A Bird Is Singing

Product Description
"This 34-voice group was featured in that great marketing coup, the Mysterious Voices album (and on the old Nonesuch Music of Bulgaria). It’s a highly structured group and at times its arrangements are to Bulgarian village music as Vaughan Williams is to English…this is a stunning vocal tradition." - ALL MUSIC GUIDE

Polyphonic choral music forms an important part of the cultural heritage of Bulgaria. The primary features of this music are its method of vocalization without a trace of vibrato, and the use of discordant harmonies based especially on clashes of minor seconds and major sevenths. This music had remained hidden to the general public until 4AD picked up a recording of various female Bulgarian choirs and released it under the title Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares…Nonesuch grabbed the American rights and the album became a surprise best-seller in the late 1980s. The origins of all of this success spring from the founding, in 1952, of the first Bulgarian State Radio & Television Female Vocal Choir by Philip Koutev. Koutev revitalized dying folk traditions, collecting folk tunes and creating complex arrangements for female choirs. This original female choir was the key group participating on the Le Mystère CD. This same choir is part of The Philip Koutev National Folk Ensemble, heard on this rich collection of traditional vocal and instrumental music. The ensemble consists of 120 members, including forty singers, sixty dancers, and twenty instrumentalists, and is a Bulgarian cultural ambassador that frequently tours around the world.

A Bird Is Singing,The Philip Koutev National Ensemble,Alula,Bulgarian,Int'l & World Music,Pop,Russia / Eastern Europe

Average customer rating: Great CD Simply the Best Inconsistent, but mostly excellent "Celebration" is not strong enough a word A maginificent evening, a magnificent album

Sondheim - A Celebration at Carnegie Hall (1992 Concert Cast) Stephen Sondheim , Betty Buckley , Paul Gemignani , Patti LuPone , Liza Minnelli , and Bernadette Peters Manufacturer: RCA Victor Broadway ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Musicals | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music Traditional Vocal Pop | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music General | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music 1990s | By Decade | Soundtracks | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Hadley, Jerry | ( H ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music 1990s | By Decade | Pop | Styles | Music General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music Traditional Pop | Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music 1990-1999 | Decades | Compilations | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music Classical Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Opera & Vocal | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Musicals | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Similar Items: Sondheim Evening: A Musical Tribute (1973 Concert Cast) Side By Side By Sondheim (1976 Original London Cast) Send in the Clowns: The Ballads of Stephen Sondheim Sondheim - A Celebration at Carnegie Hall Sondheim, Etc.: Bernadette Peters Live at Carnegie Hall ASIN: B000003FDW Release Date: 1993-02-23

Tracks:

1. Symphonic Sondheim: Sweeney Todd--orchestra, Jerry Hadley ("Johanna"), Eugene Perry,Herbert Perry ("Pretty Women")
2. Evening Introduction--Bill Irwin
3. Loveland/Getting Married Today--Ensemble, Jeanne Lehman, Mark Jacoby, Madeline Kahn
4. Waiting for the Girls Upstairs--George Lee Andrews, Michael Jeter, James Naughton/Love, I Hear--Michael Jeter/Live Alone and Like It--James Naughton
5. Someone Is Waiting--Richard Muenz/Symphonic Sondheim: Barcelona--orchestra
6. Being Alive--Patti LuPone
7. Good Thing Going--The Tonics
8. Losing My Mind/You Could Drive a Person Crazy--Dorothy Loudon
9. Our Time--Boys Choir of Harlem/Children Will Listen--Betty Buckley
10. Anyone Can Whistle--Billy Stritch
11. Water Under the Bridge--Liza Minnellli, Billy Stritch
12. Back in Business--Liza Minnellli, Billy Stritch, Ensemble

Tracks:

1. Symphonic Sondheim: Comedy Tonight--Bill Irwin, orchestra
2. Sooner or Later--Karen Ziemba
3. Pretty Lady--Mark Jacoby, Eugene Perry, Herbert Perry
4. Green Finch and Linnet Bird--Harolyn Blackwell
5. The Ballad of Booth--Patrick Cassidy, Victor Garber
6. Broadway Baby--Daisy Eagan
7. I Never Do Anything Twice--BETTY
8. With So Little to Be Sure Of--Jerry Hadley, Carolann Page
9. Not a Day Goes By--Bernadette Peters
10. Remember?--Ron Baker, Peter Blanchet, Carol Meyer, Bronwyn Thomas, Blythe Walker (Quintet)/A Weekend in the Country--Kevin Anderson, George Lee Andrews, Mark Jacoby, Beverly Lambert, Maureen Moore, Susan Terry, Quintet
11. Send in the Clowns--Glenn Close
12. Old Friends--Liza Minnelli
13. Sunday--Bernadette Peters, Broadway Chorus

Customer Reviews:

Great CD.......2006-08-06

This is a wonderful double CD of fabulous musical numbers performed by theatre greats and directed by a legandary musical director.

Simply the Best.......2005-06-29

First, to the person who criticizes the recording b/c of "Broadway Baby." Daisy Egan (who sings in in this recording) sounds like she's 10 becuase she IS young. She had just appeared on Braodway in Secret Garden and won a Tony for it. It's a joke...Broadway BABY...hello, it's a joke.

In a compilation of songs like this you're always going to have tracks that you prefer over others, but the majority of the renditions in this CD are great. This is simply one of the best collections of Sondheim out there. You get interpretations that span from "classical" (Green Finch), to bordering on insane (Anything Twice). This is to demonstrate how versatile this composer really is.

In my opinion, some of the best renditions are "Not a Day Goes By," "Anyone Can Whistle", "Girls Upstairs Medley," "Losing My Mind/Drive a Person Crazy," and "Weekend inthe Country." Makes me wish I had been there to witness it first hand.

If you love Sondheim and enjoy hearing Broadway performers, get this CD. A great recording.

Inconsistent, but mostly excellent.......2004-03-21

I am sure no knowledgeable person would deny how absolutely perfect all these songs are. However, the performances on this album are extremely inconsistent. It will go from an excellent rendition (Waiting for the Girls medley, Sunday, With So Little To Be Sure Of, Sooner or Later, Green Finch, Send in the Clowns, Pretty Lady) to the weird (I never Do Anything Twice), to the bad (Broadway Baby, Our Time). I still have absolutely no idea how they managed to butcher one of the best songs ever written--Good Thing Going--and turn it into smooth jazz elevator music. Why would they give Broadway Baby to someone who sounds like she's 10? That said, Liza Minelli, Glenn Close, Karen Ziemba, Dorothy Laudon and the "Waiting for the Girls" performers are all very good. And ending with Bernadette Peters and "Sunday" ends the set on a absolutley fabulous note.

"Celebration" is not strong enough a word.......2003-04-30

This review is by Crosley.

I have been a major Sondheim fan for quite some time, and I finally obtained a copy of this album. I was blown away by the excellent cast and phenomenal selection of music. It is obvious how much work went into this production, considering that this is the live recording of a one time show, and it's flawless. The songs cover all of his shows with the exception of "Passion," which was released 3 years after this show. Also, the shows for which he wrote only lyrics are ommited, like West Side Story, Gypsy, etc. Thus, you can find material from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Anyone can Whistle, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Pacific Overtures, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Merrily we Roll Along, Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, and Assassins.

There are two striking things about this CD (besides the music and performers themselves). First of all, some of the songs are completely stylistically reworked. The most obvious are "Good Thing Going" and "I Never do Anything Twice." Both are traditionally very ballady with a piano accompaniment, but here they have been redone as jazzy tunes. The result is excellent. Such reworkings demonstrate that Sondheim writes music for virtually any style, and in these cases, across several styles. It's a great example of his variety. The other interesting thing is how many songs have overlapping melodies of songs from different shows. Case in point, "Our Time" and "No one is Alone" are sung seperately by the Harlem Boys Choir and Betty Buckley (the original Grizabella in Webber's atrocious "CATS," although Buckley was excellent) respectively, and then combined. Putting these two songs together offer different meanings to each, and the music is only enhanced. Another example, the trio of "Waiting for the Girls Upstairs," "Love, I Hear," and "Live Alone and Like It" are sung in that order, and then the latter two are combined. Again, the meanings of the songs change, this time in an almost narrative style, and offering different takes on love in the same montage. Lastly (at least for this review, there are more), Dorothy Laudon's (the original Ms. Hannigan in Annie) combination of "Losing my Mind" and "You Could Drive a Person Crazy" is brilliant. Those who are familiar with these songs will wonder how exactly they fit, but trust me, they do. She swtiches back and forth between melodies to create a number that starts poignant and beautiful, and soon moves to become uproariously funny. Both the song reworkings and overlapping melodies of unrelated songs are all for the better.

I recommend this recording to anyone wanting to get better acquainted with some of Sondheim's best work, or those already familiar who want to hear a tour de force of phenomenal music. It has been said that Sondheim is a masterful lyricist (which he is), but lacks real talent for music. This CD is the final proof that such critics are wrong. His music may take a few listenings to get into, contrary to Webber or Wildhorn, but unlike those two, he doesn't cater to the audience. He challenges them to think outside of traditional musical theater in a glorious repertoise of shows that reach for a smarter, more sophisticated form.

A maginificent evening, a magnificent album.......2001-12-16

There's something to be said for the first concert you ever see at Carnegie Hall. I was fortunate enough to have this be my first. This entire evening was devoted to his genius and the performers did not disappoint.

This wonderful double CD shows off the best and brightest of the musical theatre composer and it is, as one person put it, "an embarassment of riches." With songs from his finest works done in amazing arrangements (listen to that harmony in "We Had a Good Thing Going"!) combined with fabulous performers this is a Sondheim lovers delight.

My favorite song is, without a doubt, Dorothy Louden and her wonderful medley of "Losing My Mind" into "You Could Drive a Person Crazy" followed very closely by the recently departed Madeline Kahn singing "Getting Married Today."

Average customer rating:

More of the World's Most Beautiful Melodies Manufacturer: Chandos ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Bruch | Bruch, Max | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Donizetti | Donizetti, Gaetano | ( D ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Flotow | Flotow, Friedrich von | ( F ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Gounod | Gounod, Charles | ( G ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Mascagni | Mascagni, Pietro | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Mendelssohn | Mendelssohn, Felix | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Puccini | Puccini, Giacomo | ( P ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Schubert | Schubert, Franz | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Verdi | Verdi, Giuseppe | ( V ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Concertos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Vocal & Song | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Vocal & Song | Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Violin | Strings | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Compilations | Classical | Styles | Music Romances | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music French | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Italian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Folk Songs | Songs & Lieder | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Folk | Styles | Music Similar Items: World's Most Beautiful Melodies, Vol. 1 The World's Most Beautiful Melodies, Vol. 5 ASIN: B000000A6T Release Date: 1992-07-28

Tracks:

1. La Boheme: Your Tiny Hand Is Frozen
2. Aida: Celeste Aida
3. Skye Boat Song
4. A Brown Bird Song
5. Macushla
6. Slow Movement: Bruch - Violin Concerto
7. Carmen: Flower Song
8. The Holy City
9. Cavelleria Rusticana: Intermezzo
10. I Hear You Calling Me
11. Ave Maria
12. Slow Movement: Mendelssohn - Violin Concerto
13. Martha: M'appari Tutt'amor
14. Faust: Salut! Demeure Chaste et Pure
15. Lucia di Lammermoor: Quando Rapito in Estasio

Average customer rating:

Leo Smit: 33 Songs on Poems of Emily Dickinson Manufacturer: Bridge ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Classical | Indie Music | Stores | Music ASIN: B00000JIRG Release Date: 1999-07-20

Tracks:

1. Cycle 1, Cholde Emilie, 14 Songs About Memories & Fantasies Of Childhood: 1. I Was The Slightest..
2. Cycle 1, Cholde Emilie, 14 Songs About Memories & Fantasies Of Childhood: 2. Through Lane It Lay...
3. Cycle 1, Cholde Emilie, 14 Songs About Memories & Fantasies Of Childhood: 3. It Troubled Me As...
4. Cycle 1, Cholde Emilie, 14 Songs About Memories & Fantasies Of Childhood: 4. The Childs Faith Is New
5. Cycle 1, Cholde Emilie, 14 Songs About Memories & Fantasies Of Childhood: 5. Softened My Time's...
6. Cycle 1, Cholde Emilie, 14 Songs About Memories & Fantasies Of Childhood: 6. Papa Above!
7. Cycle 1, Cholde Emilie, 14 Songs About Memories & Fantasies Of Childhood: 7. We Talked As Girls Do
8. Cycle 1, Cholde Emilie, 14 Songs About Memories & Fantasies Of Childhood: 8. They Shut Me Up In...
9. Cycle 1, Cholde Emilie, 14 Songs About Memories & Fantasies Of Childhood: 9. I Cried At Pity--Not At
10. Cycle 1, Cholde Emilie, 14 Songs About Memories & Fantasies Of Childhood: 10. Let Us Play Yesterday
11. Cycle 1, Cholde Emilie, 14 Songs About Memories & Fantasies Of Childhood: 11. A Loss Of Something...
12. Cycle 1, Cholde Emilie, 14 Songs About Memories & Fantasies Of Childhood: 12. Good Morning...
13. Cycle 1, Cholde Emilie, 14 Songs About Memories & Fantasies Of Childhood: 13. Up Life's Hill With...
14. Cycle 1, Cholde Emilie, 14 Songs About Memories & Fantasies Of Childhood: 14. I'm Ceded--I've...
15. Cycle 2, The Celestial Thrush, 12 Songs About Music & Birds: 1. I Was A Phoebe--Nothing More
16. Cycle 2, The Celestial Thrush, 12 Songs About Music & Birds: 2. The Bird Her Punctual Music Brings
17. Cycle 2, The Celestial Thrush, 12 Songs About Music & Birds: 3. The Earth Has Many Keys
18. Cycle 2, The Celestial Thrush, 12 Songs About Music & Birds: 4. The Bobolink Is Gone
19. Cycle 2, The Celestial Thrush, 12 Songs About Music & Birds: 5. A Train Went Through A Burial Gate
20. Cycle 2, The Celestial Thrush, 12 Songs About Music & Birds: 6. I Cannot Dance Upon My Toes
21. Cycle 2, The Celestial Thrush, 12 Songs About Music & Birds: 7. Upon His Saddle Sprung A Bird
22. Cycle 2, The Celestial Thrush, 12 Songs About Music & Birds: 8. Better-Than Music!--For I--Who...
23. Cycle 2, The Celestial Thrush, 12 Songs About Music & Birds: 9. Bind Me--I Still Can Sing
24. Cycle 2, The Celestial Thrush, 12 Songs About Music & Birds: 10. Within My Garden, Rides A Bird
25. Cycle 2, The Celestial Thrush, 12 Songs About Music & Birds: 11. Heart, Not So Heavy As Mine
26. Cycle 2, The Celestial Thrush, 12 Songs About Music & Birds: 12. I Shall Keep Singing
27. Cycle 6, The White Diadem, 7 Songs About Poets & Poetry: 1. I Reckon--When I Count At All
28. Cycle 6, The White Diadem, 7 Songs About Poets & Poetry: 2. I Dwell In Possibility
29. Cycle 6, The White Diadem, 7 Songs About Poets & Poetry: 3. The Martyr Poets--Did Not Tell
30. Cycle 6, The White Diadem, 7 Songs About Poets & Poetry: 4. The Poets Light But Lamps
31. Cycle 6, The White Diadem, 7 Songs About Poets & Poetry: 5. I Would Not Paint--A Picture
32. Cycle 6, The White Diadem, 7 Songs About Poets & Poetry: 6. To Pile Like Thunder To Its Close
33. Cycle 6, The White Diadem, 7 Songs About Poets & Poetry: 7. Me--Come! My Dazzled Face

Album Description

Leo Smit has an impressive pedigree as an American composer and musician. A virtuoso pianist, he has worked closely with such legends as Stravinsky, Balanchine, Copland and Stokowski. He has set more that 75 of Emily Dickinson's poems to music, grouping the works into cycles about related subject matter. The disc contains the world premiere recordings of three of those cycles- Childe Emilie- Memories and Fantasies of Childhood, The Celestrial Thrush- Songs of Music and Bird, and The White Diadem- Songs About Poets and Poetry. Smit's songs display great sensitivity to Dickinson's very personal world, and reflect the poet's emotional range by adopting an extremely colorful palette. The songs frequently veer from the simple and tonal to more rhythmically complex and chromatic settings, always alert to word and mood.

Average customer rating: Great music - fun to singalong Very fresh and fun. Refreshing Change from Tired Carols

Seasons for Singing: A Celebration of Country Life Manufacturer: Revels Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Purcell, Henry | ( P ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Purcell, Henry | Composers | Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music General | Folk | Styles | Music Traditional Folk | Folk | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Children's Music | Styles | Music General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music General | Celtic | International | Styles | Music General | Folk | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: The Wild Mountain Thyme Revels Celebration Of Spring Summer & Fall ASIN: B0000002BD Release Date: 1995-03-21

Tracks:

1. Now We Are Met
2. Good Ale
3. Speed The Plough
4. Hal-And-Tow
5. Well Rung, Tom
6. Under This Stone Lies Gabriel John
7. Hark! The Bonny Christ Church Bells Ring
8. Byrd One Brere
9. The Turtle Dove
10. Jones's Ale
11. Dance Reels: The Wind That Shakes The Barley/Harvest Home
12. On Ilkla Moor Bah T'at
13. Mairi's Wedding
14. Say, Mighty Love
15. Say, Mighty Love
16. The Wedding Hymn
17. In Wisdom's Lovely, Pleasant Ways
18. The Earth Is Our Mother
19. The Rivers Of Texas
20. Palms Of Victory
21. Once More A-Lumbering Go
22. Fare You Well, Mary Ann
23. Fathom The Bowl
24. The Farmer
25. As I Was Going To Banbury
26. Green Broom
27. Bridgwater Fair
28. One April Morning
29. Miri It Is
30. Sellenger's Round
31. The Padstow Mayers' Song

Customer Reviews:

Great music - fun to singalong.......2007-03-10

We have the Christmas Revels CD and loved that, but I can't stand Christmas music in February, so I bought this CD. My family adores it -- my kids, 4 and 6, love to sing along to it. There are a few drinking songs that praise alcoholic beverages (Good Ale, Jone's Ale), but I'm not sure my kids get the gist and it doesn't bother me.

I felt this was well worth the cost -- there are a lot of songs on here. I love that we can sing along to music that isn't sacchrine, dumb-downed, kids music and I like the historical nature of the tunes (the liner notes are great -- they give background on the May festival and each song has a few sentences of background, as well as providing the lyrics. There are a few songs that are instrumental, but most have singing).

Another album my family is enjoying is Dean Shostack Davy Crockett's Fiddle - they are instrumental early American fiddle tunes.

Very fresh and fun........2001-09-06

I defy you to not sing along with this album. The songs are catcy without being tiring, folksy without being simple, nostalgic without being sentimental. The Revel Singers make you feel like you're in the midst of a big party full of boisterous people having a great time. I was introduced to this album via my local eclectic radio station that played "Jones's Ale" one morning and I was hooked.

Refreshing Change from Tired Carols.......1999-12-29

Probably taken from one of the delightful annual Revels Christmas/holiday musicals, the sound is Christmas-y without being cloying. It's joyful, fresh and charming.

Average customer rating: Simply delicious

Summertime Felicity Lott Manufacturer: Asv Living Era ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Arne | Arne, Thomas Augustin | ( A ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music British Folk | Traditional British & Celtic Folk | Folk | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music ASIN: B00006GO6B Release Date: 2002-10-22

Tracks:

1. Summertime
2. Sure On The Shining Night
3. The Shepherd's Song
4. Clair De Lune
5. Now Sleeps The Crimson Petal
6. Who Is Sylvia?
7. Where The Bee Sucks
8. L'ile Inconnue
9. Auf Dem Wasser Zu Singen
10. Soir
11. Der Nussbaum
12. Meine Liebe Ist Grun
13. Ah Moon Of My Delight
14. Notre Amour
15. Villanelle
16. The Monk And His Cat
17. Go Not, Happy Day
18. To Daffodils
19. Orpheus With His Lute
20. The Trellis
21. Love's Philosophy
22. A Brown Bird Singing
23. The Lark In The Clear Air
24. Sleep
25. The Tale Of An Oyster
26. My House
27. The Little Road To Bethlehem
28. Vespers
29. The Lord Bless You & Keep You

Customer Reviews:

Simply delicious.......2007-03-23

Subime singing of the highest order - a wonderful collection of songs from two of the world's finest musicians.

Average customer rating:

Bird Songs at Eventide Manufacturer: Hyperion UK ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Sullivan | Sullivan, Arthur | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Vocal & Song | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Vocal & Song | Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Nostalgia | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music General | Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music Classical | Imports | Stores | Music $9.99 and Under | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music All Classical Music Blowout | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Sullivan, Arthur | ( S ) | Composers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Opera & Vocal | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music ASIN: B0000BX5L6 Release Date: 2003-12-09

Tracks:

1. Bird Song at Eventide
2. Duna
3. At Dawning (I Love You)
4. Little Silver Ring
5. Song to the Seals
6. Fairy Tree
7. Lost Chord
8. Kashmiri Song (Pale Hands I Loved)
9. Till I Wake
10. Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal
11. Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes
12. O Dry Those Tears
13. Sylvia
14. Ah, Moon of My Delight
15. Allah
16. Bless This House
17. Thanks Be to God
18. Roses of Picardy
19. God Be With Our Boys Tonight
20. Smilin' Through
21. Little Grey Home in the West
22. Bonnie Wee Thing
23. Lord Is My Light
24. Somewhere a Voice Is Calling
25. Brown Bird Singing - Robert White

Average customer rating:

A Bird Is Singing The Philip Koutev National Ensemble Manufacturer: Alula ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | International | Styles | Music ASIN: B000BB1912 Release Date: 2005-10-11

Tracks:

1. Jsna E Dilber Jana (Dilber Jana Reaps)
2. Prituri Se Planinate (The Mountains)
3. Pileze Pee, Govori (A Bird Is Singing)
4. Stoyan Ide Ot Grad Zarigrad (Stoyan Comes From The City Zarigrad)
5. Shopsko Horo (Round Dance From The Shop District)
6. Dilmano, Dilbero
7. Lecko Stapjai (Step Lightly)
8. Malka Moma Dvori Mete (A Young Girl Sweeps The Yards)
9. Kaji, Kaji, Angjo (Where Are You, Angjo?)
10. Dumai, Zlato (Tell Me Zlato)
11. Pesni Ot Pazardhishko (Songs From The Pazardjik District)
12. Kimjaninka
13. Dve Shopski Pesni (Two Songs From The Shop District)
14. Grozdanka
15. Pirinski Pesni (Songs From The Pirin District)

Album Description

"This 34-voice group was featured in that great marketing coup, the Mysterious Voices album (and on the old Nonesuch Music of Bulgaria). It's a highly structured group and at times its arrangements are to Bulgarian village music as Vaughan Williams is to English…this is a stunning vocal tradition." - ALL MUSIC GUIDE

Polyphonic choral music forms an important part of the cultural heritage of Bulgaria. The primary features of this music are its method of vocalization without a trace of vibrato, and the use of discordant harmonies based especially on clashes of minor seconds and major sevenths. This music had remained hidden to the general public until 4AD picked up a recording of various female Bulgarian choirs and released it under the title Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares…Nonesuch grabbed the American rights and the album became a surprise best-seller in the late 1980s. The origins of all of this success spring from the founding, in 1952, of the first Bulgarian State Radio & Television Female Vocal Choir by Philip Koutev. Koutev revitalized dying folk traditions, collecting folk tunes and creating complex arrangements for female choirs. This original female choir was the key group participating on the Le Mystère CD. This same choir is part of The Philip Koutev National Folk Ensemble, heard on this rich collection of traditional vocal and instrumental music. The ensemble consists of 120 members, including forty singers, sixty dancers, and twenty instrumentalists, and is a Bulgarian cultural ambassador that frequently tours around the world.

Average customer rating: Delicious! Yes -- they still make great albums Yes -- they still make great albums A Dignified and Welcome Contribution to Spiritual Music! An amazing piece of work!

Feather & Bone Manufacturer: Premonition (Emd) ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by J.S. Bach | Bach, Johann Sebastian | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Hildegard of Bingen | ( H ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Early Music | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Cello | Strings | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music General | International | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music Traditional Pop | Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music Classical | Indie Music | Stores | Music General | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music Vocal Jazz | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music ASIN: B00005AKII Release Date: 2001-03-27

Tracks:

1. How Can I Keep From Singing?
2. I Am The Mountainy Singer
3. O Virtus Sapientiae
4. Minuet
5. Gigue
6. Hymn To The Muse
7. Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child
8. Ave Maria
9. Radiant Flame Of Gold
10. Mother, It Is Night
11. N'Da
12. Lone Wild Bird/MacIntosh's Lament

Customer Reviews:

Delicious!.......2002-02-12

I love this CD. Laurel Masse has a remarkable voice which she uses with great expertise on this collection of beautifully performed and arranged songs. Listening to this collection is a very special experience you won't want to miss.

Yes -- they still make great albums.......2002-01-19

I collect a great deal of music, and this album is superb. Mixing genuine spiritual intensity with unmatched musicality, this musical experience is beyond compare. There is not a weak moment, and it includes possibly the best recording of "Motherless Child" I've heard. A must have.

Yes -- they still make great albums.......2002-01-19

I collect a great deal of music, and this album is superb. Mixing genuine spiritual intensity with unmatched musicality, this musical experience is beyond compare. There is not a weak moment, and it includes possibly the best recording of "Motherless Child" I've heard. A must have.

A Dignified and Welcome Contribution to Spiritual Music!.......2001-10-22

Those of us who adore spiritual albums are very lucky that one of the founding members of the Manhattan Transfer has decided to turn her talents to a cause that interests us so!

In this album, Laurel Masse baptizes an old music hall with her GORGEOUS voice and spiritual impromptu songs that spill right from her beating heart.

Some of my favorite pieces on the album were "Radiant Flame of Gold", a very powerful safety/comfort chant embracing either "Saint Brigit" or "the Goddess, Brigit" depending on your religion. I also enjoyed "The Mountainy Singer" which is just a lively, spirited, catchy tune. And her improvisational pieces are absolutely divine.

I'm very into voices, and this is a STRONGLY voice-centered album, so let me try to describe her voice in case it's helpful to anyone. Her singing style is NOT opera on most pieces. It's a Streisand-like voice, very clear and powerful with only light vibrato. It'll draw you in on the very first song and make you wish you could sing like that!

I'm glad she made this album and I would recommend it to others who like very dignified spiritual music.

An amazing piece of work!.......2001-06-18

This CD is truly amazing. What a gift! Laurel Masse's willingness to expand her musical horizons has brought forth an astoundingly varied and beautiful piece of work. From the opening notes of the Quaker hymn "How Can I Keep From Singing?" to the closing track, "Lone Wild Bird/MacIntosh's Lament," this ia multi-layered, richly hued CD filled with intensity and heart. The range of selections alone defies classification, and the beauty with which she infuses these songs is thrilling. This is not "background music"--like all true art, "Feather and Bone" challenges your senses...and, eventually, opens your heart and mind. Thank you, Laurel, for following your own sacred heart as an artist, and taking your audience along on the journey.

Average customer rating:

Songs My Father Taught Me Paul Dresser , Frank Lambert , Graham Peel , J. Airlie Dix , Ivor Novello , Oscar Rasbach , Sir Frederick O'Connor , Eric Coates , Alan Murray , and Malcolm Martineau Manufacturer: Hyperion UK ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Baroque Dance Suites | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music | Allemandes | Courantes | Gigue | Sarabande All Works by Sullivan | Sullivan, Arthur | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Vocal & Song | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Vocal & Song | Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Allen, Thomas | ( A ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Folk | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Classical | Imports | Stores | Music Similar Items: More Songs My Father Taught Me A Treasury of English Song Songs We Forgot to Remember Great Operatic Arias Favorite English Songs ASIN: B00005Y0N9 Release Date: 2002-03-12

Amazon.com

Sir Thomas Allen makes the point in a note with this delightful collection of 25 ballads that he rates it beside his many recordings of music heavyweights like Wagner and Verdi. There is no need to justify his enthusiasm, for it is clear from the outset that he treats the music with the sort of complete respect that has made him one of our most-loved singers. It is too easy to be dismissive of this repertoire, but when it is taken at its own value and sung and played with honesty, as it is here, the results are heartwarming. Allen recalls hearing the songs in the family home following the two world wars, "a time when there seemed a need for reassurance." Perhaps that time is with us again, and these performances strike a chord. There are many old friends here and perhaps some new discoveries. Who can resist the beautifully constructed "Love, could I only tell thee" or that old potboiler "The Lost Chord", especially when given with such warmth? A picture shows Allen and family in full vocal spate. At the piano is his father, to whose memory he dedicates the disc. --Keith Clarke

Average customer rating: Moravian songs, via Janacek, Godar, Bittova and Skampa Skampa Quartet is great - the singer... yikes

Janácek: Moravian Folk Poetry in Songs Leos Janacek , Iva Bittová , ¿kampa Quartet , Vladimír Godár , and Skampa Quartet Manufacturer: Supraphon ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Janácek, Leos | ( J ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Folk | Styles | Music General | International | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Folk Songs | Songs & Lieder | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music Adult Alternative | Pop | Styles | Music Experimental Music | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music Similar Items: Elida Cikory Peter Lieberson: Neruda Songs ASIN: B00061X9YC Release Date: 2005-03-01

Tracks:

1. Tuzba (Desire)
2. Stst'/Steadiness
3. Lavecka (Bench)
4. Stesk (Woe) - Skampa Quartet
5. Obrk Mileho (Lover's Likeness)
6. Svatba Kom (Gnats Wedding)
7. Kouzlo (Charm)
8. Slib (Promise)
9. Orisek Lovy (Hazel Nut) - Skampa Quartet
10. La (Love)
11. Jablunka (Apple Tree)
12. Jabucko (Sweet Apple)
13. Co Je to Za Nebe (What Sky)
14. Safva C (Alderman's Daughter)
15. Cervenab(Little Red Apples)
16. Dobr(Good Hunt)
17. He Warden)
18. Kony Mil [My Lover's Horses]
19. Kv MilodejnLove Herbs)
20. Pcko (Posy)
21. LoucenMilou
22. Jindy a NynThen and Now)
23. T (Uneasy)
24. VzknMessage)
25. Belegrade (Belgrade) - Skampa Quartet
26. Milenec Vrah (Lover Killer)
27. Pomluva (Calumny)
28. LoucenParting)
29. Sirota (Lonely Soul)
30. Osamel Alone)
31. Komu Kytka (For Whom the Posy)
32. Z Od Mil (Love Shining)
33. Polajka (Thyme)
34. Kol(KolTown)
35. Psano (Love Letter)
36. Karafi(Carnation)
37. Rozmarsemary)
38. Pamy (Mementos)
39. Zpevulenka (Tender Little Tune)
40. Nejistota (Uncertainty)
41. Kukacka (Cuckoo)
42. Zahrcka (Fence)
43. Muzikanti (Musicians)
44. Vernost' (Faithfulness)
45. Bolavlava (Headache)
46. Osud (Fate)
47. Daleko ProvdanWedded Far Away)
48. Budk (Wakening)
49. Dobrada (Sound Advice)
50. Slzy echou (Tears of Comfort)
51. Koukol (Corncockle)
52. Kalina (Guelder Rose)
53. Pohreb Zbojnv

Customer Reviews:

Moravian songs, via Janacek, Godar, Bittova and Skampa.......2006-05-09

This is a unique recording of Janacek's transcriptions of Moravian folk songs. Originally for piano and voice, they have been transcribed by Slovak composer Vladimir Godar for string quartet and (occasionally) three-voice male chorus. Here they are performed by renowned Czech singer and violinist Iva Bittova, accompanied by the Skampa Quartet and chorus. The effect is not so much of classical liede, but of authentic eastern European "popular" songs - the sonority of the string quartet adds to this in no small part. Janacek would be proud.

Skampa Quartet is great - the singer... yikes.......2005-07-28

I honestly did not know what I was getting myself into when I bought this CD. I love Janacek, I love folk songs... how could I go wrong? Iva Bittova! I was concerned that she would have a 50yr old woobly voice, but instead what exists is a thin VERY nasal tone... perhaps she should be singing traditional Bulgarian music! The voice is expressive, just ugly.
The recording quality is not very good, either. On many of the tracks, Iva seems to be muffled and in the background of the recording.
Really - dont waste your time and money, unless you really would just like to have a recording of over 50 Janacek songs.

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