria. Ranging from Mozart to Broadway, this musical mix is held together by Sumi Jo's ravishingly beautiful, pure, warm voice and the way she can color and inflect it, and by her mastery of every style (though not every language; her German in particular is unintelligible). Her intonation is impeccable, her breath control incredible. Jo's top notes soar triumphantly, and she can sustain them indefinitely, with enough power left to make a crescendo at the end. Highlights include Ravel's "Kaddisch," which sends shivers down the spine; arias from operas by Rossini and Donizetti; and arias from sacred works by Gounod and Fauré. Of two spirituals, the second one is simpler and more convincing. The accompanying forces are excellent; James Conlon doubles as pianist when not conducting. Susan Graham also makes an appearance in the moving invocation "Take Care of This House" from Bernstein's 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. --Edith Eisler

Customer Reviews:

Nice Voice.......2007-05-06

Sumi Jo has a beautiful voice but her renditions of Motherless Child and Amazing Grace were not impressive at all. The vibrato was too uncontrollable. The Ave Maria was so,so. I did not hear the richeness others have declared in their assesments. Don't get me wrong, the instrument is quite beautiful but only in some selected selections.

a voice teacher and early music fan.......2007-02-17

"Music and poetry emerge from man's desire to give thanks, to praise and to pray to his gods. One of the magical powers of the human voice is that it can fly, on the wings of songs (a la Mendelssohn) to heaven and appear to be in direct communication with God." Therefore, it is no surprise that prayer is omnipresent throughout the history of music. Sumi Jo has chosen an excellent representation of songs including most styles and periods which include : Baroque (Caccini)-Classical (Mozart)-Contemporary (Preisner)-Romantic Opera (Rossini,Donizetti)-German 'Singspiel'(Schubert)-Lieder (Richard Strauss)-French church music (Gounod ,Faure)-traditional music (spiritual)-Jewish melodies (Ravel)-Viennese operetta (Johann Strauss) and the American musical (Bernstein).

Sumi Jo, born in Korea,is a much sought after coloratura soprano, having triumphed on stage, and in recitals all over the world. Not being fond of coloraturas, I make an exception for her voice, because of its depth along with the very high register. She shows a great deal of sensitivity to all of her varied selections on this disc, and each delivery is a 'gem' unto itself.

I must personally comment on those works that I particularly enjoy. Hearing her sing Mozart's 'Laudate Dominum' was a real treat; it doesn't matter how often one hears that lovely piece, just like all of his music, it 'wears' well. The 'Pie Jesu' was absolutely stunning as Sumi Jo sang it, and it is a pleasure for me to hear the selection from "GIGI" by Lerner & Loewe; not being a great broadway fan, I have always liked that specific musical. I think because it was well-done when I saw it years and years ago.

This disc is abolutely totally enjoyable. There is something for all musical tastes, and the conductor/pianist James Conlon does a great job pulling it together!!!!!

Sumi Jo- coloratura supreme.......2006-04-09

One word: Lacrimosa. It haunts you and will stay with you long after you hear it. I actually forced several if my coworkers to listen to it many of which are not opera fans and even they could not argue the beauty of it. One of my coworkers was actual on the verge of tears by the end of the song.

The rest of the album is enchanting as well as breath taking. I am a harsh critic when it comes to singers so I do not give those compliments very often, nor am I easily moved by singers but Sumi Jo has certainly done that with this album.

My only complaint is that I would have liked to hear her take of "Ave Maria" by Schubert which, while recorded many times over, would complimented her voice perfectly due to it's simplicity. "Sing low sweet chariot" would have been another great one to hear but as far as spirtuals are concerned I was very happy with her acepella version of "Amazing Grace." I was never a huge fan of "Amazing Grace" since it's been done a thousand times over but she brought such seetness and emotion to it. Of course I am kind of biased becuase I offically hate the "belting" version of this song and that's how it's usually done. It's nice to hear a simple, straight forward version.

My last comment is that it's nice to hear Sumi Jo sing less operatic pieces considering most opera singers are rarely bold enough to sing anything other than classical pieces, excluding Renee Fleming of recent.

Prayerful and beautiful.......2005-11-14

It is a refreshing change to have a collection of arias on a CD with a title that actually bears some relevance to the contents. This is indeed a prayerful collection. That means, of course, that you have to be in the appropriately contemplative mood in order to appreciate it.

Another nice change is that the orchestral accompaniment enhances the singing rather than just tagging along as an afterthought, which often seems to be the case. It is fitting that James Conlon gets equal billing here. This is splendid singing to splendid music.

Sumi Jo is comfortable in any language and in a broad range of styles. I was uncertain how she would tackle songs like Amazing Grace and Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child. I need not have worried. In the latter she reveals a soulfulness that fits the lyrics perfectly.

The only track not worthy of this collection is Bernstein's Take Care of This House. I suppose, as it is a prayer, it was an obvious song to include, and Jo sings it very well, but it is just a very poor song. That still leaves 14 excellent tracks that, if you are a lover of good singing, you will want in your collection.

A spectalce of voice and vocalization.......2004-12-29

I bought this used from an Amazon.com dealer and it came with a cutout on the left side of the CD box. Can this specacular CD possibly have gone out of print by Christmas 2004? If so we have lost one of the benchmark recordings of this splendid artist.

Never is there a weak moment in this incredibly beautiful collection of classical bleeding chunks and spirituals. I don't think you'll confuse Sumi for your favorite spiritual singer in "Amazing Grace" and "Sometimes I feel like a motherless child" but she is magnificent singing the complete and incomplete tunes elsewhere on the CD by famous classical composers including Mozart, Richard Strauss, Rossini, Schubert and Donizetti, to name some of them.

She is in wonderful voice and fresh-faced for the Loewe-Lerner "Say a prayer for me tonight" and does an equally nice job with Susan Graham accompanying Leonard Bernstein's "Take care of this house" from "1600 Pennsylvania Avenue". I'm not much for this kind of music -- I bought this exclusively for her rendition of Mozart's "Laudate Dominum" -- but it adds a dimension to the concert that brings it into the realm of popular Broadway tunes.

This is a wonderful concert of familiar and not so familiar songs from a singer whose voice is eloquent, beautiful and rich, with significant range and span from PPP to FFF. Sumi Jo controls her voice well throughout the concert, giving everyone something to think about regardelss of musical preference. This might have been improved if she'd included a Beatles tune -- maybe "Elenor Rigby" or "Yesterday" -- accompanied by the orchestra and James Conlon's direction. But it stands with any similar collection by any singer as it is.

Average customer rating: Absolutely amazing collection

Iannis Xenakis: Percussion Works Manufacturer: Mode ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Duets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music Trios | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Percussion | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Similar Items: The Percussionist's Art: Same Bed, Different Dreams (Eastman Studies in Music) (Eastman Studies in Music) Xenakis: Music for Strings John Luther Adams: The Mathematics of Resonant Bodies Berio: The Complete Sequenzas, Alternate Sequenzas & Works for Solo Instruments Amid the Noise ASIN: B000HRMEKK Release Date: 2006-10-17

Tracks:

1. Persephassa - Red Fish Blue Fish
2. Psappha - Steven Schick
3. Dmaathen - Steven Schick

Tracks:

1. Pleiades: I. Melanges - Red Fish Blue Fish
2. Pleiades: II. Claviers - Red Fish Blue Fish
3. Pleiades: III. Metaux - Red Fish Blue Fish
4. Pleiades: IV. Peaux - Red Fish Blue Fish
5. Komboi - Aiyun Huang

Tracks:

1. Kassandra - Philip Larson
2. Okho - Red Fish Blue Fish
3. Oophaa - Greg Stuart
4. Rebonds: B - Steven Schick
5. Rebonds: A - Steven Schick

Customer Reviews:

Absolutely amazing collection.......2006-12-22

Iannis Xenakis is one of the most original and unusual composers and theorists of the 20th century. His music has a remarkably small connection to previous music, as if it arrived from some distant galaxy. His ideas are important and influential - he made music unlike anyone else. To go one step further, I believe that his music was never more powerful than when he wrote for percussion. His works are brutal, severe, intricately conceived, and expertly notated. This collection is an awesome testament to the raw power of his percussion music.

Steven Schick is one of the preeminent interpreters of Xenakis's music and thus it is fitting that he should produce this first collection. I can think of no one more qualified to perform these works. There ARE other excellent records of certain works (namely "Psappha" and "Rebonds") by Sylvio Gualdo, Gert Mortensen, and others, but these artists haven't recorded as widely as Schick. Red Fish Blue Fish, the resident percussion ensemble at the University of California, San Diego (where Schick teaches) provides interesting interpretations of the ensemble works, which I will comment on later.

The collection begins with Persephassa convincingly performed by RFBF. This is a very clean recording of an enormously difficult work. There is much attention to details and excellent sonic choices all around. The stereo mix is not the correct format to experience the work due to the placement of the six percussionists who encircle the audience, but the individual musicians are nicely panned, so the listener gets broad soundstage. Unfortunately, many of us don't have access to a 5.1 system, so this is the next best thing. Interestingly, RFBF decided to overdub extra parts at the very end of the work. Xenakis notates clouds of note densities from each instrument class. Thus, RFBF used a take for each and then layered them, providing the first technically "accurate" realization of the score. This seems surprising, but it IS effective and I wouldn't consider it cheating because I have seen them perform the work live without the help of overdubs to great effect.

Psappha is one of the trademark works from Schick's repertoire (along with Bone Alphabet, Rebonds, and Toucher) - he seems to play it a lot, as well he should. It's significant that he has never recorded Psappha until now, especially since he's released Rebonds multiple times. His interpretation differs from the European predilection for large, low drums as his interpretation uses smaller drums and very clear, distinct sounds. After seeing Schick perform Psappha in concert numerous times, I'm a little surprised with this recording. Parts feel almost lethargic. His tempos seem to be much more conservative here, but it's not necessarily a bad thing. This is, without a doubt, the most precise realization of Psappha that I've ever heard. Each stroke seems to be in the exact correct place. This work presents enormous difficulty for the performer, but Schick manages to execute it with almost clinical precision. However, that is not to say that his interpretation is overly analytical - it is alive and vibrant to be sure. This is an interpretation that stands well on its own, but it will also be quite useful for performers wishing to study the work simply because of its accuracy and clarity.

Dmaathen is an intense work for percussion and oboe. Again, Schick realizes a remarkably difficult score without making it seem difficult. The performer is often required to play both vibraphone and marimba simultaneously, a largely physical challenge, but Schick breezes through these sections as if they were one instrument. I'm not quite as taken with Jacqueline Leclair's oboe performance. I have heard more spirited performances, but considering the unusual extended techniques required, it's still a solid performance.

Pleiades has taken some time to get used to. I still maintain the Percussions de Strasbourg recording as my reference because it is somehow a little more exciting. Also, I prefer the sound of Strasbourg's Sixxen (an instrument Xenakis created that each ensemble must build themselves) to the RFBF set. It's true that Xenakis didn't want a 12-note scale and the RFBF set are definitely more microtonal than the Strasbourg set, but they sound weaker some how. The main benefit of the RFBF recording is the amazing clarity. Every part is performed with excellent precision.

Since Schick has recorded Rebonds previously, and each recording is special, but not wildly different. He turns in the typical amazing performance once again. I'm not as familiar with Okho for three djembes, but it is also a successful, exciting performance.

The remaining works are available for the first time in this collection. There may be previous recordings on vinyl or on small international labels, but as these are not widely available, this is essentially the first chance many will have to experience these works. My favorite is Komboi for harpsichord and percussion. Aiyun Huang provides a stellar interpretation. Incidentally, she is a very promising solo artist that I'm sure we will be hearing more from very soon. What's more impressive though is the harpsichord performance. Komboi means "knots" - as Xenakis says, knots of rhythm, knots of harmonies. The harpsichord part is unbelievably complex sometimes indicated on up to 4 separate staves. The unlikely combination of harpsichord and percussion is actually extremely effective. Although it lasts a solid 20 minutes, it never gets tiresome.

Oophaa is also for percussion and harpsichord, but I didn't find it quite as exciting as Komboi. Similarly, I didn't enjoy Kassandra as much as the others, but they are well performed and interesting works. All the works are well recorded with an amazing dynamic range, nice spatialization, and great sonic clarity. Mode Records should be commended for backing this project.

The only negative comment concerns the packaging. The set comes in a cardboard case which holds three cardboard sleeves and a trilingual booklet. The cardboard sleeves fell apart almost immediately. They are no meant to last and that is a shame because this set will clearly be on people's shelves for a long, long time. This is the same problem I have with Mode's release of Feldman's 5-disc String Quartet No. 2. Mode should invest in better packaging. They create amazing releases, so why not put them in a hard case?

Overall, this set is essential for an percussionist, any fan of 20th century music, and many others. Xenakis can be difficult to listen to, but his percussion works are arguably the best introduction to his world. You need this set. Buy without hesitation and enjoy!

Average customer rating: Bought this for Concerto for Clarinet Aaron Copland: Populist and Conductor Tribute to Lincoln A great way to get your dose of Copland.... Well balanced retrospective, -or- Listen to this!

The Copland Collection: Orchestral & Ballet Works, 1936-1948 Manufacturer: Sony ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Ballets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Copland | Copland, Aaron | ( C ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Concertinos | Concertos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music General | Concertos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Marches | Theatrical, Incidental & Program Music | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Overtures | Theatrical, Incidental & Program Music | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Ballets & Dances | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Symphonies | Forms & Genres | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Piano | Keyboard | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music Clarinet | Reeds & Winds | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music Copland, Aaron | ( C ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music Modern & 20th Century | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Marches | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music Classical Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Classical Instrumental Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Opera & Vocal | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Similar Items: The Copland Collection: Orchestral Works, 1948-1971 A Copland Celebration Vol. 3 Copland: Music for Films A Copland Celebration Vol. 1 Samuel Barber / Thomas Schippers ASIN: B0000027BJ Release Date: 1991-01-18

Tracks:

1. El Salon Mexico
2. An Outdoor Overture
3. Billy The Kid: Introduction: The Open Prairie
4. Billy The Kid: Street In A Frontier Town
5. Billy The Kid: Prairie Night (Card Game At Night)
6. Billy The Kid: Gun Battle
7. Billy The Kid: Celebration (After Billy's Capture)
8. Billy The Kid: Billy's Death
9. Billy The Kid: The Open Prairie Again
10. Quiet City
11. John Henry
12. Our Town
13. Las Agachadas
14. Fanfare For The Common Man

Tracks:

1. Rodeo (Four Dance Episodes): I. Buckaroo Holiday
2. Rodeo (Four Dance Episodes): II. Corral Nocturne
3. Rodeo (Four Dance Episodes): III. Saturday Night Waltz
4. Rodeo (Four Dance Episodes): IV. Hoedown
5. The City: New England Countryside
6. Of Mice And Men: Barley Wagons
7. The City: Sunday Traffic
8. Our Town: Grovers Corners
9. Of Mice And Men: Threshing Machines
10. Appalachian Spring (Suite From The Ballet): Very Slow
11. Appalachian Spring (Suite From The Ballet): Fast
12. Appalachian Spring (Suite From The Ballet): Moderato
13. Appalachian Spring (Suite From The Ballet): Fast
14. Appalachian Spring (Suite From The Ballet): Still Faster
15. Appalachian Spring (Suite From The Ballet): As At First (Slowly)
16. Appalachian Spring (Suite From The Ballet): Calm And flowing
17. Appalachian Spring (Suite From The Ballet): Moderato; Coda
18. Letter From Home
19. Danzon Cubano

Tracks:

1. Lincoln Portrait: Lento
2. Lincoln Portrait: Subito Allegro
3. Lincoln Portrait: 'Fellow Citizens, We Cannot Escape History...'
4. Symphony No. 3: I. Molto Moderato-With Simple Expression
5. Symphony No. 3: II. Allegro Molto
6. Symphony No. 3: III. Andantino Quasi Allegretto
7. Symphony No. 3: IV. Molto Deliberato
8. Concerto For Clarinet, Strings, Harp, & Piano

Amazon.com

Aaron Copland made numerous recordings of his own music, including an extensive series for CBS during the 1960s and '70s, mostly with London orchestras. He was not an especially proficient conductor--consequently, the performances he conducted often lacked pace and rhythmic punch. His last recordings of his most popular scores have been reissued by Sony on an exceptionally well-remastered 3-CD set. These accounts do a good job of conveying the overall shape of the pieces, and they deliver telling characterizations of many episodes. Details emerge that are lost in some other accounts, and there is an appealing gentleness and sweetness to the approach. But the readings do not have as much grip as those of Bernstein and Slatkin, among others, and in spite of the authority they automatically possess, they are not necessarily preferable. --Ted Libbey

Customer Reviews:

Bought this for Concerto for Clarinet.......2007-07-14

The sum is greater than the parts. This is a great Copland collection and shows his diversity. Yet as divers and the three CD are they are all distinctively Copland. Benny Goodman is usually associated with jazz yet he was also diverse in his career. "Concerto for Clarinet, Strings, and Harp & Piano" is a mantra that will carry you to a timeless place.

An added plus is the many other popular pieces that you know you heard but did not realize it was Copland especially the music from movies.

You may have to play the set a few times before being able to recognize the different tracks by name. The down side is many of Copland's works are outside of the date range of this collection.

Aaron Copland: Populist and Conductor.......2005-03-29

If you want a prime collection of Copland's more accessible works, this is it. Yes, it's true that Bernstein's recordings of individual pieces are often bolder and livelier; but this set offers the composer's own authoritative view of his work, and for that reason alone it is priceless. In addition, it includes virtually all the orchestral pieces he composed during his "populist phase," from El Salon Mexico (1936) to the Clarinet Concerto (1948). You won't find some of these lesser-known gems, such as An Outdoor Overture (1938) or Letter from Home (1944, written--like Rhapsody in Blue--for Paul Whiteman), on typical single-disc Copland compilations. I'd even go so far as to claim this as one of the four indispensable compilations of American instrumental music from the first half of the twentieth century (the others on my list--in case anyone cares--are Joshua Rifkin playing Scott Joplin, Oscar Levant playing Gershwin, and the Blanton-Webster band recordings of Duke Ellington).

What amazing riches flowed from Copland's pen during the period covered by these three discs! Billy the Kid (1939), Quiet City (1940), Our Town (1940), Fanfare for the Common Man (1942), Rodeo (1942), Lincoln Portrait (1942), Appalachian Spring (1944), and the Third Symphony (1946)--all are here. Some of this music is so familiar, so deeply ingrained in America's cultural consciousness, that we might be tempted to take it for granted. But imagine how much poorer the American concert repertoire would be without it. It's almost impossible, at this point, to conceive of a time when this wonderful music--which is to America roughly what Mussorgsky's music is to Russia, Grieg's to Norway, and Falla's to Spain--didn't exist. It was during the dozen years covered by this collection that Copland pulled away from the pack of his talented contemporaries (Hanson, Thomson, Harris, etc.) and, in a way, but with greater technical sophistication, filled the void left by the tragically early death of Gershwin, whose heyday, 1924-1935, immediately preceded the composition of the works on this collection.

The ballet music is all presented here in the familiar orchestral suites Copland arranged. Most of the selections are played by the London Symphony Orchestra, although the New Philharmonia and the just-plain Philharmonia get cracks at a few key works. The last-named orchestra, for instance, takes on the biggest piece on the program, Copland's Third, the closest thing American music has to a Beethoven's Ninth (although the work's sublime rhetoric has never completely convinced me--it's neither my personal favorite by Copland nor my favorite American symphony . . . but it sure has its moments). In addition to the fine orchestral playing, another treat is that Henry Fonda narrates the Lincoln Portrait--an almost inevitable pick, given the virtually mythic way his acting style embodied the American spirit and the fact that he had portrayed the sixteenth president in John Ford's classic film Young Mr. Lincoln (1939).

The set concludes with what, over the years, has become my favorite work by Copland, the Concerto for Clarinet, Strings, Harp, & Piano, written for and performed here by surely the last century's greatest clarinetist, Benny Goodman. This work effects a concise synthesis between Copland's mature style and his earlier jazz stylings from the 1920s; in addition, the searing eloquence of the opening slow movement seems to me the most profound lyrical writing Copland ever achieved. Stoltzman's recording, ironically enough, swings harder than the king of swing's, but this collaboration between the composer and the man who commissioned it is for the ages.

The only major "populist" scores written after the period this collection covers are the film scores to The Red Pony (1948) and The Heiress (1949). Both can be acquired on an essential Leonard Slatkin CD for RCA. And since this collection doesn't include chamber music, the great Violin Sonata (1943), a kind of more intimate counterpart to Appalachian Spring, will have to be sought elsewhere. (One good option is Gil Shaham/Andre Previn on DG.) A serious Copland collector will also want to grab the other two volumes of the Copland Collection itself. The early set features important works such as the Organ Symphony (1924), Music for the Theater (1925), and the Short Symphony (1932)--but both of the other collections also include long, thorny pieces like the early Symphonic Ode and the late Connotations that can be rather difficult for the average enthusiast to enjoy.

Most of the essential, universal Copland is to be found on this second installment of the Copland Collection, and I would definitely recommend it as the place to start exploring Copland's magnificent contribution to American music. It has been a wonderful and treasured companion of mine for many years, and it also serves to conjure up a timely and inspiring vision of open prairies, nocturnal cityscapes, and the populist, humane values that America should, ideally, epitomize.

Tribute to Lincoln.......2001-10-28

I purchased this set of Copeland CD's because I wanted the Tribute to Lincoln narrated by Henry Fonda. This is a masterful recording especially for Americans in this time. The Tribute sends chills down my spine whenever I her it. My greatest joy however, was how much I have enjoyed all of the CD's in the set. I tend to be much more of a classical listener. I have heard Copeland but not in any organized fashion. This set has brought a new and delightful experience to my listening options.

A great way to get your dose of Copland...........2000-06-30

The 2nd of this three CD collection is wonderful. My favorite though is the third one. Doesn't mean this isn't good. This Sony Copland Collection set is worth the money for. Copland is sooo much more then Appalachian Spring, Fanfare for the Common Man, Rodeo, etc... But you get a lot of typical Copland on these CDs. Songs we all know and love. But there are some unfamiliar good ones too. Concerto for Clarinet took me by storm. So did Letters from Home. Good quality, good booklet, good recording, good playing (how Copland got the London Symphony to play something right I will never know), good everything. It's not perfect because it doesn't compete with THE best Copland like the third CD set of this collection, or the The Tendeer Land. Oh, these three CD sets don't cover all Copland, but it does for the most part. It doesn't have many chamber works, two choral works, and his two operas. You can cover some of those with the full version of Tender Land and of Second Hurricane (which also comes with the choral work, In the Beginning). But this is a good series. I highly recommend it!

Well balanced retrospective, -or- Listen to this!.......1999-08-11

Mr. Copland's works, as always, are exceptional This album, which consists of his work both as a composer and as a conductor, brings his music to life in a way no other conductor can. This is a well mastered and well produced work and worth the listen. To hear Arron Copland's music as he intended is wonderfull.

Average customer rating: Dutilleux - who? ON THE RISE complete? Landmarks of modern French orchestral music Music for a Starry Night

Dutilleux: Complete Orchestral Works Manufacturer: Chandos ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Dutilleux | Dutilleux, Henri | ( D ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Concertos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music General | Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Symphonies | Forms & Genres | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General Contemporary | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Cello | Strings | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music Violin | Strings | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music Modern & 20th Century | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Classical | Box Sets | Stores | Music Similar Items: Dutilleux: The Works for Piano Dutilleux: Cello Concerto, Lutoslawski: Cello Concerto Edward Rubbra - Complete Symphonies / Hickox Milhaud: The Complete Symphonies (Box Set) Henri Dutilleux: Complete Solo Piano Music ASIN: B00004YU78 Release Date: 2000-11-28

Tracks:

1. Sym No.1: I. Passacailli: Andante - BBC Phil/Yan Pascal Tortelier
2. Sym No.1: II. Scherzo: Molto Vivace - BBC Phil/Yan Pascal Tortelier
3. Sym No.1: III. Intermezzo: Lento - BBC Phil/Yan Pascal Tortelier
4. Sym No.1: Finale, Con Vars: Largemente - Allegro - Scherzo - Lento - BBC Phil/Yan Pascal Tortelier
5. Sym No.2 'Le Double:' I. Animato, Ma Misterioso - Andrew Orton/Robert Chasey/Janet Fisher/Peter Dixon/Marios Argiros/Paul Dintinger/David Chatwin...
6. Sym No.2 'Le Double:' II. Andantino Sostenuto - Andrew Orton/Robert Chasey/Janet Fisher/Peter Dixon/Marios Argiros/Paul Dintinger/David Chatwin...
7. Sym No.2 'Le Double:' III. Allegro Fuocoso - Calmato - Andrew Orton/Robert Chasey/Janet Fisher/Peter Dixon/Marios Argiros/Paul Dintinger/David Chatwin...

Tracks:

1. L'Arbre Des Songs: I. Librement - - Oliver Charlier
2. L'Arbre Des Songs: Interlude - - Oliver Charlier
3. L'Arbre Des Songs: II. Vif - - Oliver Charlier
4. L'Arbre Des Songs: Interlude - - Oliver Charlier
5. L'Arbre Des Songs: III. Lent - - Oliver Charlier
6. L'Arbre Des Songs: Interlude - - Oliver Charlier
7. L'Arbre Des Songs: IV. Large Et Anime - Oliver Charlier
8. Two Sonnets, 'I Dreamt That I Carried You In My Arms:' Extremement Calme - Neal Davies
9. Two Sonnets, 'There Was Nothing But Torn Trunks:' Vehemet Et Agite - Neal Davies
10. Timbres, Espace, Mouvement Avec Interlude: I (1/4nt = 72 Environ) - BBC Phil/Yan Pascal Tortelier
11. Timbres, Espace, Mouvement Avec Interlude: Interlude - - BBC Phil/Yan Pascal Tortelier
12. Timbres, Espace, Mouvement Avec Interlude: II (1/8nt = 56 Environ) - BBC Phil/Yan Pascal Tortelier
13. Prayer For Us Mortals: Tres Librement Recite - Animato - Plus Librement - Sans Lenteur - Neal Davies/Martyn Hill

Tracks:

1. Metaboles: I. Incantatoire - - BBC Phil/Yan Pascal Tortelier
2. Metaboles: II. Lineaire - - BBC Phil/Yan Pascal Tortelier
3. Metaboles: III. Obsessionnel - - BBC Phil/Yan Pascal Tortelier
4. Metaboles: IV. Torpide - - BBC Phil/Yan Pascal Tortelier
5. Metaboles: V. Flamboyant - BBC Phil/Yan Pascal Tortelier
6. Tout Un Monde Lointain: I. Enigme - - Boris Pergamenschikow
7. Tout Un Monde Lointain: II. Regard - - Boris Pergamenschikow
8. Tout Un Monde Lointain: III. Houles - - Boris Pergamenschikow
9. Tout Un Monde Lointain: IV. Miroirs - - Boris Pergamenschikow
10. Tout Un Monde Lointain: V. Hymne - Boris Pergamenschikow
11. Mystere De L'instant (Grande Formation): I. Appels - - Boris Pergamenschikow
12. Mystere De L'instant (Grande Formation): II. Echos - - Boris Pergamenschikow
13. Mystere De L'instant (Grande Formation): III. Prismes - - Boris Pergamenschikow
14. Mystere De L'instant (Grande Formation): IV. Espaces Lointains - - Boris Pergamenschikow
15. Mystere De L'instant (Grande Formation): V. Litanies - - Boris Pergamenschikow
16. Mystere De L'instant (Grande Formation): VI. Choral - - Boris Pergamenschikow
17. Mystere De L'instant (Grande Formation): VII. Rumeurs - - Boris Pergamenschikow
18. Mystere De L'instant (Grande Formation): VIII. Soliloques - - Boris Pergamenschikow
19. Mystere De L'instant (Grande Formation): IX. Metamorphoses (Sur Le Nom Sacher) - - Boris Pergamenschikow
20. Mystere De L'instant (Grande Formation): X. Embrasement - Boris Pergamenschikow

Tracks:

1. The Shadows Of Time: I. Hours - - BBC Phil/Yan Pascal Tortelier
2. The Shadows Of Time: II. Evil Ariel - - BBC Phil/Yan Pascal Tortelier
3. The Shadows Of Time: III. Memory of Shadows - - BBC Phil/Yan Pascal Tortelier
4. The Shadows Of Time: Interlude - - BBC Phil/Yan Pascal Tortelier
5. The Shadows Of Time: IV. Waves Of Light - BBC Phil/Yan Pascal Tortelier
6. The Shadows Of Time: V. Blue Dominant? - BBC Phil/Yan Pascal Tortelier

Customer Reviews:

Dutilleux - who?.......2005-08-20

After hearing Henri Dutilleux for the first time ("The Shadow of Time") on a recent NPR broadcast, I immediately ordered his complete orchestral works, available on this four CD set. I am not disappointed. His music is very accessible and deserves a much wider audience. I highly recommend this set.

ON THE RISE.......2005-05-29

Because he's so quiet, and his music isn't as controversial as certain other post WWII french composers who will remain nameless *cough*, Dutilleux's tiny, immaculate reperatory does not get nearly the attention it deserves, and that's a damn shame.

Anyway, to keep it short, "The Shadows of Time" is one of the great triumphs of contemporary music and even as a broke musician I would have paid the admission fee just for this one (this recording is the best of the four available, too, though I'm sure better ones will come). Not to overshadow the rest of the music though, because this is a helluvalotta damn good, damn pretty, damn imaginative music.

This collection is a must for anyone who likes contemporary music--or early 20th century and wants to stretch there ears just a bit. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.

complete?.......2004-03-21

How can Chandos clain this to be a complete orchestral collection when they leave out his ballet, . Ok. There are dancers on stage, but it is a full orchestra that plays it, and it has yet to see the light of day completely recorded anywhere.
Shame on Chandos for overlooking this.

Landmarks of modern French orchestral music.......2004-01-02

Henri Dutilleux has increasingly been regarded as one of the finest of living composers, and as his conservative-modernist style--derived from Debussy and Ravel, though more chromatic and less tonally-centered than either--has become less unfashionable his music has received an increasing number of recordings. Amongst the finest of these have been Yan-Pascal Tortelier's readings for Chandos, and this 4-CD boxed set contains Tortelier's three individual discs, plus a 22-minute bonus disc of a live performance (Tortelier again) of the composer's 1997 work The Shadows of Time. When released, this collection was a complete recording of all Dutilleux's acknowledged orchestral works: this is no longer true, as Dutilleux is still writing, although his post-Shadows work is yet to be recorded. (Hopefully Hans Graf's ongoing budget-price Arte Nova series of Dutilleux recordings will bring matters up to date.)

I have already reviewed the individual discs included on this set, so I will only describe the works briefly, but taken as a whole, they undoubtably rank as amongst the most important orchestral music of the post-war period. Chronologically speaking, they begin with the two symphonies. The first of these, completed in 1951, begins with a slow, mysterious passacaglia, follows it with an overly virtuosic scherzo, a deeply-felt nocturnal slow movement and a flamboyand finale. It is a considerable achievement, though it is some way from Dutilleux's fully mature style, unlike the Second Symphony, completed eight years later. This work is subtitled 'Le Double', as a concertino-like group of 12 players forms a counter-orchestra to the main band--though its function is not of a concerto grosso nature but merely to allow a much greater variety of colours and timbres. The first movement begins mysteriously, building to a dramatic climax. The slow movement (in which the counter-orchestra is particularly prominent) contains a wonderful range of musical colours, while the finale begins vigorously but lapses half-way through into a slow epilogue.

The 1964 work Métaboles is effectively a brief concerto for orchestra in five movements. The first four movements each showcase a different section of the orchestra--alternating fast and slow movements--and in the finale the whole orchestra comes together for a vigorous conclusion. Tout un monde lointain, a 1970 cello concerto based on the poetry of Charles Baudelaire, is a deliriously nocturnal work in five movements that combines delightful solo writing with some extraordinary orchestration, before fading out ambiguously. Perhaps the finest of Dutilleux's orchestral works is Timbres, espace, mouvement, a darkly ecstatic diptych inspired by Van Gogh's painting 'Starry Night'. Two powerfully visionary panels are separated by a forceful interlude for the orchestral cellos alone.

L'Arbre des songes, completed in 1985, is a dreamlike violin concerto in four movements that play without a break. Lyrical and fantastic in equal measure, it has often been described as one of the finest violin concerti of the 20th century, and I wouldn't dispute that rating. Mystère de l'instant is a 1989 work, a sequence of ten atmospheric 'snapshots' for strings and solo cimbalom. The first is an extraordinary evocation of a mass of flying birds; while the other nine are good, they don't quite live up to the first. Finally, The Shadows of Time is perhaps the only authentically angry work in Dutilleux's output. A meditation questioning the validity of music in a world capable of the Holocaust, it begins ambivalently with an evocation of ticking clocks against tense orchestral writing. A solo treble sings 'Why me? Why the star?' before the music builds to an angry climax. After an interlude and a second, equally angry climax, the finale returns to the ambivalent mood of the opening, and the work ends with return of the ticking clocks.

The performances on this set range from good to excellent, but whether the set will be of interest probably depends on whether one owns any of the individual discs. For those who do, or who only need a recording of The Shadows of Time, Hans Graf's first Arte Nova disc may prove more attractive, but those wanting the complete available works in one easy package will find this compilation well-nigh unbeatable.

Music for a Starry Night.......2003-02-26

The reason to buy this boxed set is not to acquire new, definitive interpretations of much represented music; it is to become acquainted with a composer who has had no prior integral recording. That is justification enough. The music of Henri Dutilleux (born 1916) manages to be unmistakably "modern" without being the slightest bit doctrinaire or off-putting: Dutilleux's roots go down deeply into the impressionist soil of Claude Debussy, although unlike Debussy, Dutilleux shows an interest in polyphonic complexity rather than in chord-based harmonic color as such. In addition, Dutilleux's structures usually correspond to what one can call "the symphonic" in a way that Debussy rarely essayed: and indeed his first two orchestral scores were symphonies (1951 and 1959). Like many composers in the aftermath of World War Two who refused to embrace the procedures of the "Second Viennese School," Dutilleux found himself somewhat marginalized. While Dutilleux received performances and commissions and was recorded over the years, he never enjoyed the cachet of, say, Pierre Boulez. In an essay on "The Symphony in France," published in "Paths to Modern Music" (1971), the astute Laurence Davies had to plead for Dutilleux, "a much underestimated composer outside his own country" whose "brilliantly clear textures" make his Second Symphony (subtitled "The Double") "an astounding achievement." On record, Rostropovich played the Cello Concerto and Stern his Violin Concerto; other works have been recorded here and there. The neglect is largely made up for in Yan Pascal Tortelier's comprehensive four-disc survey for Chandos, illustrated appropriately on the jewel-box and on the pamphlet by van Gogh's "Starry Night." On CD 1, Tortelier pairs the two symphonies. Davies valued the Second over the First Symphony, although he admitted the virtues of the latter, particularly its opening Passacaglia. The musical language of the First Symphony is close (by way of a known reference) to Frank Martin's: intensely chromatic without abandoning tonality. (Dutilleux's Passacaglia resembles Martin's free-standing endeavor of the same name in its full-orchestra version, available on a Chandos CD under Matthias Bamert). The two inner movements are a colorful Scherzo and a darkly colored slow movement. The Finale, like the First Movement, is a theme with variations - virtually a second passacaglia, but wider ranging in its moods than the First Movement. The Second Symphony pits a small orchestra of about ten instruments, including harpsichord and celesta, against the full orchestra, hence the appellation of "The Double." I imagine that this is a difficult score to record, as the spatial element resists transcribed representation. That said, this three-movement work is quite as fascinating and beautiful as its precursor. On CD 2, Tortelier gives us Dutilleux's Violin Concerto, "L'arbre des songes" ("The Tree of Dreams" [1985]), in a sequence of uninterrupted movements proper and interludes. This is Dutilleux the mystic, sharing certain penchants with Olivier Messiaen, although never sounding brash or vulgar, as Messiaen sometimes does. "The Tree of Dreams" is music for late-night listening. The "Two Sonnets by Jean Cassou" for baritone and orchestra, dating from the 1940s, show the composer working in a tradition of French orchestral song going back to Hector Berlioz and his "Nuits d'été." The score called "Timbres, espace, et mouvement avec interlude" (1978) takes its inspiration from van Gogh's "Starry Night." It depicts the awe of stellar delirium effectively - less wildly than Messiaen, be it said - yet with some strange and novel sounds. "Métaboles" (1964), on CD 3, again shows some kinship with Martin (think of "The Four Elements") and gives the impression of a symphony by another name. The Cello Concerto, entitled "Tout un monde lointain" (difficult convincingly to translate into English: "A Whole World Far Away"), is another essay in religious yearning and phantasmagoria. Like Berlioz, Dutilleux has a gift for melody: the concerto-format lets him exploit his talent, allotting the "singing role" to the solo instrument and supporting the solo line in a delicate web of hallucinatory accompaniment. The descriptive title comes from one of the Baudelaire poems that the concerto purports to "interpret." This is another link to Berlioz, who made one of the earliest settings of Baudelaire. "Delicacy" and "exquisiteness" are adjective that come to mind insistently as one listens to Dutilleux's music. One thinks of them as French traits par excellence. They appear again in "Mystère de l'instant," a quasi-concerto for cimbalom and strings - by no means so odd as it might seem. On CD 4, Tortelier gives us "The Shadows of Time" (1995), for voice and orchestra, which shows Dutilleux refining his mode of expression even further toward the seamless and translucent. With one minor quibble, I recommend this boxed set. The quibble is the shortness of the fourth disc. Chandos could easily have added a performance of Dutilleux's string quartet, "Ainsi la nuit," which would have turned a stinting measure into a fair one. Discs 1 - 3 are well filled.

Average customer rating: Great CD ~*IT's Pure CLASSICAL*~ Poor Compilation

#1 Classical Album Manufacturer: Decca ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra | ( B ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Baltimore Symphony Orchestra | ( B ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music London Philharmonic Orchestra | ( L ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music National Philharmonic Orchestra London | ( N ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Salzburg Chamber Orchestra | ( S ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra | ( V ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Compilations | Classical | Styles | Music General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music The Decca Records Store | Specialty Stores | Music Similar Items: #1 Piano Album The #1 Opera Album Mendelssohn: Greatest Hits Saint-Saëns: Greatest Hits Grieg: Greatest Hits ASIN: B0000667S0 Release Date: 2002-05-14

Tracks:

1. Also Sprach Zarathustra: Opening - Berlin Philharmonic
2. William Tell Overture: Finale - Riccardo Chailly
3. Peer Gynt, Op.23: Morning Mood - Vienna Philharmonic
4. 'O Sole Mio - Luciano Pavarotti
5. Suite No.3 In D Major, BWV 1068: Air - Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra
6. Suite No.2 In B Minor, BWV 1067: Badinerie - Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra
7. Piano Concerto No.21 In C Major, K 467: Andante - Andras Schiff
8. Radetzky March, Op.28 - Vienna Philharmonic
9. Violin Concerto No.1 In G Minor: Adagio - Kyung Wha Chung
10. Eine Kleine Nachtmusik: Allegro - Vienna Mozart Ensemble
11. Chants D'Auvergne: Bailero - Kiri Te Kanawa
12. Waltz In D Flat Major, Op.64 No.1 'Minute' - Vladimir Ashkenazy
13. Cantata No.28: Sheep May Safely Graze - Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra
14. The Flight Of The Bumblebee - Philharmonia Orchestra
15. Bolero: Finale - Charles Dutoit
16. Les Contes D'Hoffman: Barcarolle - Richard Bonynge
17. Adagio In G Minor - Martin Haselbock
18. Pizzicato Polka - Vienna Philharmonic
19. Das Land Des Lachelns: Dein Ist Mein Mein Ganzes Herz - Placido Domingo

Tracks:

1. Carmina Burana: O Fortuna - Radio-Symphonie-Chor Berlin
2. Jazz Suite No.2: Waltz II - Riccardo Chailly
3. Adagio For Strings - David Zinman
4. Fantasia On Greensleeves - Sir Neville Marriner
5. The Four Seasons: Spring: I. Allegro - Alan Loveday
6. Trumpet Voluntary - Philip Jones Brass Ensemble
7. Canon - Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra
8. Casanova: Nuns' Chorus - Mormon Tabernacle Choir
9. Piano Sonata No.14 In C Sharp Minor, Op.27 No.2 'Moonlight': I. Adagio Sostenuto - Vladimir Ashkenazy
10. Rome & Juliet: Fantasy: Love Theme - Vienna Philharmonic
11. Warsaw Concerto - Cristina Ortiz
12. Symphony No.9 'From The New World': II. Largo (Excerpt) - Chicago Symphony Orchestra
13. The Nutcracker: Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy - Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
14. Concierto De Aranjuez: II. Adagio (Excerpt) - Carlos Bonell
15. Solomon: Arrival Of The Queen Of Sheba - Sir Neville Marriner
16. Hungarian Dance No.5 In G Minor - Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
17. Thais: Meditation - Nigel Kennedy
18. Turandot: Nessun Dorma - John Alldis Choir

Customer Reviews:

Great CD.......2003-01-24

This is good CD for casual Classical listening, new comers to classical music or the car! I love it. It has a good variety of pieces, something to suit every mood.

~*IT's Pure CLASSICAL*~.......2002-08-14

I dont own this cd yet, but i will. I listened to samples and this is a beautifull, famous, pure classical music... if there's anyone who doesn't agree with me they probably are not familiar with classical music or (maybe can't read!!) You will enjoy this cd though!

Poor Compilation.......2002-06-14

After just one listening to this cd, I had to stop. It is just such a poor compliation of music, the flow, the rythm, it is terrible. Unlike the #1 Opera album, which I enjoyed, this one is a throwback.

Average customer rating: Chamber and Gamelan works

Chamber and Gamelan Works Manufacturer: New World Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Harrison | Harrison, Lou | ( H ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Concerto Grossi | Concertos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music General | Concertos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Percussion | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music Viola | Strings | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Similar Items: Harrison: Piano Concerto/Suite For Violin, Piano And Small Orchestra Music of Lou Harrison La Koro Sutro Harrison: Double Concerto for Violin, Cello and Javanese Gamelan Xenakis: Music for Strings ASIN: B000F7MFY2 Release Date: 2006-05-01

Tracks:

1. Concerto in Slendro: I. Allegro (3:06)
2. Concerto in Slendro: II. Molto adagio (4:19)
3. Concerto in Slendro: III. Allegro; Molto vigoroso (2:13)
4. Main Bersama-Sama (7:21)
5. Threnody for Carlos Chavez (7:06)
6. Serenade for Betty Freeman and Franco Assetto (5:48)
7. String Quartet Set: I. Variations (5:17)
8. String Quartet Set: II. Plaint (4:12)
9. String Quartet Set: III. Estampie (3:57)
10. String Quartet Set: IV. Rondeaux (8:17)
11. String Quartet Set: V. Usul (4:34)
12. Suite for Percussion: I. Moderato (3:34)
13. Suite for Percussion: II. Slow (3:04)
14. Suite for Percussion: III. Recitative; Moderato allegro (2:43)

Product Description

Lou Harrison (1917–2003) believed fervently in music’s power to create cultural bridges. To this end he applied his prodigious skills and creative energies to creating syncretic works that link diverse musical languages. Faulted at times for his eclecticism, Harrison responded with a vibrant defense of hybridity, cultivating a musical multiculturalism long before that term—or even the concept—held the currency it now enjoys. Harrison’s major contributions to twentieth-century American music lie in three main areas: (1) the development of the percussion ensemble as a viable performance medium; (2) the linkage of Asian and Western musical styles; and (3) the exploration of just intonation tuning systems. All three are represented in the works on this disc. The influences manifest in the works on this disc remained with Harrison for the rest of his career. He ultimately composed over three dozen gamelan pieces and the estampie became one of his favorite forms (he used it in a dozen works, ranging from solo keyboard to full orchestra). Nor did his advocacy of just intonation systems diminish: he called for pure intervals in works in all genres. But the most distinctive characteristic of Harrison’s music lies in its inherent plurality. He was drawn to community, both in performance groups such as the gamelan and the percussion ensemble, and in the compositions themselves, which unite elements from various times and places. Harrison’s originality lay in the way he creatively combined these elements to produce novel syntheses. His fervent advocacy of hybridity led to a type of transethnic music that truly foreshadowed the post-modern celebration of diversity. The reissue of this seminal release from the CRI catalog features extensive new liner notes by Harrison biographer Leta Miller.

Customer Reviews:

Chamber and Gamelan works.......2007-07-09

The harrison works on this disc are absoultely fabulous. Particularly haunting was a 'concerto' for horn and gamelan ensemble. Couldn't get the tune out of my head!

Average customer rating: "Best Harpsichord Recording" Great a must-have for harpsichord lovers keeno The Most Superb Harpsichord Sampler

Greatest Hits: Harpsichord Manufacturer: Sony ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Dances | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music Minuets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music Pavanes | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music Albeniz, Mateo Pérez de | ( A ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by J.S. Bach | Bach, Johann Sebastian | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Beethoven | Beethoven, Ludwig van | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Byrd, William | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Couperin, François | ( C ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Handel | Handel, George Frideric | ( H ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Purcell, Henry | ( P ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Rameau | Rameau, Jean Philippe | ( R ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Domenico Scarlatti | Scarlatti, Domenico | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Fugues | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Character Pieces | Short Forms | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music General | Sonatas | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Sonatinas | Sonatas | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Toccatas | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music General | Purcell, Henry | Composers | Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Variations | Forms & Genres | Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Sacred & Religious | Early Music | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music | Requiems General | Renaissance (c.1450-1600) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Trumpet | Brass | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music General | Keyboard | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music Compilations | Classical | Styles | Music CDs $7 - $10 | Classical General | Classical | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music All Bargain Titles | Classical General | Classical | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music CDs $7 - $10 | Fugues | Classical | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music All Bargain Titles | Fugues | Classical | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music CDs $7 - $10 | Preludes | Classical | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music All Bargain Titles | Preludes | Classical | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music CDs $7 - $10 | Sonatas | Classical | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music All Bargain Titles | Sonatas | Classical | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music $6.99 and Under | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music All Classical Music Blowout | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Albeniz, Mateo Pérez de | ( A ) | Composers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Bach, Johann Sebastian | ( B ) | Composers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Beethoven, Ludwig van | ( B ) | Composers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Byrd, William | ( B ) | Composers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Couperin, François | ( C ) | Composers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Handel, George Frideric | ( H ) | Composers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus | ( M ) | Composers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Purcell, Henry | ( P ) | Composers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Rameau, Jean Philippe | ( R ) | Composers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Scarlatti, Domenico | ( S ) | Composers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Opera & Vocal | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Classical Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Classical Instrumental Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Opera & Vocal | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Similar Items: Bach: Harpsichord Concertos 1 Essential Baroque Complete Harpsichord Concertos Rameau: Harpsichord Music (Complete), Vol. 1 Greatest Hits ~ Baroque ASIN: B000002C0U Release Date: 1995-08-22

Tracks:

1. Air And Variations In E Major From Harpsicord Suite No. 5: The Harmonious Blacksmith
2. Keyboard Suite No. 11 In D Minor: Sarabande
3. Greensleeves (16th Century)
4. Lavolta
5. The Earl Of Salisbury: Pavan, The Earl Of Salisbury
6. Ut re mi fa sol la, In F
7. The King's Hunt
8. The Nightingale (17th Century)
9. For Two Virginals
10. The Prince Of Denmark's March
11. The 18th Order (3rd Book Of Pieces For Harpsicord): Le tic-toc-choc, No. 6
12. The 15th Order (3rd Book Of Pieces For Harpsicord): Musete de Choisi, No. 4
13. Le Tambourin
14. La poule
15. Le Coucou
16. Sonata In D Minor, 'Pastorale'
17. Sonata In E Major, 'Capriccio'
18. Sonata in D Major
19. Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Aria
20. The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1, BWV 846: Prelude and Fugue No. 1 In C Major
21. Italian Concerto In F Major, BWV 971: III. Presto
22. The Anna Magdalena Notebook: Minuet In G Major, BWV Anh. 114
23. Sonata No. 11 In A Major, K. 331: III. (Rondo) Alla Turca
24. Wo0 10, No. 2: Minuet in G Major
25. Trumpet Tune 'Martial Air'
26. Round O (Rondo)
27. The 6th Order (2nd Book Of Pieces For Harpsichord): Les baricades misterieuses, No. 5
28. The 15th Order (3rd Book Of Pieces For Harpsicord): Musete de Taverni, No. 5
29. Cuckoo Toccata

Customer Reviews:

"Best Harpsichord Recording".......2005-11-05

I have always loved the sound of the Harpsichord and for many years hearing poorly recorded or played Harpsichord this treasure is a must have. From the fine compositions to the good sound quality this CD is definately a keeper.
Plenty of music for a moderate price as well.

Great.......2005-08-09

This CD is very very good just what I was looking for. I highly recommend this CD if you are planning on purchasing a Harpsicord CD, this one is the best.

a must-have for harpsichord lovers.......2004-04-30

I love the sound of this most unusual instrument, the harpsichord. Especially the fast intricately melodic songs. Very enjoyable. This "Greatest Hits" includes many compositions perfectly suited to this wonderful old predecessor to the piano. There's even a little funny trivia thrown in: on the song sheet is written: Q:"what did the famous conductor Sir Thomas say that the harpsichord sounds like? A: "Like two skeletons screwing on a hot tin roof" :)

David Rehak
author of "Love and Madness"

keeno.......2001-01-08

This is a fun cd. BYRD, BULL, BACH ETC come through great Scarlatti bits sound like a flock of unhappy cows running of a field of burnt popcorn but those bits generally do unless played on the African Kalimba [or thumb piano] in Africa where I need not hear them.

This is a well engineered CD. Many featuring the harpsichord demand a level of equipment beyond that of any regular person with bills, which means this disk sounds just fine on a boom box. Everybody in the family will like some part of this disk `cept for the 13 year old whose lost to punk rock or hip hop.

The Most Superb Harpsichord Sampler.......2000-07-27

I can't imagine a better sampler of harpsichord 'hits' played by one of the great stereo-era masters. A full complement of emotions is displayed here, from the most delicate and sparing texture to the most rip-roaring martial roar. If you're wondering what the harpsichord is about, or if you're already a fan and want a great sampler to play for your own delight and amusement, you cannot go wrong with this recording.

Average customer rating:

Leonard Bernstein: A Jewish Legacy [Milken Archive of American Jewish Music] Manufacturer: Milken Archive ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Bernstein | Bernstein, Leonard | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Concertos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Incidental Music | Theatrical, Incidental & Program Music | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music General | Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Vocal & Song | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Flute | Reeds & Winds | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music General | Arias | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Choruses | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music 4-for-3 Classical | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music 4-for-3 All Music | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Introducing World of American Jewish Music [Milken Archive of American Jewish Music] Klezmer Concertos & Encores [Milken Archive of American Jewish Music] Brubeck - The Gates of Justice (Milken Archive American Jewish Music) Darius Milhaud: Service Sacre [Milken Archive of American Jewish Music] Ellstein: Great Songs of the Yiddish Stage 1 [Milken Archive of American Jewish Music] ASIN: B0000DD77Y Release Date: 2003-10-21

Tracks:

1. Israelite Chorus - Rochester Singers
2. Invocation And Trance (From Dybbuk) - Barry Snyder
3. Psalm 148 - Angelina Reaux
4. Reenah - Rochester Singers
5. The First Waltz (Canon) - Barry Snyder
6. Cha-cha-cha - Barry Snyder
7. Hora - Barry Snyder
8. Yevarechecha - Aaron Miller
9. Halil - Bonita Boyd
10. Simchu Na - Rochester Singers
11. Oif Mayn Khas'ne - Jean Barr
12. Vayomer Elohim - Barry Snyder
13. Yigdal - Rochester Singers
14. Ilana, The Dreamer - Jack Gottlieb
15. Idele, The Chassedele - Jack Gottlieb
16. Yosi, The Jokester - Jack Gottlieb
17. Dina, The Tomboy Who Weeps Alone - Jack Gottlieb
18. Silhouette (Galilee) - Angelina Reaux
19. Hashkiveinu - Hans Peter Blochwitz

Amazon.com

Leonard Bernstein occupies a unique position in the music world for his protean, multi-faceted talents. His ability to draw on and absorb every cultural influence made him the ultimate eclectic, yet he eventually forged a style that was unmistakably his own. This record, which includes vocal, choral and instrumental pieces, some never recorded, performed or published, demonstrates that his Jewish heritage played a formative, lasting, decisive role in this process. The earliest, Psalm 148 (sung in English), written when he was 17, is steeped in an ultra-romantics style, especially Wagner's; it hardly contains a hint of the later Bernstein, but its innocent sweetness is infinitely touching. The longest, Halil, is a virtuoso piece for flute with piano and percussion, written 1981 in memory of a 19-year-old Israeli flutist killed 1973 in the Yom Kippur War. Also written for specific occasions and friends are Silhouette for Jennie Tourel's birthday and Three Wedding Dances for the marriage of Adolph Greene and Phyllis Newman. Excerpts from longer works include At My Wedding from Arias and Barcarolles, a description of a young fiddler playing for a wedding that is both funny and affecting, sung in Yiddish, a chorus from the ballet The Dybbuk, a section of Concerto for Orchestra. These, like several sacred selections--prayers, invocations, hymns of thanks and praise for various parts of the Service--are sung in Hebrew. The most substantial is Hashkiveinu, a prayer for peace, commissioned by the Cantor of a New York synagogue, for tenor solo, chorus and organ, featuring call and response, cantorial chanting and very daring harmonies and tonal juxtapositions. Bernstein later recycled some of this material for other, very different compositions, like films and musicals, perhaps indicating that he considered this style the connecting thread of his creative life. The performances are uniformly excellent; Réaux, Blochwitz and the pianists stand out. --Edith Eisler

Album Description

"What are the Jewish roots I long for?" wrote Leonard Bernstein as he pondered one of his many Jewish-inspired compositions. This unique collection of rarely heard works—including several world-premiere recordings—reveals many possible answers to Bernstein's question. Triumphal processions, mysterious invocations, intimate Jewish character portraits, rousing dances; all of these musical offerings present the great eclectic imagination of one of America's foremost 20th century composers.

Music Review:

1. Piano & Cello Cti
2. Piston: String Quartets 1, 2, 3
3. Restless Winds/Krolish Sonate
4. Reynolds: The Ivanov Suite/Versions-Stages
5. Schoenberg: Verklärte Nacht Op4; Tchaikovsky: Souvenir de Florence in D Op70
6. Scott Joplin: Piano Rags
7. Sergey Rachmaninov: Vespers Op. 37
8. Sevilla
9. Silenced Voices
10. Songs and Variations

Music Review

music review

Music Review

Die Herplatte 2000 [CD-single] [Import]

Eva Mei - Handel Cantatas (Agrippina - Armida - Lucrezia) / Il Giardino Armonico

John Schlenck: Kanyakumari; Three Vesper Hymns

Jack Sheldon Sings

Magic of the Panpipes

Heat & Soul

Journey for the Heart

Jane's Addiction [Live]

Happy

Fuego [Import]

Hand It Over [Extra tracks]

Haben Yakir Li: The Malavsky Family Tribute

Latin Carnival Mix [Import]

Hey Mrs Jones

That's Him