That's Life

Amazon.com
If you judged a CD by its cover you might believe that Julia Fordham's latest release "That's Life" would find the cool blonde a little edgier and a little more playful than her earlier efforts, but despite the more luminous hair, and the punk rock tank top, Fordham is the same well-mannered, careful singer on her eighth disc as she was on her very first. She smoothly steers her four-octave voice on a journey of graceful self-discovery while maintaining a rather chilly emotional distance as she attempts to make sense of herself, and her uncertain and eventually unraveling relationships. This British chanteuse--whose voice is a perfect balance of Christine McVie and Joni Mitchell--uses her throaty vibrato as a seductive weapon on "Walking On Water," as she ensnares a love with her poetry and promises, only to turn that purring lower register against him, on the rather cruel but stunningly beautiful "I'm Sorry," as she explains, "My mouth still says I love you, but I don't," while former Beatles compadre Billy Preston plays a sparse, anxious piano to echo the singer's elegant regret. It's all a little too civilized, yet there is an injured ambiguity that underpins the entire record, making one believe that perhaps Fordham was the injured party and this CD is really sweet revenge against a faithless lover. But whatever it is, this record works on a number of levels--every single one of them singularly satisfying. --Jaan Uhelszki

That's Life,Julia Fordham,Vanguard Records,Adult Alternative Pop/Rock,Adult Contemporary,Pop,Pop Vocals,Rock/Pop,Singer/Songwriter,Soft Rock

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That's Life

Average customer rating: Parachutes coldplay "parashutes" Can anybody stop this thing ... before my head explodes ... Amazing debut album Cold Play rocks

Parachutes Coldplay Manufacturer: Capitol ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Britpop | British Alternative | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Dream Pop | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Similar Items: A Rush of Blood to the Head X&Y Live 2003 (CD & DVD) Hopes and Fears OK Computer ASIN: B0000508U6 Release Date: 2000-11-07

Tracks:

1. Don't Panic
2. Shiver
3. Spies
4. Sparks
5. Yellow
6. Trouble
7. Parachutes
8. High Speed
9. We Never Change
10. Everything's Not Lost

Amazon.com

Music doesn't come more touching than this. With their debut single alone, the emotion-fortified "Shiver," Coldplay prove they can shift between elated and crushed in a breath, as singer Chris Martin pours out music's oldest chestnut (unconditional yet unrequited love) with the shakiest of voices and a backdrop of epic guitars. For 10 tracks on Parachutes, he adds newfound meaning to the most tired and overused rock sentiments--love found, love lost, love unrequited--over acoustic guitars and emotionally fraught rock. And for once, all the clichés ring true because Chris Martin genuinely sounds like a man picking over the bones of his life, coming up with just as many reasons to be cheerful as seriously depressed. Not that Parachutes is a depressing album--there's too much conviction to the guitars and hope in Martin's words for that. Instead it's a beautifully tender balance that comes as close to perfection as anything that's come before it. --Dan Gennoe

Amazon.com

Coldplay Photos

More from Coldplay

A Rush of Blood to the Head

X&Y

Live 2003

Customer Reviews:

Parachutes.......2007-04-05

For so long I wrote this band off as Radiohead wannabes. Granted, Chris Martin himself pretty much admits this sentiment to be true, but that does not mean Coldplay can't want to be like Radiohead and make good music at the same time. They don't strike as deep or reach as far, but they deliver more accessible music that isn't all that bad. In fact, Parachutes, their debut album, is quite good - no, it is great.

The album has a reserved, modest alternative rock sound that relies on acoustic guitars and keyboards just as much as it does electric guitars and drum rhythms. There aren't many layers or complexity to the ten tracks on Parachutes; they are beautifully simple. Chris Martin will probably never top his vocals on this album. It is his most vivid and honest delivery. One key aspect of Coldplay's music that has never gone well with me is the lyrics, and more specifically their topics. And Coldplay haven't seemed to move from where they started, but that isn't a real weak point for Parachutes, considering that this is where they started.

"Don't Panic" is one of the best songs on the album, both in terms of sound and lyrics, but when the electric guitar comes in you can immediately taste the Radiohead. "Shiver" is a much more "Coldplay" song that has a very endearing, melodic sound to it, and the fact that it isn't in 4/4 shows that Coldplay aren't just talented. But the lyrics - being about a girl - dull this display of intellect and creativity. They more than make up for it on "Spies," a darker-sounding drum-heavy piece that is surely metaphorical about life's worries, drug use, or maybe even communist China. "Sparks" is a beautiful, almost lounge-like piece that is fitting to be about a girl. Both "Yellow" and "Trouble" are overrated, but still very good songs that work perfectly on this album. "High Speed" is another very enjoyable Radiohead-flavored song that contains a lot of atmospheric guitar-work and a grooving bass line. "We Never Change" is perhaps the best song on the album, and is certainly the most expressive and meaningful. "Everything's Not Lost" is the perfect track to close out Parachutes, with its "this could go on forever" guitar and bass riffs and vocals.

The songs in and of themselves aren't particularly brilliant or overwhelming, but the whole is much greater than the sum of its parts. The album cannot be expressed in a song or two like your average pop album. It's not exactly a "Dark Side Of The Moon"-type of album either, but everything works so well from beginning to end that it is in a sense exactly that kind of album.

coldplay "parashutes".......2007-03-19

i wait3 month and not recieve nothing-you lost this, i don't know condition.

Can anybody stop this thing ... before my head explodes ..........2007-02-03

Simply stated one of the best albums in existence. From the restrained beauty of "Yellow," to the haunting, unbelievably beautiful "Trouble," to my favorite "High Speed," this cd is astonishing. Stunning. Perfect. The last song "Everything's Not Lost" is ideal when you're at the end of your rope. It'll choke you up, but you'll feel better ... I cannot recommend this cd highly enough. This audio clips on the main page don't do any of the tracks justice ... they sound warped, tinny, and flat ... just buy it. The main review calls Parachutes "a beautifully tender balance that comes as close to perfection as anything that's come before it." Yes ... yes.

Amazing debut album.......2007-02-02

Not often does a band come through and shatter the mold for popular music. Before this cd, Americans were fixated on 'boy bands' and Outkast. This release expanded the palette of nearly all who listened; the door was open for such bands as Keane, Franz Ferdinand, and even Modest Mouse to gain their fair share of radio play. A deeper and more spiritual side of music was exposed that had an overwhelmingly great effect on the industry as a whole. This CD is simply amazing, with every song complementing each other seamlessly.
While most casual listeners will be quick to enjoy the pop-friendly "Yellow," it is such songs as "Everything's Not Lost" and "Shiver" that best define this album.

Cold Play rocks.......2007-01-11

This Cd I bought for only two of the songs. I do however enjoy more than the two I got it for.Its not as good as X&Y but its good. I have bought most all Cold plays music and this band is awesome.

Average customer rating: Wonderful Soundtrack DOLLY WILL NEVER GO AWAY The excitement is there, but..... Goodbye, Dolly! Toxically Corny!!!!

Hello, Dolly! (1964 Original Broadway Cast) (Deluxe Edition) Jerry Herman , and Carol Channing Manufacturer: RCA Victor Broadway ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Musicals | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music General | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music $9.99 and Under | Blowout Music | Stores | Music Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music Soundtracks | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music Classical | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music All Blowout Music | Blowout Music | Stores | Music $9.99 and Under | Prices | Blowout Music | Stores | Music More Titles at Least 25% Off | Blowout Music | Stores | Music Opera & Vocal | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Musicals | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Similar Items: Mame (1966 Original Broadway Cast) My Fair Lady (1956 Original Broadway Cast) Fiddler on the Roof (1964 Original Broadway Cast) Gypsy - A Musical Fable (1959 Original Broadway Cast) Camelot (1960 Original Broadway Cast) ASIN: B000099SZ0 Release Date: 2003-06-03

Tracks:

1. Prologue
2. I Put My Hand In
3. It Takes a Woman
4. Put on Your Sunday Clothes
5. Ribbons Down My Back
6. Motherhood
7. Dancing
8. Before the Parade Passes By
9. Elegance
10. Hello, Dolly!
11. It Only Takes a Moment
12. So Long Dearie
13. Finale
14. I Put My Hand In [*] - Mary Martin
15. Before the Parade Passes By [*] - Pearl Bailey
16. Hello, Dolly! [*] - Pearl Bailey
17. So Long Dearie [*] - Mary Martin
18. Love, Look in My Window [*] - Ethel Merman
19. World, Take Me Back [*] - Ethel Merman
20. On Recording Hello, Dolly! [*] - Carol Channing
21. When Did You Sense That Hello, Dolly! Would Be a Hit? [*] - Carol Channing
22. On the Title Number [*] - Carol Channing
23. "Dolly Changed Me..."; the Book [*] - Carol Channing
24. Plot [*] - Carol Channing
25. Optimism, And Finding One's Character [*] - Carol Channing
26. Prime of Life [*] - Carol Channing

Amazon.com

Sitting in the balcony at the final preview of this 1964 Jerry Herman show, still very much in school and long before my career as a critic began, I knew somehow that I was witnessing theatrical history. Even as that callow youth, I was certain that Carol Channing had been born to play the role of Dolly Gallagher Levi, the meddling turn-of-the century New York widow who had been adapted from Thornton Wilder's straight play The Matchmaker. Channing has proved me right by playing the role ever since, of course, miraculously only improving with age. Beyond Dolly herself, however, the musical emitted a synergistic exuberance (at least five years before we used the word "synergy"). The supporting cast, including David Burns, Eileen Brennan, and Charles Nelson Reilly, were terrific. Herman's tunes and lyrics were sublimely crafted both to create their characters and stand alone. (The title song took on a life of its own.) The show's designers, librettist Michael Stewart and director Gower Champion, combined to transport the audience to 60 years earlier in little old New York. This wasn't all just my opinion: Hello, Dolly! won a record 10 Tonys. The original cast recording can still take you to that other time and place, even if you didn't see the original show. But, at the risk of offending my inner adolescent, the 1994 revival, naturally starring Channing, was even better--both on stage and on disc. --Robert Windeler

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful Soundtrack.......2007-06-27

This is the original recording, with all of the best names included. Wonderful, wonderful music.

DOLLY WILL NEVER GO AWAY.......2007-05-17

Great re-mastering of original BWay cast album with wonderful other Dollys, particularly Pearl Baily who makesHello, Dolly! (1964 Original Broadway Cast) (Deluxe Edition) the title tune her own. It is still a great score and a delight to own.

The excitement is there, but............2007-01-24

Hello Dolly is one of my favorite shows. When you listen to the cast album, you really do--as others have said--feel the excitement of being there on opening night when Broadway history was being made. The wonderful RCA cast album has been a best seller for 43 years. But while I do feel it is necessary for any musical fan to have this cast recording in their collection, this is not personally my "Dolly" album of choice. I have three of the 5 major DOLLY recordings in my collection; this Original Cast, the Barbra Streisand movie soundtrack, and the Mary Martin London cast on LP (the others I do not have are the Pearl Bailey cast album and the Carol Channing revival). My preferred recording is a tie between the movie soundtrack and the Mary Martin album, with this one trailing (not far) behind. As far as the supporting cast are concerned, the original cast wins hand down. But HELLO DOLLY is really about the star, and in my opinion, Carol Channing can't sing...err, croak...her way out of a cardboard box. I realize that that is Channing's trademark, but it just doesn't work for me. As I said, this album is required equipment in any serious musical lover's collection, but I think that I too will "stick with Streisand." And for God's sake, I wish RCA would get off their rump and get the Mary Martin cast album out on CD, and reissue the Pearl Bailey cast album too while they're at it!

Goodbye, Dolly!.......2005-10-30

This Deluxe Edition of the orginal "Hello, Dolly!" has three distinct problems.

For starters, this is not the classic musical that afficianados would have you believe, nor is it Jerry Herman at his best (that honor goes to "Mame"). Rather, this is a fair to middling score with three socko numbers (title tune not included), three rather fine songs (title song included) and the rest either average or inadequate. "Put On Your Sunday Clothes" and "Before the Parade Passes By" are two of the most galvanizing songs ever written for the Broadway stage and no singer can detract from their euphoric energy (though Carol Channing tries -- more on that later). "So Long, Dearie", though slower in tempo than Barbra Streisand's definitve rendition, is a showstopping character song that's both clever and compelling. These three numbers are what gives "Dolly" it's class and they are three of the best things Herman ever wrote. Then we have "Dancing", "Elegance" and (gulp!) the by now overly familiar title song, each an accomplished tune that propels the plot with, well, elegance. The song "Hello, Dolly!" may now annoy as a Broadway warhorse, but it was as fresh as daffodils when it first premiered. The rest of the score, sadly, isn't up to these standards. "It Takes a Woman" and "It Only Takes a Moment" are indistinguished at best, and "Ribbons Down My Back" is downright annoying. Worse still, "I Put My Hand In" is a lackluster opener that pales in comparison to "Just Leave Everything to Me", its replacement in the movie and a bonifide Jerry Herman rouser. And "Motherhood" sounds like exactly what it was, a stage wait for the scenery to move in. Totally expendable.

The second problem here is that this may be the worst sung original cast recording in Broadway history. Charles Neslon Reilly's wobbly tenor struggles to maintain pitch, Eileen Brennan's stilted soprano sounds more like light operetta than musical comedy, and David Burns makes his movie counterpart, Walter Matthau, sound like Mario Lanza in comparision. Then there is Dolly, the incomprehensibly overrated Carol Channing. From her first froggy notes in "I Put My Hand In" you know it's going to be rough sledding and, sure enough, she croaks and screeches her way through one song after another, rendering most of what she sings unlistenable. Channing's voice is thin, harsh and completely unequalized throughout its range and she effectively saps all of the charm out of "...Sunday Clothes" and "Parade". By the time the recording has ended, you want to banish this CD to a deserted island. But wait, there's more! An almost unrecognizable Mary Martin starts the "extras" on this disc with a shock. Some of her last recordings, these "Dolly" numbers unfortunately display how Martin's once lovely instrument had deepened and thickened over the years. A full throttle but somewhat tremulous Ethel Merman fairs little better on some poorly recorded songs added to the show when she took over. These two giants actually make the songs Pearl Bailey does on this disc seem all the more astonishing. While arguably not as talented as Martin or Merman (although, in reconsidering this recording and her career, I think I'm entirely wrong in that observation), Bailey hits a home run on each of her renditions and her recording of the title song is absolutely definitive. Someone should quickly get the cast recording of her "Dolly" back in circulation. "She" and "we" deserve it.

The final problen here is a lengthy recent interview with Ms. Channing that has to be heard to be believed. Does she actually think we're buying the idea that she was doing high kicks in the studio while recording her songs? Please! She barely catches her breath between phrases. And her comparing her premonition that the show would be a hit to a passage in the bible is as laughable as it is sacriligious. Yes, she may have done the show over 5000 times, but she lucked into a classic without earning her own classic status. No wonder all she could do was repeat herself for the rest of her career. Stick with Streisand.

And I guess from the reviews of THIS review, disliking Channing is sacriligous. I better watch my back.

Toxically Corny!!!!.......2005-01-22

A lot of my friends wonder why I violently detest Broadway Musicals so much. Well, this particular recording is at least one reason why. Exposed to this piece of Toxic Schlock at a very young age (about 4 I reckon), and ever since, for me it has epitomized EVERYTHING I detest about musicals, the thin corny plots, even cornier songs, people breaking out into song at the most ridiculous times and so much glitz that my system nearly went into toxic shock. The worst part of it all, CAROL CHANNING!!!! This woman CANNOT SING TO SAVE HER LIFE, PERIOD!!!

I've even asked people who DO like B'way what is the deal with her? I hear it's that she has charisma. OK, since when does charisma equal talent (I honestly believe they are NOT the same thing).

And I have even tried to listen to other musicals over the years, and I just CANNOT get the appeal of it on ANY level! I guess this is well-done as these things go (there is work involved), but I just CANNOT understand what the fuss is all about.

Signed,

One perplexed Owl.

Average customer rating: Star Wars: A Musical Journey (2005) (V) Not one of his bests, but very close John Williams' finest work A Great Conclusion to the Prequel Trilogy Williams is slumming it

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Manufacturer: Sony ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Movie Scores | Soundtracks | Styles | Music Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music Star Wars | Soundtracks | Styles | Music General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music Movie Scores | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Similar Items: Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Star Wars Trilogy Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope ASIN: B000850IS6 Release Date: 2005-05-03

Tracks:

1. Star Wars and The Revenge Of The Sith
2. Anakin's Dream
3. Battle Of The Heroes
4. Anakin's Betrayal
5. General Grievous
6. Palpatine's Teachings
7. Grievous and the Droids
8. Padme's Ruminations
9. Anakin vs. Obi-Wan
10. Anakin's Dark Deeds
11. Enter Lord Vader
12. The Immolation Scene
13. Grievous Speaks to Lord Sidious
14. The Birth Of The Twins and Padme's Destiny
15. A New Hope and End Credits

Amazon.com

John Williams' lovely and moving score for the sixth Star Wars film brings thirty years of collaborating on George Lucas' beyond-popular intergalactic franchise to a close. (Is this really the end of Star Wars? Can't Lucas and Williams work together on a prequel to these prequels? Let us hope so, and that Jar Jar Binks is nowhere near it.) As this music accompanies the most exciting Star Wars film in many a moon, the soundtrack itself is more fun, more evil, more nasty and bumpy. Many of the heroic, anthemic themes woven throughout Episode Three: Revenge of the Sith will necessarily be familiar to any fan of the series, from the "Imperial March" to the main theme. It's remarkable how stirring the latter can be, no matter how many times you've heard it, and even for those who do not have all their money invested in S.W. memorabilia. There is a lot of new music here, and the lush, extensive range of both Williams and the London Symphony Orchestra is on display, most notably in the menacing, percolating "General Grievous" and the rousing "New Hope" end theme. --Mike McGonigal

The Force Is Also with:

Star Wars Trilogy soundtrack box set	Star Wars Episode II sountrack	Star Wars Episode II, Attack of the Clones
Star Wars Episode I, The Phantom Menace	Star Wars Trilogy on DVD	Star Wars, Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

Customer Reviews:

Star Wars: A Musical Journey (2005) (V).......2007-06-21

product: Star Wars: A Musical Journey (2005) (V), included as bonus disc in Episode III soundtrack.

The bonus dvd with this soundtrack was the reason I purchased. I enjoy film soundtracks, and science fiction, but this dvd was a real highlight for me. I got the soundtrack cd out of the local library. The cd was missing from the case, but I found this wonderful dvd instead that I went out to purchase later.

With optional segments of dialog from Ian McDiarmid, this film is a stunning visual and musical overview of the full epic story of episodes I-VI of Star Wars. For those of us who felt that eps. IV-VI fell short of our expectations, this film presents them well as parts of the whole story. The Musical Journey also stands as a summary of the entire SW opus for someone who is not familiar with the Star Wars characters and plot. Highly recommended.

Options: no subtitles or other options.

Not one of his bests, but very close.......2007-05-21

The Episode III soundtrack is very good. Not great, but very, very good. You can tell that Williams is getting old, but he still manages to weave together a very memorable score.

My favorite tracks are "Battle of the Heroes," "Anakin's Betrayal," Palpatine's teachings, "Anakin vs. Obi-Wan," and the "Immolation Scene."
The others are very good as well, but these are especially nice. "Battle of the Heroes" is Dual of the Fates for Revenge of the Sith. "Anakin's Betrayal" is a very sad track that is, in my opinion, one of William's most powerful pieces. "Palpatine's Teachings" is really, really neat. It's very dark and moody, a perfect piece for the evil emperor. The only weird thing is the end. "Anakin vs. Obi-Wan" is the action piece that plays during the battles of Anakin and Obi-Wan, and Yoda and the Emperor. Finally, "The Immolation Scene" is another sad piece, even more so than "Anakin's Betrayal."

Although I really like this CD, there are some things that are missing (as usual). First, the whole sequence where the droids are looking for Obi-Wan after he was shot. You see Obi-Wan in his ship with Senator Organa on the Hologram (or whatever it is), and Obi-Wan says that his clones turned on him. That was some pretty awesome music that OF COURSE was left out of the CD. Then there was Dual of the Fates in the movie, but completely absent from the CD. And probably the most annoying was that whole piece of music before Obi-Wan and Anakin fight. It was so touching and sad and I CAN'T BELIEVE THEY LEFT IT OUT! Absolutely amazing. Also, did anyone notice that some little bits were cut out? For example, in Anakin vs. Obi Wan, they cut out about a second or two of choir. What?! What the heck is with that? It's when Anakin is running on the long thing and jumps on the droid on the lava. Also, there was some pretty cool drumming when you see Yoda and the Emperor fighting, and you can see the whole stadium (the big room). There's also drumming in "Enter Lord Vader" that is muted in the soundtrack.

Oh well...if I'm going to collect movie scores, I'm going to have to get used to the fact that in almost all cases there's not going to be every bit of music. I've experienced this in both Pirates of the Caribbean, Jurassic Park I (there was very little left out on this score), and almost everything else. At the moment, I'm just waiting for the 22nd, for the Pirates of the Caribbean 3 soundtrack. It's gonna be amazing.

See Yu

John Williams' finest work.......2007-04-20

There is little more I can say that hasn't already been said about the soundtrack to Episode 3, especially what Amazon contributor Dan Mohr wrote in his review of the soundtrack on 2/2/2006. His review captured almost all the thoughts, feelings, and emotions I had when I first listened to the soundtrack, and was, IMO, the best review of John Williams' greatest masterpiece.

Having said that, I will say that few soundtracks have ever so perfectly captured the underlying emotional currents of their respective movie; in the case of ROTS, the contemporaneous tragedies of Anakin's fall to the Dark Side, the extermination of the Jedi, and the rise of the oppressive Empire. The listener is confronted with the depth and totality of the evil that has beset the entire galaxy to a degree that the film could not reach in only 2 hours.

Bravo, Dan Mohr, and BRAVO John Williams!

A Great Conclusion to the Prequel Trilogy.......2007-04-07

This is a great work of art. I rank it 4th among Star Wars soundtracks after A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and The Phantom Menace. I had a hard deciding which I thought was better, The Phantom Meance or Revenge of the Sith, but I decided that The Phantom Menace lays the foundation for so much that is in this soundtrack and is thus the more masterful work. But that doesn't mean that this score still isn't great. Every piece is a thrill to listen to and pace never lets up. "Battle of the Hereos" is an amazing piece and the rendition of the "Funeral Theme" from Episoded I captures the film's tragety magnificently. Also I do not think John Williams could have portrayed the Jedi's extinction more perfectly than he did in "Anakin's Betrayal". This is without a doubt the best score of 2005 and one of the best of the decade.

Williams is slumming it.......2007-04-01

Williams's score for Revenge of the Sith is almost entirely overbearing, lacking any emotional subtlety. The music is overcomplicated and even a bit confusing, especially in the tracks that correspond to action sequences in the movie. His overuse of choral tracks and vocals is too bombastic and irritating to be listened to without the explosions and laser blasts of the soundtrack to soften them. (Yes, this music is actually softened by the sounds of warfare.) Worst of all, much of the music has simply been lifted from earlier scores. At times his self-imitation was so blatant that I actually wondered whether the editor who had complied this score had made a mistake and I was listening to The Empire Strikes Back or A New Hope. Also suffers from not including the entire score, in some cases cutting out musical segues in obvious and awkward ways.

Average customer rating: Wonderful, but not my first choice THE BEST recording of the BEST oratorio ever... Too bad there are so few recordings of Elijah

Mendelssohn: Elijah Manufacturer: EMI Classics ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Mendelssohn | Mendelssohn, Felix | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Oratorios | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Oratorios | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Similar Items: Franz Joseph Haydn: The Creation Mendelssohn - Elijah / Terfel, Fleming, Bardon, Ainsley, Fulgoni, Paul Daniel Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde Brahms - Ein Deutsches Requiem (A German Requiem) / Auger, Stilwell, Atlanta SO, Robert Shaw Brahms: Ein deutsches Requiem [A German Requiem] ASIN: B0002XV31A Release Date: 2005-02-15

Tracks:

1. Introduction: As God The Lord Of Israel Liveth
2. Overture
3. No.1 Help, Lord! Wilt Thou Quite Destroy Us?
4. No.2: Lord! Bow Thine Ear To Our Prayer!
5. No.3: Ye People, Rend Your Hearts
6. No.4: If With All Your Hearts
7. No.5: Yet Doth The Lord See It Not
8. No.6: Elijah! Get Thee Hence
9. No.7: For He Shall Give His Angels Charge Over Thee
10. Recitative: Now Cherith's Brook Is Dried Up
11. No.8: What Have I Do To Do With Thee?
12. No.9: Blessed Are The Men Who Fear Him
13. No.10: As God The Lord Of Sabaoth Liveth
14. No.11: Baal, We Cry To Thee: Hear And Answer Us!
15. No.12: Call Him Louder, For He Is A God!
16. No.13: Call Him Louder! He Heareth Not!
17. No.14: Lord God Of Abraham, Isaac And Israel!
18. No.15: Cast Thy Burden Upon The Lord
19. No.16: O Thou, Who Makest Thine Angels Spirits
20. No.17: Is Not His Word Like A Fire?
21. No.18: Woe Unto Them Who Forsake Him!
22. No.19: O Man Of God, Help Thy People!
23. No.20: Thanks Be To God!

Tracks:

1. No.21: Hear Ye, Israel; Hear What The Lord Speaketh
2. No.22: Be Not Afraid, Saith God The Lord
3. No.23: The Lord Hath Exalted Thee
4. No.24: Woe To Him, He Shall Perish
5. No.25: Man Of God, Now Let My Words Be Precious
6. No.26: It Is Enough; O Lord Now Take My Life
7. No.27: See, Now He Sleepeth
8. No.28: Lift Thine Eyes To The Mountains
9. No.29: He, Watching Over Israel, Slumbers Not
10. No.30: Arise, Elijah, For Thou Hast A Long Journey
11. No.31: O Rest In The Lord
12. No.32: He That Shall Endure To The End, Shall Be Saved
13. No.33: Night Falleth Round Me, O Lord!
14. No.34: Behold! God The Lord Passed By!
15. No.35: Above Him Stood The Seraphim
16. No.36: Go, Return Upon Thy Way
17. No.37: For The Mountains Shall Depart
18. No.38: Then Did Elijah The Prophet Break Forth
19. No.39: Then Shall The Righteous Shine Forth
20. No.40: Behold, God Hath Sent Elijah
21. No.41: But The Lord, From The North Hath Raised One
22. No.41a: O Come Everyone That Thirsteth
23. No.42: And Then Shall Your Light Break Forth

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful, but not my first choice.......2007-04-07

I believe this was the first recording of Elijah in English that used an "international" conductor and some international singers. Fruhbeck gives a good, dramatic sweep to the piece, with some wonderful dramatic moments. This is an old fashioned performance, with only a solo quartet, and if there is a semi-chorus, I can't tell the difference. This means that the soprano is the Widow, and an Angel, the mezzo the Angel and Queen Jezabel, etc. You really should have a libretto, but you don't get one at this price.
Fischer-Dieskau roughens up his voice for the role, and therein lies a problem. The voice spreads and his diction suffers because of it; that and his unidiomatic pronounciation, with far too many rolled "r"s. He does the drama well, but what works well in lieder works here less well on the large scale. Odd, given his success as on opera singer (check out his Iago), that here he frequently comes off blustery.
Dame Gwyneth Jones belies her reputation and gives a contolled, dramatic performance, using her "edge" to advantage in "Hear Ye, Israel". Gedda's diction is amazing, with exactly the right color for this literature, and projecting a little more blood than an English tenor.
Dame Janet Baker is my star in this performance. Dramatic, heart-rending when need be, and in wonderful voice. She'll chill your blood when she tells the people of Baal to "slaughter him, do what he hath done!".
And as for the people of Baal, the Philharmonia Chorus is wonderful. Incisive and dramatic, with beautiful tone. I could do without the trick of the boy choir for "Lift Thine Eyes", and I miss the small ensembles, but all in all a fine performance, and good recording, circa 1968.
First choice in English, Daniels/Terfel: better Elijah in Terfel, better recording, more authentic orchestra, small vocal ensembles (as per the score) but inferior women (including Fleming: beautiful tone, but where's her head?). In German, it's Sawallisch/Adam all the way.
But if you're singing Elijah, and have a score, this is a good choice.

THE BEST recording of the BEST oratorio ever..........2006-08-15

Okay, I'm gonna admit I'm biased- I first sung in the chorus of Elijah when I was 14 and it made a BIG impression on me!
This recording is in every way wonderful. Starting with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. He IS Elijah to me. His singing is perfection. He has amazing phrasing and his diction makes it possible to understand the lovely, inspired libretto to this heavenly music. There are so many pieces that are ephemeral, but a couple of my favorites are: #14, Lord God of Abraham and #37, For the Mountains shall Depart. Dieskau does a great job of what I think of as compassionate, heartfelt singing. His interpretation sounds like the voice of God himself. It has a quality of kindness and yet he sounds just as convincing reprimanding the people of Baal. He is the true highlight of this recording.

That said, the rest of the cast is wonderful as well. Gwyneth Jones has a lovely, silvery voice that has a clarion bell-like tone that rings over the large orchestra with ease. She has occasional "misfire" but is a consistent performer. Dame Janet Baker and Nicolai Gedda both perform at a consistently lovely level. The orchestra and chorus are both wonderful. #15, Cast thy Burden upon the Lord, #32 He that Shall Endure to the End, and #38 Then Did Elijah are all highlights.

All said, for me the main reason to get this recording is Dieskau's Elijah- after all, he's the main character. But don't forget the lovely music. This story is exciting and passionate and sacred all at the same time. For me, it's the best oratorio that has a moving story and great music too.

Too bad there are so few recordings of Elijah.......2006-07-03

This is a good recording of an oratorio that deserves more attention. The chorus and soloists are very good--I just wish Fischer-Diskau wouldn't slide around so much in singing the title part!

Average customer rating: They were right--there is NO business like the show business they did way back when !!! One of the best cds I ever bought. Never Sounded Better Somewhere Over The Rainbow "Hollywood Musicals of the Golden Age are still among us"

Somewhere over the Rainbow: The Golden Age of Hollywood Musicals Various Artists Manufacturer: Rhino / Wea ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Vocal Jazz General | Vocal Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music General | Musicals | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music Traditional Vocal Pop | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music General | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music Rhino Records | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Similar Items: Ultimate Broadway Only Broadway CD You'll Ever Need The Best Of Broadway (Cast Recording Anthology) Greatest Hits: Broadway That's Entertainment!: The Best Of The M-G-M Musicals - Motion Picture Soundtrack Anthology ASIN: B000066RO5 Release Date: 2002-06-04

Tracks:

1. Singin In The Rain - Gene Kelly
2. Theres No Business Like Show Business - Betty Hutton, Howard Keel, Keenan Wynn & Louis Calhern
3. 'S Wonderful - Gene Kelly & Georges Guetary
4. Thats Entertainment! - Fred Astaire, Jack Buchanan, Nanette Fabray & Oscar Levant
5. Stranger In Paradise - Ann Blyth & Vic Damone
6. Easter Parade - Judy Garland & Fred Astaire
7. Lullaby Of Broadway - Winifred Shaw, Dick Powell & Chorus
8. Get Happy - Judy Garland
9. Night And Day - Fred Astaire
10. True Love - Bing Crosby & Grace Kelly
11. Honeysuckle Rose - Lena Horne w/ Benny Carter & His Orchestra
12. They Cant Take That Away From Me - Fred Astaire
13. Milkman, Keep Those Bottles Quiet - Nancy Walker & The M-G-M Studio Chorus w/ Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra
14. Baby, Its Cold Outside - Esther Williams & Ricardo Montalban
15. For Me And My Gal - Gene Kelly & Judy Garland
16. Puttin On The Ritz - Clark Gable & Co.
17. Hallelujah! - Tony Martin, Vic Damone, Kay Armen, Ann Miller, Debbie Reynolds, Clark Burroughs & Co.
18. Bless Yore Beautiful Hide - Howard Keel
19. Taking A Chance On Love - Ethel Waters & Eddie "Rochester" Anderson
20. As Time Goes By - Dooley Wilson w/ Elliot Carpenter (Bonus Track)
21. Laras Theme (Main Title) - The M-G-M Studio Orchestra (Bonus Track)

Tracks:

1. Over The Rainbow - Judy Garland
2. Its A Most Unusual Day - Jane Powell
3. Wunderbar - Kathryn Grayson & Howard Keel
4. Cant Help Lovin Dat Man - Ava Gardner
5. Going Hollywood - Bing Crosby
6. The Trolley Song - Judy Garland, The M-G-M Studio Chorus
7. Gigi - Louis Jourdan
8. I Got Rhythm - Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney & Co.
9. Aba Daba Honeymoon - Debbie Reynolds, Carleton Carpenter & M-G-M Studio Chorus
10. The Lady Is A Tramp - Lena Horne
11. The Best Things In Life Are Free - June Allyson & Peter Lawford
12. Cheek To Cheek - Fred Astaire
13. A Kiss To Build A Dream On - Louis Armstrong
14. Put 'Em In A Box - Doris Day & The Page Cavanaugh Trio
15. If Swing Goes, I Go Too - Fred Astaire
16. Almost Like Being In Love - Gene Kelly
17. Lets Face The Music And Dance - Fred Astaire
18. Be A Clown - Gene Kelly & Judy Garland
19. Embraceable You - Connie Francis
20. On The Atchison, Topeka And The Santa Fe - Judy Garland & Co.
21. One For My Baby (And One More For The Road) - Fred Astaire

Amazon.com

The "Golden Age" referred to here spans The Jazz Singer and the advent of the talkies to the death throes of the old studio system in the 1960s. So vast was the era's musical landscape that even this 42-track, double-disc anthology can't encompass all its peaks. Not surprisingly, the bulk of this collection originated with the Tiffany's of the screen musical, M-G-M, a body of work whose riches here encompass both pop-cultural bedrock ("Over the Rainbow," "Singin' in the Rain," "There's No Business Like Show Business," etc.) and some less familiar, if equally delightful star turns: Clark Gable gamely "Puttin' On the Ritz"; the sassy, 1948 original of "The Lady Is a Tramp" by Lena Horne; and a loopy duet of "Baby, It's Cold Outside" by Esther Williams and Ricardo Montalban. Fred Astaire's elegant, epochal reign at RKO and M-G-M is represented by "Night and Day," "Let's Face the Music and Dance," and three others, while Metro mainstays Gene Kelly and Judy Garland share equal time and billing. It's not perfect--Cagney's "Yankee Doodle Boy" and/or some Sinatra seem more logical choices than the odd "bonus" duet of Casablanca's "As Time Goes By" and "Lara's Theme" from Dr. Zhivago that close out disc one--but it's a stunning, surprisingly comprehensive primer on the Hollywood film musical nonetheless. --Jerry McCulley

Customer Reviews:

They were right--there is NO business like the show business they did way back when !!!.......2006-11-18

Everything that happens in life
Can happen in a show
You can make 'em laugh
You can make 'em cry
Anything
Anything can go....

The clown with his pants falling down
Or the dance that's a dream of romance
Or the scene where the villain is mean
That's entertainment!

The lights on the lady in tights
Or the bride with the guy on the side
Or the ball where she gives him her all
That's entertainment!

The plot and the hot simply teeming with $ex
A gay divorcee who is after her ex
It could be Oedipus Rex
Where a chap kills his father
And causes a lot of bother

The clerk who is thrown out of work
By the boss who is thrown for a loss
By the skirt who is doing him dirt

The world is a stage,
The stage is a world of entertainment!

This two CD set amply proves that the musical melodies and lyrics from the golden age of the Hollywood musical remain unsurpassed to this day. This generous two CD set offers 42 incredible songs from Hollywood classic musicals. Most of these fine numbers are indeed from MGM, as Amazon correctly notes; but there are some RKO numbers and even a little from Warner Brothers. Thank goodness, though, that most of these songs came from MGM movies; MGM was the only studio that could boast that it truly had "more stars than there are in the heavens."

I love so many songs on these two CDs. Of course, there's the unforgettable classic "Over The Rainbow" sung by Judy Garland; she also performs "Easter Parade" and "Get Happy" on this two CD set and she carries most of the tune for "I Got Rhythm" even though Mickey Rooney helps her a little. I love "Baby, It's Cold Outside" for its' romantic overtones; and Lena Horne's "The Lady Is A Tramp" is flawless! We also get a rare chance to hear Clark Gable sing in "Puttin' On The Ritz;" and Bing Crosby's "Going Hollywood" may be brief but it's a fun song anyway.

There are two "bonus" tracks on the first CD: "As Time Goes By" from Casablanca and "Lara's Theme" from Doctor Zhivago. "As Time Goes By" is a good choice; it is another unsurpassed classic song that brings back memories and touches even the hardest of hearts. "Lara's Theme," however, is from the mid 1960s and I don't consider this period to be part of the "golden age" of Hollywood musicals.

The liner notes are excellent and they offer wonderful photos of the stars as well. The cover art is well done and the reverse cover art tells which movie each song is from and who is performing each song. Moreover, the quality of the sound is excellent especially when you consider that these numbers were recorded quite a few decades ago.

In short, this superlative two CD highlights the glory of the Hollywood musical when a certain type of sophistication dominated professional movie production. I highly recommend this CD for fans of Hollywood musicals, classic pop vocals and fans of the artists and actors who perform on this two CD set.

One of the best cds I ever bought. .......2006-06-07

What an amazon collection of songs! This is bar none my favorite cd just because of the variety and the quality of songs on it. I love music from this era, and this cd is the perfect companion to my life. Love it! Buy it, you won't regret it for a moment!

Never Sounded Better.......2006-03-16

Apart from the great selection of soundtracks, what really makes this compilation top value is the quality of the sound processing. Executed with finesse, these tracks sound better than when first issued and many are unedited, fuller versions: like "Singing In The Rain", for example. Throw in the great price, and this double disc set is a "must have" for all lovers of classic movie music.

Somewhere Over The Rainbow.......2006-02-24

A Sensational CD with Lots of Showtunes that Keep You Happy and makes You Want To Sing Along With!!!

"Hollywood Musicals of the Golden Age are still among us".......2005-07-13

Rhino Records and Turner Classic Movies Music present - "SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW: THE GOLDEN AGE OF HOLLYWOOD MUSICALS", some of the long ago musicals and stars that will never be forgotten...a 2-CD-Set covering several decades from 1935-1965 with many of the show stoppers of that time...some rare moments from entertainers that you haven't heard or thought of in sometime.

The lineup is fantastic and gives the listener a variety of what musicals were all about in the "Golden Age of the Hollywood Musicals"
June Allyson, Kay Armen, Louis Armstrong, Fred Astaire, Ann Blyth, Jack Buchanan, Louis Calhern, Bing Crosby, Vic Damone, Doris Day, Nanette Fabray, Connie Francis, Ava Gardner, Judy Garland, Kathyrn Grayson, Georges Guetary, Lena Horne, Betty Hutton, Louis Jourdan, Howard Keel, Gene Kelly, Grace Kelly, Peter Lawford, Oscar Levant, Ann Miller, Ricardo Montalban, Page Cavanaugh Trio, Debbie Reynolds, Winifred Shaw, Nancy Walker, Ethel Waters, Esther Williams, Dooley Williams and Keenan Wynn.

On Disc One 21 Classic Songs from great musicals with songs in alphabetical order:
AS TIME GOES BY - Dooley Wilson with Elliot Carpenter, pianist (1942)
BABY, IT'S COLD OUTSIDE - Esther Williams & Ricardo Montalban (1949)
BLESS, YORE BEAUTIFUL HIDE - Howard Keel (1954)
EASTER PARADE - Fred Astaire & Judy Garland (1948)
FOR ME AND MY GAL - Gene Kelly & Judy Garland (1942)
GET HAPPY - Judy Garland (1950)
HALLELUJAH! - Tony Martin, Vic Damone, Kay Armen, Ann Miller, Debbie Reynolds, Clark Burroughs (for Russ Tamblyn) (1955)
HONEYSUCKLE ROSE - Lena Horne with Benny Carter & His Orchestra (1943)
LARA'S THEME (MAIN TITLE) - M-G-M Studio Orchestra (1965)
LULLABY OF BROADWAY - Winifred Shaw & Dick Powell (1935)
MILKMAN, KEEP THOSE BOTTLES QUIET - Nancy Walker with Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra (1944)
NIGHT AND DAY - Fred Astaire (1934)
PUTTIN' ON THE RITZ - Clark Gable & Company (1939)
'S WONDERFUL - Gene Kelly & Georges Guetary (1951)
SINGIN' IN THE RAIN - Gene Kelly (1951)
STRANGER IN PARADISE - Ann Blyth & Vic Damone (1955)
TAKING A CHANCE ON LOVE - Ethel Waters & Eddie "Rochester" Anderson (1943)
THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT - Fred Astaire, Jack Buchanan, Nanette Fabray & Oscar Levant (1953)
THERE'S NO BUSINESS LIKE SHOW BUSINESS - Betty Hutton, Howard Keel, Keenan Wynn & Louis Calhern (1950)
THEY CAN'T TAKE THAT AWAY FROM ME - Fred Astaire (1949)
TRUE LOVE - Bing Crosby & Grace Kelly (1956)

On Disc Two more memorable performances from the Golden Age of Hollywood Musicals:
A KISS TO BUILD A DREAM ON - Louis Armstrong (1951)
ABA DABA HONEYMOON - Debbie Reynolds & Carleton Carpenter (1950)
ALMOST LIKE BEING IN LOVE - Gene Kelly (1954)
BE A CLOWN - Judy Garland & Gene Kelly (1948)
BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE - June Allyson & Peter Lawford (1947)
CAN'T HELP LOVIN' DAT MAN - Ava Gardner (beautiful woman, who my youngest grandaughter is named after...Avalon) (1951)
CHEEK TO CHEEK - Fred Astaire (1935)
EMBRACEABLE YOU - Connie Francis (1965)
GIGI - Louis Jourdan (1958)
GOING HOLLYWOOD - Bing Crosby (1933)
I GOT RHYTHM - Judy Garland & Mickey Rooney (1943)
IF SWING GOES, I GO TOO - Fred Astaire (1946)
IT'S A MOST UNUSUAL DAY - Jane Powell (1948)
LADY IS A TRAMP - Lena Horne (1948)
LET'S FACE THE MUSIC AND DANCE - Fred Astaire (1936)
ON THE ATCHISON, TOPEKA AND THE SANTA FE - Judy Garland & Company (1946)
ONE FOR MY BABY (AND ONE MORE FOR THE ROAD) - Fred Astaire (1943)
OVER THE RAINBOW - Judy Garland (became her theme song for the rest of her life) (1939)
PUT 'EM IN A BOX - Doris Day & the Page Cavanaugh Trio (1948)
THE TROLLEY SONG - Judy Garland & MGM Studio Chorus (1944)
WUNDERBAR - Kathryn Grayson & Howard Keel (two of MGM's favorite singing duos) (1953)

It was once said by the songwriters of that era - "There are two artists you want perform your songs on the big screen, they are Fred Astaire and Judy Garland they sing it just the way we wrote it, for which you will have a guaranteed hit on your hands"...well, this collections certainly has some merit to that statement...because with Judy Garland and Fred Astaire performing seven songs each, there must be something to it.

This collection of musicals still has the magic that we remember from those bygone years...but as long as we have the labels and networks who play and show these wonderful films of yesteryear, they will never be forgotten...hats off to Rhino Records, George Feltenstein (producer) and Doug Schwartz (engineer) and Turner Classic Movies for sharing those 42 selections from 42 films...celebrating decades of the tunes and artists that gave it their all...from what it commonly called "The Hollywood Dream Factory"...The Golden Age of Hollywood Musicals is still among us...gotta love it!

Total Time: 2-CD-Set ~ Rhino Records 78323 ~ (6/02/2002)

Average customer rating: Instruments of the Orchestra - Great Reference Material! Beginner or Expert Very Informative and Enjoyable Frank's view Excellent Intro for Those Not Familiar with the Orchestra

Instruments of the Orchestra Various Artists Manufacturer: Naxos ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra | ( H ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music London Philharmonic Orchestra | ( L ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra | ( M ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music National Philharmonic Orchestra London | ( N ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music General | Instructional | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music Blowout Box Sets | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music More Titles at Least 20% Off | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music All Classical Music Blowout | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra | ( H ) | Performers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music London Philharmonic Orchestra | ( L ) | Performers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra | ( M ) | Performers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music National Philharmonic Orchestra London | ( N ) | Performers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Instrumental | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Similar Items: Britten: Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra Op34; Simple Symphony Op4 The Mahler Symphonies: An Owner's Manual (includes 1 CD) The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra (Book & CD) What to Listen for in Music Study of Orchestration, Third Edition ASIN: B00006O0NT Release Date: 2002-12-03

Tracks:

1. Overture To 'Tannhauser'
2. Domna, Pos Vos Ay Chausida
3. We Don't Merely Use Instruments, We Play On Them. And They Play On Us.
4. Hungarian Dance No.7
5. The Violin Is One Of The Most Tender And Beautiful Instruments Ever Invented.
6. Violin Concerto In D Major (Adagio)
7. But For A Long Time It Was Seen As The Instrument Of The Devil.
8. The Soldier's Tale: Triumphal March Of The Devil
9. The Manipulative Seductiveness Of The Gypsy Violin.
10. Csardas Music
11. The Violin And The Initiation Of Nature
12. The Four Seasons (Spring, Mvt 1)
13. Birds Are Again Evoked In The Second Concerto, Especially Music's Natural Favourite.
14. The Four Seasons (Summer, Mvt 1)
15. Like The Devil, The Violin Is A Master Of Disguise.
16. Old Viennese Dance No.3 'Schon Rosmarin'
17. The Menacing Sensuality Of Ravel's Tzigane: A Very Different Side Of The Violin:
18. Tzigane
19. Do We Now Have The True Measure Of This Instrument? Not Just Yet.
20. Caprice No.24
21. 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.
22. Variations On A Theme Of Frank Bridge (No.7)
23. Prokofiev's Tremolo In Romeo And Juliet Should Not Be Heard Just Before Bedtime.
24. Romeo And Juliet: Act IV
25. Vivaldi Use It To Illustrate The Shivering Of Travellers Crossing The Ice.
26. The Four Seasons (Winter, Mvt 1)
27. The Violin Muted
28. Clair De Lune
29. The Gentleness Of Muted Strings Persists Even When A Whole Orchestra Plays.
30. Piano Concerto No.21 In C Major, K.467 (Slow Mvt)
31. The Pizzicato Violin
32. Pizzicato Polka
33. In Prokofiev's Second Violin Concerto, The Accompaniment Is Pizzicato.
34. Violin Concerto No.2 In G Minor (Slow Mvt)
35. 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...
36. The Planets (Mars - The Bringer Of War)
37. 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
38. Hungarian Dance No.4
39. Double-Stopping Is A Standard Feature Of A Lot Of Folk Music.
40. The Four Seasons (Autumn, Mvt 1)
41. Now The Same Technique, But The Sound Might Have Come From Another World.
42. Bolero
43. Double-Stopping Can Only Approximate The Sound Of A Real Violin Duet.
44. Cadenza To The Violin Concerto By Brahms
45. Now Compare That With A Real Violin Duet.
46. Forty-Four Duos (No. 1: Teasing Song)
47. Another Duo By Bartok, Demonstrating The Violin's Rich Lower Register
48. Forty-Four Duos (No.2: Maypole Dance)
49. And Now What May Be The Most Beautiful Accompanied Violin Duet In History
50. Concerto In D Minor For Two Violins (Largo)
51. The Soul Of The Violin Is In Song; But What About This Weird Passage?
52. Violin Concerto No.1 In D Major (Mvt 2)
53. The Use Of Harmonies In The Orchestra Can Be Both Magical And Unsettling.
54. Symphony No.1 'Titan' (Mvt 1, Opening)
55. Tchaikovsky's Use Of Harmonics In The Sleeping Beauty Is Both Strange And Darling.
56. The Sleeping Beauty (Act II, No.15: Entr'Acte)
57. Ravel's Harmonics In Mother Goose Effect A Magical Transformation.
58. Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Beauty And The Beast)
59. Stravinsky's Harmonics In The Firebird Transport Us Almost Into Another World./The Firebird (Introduction)
60. The Natural Upper Notes Of The Violins Have A Unique Emotional 'Grab'.
61. Also Sprach Zarathustra (Of The Afterworldsmen)
62. Still In Their Upper Register, The Violins Unleash The Energy Of A Young Colt.
63. Variations On A Theme Of Frank Bridge (No. 4)
64. Elsewhere, Britten Uses The Same High Register To Create A Very Different Mood.
65. Four Sea Interludes (Dawn) From 'Peter Grimes'
66. To End This Outing With The Violins, A Charming Little Elfin Dance
67. Elfenreigen

Tracks:

1. Introduction To The Viola
2. Viola Concerto (Mvt 1)
3. Khatchaturian Gets A Very Different Sound From It: Fuller, Fruitier, More Exotic.
4. Gayane Suite No.1 (Armen's Solo)
5. Very Nearly The Whole Of The Violin's Upper Register Is Also Available To The Viola.
6. Passacaglia, Op.33b From 'Peter Grimes'
7. 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.
8. Harold In Italy (Mvt 4)
9. The Muted Viola: Intimate, Gentle, Poignant In Dvork
10. Cypresses (No.9)
11. The Massed Violas Of The Modern Symphony Orchestra In Mahler
12. Symphony No.4 (Mvt 3)
13. The 'Period' Viola In Bach
14. Brandenburg Concerto No.6 (Last Mvt)
15. The Cello: A Voice Of Unique Nobility
16. Suite No.1 For Unaccompanied Cello (Prelude)
17. Brahms And The 'Soul' Of The Cello
18. Piano Concerto No.2 In B Flat Major (Mvt 3)
19. Most Orchestral Composers Tend To Emphasize The Cello's Lower Register.
20. Cantata 'Herz Und Mund Und Tat Und Leben', BWV 147 (Soprana Aria: Bereite Dir, Jesu)
21. In The Time Of Beethoven The Cello Remained As Fundamental As Ever.
22. Symphony No.3 'Eroica' (Finale)
23. But The Cello Is Not Condemned To Spend Its Life In The Basement.
24. Elfentanz, Op.39
25. Not Only In Recital Showpieces Like That Is The Cello Is Used In Its Highest Register.
26. The Protecting Veil (Opening)
27. A Cello With An Identity-Crisis: The Pizzicato Flamencan
28. Flamenco
29. Double-Stopping In The Lower Reaches Of The Cello's Range
30. Solo Suiet For Cello And Piano (Sardana)
31. It's In The Middle Register That The Cello Really Comes Into Its Own.
32. Oriental Dance, Op.2 No.2
33. 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.
34. Symphony No.9 (Finale)
35. Introduction To The Double-Bass
36. The Carnival Of The Animals (The Elephant)
37. But The Double-Bass Can Be Intensely Expressive And Graceful.
38. Elegy No.1 In D Major
39. 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.
40. Capriccio Di Bravura
41. 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)
42. 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....
43. Symphony No.5 (Mvt 3)/So Much For The Strings/On Now To The Winds

Tracks:

1. The Antiquity And Magic Of The Flute
2. Prelude A L'Apres-Midi D'Un Faune
3. The Versatility And Agility Of The Flute
4. Orchestral Suite No.2 In B Minor (Badinerie)
5. The Flute In Fifteenth-Century Spain
6. Sa'Dawi
7. Other Flutes: The Bass And Alto
8. Chamber Music No.II
9. The Piccolo - Aptly Named
10. La Naissance D'Osiris (Mvt 6)
11. From A Piccolo Of The Eighteenth Century To One Of Its Descendants In The Twentieth
12. Suite No.1 For Small Orchestra (Valse)
13. A Variety Of Techniques
14. Chamber Music No.II
15. Flutter-Tonguing. But Tchaikovsky Got There Eighty Years Before.
16. The Nutcracker (Act II, No.2: Scene)
17. From The Transverse To The Vertical: The Baroque Recorder
18. Recorded Suite In A Minor (Menuet II)
19. An Unfamiliar, Early Vision Of The Instrument
20. Naelden, Naelden
21. The Bachian Oboe
22. Cantata 'Ein Feste Burg Ist Unser Gott', BWV 80 (No.7: Duetto)
23. Introduction To The Cor Anglais Or 'English Born'
24. Symphony No.9 'From The New World' (Mvt 2)
25. The Loneliness Of The Cor Anglais
26. The Swan Of Tuonela
27. The Cor Anglais Joins The French Horn In Haydn.
28. Symphony No.22 'The Philosopher' (Opening)
29. Introduction To The Oboe D'Amore, Beloved Of Bach - But Also Of Ravel
30. Bolero
31. 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...
32. 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)
33. As The High Clarinets Tend To Be Loud, So The Bass Tends To Be Soft:
34. Gayane Suite No. 1 (Mvt 5)
35. 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).
36. The Range Of The Normal Clarinet Parts Goes Quite High...
37. The Snow Maiden (Scene 5: Melodrama)
38. ...And Quite Low.
39. Peter And The Wolf (The Cat)
40. The Clarinet As Concerto Soloist
41. Clarinet Concerto In A Major (Rondo)
42. But That's Not The Instrument Mozart Wrote It For; This Is:
43. Clarinet Concerto In A Major (Rondo)
44. Introduction To The Saxophone
45. Hary Janos Suite (Mvt 4)
46. The Soprano Saxophone Has Quite A Different Feel To It.
47. L'Arlesienne Suite No.1 (Minuet)
48. The Little Sopranino Sax Goes Even Higher.
49. Bolero
50. The Most Famous Use Of The Saxophone Is In An Orchestration By Ravel.
51. Pictures At An Exhibition (The Old Castle)
52. The Saxophone Can Be Quite Contagiously Good-Humoured.
53. Sax-O-Phun
54. The Puffa-Puffa Image Of The Bassoon
55. Peter And The Wolf (Grandfather)
56. The Bachian Bassoon, In Accompanimental Mode
57. Cantata 'Weichet Nur, Betrubte Schatten' ('Wedding Cantata'), BWV 202 (Aria No.1)
58. Bizet Leaves The Puffa-Puffa Image Out, Allowing The Bassoon To Sing./Carmen Suite No.1 (Les Dragons D'Alcala)
59. And Ravel, Also In Spanish Mode, Does Likewise.
60. Bolero
61. The Bassoon As A Voice Of High Seriousness, Indeed Desolate Loneliness
62. Symphony No.3 (Opening)
63. The Eerie Bassoon In Its Highest Register
64. The Rite Of Spring (Opening)
65. Stravinsky Now Draws On Its Lowest Register, Lonely And Melancholy.
66. The Firebird Suite (1919, Berceuse)
67. The Bassoon As Concerto Soloist, Avoiding All Exaggeration
68. Bassoon Concerto In G Minor (Finale)
69. The Deep-Voiced Contra-Bassoon, As A Fairy-Tale Beast
70. Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Beauty And The Beast)
71. The French Horn Under Its Woodwind Hat
72. Wind Quintet, Op.43 (Last Mvt)
73. Now A More Prominent Role, In A Woodwind Quintet From An Earlier Era
74. Wind Quintet In A Minor, Op.100 No.5 (Mvt 2)
75. The Horn In Harmonious Blend With Strings In Another Quintet
76. Horn Quintet, K.407 (Finale)

Tracks:

1. The Trumpet As Virtuoso Soloist
2. Brandenburg Concerto No.2 (Last Mvt)
3. The Special Brillance Of Paired Trumpets
4. Concerto In C For Two Trumpets, RV537 (Mvt 1)
5. The Ceremonial Trumpet
6. Fanfare For The Common Man
7. Trumpets And Drums - An Incomparable Alliance
8. Messiah (The Trumpet Shall Sound)
9. The Versatility Of The Trumpet, From The Most Public To The Most Lonely
10. Piano Concerto In F (Slow Mvt)
11. 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
12. Carmen Suite No.2 (Habanera)
13. The Trumpet As The Voice Of Strength And Courage
14. Carmet Suite No.2 (Toreador's Song)
15. The Trumpet Muted/Petrushka (No.4: The Blackamoor)/Lieutenant Kije Suite (Opening)/The Trumpet As The Voice Of Weariness
16. Billy The Kid
17. The Trumpet As Character Actor
18. Pictures At An Exhibition (No.6)
19. The Trumpet As The Voice Of God
20. Mass In B Minor ('Et Exspecto')
21. The Birth Of The Trombone
22. Aenmerckt Nu Hier
23. The Birth Of The Brass As A Family
24. Canzon 12 In Double Echo
25. The Trombone In The Eighteenth Century
26. Trombone Concerto In B Flat Major (Finale)
27. 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.
28. Hosannah
29. The Trombones Become Part Of The Orchestra.
30. Symphony No.5 (Finale)
31. The Wagnerian Trombone:/Overture To 'Tannhauser'
32. The Trombone As Caricaturist
33. Pulcinella (No.19: Vivo)
34. The Trombone As Raspberry/Concerto For Orchestra (Intermezzo)
35. The Horn And The Hunt
36. Horn Concerto No.4 In E Flat, K.495 (Finale)
37. The Challenging Horn Of The Baroque
38. Abaris Ou Les Boreades (Menuet)
39. The Scarcity Of First-Rate Players In Handel's Time
40. Walter Music (Minuet 1)
41. The Horn As Magician/The Firebird Suite (1919, Finale)
42. Horns And The Sound Of Nobility
43. Overture To 'Tannhauser' (Opening)
44. The Special Sound Of The Horn In Its Higher Register
45. Mass In B Minor ('Quoniam Tu Solus Sanctus')
46. The Trumpet-Like Sound Of Massed Horns
47. Symphony No.3 (Mvt 1, Opening)
48. The Tuba - Unfairly Maligned?
49. Symphony No.6 (Mvt 3)
50. The Tuba Perfectly Cast By Ravel
51. Pictures At An Exhibition (Bydlo)

Tracks:

1. Introduction. And We Begin With A Bang.
2. Fanfare For The Common Man/The Bass Drum On The Battlefields/Wellington's Victory, Op.91 (Opening)
3. At The Opposite Extreme Is The Triangle.
4. Piano Concerto No.1 In E Flat (Scherzo)
5. Categories Of Percussion: Tuned And Untuned. The Side Drum
6. Overture To 'La Gazza Ladra' - The Thieving Magpie (Opening)
7. The Side Drum In An Effective But Unexpected Role/Clarinet Concerto (Mvt 1)
8. The Tambourine. One Of The Oldest Instruments In The World
9. Den Hoboecken Dans
10. Even Older Is The Originally Oriental Gong.
11. Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Laideronette)
12. 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.
13. Gymnopedie No.2
14. 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...
15. 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)
16. More Versatile Than The Whip Are The Wood Blocks.../Studio Example/...Which Crop Up All Over The Place In Twentieth-Century American Music.
17. Rodeo (Hoe-Down)
18. 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.
19. Scherzi Musicali (Damigella Tutta Belle)
20. A Still Earlier Example From Fifteenth-Century Spain
21. Yo M'Enamori D'Un Aire
22. The Birth Of The Bongo
23. Symphonic Dances From 'West Side Story'
24. From The Streets Of New York To The Blacksmith's Shop/Il Trovatore ('Anvil Chorus')
25. Desert-Island Decibels: Grand Canyon Suite (On The Trail)/Arcana
26. From One Vegetable To Another: The Humble Squash, Or Marrow/Huapango
27. Onwards To The Tuned Percussion. First, The Timpani
28. Also Sprach Zarathustra (Introduction)
29. But The Drum Roll Can Be More Effectively Frightening Than The Big Bang.: Symphony No.2 'Resurrection' (Mvt 3)
30. Not One Drum Roll, But Many/Grand Canyon Suite (Sunrise)/Symphonie Fantastique (Last Mvt)
31. Taking Advantage Of Tunability
32. Music For Strings, Percussion And Celeste (Mvt 2)
33. 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.
34. Introducing The Glockenspiel/Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)
35. Saint-Saens And The Xylophone
36. The Carnival Of The Animals (Fossils)
37. Ravel And The Xylophone
38. Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Laideronette)
39. Introducing The Marimba/Carmen Suite (First Intermezzo)
40. Introducing The Vibraphone
41. The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (Narange Dolce)
42. The Vibraphone Goes Russian.../Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)/...And Is Joined By The Marimba./Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)
43. Introducing The Hungarian Cimbalom
44. Folk Dances
45. The Cimbalom And The Symphony Orchestra
46. Hary Janos Suite (Mvt 3)
47. Introducing The Tubular Bells
48. Hary Janos Suite (Viennese Musical Clock)
49. A More 'Up-Front' Approach From Rodion Shchedrin
50. Carmen Suite (Introduction)
51. But The Bells Can Also Make The Sinister Even More Sinister./Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Mvt 1)
52. Introducing The Celeste
53. The Nutcracker (Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy)
54. Magic, In The Use Of Collective Percussion
55. Miroirs (La Vallee Des Cloches)
56. Plucked Instruments: The 'Undercover Percussion'/Carmen Suite (Scene)
57. 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
58. The Traditionally Subservient Role Of The Harpsichord In The Baroque Orchestra
59. Brandenburg Concerto No.2 (Slow Mvt)
60. The Piano: King Of The Tuned Percussion/Symphony No.3 'Organ' (Mvt 3)/And A Quarter Of A Century After That:
61. Petrushka (Russian Dance)
62. The Anti-Romantic Piano As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra
63. Music For Strings, Percussion And Celeste (Last Mvt)

Tracks:

1. Keyboard Instruments In The Orchestra - The Most Powerful Of Them All:
2. Symphony No.3 'Organ' (Finale)
3. But Things In Handel's Day Were Very Different.
4. Organ Concerto In B Flat, Op.4 No.3 (Last Mvt)
5. The Organ Is Difficult To Classify.
6. An Unexpected, Organ-related Guest
7. Concerto Pour Zampogna (Last Mvt)
8. Peasant-Fancying... And A Touch Of The Roaming Cowboy
9. Les Miserables (Drink With Me)
10. Outside Artefacts And The Power Of Association
11. Mahler's Sleighbells
12. Symphony No.4 (Opening)
13. A Roll-Call Of Some Unusual Guests/The Typewriter/Parade
14. Chains, And More/Integrales/An American In Paris/Sandpaper Ballet
15. Purpose-Built Oddities: Wind Machines/Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Opening)
16. Don Quixote (Variation VIII)
17. National Calling Cards: The Guitar For Spain/Concierto De Aranjuez (Finale)
18. And The Guitar's Poor American Relative, The Banjo/Washington Breakdown
19. And Poorer Still, The Mouth Organ/The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (Packing Up)
20. The Balalaika For Russia/Romeo And Juliet (Act II: No.14)
21. The Maracas For Mexico/The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (El Desayuno)
22. The Bongos And Congas And A Whole Wealth Of Other Drums For Africa And Central America/Studio Example
23. The Sitar Of India/Evening Raga: Bhapoli
24. The Accordion For France (Especially Paris)/Paris Canaille
25. The Zither For Vienna/The Third Man (Theme)
26. The Cimbalom For Hungary/Folk Dances
27. The Guitar As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra/Rondena
28. There Are Whole Orchestras Of Balalaikas./Sveit Mesiats
29. The Effect Of The Wordless Human Voice, Used Purely As An Instrument/Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Mvt 1)
30. Nocturnes
31. Instruments And the Imitation Of Nature. The Clarinet As Cuckoo
32. The Carnival Of The Animals (The Cuckoo)
33. The Flute As An All-purpose Aviary
34. The Carnival Of The Animals (The Aviary)
35. The Oboe As Duck
36. Peter And The Wolf (The Duck)
37. The Recording Of Reality. Does It Work As Well?
38. The Pines Of Rome (The Pines Of The Janiculum)
39. The Recording Of Reality Electronically Reborn In New Guises
40. Cantus Articus - Concerto For Birds And Orchesra (Mvt 2)
41. Beethoven Turns Avian: Cuckoo, Nightingale, And Quail
42. Symphony No.6 'Pastoral' (Andante Molto Mosso)
43. Some Improbable Casting: The Violin As Braying Donkey
44. The Carnival Of The Animals (Persons With Long Ears)
45. A Truly Orchestral Hee-haw To Be Reckoned With
46. Overture To 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'
47. A Thunderstorm In A Million
48. Symphony No.6 'Pastoral (Allegro-Allegretto)
49. the Instrumental Depiction Of A Silent World
50. The Carnival Of The Animals (The Aquarium)
51. Saint-Saens' Menagerie Takes A Curtain Call.
52. The Carnival Of The Animals (Finale)

Tracks:

1. The Grouping Of Instrumental Families. An Additive Approach. First, Two Violins
2. Forty-Four Duos (No.4)
3. A Great Contrast, Of Both Pitch And Character: Violin And Viola
4. Duo For Violin And Viola In B Flat Major, K.424 (Finale, Vars 1 & 2)/Studio Example
5. Arrival Of The Standard String Trio: Violin, Viola, And Cello
6. String Trio In B Flat (Menuetto)
7. The String Quartet: Two Violins, Viola, And Cello
8. String Quartet In F, Op.18 No.1 (Mvt 3)
9. The String Quintet - When The Extra Instrument Is A Second Viola
10. String Quartet No.5 In D, K.593 (Adagio)
11. The String Quintet - When The Extra Instrument Is A Second Cello
12. String Quintet In C (Mvt 3)
13. The String Sextet: Two Violins, Two Violas, And Two Cellos
14. String Sextet In B Flat (Mvt 2)
15. The String Octet: The Standard String Quaret Times Two
16. Octet In E Flat, Op.20 (Mvt 1)
17. Double The String Octet: A Fully Fledged String Orchestra
18. String Symphony No.2 (Finale)
19. The Massed Strings Of A Symphony Orchestra
20. Fantasia On A Theme Of Thomas Tallis
21. Contrasts Of Pitch And Instrumental 'Colour' In The Woodwind Section
22. Wind Quintet In A Minor, Op.100 No.5 (Theme)
23. In The First Variation It's The Horn That Gets The Lion's Share.
24. Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 1
25. In Variation Two The Torch Is Handed To The Bassoon.
26. Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 2
27. In Variation Three The Oboe Leads.
28. Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 3
29. Variation Four: Conversation Before Returning To A Solo-dominated Texture
30. Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 4
31. And Variation Five is Dominated By The Clarinet.
32. Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 5
33. The Next To Be Featured Is The Virtuoso Flute.
34. Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 6
35. Individual Farewells And A Closing Chorus
36. Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 7
37. A Mixed Group: Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, String Quartet, And Double-Bass
38. Octet In F (Mvt 3)
39. The Early Classical Symphony Orchestra Of Haydn And Mozart
40. Symphony No.29 In A, K.201 (Finale)
41. Strings, Wind, But No Brass. What Haydn And Mozart Never Knew
42. Canzon 28
43. Beethoven's Fifth: Two Horns, Two Trumpets, And Three Trombones Join The Team.
44. Symphony No.5 (Finale)
45. From Beethoven To The Massive Orchestras Of Berlioz, Wagner, And Mahler
46. Beethoven Changed The Face Of The Symphony And The Orchestra Forever
47. Symphoy No.6 'Tragic' (Mvt 1)
48. The Cult Of Orchestral Elephantiasis Reaches Its Peak.
49. Symphony No.1 'Gothic' (VI: Te Ergo Quaesumus)
50. When Large Doesn't Necessarily Mean Loud: Debussy
51. Images (Gigues)
52. A Crisis Of Confidence; The Orchestra's Survival Hangs In The Balance, But It Still Develops. The Ondes Martenot:
53. Turangalila Symphony (Chant D'amour 1)
54. The Advent Of The 'Early Music' Movement Brings A New Vitality And Freshness.
55. Balle De Xerxes (Gavotte En Rondeau)
56. Computer And Synthesiser: Friends Or Foes?
57. Concerto In D Minor For Two Violins (Largo)
58. A Speculative Look Ahead/Mass In B Minor ('Dona Nobis Pacem')

Customer Reviews:

Instruments of the Orchestra - Great Reference Material!.......2007-04-04

This set lends itself to greatly enhancing one's knowledge of the orchestra, instruments in it, and their usage. I am a huge music buff, and I still picked up a great deal I previously did not know. I highly recommend this for all who wish to understand the origin of music, as well as the processes that are employed to create music!

Beginner or Expert.......2007-03-12

This CD is excellent for the beginner or expert! To be able to haear the instrumets separately and then together really provides a good education. and/or refresher. The book thaty comes with the CD is alomost worth the price by itself!

Very Informative and Enjoyable.......2006-11-20

Whether you're a music novice or pro, "The instruments of the Orchestra" is a very worthwhile purchase. The 7 CDs, with a total of 8 hours, are expertly narrated by Jeremy Siepmann. He's a great speaker, very much like the late Leonard Bernstein was. Mr. Siepmann takes you on an unforgetable musical journey covering the origins and use of the various orchestral instruments throughout musical history. The balance between his narration and a wealth of musical examples, which range from snippets to entire movements, is superb. The comprehensive enclosed booklet is excellent and faithfully follows the 7 CDs in content. Even with my 40+ years of music training I still learned new things from this wonderful collection. Considering the excellence of the content, and a cost that translates to about $5 per disc, this collection is a great value. Grab it, you won't regret that you did. Five solid stars!

Frank's view.......2006-08-19

This boxed set of CD's with booklet achieved all I had hoped that it would. There are good samples of individual instruments and well done commentary on each. The only drawback was that some of the samples were too brief and could have been longer, hoiwever I guess this fits in with time constraints of the medium. It has given me a lot of clues as to future purchases of CD's for listening to individual instruments. Altogeth a satisfactory purchase and a welcome addition to my collection.

Excellent Intro for Those Not Familiar with the Orchestra.......2003-11-08

I've listened to classical music for years and am interested in composition. I bought this CD set to learn how an orchestra and its instruments work. I thought the CDs would be a nice but boring lecture. They aren't! Not only are they FUN but they are informative as well. I learned a huge amount from each CD and couldn't wait to listen to the next one.

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.

Average customer rating:

That's Life Russell Watson Manufacturer: Umvd Import ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Easy Listening | Pop | Styles | Music General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music Similar Items: Forever Begins Tonight Amore Musica Russell Watson · The Voice Vittorio The Italian ASIN: B000PC8AGY Release Date: 2007-05-21

Tracks:

1. That's Life
2. Strangers in the Night
3. When I Fall in Love
4. You Don't Know Me
5. You Make Me Feel So Young
6. Born Free
7. I Left My Heart in San Francisco
8. Summer Wind
9. Let There Be Love
10. Smile
11. It Was a Very Good Year
12. To All the Girls I've Loved Before [*] - Alexander O'Neal, Russell Watson

Album Description

International pressing of the 2007 album from the UK tenor comprising a personal collection of classic tracks from the golden age of song, celebrating life and love with emotional performances of 'Strangers In The Night', 'When I Fall In Love', 'Born Free' and many more. Universal. 2007.

Average customer rating: The best and maybe the last CD of this great musical. Beautiful remastering of historic original cast recording the peerless original cast Who Put The Shake In Shakespeare? TIMELESS BROADWAY SHOW

Kiss Me, Kate (1948 Original Broadway Cast) Cole Porter , Alfred Drake , and Patricia Morison Manufacturer: Sony ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Porter | Porter, Cole | ( P ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Musicals | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music Classic Musicals | Musicals | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music Traditional Vocal Pop | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music General | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music Opera & Vocal | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Musicals | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Similar Items: Kismet (1953 Original Broadway Cast) South Pacific (Original 1949 Broadway Cast) My Fair Lady (1956 Original Broadway Cast) Guys & Dolls: A Decca Broadway Original Cast Recording (1950 Original Broadway Cast) Gypsy - A Musical Fable (1959 Original Broadway Cast) ASIN: B000007OHT Release Date: 1998-06-02

Tracks:

1. Act I: Overture
2. Act I: Another Op'nin', Another Show
3. Act I: Why Can't You Behave?
4. Act I: Wunderbar
5. Act I: So In Love
6. Act I: We Open In Venice
7. Act I: Tom, Dick Or Harry
8. Act I: I've Come To Wive It Wealthily In Padua
9. Act I: I Hate Men
10. Act I: Were Thine That Special Face
11. Act II: Too Darn Hot
12. Act II: Where Is The Life That Late I Led?
13. Act II: Always True To You (In My Fashion)
14. Act II: Bianca
15. Act II: So In Love (Reprise)
16. Act II: Brush Up Your Shakespeare
17. Act II: I Am Ashamed That Women Are So Simple
18. Act II: Finale: Kiss Me, Kate
19. Kiss Me, Kate Overture

Amazon.com

Opening at the tail end of 1948, Kiss Me, Kate became an instant classic--and amazingly didn't receive a full-scale revival until 1999. All the more reason to revel in its original version. With its cunning play-within-a-play premise (a musical update of The Taming of the Shrew reverberates in backstage feuds), brilliant mix of high and low comedy, and of course some of Cole Porter's better-known songs--"So in Love," "I Hate Men," Too Darn Hot," "Always True to You (In My Fashion)"--Kiss Me, Kate remains a funny, zesty hall of mirrors. Hard as you may try to find a fly in the ointment, there's no fault with the cast either--Patricia Morison, for instance, is a perfectly petulant Lilli Vanessi. --Elisabeth Vincentelli

Customer Reviews:

The best and maybe the last CD of this great musical........2006-02-20

Now is the perfect time to buy the CD of this.

Sony's transfer engineers used state-of-the-art restoration software to remove the roughness and surface noise from the originals, but (thankfully) they resisted the urge to tart-up the sound with artificial reverb, faux stereo, and thundering bass. This is by far the best-sounding CD of this ever released, and it may be the last.

The age of music ownership in America could be drawing to a close. Five years from now, this music may only be available by download, you might only be "borrowing" it, and it probably won't come with the the authentic cover art or the 26-page booklet.

(See also the original broadway CD of Out of This World.)

Beautiful remastering of historic original cast recording.......2004-05-24

Recorded in January 1949, this album of KISS ME KATE has remained in print adn a steady best-seller for over 50 years now.

The sound on this newly remastered CD is crisp and clear and easily surpasses all previous issues. Sony even uses the original artwork from the very first LP release.

The performances remain as fresh as ever. Alfred Drake was Broadway's top leading man and sounds just glorious. Pat Morrison had less of a career but sounds just perfect as Lilli. Lisa Kirk is wonderful as Lois, and Harold Lang makes the most of his few moments on the record as her boyfriend, Bill. In an unusual move these peopel reunited 10 years later to re-record the score for Capitol in true stereo. They still sound great on that recording (on CD as part of the Broadway Angel series) but the performances are fresher on this recording made just 2 weeks after KIS ME KATE had opened on Broadway to rave reviews.

The CD booklet has good info about the show, though curiously, no synopsis. There are, however, a half dozen pictures of the original production. This edition featureds longer takes of "We Open in Venice", "I Hate Men" and "Too Darn Hot" though the total extra music adds but a minute to the album's running time. A bonus track of the Overture dates from a 1958 stereo recording by Lehman Engle.

KISS ME KATE was the first Tony Award winner for Best Musical (1949). The 1999 revival won a Tony for Best Revival.

the peerless original cast.......2004-03-04

KISS ME KATE is still regarded as Cole Porter's greatest musical; a charming backstage story detailing feuding ex-spouses Lilli Vanessi and Fred Graham as they star in a musical version of Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew".

Very rarely has the score been bettered than the original 1949 cast album, reissued here on the Columbia Broadway Masterworks label. Patricia Morison plays Lilli, with Alfred Drake (OKLAHOMA!, KISMET, GIGI) as Fred, the feuding, ego-ridden leads. Lisa Kirk (ALLEGRO, MACK AND MABEL) is the sexy young starlet Lois, with Harold Lang (PAL JOEY) as her caddish boyfriend Bill.

KISS ME KATE opened at the New Century Theatre on Broadway in 1949, making history in its run of over 1000 performances. Patricia Morison is perfectly-suited to the role of Lilli. She offers a glowing rendition of "So in Love", whilst her duet with Alfred Drake in the tongue-in-cheek "Wunderbar" is sublime. Lisa Kirk gets three of the big showstoppers ("Why Can't You Behave?", "Tom Dick or Harry" and "Always True to You in My Fashion"), and nails each and every one. Harold Lang was a better dancer than he ever was as a singer, but is quite good on this disc.

A must-own.

Who Put The Shake In Shakespeare?.......2001-04-11

Who put the 'shake' in 'Shakespeare'? Cole Porter, of course! Kiss Me Kate is the best of his musicals, and this recording is the best of the recordings! The original Broadway cast performs with much old-style, vaudeville jazz!

The story is set in a Baltimore theatre where a divorced couple, Fred Graham and Lilli Vannessi, are in the two leading roles of a musical version of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew. Fred currently dates a colorful light-heart named Lois Lane, while Lilli is about to head off to get maried in the south. Lois, by the way, will 'always be true' to her boyfriend, the gambling player Bill Calhoun. The story takes off from there!

The show originaly opened on Broadway in 1948. It's timelessness has still not worn off after so many years. The classic script by Bela and Sam Spewack, and the best music of Cole Porter, we cannot fail! The show has been performed since then in many many countries, and has been performed in many languages! It has only recently been revived on Broadway.

Kiss Me Kate has become a staple of classic Broadway, and this is the cast that will not be outdone. Patricia Morrison is a perfect, operatic, Lilli Vanesi. She is strong, yet thoughtful. Her voice fills the CD with a lively 'Wunderbar' and the raging 'I Hate Men.' Alfred Drake is a manly and appealing Fred Graham who will have you laughing out loud! His 'Where Is the Live...?' is yet to be surpassed. Harold Lang is a sexy, and hypnotic Bill Calhoun. He takes the role for himself, and his 'Bianca' is done to the point of perfection! His voice is misty and self-confident, and has the qualities all Bill Calhoun's should. And of course, there will be no one as good as Lisa Kirk for the role of Lois Lane! Her tongue-in-cheek performance on this CD is flawless! She is teasing, sympathetic, funny, and has the right voice to win her part! I can't imagine anyone who can do what she has done with 'Alway True to You' and 'Why Can't You Behave.' The classic character songs are very nice! The balladic, and melodic 'So In Love' will ring in your head. 'We Open In Venice' will make you dance! And 'Brush Up Your Shakespeare'(performed with much humor by Jack Diamond and Harry Clark) will give you a laugh the next time you read 'Romeo.' You won't be disapointed!

The nostalgic quality of the 40's is alive and well in this recording. Columbia has done a great job restoring the work, and the scratching that were a part of the original releases. The sound quality is crisp and clear, and the music sounds wonderful! The magic hasn't worn out yet!

There have been a few more recordings of the work, including a complete London recording, and the new Broadway revival cast. None can do as well as the original recording, however. In the revival recordng, however, they come close. Brian Stokes Mitchell has the voice for Fred, but runs through his lines a bit fast, and without much enthusiasm. And the orchestrations for the new recording are a bit overdone, and they sound more like PBS's Jazz, than Broadway.

Altogether, this is great recording. I was very pleased with my buy, and hope that you will add it to your collection right away! It's time to Brush Up Your Shakespeare!

TIMELESS BROADWAY SHOW.......2001-01-11

COLE PORTER'S most famous musical play hasn't lost none of it's power over the years;it's one of those few shows in which all the elements clicks:cast,songs,libretto, to make a great entertainment product.Without getting to cynical,KISS ME KATE has enough good songs to fill 3 BROADWAY shows of today ,and i am not kidding,it's a fact.While the revival is also of interest,it's always a delight to hear the original with PATRICIA MORRISSON and ALFRED DRAKE, both terrific in their parts.I can assure you that you'll play this record more than twice.It's not only WUNDERBAR ,it's WONDERFUL!You can't actually single out one number because they are all good.All right, if we have to choose one, it's SO IN LOVE.

Average customer rating: That's Life ~ Russell Watson Fantastic Album Smooth Performance Amazing good...not outstanding

That's Life Russell Watson Manufacturer: Uni Classics Int'l ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music General | Easy Listening | Pop | Styles | Music General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Classical | Imports | Stores | Music Similar Items: The Voice: The Ultimate Collection Russell Watson Live Encore Amore Musica Forever Begins Tonight ASIN: B000MGV9VQ Release Date: 2007-03-12

Tracks:

1. That's Life
2. Strangers in the Night
3. When I Fall in Love
4. You Don't Know Me
5. You Make Me Feel So Young
6. Born Free
7. I Left My Heart in San Francisco
8. Summer Wind
9. Let There Be Love
10. Smile
11. It Was a Very Good Year
12. To All the Girls I've Loved Before [*] - Alexander O'Neal, Russell Watson

Album Description

UK 12-track CD album comprising a personal collection of classic tracks from the golden age of song, celebrating life and love with emotional performances of 'Strangers In The Night', 'When I Fall In Love', 'Born Free' and many more plus the Bonus Recording 'To All The Girls I've Loved Before').

Album Details

Russell's Long - Anticipated Album is a Personal Collection of Classic Tracks from the Golden Age of Song. "The Voice" Celebrates Life and Love with Emoutional Performances of "Strangers in the Night", "When I Fall in Love", "Born Free" and "Many More". This is Watson's First Non Classical Album and it Rounds off a Very Emotional and Tough Time for Watson. But as Any Northern Lad Would Tell You, "Thats Life".

Customer Reviews:

That's Life ~ Russell Watson.......2007-05-12

For all fans that want more Russell Watson - THIS IS IT. A break from his classical leanings, Russell Watson is channeling Frank Sinatra (recorded at the Hollywood capital records studio - no less)but in his own way with his strong and powerful voice. Wow - this album is on contrant replay on my CD player!

Fantastic Album.......2007-05-09

That's Life is a fantastic album. It's Russell Watson's best album so far. I love the old songs and his voice is fantastic!!!

Smooth Performance.......2007-04-10

The Voice in a completely different CD. Beautiful music from one of the world's greatest vocalists. I do prefer some classical numbers in the CD's. They are necessary to properly show his amazing voice.

Amazing.......2007-04-10

Russell Watson's new album is amazing. He can sing opera,R&B and standards, this is a talent you are born with. I wish Russell would do more albums in English. I would recomend this album to anyone who enjoys good music.

good...not outstanding.......2007-04-08

while i think the choice of songs in this CD is good, i feel this is not the russell i have known. his voice is ok , the diction allright ...but the range , that wonderful, powerful range is simply not there . He sounds like any other crooner these days. I rated it 4 stars as the arrangements are quite good and the voice is acceptable...regretfully it is not the russell we have known for songs like "Barcelona" or "nesun dorma"...sorry.

Average customer rating: The greatest songs ever? A musical treasure-box a beautiful journey into melancholy

Dowland - The Collected Works / The Consort of Musicke, Rooley John Dowland , Anthony Rooley , Emma Kirkby , Christopher Wilson , The Consort of Musicke , Colin Tilney , Anthony Bailes , Jakob Lindberg , Nigel North , Glenda Simpson , Peter Holman , and John Donne Manufacturer: Decca ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Pavanes | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music Byrd, William | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Dowland | Dowland, John | ( D ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Holborne, Anthony | ( H ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by White | White, Robert | ( W ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Sacred & Religious | Early Music | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music | Requiems Ballets & Dances | Renaissance (c.1450-1600) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Renaissance (c.1450-1600) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Recorder | Reeds & Winds | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music Lute | Strings | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Psalms | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Solo Instrumental | New Age | Styles | Music Classical | Box Sets | Stores | Music Blowout Box Sets | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music More Titles at Least 20% Off | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music All Classical Music Blowout | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Byrd, William | ( B ) | Composers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Dowland, John | ( D ) | Composers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Holborne, Anthony | ( H ) | Composers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music White, Robert | ( W ) | Composers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Opera & Vocal | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Bargain Box Sets | Classical General | Classical | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music All Bargain Titles | Classical General | Classical | T