Babel [Import]

Babel [Import]

Track Listings

1. Judgement

2. Babel

3. Now's The Time

4. Aria

5. Bronx Bull

6. Rain

7. Pharoah

8. More I See

9. Message

10. Lychia

11. Scheme Of Things

12. D Votion

Babel,D-Note,Dorado,Dance

Babel
Average customer rating:

Soundtracks make a difference

babel or babble?

burn it...

Worlds collide--harmoniously

Excellent Score!

Babel
Gustavo Santaolalla
Manufacturer: Concord Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Notes on a Scandal: Original Soundtrack

ASIN: B000IONJM4
Release Date: 2006-11-21

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Babel
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Gekkoh
The Catch
Mujer Hermosa
Into The Wild
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Amazon.com

As its title suggests, Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu's film revolves around the transcultural difficulties of human communication. But the linguistic dysfunction that drives the film's characters towards causal connection and inevitable tragedy has paradoxically inspired just the opposite on this adventurous musical mélange of a soundtrack. The meditative, often hypnotic fretboard inventions of Iñárritu's previous soundtrack collaborator, Argentine composer Gustavo Santaolalla (a 2005 Oscar winner for Brokeback Mountain), serve as the restless soul of interlocking plots in the film, the final chapter of a fatalistic trilogy that also includes the Santaolalla-scored Amores Perros and 21 Grams.

But on this expanded, double-disc collection, the South American composer's culture-bending film cues (including mastery of indigenous Arab stringed instruments and incorporating field recordings of Moroccan tribal music) also serve as artistic axes, reflective anchor points for a pop collection that's as ambitious and far-ranging as the film itself. While the "music from and inspired by" tag often indicates cynical record company marketing schemes, here it's an invitation to transcultural musical adventure that links Santaolalla's North African musical conjuring with the contemporary styles of Japan (the atmospherics of Ryuichi Sakamoto and Susumu Yolota, Shinichi Osawa's sly Earth, Wind & Fire/Fatboy Slim mashup, the teen pop of Takashi Fujii's "Oh My Juliet") and Tijuana (a generous sampling of effusive Norteño that includes Los Incomparables, Daniel Luna, and Agua Caliente). --Jerry McCulley

Customer Reviews:

Soundtracks make a difference.......2007-05-15

I can strongly say that music caught me more than the film and theme itself. When the movie was over I couldn't wait to buy it :)
Gustavo Santaoallo is a great great artist, also known from Motorcycle Diaries and Brokeback Mountain.
I really love this guy's work.

babel or babble?.......2007-05-03

the descriptive of this cd says the director made a movie of the attempt to communicate. I just want to know: is babel Spanish for babble English?

burn it..........2007-04-24

If you liked the movie Babel chances are your only going to like some songs from the soundtrack. The soundtrack sounds incredibly foreign for a foreign movie. Its a massive collaboration of Spanish, Arabic/Indian/whatever they are tunes. It contains Really crappy American songs tossed in with two main themes, i basically looked at it as slopped together, if you speak 3 different languages than get it, but the whole album was to focused an cultural music, to much of a melting pot for me and a waste of money. for my last note Gustavo Santalolla is talented but has no idea what goes into a soundtrack. Burn it!

Worlds collide--harmoniously.......2007-04-16

I was busy and distracted the first time I listened to this music, and my first impression was Gee, I wish they'd done a better job of editing. (I confess I still feel that way about the bonus CD, but it doesn't matter. Read on.) Three days later, however, I listened again--mindfully--and GOT IT. Disc one perfectly encapsulates Babel's theme: the Global Village's seemingly diverse tribes (be they North African Tuareg or Japanese haute bourgeoisie) are, just under the surface, inextricably linked and what's more--startlingly related. As I paid attention I was captivated by the duh-obvious connections between desert tablas, Tokyo House, and Cumbia. Then fell in love with all three of those arts, none of which I'd been exposed to before seeing the movie (mainly because I'm probably old enough to be your grandmother). Now I want MORE. This CD sent me running to the 'net in search of more Celso Peña (an "overnight" hit at 48, after decades of tune crafting), more Shinichi Osawa remixes, and more Rip Slyme. The latter is a hard-to-describe but way cool Japanese DJ/tech/mod group whose name is a play on Japlish for "lips rhyme." Apart from all that, I'm also cherishing details like the perfect audio portrait of upperclass ennui ("Bibo no Aozora" by Ryuichi Sakamoto; think Phillip Glass in Japanese, but don't let that put you off), and the utterly stark beauty of Moroccan scenery ("Desert Bus Ride" by Gustavo Santaolalla, who wrote Babel's Academy Award-nominated score and whose plaintive oud may haunt you for the rest of your life. FYI, Santaolalla learned to play that traditional instrument specifically for this commission. Wow.) But the last word belongs to Babel's creator and soundtrack producer, Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu: "I conceive a film as a symphony: the structure and textures are determined by the silences and spaces between them. During the entire process, I keep listening to and researching music that could be of great inspiration during the development of the script. That way, I can go forward triggering images in my mind, assimilating and filming my scenes by beats and internal rythms... I only hope that when you listen to these CDs that combine the songs of this great internal and external journey, you can also feel the distant winds and the planet caressing your skin as it spins around."
Amen.

Excellent Score! .......2007-04-10

A great mix of tunes indeed. I have listened to this album over and over. It's emotional, haunting, and relaxing. Its truly a an international mix of lovely songs and artistic expressions. Enjoy it....

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After TABULA RASA, the next stop for fans of Part's "holy minimalism"
An excellent recording of sacred music
Pärt on song, yet somehow neglected
An icy wind of delicious sadness
Some gems

Arvo Pärt: Arbos

Manufacturer: Ecm Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Miserere
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Lamentate
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Orient & Occident

ASIN: B0000260TR
Release Date: 2000-01-25

Tracks:

Arbos
An den Wassern zu Babel
Pari Intervallo
De Profundis
Er sang vor langen Jahren
Summa
Arbos
Stabat Mater

Amazon.com essential recording

This CD features some great performances by Pärt specialists of a variety of shorter works. The clamorous Arbos for brass makes a startling opening for those who expect abstracted reverence; the lament, An den Wassern, has a startling ending that builds in intensity and volume only to break off midphrase. The static Pari Intervallo for organ leads into De Profundis, with its sense of slow but unstoppable movement (every note the same length, every measure the same rhythm). Es Sang has an unexpectedly lilting tune for solo alto, punctuated by string exclamations; Summa is a straightforward Pärt-style setting of the Credo. Arbos is repeated (this is oddly satisfying), and the disc closes with a masterpiece, the unbearably sad Stabat Mater for three voices and three strings. --Matthew Westphal

Customer Reviews:

After TABULA RASA, the next stop for fans of Part's "holy minimalism".......2007-06-22

This ECM disc is an important document of the work of Estonian composer Arvo Part, containing as it does a number of important early pieces from the composer's "tintinnabuli" phase. If the earlier TABULA RASA on the same label is the traditional entry point into this style, ARBOS is where one should head next. And as with all ECM discs, the performers are Part's hand-picked men, giving a definitive sheen to the recordings.

Those who have heard the TABULA RASA disc are familiar with "Cantus in memoriam Benjamin Britten" for bell and strings. That's a mensuration canon, where various instrumental parts play a descending scale in different speeds, but it is peaceful and contemplative. On this disc "Arbos" for 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, and percussion (1977) takes the same form, but with very different instrumentation, a faster tempo, and louder dynamics it obtains a very different sound. Those who think of Part only as a creator of calm moods will be surprised indeed by this piece which turns the basics of tintinnabuli writing towards a troubled, though fairly static, surface. The Staatsorchester Stuttgart conducted by Dennis Russell Davies gives a confident performance.

The other pieces here are performed by the Hilliard Ensemble. "Pari Intervallo" for organ (1976) does with that instrument what "Fur Alina" did with piano, display the sound of tinntinabuli in the simplest possible form. It's notable for being Part's calmest piece for organ; others are somewhat monsters.

The title of "An den Wassern zu Babel" for trombone and chamber orchestra (1986) refers to the well-known psalm, but instead of merely setting the text Part communicates the soul of the Israelites' lament though anguished vocalizations. The a capella "Summa" (1986), on the other hand, sets the Nicene Creed without any emotional edge whatsoever, letting the listener soberly listen to its theological truths, a good counter to, say, the Glagolitic Mass of Janacek.

"De Profundis" for male chorus, percussion & organ (1980) sets Psalm 130. While the chorus and percussion range everywhere through the seven-minute length of the piece, the organ maintains a slow ostinato much like in "Pari Intervallo".

Though Part usually sets Biblical or liturgical texts, "Es sang vor langen Jahren" for counter-tenor or alto with violin & viola (1984) is a setting of a poem by Clemens Brentano talking of a human lover and a nightingale. The music is fairly standard Part, though. Perhaps a little too standard, for I have a hard time enjoying this piece, which doesn't do much to stand out.

"Stabat Mater" (1987) is at 25 minutes the longest piece on the disc, and one of Part's greatest achievements. A setting of the well-known hymn, it consists of alternating sections focusing either on chorus or the violin, here performed by the great Gidon Kremer. The text telling of the Theotokos sorrowfully gazing at Christ on the Cross is, as one can expect, set solemnly indeed, but surprising are the joyful dance-like cadences led by the violin that break in.

While most of the music here is mainstream tintinnabuli, "An den Wassern zu Babel" (1976) is unusual, coming after Part's creative silence but not squaring with his new style. It displays the composer's interest in medieval music, and is closer to his Symphony No. 3 of several years previously than to "Fur Alina" written the same year and the tintinnabuli pieces that have followed.

One regrets that ECM places "Arbos" here twice--the label is infamous for rarely putting together enough material to nicely fill a disc. That and the presence of the frankly dull "Es sang for langen Jahren" causes me to subtract a star. Nonetheless, those who have heard TABULA RASA and want to head deeper into Part's singular soundworld are highly encouraged to check out this disc which, as a fellow reviewer noted, is strangely neglected.

An excellent recording of sacred music.......2007-03-22

This was the first Arvo Pärt recording I ever heard. I think that was around 1993? I heard the Stabat Mater on a long drive from Melbourne to Ballarat, where I was performing in a midday concert of Renaissance and Baroque music as a part of an Arts festival held in that great country city.
I was alone in the car, listening to ABC Classic FM, as always, and I heard all of the Statbat Mater. I was captivated by this poignant, sublime and beautiful music. The three soloists, soprano, countertenor and tenor, sing the music with great style and beauty. The melodic lines seem to be weightless and float through each other in a very graceful way. The work is accompanied by a small group of string instruments.

I bought the recording when I got back to Melbourne and it has been a favourite of mine ever since. I also bought the Hilliard Ensemble's recording of the Pärt St. John Passion, commonly known as the Passio.

Lovers of the music of John Tavener and Henryk Gorecki, who haven't heard any of Pärt's music will be in for a very pleasant surprise.

Pärt on song, yet somehow neglected.......2006-06-09

This disc, one of many ECM recordings of the music of Arvo Pärt, has often seemed to be rather neglected compared to the higher profile Tabula Rasa or Alina (just compare the number of reader reviews of those discs to this one). Yet it's a disc that contains one of the composer's finest works (Stabat Mater) and a collection of shorter pieces that show him to great advantage.

The brass-and-percussion fanfare Arbos is a brief, rapid series of descending scalic melodies overlaid in a canonic structure similar to that of Pärt's justly famous Cantus in memoriam Benjamin Britten (the sound of bells is also prominent in both works). Though much more active on the surface--and louder--than the more famous work, Arbos has the same static overall feel. It is succeeded by An den Wassern zu Babel, a setting for organ and four voices of the Waters of Babylon passage from Psalm 137. Probably the most stylistically complex work on this disc (dating from 1976, it forms a transitional work between the Third Symphony and Pärt's mature minimalism), it is unusually dissonant for the composer, and bears the influence of Sibelus and the liturgical Stravinsky as well as Pärt's love of early music. Though dating from the same year, the organ elegy Pari Intervallo is a much simpler work, slowly rocking between consonances on its serene path.

The next three works all date from the early maturity of Pärt's minimalist style. The gently ritualistic De Profundis layers triadic harmonies in the upper voices over the organ and bass voice, Es sang von langen Jahren restricts development mostly to the alto range (alto singing with the accompaniment of violin and viola), and the four-voice Summa is perhaps one of the most characteristic examples of Pärt's tintinnabular harmonies and slow-moving minimalism.

After a second performance of Arbos, the disc closes with the main focus of the disc, the Stabat Mater for three voices and string trio. This work, written for the 50th anniversary of Alban Berg's death (like another late 20th century masterpiece, Alfred Schnittke's string trio), extends the procedures of the previous works over 25 minutes--adding passages of great dramatic intensity to contrast the more minimalist sections.

Though I am far from an uncritical admirer of Pärt's work, I think this disc is an excellent selection of his music. If ultimately I have returned to the Stabat Mater much more often than the shorter works which precede it, this is as much as tribute to its qualities as to any failings on the part of the other works on the disc.

An icy wind of delicious sadness .......2004-08-17

Arvo Part creates a world where bleakness becomes almost an indulgence, and upon the first hearing of Stabat Mater you'll feel an icy wind of delicious sadness blow over your eager and expectant frown. The solo organ piece Pari Intervallo (which can also be found on the purely organ album Trivium), is a study in restrained and sterile beauty, meaning that the piece (and most of the tintinnabuli pieces) doesn't crash and bellow and forcefully announce its intent, but whispers it in cold hintings. As for myself, I will not hint: buy this album now.

Some gems.......2002-02-10

All of this music was new to me before listening to this disc. I assume the performances are definitive, so the issue is, how attractive is the music itself? To me the winner on this CD is track 4, De Profundis, almost 7 minutes of austere beauty for organ, small choir and remarkably effective percussion (bell and gong). Track 6, the Summa (Credo) is nice, but the music seems to be content to create a somewhat mystical mood, and does not reflect the text (like many mass Credos do). The major work on the disc is track 8, the Stabat Mater, a very austere piece. It has not won me over yet.

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Stravinsky the Composer, not Stravinsky the Conductor
Staggering! All the Stravinsky I'll ever need!
Magnificent!
Where's my Petrushka?
legendary

Stravinsky Conducts Stravinsky

Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Original Jacket Collection: Vladimir Horowitz
Memories and Commentaries: New One-Volume Edition

ASIN: B000031X11
Release Date: 1999-12-07

Customer Reviews:

Stravinsky the Composer, not Stravinsky the Conductor.......2006-09-18

It is a pretty good collection, lots of music from Stravinsky's entire carreer, but one must keep in mind that Stravinsky was a brilliant composer, and not a commanding maestro. You will not necessarily be getting the best recordings of these works. For example, something like the Boulez/Cleveland Rite of Spring is far superior to those in this collection. He is a vastly better conductor, and is much more capable of making the orchestra perform Stravinsky's intentions than Stravinsky is. All in all, however, I am more than glad I own this set.

Staggering! All the Stravinsky I'll ever need!.......2006-05-20

While I had heard some Stravinsky compositions prior to my purchase, this was the first (and only) Stravinsky material I have ever owned. As a young music enthusiast, the draw to me was to hear these pieces as Stravinsky conducted them and to get so many of them at such a great price, not to have the original jackets for the purpose of reminiscing. So, as someone who needed a good jump start into the works of Stravinsky (by Stravinsky), this set has proven totally invaluable. And while more information could have been packed onto these cds, I do appreciate how closely these discs have stuck to the original releases. I don't know about the portion of Petroushka which some reviewers claim is missing (as I don't know any other version), but I was totally blown away at hearing this version of Petroushka anyhow. In all, for whatever faults some sticklers may find here or there with this set, the value of this material collected in such a way (and at such a price) by far outweighs any possible faults.

Magnificent!.......2006-03-02

A great collection. There is simply no substitute for hearing Stravinsky as the great composer wanted to have his music played. Here is so much and also so varied a collection. I have been enjoying this set a great deal. One of the 20th century's greatest composers conducting his own compositions.

Where's my Petrushka?.......2003-08-01

The main reason I bought this box is because I was introduced to Stravinsky's Petrushka in the spring of 2003, and I loved it.
Along with Rite of Spring I think it's the most brilliant music Mr. Stravinsky ever wrote...so, I've been listening to the 34-minute long 1960 CSO recording of it at least once a day since I first heard it, naturally sort of memorizing it, but it didn't fit when I made this CD spin. The recording of Petrushka in this box is the VERY SAME RECORDING (1960) that I'd listened to, but it's cut to a suite! It's only 24 minutes long. You can tell it's obviously cut at certain points if you're familiar with the uncut version. 10 WHOLE MINUTES ARE MISSING FROM "PETRUSHKA!" I was (and still am) very disappointed by this.
Familiarizing myself with the rest of the discs was very fulfilling, though; I love the Ebony Concerto with the Columbia Jazz Combo featuring Benny Goodman...but the "suite-cut" of Petrushka made me paranoid...I can't be sure if anything else is edited or not...
There are 75 pages of notes in the booklet about the recordings but only 1/3 is in English.
The special multimedia feature disc is nothing much. With awful graphics it features the same notes as in the booklet, and there are lyrics for those who want to use the box for karaoke.
These 400 minutes of music (an average of 45 minutes per disc) could fit on only 5 CD's instead of 9, but it seems that this collection is made for nostaligs who will love watching and touching these tiny LP-jackets - after all, it is called the "Original Jacket Collection."
Incidentally, all of Stravinsky's recorded work which he conducted himself is not in this box. It is not at all complete; aside from the missing part of "Petrushka," his own reading of "Symphony in Three Movements" is missing (but available on CBS.)
Hats off to the man himself anyway. The music is brilliant, and considering that these recordings are 40+ years old, the sound quality is very good. Excellent stereophony on Rite of Spring!
It's a good thing that his music is still available and that people are offering refurbished products thereof. But if you love Petrushka like I do...buy the real thing...this just might disappoint you...
The 3 stars is a compromise of the music and the package; (5 stars for the music & its quality - 1 star for the package, choice of discs and--considering the price--somewhat weak linear notes.)

legendary.......2002-06-30

This 9 cd set is an historical one...more than half of Stravinsky's works are collected in this set. i clearly can say that there isn't any better recording for Stravinsky's works. especcialy first released USA's national anthem and a 12 tone work "Fanfare for two Trumpets" are remarkable.and we can also mention that some noises during the recording procces (i.e: Stravinsky's turning the page of the partition) gives a different taste to the listener. This is a real golden box of music.

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stunning

Light

Manufacturer: Ccn'c
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00005N85D
Release Date: 2001-07-24

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stunning.......2006-07-23

this is absolutely incredible - when I first heard this music the world around me ceased to exist for a time. I've heard the Misere before, but this arrangement is by far the best I've ever heard. absolutely incredible - beautiful, one cannot be too supperlative when describing this music.

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Genesis Suite

Manufacturer: Milken Archive
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Naomi & Ruth / Sacred Service for Sabbath Eve [Milken Archive of American Jewish Music]
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ASIN: B0002TNI80
Release Date: 2004-09-21

Tracks:

Prelude
Creation
Adam And Eve
Cain And Abel
The Flood
The Covenant (The Rainbow)
Babel

Amazon.com

This work might well have been the first "crossover," long before the term was invented. Seven composers living in America---all but one European emigrés, all but one Jewish---each contributed one movement to a composition for chorus, orchestra, and narrator, based on excerpts from several chapters of Genesis. The project was initiated and commissioned by the group's only American-born member, Nathaniel Shilkret, in response to a poll indicating that there was much public interest in the musical representation of the Bible. The result is a heady mixture of styles, further accentuated by the introduction of yet another participant, Patrick Russ, who was called in to reconstruct the orchestrations of three movements, the original material having been partially lost in a fire. To his great credit, his work melts indistinguishably into the style and quality of the music. The Suite's bookends are by two composers so diametrically opposed musically and personally that finding them collaborating on the same project is quite surprising. They are also the most famous and the only ones untouched by the influence of film music: Schoenberg, whose "Prelude" uses the 12-tone technique to set the mood of the primeval chaos, but ends in clear C major, and Stravinsky, who, determined to preserve the Bible's mystery, depicts the construction and destruction of the Tower of Babel in purely musical, highly contrapuntal terms, culminating in a return to chaos. The other composers, all active in Hollywood and surrounded by jazz and popular music, produce a kaleidoscope of soaring melodies, surging harmonies, and dynamic instrumental contrasts, colors and effects suitable to accompany a Biblical epic on screen. The music provides preludes, interludes, background and support for the narration, which, divided between two male and two female voices, weaves over, under and through it. The speaking, singing, and playing are excellent, but one of the female voices is seriously underbalanced. --Edith Eisler

Album Description

A MAJOR 20th-CENTURY WORK REDISCOVERED! The Genesis Suite depicts the earliest Bible stories, including the Creation, Adam and Eve, the Flood, and the Tower of Babel, narrated by distinguished actors accompanied by full orchestra and chorus. This unique collaboration of seven famous composers, most of them European exiles living in Hollywood during World War II, was performed only once, in 1945, before much of the music was lost in a fire. FULLY RESTORED from recently discovered original manuscripts, the Genesis Suite is now presented in its first modern recording.

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A must if you are a lover of Schoenberg's music
Bible Narration Set to Music By Distinguished Composers
A curiosity

The Genesis Suite

Manufacturer: Angel Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00005R60J
Release Date: 2001-11-06

Tracks:

Schoenberg: Prelude "The Earth was without form"
Shilkret: Creation
Tansman: Adam And Eve
Milhaud: Cain And Abel
Tedesco: Noah's Ark
Stravinsky: Babel
Toch: The Covenant

Amazon.com

This Hollywood project was the brainchild of Nathaniel Shilkret, a conductor and very minor composer who was a friend of Gershwin and conducted the first recording of An American in Paris. Shilkret got the idea of telling the story of Genesis by assembling a group of famous composers (and himself) to write music accompanying passages from the Bible. He got the cream of the crop: Schoenberg, Tansman, Milhaud, Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Stravinsky, and Toch. But most of them didn't provide the cream of their crops, and the experienced movie-music writers turned out things that sound like pretty good movie music, which fits well behind the narration, but doesn't hold the attention by itself. Schoenberg and Stravinsky are the exceptions, and their contributions ("Genesis Prelude" and "Babel," respectively) have had some independent life.

Edward Arnold, who played Nero Wolfe and Daniel Webster among his 150 film roles, does a decent but unremarkable job with the narration; he is recorded so close-up that he is very easy to understand. The orchestra, Hollywood film musicians getting a chance to play "real" music, sounds extremely good, and the small chorus sings its minor parts well. The recording, from 1946, holds up surprisingly well. Overall, this is more a curiosity than a major artistic experience. But if you're interested in hearing it, grab it now. Things like this don't last long in the catalogs, and the old Capitol LP incarnation was selling for $100 and up before this CD came out. --Leslie Gerber

Customer Reviews:

A must if you are a lover of Schoenberg's music.......2004-12-23

The sound is vintage mono but more than acceptable. The music, contributed by several composers, is a uneven. The concept (a soundtrack to The Book of Genesis) is a corny, BUT if you admire Schoenberg, one of the most revolutionary and truly great composers of ths 20th century, then you have to have this CD, even if the Schoenberg section, the Prelude, only lasts about five minutes. This is the only place you are going to find a recorded version of this obscure work, although Schoenberg's Preslude did receive an opus number. I have heard reports that DG is coming out with a new recording of the suite, but this recording is special because of its historical-document nature. The Prelude is good solid Schoenberg.

Bible Narration Set to Music By Distinguished Composers.......2001-11-27

It is a delight to see a reissue of this unusual piece whose contribution by Schoenberg was described privately by Shilkret, who commissioned the work, as "too futuristic to be appreciated." Hopefully, in the 56 years since this evaluation was made, the future has arrived. The music was so much out of the ordinary that reviews differed widely. Schoenberg's contribution was praised in MUSICAL REVIEWS as creating "an intense emotional response, delineated with brilliant clarity,'' and in the LOS ANGELES TIMES it was described as "starkly simple." Slonimsky, in MUSIC SINCE 1900, expressed a strong preference for "Creation," "one of the engaging sections of the work. . . by Nathaniel Shilkret."
The instrumental track was recorded by Werner Janssen on December 11, 1945. Janssen was one of the leading conductors of his time. He was an academy award nominee for a best musical score and the first native-born New Yorker to conduct the New York Philharmonic.
Edward Arnold recorded an accompanying narration in 1946, and Artist Records issued the combined tracks as album JS10. Due to problems with Artist, the album was to be reissued, and Janssen conceived of having Franklin Roosevelt or Winston Churchill do the narration; both declined. Capitol Records chose a clergyman, Ted Osborne, and, in December 1950, he recorded a new narration. Capitol combined the new narration with the original instrumental track, changed the order of the pieces (Schoenberg's contribution was placed last by Artist and restored to its original number one position by Capitol), and issued the new combination as album P8125, reissued with excellent sound restoration as CD 67729.
All of the composers were the finest of the day. Shilkret, mistakenly described in a review by Leslie Gerber as a "very minor composer," composed hundreds of pieces (over ten thousand if incidental motion picture music and radio arrangements are counted), including "Jeannine, I Dream of Lilac Time," which sold almost two million copies of sheet music, the academy-award-nominated score to the movie "Winterset," and his most popular song, "Lonesome Road," recorded by over a hundred top artists, including Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby, Tommy Dorsey, Al Hirt, Chet Atkins, Trini Lopez, the Four Seasons, and Paul Robeson. The 1927 song has survived well enough than more than ten CD's have included a "Lonesome Road" track, with more soon to be released.
This album should have appeal to two audiences: first, those interested in a biblical narrative, which is enhanced here by pleasant music, and, second, those interested in hearing the work of top composers of the era performed by a top conductor of the era.

A curiosity.......2001-11-21

I had heard of the Genesis Suite years ago when first exploring the music of Schoenberg and Stravinsky and heard their contributions. Not ever seeing a copy of the LP and knowing it is quite rare, I snapped up this recording. I can see why it has languished in obscurity since the '40s. The Schoenberg is excellent as is the Stravinsky. A rank below that is the Toch,Tansman and Milhaud. The rest is pretty bottom drawer with the contribution of "Creation" by the "arranger" Shilkret almost intolerable. Get it if you want your curiosity satisfied. Surprisingly good sound with some surface noise.

Average customer rating:

Good introduction to Schuetz
why?
Schutz as He Never Intended
One of the best Schutz anthologies on disc.

Schütz: Psalmen Davids

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Magnificats | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Motets | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Psalms | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

4-for-3 Classical | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music

4-for-3 All Music | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music
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Rameau: Orchestral Suites (vol. 1)
Gesualdo: Complete Sacred Music for Five Voices
Dunstable: Sweet Harmony - Masses and Motets
Buxtehude: Seven Sonatas, Op. 1

ASIN: B00000143K
Release Date: 1996-11-05

Tracks:

Psalmen Davids: An den Wassern zu Babel: Der 137. Psalm (SWV 37)
Psalmen Davids: Ach Herr, straf mich nicht mit deinem Zorn: Der 6. Psalm (SWV 24)
Psalmen Davids: Erhore mich, wenn ich rufe (SWV 289)
Psalmen Davids: Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied: Der 98. Psalm (SWV 35)
Psalmen Davids: Wohl dem, der nicht wandelt im Rat der Gottlosen: Der 1. Psalm (SWV 28)
Psalmen Davids: Ich liege und schlafe (SWV 310)
Psalmen Davids: Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen: Der 84. Psalm (SWV29)
Psalmen Davids: Lobe den Herren, meine Seele: Der 103. Psalm, Konzert (SWV 39)
Pavan: Suite XII
Psalmen Davids: Das ist je gewisslich wahr (SWV 277)
Pavan: Suite XVII
Psalmen Davids: Meine Seele erhebt den Herren: Deutsches Magnificat (SWV 494)

Customer Reviews:

Good introduction to Schuetz.......2004-06-03

This recording is a good introduction to the work of Heinrich Schuetz. The excerpts from Psalmen Davids are well-chosen examples of his work. Summerly and his group perform the works gracefully and intimately. The inclusion of Schein's organ pieces is a plus since it cuts the monotony of motet after motet. If you have never heard Schuetz's lovely music, this is a good place to start. My favorite piece on the disc is "Erhoere mich", a duet for two sopranos and continuo. The sopranos, Carys Anne Lane and Rebecca Outram have remarkably clear and vibratoless voices. They blend very well together and with the organ continuo. I also enjoy listening to "Singet dem Herr ein neues Lied." This recording made me want to listen to more Schuetz. At this price, you don't want to pass up this recording.

why?.......2003-04-07

Why didn't Summerly record all 26 psalms? the work is far from being satisfied!!!

Schutz as He Never Intended.......2000-03-18

From a strictly vocal perspective, this recording is perfectly fine. I bought it with the sumptuous sonorities of Venice in mind, however, which is what Schutz had in mind when he wrote the Psalmen Davids. What Summerly delivers is a minimalist version where the instrumental accompaniment is limited to a continuo organ which cannot possibly supply the added dimensions Schutz intended to incorporate through the use of instrumental parts. For those who want to hear the legacy of Schutz' experience in Venice with Gabrieli in these wonderful works, they would do well to look to another recording, perhaps the version done by Musica Fiata.

One of the best Schutz anthologies on disc........1998-09-16

Apart from being well performed this is also a well thought out selection. Half the tracks on this CD, 6 out of 12, are taken from Schutz' 1619 Opus "Psalms of David", large-scale polychoral settings following his teacher Gabrieli's model. They are performed sensitively here and counterposed with lighter works (such as the soprano duet "Erhore mich wenn ich rufe" and the bass solo "Ich liege und schlafe", both taken from the Kleine Geistliche Konzerte II of 1639). The program concludes with Schutz' graveside memorial motet to his friend Schein framed with a couple of Schein's pavans on either side, and then the final Magnificat from his own swansong opus. 64'08" playing time, full texts and translations. And all this at a sub-budget price.

Average customer rating:

Quatro virtuoses brasileiros da musica instrumental e Marlui

Babel
Pau Brasil
Manufacturer: Blue Jackel Ent.
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Brazil | South & Central America | International | Styles | Music

General | International | Styles | Music

General | Latin Music | Styles | Music

Brazilian Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

World Dance | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | International | Indie Music | Stores | Music
ASIN: B000005AHR
Release Date: 1997-03-18

Tracks:

Ka Ka
Fabula
Tres Segredos
Olho D'Agua
Babel
Uluri
Cordiheira
Tocaia
Festa Na Rua

Customer Reviews:

Quatro virtuoses brasileiros da musica instrumental e Marlui.......2004-12-04

..what can I say first, for used copies at less than $1 US dolare, why not purchase this CD , Pau Brasil marries the folcloric musics of both Amazonia and Africa with the sounds roots of jazz , rendered by some of the finest musicians in Brasil that are almost unknown on the big stake of land to the north! (How sad that is!)

Ze Eduardo and Lelo Nazario , of the legendary "Grupo Um", on drums/percussives and teclados/piano respectively ,
saxofones and flutes of both European/indigenous origin from maestro Teco Cardoso,
and steady and innovative bass (electric and the 'wood') by the much in demand Rodolfo Stroeter accompany the glorious voice of Marlui Miranda (also on violao and flutes),this recording is an inventive meeting of the contemporary (jazz/musica popular brasileira) and the traditional world. I hope some of these names rings the bell with anyone reading this review,I can dream, can't I!)

Instrumentation linked to urban culture collides joyously with sounds cultivated from Amazon nature, the ritmo of the African 'congada'- cultural diversity as a source of permanent beauty, as the Pau Brasil feel it!

For those 'in the know', 'Pau Brasil' is the name " brasilwood" , but to emfasize the connection of musics with nature is not to write this recording off as some "new age" snores, you must know the fine pedigree of the musicians in Pau Brasil, as they all are complete masters of sound/texture/harmony, and exhibit restraint and respect in this particular musical 'mission'.

Pau Brasil opens doors to all who are devoted to jazz, MPB, and spritual sounds of transcendence, much necessary in this ever chaotic world which we exist!

O efeito eh espetacular ainda mais !

And for the intrepid, try to find some of the recordings of Teco and Lelo , so far , currently not avaliable at Amazon.

enjoy..

Average customer rating:

Babel
Gabriel Yacoub
Manufacturer: Chantons Sous Truie
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | International | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000023XER
Release Date: 1997-10-21

Tracks:

Babel
Pluie d'Elle
Pos
Desir
Je Suis le Vent
Eau le Feu et Toi
Je Vais Lentement
Mes Mains
Jours de Loire
Reve A-Demi
Sombre Valse/Babel Waltz

Average customer rating:

Donaueschinger Musiktage 2001

Manufacturer: Col Legno
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Compilations | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Classical | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00008ZL6I
Release Date: 2003-04-22

Tracks:

Konzert Fvier, Orchester und Electronics
Polyskopie ) Musik Fes Orchester) - Michel van der Aa
Impolosion (Fhester)

Tracks:

Here (To Be Found) (Fmmen, Kammerorchester und Soundtrack)
Orpheus' B(Fmmen und Orchester)
N.N. (File Kr-Stimmen und Station Instrumente)

Music Review:

Music Review

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