RYAN DOMINGUEZ vocals, guitar JOSH LURIE guitar CHRIS POULSEN bass TOM ROSLAK drums
Its amazing what kind of change a couple of years of experience can bring to an up-and-coming act just ask Jersey-based Tokyo Rose. In 2003, the melodic punk quartet entered the market with their upbeat, energetic debut, Reinventing a Lost Art. Though the album served its purpose rather well, the foursome found some room for improvement and acted quickly, redefining their musical vision. The result is New American Saint, out on SideCho this October. But being able to envision, draft and eventually create New American Saint came only after years of laborious input. Vocalist/guitarist Ryan Dominguez and bassist Chris Poulsen had met while students at Rutgers University in New Jersey and helped Tokyo Rose launch on a much smaller scale; the pair wedged the acts performance schedule between midterms, classes and homework. "We toured whenever we could during breaks," Poulsen, recalls. Upon their graduation, Tokyo Rose became the members main focus and the band soon found a home with Orange County-based SideCho Records. It was then that Tokyo Rose, whose members were barely in their twenties at the time, recorded their debut album, Reinventing a Lost Art. After the debuts release, Tokyo Rose hit the touring circuit with bands like The Militia Groups The Lyndsay Diaries, and also made an appearance at the CMJ festival that same year. 2004 brought more activity, including a South By Southwest performance and a healthy 30-date stint on the Warped Tour. After another round of touring with Over It and a trip to Japan in early 2005, Tokyo Rose found themselves back at work on their sophomore effort. Tokyo Rose demoed their new album and opted for producer Matt Goldman, whom they had selected because of his contributions to Copelands efforts. "We just heard really good things about him and liked everything that we heard that he did," says Poulsen. Trekking it south to Atlanta, the band spent roughly a month with Goldman and the end result was the incredible New American Saint. Infusing a host of new influences outside their traditional genre boundaries, Tokyo Roses sophomore effort offers an array of additional instrumentation and pristine, yet comfortable production. "We wanted to go for a different feel than what we had done in the past," says Poulsen. Yet, that doesnt mean Tokyo Rose ditched its melodic rock foundation. The more mature and focused New American Saint simply expands upon the stable base of the bands debut. Key tracks include the catchy, motivated "Goodbye Almond Eyes," which talks about failed relationships and, according to Poulsen, "about someone who cant make up their mind on ending a relationship. They just keep dragging things out." Even Tokyo Roses approach to reaching out to new listeners has also changed. "There was no MySpace a few years ago. Were definitely trying to reach out to people and keep it as personal as possible," says Poulsen. "Were two years wiser. Weve made some mistakes but weve also done good things that weve remembered. Well do this right. People actually know our name and that was the first step. Now weve got to take advantage of those things and use it to reach more people to become a better and bigger band."
Product Description
"NEW AMERICAN SAINT" depicts the human condition in its strife for emotional and physical bliss. As a person comes into his own, he realizes which experiences and interactions generate the most enjoyment, and structures his life in order to forge and perpetuate his own idyllic niche. In the past two years since the release of their debut LP "Reinventing a Lost Art", Tokyo Rose has undergone similar realizations, accompanying member changes, and a musical soul searching. As the line-up solidified, the band found a strong common love for the straight-forward rock n' roll of decades past, and sought to reinterpret it through the lens of more modern influences: bands such as the Get-up Kids and Jimmy Eat World. The pairing of Tokyo Rose with renowned producer Matt Goldman fully facilitated the desired balance of vintage sounds and state-of-the-art recording techniques on "New American Saint". In addition to being able to explore and utilize the sonic qualities of classic instruments, the band was afforded the gamut of electronic effects, generating atmosphere and ambience. Fans of the band's previous work will find in "New American Saint" the pop sensibility for which the band has become popular. In addition, listeners will be treated to the band's experiments with instrumentation and structure. All in all, "New American Saint" embodies Tokyo Rose's progress and maturation from a genre begging for transcendence.
New American Saint,Tokyo Rose,Sidecho Records,Emo,Indie Rock,Pop,Punk-Pop,Rock,Rock/Pop
New American Saint
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Instruments of the Orchestra
Various Artists Manufacturer: Naxos ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B00006O0NT Release Date: 2002-12-03 |
Tracks:
- Overture To 'Tannhauser'
- Domna, Pos Vos Ay Chausida
- We Don't Merely Use Instruments, We Play On Them. And They Play On Us.
- Hungarian Dance No.7
- The Violin Is One Of The Most Tender And Beautiful Instruments Ever Invented.
- Violin Concerto In D Major (Adagio)
- But For A Long Time It Was Seen As The Instrument Of The Devil.
- The Soldier's Tale: Triumphal March Of The Devil
- The Manipulative Seductiveness Of The Gypsy Violin.
- Csardas Music
- The Violin And The Initiation Of Nature
- The Four Seasons (Spring, Mvt 1)
- Birds Are Again Evoked In The Second Concerto, Especially Music's Natural Favourite.
- The Four Seasons (Summer, Mvt 1)
- Like The Devil, The Violin Is A Master Of Disguise.
- Old Viennese Dance No.3 'Schon Rosmarin'
- The Menacing Sensuality Of Ravel's Tzigane: A Very Different Side Of The Violin:
- Tzigane
- Do We Now Have The True Measure Of This Instrument? Not Just Yet.
- Caprice No.24
- The Many Effects Of The String Tremolando: Brandenburg Concerto No.4 (Last Mvt)/From Joy To Fright/Quartettsatz In C Minor/The String Tremolo Practically Spells The World Agitato.
- Variations On A Theme Of Frank Bridge (No.7)
- Prokofiev's Tremolo In Romeo And Juliet Should Not Be Heard Just Before Bedtime.
- Romeo And Juliet: Act IV
- Vivaldi Use It To Illustrate The Shivering Of Travellers Crossing The Ice.
- The Four Seasons (Winter, Mvt 1)
- The Violin Muted
- Clair De Lune
- The Gentleness Of Muted Strings Persists Even When A Whole Orchestra Plays.
- Piano Concerto No.21 In C Major, K.467 (Slow Mvt)
- The Pizzicato Violin
- Pizzicato Polka
- In Prokofiev's Second Violin Concerto, The Accompaniment Is Pizzicato.
- Violin Concerto No.2 In G Minor (Slow Mvt)
- Varieties Of Pizzicato: Colas Breugnon (The People's Feast)/Now A Drier, Leaner, Hungrier Pizzicato. There's Not A Lot Of Comfort Here./Capriol Suite (Tordion)/The Use Of Pizzicato As 'Percussion'/Romeo And Juliet (Act I)/Mahler Used Pizzicato...
- The Planets (Mars - The Bringer Of War)
- The Technique Of Double-Stopping Enables The Violin To Play Duets With Itself./Sonata No.3 In C Major For Unaccompanied Violin (Fugue)/Now A Later Example Of The Same Technique
- Hungarian Dance No.4
- Double-Stopping Is A Standard Feature Of A Lot Of Folk Music.
- The Four Seasons (Autumn, Mvt 1)
- Now The Same Technique, But The Sound Might Have Come From Another World.
- Bolero
- Double-Stopping Can Only Approximate The Sound Of A Real Violin Duet.
- Cadenza To The Violin Concerto By Brahms
- Now Compare That With A Real Violin Duet.
- Forty-Four Duos (No. 1: Teasing Song)
- Another Duo By Bartok, Demonstrating The Violin's Rich Lower Register
- Forty-Four Duos (No.2: Maypole Dance)
- And Now What May Be The Most Beautiful Accompanied Violin Duet In History
- Concerto In D Minor For Two Violins (Largo)
- The Soul Of The Violin Is In Song; But What About This Weird Passage?
- Violin Concerto No.1 In D Major (Mvt 2)
- The Use Of Harmonies In The Orchestra Can Be Both Magical And Unsettling.
- Symphony No.1 'Titan' (Mvt 1, Opening)
- Tchaikovsky's Use Of Harmonics In The Sleeping Beauty Is Both Strange And Darling.
- The Sleeping Beauty (Act II, No.15: Entr'Acte)
- Ravel's Harmonics In Mother Goose Effect A Magical Transformation.
- Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Beauty And The Beast)
- Stravinsky's Harmonics In The Firebird Transport Us Almost Into Another World./The Firebird (Introduction)
- The Natural Upper Notes Of The Violins Have A Unique Emotional 'Grab'.
- Also Sprach Zarathustra (Of The Afterworldsmen)
- Still In Their Upper Register, The Violins Unleash The Energy Of A Young Colt.
- Variations On A Theme Of Frank Bridge (No. 4)
- Elsewhere, Britten Uses The Same High Register To Create A Very Different Mood.
- Four Sea Interludes (Dawn) From 'Peter Grimes'
- To End This Outing With The Violins, A Charming Little Elfin Dance
- Elfenreigen
Tracks:
- Introduction To The Viola
- Viola Concerto (Mvt 1)
- Khatchaturian Gets A Very Different Sound From It: Fuller, Fruitier, More Exotic.
- Gayane Suite No.1 (Armen's Solo)
- Very Nearly The Whole Of The Violin's Upper Register Is Also Available To The Viola.
- Passacaglia, Op.33b From 'Peter Grimes'
- The Viola Can Bring A Special, Rich Twanginess To Pizzicato That The Violins Lack./Don Quixote/Berlioz Drew Sounds From It That Retain Their Metallic Strangeness Even Today.
- Harold In Italy (Mvt 4)
- The Muted Viola: Intimate, Gentle, Poignant In Dvork
- Cypresses (No.9)
- The Massed Violas Of The Modern Symphony Orchestra In Mahler
- Symphony No.4 (Mvt 3)
- The 'Period' Viola In Bach
- Brandenburg Concerto No.6 (Last Mvt)
- The Cello: A Voice Of Unique Nobility
- Suite No.1 For Unaccompanied Cello (Prelude)
- Brahms And The 'Soul' Of The Cello
- Piano Concerto No.2 In B Flat Major (Mvt 3)
- Most Orchestral Composers Tend To Emphasize The Cello's Lower Register.
- Cantata 'Herz Und Mund Und Tat Und Leben', BWV 147 (Soprana Aria: Bereite Dir, Jesu)
- In The Time Of Beethoven The Cello Remained As Fundamental As Ever.
- Symphony No.3 'Eroica' (Finale)
- But The Cello Is Not Condemned To Spend Its Life In The Basement.
- Elfentanz, Op.39
- Not Only In Recital Showpieces Like That Is The Cello Is Used In Its Highest Register.
- The Protecting Veil (Opening)
- A Cello With An Identity-Crisis: The Pizzicato Flamencan
- Flamenco
- Double-Stopping In The Lower Reaches Of The Cello's Range
- Solo Suiet For Cello And Piano (Sardana)
- It's In The Middle Register That The Cello Really Comes Into Its Own.
- Oriental Dance, Op.2 No.2
- It Was To The Cellos That Beethoven Gave Two Of His Most Famous Themes./Symphony No.5 (Mvt 2)/Still More Famous Than That Theme Is This One From The Ninth Symphony.
- Symphony No.9 (Finale)
- Introduction To The Double-Bass
- The Carnival Of The Animals (The Elephant)
- But The Double-Bass Can Be Intensely Expressive And Graceful.
- Elegy No.1 In D Major
- The Range Of The Double-Bass Is The Greatest Of All The String Instruments/Allegro Di Concerto, 'Alla Mendelssohn'/And It's Also Capable Of Very Considerable Virtuosity.
- Capriccio Di Bravura
- Double-Bass Solos In Orchestral Scores Are Rare But Often Memorable./Symphony No.1 'Titan' (Mvt 3)/In His Third Symphony Mahler Makes A Very Different Use Of The Instrument./Symphony No.3 (Mvt 1)
- The Double-Bass Muted In Prokofiev/Lieutenant Kije Suite (Kije's Wedding)/In Another Work Prokofiev Uses The Double-Bass To Enhance The Winds./Romeo And Juliet (Act III)/And He Combines The Bass Clarinet With A Shivering Tremolo From The Double-Basses....
- Symphony No.5 (Mvt 3)/So Much For The Strings/On Now To The Winds
Tracks:
- The Antiquity And Magic Of The Flute
- Prelude A L'Apres-Midi D'Un Faune
- The Versatility And Agility Of The Flute
- Orchestral Suite No.2 In B Minor (Badinerie)
- The Flute In Fifteenth-Century Spain
- Sa'Dawi
- Other Flutes: The Bass And Alto
- Chamber Music No.II
- The Piccolo - Aptly Named
- La Naissance D'Osiris (Mvt 6)
- From A Piccolo Of The Eighteenth Century To One Of Its Descendants In The Twentieth
- Suite No.1 For Small Orchestra (Valse)
- A Variety Of Techniques
- Chamber Music No.II
- Flutter-Tonguing. But Tchaikovsky Got There Eighty Years Before.
- The Nutcracker (Act II, No.2: Scene)
- From The Transverse To The Vertical: The Baroque Recorder
- Recorded Suite In A Minor (Menuet II)
- An Unfamiliar, Early Vision Of The Instrument
- Naelden, Naelden
- The Bachian Oboe
- Cantata 'Ein Feste Burg Ist Unser Gott', BWV 80 (No.7: Duetto)
- Introduction To The Cor Anglais Or 'English Born'
- Symphony No.9 'From The New World' (Mvt 2)
- The Loneliness Of The Cor Anglais
- The Swan Of Tuonela
- The Cor Anglais Joins The French Horn In Haydn.
- Symphony No.22 'The Philosopher' (Opening)
- Introduction To The Oboe D'Amore, Beloved Of Bach - But Also Of Ravel
- Bolero
- The Clarinet Family: Boxing The Compass, From The Depths Of The Bass Clarinet.../The Egyptian (Violence)/...To The Raucous And Squealy.../Taras Bulba (The Death Of Ostap)/...To The Shrill And Complaining...
- Petrushka (No.8: Peasant With Bear)/...To The High Sprits Of A Playful Puppy./Symphonie Fantastique (Last Mvt)/And To The Downright Jazzy/Romeo And Juliet (Act II)
- As The High Clarinets Tend To Be Loud, So The Bass Tends To Be Soft:
- Gayane Suite No. 1 (Mvt 5)
- The Bass Clarinet Is Used By Most Composers Mainly As A Colouring Agent.../Petrushka (No.4: The Blackamoor)/...But It Does Occasionally Get A Whole Tune To Itself./Iberia (Almeria).
- The Range Of The Normal Clarinet Parts Goes Quite High...
- The Snow Maiden (Scene 5: Melodrama)
- ...And Quite Low.
- Peter And The Wolf (The Cat)
- The Clarinet As Concerto Soloist
- Clarinet Concerto In A Major (Rondo)
- But That's Not The Instrument Mozart Wrote It For; This Is:
- Clarinet Concerto In A Major (Rondo)
- Introduction To The Saxophone
- Hary Janos Suite (Mvt 4)
- The Soprano Saxophone Has Quite A Different Feel To It.
- L'Arlesienne Suite No.1 (Minuet)
- The Little Sopranino Sax Goes Even Higher.
- Bolero
- The Most Famous Use Of The Saxophone Is In An Orchestration By Ravel.
- Pictures At An Exhibition (The Old Castle)
- The Saxophone Can Be Quite Contagiously Good-Humoured.
- Sax-O-Phun
- The Puffa-Puffa Image Of The Bassoon
- Peter And The Wolf (Grandfather)
- The Bachian Bassoon, In Accompanimental Mode
- Cantata 'Weichet Nur, Betrubte Schatten' ('Wedding Cantata'), BWV 202 (Aria No.1)
- Bizet Leaves The Puffa-Puffa Image Out, Allowing The Bassoon To Sing./Carmen Suite No.1 (Les Dragons D'Alcala)
- And Ravel, Also In Spanish Mode, Does Likewise.
- Bolero
- The Bassoon As A Voice Of High Seriousness, Indeed Desolate Loneliness
- Symphony No.3 (Opening)
- The Eerie Bassoon In Its Highest Register
- The Rite Of Spring (Opening)
- Stravinsky Now Draws On Its Lowest Register, Lonely And Melancholy.
- The Firebird Suite (1919, Berceuse)
- The Bassoon As Concerto Soloist, Avoiding All Exaggeration
- Bassoon Concerto In G Minor (Finale)
- The Deep-Voiced Contra-Bassoon, As A Fairy-Tale Beast
- Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Beauty And The Beast)
- The French Horn Under Its Woodwind Hat
- Wind Quintet, Op.43 (Last Mvt)
- Now A More Prominent Role, In A Woodwind Quintet From An Earlier Era
- Wind Quintet In A Minor, Op.100 No.5 (Mvt 2)
- The Horn In Harmonious Blend With Strings In Another Quintet
- Horn Quintet, K.407 (Finale)
Tracks:
- The Trumpet As Virtuoso Soloist
- Brandenburg Concerto No.2 (Last Mvt)
- The Special Brillance Of Paired Trumpets
- Concerto In C For Two Trumpets, RV537 (Mvt 1)
- The Ceremonial Trumpet
- Fanfare For The Common Man
- Trumpets And Drums - An Incomparable Alliance
- Messiah (The Trumpet Shall Sound)
- The Versatility Of The Trumpet, From The Most Public To The Most Lonely
- Piano Concerto In F (Slow Mvt)
- The Trumpet As The Voice Of The City/An American In Paris/The Trumpet As Recruitment Officer/The Soldier's Tale (The March)/The Trumpet As Swaggerer
- Carmen Suite No.2 (Habanera)
- The Trumpet As The Voice Of Strength And Courage
- Carmet Suite No.2 (Toreador's Song)
- The Trumpet Muted/Petrushka (No.4: The Blackamoor)/Lieutenant Kije Suite (Opening)/The Trumpet As The Voice Of Weariness
- Billy The Kid
- The Trumpet As Character Actor
- Pictures At An Exhibition (No.6)
- The Trumpet As The Voice Of God
- Mass In B Minor ('Et Exspecto')
- The Birth Of The Trombone
- Aenmerckt Nu Hier
- The Birth Of The Brass As A Family
- Canzon 12 In Double Echo
- The Trombone In The Eighteenth Century
- Trombone Concerto In B Flat Major (Finale)
- The Tone Of The Tenor Trombone/Romance For Trombone And Organ/The Memorable Voice Of The Bass Trombone/Requiem (Mvt 2)/But The Bass Trombone Is More Than An Instrumental Bullfrog.
- Hosannah
- The Trombones Become Part Of The Orchestra.
- Symphony No.5 (Finale)
- The Wagnerian Trombone:/Overture To 'Tannhauser'
- The Trombone As Caricaturist
- Pulcinella (No.19: Vivo)
- The Trombone As Raspberry/Concerto For Orchestra (Intermezzo)
- The Horn And The Hunt
- Horn Concerto No.4 In E Flat, K.495 (Finale)
- The Challenging Horn Of The Baroque
- Abaris Ou Les Boreades (Menuet)
- The Scarcity Of First-Rate Players In Handel's Time
- Walter Music (Minuet 1)
- The Horn As Magician/The Firebird Suite (1919, Finale)
- Horns And The Sound Of Nobility
- Overture To 'Tannhauser' (Opening)
- The Special Sound Of The Horn In Its Higher Register
- Mass In B Minor ('Quoniam Tu Solus Sanctus')
- The Trumpet-Like Sound Of Massed Horns
- Symphony No.3 (Mvt 1, Opening)
- The Tuba - Unfairly Maligned?
- Symphony No.6 (Mvt 3)
- The Tuba Perfectly Cast By Ravel
- Pictures At An Exhibition (Bydlo)
Tracks:
- Introduction. And We Begin With A Bang.
- Fanfare For The Common Man/The Bass Drum On The Battlefields/Wellington's Victory, Op.91 (Opening)
- At The Opposite Extreme Is The Triangle.
- Piano Concerto No.1 In E Flat (Scherzo)
- Categories Of Percussion: Tuned And Untuned. The Side Drum
- Overture To 'La Gazza Ladra' - The Thieving Magpie (Opening)
- The Side Drum In An Effective But Unexpected Role/Clarinet Concerto (Mvt 1)
- The Tambourine. One Of The Oldest Instruments In The World
- Den Hoboecken Dans
- Even Older Is The Originally Oriental Gong.
- Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Laideronette)
- No Single Instrument Can Match The Gong In Evoking The Breaking Of Waves./Passacaglia, Op.33b From 'Peter Grimes'/But Gongs Don't Have To Be Struck To Be Effective.
- Gymnopedie No.2
- The Cymbals Are Generally Discovered Early In Life./The Sanguine Fan/And They Do More Than Clash Together Loudly. They Can Be Clashed Together Softly./Studio Example: But They Needn't Be Clashed Together At All/Studio Example: They Can Be Lightly...
- Other Untuned Percussion Instruments Include The Whip.: Piano Concerto In G Major (Opening)/And Here Are No Fewer Than Twenty, Cracked By Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker (Act I, Scene 5)
- More Versatile Than The Whip Are The Wood Blocks.../Studio Example/...Which Crop Up All Over The Place In Twentieth-Century American Music.
- Rodeo (Hoe-Down)
- Related To The Wood Blocks, By Sound, Are The Castanets./Jota Aragonesa/But The Castanets Were Also Used By Monteverdi Back In The Seventeenth Century.
- Scherzi Musicali (Damigella Tutta Belle)
- A Still Earlier Example From Fifteenth-Century Spain
- Yo M'Enamori D'Un Aire
- The Birth Of The Bongo
- Symphonic Dances From 'West Side Story'
- From The Streets Of New York To The Blacksmith's Shop/Il Trovatore ('Anvil Chorus')
- Desert-Island Decibels: Grand Canyon Suite (On The Trail)/Arcana
- From One Vegetable To Another: The Humble Squash, Or Marrow/Huapango
- Onwards To The Tuned Percussion. First, The Timpani
- Also Sprach Zarathustra (Introduction)
- But The Drum Roll Can Be More Effectively Frightening Than The Big Bang.: Symphony No.2 'Resurrection' (Mvt 3)
- Not One Drum Roll, But Many/Grand Canyon Suite (Sunrise)/Symphonie Fantastique (Last Mvt)
- Taking Advantage Of Tunability
- Music For Strings, Percussion And Celeste (Mvt 2)
- The Russian Composer Rodion Shchedrin Takes A Downward Turn./Carmen Suite (Changing Of The Guard)/Tuned, Yes; But For The Truly Melodic We Must Look Elsewhere.
- Introducing The Glockenspiel/Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)
- Saint-Saens And The Xylophone
- The Carnival Of The Animals (Fossils)
- Ravel And The Xylophone
- Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Laideronette)
- Introducing The Marimba/Carmen Suite (First Intermezzo)
- Introducing The Vibraphone
- The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (Narange Dolce)
- The Vibraphone Goes Russian.../Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)/...And Is Joined By The Marimba./Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)
- Introducing The Hungarian Cimbalom
- Folk Dances
- The Cimbalom And The Symphony Orchestra
- Hary Janos Suite (Mvt 3)
- Introducing The Tubular Bells
- Hary Janos Suite (Viennese Musical Clock)
- A More 'Up-Front' Approach From Rodion Shchedrin
- Carmen Suite (Introduction)
- But The Bells Can Also Make The Sinister Even More Sinister./Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Mvt 1)
- Introducing The Celeste
- The Nutcracker (Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy)
- Magic, In The Use Of Collective Percussion
- Miroirs (La Vallee Des Cloches)
- Plucked Instruments: The 'Undercover Percussion'/Carmen Suite (Scene)
- A Prime Case In Point Is The Harp, Irresistible To The Romantics./The Nutcracker (Act II, No.1: Scene)/The Non-Solo Harp As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra/Hungarian Rhapsody No.1
- The Traditionally Subservient Role Of The Harpsichord In The Baroque Orchestra
- Brandenburg Concerto No.2 (Slow Mvt)
- The Piano: King Of The Tuned Percussion/Symphony No.3 'Organ' (Mvt 3)/And A Quarter Of A Century After That:
- Petrushka (Russian Dance)
- The Anti-Romantic Piano As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra
- Music For Strings, Percussion And Celeste (Last Mvt)
Tracks:
- Keyboard Instruments In The Orchestra - The Most Powerful Of Them All:
- Symphony No.3 'Organ' (Finale)
- But Things In Handel's Day Were Very Different.
- Organ Concerto In B Flat, Op.4 No.3 (Last Mvt)
- The Organ Is Difficult To Classify.
- An Unexpected, Organ-related Guest
- Concerto Pour Zampogna (Last Mvt)
- Peasant-Fancying... And A Touch Of The Roaming Cowboy
- Les Miserables (Drink With Me)
- Outside Artefacts And The Power Of Association
- Mahler's Sleighbells
- Symphony No.4 (Opening)
- A Roll-Call Of Some Unusual Guests/The Typewriter/Parade
- Chains, And More/Integrales/An American In Paris/Sandpaper Ballet
- Purpose-Built Oddities: Wind Machines/Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Opening)
- Don Quixote (Variation VIII)
- National Calling Cards: The Guitar For Spain/Concierto De Aranjuez (Finale)
- And The Guitar's Poor American Relative, The Banjo/Washington Breakdown
- And Poorer Still, The Mouth Organ/The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (Packing Up)
- The Balalaika For Russia/Romeo And Juliet (Act II: No.14)
- The Maracas For Mexico/The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (El Desayuno)
- The Bongos And Congas And A Whole Wealth Of Other Drums For Africa And Central America/Studio Example
- The Sitar Of India/Evening Raga: Bhapoli
- The Accordion For France (Especially Paris)/Paris Canaille
- The Zither For Vienna/The Third Man (Theme)
- The Cimbalom For Hungary/Folk Dances
- The Guitar As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra/Rondena
- There Are Whole Orchestras Of Balalaikas./Sveit Mesiats
- The Effect Of The Wordless Human Voice, Used Purely As An Instrument/Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Mvt 1)
- Nocturnes
- Instruments And the Imitation Of Nature. The Clarinet As Cuckoo
- The Carnival Of The Animals (The Cuckoo)
- The Flute As An All-purpose Aviary
- The Carnival Of The Animals (The Aviary)
- The Oboe As Duck
- Peter And The Wolf (The Duck)
- The Recording Of Reality. Does It Work As Well?
- The Pines Of Rome (The Pines Of The Janiculum)
- The Recording Of Reality Electronically Reborn In New Guises
- Cantus Articus - Concerto For Birds And Orchesra (Mvt 2)
- Beethoven Turns Avian: Cuckoo, Nightingale, And Quail
- Symphony No.6 'Pastoral' (Andante Molto Mosso)
- Some Improbable Casting: The Violin As Braying Donkey
- The Carnival Of The Animals (Persons With Long Ears)
- A Truly Orchestral Hee-haw To Be Reckoned With
- Overture To 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'
- A Thunderstorm In A Million
- Symphony No.6 'Pastoral (Allegro-Allegretto)
- the Instrumental Depiction Of A Silent World
- The Carnival Of The Animals (The Aquarium)
- Saint-Saens' Menagerie Takes A Curtain Call.
- The Carnival Of The Animals (Finale)
Tracks:
- The Grouping Of Instrumental Families. An Additive Approach. First, Two Violins
- Forty-Four Duos (No.4)
- A Great Contrast, Of Both Pitch And Character: Violin And Viola
- Duo For Violin And Viola In B Flat Major, K.424 (Finale, Vars 1 & 2)/Studio Example
- Arrival Of The Standard String Trio: Violin, Viola, And Cello
- String Trio In B Flat (Menuetto)
- The String Quartet: Two Violins, Viola, And Cello
- String Quartet In F, Op.18 No.1 (Mvt 3)
- The String Quintet - When The Extra Instrument Is A Second Viola
- String Quartet No.5 In D, K.593 (Adagio)
- The String Quintet - When The Extra Instrument Is A Second Cello
- String Quintet In C (Mvt 3)
- The String Sextet: Two Violins, Two Violas, And Two Cellos
- String Sextet In B Flat (Mvt 2)
- The String Octet: The Standard String Quaret Times Two
- Octet In E Flat, Op.20 (Mvt 1)
- Double The String Octet: A Fully Fledged String Orchestra
- String Symphony No.2 (Finale)
- The Massed Strings Of A Symphony Orchestra
- Fantasia On A Theme Of Thomas Tallis
- Contrasts Of Pitch And Instrumental 'Colour' In The Woodwind Section
- Wind Quintet In A Minor, Op.100 No.5 (Theme)
- In The First Variation It's The Horn That Gets The Lion's Share.
- Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 1
- In Variation Two The Torch Is Handed To The Bassoon.
- Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 2
- In Variation Three The Oboe Leads.
- Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 3
- Variation Four: Conversation Before Returning To A Solo-dominated Texture
- Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 4
- And Variation Five is Dominated By The Clarinet.
- Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 5
- The Next To Be Featured Is The Virtuoso Flute.
- Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 6
- Individual Farewells And A Closing Chorus
- Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 7
- A Mixed Group: Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, String Quartet, And Double-Bass
- Octet In F (Mvt 3)
- The Early Classical Symphony Orchestra Of Haydn And Mozart
- Symphony No.29 In A, K.201 (Finale)
- Strings, Wind, But No Brass. What Haydn And Mozart Never Knew
- Canzon 28
- Beethoven's Fifth: Two Horns, Two Trumpets, And Three Trombones Join The Team.
- Symphony No.5 (Finale)
- From Beethoven To The Massive Orchestras Of Berlioz, Wagner, And Mahler
- Beethoven Changed The Face Of The Symphony And The Orchestra Forever
- Symphoy No.6 'Tragic' (Mvt 1)
- The Cult Of Orchestral Elephantiasis Reaches Its Peak.
- Symphony No.1 'Gothic' (VI: Te Ergo Quaesumus)
- When Large Doesn't Necessarily Mean Loud: Debussy
- Images (Gigues)
- A Crisis Of Confidence; The Orchestra's Survival Hangs In The Balance, But It Still Develops. The Ondes Martenot:
- Turangalila Symphony (Chant D'amour 1)
- The Advent Of The 'Early Music' Movement Brings A New Vitality And Freshness.
- Balle De Xerxes (Gavotte En Rondeau)
- Computer And Synthesiser: Friends Or Foes?
- Concerto In D Minor For Two Violins (Largo)
- A Speculative Look Ahead/Mass In B Minor ('Dona Nobis Pacem')
Customer Reviews:
Instruments of the Orchestra - Great Reference Material!.......2007-04-04
Beginner or Expert.......2007-03-12
Very Informative and Enjoyable.......2006-11-20
Frank's view.......2006-08-19
Excellent Intro for Those Not Familiar with the Orchestra.......2003-11-08
The narrator and writer is a great speaker and holds your attention well. He is definitely knowledgeable. He provides musical examples for each point he makes, so you get to "hear" what he just talked about. I'd say the CDs are about 65% music and 35% narration. You'll learn about the range of instruments, some history, different ways to play them, how they sound, and how they are used in the orchestra. This CD set was a great learning experience and is sold at such a low price!
I recommend this CD for those who want to learn about classical music and those who know about it but are interested in learning more about the inner workings of an orchestra. You'll learn much useful information. For instance, the Rite of Spring (with that eerie start) is written for bassoon! I never knew a bassoon could sound like that but now I do.
The one complaint I have is the last CD. This deals with the orchestra. I wanted more of a tour of how the orchestra has been used through history up to the present. Instead, it was a tour of how different groups of instruments sound. I thought it could have been better. The other 6 CDs are excellent.
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Leontyne Price Sings Barber
Manufacturer: RCA ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B000003FNF Release Date: 1994-05-10 |
Tracks:
- Hermit Songs, Op.29: At Saint Patrick's Purgatory
- Hermit Songs, Op.29: Church Bell At Night
- Hermit Songs, Op.29: Saint Ita's Vision
- Hermit Songs, Op.29: The Heavenly Banquet
- Hermit Songs, Op.29: The Crucifixion
- Hermit Songs, Op.29: Sea-Snatch
- Hermit Songs, Op.29: Promiscuity
- Hermit Songs, Op.29: The Monk And His Cat
- Hermit Songs, Op.29: The Praises Of God
- Hermit Songs, Op.29: The Desire For Hermitage
- Sleep Now, Op. 10, No. 2
- The Daises, Op. 2, No. 1
- Nocturne, Op. 13, No. 4
- Nuvoletta, Op. 25
- Knoxville: Summer Of 1915
- Antony And Cleopatra: Give Me Some Music
- Antony And Cleopatra: Give Me My Robe
Amazon.com
Early in her career, Leontyne Price formed an artistic liaison with Samuel Barber that resulted in his composing the female lead in Antony and Cleopatra for her. The disastrous premiere of that opera prevented Price from making a complete recording--a tragic loss in my opinion. She did record excerpts, however, and we at least have this disc to document these and the many other Barber works that she performed with incomparable artistry. Opera singing being what it is, Price didn't often have the chance to sing in English, so these performances are not only historically important, they are uniquely communicative as well. --David HurwitzCustomer Reviews:
a voice teacher and early music fan.......2007-02-28
Only a few of Barber's song texts come from American sources; more often he chose the work of Irish or English writers. He was drawn to 'Knoxville: Summer of 1915', a reflection of the American poet James Agee, because for him it vividly evoked his own childhood. With hints of blues and gently shifting rhythms, "Knoxville" is a mature expression of Barber's artistry as a musical poet and a master of orchestral color.
"The Hermit Songs" were first performed by Leontyne Price, soprano, with the composer at the piano at the Library of Congress, Washington,D.C..pn October 30, 1953. They are a setting of anonymous Irish texts of the eighth to thirteenth centuries written by monks and scholars. They are small poems,thoughts or observations, some very short, and speak in straightforward, droll, and often surprisingly modern terms of the simple life these men led, close to nature, to animals and to God.
I think a brief quote from one of my favorite of these Hermit songs sums up the kind of prose contained in most all of them: from 'The Monk and his Cat' :Pangur, white Pangur, How happy we are Alone together, Scholar and cat. Each has his own work to do daily; for you it is hunting, for me study......'
The music on this disc is well executed, and if you are a Barber advocate, it's a great collection of his song material. I happen to like MOST of his music, but it's for me a 'mood ' thing. He was born very close to where I live, so I guess I feel a kinship of sorts. I do think that he is one of the 'greats' in contemporary music!
An American Voice of the Century.......2005-10-09
The "Knoxville" is beautifully judged - soft and swinging to start, then opening up into the drama and poetry of the middle and late sections. The Eleanor Steber original commission will always set the standard, but Price expands it that much farther, with longer phrases, and an ineffable langour that both she and Steber identified as the "Southern" stamp on this music. It's universal, as far as I am concerned, but it exalts and breaks the heart at the same time. Agee and Barber drink from the same fountain here.
I have never heard the entire "Anthony & Cleopatra", again written for Price, so I can't judge the work as a whole, just these two numbers. I have a special affection for the first scene, however - "Give Me Some Music" shows Price, in her absolute vocal prime, complete mistress of color and mood, and the motive, "My man of men" reappears in her final, regal, death scene. When she sings "O happy horse/ who bears the weight of Antony!" - I swear, my hair curls, no matter how many times I hear it.
In short, gotta have it.
An Essential Barber Disc.......2002-03-13
The recording of Knoxville: Summer of 1915 is arguable the best of those available. Ms. Price sings with great sensitivity and Thomas Schippers and the New Philharmonia provide excellent support. Ms. Price said that Knoxville reminded her of her own childhood, and her commitment to the music comes through. I have the recording of Knoxville sung by Eleanor Steber, who commissioned this work, but I have always regarded the Price recording as the one to have.
The two excerpts from Antony and Cleopatra are of great interest since Ms. Price sang the role of Cleopatra at the premiere in 1966. Her performance here, also conducted by Schippers, is wonderful. The transfer to CD of these recordings is excellent. Perhaps the only down side is that the Hermit Songs were performed before an audience so there is applause between each song. After a while, this becomes monotonous. This disc is a must for anyone interested in Barber's music, and in particular for Knoxville.
Price sings songs and arias written for her!!!.......2001-12-05
Fab voice, OK music.......2001-08-07
Knoxville 1915 is a much better piece than Hermit songs and has more lyrical moments, but it still sounds so modern. If it has just been an orchestral piece it might've been fabulous but that is unfortunately not the case. It's almost as if Barber wrote a piece for orchestra and wrote a seperate piece for voice and just joined them, whether they made sense together or not. Unlike Hermit Songs, Price's performance more than makes up for the lack of brilliance in the music. Her diction is amazingly clear, even Callas would be jealous and her voice soars, where the music allows her to at least.
The selections from A+C are worty enough, another unreal performance by Price, one wonders if there was a better interpretor of American Music ever, maybe Steber. These works are more traditional sounding and thus go over better, but they seem a bit bland, without Price infusing them with energy this listener would have lost interest
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Colonial America
Manufacturer: Maggie's Music ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B0000C9Z9X Release Date: 2003-09-01 |
Tracks:
- Rickett's Hornpipe/ Fishers Hornpipe
- Maiden Lane/ Jack O' Lent/ Chestnut/Bonny Broom
- Parting Friends/Primrose
- Flowers of Edinburgh/East Neuke of Fife
- Prelude / La Catherine
- Planxty Browne/Planxty Burke
- Cutie Clat Her
- John Come Kiss me Now
- Scots Tune
- Carolan's Farewell to Music
- A Port
- Yeil, yeil
- Kedron/Saint's Delight/Promised Land
- Gird the Logie
- La Belle Cavalier
- La Luxillier/La Balanje
- Federal Overture
- Death & Life
Album Description
Spirited new sounds from across the sea to the shores of the New Land. From the first colonists to the American Revolution and the birth of our republic Hesperus Early Music Ensemble's music reflects a time of new ideas, freedom and vitality. In town and village, parlor and ballroom, from the Appalachians to the great concert halls hear the musical pulse of early American music performed on a wide variety of folk and early music instruments. Includes: lively country-dance tunes, evocative Shape Note Hymns, old time Appalachian fiddle tunes, graceful European parlor music, French cotillions, divisions and improvisations. Introduction -The English Colonies in America were a patchwork-not just of territories whose boundaries became state lines, but of people from different places and classes with widely different values and experiences. This recording presents music from that patchwork; from England, the Colonial homeland; Scotland and Ireland, the homes of the largest groups of immigrants outside England; and France, the ally of the Patriots, and music written in the United States. More recordings by HESPERUS from Maggie's Music are Celtic Roots featuring Scottish fiddler, Bonnie Rideout and Early American Roots. Hesperus Ensemble is THE sought after musical group for period music that is both authentic, and most important fun, lively and spirited. They are frequent performers at the Smithsonian's Institute of American Music and can be heard on the soundtrack or the Paramount film with Johnny Depp entitled Sleepy Hollow! Excerpts from liner notes:2.A Set of English Country Dance Tunes: Maiden Lane, Jack O'Lent, Chestnut, Bonny Broom - The visionary London music publisher John Playford first published his English Dancing Master in 1651. It was reprinted 18 times over the next 77 years and is still popular today. 3. Parting Friends/Primrose - These tunes have come down to us in choral arrangements called shape-note hymns .Customer Reviews:
GREAT!.......2007-05-20
Try not to daydream too much while driving as i had done several times..lol..it's hard not to with this cd..:)
Perfect for a colonial reenactment or party.
A relaxing journey into our Colonial past.......2006-03-16
Fantastic!.......2004-03-04
It was an incredible journey from the past that has stayed with me since, and every day I drive that one hour back and forth to work. This music has changed everything about the trips, and I can't wait for more.
Thanks to Amazon.com I was able to buy all three CD's, including "Early American Roots," "Colonial America" and the incredible "Celtic Roots" with the most beautiful violas imaginable.
Thank you Hesperus! Please play more!
Cold Mountain type music that's great.......2003-11-15
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Bryn Terfel Sings Favorites
Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B0000AP6HI Release Date: 2003-10-14 |
Tracks:
- Couplets: 'Votre Toast Je Peu Vous Le Rendre' (Toreador Song)
- Shenandoah
- Bugeillio'r Gwenith Gwyn
- 'C'etait Le Soir' - 'Aufondu Du Temple Saint'
- The Lord Is My Shepherd
- Danny Boy
- Bella Notte
- Goin' Home
- Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
- Home Sweet Home
- Ave Maria D 839
- Il Mio Cure Va
- At The River
- None But The Lonley Heart
- If I Can Help Somebody
- Wiegenlied
- Abide With Me
- Lazybones
Amazon.com
The title of this CD tells it all. Here is one popular classic after another, some folk or traditional, some operatic, some religious or inspirational, some pop. The result in the throat/mind/sensibility of any other singer might be soupy, sappy, or simply uninteresting, but Bryn Terfel--he of the rolling bass-baritone voice who can smoothly deliver notes and phrases at any dynamic level--turns this generous, somewhat sentimental recital into something beautiful and special. After a rousing "Toreador Song" from Carmen, sung with just the right weight (most baritones find it too low, most basses too high) comes a ravishing version of "Shenandoah"; a fine Welsh song is followed by the stunning duet from Bizet's The Pearl Fishers, with Andrea Bocelli singing the tenor part gleamingly and Terfel considerately underplaying his hand. And so it continues through Brahms' Lullaby and Schubert's Ave Maria; the "Love Theme from Titanic" sung with great restraint; renditions of "Danny Boy" and "Home Sweet Home" which are just beautiful; the spirituals "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" and "At the River," slightly anachronistic but still effective; the gluey "If I Can Help Somebody"; and a few more. It's amazing that Terfel can bring such variety to material which is temperamentally so similar. Some of the arrangements are a bit sticky and overdone, but overall, this disc is a beauty for all seasons. It will make a lovely gift to music lovers of all types. --Robert LevineCustomer Reviews:
Excellent Voice, Cheap Music.......2006-04-27
"The Lord is My Shepherd" and "Abide With Me" are very nicely sung, although the arrangements (like almost all hymn arrangements) leave a good bit to be desired.
The big surprise was to hear him sing "Lazybones" to perfection.
But on the whole it is far better to hear him sing music whose quality matches that of his voice.
You are all idiots.......2006-04-04
Bryn Terfel, the Magnificent, sings 'Something for Everyone'.......2005-06-28
And sadly that is what this album resembles: the choice of songs and the arrangements and friends with whom he elects to perform raises some concern about his artistic integrity. Having purchased this CD based on hearing 'Toreador Song' from 'Carmen' - clearly the finest, most highly nuanced performance of this famous aria ever sung! - this listener expected a concert of similar arias. Wrong! This is like a summer night at Hollywood Bowl with bits and pieces of all manner of songs, some tasteful, others less so, but whatever Terfel sings it is good to hear his voice.
Some of the more successful tracks include 'Shenandoah', 'Danny Boy', Brahms' 'Lullaby', and a Welsh tune 'Bugeilio'r Gwenith Gwyn' sung in Welsh. But then Terfel opts to sing Tchaikovsky's 'None but the lonely heart' in English rather than Russian, a Disney song (from Lady and the Tramp) in Italian, and for some reason includes duets with a soprano by the sole name of Sissel ('Ave Maria'), an awful pairing with Andrea Bocelli for The Pearl Fishers duet (terrible to compare these two polarized voices!), and some choral and jazz ditties. Whew!
If you can get past the pick and save repertoire here and just relax with Terfel's artistry you are in for a treat. Not for the purists, but definitely a find for the 'crossover crowd'. Grady Harp, June 05
Bryn Terfel's voice is magnificent, this album superb........2005-05-05
Popular favorites sung by a fine concert baritone-bass.......2005-04-20
In the present program we may wonder whether Terfel's particular (and enormous) talent is well matched to the popular selections chosen. Overall, I say yes: Terfel gives fine and generally convincing performances of this widely varied program--and there are precious few (if any) who could do better.
Let's take a look at what's here:
On the famous toreador song from Bizet's "Carmen" Terfel gives a very fine, operatic rendition of the bull-fighter's swaggering, macho aria. His diction in French is faultless and his singing style unreproachable. What more do you want?
In "Shenandoah" Terfel takes on an American folksong, and here is hardly in his home territory. He sings it well, as a concert artist, and perhaps a bit more dramatically than necessary. His pronunciation of American English is very good--except that he's deceived by the "ss" in Missouri and does not give us the "z" sound which every American would. The use of the pipes by Neil Martin adds a lovely, wistful touch to this sentimental bit of lovesick nostagia.
The tender Welsh lovesong is sung in a fine concertish style, but manages to be quite intimate and convincing anyway. Terfel's pronunciation of the (South Wales?) language is perfect, as far as I can detect, and should probably not be taken for granted in this day when English dominates. The harp--mainstay of Welsh folk music--is welcome here as played by the expert fingers of Catrin Finch.
Bizet's well-known Pearl Fishers' duet is operatic territory, and Terfel shines here. Bocelli offers a warm and appealing, though smaller, tenor voice to the combination and the two do a good job overall. Terfel's French is again impeccable.
The lovely setting of the 23rd psalm by Goodall is a welcome bit of church music and the soloist-with-chorus arrangement puts Terfel into a familiar idiom, which he--and the London Voices--make the most of. It's a fine performance and will remind listeners of "The Vicar of Dibley" program on PBS, for which the hymn serves as themesong.
Danny Boy was, I believe, originally in English, though it is one of the best-loved Irish folksongs, so we can't fault Terfel for not singing it in Irish. He sings it well, in spite of its demanding range, and communicates the sad and longing tenderness a father feels for his son about to go off to battle. Terfel's sweet, pianissimo ending is gorgeous, impressive, and most apt.
I don't particularly like the song "Bella Notte," so I won't say much, except that it seems well presented. "Going Home" is performed as a concert piece which owes much more to Dvorak than to the Afro-American spiritual from which it is reportedly derived. Even so, Terfel manages a quite convincing southern American dialect. In the same mood, more or less, we get the spiritual "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," which Terfel and the London Voices bring off well, though not at all in the way a Black church choir would do it.
I won't take space to describe each of the following tracks, as I think the foregoing gives a pretty good idea of what to expect. The folksongs are not what a purist might want in the way of homespun simplicity--they are prettied up in artistic renditions. The concert pieces are very well done and leave little to be desired.
I will comment on only two more: I was not overly happy with the Brahms lullaby ("Wiegenlied"), because it is a bit too dramatic and artsy in style where it should be utterly simple. Still, we have to give T. credit for his excellent German pronunciation and his fine, if not cribside, style of singing.
In "Lazybones" Terfel gives us a thoroughly charming and delightfully bluesy performance of a Hoagy Carmichael song. Against all odds, it shows a warm understanding and affection for this idiom so alien to the hills and valleys of T's Welsh home. I defy anyone not to be charmed and delighted by this piece.
A strong commendation is in order for Chris Hazell's remarkably fine arrangements of most of these works, and the excellence of the performances by the accompanying groups. This is a musically first-class production!
The liner notes are generous, with song texts and photos of the participants in this recording. It is definitely up to Deutsche Grammophon's high standards!
If you like the pieces presented here and would like to hear them performed beautifully by first-class artists in fine arrangements, you should get this recording. With over 74 minutes of music, you'll be getting your money's worth several times over!
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Ned Rorem: Selected Songs
Ned Rorem , and Carole Farley Manufacturer: Naxos American ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B00005QISU Release Date: 2001-11-20 |
Tracks:
- The Waking
- Root Cellar
- My Papa's Waltz
- I Strolled Across An Open Field
- Memory
- Orchids
- The Serpent
- Night Crow
- Snake
- Lilltel Elegy
- The Nightingale
- Nantucket
- Lullaby Of The Woman Of The Mountain
- Love In A Life
- What If Some Little Pain...
- Visits To St. Elizabeth's
- Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening
- Spring
- See How They Love Me
- Now Sleeps The Crimson Petal
- I Am Rose
- Ask Me No More
- Far-Far-Away
- Early In The Morning
- Alleluia
- Such Beauty As Hurts To Behold
- Sally's Smile
- Youth, Day, Old Age, And Night
- O You Whom I Often And Silently Come
- Full Of Life Now
- As Adam Early In The Morning
- Are You The New Person?
Customer Reviews:
Great vocal virtuosity.......2005-04-07
word and every nuance, giving each song and every poem their full character. The songs are a revelation. I recommend this recording without hesitation.
Christoph (Berlin, Germany)
Confuzzled.......2004-01-03
An American Composer of Art Song.......2003-04-02
This disc features 32 of Ned Rorem's songs for voice and piano. Soprano Carole Farley is the accomplished singer, and Ned Rorem himself plays the piano. The disc is special because it features settings of the works of American poets. The CD begins with 9 settings of poems by the mid-twentieth century poet, Theodore Roethke, and concludes with settings of 5 poems by Walt Whitman. The disc also includes settings of poems by William Carlos Williams, Gertrude Stein, and Paul Goodman, among others. Thus the disc combines in a special way American creative effort in poetry and in music.
Rorem's songs are declamatory in style. Typically, the voice line delivers the text of the poetry in a sort of chant. The relationship between the voice line and the piano is far from Schubertian. Generally, the piano takes a separate line and accentuates the voice by means of large chords or by runs or by other comments and punctuation on the voice. The texts are well set and the music is effective. There are some unusual harmonies with jazz and blues influences. Rorem's piano accompanyment on this disc gives the recording a sense of authenticity -- we get a good idea of how the composer wants his songs to be conveyed.
The disc includes excellent program notes and texts of all the songs. Naxos has received deservedly high praise for its "American Classics" series which makes much music written by Americans available on CD at a low price. This disc includes some lovely, little-known songs. It is an excellent introduction to the American art song and to the music of Ned Rorem.
more German than Rorem.......2002-07-20
I can't call myself an unalloyed fan of soprano Carole Farley however. Her delivery here recalls the speak-singing style of German 12-tone composers (a specialty of hers), and can sound melodramatic, especially when she rushes the more delicate passages.
I prefer Rorem's softer, more melodious French side, the one that descends from Impressionism and is more warmly emotive. While Farley loses the shading of some of the more fragile songs, she is well-suited to the longer, more forceful pieces. I've heard many readings of "Early in the Morning" (one of Rorems most popular songs) by male and female vocalists, and its tale of wistful nostalgia is muted by Farley's direct approach. However, she nails "My Papa's Waltz," a fractured setting for a Roethke poem about a frightened child forced to dance with a drunken father. Here her acting skills come to the fore, and she perfectly captures the tipsy madness of the song. Rorem can be quite theatrical himself on occasion. She does almost as well with "See How they love me," a ballad with a regular pace that allows her assertive style to breathe.
At any rate it's great to hear these lovely songs in a recent (2000) recording, accompanied (rather emphatically, but perhaps he's matching his theatrical singer) by Rorem himself.
The similar Susan Graham album is more to my taste, but this is a more than competent bargain set.
delightful art songs.......2002-01-02
to group them by poet. the complete settings of roethke
are particularly compelling and edgey.
carole farley's voice is lovely, but her phrasing
and willingness to push her voice seems
a big departure from the styling of art songs i've
heard by poulenc and somers.
this takes some getting used to- at least 3 or 4 complete
listen-throughs in my case. her voice is almost jazzy,
kind of like early recordings by holly cole.
anyway, rorem accompanies her on piano so obviously
this reading fits with his intent; his playing is also delightful.
one small quibble- although there are 32 songs, the CD is
57 minutes- brief by naxos standards.
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American Portraits
Manufacturer: RCA ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B000003F8N Release Date: 1992-02-11 |
Tracks:
- Fanfare For The Common Man
- Be Glad, Then, America
- Festival Ov On 'The Star Spangled Banner' - Saint Louis SO Chorus/Thomas Peck
- National Emblem March
- Fugue And Choral On 'Yankee Doodle'
- American Fantasia
- El Capitan
- Battle Hymn Of The Republic - Saint Louis SO Chorus/Thomas Peck
- Servicemen On Parade
- Lincoln Portrait - Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf
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New American Saint
Tokyo Rose Manufacturer: Sidecho Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B000B5XZZG Release Date: 2005-10-04 |
Tracks:
- Spectacle
- New American Saint
- Goodbye Almond Eyes
- The Tin Man Gets His Heart
- Treading Water
- Bottle Marked: Caution
- The Hard Eight
- A Reason To Come Home Again
- I Love You...Too
- The Hammer & The Nail
- Meghan Again
Album Description
"NEW AMERICAN SAINT" depicts the human condition in its strife for emotional and physical bliss. As a person comes into his own, he realizes which experiences and interactions generate the most enjoyment, and structures his life in order to forge and perpetuate his own idyllic niche. In the past two years since the release of their debut LP "Reinventing a Lost Art", Tokyo Rose has undergone similar realizations, accompanying member changes, and a musical soul searching. As the line-up solidified, the band found a strong common love for the straight-forward rock n' roll of decades past, and sought to reinterpret it through the lens of more modern influences: bands such as the Get-up Kids and Jimmy Eat World. The pairing of Tokyo Rose with renowned producer Matt Goldman fully facilitated the desired balance of vintage sounds and state-of-the-art recording techniques on "New American Saint". In addition to being able to explore and utilize the sonic qualities of classic instruments, the band was afforded the gamut of electronic effects, generating atmosphere and ambience. Fans of the band's previous work will find in "New American Saint" the pop sensibility for which the band has become popular. In addition, listeners will be treated to the band's experiments with instrumentation and structure. All in all, "New American Saint" embodies Tokyo Rose's progress and maturation from a genre begging for transcendence.Customer Reviews:
A step up from "reinventing", buy it.......2006-05-11
Not That Great.......2006-04-02
Spectacle - (1/5) - Cool intro to the song and the CD, but once the vocals hit, it goes downhill from there. When it gets to the chorus, it reminded me of a Backstreet Boys song. I didn't like this song at all.
New American Saint - (5/5) - When I started picturing the CD negatively because of the first song, this one brought me back up. This is the best track on the album. It's catchy, and it sounds more like an alternative song, but it's really good.
Goodbye Almond Eyes - (2/5) - Lacks any originality. If you're gonna sound like other bands, do it well. This song does what many other bands do, but it is worse than those other bands.
The Tin Man Gets His Heart - (2/5) - Best part of this song is the title. Very creative title that made me expect another like 'New American Saint'. It's fine to start with, but then the vocals screw it up again. He tries way too hard and it makes it sound bad. He was fine when he was singing normally. I was willing to overlook that though since the title still intrigued me. Then their music choice indecisiveness kicked in, and they started getting loud, which ruined the atmosphere.
Treading Water - (4/5) - Sounded like the music to 'New American Saint' in some parts. There were a few awkward moments in the vocals, but still a good song.
Bottle Marked: Caution - (2/5) - Like 'Goodbye Almond Eyes', it sounded like tons of other songs, but not done as well.
The Hard Eight - (2/5) - Decent lyrics. Screws up around 45 seconds into it. It turned into a really annoying song.
A Reason To Come Home Again - (5/5) - I gotta give this one a 5. It sounds like Taking Back Sunday's first CD (which isn't good), but done so much better. One of the harder songs. Kept me listening.
I Love You...Too - (1/5) - Most disappointing song on the album. I thought it would be really good, but the vocals don't work at all, and the guitar plays the exact same chords over and over again. There is no variation.
The Hammer & The Nail - (2/5) - First time they made a successful transition from softer music to louder. Couldn't save the song though. Weak lyrics and vocals.
Meghan Again - (4/5) - Good closing track. It was very interesting, but cool. Unique song for this band. Vocals actually worked well.
My main problems with this band are:
1. The vocals are really lacking. They need some new ones or they need to fit his voice better with the music.
2. Their indecisiveness. It seems as though they can't decide whether to play all out poppy punk more (Amber Pacific, Fall Out Boy) or hardcore punk (Glasseater).
This CD did not meet my expectations, and as a result, will leave my music collection. I do not recommend it. Just download the few good songs on this album.
Hopefully More To Come.......2006-01-02
Their sound can vary from light but with a harder drum line to hard hitting songs to ballalds that make you stop and listen without even thinking about it. Tracks such as "I Love You....Too..", "A Reason To Come Home" and "Goodbye Almond Eyes" will grab ahold of you until you realize the song is over.
Their first Album "Reinventing A Lost Art" was pheomenal and this sophmore album proves that if there is one band that could make it in today's modern day music scene, Tokyo Rose is it.
Psst, Tom left the band........2005-10-10
The album is wonderful, and I honestly feel that it's one of the better albums of it's type to come out this year.
Awesome Sweetness.......2005-10-06
It is beautiful and an incredible growing point for a dynamic and talented band!!
Average customer rating: |
Christmas at St. Thomas New York
Saint Thomas Choir Of Men And Boys , and Gerre Hancock Manufacturer: Stradivari ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD ASIN: B000008L2L |
Tracks:
- Salutation Carol
- Joys Seven
- O Come All Ye Faithful
- I Saw Three Ships
- Il Est, Nle Divin Enfant
- While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks
- Sussex Carol
- God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
- Benedicamus Domino
- Adam Lay Ybounden
- Bethehem Down
- Ding Dong! Merrily on High
- Sir Christs
- See Amid the Winter's Snow
- Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day
- Infant Holy
- Go Tell It on the Mountain
- Silent Night
- Toccata en Si Mineur (Dix Pieces)
- Prelude et Fugue en Mi Bemol
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Bryn Terfel Sings Favorites
Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD ASIN: B0000B1JWJ Release Date: 2004-04-27 |
Tracks:
- Toredor Song: "Votre Toast, Je Peux Vous le Rendre" [From Carmen]
- Shenandoah
- Bugeilio'r Gwenith Gwyn
- Pearl Fisher's Duet: "C'ait le Soir"-"Au Fond du Temple Saint" [From
- Lord Is My Shepherd
- Danny Boy
- Bella Notte [From Lady and the Tramp (1955)]
- Goin' Home, After the Symphony No. 9 "From the New World" 2nd Movt.
Tracks:
- Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
- Home Sweet Home
- Ave Maria
- Mio Cuore Va [From Titanic]
- At the River
- None But the Lonely Heart, Op. 6 No. 6
- If I Can Help Somebody
- Wiegenlied Lullaby-Bercuese (Op. 49 No. 4)
- Abide with Me
- Lazy Bones
Average customer rating:
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William Schuman: Symphony No. 10 / New England Triptych / American Festival Overture
William Schuman , Leonard Slatkin , and Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra Manufacturer: RCA ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B000003FBI Release Date: 1992-05-12 |
Tracks:
- American Festival Overture
- New England Triptych - I. Be Glad Then, America
- New England Triptych - II. When Jesus Wept
- New England Triptych - III. Chester
- Variations On 'America'
- Symphony No. 10 - 'American Muse' - I. Con Fuoco
- Symphony No. 10 - 'American Muse' - II. Larghissimo
- Symphony No. 10 - 'American Muse' - III. Presto; Andantino; Leggero; Pesante; Presto Possibile
Amazon.com
This is another Slatkin/SLSO release on RCA Victor, highlighting American composers and using extraordinary cover art by Thomas Hart Benton. The works on this release range across Schuman's entire career and it include the one work for which he will probably most be remembered--New England Triptych (1956). It is based on three hymns by William Billings (1746-1800). Also here is the quirky, orchestrated version of Ives's hilarious Variations on "America," which Ives originally composed for organ. Schuman dabbled in most of the trends of Modernism, but his heart was always Romantic. Symphony No. 19 (1975) is an example of that. Excellent music. --Paul CookCustomer Reviews:
Great CD by a great orchestra.......2007-01-18
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- Platinum Collection [Import]
- Purple Onion
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