Rabbit Songs

Product Description
HEM’s debut album Rabbit Songs now available again through Rounder Records.

HEM has drawn comparisons to artists as disparate as Nick Drake, Mazzy Star, Sandy Denny and Jeff Buckley and drawn fans as varied as The Chemical Brothers, Glenn Tilbrook, Linda Thompson, James Iha and Beth Orton. The music is lush and filled with eclectic harmonies: a mandolin enveloped by an 18-piece orchestra, a pedal steel accentuated by a glockenspiel, underpinned by guitar and piano in an elaborate framework. And through it all, Sally Ellyson’s beautiful voice shaping each word. ASCAP award-winning songwriter and Rabbit Songs Co-Producer, Dan Messé sold off most of his personal possessions so he could afford the orchestras, and the luxury of being as painstaking as they wanted over the arrangements of each song. No samples, no synths, no Pro-Tools mixing and no digital studio wizardry were employed. Rabbit Songs is an old school album, recorded the old school way. Guitarist / Co-Producer Gary Maurer, a seasoned studio engineer, has engineered and / or produced a host of artists and bands including Jon Spencer, Luna and Fountains Of Wayne. "Sally Ellyson has one of those voices - an understated powerhouse that wows with serene confidence. The result is a rich debut that shouldn’t be overlooked" - ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

Rabbit Songs,Hem,Rounder / Pgd,Adult Alternative Pop/Rock,Arty, lightly orchestrated folk/ pop,Contemporary Folk,Indie Pop,Lo-Fi,Pop,Rock,Rock/Pop,Singer/Songwriter,Twee Pop

---

Rabbit Songs

Average customer rating: Truly wonderful Amazing - true musical tallent beyond belief Great songs, great singer Wonderful! Pure Americana Musical Bliss

Rabbit Songs Hem Manufacturer: Rounder / Umgd ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Lo-Fi | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Twee Pop | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music General | Adult Contemporary | Pop | Styles | Music Adult Alternative | Pop | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Rounder Records | Specialty Stores | Music Similar Items: Eveningland Funnel Cloud No Word From Tom Birds, Beasts, & Flowers Eastmountainsouth ASIN: B0009A1BX6 Release Date: 2005-05-24

Tracks:

1. When I Was Drinking
2. Half Acre
3. Burying Song
4. Betting on Trains
5. Leave Me Here
6. All That Im Good For
7. Idle (The Rabbit Song)
8. Stupid Mouth Shut
9. Lazy Eye
10. Sailor
11. Pollys Dress
12. Night Like a River
13. The Cuckoo
14. Waltz
15. Horsey

Album Description

HEM's debut album Rabbit Songs now available again through Rounder Records.

HEM has drawn comparisons to artists as disparate as Nick Drake, Mazzy Star, Sandy Denny and Jeff Buckley and drawn fans as varied as The Chemical Brothers, Glenn Tilbrook, Linda Thompson, James Iha and Beth Orton. The music is lush and filled with eclectic harmonies: a mandolin enveloped by an 18-piece orchestra, a pedal steel accentuated by a glockenspiel, underpinned by guitar and piano in an elaborate framework. And through it all, Sally Ellyson's beautiful voice shaping each word. ASCAP award-winning songwriter and Rabbit Songs Co-Producer, Dan Messé sold off most of his personal possessions so he could afford the orchestras, and the luxury of being as painstaking as they wanted over the arrangements of each song. No samples, no synths, no Pro-Tools mixing and no digital studio wizardry were employed. Rabbit Songs is an old school album, recorded the old school way. Guitarist / Co-Producer Gary Maurer, a seasoned studio engineer, has engineered and / or produced a host of artists and bands including Jon Spencer, Luna and Fountains Of Wayne. "Sally Ellyson has one of those voices - an understated powerhouse that wows with serene confidence. The result is a rich debut that shouldn't be overlooked" - ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

Customer Reviews:

Truly wonderful.......2007-05-20

I heard this music as background for an insurance commercial about good deeds leading to other good deeds. Little did they know that using that music led to the good deed of introducing me to this truly wonderful band.

Amazing - true musical tallent beyond belief.......2006-11-30

My father introduced me to rabbit songs when it first came out. He was truely a music man and would give me tips on unusual and fantastic talent. My father past on a few years back and some family members and I saw HEM in concert in NY. We had e-mailed the HEM web site and requested they play "Leave me here" in his honor at that concert and they did - the most wonderful performance I have ever seen. No music will ever move me to tears and emotion like HEM and I am so grateful to have been lucky enough to see them live. Thank you HEM. You are truely amazing musicians.

Great songs, great singer.......2006-11-05

This is an amazing CD. I love all the songs and that is quite unusual. I never heard of the band before the song Half Acre was used in that commercial. They have a fresh, very well put together sound. The cd is professional without feeling over produced.

Wonderful!.......2006-09-17

I have owned this CD by Hem for over a year. I purchased it based on the original review in Entertainment Weekly magazine. I listened to it nearly every day for almost 6 months. It is still in heavy rotation in my CD player and I have recommended it to numerous friends. I find the music soothing and calming. I was surprised and pleased to hear Hem's music as part of the recent Liberty Mutual ad campaign. If people are attracted to the music through the ad, great! The same thing happened to Iron and Wine with their M & M ad. I hope you enjoy this CD as much as I have.

Pure Americana Musical Bliss.......2006-07-29

Hem composes and plays some of the most honest and gorgeous music ever committed to recording material today. This antiquated (and I mean that in a very nice way) collection of heartfelt and emotional songs seems to harken back to a nice and simple time when America was bathed in a pastoral haze of sunshine and simplicity. To achieve their unique and homespun organic sound, Hem utilizes acoustic and electric instrumentation that takes the listener to a place where one can truly escape the everyday hectic drudgery of the rat race and chill out. In this ho hum world of musical dreck, I highly recommend listening to Hem! See them live if you can. Excellent musicianship!

Average customer rating: Beautiful, Sweet and Strong Pretty, but.. Very nice indeed lush, melodic glorious

Rabbit Songs Hem Manufacturer: Dreamworks ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Lo-Fi | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Twee Pop | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music General | Adult Contemporary | Pop | Styles | Music Adult Alternative | Pop | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Similar Items: Eveningland Funnel Cloud Birds, Beasts, & Flowers No Word From Tom Eastmountainsouth ASIN: B0000AOC29 Release Date: 2002-06-11

Tracks:

1. Lord, Blow The Moon Out Please
2. When I Was Drinking
3. Half Acre
4. Burying Song
5. Betting On Trains
6. Leave Me Here
7. All That I'm Good For
8. Idle (The Rabbit Song)
9. Stupid Mouth Shut
10. Lazy Eye
11. Sailor
12. Polly's Dress
13. Night Like A River
14. The Cuckoo
15. Waltz
16. Horsey

Amazon.com

It's written into the logic of creativity that something like urban clatter and din can create calm. That's Hem. The Brooklyn quartet makes acoustic latticework of guitars, mandolins, piano, an array of orchestral instruments, and the floating voice of Sally Ellyson, which is equally suited to whisper-quiet tunes like the brief opener, "Lord, Blow Out the Moon Please," as it is to "Stupid Mouth Shut" and the band's boisterous rendition of "The Cuckoo." Hem's mellowness follows a post-punk New Age bend in the neo-folk road (especially on the sentimental "Burying Song"), but mostly the lyrics recall early Cowboy Junkies, the Hank Dogs, and the Be Good Tanyas. "All That I'm Good For" combines pedal steel with a full complement of strings to create an almost Lambchop level of rustic richness-—while Ellyson's voice goes from absolute glassy-lake calm to heights Sarah McLachlan would recognize. --Andrew Bartlett

Customer Reviews:

Beautiful, Sweet and Strong.......2006-09-23

It all started with noticing a remarkable song being sung in the background of a simple yet sweet commercial where people help other people. The song is "Half Acre". For the longest time I would hear it in passing yet it would stop me in my tracks and sometime give a moment of sad pause. It is strange. My Dad died recently. He died in a hospital. In the hospital...and for most of the day and evening for the past 10 years the tv was always on in his house. (My widowed Mom continues the tradition). I was in the hospital recently...with a tv of course. This song is so strong and important to me. The commercial comes on and I feel my Father. I feel him and see him at home watching tv happily...or sometimes think of him in the hospital when I remember the commerical coming on while I visited him. And being in the hospital myself and having the commercial comes on...I feel him. I feel my sadness of his loss. I feel his presents. I feel the simple times. I feel the rough times. It brings hope. It brings sadness toward our sad and terror filled lives. It reminds me of the humanity I sometimes feel we have lost in this world. It renews my belief that perhaps we will all be okay again. Its an amazing piece of art and music. And I thank HEM for it.

Pretty, but.........2006-04-02

The songs & the singing are really booooring. I give it 2.5 stars. I really tried to like this album because it sounds like a lot of other music that I really love. It just didn't work out, though. There a ton of pretty albums by many artists, and this one doesn't stand out at all. The songwriting & arrangements are lacking, and the vocals are sedate. I own Eveningland, which albeit overproduced in some tracks, is an overall improvement from this record.

Very nice indeed.......2005-07-22

When I first heard Sally Ellyson's voice I thought it was Sandy Denny reincarnated. Truly a beautiful voice and destined to join the pantheon of female folk goddesses in the course time.

lush, melodic.......2005-05-06

I first heard Hem open for Beth Orton, and I immediately bought the album. Their songs seem to flow together in a beautiful way; there is something magical about their music. When I listen to their songs, they bring me back to dreamy summer nights travelling through Door County with my husband. It's the soundtrack to a more perfect time when the countryside, the music, and the night felt so right together.

glorious.......2005-04-03

if you can get your hands on a copy of this spend the money. I was lucky enough to find this in a used record store for almost nothing. I would pay the $18 someone is asking on amazon for a copy.

it is beautiful music--impossible to listen to without being cracked open and moved. Those vocals.

Average customer rating:

Alphabet Songs, Volume III (Rabbit Run) Steve Weeks ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Educational | Children's Music | Styles | Music ASIN: B000N7PZDM

Product Description

Alphabet Songs Volume III (Rabbit Run) is the third and final CD in the Alphabet Songs series Like the first two volumes, it dedicates a single song to each letter of the alphabet and covers the letters R through Z. The songs are upbeat, catchy, folk-based tunes about the things that are important to kids and their parents. BIOGRAPHY Singer/songwriter Steve Weeks was born in the rural countryside of the Carolinas. He spent his summers in the bucolic fields of.... Okay, it's me... Steve. Most musicians' bios seem to be written from some adoring, anonymous person, but it just feels kind of funny talking about yourself that way, so I thought I'd just reveal myself up front. Here's my bio: I actually was born and raised in the Carolinas. I spent my summers mostly playing around in the woods and in abandoned cotton fields. Occasionally in the mountains, occasionally at the beach. As young as I can remember, music was everywhere. It rang out in church. It was passed from person to person at the community bluegrass jams in the old abandoned one-room schoolhouse up the road. It breathed out of the furnace vents at night when someone in the house was plunking on our old upright piano. It was quietly hummed on the front porch swing, shouted out during long car trips, and whistled in the garden. I guess its no wonder that I turned out to be a songwriter. I sang in the choir, played in the school band, and tinkered around with just about any instrument I could get my hands on. In college at the University of South Carolina, I started playing the guitar, mainly because I had no access to a piano and my roommate wouldn't have appreciated trumpet recitals. I played in a couple of bands, collaborated on various recording projects, and discovered the joy of writing songs. 1 Rabbit Run 2 Someday 3 Take the Tinkertown Trolley 4 Up! 5 I Can't Play the Violin 6 William 7 Xavier Xerxes Xenophanes X 8 Yellowjacket 9 Zed and Zoey

Average customer rating: Exceptionally moving Horne brings these wonderful masterpieces to life!

Marilyn Horne - I Will Breathe A Mountain ~ Songs of Barber, Bernstein & Bolcom / Martin Katz, Tokyo String Quartet Samuel Barber , William Bolcom , Leonard Bernstein , Marilyn Horne , Martin Katz , Tokyo String Quartet , Kikuei Ikeda , Kazuhide Isomura , Peter Oundijian , and Sadao Harada Manufacturer: RCA ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Barber | Barber, Samuel | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Bernstein | Bernstein, Leonard | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Bolcom, William | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | 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 | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Vocal & Song | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Arias | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Horne, Marilyn | Divas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Songs & Lieder | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Opera & Vocal | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music ASIN: B0000064Y9 Release Date: 1998-03-10

Tracks:

1. The Daisies, Op. 2 No. 1
2. A Nun Takes The Veil, Op. 13 No. 1
3. Bessie Bobtail, Op. 2 No. 3
4. The Secrets Of The Old, Op. 13 No. 2
5. Sure On This Shining Night, Op. 13 No. 3
6. Barber: I Hear An Army, Op. 10 No. 3
7. Dover Beach, Op. 3
8. I Will Breathe A Mountain: Pity Me Not Because The Light Of Day
9. I Will Breathe A Mountain: How To Swing Those Obbligatos Around
10. I Will Breathe A Mountain: The Crazy Woman
11. I Will Breathe A Mountain: Just Once
12. I Will Breathe A Mountain: Never More Will The Wind
13. I Will Breathe A Mountain: The Sage
14. I Will Breathe A Mountain: O To Be A Dragon
15. I Will Breathe A Mountain: The Bustle In A House
16. I Will Breathe A Mountain: I Saw Eternity
17. I Will Breathe A Mountain: Night Practice
18. I Will Breathe A Mountain: The Fish
19. My House
20. So Pretty
21. Greeting
22. Take Care Of This House
23. Rabbit At Top Speed
24. Sonnet: What Lips My Lips Have Kissed
25. Nachspiel
26. Dream With Me

Amazon.com

Though Horne is audibly at the end of her long and rich career, she did a good deed for American music with this disc, which consists of songs by Samuel Barber, Leonard Bernstein, and a new song cycle by William Bolcom, from which the disc takes its title. Horne's voice has a quiver, a lack of center, almost as if it refuses to stop singing Rossini (Horne's lifelong specialty). However, it's worth buying for the Bolcom cycle, which is one of his best vocal works, typically an eclectic, natural outgrowth of Bernstein's style with Horne gamely employing a wide range of vocal techniques with more eloquence than one could hope for. --David Patrick Stearns

Customer Reviews:

Exceptionally moving.......2003-10-16

This is AMERICAN SONGS at their most moving and emotional best, not to mention with great melody. Unlike a lot of American song literature (not broadway type, but "serious classical art songs"), these songs are actually quite beautiful, melodic, and can touch the heart of the listener easily. There is no strain to enjoy them. There is a bit of "sameness" between them, which is my only complaint about this recording; one piece starts to sound like another, especially if you are not listening carefully while listening. Even then, it is still very lovely.

It has been mentioned that Horne is now far past her prime, and that may be, but even far past her prime she is far better than most singers half her age. There is still vibrancy, life, and depth to her voice. It communicates on a very deep level. Martin Katz, her life long accompanist, is, as usual, a revelation as an accompanist. Unlike people think, the accompanist just doesn't play in the background, he is a very vital part of making a performance work. Accompaning singers is a very new art form, and many performers of earlier ages simply had very bad accompanist. With Gerald Moore we started to have people who knew how to support the singer, actually adding to the performance giving it depth and helping the singer shine. Now we are so used to good accompanist, and are so accustomed to their high level of performance, it is very easy to forget what they add.

Katz knows Horne well, and is fully aware of when she is having troubles supporting a phrase, or when she is in best voice. He gives so much to her awesome performance through his very sensitive way of playing this music.

I would recommend this for anyone to buy: fans of modern art songs, fans of Marilyn Horne, and simply fans of good singing.

Horne brings these wonderful masterpieces to life!.......1999-07-17

Throughout the Barber, Bolcom and Bernstein, Marilyn Horne uses her ability to combine technical definition with artistic movement and expansion. Having had the opportunity to see her perform this literature live was an emotionally elevating experience. The way Horne and Katz have reworked a few of the Berstein pieces brings new life and perspectuve to these already wonderful pieces. I highly recommend this recording for the casual classical listener, as well as, for the student that enjoys learning from a master through their art.

Average customer rating: Sensational Vocal Album by Carole Farley and William Bolcom Great Songs, but Mind the Singer The Songs of William Bolcom

William Bolcom: Songs Carole Farley , William Bolcom , Farley , and Bolcom Manufacturer: Naxos American ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Bolcom, William | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music CDs $7 - $10 | Jazz General | Jazz | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music 4-for-3 Classical | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music 4-for-3 Jazz | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music 4-for-3 All Music | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: William Bolcom - Songs of Innocence and of Experience (William Blake) / Slatkin, University of Michigan School of Music Blue - The Complete Cabaret Songs of William Bolcom and Arnold Weinstein William Bolcom: Violin Sonatas William Bolcom: Music for Two Pianos William Bolcom: Symphony No. 1; Symphony No. 3; Seatlle Slew Orchestral Suite ASIN: B0009F4UBQ Release Date: 2005-06-21

Tracks:

1. You Cannot Have Me Now - Or, the Military Orgy
2. Night, Make My Day
3. The Digital Wonder Watch
4. My Father The Ganster
5. The Last Days Of Mankind
6. This Is A Face
7. Since I Have You
8. The Rabbit
9. I Am Not Free
10. For Me
11. From Wandering
12. Beware
13. I Wouldn't Die
14. I Remember
15. For Everything
16. I Have Climbed
17. Pity Me Not Because The Light Of Day
18. How To Swing Those Obbligations Around
19. The Crazy Woman
20. Just Once
21. Never More Will The Wind
22. The Sage
23. O To Be A Dragon
24. The Bustle In A House
25. Night Practice
26. I Saw Eternity
27. The Fish
28. Costa Del Nowhere
29. Table
30. Mary
31. River Song
32. Messing About In Boats
33. Rat's Song
34. When We Built The Church

Customer Reviews:

Sensational Vocal Album by Carole Farley and William Bolcom.......2007-02-13

Carole Farley and William Bolcom have recorded this landmark CD, and I can easily understand why this CD received a GRAMMY nomination in the "Best Vocal Recording of the Year" and a 2nd GRAMMY nomination in the "Best Engineered Recording of the Year" category. It's indeed one of the best vocal albums of contemporary songs ever made. Carole Farley, who made her MET debut in the MET's first LULU production, seems to be just at home with Puccini, Poulenc, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich and even Latin American popular songs (her Lecuona songs album is extremely beautiful).
William Bolcom's accompaniment is brilliant, and the songs are a revelation.
J.B. (Pittsburgh, Pa)

Great Songs, but Mind the Singer.......2006-07-04

This is one of those discs where the listener has to balance the advantages of the program with the disadvantages of the performance. Bolcom is one of this country's most versatile and brilliant composers, and those qualities are demonstrated to great effect in the songs on this album. His piano playing is, as one would expect, also solid and expressive. The drawback here is Carole Farley. Although her diction and intonation are good, as far as tone-color goes, she seems to be a one-trick pony; and if you don't like that trick (opera singer trying to sound like what she thinks a musical theater singer sounds like), listening to her can get very tiring. So while I highly recommend the disc for its content, I suggest listening to excerpts first before buying just to make sure that the singer's voice doesn't drive you batty.

The Songs of William Bolcom.......2006-02-14

The American composer William Bolcom (b. 1938) is best-known for his large-scale setting of William Blake's "Songs of Innocence and Experience," which is available on a 3-CD Naxos set. This new collection of Bolcom's songs also on Naxos shows the composers's lifelong fascination with Blake. It includes an early lyrical setting of Blake's poem, "Mary" which deals with a beautiful and intelligent young woman and her rejection by her society. In the several torch and cabaret-style works it includes, the collection also shows Bolcom's attempts to fuse classical with popular styles of music. Bolcom also has done so in his piano music, much of which is heavily influenced by ragtime.

The songs on this CD are performed and selected by soprano Carole Farley with Bolcom himself at the piano. Ms. Farley has also recorded for Naxos' "American classics" series a selection of the songs of Ned Rorem with Rorem at the piano. Ms. Farley and Naxos are doing listeners a service by introducing them to the world of the American art song.

The highlight of this CD is the 20-minute song-cycle "I will breathe a mountain" in which Bolcom sets 11 poems by American women. The poems were selected by Alice Fulton, and they include Fulton's own "I will swing those obligatos around" in which the young singer describes a come-on from a boor. The song writing is declamatory in character with many twists, turns, and shouts in the vocal line. Only the setting of H.D.'s "Never More Will the Wind" is lyrical and flowing. Besides Fulton and H.D. the settings include poems by Millay, Gwendolwn Brooks (a poem called "The Crazy Woman" with appropriately wild shrieks) Anne Sexton, Denise Levertov, Marianne Moore (listen to what Ms. Farley makes of the poets wish to be a DRA' GON), Emily Dickinson (in a moving poem of the stillness of a home after death),Louise Bogan, May Swenson, and Elizabeth Bishop. "I will breathe a mountain" is an outstanding and moving contemporary American song-cycle and is in itself sufficient reason for hearing this recording.

The CD also includes a second exquisite cycle, "Songs to Dance" which sets ten miniature poems by George Montgomery. This is a work to be danced as well as sung, and it has apparently been performed live only once, by the composer, his wife, the soprano Joan Morris, and dancer, Dan Wagoner. It has never been recorded before. The work deserves to be heard and seen.

Many of the remaining works on this CD are cabaret-style theatrical pieces that Bolcom composed in collaboration with lyricist Arnold Weinstein. The best of these are two torch songs from a show called "Casino Paradise": Night Make my Day (a parody of the torch style which is sometimes performed straight) and "My Father the Gangster", in which a young woman laments how men are, understandably, worried about her father and afraid to approach her. The collection opens with a scream by Ms. Farley in the erotic novelty "You cannot have me now", about the affairs of the wife of a German officer, sung with a heavily inflected German accent and also set to words by Weinstein.

I enjoyed Bolcom's short setting of May Swenson's poem "The Digital Wonder Watch" with the tick-ticking in the piano. This song is a satire of technology, with the poet describing the features of her "wonderful watch" while asking: "Does it show how to wind up/a broken heart?" The other songs on the CD include the passionate "The Last Days of Mankind", conceived for rock singer Marianne Faithful, two eloquent settings of poems by Richard Tillinghast, and four concluding early collaborations between Bolcom and Weinstein.

This CD offers an opportunity to explore the world of American song in the works of a leading contemporary composer. The cycle, "I will breathe a mountain" will be a lasting achievement in American art song.

Robin Friedman

Average customer rating: Flying on the Viewless Wings of Poesy Playful Mera and the over-zealous pianist Excellent, if a bit of an oddity The travails of life melt away listening to "Nightingale." Haunting

Nightingale: Japanese Art Songs Manufacturer: Bis ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Similar Items: Mother's Songs - Japanese Popular Songs Romance ASIN: B0000016PT Release Date: 2000-08-07

Tracks:

1. Nightingale - Japanese Art Songs: Cherry Blossoms Lane
2. Nightingale - Japanese Art Songs: Songs Of Aiyan - Noskai
3. Nightingale - Japanese Art Songs: Songs Of Aiyan - Rabit-ear Irides
4. Nightingale - Japanese Art Songs: Songs Of Aiyan - Song of Aiyan
5. Nightingale - Japanese Art Songs: Songs Of Aiyan - Higanbana
6. Nightingale - Japanese Art Songs: Songs Of Aiyan - Caprice
7. Nightingale - Japanese Art Songs: Six Songs For Children - The Weasel
8. Nightingale - Japanese Art Songs: Six Songs For Children - Gourds
9. Nightingale - Japanese Art Songs: Six Songs For Children - Autumn Fields
10. Nightingale - Japanese Art Songs: Six Songs For Children - Saury Fish
11. Nightingale - Japanese Art Songs: Six Songs For Children - Karariko
12. Nightingale - Japanese Art Songs: Six Songs For Children - The Snow Maiden
13. Nightingale - Japanese Art Songs: Uguisu
14. Nightingale - Japanese Art Songs: Japanese Flute - Ina
15. Nightingale - Japanese Art Songs: Japanese Flute - Sailing Out
16. Nightingale - Japanese Art Songs: Japanese Flute - Yanshichi Of Yabe
17. Nightingale - Japanese Art Songs: Four Songs Of Dusk - Dusk Is A Huge Book...
18. Nightingale - Japanese Art Songs: Four Songs Of Dusk - Who Turns The Light Off...
19. Nightingale - Japanese Art Songs: Four Songs Of Dusk - In The Next Room With Nobody In...
20. Nightingale - Japanese Art Songs: Four Songs Of Dusk - For The Night To Receive The Dead...
21. Nightingale - Japanese Art Songs: Cherry Blossoms Lane

Customer Reviews:

Flying on the Viewless Wings of Poesy.......2006-09-01

I was quite impressed with this CD. I'm not very knowledgeable about classical vocals, but the music on "Nightingale" reminded me somewhat of the songs written by Schubert with lyrics by Goethe I learned about back in Music Appreciation class in college. Most of the selections here are light-hearted and simple with a mild undertone of melancholy, though "The Snow Maiden" is somewhat darker in feel (rather like "The Erl King") and the "Four Songs of Dusk" are positively eerie. As for the vocalist himself, Yoshikazu Mera has an incredible voice, clearly a native endowment of talent that he has fine-tuned with practice and training into a precision instrument. I was struck by the way he not only just sings the words but evokes their mood with his singing, summoning them forth as it were, so that the listener not only hears but really feels the lyrics.

This album was interesting to me in other ways, too, besides its primary appeal as twentieth century classical music. It brought to my attention a whole genre of music in modern Japan, and most of the selections are key pieces in this tradition, giving this CD much value in terms of "music history" more generally and "Japanese cultural history" more specifically. Furthermore, the texts of the lyrics in these pieces are taken from key Japanese poets such as Kitahara Hakushu, Sato Haruo, Kato Shuichi, and Tanikawa Shuntaro, so there is much of interest here for anyone into Japanese literature as well.

Many thanks to my Amazon friend Nurit David for suggesting this fine CD.

Playful Mera and the over-zealous pianist.......2006-04-20

This CD has to be one of Mera's best. That said it's not particularly original and verges on being a shade dull in places. "How could this be possible"?, I hear you ask. The answer is simple. Whilst Mera's voice is pure and sweet; soars and sweeps with the grace and elegance one has come to expect from this world-class artist, Kikuko OGURA on the piano has a lot to learn. We have bought the disc because we want to listen to Mera, not some heavy-handed, over-zealous support act that is drowning out the main attraction. The piano is clumsly, heavy and not quite at the same level of excellence as Mera, that coupled with the sheer blandness of the playing gives the impression the composition was not considered nearly enough. The producer believing that shoddy production levels and poor balance would be compensated for Mera's angelic tones was WRONG. This CD finds Mera in a playful mood, but TWENTY-ONE TRACKS of clunky piano and Mera's vocals (however brilliant) is enough to test the patience of even the most ardent fan.

Excellent, if a bit of an oddity.......2002-05-13

These are true 'Art songs', Japanese Lieder, and I'm not sure that many Japanese would be familiar with these songs which are some distance from classical folk songs like Esashi oiwake. Mera's voice of course is exemplary, and credit to BIS for including the full Japanese sung texts (in Japanese script), along with accurate English translations.

The travails of life melt away listening to "Nightingale.".......1999-03-01

Yoshikazu Mera, the counter-tenor from Japan, is, perhaps, the finest classical voice I have ever heard. Now, I say "classical voice" as if I knew what I was talking about but here is what I mean: when it comes to a singer, male or female, interpreting the works of Strauss, Handel, Bach, etc., there is no finer counter-tenor in the world than Mera in my humble opinion. His command of his vocal cords is so precise and so hauntingly consistent that I have been spiritually transported to places I have never been before thanks to this man's incredible gift for nailing down notes with precision and grace. I wish the President of the United States would showcase this man's work at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts because then America could become familiar with the world-class counter-tenor we simply know as Yoshikazu Mera. He would, I believe, leave everyone who heard him in person bereft of words and filled, to the brim, with awe. I wish my words were as eloquent as his voice but they are not so you will just have to get a copy of this excellent CD and what I consider to be the companion piece, "Romance." Happy listening!!

Haunting.......1999-01-18

When I first heard Mera, I was taken aback by the quality of his voice. A sampler disc arrived with a Gramophone magazine and it took me some time to get around to listening to it, thinking that he was "just another counter-tenor". However, it became apparent very quickly that Yoshikazu Mera is not "just another counter-tenor". His voice floats, it soars. It is haunting, sometimes it seems to come from another world. I have also listened to his Baroque recordings, but this disc (as well as the recent "Romance") sets Mera apart from the other counter-tenors. The material on "Nightingale" is very evocative and Mera paints beautiful pictures with the shadings in his voice.

Average customer rating:

Rhymes Reveries Rimes Manufacturer: Musica Viva ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Brahms | Brahms, Johannes | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Copland | Copland, Aaron | ( C ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Gounod | Gounod, Charles | ( G ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Schubert | Schubert, Franz | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Strauss | Strauss, Richard | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | 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 | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music ASIN: B0000DFZYS Release Date: 2003-10-21

Tracks:

1. The Fairy Pipers
2. The Zoo - A Song Cycle For Young Voices
3. The Zoo - A Song Cycle For Young Voices
4. The Zoo - A Song Cycle For Young Voices
5. The Zoo - A Song Cycle For Young Voices
6. The Zoo - A Song Cycle For Young Voices
7. The Zoo - A Song Cycle For Young Voices
8. The Zoo - A Song Cycle For Young Voices
9. The Zoo - A Song Cycle For Young Voices
10. The Zoo - A Song Cycle For Young Voices
11. The Zoo - A Song Cycle For Young Voices
12. The Zoo - A Song Cycle For Young Voices
13. I Bought Me A Cat
14. In A Shady Nook (The Leprehaun)
15. Songs Of Peter Rabbit
16. Songs Of Peter Rabbit
17. Songs Of Peter Rabbit
18. Songs Of Peter Rabbit
19. Songs Of Peter Rabbit
20. Songs Of Peter Rabbit
21. Songs Of Peter Rabbit
22. Songs Of Peter Rabbit
23. Songs Of Peter Rabbit
24. Songs Of Peter Rabbit
25. Songs Of Peter Rabbit
26. Songs Of Peter Rabbit
27. Songs Of Peter Rabbit
28. Songs Of Peter Rabbit
29. Baby's Fishing For A Dream (Baby's boat)
30. That's An Irish Lullaby
31. That's An Irish Lullaby
32. Wiegenlied, Op.49 No.4
33. Wiegenlied, Op.41 No.1
34. Cradle Song/Berceuse
35. Si J'etais Petite Mere
36. Dormir A Un Negrito From Cancion De Cuna Para
37. Suo-Gan/Lullaby/Berceuse
38. Sandmannchen #4: The Little Sandman
39. Gai Lon La
40. Berceuse/Lullaby
41. Dream Angus
42. Ninna Nanna/Lullaby/Berceuse
43. My Love Is Like A Red, Red Rose

Album Description

Tracy Dahl's fourth appearance on the CBC Records label showcases her flair as an actress as well as her outstanding vocal abilities, bringing the listener a collection of songs from around the world that is zany and fun on the one hand and gently rocking on the other. Take zany for example, with W.H.Belyea's Zoo Songs, as inspired by giraffes, elephants, monkeys, peacocks, kangaroos, bear, lions and rabbits. Speaking of rabbits, there is also the musical tale Peter Rabbit by Dudley Glass. Add Aaron Copland's I bought me a cat, and you're on a musical animal merry go round - where she stops, nobody knows. Well, it doesn't stop, but it does slow down to lullaby proportions as Tracy also explores music that will allow your children a bit of shut-eye after getting off the merry go round, like the music of Johannes Brahms or Robert Schumann, or a traditional Irish Lullaby.

Average customer rating:

A Total Embrace: The Composer Manufacturer: Sony ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Ballets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music 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 Ballets & Dances | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Symphonies | Forms & Genres | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Clarinet | Reeds & Winds | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music Modern & 20th Century | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music New York Philharmonic Orchestra | ( N ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music English | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Psalms | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | 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: Leonard Bernstein - A Total Embrace: The Conductor ASIN: B0000AQS3U Release Date: 2003-09-09

Tracks:

1. Concert Works: I. Psalm 108 (Verse 2) & Psalm 100 (Complete) - Camerata Singers
2. Concert Works: II. Psalm 23 (Complete) & Psalm 2 (Verses 1-4) - Camerata Singers
3. Concert Works: III. Psalm 131 (Complete) & Psalm 133 (Verse 1) - Camerata Singers
4. Concert Works: III. Lamentation - Jennie Tourel
5. Concert Works: IV. Agathon (Adagio) - Isaac Stern
6. Concert Works: B. The Masque: Extremely Fast - Philippe Entremont
7. Concert Works: C. The Epilogue: Adagio; Andante; Con Moto - Philippe Entremont
8. Concert Works: IV. ' A Big Indian And A Little Indian' Con Brio - Leonard Bernstein
9. Concert Works: IV. 'Civet A Toute Vitesse (Rabbit At Top Speed)' - Leonard Bernstein
10. Concert Works: I. Prelude For The Brass - Benny Goodman
11. Concert Works: II. Fugue For The Saxes - Benny Goodman
12. Concert Works: III. Riffs For Everyone - Benny Goodman
13. Concert Works: I. Invocation. Kaddish 1 - Camerata Singers
14. Concert Works: Film: Love Theme - New York Philharmonic

Tracks:

1. Theater Works: Opening: 'New York, New York' - Adolph Green
2. Theater Works: 'Lonely Town'/Dance: Lonely Town - John Reardon
3. Theater Works: Dance: Times Square - Leonard Bernstein
4. Theater Works: 'Some Other Time' - Betty Comden
5. Theater Works: Dance: The Real Coney Island - Ensemble
6. Theater Works: I. Enter Three Sailors - Leonard Bernstein
7. Theater Works: IV. Pas De Deux - Leonard Bernstein
8. Theater Works: VII. Finale - Leonard Bernstein
9. Theater Works: 'The Pirate Songs' - Boris Karloff And The Pirates
10. Theater Works: 'Ohio' - Rosalind Russell
11. Theater Works: 'A Little Bit In Love (Never Felt This Way Before)' - Jacquelyn
12. Theater Works: 'A Quiet Girl' - Sydney Chaplin
13. Theater Works: 'Conga!' - Ensemble
14. Theater Works: 'Wrong Note Rag' - Ensemble
15. Theater Works: Overture - Original Broadway Cast
16. Theater Works: 'Best Of All Possible Worlds' - Chorus
17. Theater Works: Mazurka - Barbara Cook
18. Theater Works: 'Glitter And Be Gay' - Barbara Cook
19. Theater Works: 'Make Our Garden Grow' - Ensemble

Tracks:

1. Theater Works: Prologue - Orchestra
2. Theater Works: The Dance At The Gym - The Jets
3. Theater Works: 'Maria' - Larry Kert
4. Theater Works: 'Tonight' - Larry Kert
5. Theater Works: 'America' - Marilyn Cooper
6. Theater Works: 'Cool' - The Jets
7. Theater Works: 'Somewhere' (Ballet) - Reri Grist
8. Theater Works: 'The Community' - David Johnson
9. Theater Works: 'Part II: Allegretto' - Leonard Bernstein
10. Theater Works: Scene III/IIIa: 'I Was Standing In A Garden/Then Desire Took Hold Of Me' - Nancy Williams
11. Theater Works: I. Devotions Before Mass - Hymn And Psalm: 'A Simple Song' - Alan Titus
12. Theater Works: V. Meditation No. 1 - Alan Titus
13. Theater Works: VI. Gloria - Alan Titus
14. Theater Works: XIV. Sanctus: 'Holy! Holy! Holy!' - Alan Titus
15. Theater Works: XVII Pax: Communion - Final Hymn (Excerpt) - Alan Titus

Average customer rating: Beautiful, Sweet and Strong Pretty, but.. Very nice indeed lush, melodic glorious

Rabbit Songs ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Alt-Country & Americana | Country | Indie Music | Stores | Music General | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Similar Items: Eveningland Funnel Cloud Birds, Beasts, & Flowers No Word From Tom Eastmountainsouth ASIN: B000056WHD Release Date: 2001-01-15

Tracks:

1. Lord, Blow The moon Out Please
2. When I Was Drinking
3. Half Acre
4. Burying Song
5. Betting On Trains
6. Leave Me Here
7. All That I'm Good For
8. Idle (The Rabbit Song)
9. Stupid Mouth Shut
10. Lazy Eye
11. Sailor
12. Polly's Dress
13. Night Like A River
14. The Cuckoo
15. Waltz
16. Horsey

Amazon.com

It's written into the logic of creativity that something like urban clatter and din can create calm. That's Hem. The Brooklyn quartet makes acoustic latticework of guitars, mandolins, piano, an array of orchestral instruments, and the floating voice of Sally Ellyson, which is equally suited to whisper-quiet tunes like the brief opener, "Lord, Blow Out the Moon Please," as it is to "Stupid Mouth Shut" and the band's boisterous rendition of "The Cuckoo." Hem's mellowness follows a post-punk New Age bend in the neo-folk road (especially on the sentimental "Burying Song"), but mostly the lyrics recall early Cowboy Junkies, the Hank Dogs, and the Be Good Tanyas. "All That I'm Good For" combines pedal steel with a full complement of strings to create an almost Lambchop level of rustic richness-—while Ellyson's voice goes from absolute glassy-lake calm to heights Sarah McLachlan would recognize. --Andrew Bartlett

Customer Reviews:

Beautiful, Sweet and Strong.......2006-09-23

It all started with noticing a remarkable song being sung in the background of a simple yet sweet commercial where people help other people. The song is "Half Acre". For the longest time I would hear it in passing yet it would stop me in my tracks and sometime give a moment of sad pause. It is strange. My Dad died recently. He died in a hospital. In the hospital...and for most of the day and evening for the past 10 years the tv was always on in his house. (My widowed Mom continues the tradition). I was in the hospital recently...with a tv of course. This song is so strong and important to me. The commercial comes on and I feel my Father. I feel him and see him at home watching tv happily...or sometimes think of him in the hospital when I remember the commerical coming on while I visited him. And being in the hospital myself and having the commercial comes on...I feel him. I feel my sadness of his loss. I feel his presents. I feel the simple times. I feel the rough times. It brings hope. It brings sadness toward our sad and terror filled lives. It reminds me of the humanity I sometimes feel we have lost in this world. It renews my belief that perhaps we will all be okay again. Its an amazing piece of art and music. And I thank HEM for it.

Pretty, but.........2006-04-02

The songs & the singing are really booooring. I give it 2.5 stars. I really tried to like this album because it sounds like a lot of other music that I really love. It just didn't work out, though. There a ton of pretty albums by many artists, and this one doesn't stand out at all. The songwriting & arrangements are lacking, and the vocals are sedate. I own Eveningland, which albeit overproduced in some tracks, is an overall improvement from this record.

Very nice indeed.......2005-07-22

When I first heard Sally Ellyson's voice I thought it was Sandy Denny reincarnated. Truly a beautiful voice and destined to join the pantheon of female folk goddesses in the course time.

lush, melodic.......2005-05-06

I first heard Hem open for Beth Orton, and I immediately bought the album. Their songs seem to flow together in a beautiful way; there is something magical about their music. When I listen to their songs, they bring me back to dreamy summer nights travelling through Door County with my husband. It's the soundtrack to a more perfect time when the countryside, the music, and the night felt so right together.

glorious.......2005-04-03

if you can get your hands on a copy of this spend the money. I was lucky enough to find this in a used record store for almost nothing. I would pay the $18 someone is asking on amazon for a copy.

it is beautiful music--impossible to listen to without being cracked open and moved. Those vocals.

Average customer rating:

Just a Man & His Music Manufacturer: Swamp Rabbit Publishing, Inc. ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Country | Styles | Music ASIN: B000CA7T2U Release Date: 2005-03-29

Rap Music:

1. Remember Me: The Last Recordings [EP] [Import]
2. Righteous Love
3. Rounds
4. Still Waters
5. Talk Is Cheap
6. Thank You for Being a Friend: Best of
7. Thanks I'll Eat It Here
8. The Anthology 1967-1971
9. The Best of Friends
10. The Definitive Collection

Rap Music

rap music

Recommended Music:

Repap Compilation [Import]

Vivaldi: Opera 7 - Libro Primo (Concerti 1-6)

Windows

Music: Makria

White Rock [Import]

We're Back [CD-single]

Worthless Pursuit

What's Up Matador

Wild Side of Life [Import]

Tu Historieta

(What's the Story) Morning Glory? [Enhanced]

WCBS FM: Motown, Soul and Rock N Roll - Rock N Roll

Wintercomessummer [CD-single]

He's Real

Star Dust: The Music of Hoagy Carmichael