Scene I & II [Limited Edition] [Import]

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Limited edition Japanese pressing includes a bonus DVD (NTSC/Region 2) and special packaging. Universal. 2005.

Scene I & II,Aska,Teichiku,Rock/Pop,World Music
Fiddler on the Roof
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Topol is best as the Papa
  • Love it
  • CP as Grandmother Tzeitel
  • Never Ending Joy!
  • Great a classic
Fiddler on the Roof
Jerry Bock , Sheldon Harnick , and Topol
Manufacturer: Capitol
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:
  1. Fiddler on the Roof (Special Edition)
  2. My Fair Lady (1964 Film Soundtrack)
  3. The King and I (1956 Film Soundtrack)
  4. The Music Man (1962 Film Soundtrack)
  5. South Pacific (1958 Film Soundtrack)

ASIN: B00005OB07
Release Date: 2001-10-09

Tracks:

  1. Prologue/Tradition/Main Title
  2. Matchmaker
  3. If I Were A Rich Man
  4. Sabbath Prayer
  5. To Life
  6. Miracle Of Miracles
  7. Tevye's Dream
  8. Wedding Procession
  9. Sunrise, Sunset
  10. Wedding Celebration/The Bottle Dance
  11. First Act Finale
  12. Entr'acte
  13. Do You Love Me?
  14. Far From The Home I Love
  15. Chava Ballet Sequence
  16. The Rejection Scene
  17. Anatevka
  18. Finale
  19. Any Day Now

Amazon.com

This new version of the Fiddler on the Roof soundtrack coincides with the movie's 30th anniversary (which is also celebrated by a special edition DVD). The CD is notable for several instrumental tracks by John Williams, as well as for "Any Day Now," a previously unreleased song performed by Perchik/Paul Michael Glaser (better known for his starring role in TV's Starsky and Hutch). The soundtrack is often compared unfavorably with the original 1964 cast album, in which Zero Mostel played the part of Tevye (here performed by Topol, who had been in the 1967 London production). But this CD has a lot going for it, including glossy remastering and, of course, Isaac Stern as the fiddler. In the end, whatever version you decide to pick up, Fiddler remains one of the most enduring musicals of all time. --Elisabeth Vincentelli

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Topol is best as the Papa.......2007-07-15

I have other versions of CDs of "The Fiddler of the Roof" but Topol is the best and this is one of the best CDs with Topol. As far as "The Fiddler On the Roof" goes, that is a thumbs up 5 star anytime story and songs.

5 out of 5 stars Love it.......2007-05-16

I had looked everywhere for this CD. I am so happy to have found the "real" Fiddler on the Roof!

5 out of 5 stars CP as Grandmother Tzeitel.......2007-03-30

At first, I thought this musical was weird but then I grew to like it. It has a sad ending but the thems in the movie are really interesting. Life really is like being a fiddler on the roof. In a musical coming up at my school, I am playign the part of Grandmother Tzeitel in Tevye's dream. I am excited to play the part and I think our musical will go very well!

5 out of 5 stars Never Ending Joy!.......2006-11-22

The music from Fiddler on the Roof is exciting, fun, interesting and funny! This CD is mixed with humor, music from different cultures and a wide mix of different songs. Each song is so different that I can listen to it for hours. I was surprised how enjoyable and pleasent it really is. Although...it is easy to get this music stuck in your head!

-Christian Fobian, Author of Why Christ?

5 out of 5 stars Great a classic.......2005-11-08

Totally enjoyable. After a few listens you can't help but sing along.
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 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

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Similar Items:
  1. Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
  2. Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
  3. Star Wars Trilogy
  4. Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi
  5. 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:

5 out of 5 stars 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.

4 out of 5 stars 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

5 out of 5 stars 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!

5 out of 5 stars 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.

2 out of 5 stars 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.
Bellini: I Capuleti e i Montecchi
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Highest Level of Artistry Displayed
  • "Behold the Tomb"
  • Well-sung Shakespearean travesty
  • beautiful and moving opera
  • Wonderful nostalgia
Bellini: I Capuleti e i Montecchi

Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Bellini, VincenzoBellini, Vincenzo | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
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  1. Rossini: L'Assedio di Corinto
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  5. Massenet: Manon

ASIN: B0002XV2XO
Release Date: 2005-02-15

Tracks:

  1. Sinfonia
  2. Aggiorna Appena...
  3. O Di Capellio, Generosi Amici
  4. E Serbata A Questo Acciaro
  5. Si: M'abbraccia
  6. L'amo Tanto, E M'e Si Cara
  7. Vanne Lorenzo
  8. Lieto Del Dolce Incarno
  9. Ascolta. Se Romeo T'uccise Un Figlio
  10. Riedi Al Campo
  11. La Tremenda Ultrice Spada
  12. Eccomi In Lieta Vesta...
  13. Oh! Quante Volte
  14. Propizia E L'ora
  15. Si, Fuggire: A Noi Non Resta
  16. Odi Tu? L'altar Funesto
  17. Vieni, Ah! Vieni

Tracks:

  1. Lieta Notte, Avventurosa
  2. Deh! Per Pieta, T'arresta
  3. Tace Il Fragor
  4. Che Miro?
  5. Soccorso, Sostegno Accordagli
  6. Accorriam...Romeo!
  7. Ne Alcun Ritorna!
  8. Morte Io Non Temo Il Sai
  9. Prendi, Gl'istanti Volano
  10. Deh! Padre Mio, Deh Padre Mio!
  11. Deserto E Il Luogo
  12. Chi Sei Tu?
  13. Qua' Voci! Oh Dio!
  14. Ella E Morta, O Sciagurato
  15. Siam Giunti
  16. Ecco La Tomba
  17. Tu Sola, O Mia Giulietta
  18. O Tu, Mia Sola Speme
  19. Ah! Crudel! Che Mai Facesti?

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Highest Level of Artistry Displayed .......2007-02-13

This isn't the Shakespearean version, in case you get disappointed, but is based on an Italian source. In spite of the obvious fact the Sills and Gedda were already past their prime by the time of this recording, they still have plenty to give us, and their musical insight makes this recording better than other well-sung performances recorded in the studio. Baker is absolutely fantastic throughout and gave a very satisfying performance both musically and artistically.

Now coming to the comparison made by a reviewer between Bellini and Verdi. Well, even if Bellini had lived to 80, it would not be his aim to write like Verdi. Bellini stood alone amongst the great opera composers of Italy. Even his contemporaries recognized it and called his music 'filosofico'. Bellini's aim was not to create dramas with music like Donizetti or Verdi, but rather music drama - a fact which Wagner recognized. Only that Bellini's aim was to realize it via the voice (think Norma), while Wagner did it with the orchestra. It is note-worthy that Wagner spared Bellini the usual bashing he gave to the Italians. Not only that - he admitted to Cosima that the love duet from Capuleti was the source of his inspiration for his own in Tristan. In his old age, he was proud to say that he learned from 'these pages' what Messrs Brahms etc had failed to learn. One should approach a Bellini opera as one does a Chopin Ballade or Wagner's Tristan, not Verdi. That is not to say that Verdi is inferior, but just different.

And regarding Bellini's orchestration, Wagner and Bizet were on separate occasions, were tasked to 'improve' the orchestration of Norma. Both eventually gave up the job as impossible and concluded that the orchestration written by Bellini was the most suitable. Comparing the orchestration between the early Il Pirata (with its almost Wagnerian finale!) with Norma, it dawns upon one that the decision to thin out the orchestra by Bellini was deliberate, in line with his purpose of using the voice as the primary tool to express the drama.

4 out of 5 stars "Behold the Tomb".......2006-09-30

I find it difficult to evaluate Bellini's work because it depends so heavily on performance. Never a connoiseur of performances, I leave it to others to tell one bel canto aria from another. It is discouraging to realize that Bellini, who died young, never took much interest in orchestral music, making him a lesser counterpart to Verdi, who combines the Italian devotion to the voice with powerful dramatic effects from the orchestra. Even the cover of the EMI CD is disappointing because it slaps a mod-erotic photograph on an opera where the lovers are too traumatised to make love. The libretto is so poor that the recording does not bother to supply it, confirming the view that Bellini's operas are for connoiseurs of vocal sound only.

I have downoaded the text from Karadar Classical Music as well as a synopsis from Opera japonica. We learn that the Capuleti and Montecchi are local versions of the Guelph and Ghilbelline parties respectively. The Ghibelline Dante would have been allied with the Montecchi, Romeo's party. Capellio, Juliet's father, seeks to avenge the death of a son at the hands of Romeo. Romeo's part is sung by a mezzo-soprano, adding further to the absurdity of the EMI cover photo. Although Romeo and Juliet are already lovers, she refuses to elope with him out of loyalty to her father. These lovers really seem more interested in dying than in making love. Juliet does manage to declare that she breathes easier when she learns that Romeo has survived a fight. We know that Romeo has reached his appointed place when he sings, "Ecco la tomba." Janet Baker, as Romeo, shines in the slow, heart-broken singing that follows, interspersed with sympathetic passages by the chorus of Montecchi. There is no doubt that Bellini's operas allow top performers to sing as beautifully as they can. The instrumental accompaniment in this concluding scene is reduced to a bare minimum.

5 out of 5 stars Well-sung Shakespearean travesty.......2005-10-15

Source: Studio recording made at Abbey Road Studio, London, June 16-25, 1975.

Sound: Analog stereo. The engineering is competent, I suppose, but as a matter of personal taste I do not care for the distant and echo-y soundscape. It sounds as though the opera were taking place at the far end of a Gothic cathedral.

Documentation: No printed libretto, although there is a reference to an on-line libretto available at the EMI Classics website, (which failed to download in five tries over two days) just in case I want to listen to this opera while I am working at my computer. The accompanying essay by James Harding is the most useless I have ever found in a CD case--and that is by no means an easily earned distinction. Harding is vitally interested in Bellini's lame love life but indifferent to such trifles as the plot of the opera he is supposed to be writing about.

Format: Disk 1, Act I, Scenes 1 and 2; 60:42. Disk 2, Act I, Scene 3; Act II, Scenes 1-3; 74:23.

Bellini premiered "I Capuleti e i Montecchi" at Teatro La Fenice in Venice exactly one month before his twenty-ninth birthday. It was a success but it was not without critics. In his essay, Harding writes, "It was unfair of Berlioz to denounce I Capuleti e i Montecchi as a travesty of Shakespeare." Berlioz clearly had a point, for where the Bard had twenty characters, the librettist "Romani made do with only five. You will look in vain," Harding gushes on, "for the Nurse and Friar Laurence" and, I must add, for Mercutio, Benvolio and Paris, too. In the opera, Paris and Tybalt become a single character, Tebaldo, to the great detriment of the plot.

"I Capuleti e i Montecchi" came about midway in Bellini's too short career. The really big hits on which his fame rests were yet to come. The music is competent but somehow lacking that indefinable ping that makes "La Sonnambula," "Norma" and "I Puritani" extraordinary.

Overall, the performance is good. Best by far in the cast is Janet Baker. She does not generate overt excitement but she offers an overwhelming sense of rightness when she essays any part in the narrow range that she made her own. This recording is a little late for the best of Sills but she is still very bright and amazingly agile. As always, I feel that her voice is just a little too cool and too thin, but that is purely a matter of personal taste. It is also late for Nicolai Gedda, who sounds unexpectedly baritonal as Tebaldo, a part that any other 19th Century composer would surely have written for a baritone. (I know, I know, Gounod's Tybalt is a tenor. I sang the role, myself, back in college days. But Gounod's Tybalt is markedly different in character from Bellini's Tebaldo-Paris.) Gedda is very good, but I am not at all sure that I would have recognized him if his name had not been on the cover.

"I Capuleti e i Montecchi" is not a great opera, but three famous and very fine singers offer intelligent and entertaining performances. That's worth five stars as far as I'm concerned.

FOR THE HISTORICALLY MINDED: William Shakespeare wrote his "Romeo and Juliet" in the 1590s, in the early days of his career. As was usual for him, he based his play on older materials. The first literary mention of the Montagus and the Capulets is in Dante's "Purgatorio," vi, lines 106-108. The Montagus lived in Verona and the Capulets in Cremona. They were used by Dante as examples of warring factions that had been exterminated. About 1530, Luigi da Porto mistakenly assumed that the Montagus and the Capulets had both resided in Verona and had feuded with one another. He worked up a tale that involved two young members of his warring clans, Giulietta and Romeo. In 1554, Matteo Bandello published a novella called "Romeo e Giulietta" which proved to be an international hit. A French version was adapted from Bandello by Pierre Boaistuau in 1559. This, in turn, was translated into English in 1562 by Arthur Brooke as a "tragical history" in verse form called "Romeus and Juliet," later to be pounced on by Will Shakespeare in search of a popular hit. The only major changes that Shakespeare made in Brooke's plot were to compress the time frame and to introduce Tybalt into the story at an earlier point in order to build him up as a worthy adversary for Romeo. And, oh, yes, he created an array of living characters such as had never been conceived before.

A number of commentators have taken note of the much simplified plot of "I Capuleti e i Montecchi." They have accounted for it by declaring that Shakespeare's version was not yet well-known in the world, so Romani must have based his work on an earlier version of the story, by which I presume they mean by Bandello or even by da Porto. I don't buy that explanation. By 1830, the cult of Bardolatry was firmly established. The standard German translations (that the Germans to this day hold to be superior to the English originals) were well along. Two generations earlier, the tourist industry of Stratford Upon Avon had been given a kick start by the great actor, Garrick (in a bicentennial celebration conceived by David Garrick, written by David Garrick, produced by David Garrick, directed by David Garrick and starring David Garrick--additional dialogue by W. Shakespeare.) Just seventeen years later, Verdi would write his "Macbeth" and make sketches for a "King Lear," that greatest of all operatic might-have-beens. One of the twenty or so books that Verdi kept close to himself until the day he died was an Italian translation of the works of Shakespeare.

No, I do not think that Romani dealt with any obscure 16th Century originals. I think that he exercised a hack's privilege to pillage a respectable source for his convenience. Berlioz was correct. In both the literal and the figurative senses of the word, this is a travesty.

5 out of 5 stars beautiful and moving opera .......2005-08-12

One may regret that Beverly Sills and Nicolai Gedda did not
record this opera earlier in their careers (1975) yet still
be glad they did. Though there are some audible signs of vo-
cal wear their artistry and commitment are never in doubt and
they offer memorable performances. Janet Baker is on the other
hand in splendid voice and sings superbly - she portrays a
somber Romeo and is supremely moving in the tomb scene.
Robert Lloyd and Raimund Herincx offer excellent support.
Very well recorded and beautifully conducted by Maestro
Patane - a very welcome release !

5 out of 5 stars Wonderful nostalgia .......2005-05-20

Back in the 1970's I was a very intense fan of both La Sills and La Baker. The very idea of both of them coming together for an opera recording sent this rapid fan into a severe swoon! Therefore, this recording sent me into a state of ecstasy! I along with other Sills and Baker fans would gather around my stereo listening to this recording with Baker and Sills weaving their vocal magic which always elicited from us many tears and bravos.
At the time Beverly was a known commodity in Bell Canto operas; however, Janet was mainly known as a song recitalist. Nevertheless, Janet Baker, in this opera, proves that she could sing opera with the best of them showing her great operatic credentials-she is up to every vocal challenge Bellini throws at her. She tackles the role with great artistry and beauty of tone. Her last scene STILL dissolves me to copious tears.
In this recording Beverly sings a little cautiously not throwing out high E's with abandon as before; however, her years of experience being a sublime singer of Bell Canto operas comes through. Her singing is gorgeous, sweet and touching to the highest degree, I truly believe that this recording was one of her best.
It truly is great to hear this recording again-ah the memories. Time has NOT diminished its appeal!
Mozart for Relaxation
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Very Relaxing
  • This is so beautiful
  • A Musical Tranquilizer
  • guaranteed to relax you whether at home or in the car
Mozart for Relaxation

Manufacturer: RCA
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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  1. Beethoven for Relaxation
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ASIN: B00000I9M0
Release Date: 1999-03-09

Tracks:

  1. Concerto For Flute and Harp, K. 299: II - Andantino - London Symphony Orchestra
  2. Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, K. 525: II - Romanze : Andante - Guarneri Quartet
  3. Piano Sonata In B Flat, K. 333: II - Andante Cantabile - Alicia De Larrocha
  4. Violin Concerto No. 3 In G, K. 216: II - Adagio - Prague Chamber Orchestra
  5. Andante K. 315 - Chamber Orchestra Of Europe
  6. Concerto In A For Clarinet And Orchestra, K. 622: II - Adagio - English Chamber Orchestra
  7. Serenade No. 10 'Gran Partita,' K. 361: III - Adagio - Sir Colin Davis
  8. Trio - 'Soave sia il vento' Act 1, Scene 2 - New Philharmonia Orchestra
  9. Clarinet Quintet In A, K. 581: II - Larghetto - Richard Stoltzman
  10. Concerto No. 21 In C, K. 467: II - Andante - English Chamber Orchestra

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Very Relaxing.......2007-04-03

I love this CD! I listen to it every time my world feels like it's about to spin out of control because I have too much to do and not enough time to do it. Very calming and serene. My 12 year old daughter now knows who Mozart is and can recognize his music on the radio!

5 out of 5 stars This is so beautiful.......2006-02-07

I've been a massage therapist for seven years, and I have lots and lots of relaxation music. I have owned this c.d. three different times because I have listened to it to the point of wearing it out several times over. It is so beautiful and rich in perfection, and if your smart its really easy to time your massage to. If your not an M.T. just get it to have in your collection when you'd like to relax, you won't be sorry.

5 out of 5 stars A Musical Tranquilizer.......2000-07-22

This is a terrific collection of many of Mozart's best known and most beloved pieces. You will probably recognize many of the melodies - and with this CD, of course, you'll learn their names. This CD is really aptly named - it is a very 'relaxing' collection of beautiful music. One reviewer said that its great for the car - but also after that long, grinding day at work - you know, the kind of day where you feel especially eaten-up. You just want to go home and sit in your favorite chair and put on some music... It is also an excellent album to get the kids started on lovely classical music. Highly recommended!

5 out of 5 stars guaranteed to relax you whether at home or in the car.......1999-04-23

this assortment of melodies is the perfect gift for the new mother, the new baby, or anyone else who wants to be stimulated by the classical sounds and soothed by the melodies. a definite must for the car - where much stress occurs in traffic jams.
Essential Tchaikovsky
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Best of the best
Essential Tchaikovsky

Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000060O5I
Release Date: 2002-03-12

Tracks:

  1. Piano Concerto No.1 In B Flat Minor, Op.23: I Allegro Non Troppo E Molto Maestoso (Excerpt) - Vladimir Ashkenazy
  2. Romeo And Juliet: Love Theme - Wiener Philharmoniker
  3. Symphony No.6 In B Minor, Op.74 'Pathetique': I Adagio - Allegro Non Troppo (Excerpt) - Philharmonia Orchestra
  4. Swan Lake: Scene (Act III) - Herbert Von Karajan
  5. Swan Lake: Waltz (Act I) - Herbert Von Karajan
  6. Swan Lake: Dance Of The Little Swans - Herbert Von Karajan
  7. Il Adagio Cantabile E Con Moto Souvenir De Florence, Op.70: II Adagio Cantabile E Con Moto - Academy Of St. Martin In The Fields
  8. Melodie Souvenir D'un Lieu Cher, Op.42: Melodie - Philip Moll
  9. June: Barcarolle The Seasons, Op.37b: June: Barcarolle - Vladimir Ashkenazy
  10. Eugene Onegin: Waltz - Valery Gergiev
  11. Piano Concerto No.1 In B Flat Minor, Op.23: II Andantino Semplice - Vladimir Ashkenazy
  12. Sleeping Beauty: Pas D'action (Adagio) - Wiener Philharmoniker
  13. Sleeping Beauty: Waltz - Wiener Philharmoniker
  14. Marche Slave, Op.31 - Zubin Mehta

Tracks:

  1. Violin Concerto In D Major, Op.35: I Allegro Moderato (Excerpt) - Kyung Wha Chung
  2. Symphony No.5 In E Minor, Op.64: II Andante Cantabile, Con Alcuna Licenza - London Symphony Orchestra
  3. The Nutcracker: Overture - Charles Dutoit
  4. The Nutcracker: Dance Of The Sugar-Plum Fairy - Charles Dutoit
  5. Serenade For Strings In C Major, Op.48: II Waltz - St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra
  6. String Quartet No.1 In D Major, Op.11: II Andante Cantabile - Gabrieli String Quartet
  7. Eugene Onegin: Polonaise - Valery Gergiev
  8. Capriccio Italien, Op.45 (Excerpt) - Valery Gergiev
  9. Symphony No.4 In F Minor, Op.36: III Scherzo: Pizzicato Ostinato, Allegro - London Symphony Orchestra
  10. Elegie For Strings - Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
  11. None But The Lonely Heart, Op.6 No.6 - Dmitri Hvorostovsky
  12. The Divine Liturgy Of St. John Chrysostom, Op.41: Otche Nash (The Lord's Prayer) - St. Petersburg Chamber Choir
  13. Valse Sentimentale, Op.51 No.6 - Arthur Grumiaux
  14. The Nutcracker: Dance Of The Reed Pipes (Mirlitons) - Wiener Philharmoniker
  15. The Nutcracker: Waltz Of The Flowers - Wiener Philharmoniker
  16. 1812 Overture, Op.49 (Conclusion) - Zubin Mehta

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Best of the best.......2004-03-14

There's something for every Tchaikovsky lover on this disc. From Swan Lake to Onegin, many of Tchaikovsky's most-known melodies are on this disc. I'd have preferred more than an excerpt of the first movement of Piano Concerto No. 1, but this disc is a great introduction to Tchaikovsky's works.
Mozart: The Marriage of Figaro / Pace, de Carolis, Frontali, Morandi [Highlights]
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Best Cherubino...
  • wonderful music
  • Close Your Eyes and Listen
  • Terrific value, beautiful quality.
  • Exceptional recording
Mozart: The Marriage of Figaro / Pace, de Carolis, Frontali, Morandi [Highlights]
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , Hungarian State Opera Orchestra , Pier Giorgio Morandi , Patrizia Pace , Natale de Carolis , Donato di Stefano , Ingrid Kertesi , Roberto Frontali , Denes Gulyas , Tamas Bator , and Jozsef Mukk
Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00004NK2F
Release Date: 2000-03-14

Tracks:

  1. Overture
  2. Cinque, Dieci...
  3. Bravo, Signor Padrone!
  4. Se Vuol Ballare, Signor Contino
  5. La Vendetta
  6. Non So Piu Cosa Son
  7. Non Piu Andrai
  8. Porgi Amor
  9. Voi, Che Sapete
  10. Venite, Inginocchiatevi
  11. Susanna, Or Via Sortite?
  12. Hai Gia Vinta Causa!
  13. Vedro, Mentr'io Sospiro
  14. Riconosci In Questo Amplesso
  15. E Susanna Non Vien!
  16. Dove Sono I Bei Momenti?
  17. Sull'aria...
  18. Tutto E Disposto
  19. Aprite Un Po' Quegl'occhi
  20. Giunse Al Fin Il Momento
  21. Deh Vieni Non Tardar
  22. Pace, Pace, Mio Dolce Tesoro!
  23. Final Scene: Gente! Gente!

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Best Cherubino..........2007-05-06

No kidding. This album has the best Cherubino part compared to the other Le Nozze di Figaro copycat. After you've listened to Non so più cosa son, you would feel bad hearing the other rendition of the same song.

5 out of 5 stars wonderful music.......2006-06-20

you do not have to be an opera expert to appreciate this cd , as a person who is just beging to appreciate fine opera this is a wonderful choice . waht is nice amazon gives you the opportunity to listen to the tracs prior to buying it. i am extremelly pleased with this item and im sure you will be to. sincerly christian john nielsen

5 out of 5 stars Close Your Eyes and Listen.......2006-05-28

If right now you need to know joy and timelessness, a heart filled with light, beauty that has been and will be always, overflowing with the splendor you are fashioned from, knowing all that is your own, that you are only in the least important sense alone, with nothing to fear other than never perceiving any of this, close your eyes and listen to the Duettino Sull'aria from Le Nozze di Figaro...

5 out of 5 stars Terrific value, beautiful quality........2004-04-16

This CD is a wonderful value with top-notch recording. The Cherubino character (mischievous lovestruck youth) is especially delightful on this CD. I fell in love with "Sul Aria" in The Shawshank Redemption, and later saw this opera live. Though it's only a highlights album, I found it rather complete, with solid linear notes (plot summary for you to follow along), and ALL of the beloved songs I had remembered. I recommend this one!

5 out of 5 stars Exceptional recording.......2003-09-29

The quality of this recording is exceptional. Naxos recordings are often played on classical music stations for good reason. The performances are excellent.
Beethoven for Relaxation
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • I love it!
  • Famous Beethoven slow movements
  • Number of discs
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  • Not the Best By beethoven Lover
Beethoven for Relaxation

Manufacturer: RCA
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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  1. Mozart for Relaxation
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ASIN: B00000I9LZ
Release Date: 1999-03-09

Tracks:

  1. Piano Sonata No. 14 In C-Sharp Minor, Op.27 No.2, 'Moonlight': Adagio sostenuto
  2. Symphony No. 2 In D, Op.36: II. Larghetto
  3. String Quartet No.13 In B-Flat, Op.130: V. Cavatina: Adagio molto espressivo
  4. Violin Sonata No.5 In F, Op.24, 'Spring': II. Adagio molto espressivo
  5. Fur Elise
  6. Triple Concerto In C, Op.56: II. Largo
  7. Piano Sonata No.8 In C Minor, Op.13, 'Pathetique': II. Adagio cantabile
  8. Fidelo, Act I: Quartet 'Mir ist so wunderbar'
  9. Piano Sonata No. 18 In E-Flat, Op.31, No.3: III. Menuetto: Moderato e grazioso
  10. Serenade In D, Op.8: II. Adagio
  11. Symphony No.6 In F, Op.68, 'Pastoral': II. Scene By The Brook

Tracks:

  1. Piano Sonata No. 14 In C-Sharp Minor, Op. 27 No. 2, 'Moonlight': I Adagio sostenuto
  2. Symphony No. 2 in D, Op. 36: II Larghetto
  3. String Quartet No. 13 In B-Flat, Op. 130: V Cavatina: Adagio molto espressivo
  4. Violin Sonata No. 5 In F, Op. 24, 'Spring': II Adagio molto espressivo
  5. Fur Elise
  6. Triple Concerto In C, Op. 56: II Largo
  7. Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13, 'Pathetique': II Adagio cantabile
  8. Fidelio, Act I: Quartet 'Mir ist so wunderbar'
  9. Piano Sonata No. 18 In E-Flat, Op. 31 No. 3: III Menuetto: Moderato e grazioso
  10. Serenade In D, Op. 8: II Adagio
  11. Symphony No. 6 In F, Op. 68, 'Pastoral': II Scene By The Brook

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars I love it!.......2007-01-21

I've had this CD for about 6 years now and it never gets old. As the title suggests, it's great for relaxing with a good book and a glass of wine. I find myself reaching for this CD whenever I get a migraine. I had always heard that the complexities of Beethoven's music could ease a migraine, or I suppose any headache. I've never been able to find any substantiated proof of this but from my experience the music eases my headaches. Whether it's psychological is still a mystery to me. Fact is, I love this CD and it's never far from me.

4 out of 5 stars Famous Beethoven slow movements.......2006-01-15

The real Beethoven would probably be irritated with compilation CD's like this that "cherry picks" a variety of slow movements from various works he composed. But, the average listener today will see it as a great way to get to know his music and enjoy an hour of more serene music - less Beethoven's more intense movements. The variery here is broad: solo piano, violin + piano, string quartet and full orchestra symphonies and concertos. The dreamy solo-piano pieces are some of Beethoven's most beloved and alluring slow movements that vaulted him to fame. While these and the chamber music tend to be more "relaxing," the latter orchestral pieces especially contain shifts in tempo, dynamic range and emotion that some might not find so relaxing. After all, this is Beethoven with a full orchestra and not Bach or the Baroque.

But, all is not lost if you are looking for a collection of serene, lyrical music composed by the great Beethoven. There actually is a CD that features some of Beethoven's most endearing and melodic adagios and largos: "Beethoven for Book Lovers" (Philips label). This CD is mostly comprised of the nicest slow movements from Beethoven's ten violin sonatas (violin + piano) played by the legendary David Oistrakh - a violinist with one of the most gentle and beautiful tone ever recorded. Fortunately for those wanting uninterupted peacefulness, there are only a couple of those typical "Beethoven outbursts" in this CD (very brief though). But, overall, the flow and tone of the entire CD is truly relaxing, enchanting and not distracting. All of these works reveal the gentle side of Beethoven and his surprizing ability (for such a fiery composer) to write music of such poinant and tenderhearted emotional appeal. Also, the "Chopin for Relaxation" is one of the better ones in this series and features some of Chopin's slower, more serene solo-piano music and the ever-so lovely middle movements from his two legendary piano concertos.

5 out of 5 stars Number of discs.......2005-03-16

The ad above shows 2 discs with the same track names... this item has only 1 disc with 11 tracks (names as shown above).

3 out of 5 stars I Know Music, and This is Not the Best (by Beethoven Lover).......2005-02-21

Ok, I'll admit, this is a pretty good album, but it lacks the feeling of Beethoven. Its songs don't sound like Beethoven is playing, and its not too relaxing. It deserves three stars because of this lack of the great Beethoven himself. Sure, the songs are pretty, but I'd buy a different album if I was you.

3 out of 5 stars Not the Best By beethoven Lover.......2005-02-20

not completely a delight...shows little Beethoven in it all, deserves only about two or three stars.
Instruments of the Orchestra
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 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

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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:

5 out of 5 stars 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!

5 out of 5 stars 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!

5 out of 5 stars 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!

3 out of 5 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.

5 out of 5 stars 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.
Dreamgirls in Concert (2001 Concert Cast)
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • Dreamgirls 2001
  • Not the real "DREAM" experience
  • Absolutely brilliant!
  • Amazing!!!!!!
  • One Night Only
Dreamgirls in Concert (2001 Concert Cast)
Henry Krieger , Audra McDonald , Brian Stokes Mitchell , Emily Skinner , and Darius de Haas
Manufacturer: Nonesuch
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:
  1. Dreamgirls (1982 Original Broadway Cast)
  2. Dreamgirls: Music From The Motion Picture [2-CD Deluxe Edition]
  3. Dreamgirls
  4. Company (2006 Broadway Revival Cast)
  5. Grey Gardens - A New Musical (2006 Original Broadway Cast)

ASIN: B00005Y4P4
Release Date: 2002-02-26

Tracks:

  1. I'm Looking for Something, Baby
  2. Goin' Downtown
  3. Takin' the Long Way Home
  4. Move (You're Steppin on My Heart)
  5. Scene: Fifty bucks says the Dreamettes don't win
  6. Fake Your Way to the Top
  7. Scene: It ain't working, Marty
  8. Cadillac Car
  9. Cadillac Car (On the Road)
  10. Cadillac Car (Recording Studio)
  11. Scene: I don't believe they can do that
  12. Steppin' to the Bad Side
  13. Scene: I'm working on a long shot
  14. Party, Party
  15. I Want You, Baby
  16. Scene: I'm a woman now
  17. Family
  18. Scene: What are you doing to that girl?
  19. Dreamgirls
  20. Press Conference
  21. Heavy
  22. Walkin' Down the Strip/Scene: Las Vegas
  23. It's All Over
  24. And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going

Tracks:

  1. Opening Act II: Dreams Medley
  2. Scene: Effie White is the best singer you're gonna find
  3. I Am Changing
  4. Vogue Sequence
  5. When I First Saw You
  6. Ain't No Party
  7. I Meant You No Harm
  8. The Rap
  9. I Miss You, Old Friend
  10. One Night Only
  11. One Night Only (Disco Version)
  12. I'm Somebody
  13. Hard to Say Good-bye
  14. Dreamgirls (Reprise)

Amazon.com

A Chorus Line may be better known, but Dreamgirls was a towering achievement for director Michael Bennett. Loosely based on the Supremes' story, the 1982 musical told a typical show-biz tale of fame, backbiting, and survival. As is often the case for one-night only events, the cast in this concert version (recorded in New York on September 24, 2001) is led by an eye-popping assortment of Broadway powerhouses: Lillias White (The Life), Audra McDonald (Ragtime, Marie Christine), and Heather Headley (Ragtime). McDonald reveals a previously undisclosed comic streak, while Headley confirms her status as a rising star. Reprising the role of Effie Melody White (created by Jennifer Holliday), White belts the classic "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going." But the beauty of Dreamgirls is that it's so packed with catchy, Motown-influenced R&B numbers that each lead can sink her teeth into some prime material and get a turn in the spotlight. This double-CD set really makes you wish you'd been there when the show was recorded: you can hear the crowd going berserk at times, and the temptation is strong to do the same thing in the comfort of your living room. --Elisabeth Vincentelli

Customer Reviews:

1 out of 5 stars Dreamgirls 2001.......2007-06-27

This was the worst reproduction of Dreamgirls that I ever heard. I was so disappointed the CD went into the garbage. This is one CD that I would not sell to the public because I expect so much and get so little.

4 out of 5 stars Not the real "DREAM" experience.......2007-04-04


Forget about the film sountrack. Get this CD set. And it's far better than the original cast recording which goes lacking. More songs and more everything that makes a live performance just what it is. Live (compared to film where anything can be done to enhance a performance!) -- the energy, the excitement and the performances make this a rare treat for anyone wanting to share in the real DREAM experience.

Isn't a full Broadway revival long over due. But wait: I've heard rumors that a rvial may be "in the works. I certainly hope so. Maybe this time it will receive the Tony award it deserved in the first place.

5 out of 5 stars Absolutely brilliant!.......2007-01-28

There is atleast 5 new songs on this album that were not in the movie! These girls kill it I mean they are just amazing singers, and this all live! This is needed for any Dreamgirls fanatic like me! You are gonna love it! Enjoy! love live laugh :)

5 out of 5 stars Amazing!!!!!!.......2006-12-04

As a theatre lover, this recording is amazing. I actually prefer this recording to the OBC. Sheryl Lee Ralph is okay, but can't touch Audra's Deena. The first time I heard Ms. White's "And I Am Telling You..", goosbumps all over my body. The only weak cast member in my opinon is Heather Headly. Vocally, she just isn't there. Too much Aida, not enough Dreamgirls. But all in all, a great live recording of a great show.

5 out of 5 stars One Night Only .......2006-07-19

I was lucky enough to attend this One Night Only concert performance of Dreamgirls and it was a night I will never forget!! The cast was brilliant and the cd is as good if not better than the Broadway cast recording because it is the entire show not just the songs. Bravo to everyone involved !!!
If I Could Do It All Over Again I'd Do It All Over You
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • "With An Ear To The Ground" & The CD Player you will enjoy Caravan!
  • Interesting Period Piece
  • Caravan - 'If I Could Do It All Over Again I'd Do It All Over You' (Polygram)
  • Absolutely essential and full of surprises!
  • Caravan at their best
If I Could Do It All Over Again I'd Do It All Over You
Caravan
Manufacturer: Polygram Int'l
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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  1. In the Land of Grey and Pink
  2. For Girls Who Grow Plump in the Night
  3. Caravan
  4. Waterloo Lily
  5. The Rotters' Club

ASIN: B00005A46U
Release Date: 2001-04-17

Tracks:

  1. If I Could Do It All Over Again, I'd Do It All Over You
  2. And I Wish I Were Stoned/Don't Worry
  3. As I Feel I Die
  4. With an Ear to the Ground You Can Make It/Martinian/Only Cox/Reprise
  5. Hello, Hello
  6. Asforteri
  7. Can't Be Long Now/Francoise/For Richard/Warlock
  8. Limits
  9. Day in the Life of Maurice Haylett [#]
  10. Why? (And I Wish I Were Stoned) [#][Demo Version]
  11. Clipping the 8th (Hello Hello) [#][Demo Version]
  12. As I Feel I Die [Demo Version]
  13. For Richard
  14. Warlock
  15. Limits

Album Description

Full title 'If I Could Do It All Over Again I'd Do It All Over You'. Remastered reissue of the British prog-rock act's 1970 album. Featuring the original 8 tracks and 4 bonus tracks, 'A Day In The Life Of Maurice Haylett', 'Why?', 'Clipping The 8th' and 'As I Feel I Die'. Standard jewel case. 2001 release.

Album Details

Digitally Remastered and available for the first time in over Eight years. Includes previously unreleased version of 'A Day in the Life of Maurice Haylett', 'As I Feel I Die', 'I Wish I were Stoned' and 'Hello Hello'.

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars "With An Ear To The Ground" & The CD Player you will enjoy Caravan!.......2007-06-02

As the author of the Jefferson Airplane book "Take Me To A Circus Tent" I am often asked to give thoughts on various rock and roll recordings from the 60's and 70's.

Caravan entered their golden period with this release (Their 2nd) in 1970. This album and the next three:
In The Land Of Grey And Pink
Waterloo Lilly
For Girls Who Grow Plump In The Night

showed the group at their best. While some would call them progressive rock it is closer to the Progressive/Psychedelic Canterbury Sound.

You may have been told how strong a guitar-player Pye Hastings is but he should also be applauded along with bass-player Richard Sinclair for perfectly placed and phrased vocals.

The album is consistant throughout. The track that has been given the most notice since its release is "For Richard" but please don't think they are a one trick pony. Caravan will grab your attention as soon as the opening cut is coming from your speakers and you'll receive some excellent bonus tracks to further bring you into the fold.

Caravan can also be respected greatly because they had a sound in mind and weren't concerned with record company pressure to get them more airplay.

Once the last notes play of this fine release you will be wanted the other three mentioned albums.

Be well always,
Craig Fenton
Author of the Jefferson Airplane book "Take Me To A Circus Tent"

4 out of 5 stars Interesting Period Piece.......2007-02-18

Caravan is very late 1960s and early 1970s, but the songs are certainly fun to list to.

4 out of 5 stars Caravan - 'If I Could Do It All Over Again I'd Do It All Over You' (Polygram).......2007-01-02

Originally released in 1970,this was the UK progressive/Canterbury band's second album.This is like maybe the fourth Caravan CD I've ever heard. Not an artist I'll listen to all the time, but I do tend to like their epics very much so. Tracks here I found to be most inspiring were the jamming opener title cut "If I Could Do It All Over Again...", the folk progressive piece "With An Ear To The Ground" and the fourteen minute "Can't Be Long Now". Keep in mind their epics are usually quite brilliant. Plus, this CD reissue has seven bonus tunes tagged on. Another reason to add this title to your want list.

5 out of 5 stars Absolutely essential and full of surprises!.......2005-11-17

Wow! I had forgotten just how great this album really is. I put on the remastered cd last night with a good pair of headphones and was instantly transported back in time. Beautiful melodies smoothly but quite unexpectedly segue into hard-hitting (though highly structured) jams that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Dave Sinclair's keyboards absolutely rock while the rest of the band cooks right along with him. The addition of Jimmy Hastings' flute and sax adds so much colour and depth to the extended pieces--top notch playing all around! I really love the "Englishness" of the vocals and lyrics, with their typically understated humour and charm. What else can I say? Together with "In The Land of Grey and Pink" this is the best stuff Caravan ever did, though "For Girls Who Grow..." is pretty close in overall quality and intensity. It's worth mentioning that the sound quality of the remastered disc is quite good (Richard Sinclair's bass sounds wonderful and I have a whole new appreciation for Richard Coughlan's excellent drumming) and the liner notes are insightful and interesting. Sorry for gushing, but I'm still on a cloud after hearing this again for the first time in quite awhile. Hurry and get it and be sure to buy a copy for a good friend. They'll love you for it. Cheers!

5 out of 5 stars Caravan at their best.......2004-11-28

Since its first appearance in 1970 this album was acclaimed by critics (Melody Maker, Sept. 1970) as one of most singular albums of the year. At that time the rock scene was changing faster and faster. New bands grow up like mushrooms, but in spite oh that, very few of them produced a really original sound.
Surely Caravan were one of them and this album represents a very good example, their best I think, of their unique style that has survived with great honour to the severe judgements of time.





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