Movements [Box set] [Import]

Amazon.com
In terms of musical inventiveness, general Britishness and posthumous cool, few bands rival The Move, the ahead-of-its-time late-'60s combo led by cult pop genius Roy Wood. And this exhaustive three-CD, 54-track collection pays appropriate tribute, containing all of the group's pre-1970 releases plus a passel of previously-unheard rarities. With stylishly witty classics like "I Can Hear the Grass Grow," "Fire Brigade," and "Night of Fear," Movements is an essential purchase for any Move fan, and should be one for anyone curious about the roots of Britpop. --Scott Schinder

Product Description
Long unavailable, Demon/Westside are very pleased to offer this excellent value set once again. Mastered from the original tapes, this 54 track compilation contains every track released by The Move, prior to their signing with Harvest in 1971, including the LPs The Move, Shazam, Looking On & Something Else, along with some singles (As & Bs) & some previously unreleased outtakes and rare unissued tracks. Three standard jewel cases housed in a slipbox. 1997.

Movements,The Move,Westside UK,British Invasion,British Psychedelia,Pop,Pop/Rock,Prog-Rock/Art Rock,Psychedelic,Psychedelic Pop,Rock,Rock & Roll,Rock/Pop

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Movements [Box set] [Import]

Average customer rating: Important, but not as interesting as the vocal works. Not really my style... String works, includes his must-have glorious Second Quartet Great Recordings of Modern String Quartets you must listen to Ligeti.

György Ligeti Edition 1: String Quartets and Duets - Arditti String Quartet Gyorgy Ligeti , David Alberman , Irvine Arditti , Garth Knox , Rohan deSaram , and Arditti String Quartet Manufacturer: Sony ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Duets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music General | Ligeti, György | ( L ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music $7.99 and Under | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music All Classical Music Blowout | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Ligeti, György | ( L ) | Composers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Instrumental | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Similar Items: György Ligeti Edition 3: Works for Piano (Etudes, Musica Ricercata) - Pierre-Laurent Aimard György Ligeti Edition 2: A Cappella Choral Works - London Sinfonietta Voices Ligeti: Mechanical Music György Ligeti Edition 4: Vocal Works (Madrigals, Mysteries, Aventures, Songs) - The King's Singers / Philharmonia Orchestra / Esa-Pekka Salonen György Ligeti Edition 6: Keyboard Works (Piano, Harpsichord, Organ) - Irina Kataeva / Pierre-Laurent Aimard / Elisabeth Chojnacka / Zsigmond Szathmáry ASIN: B0000029OY Release Date: 1997-01-21

Tracks:

1. String Quartet No. 1 'Metamorphoses Nocturnes': Allegro Grazioso
2. String Quartet No. 1 'Metamorphoses Nocturnes': Vivace, Capriccioso
3. String Quartet No. 1 'Metamorphoses Nocturnes': Adagio, Mesto
4. String Quartet No. 1 'Metamorphoses Nocturnes': Presto
5. String Quartet No. 1 'Metamorphoses Nocturnes': Andante Tranquillo
6. String Quartet No. 1 'Metamorphoses Nocturnes': Tempo Di Valse, Moderato, Con Eleganza, Un Poco Capriccioso
7. String Quartet No. 1 'Metamorphoses Nocturnes': Allegretto, Un Poco Gioviale
8. String Quartet No. 1 'Metamorphoses Nocturnes': Prestissimo
9. String Quartet No. 2: Allegro Nervoso
10. String Quartet No. 2: Sostenuto, Molto Calmo
11. String Quartet No. 2: Come Un Meccanismo Di Precisione
12. String Quartet No. 2: Presto Furioso, Brutale, Tumultuoso
13. String Quartet No. 2: Allegro Con Delicatezza
14. Hommage A Hilding Rosenberg
15. Balada Si Joc: Balada Andante
16. Balada Si Joc: Allegro Vivace
17. Andante And Allegretto: Andante Cantabile
18. Andante And Allegretto: Allegretto Poco Capriccioso

Amazon.com essential recording

This is a fine collection of moving, muscular performances by this seminal postwar composer. Surely the best known of the works on this disc is the Second String Quartet, one of the masterpieces of 20th-century music--although you might not know it's a masterpiece until the heartbreaking last movement. But the First String Quartet, written before Ligeti emigrated from Hungary to the West, is fascinating: it shows Ligeti working through the influence of Bartók, particularly Bartók's Third and Fourth Quartets--music Ligeti knew only silently, from the score, since performances of Bartók's music were banned by the Hungarian communist regime. This excellent recording provides a complete overview of Ligeti's compositional career through the medium of string chamber music, from homages to Bartók to the achievement of Ligeti's own groundbreaking style. --Joshua Cody

Customer Reviews:

Important, but not as interesting as the vocal works........2006-08-30

Sony's "Gyorgy Ligeti Edition 1: String Quartets and Duos" is the first in this series of, I believe, complete works by Ligeti, but it is always the third or fourth disk I go to whenever I get around to listening to Ligeti once again, about once every year.

To me, the average amateur 'classical music' consumer, it is interesting, imaginative, and certainly 'new' when compared to 19th and early 20th century music, but it just doesn't seem to have the same cachet as the vocal works. While I would sooner listen to Ligeti's vocal works than most other modern music, I actually prefer Bartok, Berg, and Schoenberg for their instrumental works.

I agree with the top reviewer that the String Quartet No. 2 is the hit of the disk, but it doesn't blow me away in the same way that 'Lux Aeterna' does. That may be just the '2001' factor at work, but there you have it.

Still excellent and still evocative of other modernists, not the least of whom is Frank Zappa.

Not really my style..........2006-08-23

This is a little too avant garde for me. I like my classical music to be just that: classical.

I bought the CD but I am returning it. Ligeti is very talented but his music (to me) is only tolerable in short bursts. I couldn't see myself listening to the whole CD time and again.

String works, includes his must-have glorious Second Quartet.......2004-12-07

Sony's "Gyorgy Ligeti Edition 1: String Quartets and Duos" is the first disc of the 13-volume series--continued after the 8th installment by Teldec's "The Ligeti Project"---of Gyorgy Ligeti's collected works in performances overseen by the composer itself. It collects his impressive two strings quartets, a brief birthday greeting to another composer, a work inspired by an ethnomusical stint in Romania, and another early work. The works are performed by the Arditti Quartet, who have done so much to provide satisfying and lasting performances of modern string repetoire.

String Quartet No. 1 ("Metamorphoses nocturnes") was written between 1953 and 1954, as the composer was struggling to express himself creatively in Stalinist Hungary. The work shows clear inspiration from Bartok's third and fourth quartets, which Ligeti knew only from their score as they had been suppressed. Similarly, Ligeti had no hope his own work would be performed, and it was written essentially "for his desk drawer". Ironically, when Ligeti submitted the piece to a Western competition, it was deemed too traditional for recognition. This first string quartet is a study in the juxtaposition of unlike sections; under a thin verneer of normality, the music is heterogenous. I think this is a fine work, and it is one of the composer's few pre-emigration pieces that do not sound like juvenalia in comparison with his later works.

String Quartet No. 2 (1968) was composed long after Ligeti's move to the West and so is entirely avant-garde, linked with the techniques of his other works of the 1960's. Ligeti was quite proud of this piece, claiming it as his favourite of his works of the time, and feeling that he had made a permanent contribution to the string quartet tradition. The work is indeed a part of his micropolyphonic style of the 1960's, but there is a great deal more here. It is a twitching, paranoid, nervous, neurotic piece with a grimy, constantly shifting texture, like the soundtrack to a Kafka story. It really must be heard to be believed, and this second quartet is the high point of this disc.

"Hommage a Hilding Rosenburg" for violin and cello (1982) is a short birthday greeting to that Swedish composer. It is the least important work on the disc and is really nothing more than something of a fanfare.

"Balada si joc" for two violins (Romanian "Ballad and dance", 1950) is a short string duet inspired by Ligeti's time spent in Romania collecting folk music during his music studies. The result uses no actual folk material, but is an authentic imitation of the music Ligeti encountered both in his boyhood and in his return to Transylvania at this later time. When it was later expanded to use an orchestra, it became the first two movements of his "Concert Romanesc" (found on "The Ligeti Project II"). The string duet, however, manages to create with but two instruments nearly the same moving passion as the later orchestration. The following "Andante and Allegretto" for string quartet (1950) is another early work, again inspired by folk music. It is not as successful as "Balada si joc", indeed even forgettable.

While there are other recordings of these works available, such as the recent recordings reissued in Deutsche Grammaphon's "Echo 20/21" series, this performance by the Arditti Quartet can certainly be seen as definitive. It takes a lot of talent to please Ligeti, one of the most demanding composers, especially in a crushingly difficult work like the second string quartet.

While I think "Gyorgy Ligeti Edition 3: Piano Works" or "The Ligeti Project IV" are better places to begin on this series of Ligeti's collected works, this set of string works should be one of the first Ligeti works you buy, especially for the String Quartet No. 2.

Great Recordings of Modern String Quartets.......2004-08-07

For those of you who haven't experienced Ligeti, this is the CD to purchase, especially if you like string quartets. If you're not accustomed to 20th century music, keep an opened mind and I promise you'll really enjoy his music.

The recording of the 2nd quartet is, as usual with the Arditti Quartet, phenomenal, but what makes this recording is their production of his 1st quartet. The performance is very clean and precise, yet still very musical. Most impressive of all, Arditti stays true to Ligeti's tempi, including the blistering tempo of the end!

As an added bonus, there are two very delightful duets for violins, which are very tonal and based on Hungarian folk tunes (these were written as part of graduation from the Budapest Academy of Music).

you must listen to Ligeti........2004-03-06

Listening to Ligeti has been invaluable, for his music has brought me to a higher level of musical understanding. Just listen to these string quartets, for example. The aggressive, chromatic Bartokian first string quartet is incredible by itself. But then the ever-transforming second quartet is ever better, musically enlightening and original and yet still a work of passion. Ligeti describes the piece's nature as something where "there is no longer any motivic writing in this music, no contours, only sound textures, which are sometimes frayed and almost fluid (as in the first and last movements) and at other times grainy and machine-like (as in the middle pizzicato movement)." The performances and recording are mind-blowing. "Add to cart."

Average customer rating: A terrific compilation

Mendelssohn: Greatest Hits Manufacturer: Sony ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Octets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music General | Concertos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Romantic | Symphonies | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Incidental Music | Theatrical, Incidental & Program Music | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Theatrical, Incidental & Program Music | Forms & Genres | Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Vocal & Song | Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Keyboard | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music Violin | Strings | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Mendelssohn | Mendelssohn, Felix | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Noels | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General Christmas | Holiday | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music CDs $7 - $10 | Classical General | Classical | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music All Bargain Titles | Classical General | Classical | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music All Bargain Titles | Symphonies | Classical | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music General Christmas | Holiday Music | Special Features | Music $6.99 and Under | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music All Classical Music Blowout | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Mendelssohn, Felix | ( M ) | Composers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Opera & Vocal | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Classical Instrumental Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Opera & Vocal | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Similar Items: Liszt: Greatest Hits Schubert: Greatest Hits Debussy's Greatest Hits Chopin: Greatest Hits Saint-Saëns: Greatest Hits ASIN: B000002A9I Release Date: 1995-06-13

Tracks:

1. Symphony No. 4 In A Major, Op. 90 'Italian': I. Allegro vivace
2. A Midsummer Night's Dream, Op. 61 (Excerpts): Scherzo
3. Wedding march
4. Violin Concerto In E Minor, Op. 64: III. Allegretto non troppo - Allegro molto vivace
5. Spring Song, Op. 62, No 6
6. IV. Symphony No. 4 In A Major, Op. 90 'Italian': Saltarello. Presto
7. Athalie, Op. 74: War March Of The Priests
8. Songs Without Words, Op. 67, No. 4: Spinning Song
9. Symphony No. 3 In A Minor, Op. 56 'Scottish': II. Vivace no troppo
10. On Wings Of Song, Op. 34, No. 2
11. Octet In E - Flat Major, Op. 20: III. Scherzo. Allegro leggierissimo
12. Octet In E - Flat Major, Op. 20: IV. Presto
13. Six Children's Pieces, Op. 72: I. Allegro non troppo
14. Six Children's Pieces, Op. 72: II. Andante sostenuto
15. Six Children's Pieces, Op. 72: III. Allegretto
16. Six Children's Pieces, Op 72: IV. Andante con moto
17. Six Children's Pieced, Op. 72: V. Allegro assai
18. Six Children's Pieces, Op. 72: VI. Vivace
19. Symphony No. 5 In D Major, Op. 107 'Reformation': IV. chorale 'Ein feste burg ist unser Gott!'

Customer Reviews:

A terrific compilation.......2002-06-08

The idea of a greatest hits album for a classical composer is nearly an absurdity,but the selections for this package are almost perfect.The signature magic sound of Ormandy and his great Philly Orchestra open with Symphony 4 movement 1.Ormandy and crew reappear later with the war march from Athalie-a true crowd pleaser.Not to be missed is the On wings of song piece sung by Elly Ameling in all her pristine glory.The song is simply beautiful beyond words.Movements 3&4 of the Incomparable Octet for strings are included. At the tender age of 16 Mendelssohn may have reached his peak with this work.The 6 Children's pieces are delightful,if insubstantial.The 4th movement of the 5th Symphony is a force of nature,perhaps the highlight of the disc.The only quibble is the inclusion of the hackneyed Wedding March instead of the achingly gorgeous Nocturne from A Midsummer Night's Dream.Even for the Mendelssohn fan there are performances here you'll want to add to your collection.At such a low cost you cannot go wrong.

Average customer rating: The Illusionary Movements of Geraldine and Nazu is amazing

The Illusionary Movements Of Geraldine And Nazu Manufacturer: Rumor Mill Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Folk | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Similar Items: Music to Mauzner By X&Y ASIN: B000BKRHXC Release Date: 2005-06-21

Customer Reviews:

The Illusionary Movements of Geraldine and Nazu is amazing.......2006-03-21

What a great album. The best songs are "Untitled 17", "Where the Day Takes You", and "Paradise del'Anima Persa". If I were Terrance Mallick I would use this album to score my next film. The music is cinematic and majestic. I would highly recommend this album. Let's keep this great secret to ourselves.

Average customer rating: very good electronic music Album of the year awsome! Vitalic Awsome

Movements Booka Shade Manufacturer: Get Physical Music ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music Electronica | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music General | Dance Pop | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music Similar Items: Memento The Last Resort Orchestra of Bubbles Body Language, Vol. 1 Get Physical, Vol. 2 ASIN: B000EQHID2 Release Date: 2006-05-16

Tracks:

1. Night Falls
2. Body Language [Interpretation]
3. Paper Moon
4. Birds and the Beats/At the Window
5. Darko
6. Pong Pang
7. Mandarine Girl [Album Version]
8. Take a Ride
9. Wasting Time
10. In White Rooms
11. Hallelujah USA
12. Lost High

Album Description

Booka shade is Walter merziger and Arno kammermeier production masterminds behind the first 13 get physical releases. This is their second full-length release. In charge of their own Production Company and studio for the last 15 years, they have profoundly applied their wide range of talents to the realm of electronic music. Meanwhile, booka shade's own redefinition of dance music found its expression on their debut album, memento which drew on their back ground as pop producers and their ability to sculpt nocturnal yet melancholic music for the dance floor and beyond. When it was released at the tail end of 2004 memento hit with velvet coated sucker punches its prowling understated menace combined with Walter and Arno's knack of penning melodies and creating evocative mood mapping out a fresh alternative for electronic music. Get Physic. 2006

Customer Reviews:

very good electronic music.......2007-06-09

Anyone who likes both electronic dance music (in general) and Ambient/IDM should take a moment to discover this overlooked diamond.

Album of the year.......2007-05-09

i mean, i knew in advance what i was buying, so no surprises.. this album is perfect.

awsome!.......2007-03-26

Does anybody realize what is going on here? If not you will soon find out, althouhgh some of you it's going to take couple years before you realize how great Book Shade is, innovating techno, basically creating a new sound.

Vitalic.......2006-12-28

A year or so ago everyone was raving about Vitalic's release being the IT thing for electronic music. When it got to me finally it turned out being half-realised electronic bleeps and chords that couldn't learn how to get along, meandering about tripping over each other amounting to a given up on lego set or the electronic equivalent of a pre-concert orchestra rehearsal with the adeptness of little miss pageants. That's when i was expecting something like this. This is what that should have been.

Done with tasteful restraint and intelligence, like in the case of it's primary anthem piece "Darko", unfolding before your ears with a measured self-assured pace from textbook IDM beeping into a dark, brooding, rich, textured epic crescendo while retaining the main theme throughout, playing with it and adapting it bit by bit like a musical queer eye for the straight guy. More pop than trance, more epic than house, more inspired than IDM, "Movements" stands on it's own.

Awsome.......2006-12-25

I don't know why anybody has reviewed this disc yet... it's awsome. If you like Michael Mayer, then you'll like this.

Average customer rating: No rip-offs here. Great Band better with age

Movements Black Tie Dynasty Manufacturer: Idol Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music New Wave | New Wave & Post-Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Jangle Pop | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music General | Euro Pop | Pop | Styles | Music Similar Items: This Stays Between Us Big City Rock The Black Magic Show No Love Lost About-Face ASIN: B000EWBMT2 Release Date: 2006-04-25

Tracks:

1. Bells
2. Once Around
3. Debt
4. I Like U
5. Tender
6. Lakes
7. Ten Steps
8. Antarctica
9. Midnight Sun
10. Trick Photography
11. Devotion

Product Description

1. Bells
2. Once Around
3. Debt
4. I Like U
5. Tender
6. Lakes
7. Ten Steps
8. Antarctica
9. Midnight Sun
10. Trick Photography
11. Devotion

Format: CD

Customer Reviews:

No rip-offs here........2007-03-06

This is the band I've been waiting for. Black Tie Dynasty bring a new twist on indie rock with their latest effort. I've heard way too many Coldplay and U2 rip-offs in the last few years, but BTD bring their own sound into a seemingly overcrowded genre. I think this band has some staying power.

Great Band.......2007-02-19

Excellent album. I consider their sound a mixture of Coldplay and Depeche Mode. I also got a chance to see them in concert and they put on a great show. Check out their myspace page to sample their music.

better with age.......2007-02-14

your first time with BTD Movements, you'll notice allusions to Joy Division, Depeche Mode, Coldplay, Soft Cell, U2, etc. your second time with BTD Movements, these influences begin to recede. your third time with BTD Movements, you realize it is a unique and amazing piece of work, and that the only relation it has to the aforementioned greats is that it can stand up among them.

Average customer rating: It stays with them... It all started with Beethoven Not What I expected Music, history, culture, & intriguing story -Amazing! Great series, great collection

Classical Kids: Collection Manufacturer: Children's Book Store Distribution ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Fiction | Music | Arts & Music | Children's Books | Subjects | Books Dances | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music Ecossaises | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music Minuets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music Trios | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by J.S. Bach | Bach, Johann Sebastian | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Beethoven | Beethoven, Ludwig van | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Caldara, Antonio | ( C ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Vivaldi | Vivaldi, Antonio | ( V ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Concertinos | Concertos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Concerto Grossi | Concertos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music General | Concertos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Fantasies | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Improvisation | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Rondos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Bagatelles | Short Forms | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music General | Sonatas | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Sonatinas | Sonatas | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Trio Sonatas | Sonatas | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Romantic | Symphonies | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Variations | Forms & Genres | Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Vocal & Song | Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Piano | Keyboard | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music Flute | Reeds & Winds | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music Piccolo | Reeds & Winds | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music General | Reeds & Winds | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music Violin | Strings | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Italian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Cantatas | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Psalms | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Songs & Lieder | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Children's Music | Styles | Music Compilations | Children's Music | Styles | Music Children's Music | Box Sets | Stores | Music Similar Items: The Classical Kids Collection: Volume 2: Tales of Enchantment and Classical Music Classical Kids Christmas Classical Kids: Hallelujah Handel! Tchaikovsky Discovers America World's Very Best Opera for Kids... in English! ASIN: B00000212C Release Date: 1995-01-09

Tracks:

1. Orchestral Suite #3, 1/Minuet in G+/Gigue in G+ (French Suite #5) - Studio Arts Orchestra, The Toronto Boys' Choir
2. Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring/Chromatic Fantasy/Prelude in B - (WTC1) - Studio Arts Orchestra, The Toronto Boys' Choir
3. Introducing the Orchestra/Organ: Chorale Preludes, "Allein Gott" - Studio Arts Orchestra, The Toronto Boys' Choir
4. Brandenberg Concerto #5, MVT. 3 - Studio Arts Orchestra, The Toronto Boys' Choir
5. Flute Sonata C+, MVT. 2/Organ; "Es Ist das Heil"/Orchestral Suite ... - Studio Arts Orchestra, The Toronto Boys' Choir
6. Prelude in C (WTC1)/Orchestral Suite #2, MVT. 2 - Studio Arts Orchestra, The Toronto Boys' Choir
7. Bist du Bei Mir - Studio Arts Orchestra, The Toronto Boys' Choir
8. Orchestral Suite #2, Badinerie - Studio Arts Orchestra, The Toronto Boys' Choir
9. Orchestrak Suite #3, Air for the G-String - Studio Arts Orchestra, The Toronto Boys' Choir
10. Orchestral Suite #3, Gigue - Studio Arts Orchestra, The Toronto Boys' Choir
11. "Adventure in Music" - Studio Arts Orchestra, The Toronto Boys' Choir
12. Goldberg Variations/Art of Fugue - Studio Arts Orchestra, The Toronto Boys' Choir
13. "Liebster Jesu"/Flute Sonata in C, MVT. 4 - Studio Arts Orchestra, The Toronto Boys' Choir
14. "We Hasten, " Cantata #78 - Studio Arts Orchestra, The Toronto Boys' Choir

Tracks:

1. Symphony #7, MVT. 2
2. Symphony #5, MVT. 1
3. Piano Sonata, Op 90, MVT. 2/Flute Serenade, Op 23, MVT. 3/Violin ...
4. Pathue Sonata, Op 13, MVT. 2/Contradanse #1 in Major
5. Symphony #5, MVT. 2/Piano Sonata, Op 14 #2, MVT. 2/Flute Serenade, ...
6. Polonaise/La Marmotte/Country Dance in a Major/Fse/Flutnuhr
7. Sonatina in G Major/Minuet in G Major/Violin "Spring" Sonata, MVT. 1
8. Moonlight Sonata, Op 27 #2, MVT. 1
9. Flute Serenade, MVT. 2
10. Symphony #6, Storm
11. Nel Cor Piu Variations
12. Piano Concerto #1, MVT. 1/Piano Concerto #5, MVT. 2
13. Bass Excerpts from Symphony #9/Violin"Spring Sonata"/Rage Over a ...
14. Symphony #9, MVT. 4
15. Sonata Opus 49 #2, MVT. 2
16. Symphony #6, Shepherd's Theme

Tracks:

1. Lost in the Opera House: Oh Help Me (Zu Hilfe) - Nils Brown, St. Simon's Choir, Studio Arts Orchestra
2. Papageno and the Birds: The Best Birdcatcher (Der Vogelfer) - Russell Braun, St. Simon's Choir, Studio Arts Orchestra
3. Queen of the Night: You Must Free My Daughter (O Zittre Nicht) - Marjorie Sparks, St. Simon's Choir, Studio Arts Orchestra
4. Pamina Arrives, Papageno's Magic Bells: A Girlfriend (Ein Mhen) - Russell Braun, St. Simon's Choir, Studio Arts Orchestra
5. Castle of Sarastro: O Endless Night (O Ew'ge Nacht) - Nils Brown, St. Simon's Choir, Studio Arts Orchestra
6. Magic Flute: O Listen (Wie Stark) - Nils Brown, St. Simon's Choir, Studio Arts Orchestra
7. Escape: Let Us Hurry (Schnelle FWhat Tinkles So Brightly ... - Russell Braun, St. Simon's Choir, Studio Arts Orchestra, Monica Whicher
8. Sarastro's Welcome: The Gods Above (O Isis) - Gordon McLeod, St. Simon's Choir, Studio Arts Orchestra
9. Attack of the Queen: The Powers of Night (Der H Rache)/This ... - Marjorie Sparks, St. Simon's Choir, Studio Arts Orchestra
10. Pamina's Lament: Oh, My Heart Is Broken (Ach, Ich F - St. Simon's Choir, Studio Arts Orchestra, Monica Whicher
11. In the Labrynth: Seekers of the Light (Der, Welcher ...) - Nils Brown, Gordon McLeod, Marjorie Sparks, St. Simon's Choir, Studio Arts Orchestra, Monica Whicher
12. Papageno and Papagena: Ring, O Bells (Klinget Glhen) - Adriana Braun, Russell Braun, St. Simon's Choir, Studio Arts Orchestra
13. Conclusion: Our Journey Is Over [Bei Mern] - St. Simon's Choir, Studio Arts Orchestra

Tracks:

1. Four Seasons, Spring, I, RV 269
2. Piccolo Concerto, II, RV 293
3. Arriving at the Pietour Seasons, Autumn, I RV 293/Guitar/Flute ...
4. Violin Concerto in a Minor, I, RV 356
5. Four Seasons, Winter, II, RV 297
6. Guitar Concerto, II, RV 93
7. Venice by Day/Guitar Concerto, III, RV 93/Four Seasons, Autumn, ...
8. Sonata for Two Violins, II, RV 50/"Farnace", RV 711, [Recording Premier
9. Violin Concerto in a Minor, II, RV 356
10. Venice by Night/La Notte, I, II, III, RV 439
11. Island of the Dead/Four Seasons, Autumn, II, RV 293
12. Gardellino, RV 90/Beatus Vir, RV 597/Alma del Core/Violin Sonata ...
13. Concert Preparations/Piccolo Concerto, I, RV 443/Guitar Concerto, III,
14. Conclusion/Double Orchestra Concerto, II, RV 585/Guitar Concerto, ...

Customer Reviews:

It stays with them..........2005-10-24

I enjoyed reading the reviews of parents whose kids have recently discovered "Classical Kids." I'm about to order the boxed set for my kids, ages 21, 19 and 16 because the nineteen-year-old, who has a college radio show and loves a wide variety of music, remembers this series (then only on cassette) with great affection and wants to hear them again. Those of you wondering whether it's worth it or not to try to introduce kids to classical music this way, be assured it works. We've turned one of Mr. Bach's lines into a family "saying:" "the more you study, the more you know; the more you know, the more you appreciate; the more you appreciate, the more you love." A great series!

It all started with Beethoven.......2004-02-03

Many years ago I purchased my first CD in this series, "Beethoven Lives Upstairs." My children and I were delighted with it. I then discovered that there were more and searched them all out, one by one. My children, now 11, 9 & 5, have listened to these stories as they fall asleep for years. They each have a favorite composer and have gone on to learn more about them. These stories are a great introduction to some of our greatest composers. Not to mention a good intro to history, too!

Imagine my delight that they are now in one boxed set! Now when asked, I suggest this set. What a great way to get it ALL! I truly believe that by surrounding our children with a variety of good music (including POP music) and information they will grow up with a greater appreciation for music and the arts.

Not What I expected.......2002-09-20

I love the idea, but I don't want to expose my children to the stories in these cd's. They contain children talking back to their parents, disrespectful language, sorcery, etc. If you don't like Harry Potter, you won't like these CD's.

Music, history, culture, & intriguing story -Amazing!.......2002-04-08

My 6 year old son loves music...and stories! Here is the prefect combo. Lovely music of the composer accomapnies a fictional story which weaves the composer's life, the culture of his homeland as well as history...in an intriguing and fun way! Now, my son can pick out pieces he hears on the classical radio station. He really enjoys the stories and can tell people @ carnival in Venice, Italy and tidbits @ Beetoven and the Magic Flute by Mozart! A must for any child with any of these interests! We also have enjoyed the CD's and have learned lots!
I only can wonder...what took whomever so long to broaden our horizons in such a way! BRAVO!

Great series, great collection.......2001-04-22

We've had the CDs in this boxed set for over a year now. The Classical Kids series has been wonderful. We have two boys (now 6 and 8) and this has been a great introduction to classical music. At first, the kids loved the stories which provide a sense of history and place and, ultimately, keep the kids interested in the entire CD. As they listened (time and time again), they started to pay more attention to the musical portions. Recently, we've been able to tell that they've picked up a sense of the music as we've listed to classical music on the car radio. Time and again, they perk up when listening to a piece of music and surprise us by saying "That's Beethoven". Sure enough - they've picked up something about the style of music that's characteristic of Beethoven. Sometimes it's the snippet of music from the CD and other times it's just the rhythms that are characteristic of that piece. As a family, we all recommend this.

Average customer rating: Emotional Music of Great Composer, Adequate Conductor About as Good as Stravinsky (the composer) gets. A prized recording Essential History more important than the Sound.

Stravinsky Conducts Stravinsky: Symphony of Psalms/Symphony in 3 Movements Manufacturer: CBS ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Stravinsky | Stravinsky, Igor | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Tone Poems | Theatrical, Incidental & Program Music | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Scherzo | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Symphonies | Forms & Genres | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Stravinsky, Igor | ( S ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music Modern & 20th Century | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music $7.99 and Under | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music All Classical Music Blowout | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Stravinsky, Igor | ( S ) | Composers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Instrumental | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Similar Items: Stravinsky Conducts Stravinsky: Petrouchka/ Le Sacre du Printemps Stravinsky Conducts Stravinsky: Firebird-Complete/Scherzo/Firework Stravinsky: Three Greek Ballets (Apollo, Agon, Orpheus) Stravinsky: Le Sacre du printemps/L'Oiseau de feu/Jeu de cartes/Petrouchka/Pulcinella Stravinsky: Rite Of Spring, Fireworks, Petrouchka / Ozawa, Tilson Thomas, Chicago Symphony ASIN: B0000026GK Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

1. Symphony in Three Movements: I - Overture; Allegro
2. Symphony in Three Movements: II - Andante; Interlude: L'istesso tempo
3. Symphony in Three Movements: III - Con moto
4. Symphony In C: I - Moderato alla breve
5. Symphony In C: II - Larghetto concertante
6. Symphony In C: III - Allegretto
7. Symphony In C: IV - Largo; Tempo giusto, alla breve
8. Symphony Of Psalms: Part I
9. Symphony Of Psalms: Part II
10. Symphony Of Psalms: Part III

Amazon.com essential recording

Stravinsky was seldom the best conductor of his own music, but this disc of his three symphonies is an exception. In the first place, none of them are all that difficult to conduct--at least compared to some of his earlier works--and he seems to have been in particularly good form throughout these recording sessions. He gets a particularly enthusiastic response from his Canadian forces in the Symphony of Psalms--one of this century's great choral masterworks, and seems to really enjoy the neo-classical elegance of the Symphony in C. Of all of the individual releases from Sony's complete Stravinsky edition, this one has pride of place. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews:

Emotional Music of Great Composer, Adequate Conductor.......2007-07-21

Stravinksy was certainly passionate about his music and world's happenings, here exhibited by Symphony in Three Movements composed around world events of 40's.

Symphony in C was done during time of great illness for the composer, yet he persevered under commission.

Finally the Symphony of Psalms, based on his coming to faith in latter life, which is based around Psalm 150 and here energetically performed by Canadian choir. His choice of Latin is spot on I believe, giving an aura of poetic movement and grandeur to the piece. The allegro is favorite, with its vision of Elijah's chariot climbing after the swinging low descent.

About as Good as Stravinsky (the composer) gets........2007-01-16

After listening to several of his 'classical period' stuff, especially his operas, I was really pleased to listen to these works which contain elements which made his ballets the great works they are. Being a sucker for choral works, I especially liked the Symphonie of Psalms. Hurray for CD's of classic recordings.

A prized recording.......2004-07-07

Igor Stravinsky conducts three of his own masterpieces in this compilation of recordings from the 1960's. SYMPHONY IN THREE MOVEMENTS was inspired by wartime newsreels. The vitriolic outer movements show definite jazz and big-band influence - which the CBC orchestra glories in - while the second movement is of a classical tranquility and grace. The elegant SYMPHONY IN C was meant as a tribute to Haydn and Bach; but the haunting, unresolved bitonal chord that dissolves into silence in the end makes the work quintessentially modern. And the SYMPHONY OF PSALMS, one of the great religious works of the 20th century, is heavenly music; Stravinsky and his forces give it an austere reading of almost chamber-music clarity. These performances leave nothing to be desired. This CD has become one of my most prized recordings.

Essential.......2004-05-26

Who better to interpret a composer's music than the composer himself? This CD is an excellent introduction to these 20th-century masterworks. THREE MOVEMENTS bristles with explosive energy and PSALMS is austere and perfectly controlled, the lines of polyphony in the second movement coming through with extraordinary clarity. Not only is this a great recording, but it is an important historical document which tells us how Stravinsky intended these works to sound. As such, it could be an important reference to other conductors. I enjoyed this recording very much and I highly recommend it.

History more important than the Sound........2001-01-12

OK, so this recording was made a long time ago, and it shows.

Never mind! You will never hear grander performances of these three works. Who better to interpret Stravinsky's music than the composer himself?

The two orchestral symphonies are wonderful, but the prize on this recording is the Symphony of Psalms. The first time I ever heard the piece was at a San Francisco Symphony concert with Stravinsky conducting-- an electrifying experience. This recording, though it's of a different performance, captures that moment perfectly. I can close my eyes and see Stravinsky's tight, coiled beat-- can watch the concertmaster's eyes as he was transfixed by the composer's every move-- can see the awe-struck chorus members as they nervously blended with the orchestra.

And I can relive that moment when the sound died finally away and the audience leaped as one person to its feet.

If music can change people (and it can), then this music will change people forever.

Average customer rating: A large sampling of Stravinsky's piano music.

Stravinsky: Works for Piano Manufacturer: EMI Classics ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Tangos | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Stravinsky | Stravinsky, Igor | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Concertos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Etudes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Serenades & Divertimentos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music | Divertimentos General | Sonatas | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Marches | Theatrical, Incidental & Program Music | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Scherzo | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Sonatas | Forms & Genres | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Piano | Keyboard | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Similar Items: Stravinsky: Three Greek Ballets (Apollo, Agon, Orpheus) Stravinsky: Music for Two Pianos (Music For Four Hands) The Essential Igor Stravinsky Arnold Schoenberg: Serenade/Five Pieces For Orchestra Stravinsky: Symphonies of Wind Instruments, etc. ASIN: B0002XV2Z2 Release Date: 2005-02-15

Tracks:

1. I. Allegro
2. II. Vivo
3. III. Andante
4. IV. Allegro
5. Scherzo
6. 1. Con Moto
7. 2. Allegro Brillante
8. 3. Andantino
9. 4. Vivo
10. Souvenir D' Une Marche Boche
11. Valse Pour Les Enfants
12. 1. Andantino
13. 2. Allegro
14. 3. Allegretto
15. 4. Larghetto
16. 5. Moderato
17. 6. Lento
18. 7. Vivo
19. 8. Pesante
20. I. Qt. Note = 112
21. II. Adagietto
22. III. Qt. Note = 112
23. I. Hymne
24. II. Romanza
25. III. Rondoletto
26. IV. Cadenza Finala

Tracks:

1. 1. Danse Russe: Allegro Giusto
2. 2. Chez Petrouchka: Stringendo
3. 3. La Semaine Grasse: Con Moto - Allegretto
4. Piano Rag Music
5. Tango
6. I. Presto Doppio Movimento
7. II. Andante Rapsodico
8. III. Allegro Capriccioso, Ma Tempo Giusto
9. I. Largo - Allegro
10. II. Largo - Cadenza (Poco Rubato)
11. III. Allegro
12. I. Qt. Note = 110
13. II. Qt. Note = 52
14. III. Qt. Note = 72
15. Qt. Note = 80
16. Qt. Note = 104

Customer Reviews:

A large sampling of Stravinsky's piano music........2005-03-04

I bought this cd primarily for "Movements for Piano and Orchestra", a short piece (about 9 minutes) using the 12 tone serial technique developed by Arnold Schoenberg. It is intriguing to hear the "neo-classicist" Stravinsky write in this style. To my ears, and I'm a fan of 12 tone, no new ground is broken here by Stravinsky (the piece was written in 1958-9, seven years after Schoenberg's death) but it's a good piece. The rest of the works are tonal.

I'm not knowledgable as to whether this cd contains all Stravinsky's piano compositions but there is a lot here. Michel Beroff is a fine pianist and the recorded sound is very good. The liner notes are lacking but I've come to expect that from "bargain" classical cds.

This is a two cd package. For $12, I'm very glad to have this set in my collection.

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

Dunstable: Sweet Harmony - Masses and Motets Manufacturer: Naxos ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Early Music | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Vocal & Song | Early Music | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music | Requiems General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Masses | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music $6.99 and Under | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music All Classical Music Blowout | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Opera & Vocal | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Similar Items: Leonin, Perotin: Sacred Music from Notre-Dame Cathedral John Dunstable: Motets / Hilliard Ensemble Nicolas Gombert: Missa Media Vita in Morte Sumus Dufay: Missa L'homme armé; Supremum est mortalibus bonum Das Gänsebuch (The Geese Book): German Medieval Chant ASIN: B000B6N67M Release Date: 2005-10-18

Tracks:

1. Quam Pulchra Es
2. Kyrie
3. Gloria A 4
4. Credo A 4
5. Gloria: Jesu Christe Fili Dei
6. Credo: Jesu Christe Fili Dei
7. Sanctus
8. Credo: Da Gaudiorum Premia
9. Sanctus: Da Gaudiorum Premia
10. Agnus Dei
11. Veni Sancte Spiritus-Veni Creator
12. Gloria In Canon

Customer Reviews:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Average customer rating: Great Music The Very American Music of William Grant Still Long Lost Symphony Amazing! Dynamic Orchestra

William Grant Still: Afro-American Symphony; In Memoriam; Africa (Symphonic Poem) Manufacturer: Naxos American ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Still | Still, William Grant | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Symphonies | Forms & Genres | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music Modern & 20th Century | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music $6.99 and Under | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music All Classical Music Blowout | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Still, William Grant | ( S ) | Composers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Instrumental | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Similar Items: Works By William Grant Still Amy Beach: "Gaelic" Symphony; Piano Concerto Still: Symphony No. 1; Ellington: Suite from "The River" Grofé: Orchestral Works Still/Dawson/Ellington: Symphony No. 2/Negro Folk Symphony/Harlem ASIN: B0007ORDYU Release Date: 2005-03-22

Tracks:

1. In Memoriam
2. Land Of Peace
3. Land Of Romance
4. Land Of Superstition
5. Moderato Assai
6. Adagio
7. Animato
8. Lento, Con Risoluzione

Customer Reviews:

Great Music.......2007-05-13

This is a great CD that's not only extremely affordable but is also extremely enjoyable. The music of William Grant Still stands out as some of the finest music composed by American composers of the 20th century. In Memorium is particularly poignant. The rest of the CD is great too.

The Very American Music of William Grant Still.......2005-08-05

To tell the truth, I wanted to start this review by saying that William Grant Still is one of those one-work wonders of a composer of which the opera world has so many examples (Leoncavallo, Giordano, etc., etc.). But then I listened a few times more to "Africa," given its premiere recording here. Its melodies and musical gestures may be less striking than those in Still's one big work, the Afro-American Symphony, also included on this disc. On the other hand, "Africa" has some very compelling music, too, and is colorfully orchestrated in Still's signature manner. Just listen to the soft solo for timpani at the start: this sets the mood immediately for the first movement, entitled "Land of Peace." It is indeed peaceful music but with some added spice to keep the listener on his or her toes. The last movement, "Land of Superstition," seems to me rather bland given its title, but overall, this music is an attractive travelogue in the manner of Virgil Thomson's film scores from the 1930s, anticipating them in fact by several years. Along with Thomson, Still can probably be credited with pioneering the use of pop-musical influences to effectively create local color.

That truth is even more evident in the Afro-American Symphony. You have to sit up and take notice when a symphony begins with a blues refrain that's quickly answered by a quirky little jazz riff in the winds. It's like a little scene from a musical of the 1930s: chase your blues away, says that little jazz riff. But then you realize this is a genuine symphonic first movement in well-argued sonata form, and you've got to be impressed.

The notes to this recording point out that the bouncy third movement (with banjo obbligato, first time in a symphony certainly!) has a main theme very similar to George Gershwin's "I Got Rhythm." Actually, Still came up with his melody before Gershwin wrote his song, but Still and Gershwin supposedly influenced one another, so maybe Gershwin cribbed a bit from Still. Hearing the very dramatic episodes in the first and last movements that seem to forecast scenes in "Porgy and Bess," I wonder if Still didn't influence Gershwin much more than the reverse.

Be that as it may, I find, as with "Africa," that the symphony is let down a bit by the finale, though it does end with an appropriately dramatic peroration, leaving a bold impression. All things considered, this is one of the best symphonies written by an American and certainly one of the most American of all.

I have nothing but praise for the performances. The Fort Smith Symphony takes this music to heart and presents it with great feeling and with the kind of abandon that comes when musicians have lived with music for a while and have gotten it into their blood. Sure, this is a regional orchestra instead of one of America's Big Five, but if so, these excellent performances just speak to the general quality of American orchestras even out in the hinterlands. Conductor John Jeter probably deserves a good deal of credit as well. And while I'm at it, kudos to the Naxos engineers too. The recording has fine presence and detail. Given Naxos' price, this disc is the way to go if you want to acquire William Grant Still's classic.

Long Lost Symphony.......2005-07-28

It's one of the tragedies of the 20th century that Still's Symphonic Suite AFRICA has never been recorded in its symphonic version before. Two versions for piano don't begin to give an idea of its rich color and expressiveness. In spite of the no-name orchestra (so to speak) this is a good recording of a truly beautiful work. I don't think Still ever composed anything better. The opening track, IN MEMORIAM, is also a novelty. Sit back and enjoy!
Catherine Parsons Smith (author of WILLIAM GRANT STILL: A STUDY IN CONTRADICTIONS)

Amazing!.......2005-04-21

This is a great CD of the world premiere recording of the remarkable American classical music composer, William Grant Still. Performed by the Fort Smith Symphony, under the direction of John Jeter, it is beautiful and inspiring. The viola section plays exceptionally well.

Dynamic Orchestra.......2005-04-10

The Fort Smith Symphony under the direction of John Jeter is a dynamic orchestra. This CD is an excellent example of the talents of the musicians synchronized by their director's many worldwide experiences conducting symphonies. Fort Smith is a moderate sized community located in the heartland of the U.S. The community and the region are fortunate to have such dedicated talent in their local culture. I hope to see future CD recordings of this caliber from the Fort Smith Symphony.

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