Das Buch

1. 1984

2. Ich Will Nicht Vergessen

3. Die Wärum de Nacht

4. Der Angstverkäufer

5. Die Boote Der Jugend

6. Buch

7. Rockerrente

8. Niemand Wird So Wieder Werden

9. Bauernhochzeit

10. Schlaf Mit Mir

11. Märchen

Das Buch,Puhdys,Amiga,World Music

Average customer rating: Essential the great music caught me suddenly Astonishing absolutely wonderful

The Book of Sounds (Das Buch der Klänge) Manufacturer: Kuckuck Schallplatten ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Keyboard | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Avant Garde & Free Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music General | New Age | Styles | Music Meditation | New Age | Styles | Music General | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music General | New Age | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Morton Feldman: Triadic Memories Walk in Beauty The Book of Sounds / Das Buch der Klänge Aquarian Music Nostalghia: Song for Tarkovsky ASIN: B0000018WT Release Date: 1992-01-23

Tracks:

1. Part 1
2. Part 2
3. Part 3
4. Part 4
5. Part 5
6. Part 6
7. Part 7
8. Part 8
9. Part 9
10. Part 10
11. Part 11
12. Part 12

Customer Reviews:

Essential.......2007-07-06

Up there with Arvo Part's Tabula Rasa and Alina, Glass' Solo Piano and Gorecki's 3rd Symphony.

the great music caught me suddenly .......2005-11-29

I do not know why did not meet Otte`s music so long after
heard many many music when I am 37 years old. These beautiful
compositions (the book of sounds / Aquarian Music) like some
kind of music between new age,minimalist and classical.
I always let it come all around me when I work, it`s very
pleased to my spirituality.

Astonishing.......2003-12-07

I was completely caught off guard by this disc. Otte's piano music was recommended by a relative one evening and I checked it out, expecting it to be pleasant but not much more. It is extremely pleasant to listen to, but it is much more than that.

At first listen, parts of its surface sound like New Age music, but very quickly that similarity disappears. Whereas 99.9% of New Age music seems vapid and flabby to me (emotionally, spiritually and musically), The Book of Sounds actually brings together two seemingly contradictory musical/emotional states, those of total concentration and total relaxation. And for the listener who desires this, this state brings a very strong spiritual resonance as well. Otte himself puts it, "This Book of Sounds rediscovers the listener as a partner of sound and silence, who in his quest for his world, wishes to be totally at one with sound."

Otte accomplishes this not by airy Dorian noodlings, but by composing in gently and carefully contrasted blocks of sound. Within those blocks he employs a great deal of repetition, but also movement that is carefully crafted so as not to "progess". One piece is primarily a melody in which Otte has taken the utmost care to avoid any sort of melodic pattern or direction, yet still manages to convey movement. This is not easy to do.

The sound palette owes a great to deal to Olivier Messiaen's middle period (especially the Vingt Regards de l'Enfent Jesus) and to Philip Glass's middle minimalist phase (1974-79), though the intesity of affect is more like Glass's early minimalism. The overall concept owes a lot to John Cage's desire to let sound be itself.

I listen to a lot different kinds of music and am constantly seeking out new stuff. About once every year or two I come across some music which surprises me so much that get pretty awestruck by it. The Book of Sounds is such music. Highest recommendation.

absolutely wonderful.......2001-11-03

i enjoyed this wonderful CD by the german composer and pianist Hans Otte very much.
beautilful and delicate composition , that lets you fully discover yourself through these delicious sounds.
it brings me home every time . thank you.

Average customer rating:

Schmidt: Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln Manufacturer: EMI Classics ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Schmidt | Schmidt, Franz | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Oratorios | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Oratorios | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Similar Items: Schmidt: Symphonies Nos. 1-4 Zemlinsky: Complete choral works and orchestral songs Schmidt: Symphony No. 2 In E Flat Major Mahler: Symphony No.2/ Schmidt: Symphony No.4 Schmidt: Symphony No. 1; Strauss: Four Interludes from Intermezzo ASIN: B0001RVQLO Release Date: 2004-08-10

Tracks:

1. Gnade Sie Mit Euch (Johannes)
2. Ich Bin Das A Und Das O (Die Stimme Des Herm)
3. Unde Eine Tur Ward Aufgetan Im Himmel (Johannes)
4. Heilig, Heilig Is Gott Der Allmachtige (Die Vier Levenden Wessen/Die Altesten)
5. Und Ich Sah In Der Rechten Hand (Johannes/Engel)
6. Nun Sah Ich, Und Siehe, Mitten Vor Dem Thorne (Johannes/Chor)
7. Organ Solo
8. Und Als Das Lamm Der Siegel Zweites Auftrat (Johannes/Chor)
9. Und Als Das Lamm Der Siegel Zweites Auftrat (Johannes/Krieger/Frauen)
10. Und Als Das Lamm Der Siegel Drittes Auftrat (Johannes/Der Schwarze Reiter/Tochter Und Mutter/Frauen)
11. Und Als Das Lamm Der Siegel Viertes Auftrat (Johannes/Zei Uberlebende)
12. Und Als Das Lamm Der Siegel Funftes Auftrat (Johannes/Chor)
13. Und Es Wurde Ihnen Einem Jeglichen Gegeben Ein Weibes Kleid (Johannes/Die Stimme Des Herm)
14. Und Ich Sah, DaB Das Lamm Der Siegel Sechstes Auftrat (Johannes/Chor)

Tracks:

1. Organ Solo - Nach Dem Auftun Des Siebenten Der Siegel
2. Ein Weib Umkleidet Mit Der Sonne
3. Unde Sie Gebar Einen Sohn
4. Im Himmel Aber Erhob Sich Ein GroBer Streit (Johannes)
5. Und Als Die GroBe Stille Im Himmel Voruber War (Johannes/Altosolo/Chor/Tenorsolo/Bassolo/Soloquartet)
6. Vor Dem Angesichte Dessen, Der Auf WeiBem Throne SaB (Johannes/Die Stimme Des Herm)
7. Ich Bin Das A Und Das O (Die Stimme Des Herm)
8. Hallelujah (Chor)
9. Wir Danken Dir, O Herr, Allmachtiger Gott (Mannerchor)
10. Ich Bin Es, Johannes, Der All Dies Horte (Johannes/Chor)

Average customer rating:

Handel: The Masterworks (Box Set) Manufacturer: Brilliant Classics ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Trios | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Handel | Handel, George Frideric | ( H ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Concerto Grossi | Concertos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music General | Concertos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music General | Sonatas | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Trio Sonatas | Sonatas | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music General | Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Flute | Reeds & Winds | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music Oboe | Reeds & Winds | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music Recorder | Reeds & Winds | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music Violin | Strings | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Cantatas | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Italian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Oratorios | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Anthems | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Cantatas | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Hymns | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Oratorios | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Passions | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | 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 Handel, George Frideric | ( H ) | Composers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Opera & Vocal | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Brilliant Classics | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Similar Items: Haydn: The Masterworks [Box Set] Vivaldi: The Masterworks (Box Set) Mendelssohn: The Masterworks [Box Set] Schubert: The Masterworks [Box Set] Dvorák: The Masterworks [Box Set] ASIN: B00062FLI8 Release Date: 2004-11-30

Average customer rating: Surprisingly consistent

Keys of Life: Piano Music from Celestial Harmonies Manufacturer: Celestial Harmonies ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Riley, Terry | ( R ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Scriabin, Alexander | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Etudes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Preludes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music General | Scriabin, Alexander | Composers | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Keyboard | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Ambient | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music Minimal Techno | Techno | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music General | International | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Styles | Music Jazz Fusion | Jazz | Styles | Music General | New Age | Styles | Music Meditation | New Age | Styles | Music General | Compilations | New Age | Styles | Music 1980s | By Decade | Pop | Styles | Music 1980-1989 | Decades | Compilations | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music General | New Age | Indie Music | Stores | Music ASIN: B0000007W5 Release Date: 1992-01-23

Tracks:

1. Spirit Of Peace: Part 1 - Florian Fricke
2. Spirit Of Peace: Part 2 - Florian Fricke
3. The Book Of Sounds: Part 7 - Hans Otte
4. Transpersonal - Peter Michael Hamel
5. Hymns From A Great Temple: Hymn 1 - Herbert Henck
6. Hymns From A Great Temple: Hymn 2 - Herbert Henck
7. Hymns From A Great Temple: Hymn 3 - Herbert Henck
8. Prelude Op.74 No.1 - Cecil Lytle
9. Prelude Op.74 No.2 - Cecil Lytle
10. Prelude Op.74 No.4 - Cecil Lytle
11. Prelude Op.17 No.6 - Cecil Lytle
12. Prelude Op.32 No.1 - Cecil Lytle
13. Prelude Op.65 No.2 - Cecil Lytle
14. The New Albion Chorale - Terry Riley

Album Description

Keys of Life represents the finest of contemporary piano music. This release offers an excellent sampler of the music of Celestial Harmonies' most celebrated artists. According to Stephen Hill and Anna Turner from Music From the Hearts of Space, "Keys of Life is an elegant collection of solo piano music selected with great care and understanding from the last five years of Celestial Harmonies releases". Without any intellectual pretensions toward doing so, Keys of Life documents the twentieth century European post-Romantic attempt at the direct stimulation of consciousness (rather than emotion) through music. From Cecil Lytle's sensitive performance of six miniatures by Russian mystic composer Alexander Skryabin, through the enormously dignified pan-Eurasian temple music of G.I. Gurdjieff and his pupil Thomas de Hartmann, to the latest just intonation piano experiments of Terry Riley, we hear a living artistic tradition unfolding through time. Florian Fricke's spacious and beautiful Spirit of Peace, Hans Otte's hypnotic, delicate music from The Book of Sounds, and the rippling, minimalistic patterns of Peter Michael Hamel's Transpersonal complete the collection. For those who appreciate clarity, intelligence, and the unique aesthetic world of refined subtlety, Keys of Life will completely satisfy.

Listeners will enjoy this beautiful combination of styles and artists that celebrates music as the key to life.

Customer Reviews:

Surprisingly consistent.......2007-06-21

I purchased this CD simply because it was cheap, it had a piece by Hans Otte played by Hans Otte and I was unaware of the other composers. I have since purchased music by Peter Michael Hamel and, no doubt, will investigate the other composers. Each time I play the CD I am amazed. It is moody, dark but strikingly beautiful. Any CD with a piece from the sublime Book of Sounds is aspiring to great heights and the other pieces on this particular compilation do not leave that Hans Otte masterpiece alone in the dark.

Average customer rating: wow. like a time warp reminder piano solo Otte and Henck Seduce the Piano

Das Buch Der Klange Manufacturer: Ecm Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Keyboard | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music ECM Classical | ECM Records | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music ECM Jazz & World | ECM Records | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Similar Items: Barraqué, Jean ASIN: B000027DS5 Release Date: 2001-06-19

Tracks:

1. I
2. II
3. III
4. IV
5. V
6. VI
7. VII
8. VIII
9. IX
10. X
11. XI
12. XII

Customer Reviews:

wow........2006-11-21

here is my attempt at out-writing the previous reviewers:

this disc is soooooooooooooooooooooo good.

read and weep, scott and scarecrow!

like a time warp reminder piano solo.......2006-04-21

mini-malism, repetitive patterning(s) music whatever you want to call it,survives today in a corrupted form, so much so that its budding beginnings with La Monte Young and Fluxus Gesturings seem quite distant his/her/story, Later the "Altmeisters" Reich Glass Adams Riley market ideologies seem to put the nails in the coffins abounding around the globe with world cultures entering at fixed points all concocted with the cash box at the end of the tunnel,well culture at any level moves at break-neck pace now where no one can keep pace.On-going junkpace is thereby created as Rem Koolhaas has said someplace. (I neglected to mention those who saw something more as Harold Budd, Peter Garland, Charlemagne Palestine, who remain more interesting today than anyone)
Otte's finely elegant music here seems odd in a way. Although the piano as a timbral resonant chamber with this work has fostered far more long solo works from Otte; for the piano as his "Book of Hours" :Studenbuch: from 1991-1998, these more a spiritual focus(what else) to be played in canonical content is placed in and around. "The Book of Sounds" is from 1979-1982 and appeared at a time when minimalism was about to take off never to return primarily however in the USA,performative artists as Meredith Monk and Laurie Anderson were also getting, starting to get invitations to Europe with again their minimalist musics as a background warm-ups for whatever they do with text,and electronic manipulations. Otte though sees the corruptibility of the context even back in the early Eighties here so his works remain within traditional frames and gesturings. The stark beauty of the piano no one can argue with and is exploited,much as Morton Feldman actually asa distant hovering mentor,"hanging beauties" or "Wohllaut"is the term or "Klangen im Fuelle" classic shapes in abundance although Otte's music has a mild caressing rhythmic charge,more direct than Feldman, more melancholic "schwermuetig" a content of predictability. And he pays a price for that, for one single listening experience is about all there is herein for the proceedings.This has been a paradigm for Western concoctions of the minimal cause, where only the late Feldman the last ten years of his life tried to resolve. This with attempting to write hours long music. And it is really still problematic. Even Glass with his operas all still fall within known tried and tested genres of traditional operas. There was no innovations as his early Farfisa Organ music had implied.
A work like the Otte makes you regain your consciousness on really how far the vagaries and corruptibility of the concept of the minimal cause has gotten,much like any genre that must go public, and blockbuster, Early USA Television was an example where the early serious writers as Sid Ceaser and Milton Berle,who had only one show a week, now had one show per day to write for. So to the composers of mini-malism had to crank it out like working in a factory of culture. We never see it thus in the USA for we have pretensions of a free democracy at work where anyone can write whatever they want. Yes then try to sell,promote, produce and distribute your product. That's a horse of a different color as they say in the Land of Oz,so write for cash box or perish. What actually has perished for minimalism has been unpretentiously its intellectual soul, its premise, where now we simply have fodder,caricatures homgenizations schemes,digitalizations of expression predictable reduced for the lowest common denominator. And minimalism I think now finds itself it much more popular formats as the "studio" expression as Om Lounge and Fila Brazilia, churn out interesting mind-numbing beats,pulses and rhythms.
So the Otte finally is like an old contemplative fixed dinosaur, meant to simply remind you of this "Lost World" and it does so beautifully. Curious how the sustainability of this same idea in the visual arts sees no boundaries, as the ongoing continuous work of Carl Andre, Richard Serra, and photographers Kathy Grannan, Axel Hutte and Erwin Wurm.The un-vigours of Music seems to eat its children or like the sea anemone when it finds a nice comfortably rock to reside for its life proceeds to eat its brain.

Otte and Henck Seduce the Piano.......2002-04-11

It has often been said that Liszt conquered the piano, while Chopin seduced it. Similarly, a great classical pianist was once asked what was more difficult to play--a bravura Liszt piece or the slow sections of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. His response--the Liszt, despite its overt virtuosity and blizzard of notes, was easy to play, whereas the slow pieces such as Moonlight were extremely difficult to play well. German composer Hans Otte's "The Book of Sounds" seduces the piano in such a fashion that Chopin himself would surely be pleased. This fragile, delicate, often ethereal, but deeply affecting work places enormous value on each and every note, and utilizes passages of silence and space between notes to astounding effect. At times, it is somewhat reminiscent of the best work of jazz pianists Bill Evans and Paul Bley, both of whom created works in which what is not played is as important as what is. It is works such as this that refute the juvenile notion that loudness and a high dynamic level are necessary to create intensely felt music. Sometimes, the slowest and most covert music has the greatest emotional impact. ECM and Herbert Henck deserve plaudits for providing wide exposure for this unforgettable music, and we can only hope that the composer's follow-up to the Book of Sounds referenced in the liner notes will soon appear on disc as well.

Average customer rating:

Franz Schmidt: Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln Manufacturer: Sony ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Schmidt | Schmidt, Franz | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra | ( V ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Oratorios | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Oratorios | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Classical Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Opera & Vocal | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music ASIN: B000002C0J Release Date: 1995-10-31

Tracks:

1. Prolog: 'Gnade Sei Mit Euch' - Anton Dermota
2. Prolog: 'Ich Bin Das A Und Das O' - Walter Berry
3. Prolog: 'Heilig Ist Gott Der Allmachtige' - Hilde Guden/Ira Malaniuk/Anton Dermota/Walter Berry
4. Prolog: 'Und Ich Sah In Der Rechten Hand' - Hilde Guden/Ira Malaniuk/Anton Dermota/Walter Berry
5. Prolog: 'Nun Sah Ich, Und Siehe, Mitten Vor Dem Throne'
6. Erster Teil: Lento
7. Erster Teil: 'Un Als Das Lamm Der Siegel Erstes Auftat'
8. Erster Teil: 'Un Als Das Lamm Der Siegel Zweites Auftat' - Anton Dermota/Walter Berry
9. Erster Teil: 'Un Als Das Lamm Der Siegel Drittes Auftat' - Walter Berry/Hilde Guden/Ira Malaniuk
10. Erster Teil: 'Un Als Das Lamm Der Siegel Viertes Auftat' - Anton Dermota/Walter Berry
11. Erster Teil: 'Un Als Das Lamm Der Siegel Funftes Auftat'
12. Erster Teil: 'Herr, Du Heiliger Und Wahrhaftiger'
13. Erster Teil: 'Und Es Wurde Ihnen Einem Jeglichen Gegeben'
14. Erster Teil: 'Und Ich Sah, Dass Das Lamm Der Siegel Sechstes Auftat'

Tracks:

1. Zweiter Teil: Orgelsolo
2. Zweiter Teil: 'Nach Dem Auftun Des Siebenten Siegels'
3. Zweiter Teil: 'Im Himmel Aber Erhob Sich Ein Grosser Streit'
4. Zweiter Teil: 'Und Als Die Grosse Stille Im Himmel Voruber War'
5. Zweiter Teil: 'Die Posaune Verkundet Grosses Wehe' - Hilde Guden/Ira Malaniuk/Anton Dermota/Walter Berry/Singverein Der Gesellschaft Der Musikfreunde...
6. Zweiter Teil: 'Vor Dem Angesichte Dessen'
7. Zweiter Teil: 'Und Ich Sah Einen Neuen Himmel'
8. Zweiter Teil: 'Hallelujah'
9. Epilog: 'Wir Danken Dir, O Herr'
10. Epilog: 'Ich Bin Es, Johannes, Der All Dies Horte Und Sah'

Average customer rating: ...could be better, but get the HARNONCOURT! Outstanding recording . . . but where is the text? The last Great Oratorio

The Book of the Seven Seals Franz Welser-Most , and Franz Schmidt Manufacturer: Angel Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Schmidt | Schmidt, Franz | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Oratorios | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Oratorios | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music ASIN: B00000C2JB Release Date: 1998-10-06

Tracks:

1. Book Of The Seven Seals: Gnade sei mit euch
2. Book Of The Seven Seals: Ich bin das A und das O
3. Book Of The Seven Seals: Und eine Tur ward aufgetan im Himmel
4. Book Of The Seven Seals: Heilig, heilig ist Gott der Allmdchtige
5. Book Of The Seven Seals: Und ich sah in der rechten Hand
6. Book Of The Seven Seals: Nun sah ich, und siehe, mitten vor dem Throne
7. Book Of The Seven Seals: Organ Solo
8. Book Of The Seven Seals: Und als das Lamm der Siegel erstes auftrat
9. Book Of The Seven Seals: Und als das Lamm der Siegel zweites auftrat
10. Book Of The Seven Seals: Und als das Lamm der Siegel drittes auftrat
11. Book Of The Seven Seals: Und als das Lamm der Siegel viertes auftrat
12. Book Of The Seven Seals: Und als das Lamm der Siegel funftes auftrat
13. Book Of The Seven Seals: Und es wurde ignen einem jeglichen gegeben ein wei_es Kleid
14. Book Of The Seven Seals: Und ich sah, da_ das Lamm der Siegel sechstes auftrat

Tracks:

1. Book Of The Seven Seals: Organ solo; Nach dem Auftun des siebenten der Seigel
2. Book Of The Seven Seals: Ein Weib, umkleidet mit der Sonne
3. Book Of The Seven Seals: Und sie gebar einen Sohn
4. Book Of The Seven Seals: Im Himmel aber erhob sich ein grober Streit
5. Book Of The Seven Seals: Und als die gro Stille im Himmel vorar
6. Book Of The Seven Seals: Vor dem Angesichte dessen, der auf weibem Throne sab
7. Book Of The Seven Seals: Ich bin das A und das O
8. Book Of The Seven Seals: Hallelujah!
9. Book Of The Seven Seals: Wir danken die, o Herr, allmtiger Gott
10. Book Of The Seven Seals: Ich bin es, Johannes, der all dies h

Amazon.com

Franz Schmidt's magnum opus oratorio adapting the last book of the New Testament, the Revelations of St. John (and apocalyptic revelations they were), has been an imposing mystery to American music lovers. Rarely is it encountered in concert, and recordings have featured intriguing collections of musicians (tenor Fritz Wunderlich in one, conductor Dmitri Mitropoulos in another), though often in less-than-great sound and without English texts. This is the first recording that could unlock the seals for non-Germanic listeners: it has all the surface polish this music craves, while conductor Franz Welser-Most loves the music and knows it well. As dictated by the composer, St. John is sung by a vigorous heldentenor, Stig Andersen. Rene Pape is the voice of the Lord--and sounds like it. But with so much help from performers, the piece is likely to remain a cult item. Its dense, wordy text floats like corks on the chromatic salt sea of Schmidt's orchestration, guided by a committed, unsentimental sense of dramaturgy but not much sense of melody. --David Patrick Stearns

Customer Reviews:

...could be better, but get the HARNONCOURT!.......2003-12-24

I bought this recording after hearing it live in Toronto with the TSO and Ben Heppner, I forgot who was conducting(someone not so well known)...it was one of the most memorable experiences of my life and the key moment was the "Hallelulia" chorus at the end. It was overwhelming! When it was over, I was shaking all the way home! I was dissapointed when I heard Welser-Most doing the same chorus...It's a bit slow and not dramatic enough. (That moment should be absolutely overwhelming, and swift-like, taking you up up and away!) I listened to it many times and even bought the Mitropoulos version to compare (which suffered terrible sound, but good interpretation and cast). But I still wasn't fully satisfied with the oratorio as a whole. Welser-Most does have some nice moments, especially in the "hell scenes" (full of dramatic thrust, weighty fire and powerhouse sound). But I still couldn't see the structure of the work, I needed to understand the work structurally and musically, and he didn't do that for me. I read in the Penguin Guide about a Harnoncourt version on Teldec, which I thought would be promising (they give it 2 and a half stars...they're always complaining about something). But was I ever right about deciding to get the Harnoncourt! After I found it and listened I understood everything! Harnoncourt plays every passage with such dedication and with so much importance, He doesn't walk it on by like Welser-Most, he shows you everything. The playing is gorgeous and the sound is so much better than the EMI. He is with the Vienna Philharmonic and Singverein in a live performance in Vienna, excellent cast too. There is a interview in the booklet, along with full translations of the text. He does the glorious "Hallelulia" chorus extremely splendorously, building and building it up until the final "Amen". If you want to have Franz Schmidt's great Magnum Opus oratorio, get the Harnoncourt version on Teldec, its amazing! I give it 5 stars!

Outstanding recording . . . but where is the text?.......2000-07-25

This is an outstanding recording of Schmidt's last masterpiece. The Amazon reviewer who cites the lack of melody might have missed some of the "big tunes"--they are there, but one cannot really incorporate "haunting melodies" in a fugue or in some of the faster movements of the piece. However, even if the work is not particularly melodic, it is certainy quite lyrical.

The performance is wonderful, particularly in the opening "Prelude in heaven" and the concluding sequence, starting with "Hallelujah!" The solo quartet (Oelze, Kallisch, Odinius, Reiter) make an excellent team, and Pape is quite commanding. The true "star" of the piece, however, is St. John--the nearly twenty-minute monologue at the beginning of Part II is quite without equal in the classical repertoire. Luckily, Stig Andersen is quite up to the demands of this enormously challenging part.

The only criticism I had was that (in my copy at least) there is a translation of the libretto, but not the libretto itself. Curiously, the Mitropoulos recording on Sony features the libretto but not the translation. However, at full price, texts and translations should be standard. One only need look at the Schubert Hyperion series for countless examples of good production design.

The last Great Oratorio.......2000-02-14

If there's one thing this overwhelmingly powerful oratorio proves, it's "don't mess with the Big Man upstairs!" In setting the nearly-complete Apocalypse as revealed to John the Divine, the Austrian composer Franz Schmidt produced a masterpiece and, perhaps, the last great oratorio.

This is music that really ought to be in your collection. It is an easy piece to follow, as it is laid-out in the classic oratorio design, with John the narrator introducing the various events which occur as the seven seals are opened. Musically, Schmidt doesn't move much past chromatic late romanticism.

However, lest I make it sound like a retread of earlier pieces, I must reiterate that this is strong stuff. Schmidt wrote it right before World War II as he was dying of cancer and it has a truly prophetic feel about it.

The music for the Four Horsemen sequence is amazing. The War sequence contrasts a lamenting women's chorus with a brutal, vicious men's chorus based on a rhythmic figure that is pounded home. It's truly terrifying. This is followed by a heartbreaking mother/child duet describing the Horseman of Famine. The last horseman, Death, features two worn-out soldiers commenting about the last horsemen to music which aptly describes a silent, body-ridden battlefield.

The Amazon reviewer suggests that this is tuneless, but that is inaccurate. The melodies used are designed for contrapuntal development of which there is plenty. You won't soon forget the War chorus, I guarantee.

This performance is terrific, although with such a complicated piece some of the details get lost in the shuffle. Nevermind. Get this and be blown away by the end of the world and the coming heavenly kingdom. The power (& terror) of this music might just make you reconsider religion.

Average customer rating: A pianist's attempts at harpsichord playing

Bach: Das Wohltemperierte Klavier, Buch II Manufacturer: Ecm Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by J.S. Bach | Bach, Johann Sebastian | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Improvisation | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music General | Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Keyboard | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music Jarrett, Keith | ( J ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music ECM Classical | ECM Records | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music ECM Jazz & World | ECM Records | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music ASIN: B0000031WA Release Date: 1994-04-12

Tracks:

1. Das Wohltemperierte Klavier Buch II.: Praludien und Fugen I. C-dur
2. Das Wohltemperierte Klavier Buch II.: Praludien und Fugen II. c-moll
3. Das Wohltemperierte Klavier Buch II.: Praludien und Fugen III. Cis-dur
4. Das Wohltemperierte Klavier Buch II.: Praludien und Fugen IV. cis-moll
5. Das Wohltemperierte Klavier Buch II.: Praludien und Fugen V. D-dur
6. Das Wohltemperierte Klavier Buch II.: Praludien und Fugen VI. d-moll
7. Das Wohltemperierte Klavier Buch II.: Praludien und Fugen VII. Es-dur
8. Das Wohltemperierte Klavier Buch II.: Praludien und Fugen VIII. dis-moll
9. Das Wohltemperierte Klavier Buch II.: Praludien und Fugen IX. E-dur
10. Das Wohltemperierte Klavier Buch II.: Praludien und Fugen X. e-moll
11. Das Wohltemperierte Klavier Buch II.: Praludien und Fugen XI. F-dur
12. Das Wohltemperierte Klavier Buch II.: Praludien und Fugen XII. f-moll

Tracks:

1. Das Wohltemperierte Klavier Buch II.: Praludien und Fugen XIII. Fis-dur
2. Das Wohltemperierte Klavier Buch II.: Praludien und Fugen XIV. fis-moll
3. Das Wohltemperierte Klavier Buch II.: Praludien und Fugen XV. G-dur
4. Das Wohltemperierte Klavier Buch II.: Praludien und Fugen XVI. g-moll
5. Das Wohltemperierte Klavier Buch II.: Praludien und Fugen XVII. As-dur
6. Das Wohltemperierte Klavier Buch II.: Praludien und Fugen XVIII. gis-moll
7. Das Wohltemperierte Klavier Buch II.: Praludien und Fugen XIX. A-dur
8. Das Wohltemperierte Klavier Buch II.: Praludien und Fugen XX. a-moll
9. Das Wohltemperierte Klavier Buch II.: Praludien und Fugen XXI. B-dur
10. Das Wohltemperierte Klavier Buch II.: Praludien und Fugen XXII. b-moll
11. Das Wohltemperierte Klavier Buch II.: Praludien und Fugen XXIII. H-dur
12. Das Wohltemperierte Klavier Buch II.: Praludien und Fugen XXIV. h-moll

Customer Reviews:

A pianist's attempts at harpsichord playing.......2002-07-02

Keith Jarrett is, without a doubt, one of the world's finest musicians. I greatly admire his improvisational and interpretive skill. . .on the piano. But Jarrett has little or no understanding of harpsichord technique, and plays with rigidity and dryness. He never exploits the harpsichord's subtle nuances. In his interpretations, every note is equal. . .he fails to accentuate transitions, note relationships, key changes, etc. in the pieces. I can equate this to reading a book aloud without stopping to breathe at periods, pausing slightly at commas, or exaggerating words that are written in UPPER CASE LETTERS.
I would suggest Gustav Leonhardt's excellent interpretation of WTC.

Average customer rating:

Schmidt: Das Buch mit Sieben Siegeln Manufacturer: Calig ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Schmidt | Schmidt, Franz | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Oratorios | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Oratorios | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music ASIN: B000024MDV Release Date: 1997-01-14

Tracks:

1. Gnade Sei Mit Euch - Eberhard Buchner
2. Ich Bin Das A Und Das O - Robert Holl/Eberhard Buchner/Singverein Der Gesellschaft Der Musikfreunde In Wien...
3. Und Ich Sah In Der Rechten Hand - Eberhard Buchner/Oratorium Fur Soli, Chor, Orgel Und Orchester...
4. Nun Sah Ich - Eberhard Buchner/Singverein Der Gesellschaft Der Musikfreunde In Wien...
5. Lento - Martin Haselbock/Oratorium Fur Soli, Chor, Orgel Und Orchester
6. Und Als Das Lamm Der Siegel Erstes Auftat - Eberhard Buchner/Oratorium Fur Soli, Chor, Orgel Und Orchester
7. Und Als Das Lamm Der Siegel Zweites Auftat - Eberhard Buchner/Oratorium Fur Soli, Chor, Orgel Und Orchester
8. Und Als Das Lamm Der Siegel Drittes Auftat - Eberhard Buchner/Robert Holzer/Gabriele Fontana/Margareta Hintermeier...
9. Und Als Das Lamm Der Siegel Viertes Auftat - Eberhard Buchner/Kurt Azesberger/Robert Holzer
10. Und Als Das Lamm Der Siegel Funftes Auftat - Eberhard Buchner/Oratorium Fur Soli, Chor, Orgel Und Orchester/Robert Holl
11. Und Ich Sah, Dass Das Lamm Der Siegel Sechstes Auftat - Eberhard Buchner/Oratorium Fur Soli, Chor, Orgel Und Orchester

Tracks:

1. Nach Dem Auftun Des Siebenten Der Seigel - Martin Haselbock/Eberhard Buchner
2. Im Himmel Aber Erhob Sich Ein Grosser Streit - Eberhard Buchner
3. Und Als Die Grosse Stille - Eberhard Buchner/Margareta Hintermeier/Oratorium Fur Soli, Chor, Orgel Und Orchester...
4. Vor Dem Angesichte Dessen - Eberhard Buchner/Robert Holl
5. Hallelujah! - Oratorium Fur Soli, Chor, Orgel Und Orchester
6. Wir Danken dir, O Herr - Oratorium Fur Soli, Chor, Orgel Und Orchester
7. Ich Bin Es, Johannes - Eberhard Buchner/Oratorium Fur Soli, Chor, Orgel Und Orchester

Average customer rating:

Franz Schmidt: Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln Manufacturer: Preiser Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Schmidt | Schmidt, Franz | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Oratorios | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Oratorios | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music ASIN: B000006L1C Release Date: 1995-06-20

International Music:

1. Dein Gesicht [Import]
2. Der Stolz Italienischer Frauen [Import]
3. Der Weg 1979-1993 [Import]
4. Dich Zu Lieben
5. Die Großen Erfolge Von Gestern
6. Die Großen Erfolge Von Gestern
7. Die Kloane Tür Zum Paradies [Import]
8. Die Legende Von Babylon [Import]
9. Die Schönsten Balladen
10. Du Bist Ein Wunder [Import]

International Music

International Music