For the Season

for the season

Track Listings

1. Ecks Em Eye

2. Peregrine Downstream

3. Cuerpos Haran Amor Extrano

4. Down with Jesus

5. Big Engine Nazi Kid Daydream

6. Year Zero

7. Nonstop Tape

8. Medication #4

9. Skin Mass Cat

10. Pick Up Your Raygun

11. Mademoiselle of the Morning

12. For the Season

For the Season,The Gris Gris,Birdman,Garage Rock Revival,Neo-Psychedelia,Pop,Rock,Rock/Pop

For the Season

Average customer rating:

ok, THIS is Loreena McKennitt's CHRISTMAS Album
Great Artist!
wonderful
a winter garden
beautiful!

A Winter Garden: Five Songs for the Season
Loreena McKennitt
Manufacturer: Quinlan Road
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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An Ancient Muse
The Visit
To Drive the Cold Winter Away
Parallel Dreams
The Mask and Mirror

ASIN: B000002N3H
Release Date: 1995-11-07

Tracks:

Coventry Carol
God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
Good King Wenceslas
Snow
Seeds Of Love

Amazon.com

Loreena McKennitt's "songs for the season" are haunting for their beauty and her fascinating voice. Blending traditional Irish music with worldbeat and New Age-like instrumentation, McKennitt's arrangements are at once elegant and eloquent, enchanting and familiar, whether she's singing "Coventry Carol," "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen," or "Good King Wenceslas." "Snow," adapted from a 19th-century poem, and the traditional "Seeds of Love" are so lofty and deep they reach almost mystical places. --Martin Keller

Customer Reviews:

ok, THIS is Loreena McKennitt's CHRISTMAS Album.......2007-06-16

Everyone considers Loreena McKennitt's "To Drive the Cold Winter Away" her Christmas album. I ask people not to call it that, it is more than that, it is music for the whole season from leaf-fall to buds and sprouts in the spring.

This, then, is her Christmas album. Although short, at only five songs, it is a well thought-out album, and a definite "Must-Have" and a "Keeper". The songs here are wonderful, not your standard fare for Christmas, so it is a fresh experience, something always welcome with music for this time of the year, don't you think? Her accompanyment, here, is harp only, so everything is light and open, just right, and soothing after all the crash and bang regular Christmas music......I mean, how many times can one listen to Silver Bells, Jingle Bells, and Here Comes Santa Claus before you just wanna scream "STOP!", huh?

Pick this album up, take it home, and slip in between some other Christmas albums, and be prepared to go "WOW!....That's Nice!", and to also find a new favorite Christmas album. ~operabruin

Great Artist!.......2007-05-14

This is an awesome holiday / winter / Christmas CD. It is short (only 5 songs) but it is full of voice and enough to set the mood perfectly. Not traditional versions of the songs, but none the less beautiful.

wonderful.......2007-01-20

This is THE Christmas album to have.Loreena McKennitt's hauntingly beautiful voice and the wonderful arrangements of traditional Christmas songs has made this our most listened to Christmas album in the last few years.I like to play this album any time of the year as it is very peaceful and relaxing to hear.

a winter garden.......2007-01-11

I love Loreena McKennitts' music. this CD is very melodic in a Celtic way. the music on this CD is also very mellow listening. I love the rhythms of the instruments used.

beautiful!.......2006-12-31

The only reason I gave this item "4 stars" is because it only has the 5 songs on it - I wish it had more. However, it's still worth buying. The songs are hauntingly beautiful, in McKennitt's signature style. If you enjoy her music, this album won't disappoint. I recommend it! :-)

Average customer rating:

The funniest Schickele piece ever!
P D Q on form again
beware of the organ cadenza!
Another assault to your funny bone!
PDQ Bach at his best (worst)

1712 Overture & Other Musical Assaults

Manufacturer: Telarc
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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The Wurst of P.D.Q. Bach
Oedipus Tex & Other Choral Calamities
Music for an Awful Lot of Winds and Percussion
P.D.Q. Bach: The Short-Tempered Clavier
P.D.Q. Bach in Houston - We Have a Problem!

ASIN: B000003CVW
Release Date: 1989-06-13

Tracks:

Introduction
1712 Overature
Introduction
Bach Portrait
Introduction
Capriccio La Pucelle De New Orleans (The Maid Of New Orleans)
Introduction
Minuet Militaire
Introduction
Prelude To Einstein On The Fritz
Introduction
I. Prologue (Bottomless Sorrow; Topless Gaiety)
II. The Lamentations Of Jerry Maja
III. Finale: Special Deliverance

Customer Reviews:

The funniest Schickele piece ever!.......2006-05-23

My experience with the 1712 Overture is similar to Victoria's (in another review). I was listening to the car radio when I heard the dissonant pile-up halfway through, and almost drove off the Interstate.

It should be noted that the Amazon listing is incorrect. The 1712 Overture is in reality conducted by "Walter Bruno" who is actually David Zinman. It is most assuredly not conducted by Bruno Walter (can you imagine that?), who died in 1962.

Highly recommended.

P D Q on form again.......2005-07-20

P D Q has quite a cult following among the 'cognoscenti', and others may know some of his works without being aware of it or why. Much of this is fun listening if you have that kind of mind &/or background, and has the virtual ring of period authenticity.
Classical music, like any living corpus of cultural tradition (eg religion, sport & politics) should be well capable of laughing at itself. Others have done so successfully (Hoffnung, Spike Jones, the Comedy Harmonists et al.) and PDQ follows in a worthy & rollicking tradition!

beware of the organ cadenza!.......2005-05-18

This is my favourite PDQ Bach collection. The 1712 Overture alone is worth the price of admission. The use of the motif from 'I Ain't Got No Home' is inspired and the skewering of 'Day Tripper' reduces me to helpless giggles every time.

Einstein on the Fritz is a tonic to anyone sick of the pretentious meanderings of Philip Glass, Taverner et al. And Cappricio La Poucelle de New Orleans (engineered by Burt Bach, a living direct decendant of JS Bach) is frighteningly intense, as well as hysterical. These musicians are also terrific - the pieces wouldn't work at all otherwise. And who couldn't love the rapturous intro to The Preachers of Crimetheous - featuring the most incredible percussion playing since Ginger Baker's 'Toad'.

All in all, this is a completely ridiculous delight!

Another assault to your funny bone!.......2004-04-12

P Schickele does it yet again! He successfullly skewers the classics again. My personal fave is Einstein On The Fritz, where he does a wonderful job of spoofing Philip Glass.....Only the Prof. is so twisted as to be able to sneak in 'Three Blind Mice" in the middle of a Glassian composition!

PDQ Bach at his best (worst).......2001-11-13

Mr. Schickele is a genius, he's taken music history and disgraced it, apocryphally!
the 1712 overture pokes fun at just about every type of music out there, and what the 1712 doesn't defile, the rest of the tracks on this CD pick up the slack.

This incredibly irreverent album is a must for music lovers everywhere!

Get yourself a copy! You won't be disappointed!

Inventions for the New Season
Average customer rating:
Inventions for the New Season
Maserati
Manufacturer: Temporary Residence
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Mirrored

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ASIN: B000PSJCSS
Release Date: 2007-06-19

Tracks:

Inventions
12/16
Kalimera
Synchronicity IV
This Is a Sight We Had One Day From the High Mountain
Show Me the Season
Kalinichta
The World Outside

Album Description

Maserati features members of !!!, LCD Soundsystem, The Juan Maclean, and Turning Machine. "Inventions" is a sweaty, delirious mix of mid-to-late 70s Pink Floyd, German psych-rock, Krautrock, and mid-80s action film scores. It drags the glory years of psychedelic arena rock kicking and screaming into the 21st Century, with the pomposity (and vocals) carefully removed. The mix is pushed firmly in the red, giving the songs a white-knuckled energy that, coupled with the ethereal guitar theatrics, puts one foot on the dance floor and the other on the ocean floor. For fans of Neu, Battles, Pink Floyd, Trans Am.

Average customer rating:

One of the great Classics!
hilarity in music
Irreverent hilarity
I am a PDQ junkie!
Brilliant parody

Oedipus Tex & Other Choral Calamities

Manufacturer: Telarc
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000003CWP
Release Date: 1990-09-25

Tracks:

Introduction
I. Prologue: Tragedy
Recitative: Well
II. Aria: Howdy There
Recitative: And It Wasn't Long
III. Duet: My Heart
Recitative: But
IV. Aria: You Murdered Your Father
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I. Recitative: Knock, Knock
II. Recitative: How Many Psychiatrists
III. Recitative: What Is The Question?
VI. Recitative: So This Guy
Introduction
Birthday Ode To 'Big Daddy Bach'

Customer Reviews:

One of the great Classics!.......2006-08-03

Oedipus Tex & Other Choral Calamities is one of the must haves from PDQ Bach. This album has some of his best stuff on it including the title tracks and one of the funniest songs he has composed "classical rap" this is well worth one's time to check out.

hilarity in music.......2002-10-25

Virtually every CD that Peter Schickele has put out under the name of PDQ Bach has been absolutely hilarious. This is one of his best albums - it will have you in stitches in no time flat.

"Oedipus Tex," the title piece, is a stunning parody of (of course) Sophocles "Oedipus Rex" - from the line "the gods are ticked off and now someone must pay" to the ending chorus of "the eyes of Texas are upon you" (set to the tune of "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring"), the piece is one of the funniest things I have ever heard.

"Classical Rap" - this track alone is worth the whole cost of the album. This "Yuppie" rap combines the stereotypes of rap music with Vivaldi and Bach, and has as its setting the upper West side of Manhattan.

"Knock Knock Cantata" - some of the worst jokes you'll ever hear set to some of the worst music you'll ever hear. The combination of text and setting is really hilarious - talk about form meeting content.

"Birthday Ode for Big Daddy Bach" - the more you know about music, the funnier this piece is.

BUY THIS CD.

Irreverent hilarity.......2002-08-09

Oedipus Tex is both my favorite Country/Western ballad and one of my favorite oratorios!

Classical Rap is, IMHO, the only Rap piece worth listening to.

This is one of "The Bad Boy of Classical Music", Peter Schickele's best recordings.

I am a PDQ junkie!.......2002-08-08

This was my first PDQ recording and it has kept me coming back for more.My father who hates music even LOVES it!It does take a special musician or music lover to appreciate the genius of such a man as Peter Shickele. Being a musician, I have performed numerous PDQ works in the past and they are extremely difficult.Oedipus Tex is by far the most ingenious album created, in my belief, in as far as its contents and musical professionalism.

Brilliant parody.......1999-10-16

Oedipus Tex is a brilliant parody... I had a teacher listen to it once and then it circulated around the entire English department. "Classical Rap" is a wonderful piece as well.

Average customer rating:

Enjoyment of old Russian liturgical nusic
Finally, a recording I can sing along with!
Good Music from Russia
Great CD
Well Below the Bass Range

Basso Profondo From Old Russia

Manufacturer: Russian Season Fr.
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00000JQGJ
Release Date: 1999-08-10

Customer Reviews:

Enjoyment of old Russian liturgical nusic.......2007-01-09

The Basso Profundo recording reminds one of the recordings of Tibetan Monks in chant and is very stirring.

Finally, a recording I can sing along with!.......2006-11-04

As a low bass and wannabe octavist, I really enjoy singing along with this recording. Luckily, I have performed the Rachmaninov "All Night Vigil", Tchaikovshy "Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom", and other works in Old Church Slavonic, so the words are mostly familiar.

I still find it amazing that these singers can make notes in the midrange still sound low! Enjoy!

Good Music from Russia.......2005-07-21

This CD is very good for those who like orthodox music. Buy it!

Great CD.......2003-03-02

I have done a good bit of research on basso profundo's, contrabasses, etc and these guys seem to be lower than any I've heard. The soloist on "Do Not Reject Me In My Old Age" has a full voiced G1, below low bass C which he hits a number of times on the CD. Very amazing recording... good musically, not the VERY best choir I've ever heard or anything, but definetly good. Russian music is great, many of the tracks are very dark musically, but there are some more majestic tracks, and a few tracks that sound kinda militaristic.

Well Below the Bass Range.......2002-01-15

The music on this CD won't be to everyone's liking, but the unique sound of the voice of a "basso profundo" or "octavist"
is a musical rarity that shouldn't be missed. These basses have a gripping effect, with a timbre resembling that of an organ's pedal tones. These basses can sing the low A below the bass range. They are, simply, extraordinarily powerful voices. Savor the unearthly sound of them. Who knows - you might just get to like Russian polyphonic liturgical chant, as well.

Average customer rating:

Mass of the Children
A Brilliant Masterpiece
Britten-lite :(
Outstanding!
Beautiful!

Mass of the Children

Manufacturer: Collegium
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0000BX5K6
Release Date: 2003-09-01

Tracks:

Mass of the Children
Look at the world (1996)
To every thing there is a season (1997)
Wings of the morning(2002)
A Clare Benediction (1998)
I will sing with the spirit (1994)
Musica Dei donum (1998)
I my Best-Beloveds am (2000)
Come down, O Love divine (1998)

Album Description

This is the FIRST ALL NEW RECORDING OF JOHN RUTTER'S MUSIC IN TEN YEARS! "Mass of the Children was written in late 2002 and early 2003. The occasion of its first performance in February 2003 was a concert in New York's Carnegie Hall involving children's choir, adult choir, soprano and baritone soloists, and orchestra. I had always wanted to write a work combining children's choir with adult performers, not only because I find the sound of children's voices irresistible but also because I wanted to repay a debt. As a boy soprano in my school choir I had been thrilled whenever our choir took part in adult works with children's choir parts, such as the Mahler Third Symphony and the Britten War Requiem, and years later I remembered this experience and wanted to write something that would give children a similar opportunity to perform alongside adult professionals". From the notes - John Rutter

Customer Reviews:

Mass of the Children.......2006-03-24

My daughter is performing this work with her high school chorale. She is the main listener, and is totally enamored with this particular recording.

A Brilliant Masterpiece.......2005-12-24

After being able to perform this piece myself, I know that is is just amazing! I reccomend it to anyobdy who likes spiritual, uplifting music.
Nice work, Mr. Rutter!

Britten-lite :(.......2005-03-30

I contemplated on this 3-star rating for a bit, especially after reading all the 4- to 5-star ratings preceding this. John Rutter is a terrific and charismatic choral conductor and writer. His editing on Fauré's Requiem really galvanized the popularity of that work, not to mention his own very heart-felt Requiem setting as well. Speaking of Requiem settings, my bone to pick about the "Mass of the Children" work is such that it emulates (albeit in a heart-felt and sincere fashion) other large-scale works that involve orchestral, treble and mixed choruses, very specifically Benjamin Britten's unforgettable War Requiem. I couldn't help but feel a bit slighted by the last few pages of "Mass of the Children" and its much diluted rendition of the War Requiem's counterpart conclusion. I think those famliar w/ the Britten will know what I mean. It's hard not to draw a comparison because the similarities are striking yet determinedly contrived.

In any case, I do understand that the participants and "target audience" are perhaps less lofty than that of the Britten. According to the score inscription, this was "written at the inviation of Peter Tiboris and MidAmerica Productions."

There are other anthems on this CD that offer a nice addition. I think the Clare Benediction is a stand-out as a great latter-Rutter anthem, with a characteristically satisfying, fluent and "inevitable" cadences towards the end.

Outstanding!.......2004-12-27

As an avid choral enthusiast, and having performed The Mass of the Children, I can say that this is one of Rutter's finest works. Without a doubt, Rutter truly allows his soul to shine through in this masterpiece. The children's choir is fabulous, and the music gives me chill bumps whenever I hear it. I highly recommend this album!

Beautiful!.......2004-09-11

I sing with my school choir, and was blessed to be able to perform the Mass of the Children with the school. It is a beautiful mass-- the lightness of the childrens voices with the power of the adult choirs make a moving and powerful mass. The orchestra is stunning, just enough to add beauty to the piece. Rutter's Mass of the Children is a must-have for any person who enjoys this type of music.

Average customer rating:

Trite Not Treat
"Before the sh*t, there was a mighty fine meal" - W.A. Mozart
Cage for people who don't like modern music
In A Landscape = unmatched beauty
Great for old and new listeners

John Cage: In a Landscape

Manufacturer: RCA
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000003EL7
Release Date: 1995-01-10

Tracks:

In A Landscape
Music For Marcel Duchamp
Souvenir
A Valentine Out Of Season
Suite For Toy Piano
Bacchanale
Prelude For Meditation
Dream

Customer Reviews:

Trite Not Treat.......2006-02-23

There is a common assumption, particularly among the musical literati, that if a piece is novel, obscure, extremely simple, unchromatic or simply weird, it must, by definition, be quality material. Sheer novelty trumps quality. I am reminded of having to hunker down at the Symphony as the conductor launches into an extended "explanation" on why this next piece may not have a melody, discernable beat, nor employ "ordinary" instruments, yet is still a fine piece of art. (Chances are the majority of comments will be along the lines of, "What in the world was that thing with bongo drums & basketballs?"

I am the first to admit the artistry, perhaps musicality of Cage even when he takes himself AND his music too seriously. At least we did not have to "listen" to 4'33". One reviewer was correct - this is perhaps the most accessible offering of the entire ouevre. It is...interesting in a childish sort of way, sort of like someone who learns that hitting notes on a keyboard results in sounds or better, is playing just to hear the sounds that can be produced. DREAM perfectly expresses the mood of this CD (which is wonderful as party backgroup music) with its enigmatic, almost shy explorations. The tracks are united by an almost wordless fear of being closely examined. A few contain a nice rhythmic drive, others remind one of that godawful New Age stuff heard on public radio occasionally. The CD is compelling only if one takes their music with a huge dollop of tenuousness.

"Before the sh*t, there was a mighty fine meal" - W.A. Mozart.......2006-02-01

The bigger sin would be to have been born before Bach and bitch about the dearth of music celebrating things other than mankind's moribundity. We listeners - and listeners of greater rotundity, too - must wade backward through some rather insensible attempts to make music of the kind that might be called classical. Very generally our near contemporaries have either soaked us all heavy with a riptide of sentimentality or made of mockery of sound so effectively that we have all soaked them with our unceasing flows of laughter.

Before Picasso was making a bloody mess of things he was making something approximating art; and in between those conical eyes and angular breasts I can nearly find the remnants of that once sane man. John Cage had me in stitches for a time when I had the patience and credulity to stop long enough to listen. He reminded me that the piano was a percussive instrument - one to be hardly banged upon in the chorus of creation and muse.

Between then and the very moment I received `In a Landscape' John Cage was merely a mark of reference denoting that point at which I stopped taking his work and my life too seriously. But `In a Landscape' - or as I spooneristically name it, "In a Cage" - is something unlike the curious Cage and something more than the mere "bleats beyond the reckoning table."

Though I have no faith in my own estimation of what is good or deserving of praise, I do know what I hate; AND THIS I DO NOT HATE. `Landscape' is - I think - a collection of sparse and haunting melodies that seems to fit well with me when reading Joseph Campbell's "Hero" or Richard Feynman's "6 Easy Pieces." `In a Landscape' is to my ear almost great. I think this is so because I tend to lean in when I listen, and this "leaning in" is a gesture I've never offered John Cage or his music when stuck between him and his variations.

Cage for people who don't like modern music.......2004-01-25

Stephen Drury has been a great servant of John Cage's music for many years, mostly recording for small labels such as Mode (who honoured him by putting him, along with Irvine Arditti, on their 100th release). In this, one of Drury's few recordings for a major label, he concentrates on Cage's more accessible music, for piano, prepared piano (a piano with objects placed on the strings to turn it into something between a piano and a percussion instrument), organ and even a toy piano.

In A Landscape is a 1948 work in which simple Satiesque melodies are played on a piano with the sustaining pedal held down, creating a soft haze of harmonies. This could easily be simple kitsch, but Cage's careful musical judgement allows the music to be sonically beautiful without degenerating into New Age mush. Music for Marcel Duchamp, a 1947 film soundtrack for prepared piano, takes a single melodic line and spins it out intriguingly, insistent rhythms mollified by soft modal harmonies and long silences. Souvenir, a 1983 organ composition, continues the Satiesque aesthetic with its gentle progress, repetitions and modal harmonies. It is certainly sonically beautiful, though I find it goes on a little too long for my taste.

A Valentine Out Of Season is a set of three brief pieces for prepared piano, written in 1944 (the title refers to the break-up of Cage's marriage). The first piece is slow and chromatic, the second a vigorously rhythmic dance and the last combines the characteristics of the two preceding pieces. Rather slighter is the 1948 Suite for Toy Piano, which makes about as much music as can be made from an instrument with only nine notes. A major contrast to this is the 1940 Bacchanale, Cage's first work for prepared piano, a vigorous, repetitive dance that keeps suddenly losing its rhythmic vigour, then recovering it.

The disc ends with two slow pieces. The brief, white-note Prelude for Meditation was written for prepared piano in 1944 and is Satiesque in its rhythmic and harmonic restraint. Dream, a 1948 piano piece, returns to the atmosphere of In A Landscape, though I don't think it's quite as striking as that piece.

With the exception of In A Landscape, I would regard the works on this disc as minor rather than major Cage. Nonetheless, Drury's sympathetic performance approach brings out the best in these attractive pieces, and this disc would make a very good first taste of Cage for listeners of a more conservative bent.

In A Landscape = unmatched beauty.......2003-05-29

In my opinion, John Cage's In A Landscape is THE most beautiful peice for piano of absolute all time. Never has there been a classical peice for this instrument that truely got to me personally than this. And never will there ever be. In A Landscape goes beyond 'music' and is an entity in itself that speaks on many levels. It's so simple and yet is so powerful. This is a must for any music lover or/and a person who would like to get to know the many works of John Cage.

Great for old and new listeners.......2002-08-04

...For a new listener this album is perfect. It's beautiful, and accessible and just all around pleasing to listen to. The piece "In A Landscape" is the first piece I play for anyone who says they don't like John Cage. They're usually sold within the first 30 seconds of the piece. The ambience and simplicity of this piece is so striking, but Cage's take on harmony (which is especially challenging in a piece that's so focused on melody) keeps the piece from sounding new age.
Anyone just starting out with John Cage, start here. If this strikes you well, check out "Music For Changes" and then the Sonatas and Interludes for prepared piano. Beyond that I highly encourage anyone to do some research, read some of Cage's writings, especially a collection of essays and lectures titled "Silence." As his life progresses, his music becomes more minimal and disjointed, and his words really strike down exactly what it is he's trying to accomplish with his music, and that really helps the listener.
For listeners that are already very familiar with Cage's work, this still isn't a waste. These recordings are a great collection of some nice Cage pieces that don't get as much attention, and is still a really pleasing album to listen to.

Average customer rating:

Very good - especially great are the liturgical additions
On the right track
Not bad
Rachmaninoff's Vsenoshnaya
A heavenly message

Rachmaninov: Vespers

Manufacturer: Russian Season Fr.
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00000652Y
Release Date: 1998-02-10

Tracks:

Vespers: Come, Let Us Bow Before The Lord
Vespers: Bless The Lord, O My Soul
Vespers: Blessed Is The Man
Vespers: Peaceful Light
Vespers: Lord, Now Lettest Thou Thy Servant Depart (Nunc Dimittis)
Vespers: Rejoice, Virgin (Ave Maria)
Vespers: Hexapsalm
Vespers: Praise The Name Of The Lord
Vespers: Blessed Art Thou, Lord
Vespers: Having Beheld Christ's Resurrection
Vespers: My Soul Doth Magnify The Lord (Magnificat)
Vespers: The Greater Doxology (Gloria In Excelsis)
Vespers: Trope: The Day Of Our Salvation
Vespers: Risen From The Dead
Vespers: Praise To The Mother of God

Customer Reviews:

Very good - especially great are the liturgical additions.......2006-12-28

Having the liturgical introductions really helps accentuate the mood of what surely is Eastern Orthodoxy's greatest musical masterpiece!

Otherwise, the performance is very good but not quite to my taste (admittedly molded on the Shaw recording {which I find has its full share of fast and lively sections, contrary to what some think...} - which one I'll still recommend as the optimal!), notably on account of its not precisely sticking to Old-Church Slavonic as a language (see my revised comments for Shaw for more discussion thereof). Nevertheless, there's much to learn from it and is to be warmly recommended

On the right track.......2002-09-14

Ah, here you get the the soul, the chernomir in true Slavic church music. This rendition takes on a depth missing from the technically more accurate singing of Western choirs; but it does not POSSESS that depth all the time. For a recording that does, try and get your hands on a copy of the Melodiya label performance conducted by Aleksandr Sveshnikov back in the old Soviet days. It will leave you in a tingling sweat.

Not bad.......2002-01-23

This was a Russian performance of Vespers, which is always good, and it was a "good" recording considering the difficulty of the piece.

There were three problems I had with it: the tenor soloist was slightly flat on several occasions, the chorus itself seemed strained at some points (especially the sopranos)(why can't they use boys and countertenors?) and even flat at other times, and the recording quality itself sounded muddled (not always the singers' fault).

There were three things I really liked about this recording: the distinctly Russian sound to the tones and intonations of the vespers, the soft non-operatic qualities of the soloists (as it should be in Russian church music), and of course the exceptional quality of the basses. The basses had the best range I've ever heard. They hit the low B flat in "Now let thy servant depart" with no trouble at all. The quality of their sound was also quite good, although sometimes they sounding a little yawning (but this was no noticeable problem).

Just as a bit of info, opening prayers are at the beginning of many of the pieces which added a touch of realism to the whole thing. All in all, taking everything into account, I gave this four out of five stars. I actually preferred the recent recording done by King's College despite the fact that their basses were not quite as low, because the clarity and quality of sound was so much better. The balance in the King's college recording was also slightly better.

Rachmaninoff's Vsenoshnaya.......2001-11-03

This performance of the All Night Vigil is excellent. The tempos are great they never get too slow and the contrast in the pieces is excellent. Furthermore, the blend of the choir is impressive. I preferred this recording to others because the language is clear and authentic. The piece in sung in Old Church Slavonic which is a little different from Russian.

It is a misnomer to call this piece Vespers since Vespers represents only the first part of the service. The best pieces are those based on Kievan chants and Znamenny chants, which originated in Ukraine.

A heavenly message.......2001-01-22

Not very many people know that Rachmaninov, besides his career as a pianist and a composer of symphonic music, was also perhaps _the_ outstanding inspiration for Russian Orthodox sacred music. The most famous works are of course the Easter Vespers (great evening and morning laud) op. 37 presented here, and the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, op. 31.

The very special in these settings is that Rachmaninov writes choral music in graet complexity with rich harmonic structures, thereby always keeping touch with the "folk" type original unison choral tunes (taken from the liturgic tradition or being original compositions).

The St. Petersburg Cappella is outstanding in the performance of this recording, combining the skills of an technically well-trained choir (just listen at the dynamical range in the fourth piece) with something that makes the music still sound "natural". In addition, the sung invocations at the beginning of some of the pieces represent an impressive introduction and raise the performance from "concert" to the "liturgy" feeling.

Tracks:

Here Comes Santa Claus
A Marshmallow World
Feliz Navidad
Jingle Bell Rock
Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
Frosty The Snowman
Christmas In Las Vegas
Let It Snow
Sleigh Ride
Christmas Weekend
Little Drummer Boy
The Christmas Song

Amazon.com

The world would be a far colder place at Christmas without the electric guitar and Los Straitjackets' Tis the Season for is all the proof you need. Packed with 11 guitar-driven traditional songs and two originals, this memorable disc is a must-have for anyone who loves the sound of unaffected, basic guitar rock reminiscent of the Ventures and your favorite garage rock band. Adventurous, ambitious, and totally satisfying, the band takes on "Jingle Bell Rock" (making its guitars ring like a Byrds-fest) and a host of other chestnuts from "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer" to the "La Bamba"-framed workout of "Feliz Navidad." Even the band's own "Christmas in Las Vegas" has those classic jingle-jangle guitar hooks that make this record a perennial holiday hit. --Martin Keller

Customer Reviews:

Perfect Antidote..........2005-12-16

...for the holiday blahs...X-mas classics have never rocked liked this. Of particular delight is the seldom heard Christmas classic, "Marshmallow World"...Easily my favorite Holiday collection.

If this album doesn't get you rockin' ...........2004-12-27

If this album doesn't get you rockin', you're already dead. From the opening bars, you can't help but dance (or at least tap your toe.) Nothing preps me for the Christmas season like this album. The day after Thanksgiving, this is the first CD in the stereo: it's a family tradition.

Solid Christmas Surf!.......2004-12-08

I don't know if it's my Southern California upbringing, but I find surf instrumentals to be some of the most spiritual music known to mankind. Add Christmas tunes to the mix, and you have a Holiday treat almost as sweet as Eartha Kitt singing Santa Baby!

What works about Los Straitjackets' Christmas CD is the way they play their vintage surf guitars in a way that keeps the true essence of the Christmas songs we love. They are playful and creative, but never go overboard with trying to totally overhaul the tunes.

The finest creative touch shines on track #6. The beginnings of the surf classic "Pipeline" start the song, then Los Straitjackets go full throttle into a beautiful rendition of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," then briefly blend the instrumental portion of Del Shannon's "Runaway" midway into the tune.

Track #6 is worth the investment alone, but this entire CD is excellent modernized Holiday music. Take a chance on this one!

BORING! This is the WORST LS record........2003-12-25

I have to say as a LS fan that I was hugely disappointed with this record. Pete Curry is a great bass player, song writer, guitarist, etc. and he is fantastic when he's producing/engineering another band (Torquays "Somewhere in California" - true 5 star surf/rock instrumental record) but this is a terribly boring record. It sounds like "Ka-Ching" to me - let's see if we can make the cash registers ring with very little effort. This is especially the case when you listen to the fantastic new release produced by the great Mark Neill - "Supersonic Guitars in 3-D" rocks! Tis the season to give this one a pass and buy the Ventures Christmas record instead.

God Rest Ye Los Straitjackets.......2003-12-21

This is a fine seasonal effort from America's rockin' instrumental combo. A natural comparison would be to the Venture's Christmas Album. In fact, the version of "Sleigh Ride" here is almost a note for note copy of the Ventures version. But while the Ventures album grafted intros from then recent hits onto most of their Christmas songs, Los Straitjackets only do that on a few of the songs here. "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen", for example, uses the intro to the surf classic "Pipeline" and later uses it's organ solo. Anyway, this is a really fun Christmas album. If you are familiar with Los Straitjackets and enjoy them, I think you will dig this.

Average customer rating:

Witty and Charming

Ill-Conceived PDQ Bach Anthology

Manufacturer: Telarc
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Percussion | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Oratorios | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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

General | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music

General | Comedy | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music

General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

The Wurst of P.D.Q. Bach
1712 Overture & Other Musical Assaults
P.D.Q. Bach: The Short-Tempered Clavier
Music for an Awful Lot of Winds and Percussion
P.D.Q. Bach in Houston - We Have a Problem!

ASIN: B00000FDBK
Release Date: 1998-11-24

Tracks:

This Is Professor Pete
1712 Overture (S. 1712)
Introduction
II. Aria With Chorus: 'Howdy There'
Recitative: 'It Wasn't Long'
III. My Heart
Recitative: 'When Oedipus Heard'
VI. Chorale And Finale
Introduction
Love Me
WTWP Station ID
Oo-La-La Introduction
Oo-La-La: Cookin' French Like The French Cook French - Dana Krueger
Introduction: The Musical Sacrifice (S. 50% Off)
I. Fuga Meshuga - Susan Palma
Introduction
Classical Rap (S. 1-2-3) - Grandmaster Flab
Introduction
I. C Major - Christopher O'Riley
Introduction
II. Simply Grand Minuet
Introduction
Little Bunny Hop Hop Hop
Introduction
Minuet Militaire
Enough Already

Customer Reviews:

Witty and Charming.......2000-08-15

This CD is fun and action packed as much as you could hope for in a CD. He uses quotes from many famous folk and classical songs and implements them into his own compositions with a bit of a twist. For example, in Classical rap, where he raps about being the best rapper in the world with terrific brass interludes between the verses. The orchestra plays a clip from Vivaldi's "Spring" and then he twists it into a record "wicky-wicky" to the same tune. He introduces every peice before it is played in a hilarious manner in which he talks about the peice and something else that was going on in the composers mind as he wrote the peice. Starting at the begining-

This is Professor Pete- Peter Schickele introduces himself as well as P.D.Q.

1712 Overture- A takeoff of the 1812 overture of course, with snatches of some famous folktunes thrown in here and there.

Oedipus Tex- A parady of the Greek Myth Oedipus Rex where he murders his father who is the King. Oedipus Tex lives a life like his brother but in Texas style.

The next tracks are more comedy than exactly music like the WTWP station giving options over the phone about how you would like to hear a certain peice of music. Cooking French... is a woman cooking a French gourmet meal but flubbing up the entire time.

What I have already said pretty much sums it up. The rest of the tracks are equally hilarious and as witty as all the others. If you buy this CD you will not regret it no matter what type of music you listen to.

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