Low Life [CD-single] [Import]

1. Low Life (Album Version)

2. Low Life (Supersub Mix)

3. Low Life (President Who Mix)

4. Low Life (Radio Edit)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
First single off the Tears For Fears singer/songwriter's long awaited solo debut, 'Tomcats Screaming Outside'. Tracks, 'Low Life' (Album Version, Supersub Mix, President Who? Mix & Radio Edit). 2001 release.

Tracks:

Overture To 'Tannhauser'
Domna, Pos Vos Ay Chausida
We Don't Merely Use Instruments, We Play On Them. And They Play On Us.
Hungarian Dance No.7
The Violin Is One Of The Most Tender And Beautiful Instruments Ever Invented.
Violin Concerto In D Major (Adagio)
But For A Long Time It Was Seen As The Instrument Of The Devil.
The Soldier's Tale: Triumphal March Of The Devil
The Manipulative Seductiveness Of The Gypsy Violin.
Csardas Music
The Violin And The Initiation Of Nature
The Four Seasons (Spring, Mvt 1)
Birds Are Again Evoked In The Second Concerto, Especially Music's Natural Favourite.
The Four Seasons (Summer, Mvt 1)
Like The Devil, The Violin Is A Master Of Disguise.
Old Viennese Dance No.3 'Schon Rosmarin'
The Menacing Sensuality Of Ravel's Tzigane: A Very Different Side Of The Violin:
Tzigane
Do We Now Have The True Measure Of This Instrument? Not Just Yet.
Caprice No.24
The Many Effects Of The String Tremolando: Brandenburg Concerto No.4 (Last Mvt)/From Joy To Fright/Quartettsatz In C Minor/The String Tremolo Practically Spells The World Agitato.
Variations On A Theme Of Frank Bridge (No.7)
Prokofiev's Tremolo In Romeo And Juliet Should Not Be Heard Just Before Bedtime.
Romeo And Juliet: Act IV
Vivaldi Use It To Illustrate The Shivering Of Travellers Crossing The Ice.
The Four Seasons (Winter, Mvt 1)
The Violin Muted
Clair De Lune
The Gentleness Of Muted Strings Persists Even When A Whole Orchestra Plays.
Piano Concerto No.21 In C Major, K.467 (Slow Mvt)
The Pizzicato Violin
Pizzicato Polka
In Prokofiev's Second Violin Concerto, The Accompaniment Is Pizzicato.
Violin Concerto No.2 In G Minor (Slow Mvt)
Varieties Of Pizzicato: Colas Breugnon (The People's Feast)/Now A Drier, Leaner, Hungrier Pizzicato. There's Not A Lot Of Comfort Here./Capriol Suite (Tordion)/The Use Of Pizzicato As 'Percussion'/Romeo And Juliet (Act I)/Mahler Used Pizzicato...
The Planets (Mars - The Bringer Of War)
The Technique Of Double-Stopping Enables The Violin To Play Duets With Itself./Sonata No.3 In C Major For Unaccompanied Violin (Fugue)/Now A Later Example Of The Same Technique
Hungarian Dance No.4
Double-Stopping Is A Standard Feature Of A Lot Of Folk Music.
The Four Seasons (Autumn, Mvt 1)
Now The Same Technique, But The Sound Might Have Come From Another World.
Bolero
Double-Stopping Can Only Approximate The Sound Of A Real Violin Duet.
Cadenza To The Violin Concerto By Brahms
Now Compare That With A Real Violin Duet.
Forty-Four Duos (No. 1: Teasing Song)
Another Duo By Bartok, Demonstrating The Violin's Rich Lower Register
Forty-Four Duos (No.2: Maypole Dance)
And Now What May Be The Most Beautiful Accompanied Violin Duet In History
Concerto In D Minor For Two Violins (Largo)
The Soul Of The Violin Is In Song; But What About This Weird Passage?
Violin Concerto No.1 In D Major (Mvt 2)
The Use Of Harmonies In The Orchestra Can Be Both Magical And Unsettling.
Symphony No.1 'Titan' (Mvt 1, Opening)
Tchaikovsky's Use Of Harmonics In The Sleeping Beauty Is Both Strange And Darling.
The Sleeping Beauty (Act II, No.15: Entr'Acte)
Ravel's Harmonics In Mother Goose Effect A Magical Transformation.
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Beauty And The Beast)
Stravinsky's Harmonics In The Firebird Transport Us Almost Into Another World./The Firebird (Introduction)
The Natural Upper Notes Of The Violins Have A Unique Emotional 'Grab'.
Also Sprach Zarathustra (Of The Afterworldsmen)
Still In Their Upper Register, The Violins Unleash The Energy Of A Young Colt.
Variations On A Theme Of Frank Bridge (No. 4)
Elsewhere, Britten Uses The Same High Register To Create A Very Different Mood.
Four Sea Interludes (Dawn) From 'Peter Grimes'
To End This Outing With The Violins, A Charming Little Elfin Dance
Elfenreigen

Tracks:

Introduction To The Viola
Viola Concerto (Mvt 1)
Khatchaturian Gets A Very Different Sound From It: Fuller, Fruitier, More Exotic.
Gayane Suite No.1 (Armen's Solo)
Very Nearly The Whole Of The Violin's Upper Register Is Also Available To The Viola.
Passacaglia, Op.33b From 'Peter Grimes'
The Viola Can Bring A Special, Rich Twanginess To Pizzicato That The Violins Lack./Don Quixote/Berlioz Drew Sounds From It That Retain Their Metallic Strangeness Even Today.
Harold In Italy (Mvt 4)
The Muted Viola: Intimate, Gentle, Poignant In Dvork
Cypresses (No.9)
The Massed Violas Of The Modern Symphony Orchestra In Mahler
Symphony No.4 (Mvt 3)
The 'Period' Viola In Bach
Brandenburg Concerto No.6 (Last Mvt)
The Cello: A Voice Of Unique Nobility
Suite No.1 For Unaccompanied Cello (Prelude)
Brahms And The 'Soul' Of The Cello
Piano Concerto No.2 In B Flat Major (Mvt 3)
Most Orchestral Composers Tend To Emphasize The Cello's Lower Register.
Cantata 'Herz Und Mund Und Tat Und Leben', BWV 147 (Soprana Aria: Bereite Dir, Jesu)
In The Time Of Beethoven The Cello Remained As Fundamental As Ever.
Symphony No.3 'Eroica' (Finale)
But The Cello Is Not Condemned To Spend Its Life In The Basement.
Elfentanz, Op.39
Not Only In Recital Showpieces Like That Is The Cello Is Used In Its Highest Register.
The Protecting Veil (Opening)
A Cello With An Identity-Crisis: The Pizzicato Flamencan
Flamenco
Double-Stopping In The Lower Reaches Of The Cello's Range
Solo Suiet For Cello And Piano (Sardana)
It's In The Middle Register That The Cello Really Comes Into Its Own.
Oriental Dance, Op.2 No.2
It Was To The Cellos That Beethoven Gave Two Of His Most Famous Themes./Symphony No.5 (Mvt 2)/Still More Famous Than That Theme Is This One From The Ninth Symphony.
Symphony No.9 (Finale)
Introduction To The Double-Bass
The Carnival Of The Animals (The Elephant)
But The Double-Bass Can Be Intensely Expressive And Graceful.
Elegy No.1 In D Major
The Range Of The Double-Bass Is The Greatest Of All The String Instruments/Allegro Di Concerto, 'Alla Mendelssohn'/And It's Also Capable Of Very Considerable Virtuosity.
Capriccio Di Bravura
Double-Bass Solos In Orchestral Scores Are Rare But Often Memorable./Symphony No.1 'Titan' (Mvt 3)/In His Third Symphony Mahler Makes A Very Different Use Of The Instrument./Symphony No.3 (Mvt 1)
The Double-Bass Muted In Prokofiev/Lieutenant Kije Suite (Kije's Wedding)/In Another Work Prokofiev Uses The Double-Bass To Enhance The Winds./Romeo And Juliet (Act III)/And He Combines The Bass Clarinet With A Shivering Tremolo From The Double-Basses....
Symphony No.5 (Mvt 3)/So Much For The Strings/On Now To The Winds

Tracks:

The Antiquity And Magic Of The Flute
Prelude A L'Apres-Midi D'Un Faune
The Versatility And Agility Of The Flute
Orchestral Suite No.2 In B Minor (Badinerie)
The Flute In Fifteenth-Century Spain
Sa'Dawi
Other Flutes: The Bass And Alto
Chamber Music No.II
The Piccolo - Aptly Named
La Naissance D'Osiris (Mvt 6)
From A Piccolo Of The Eighteenth Century To One Of Its Descendants In The Twentieth
Suite No.1 For Small Orchestra (Valse)
A Variety Of Techniques
Chamber Music No.II
Flutter-Tonguing. But Tchaikovsky Got There Eighty Years Before.
The Nutcracker (Act II, No.2: Scene)
From The Transverse To The Vertical: The Baroque Recorder
Recorded Suite In A Minor (Menuet II)
An Unfamiliar, Early Vision Of The Instrument
Naelden, Naelden
The Bachian Oboe
Cantata 'Ein Feste Burg Ist Unser Gott', BWV 80 (No.7: Duetto)
Introduction To The Cor Anglais Or 'English Born'
Symphony No.9 'From The New World' (Mvt 2)
The Loneliness Of The Cor Anglais
The Swan Of Tuonela
The Cor Anglais Joins The French Horn In Haydn.
Symphony No.22 'The Philosopher' (Opening)
Introduction To The Oboe D'Amore, Beloved Of Bach - But Also Of Ravel
Bolero
The Clarinet Family: Boxing The Compass, From The Depths Of The Bass Clarinet.../The Egyptian (Violence)/...To The Raucous And Squealy.../Taras Bulba (The Death Of Ostap)/...To The Shrill And Complaining...
Petrushka (No.8: Peasant With Bear)/...To The High Sprits Of A Playful Puppy./Symphonie Fantastique (Last Mvt)/And To The Downright Jazzy/Romeo And Juliet (Act II)
As The High Clarinets Tend To Be Loud, So The Bass Tends To Be Soft:
Gayane Suite No. 1 (Mvt 5)
The Bass Clarinet Is Used By Most Composers Mainly As A Colouring Agent.../Petrushka (No.4: The Blackamoor)/...But It Does Occasionally Get A Whole Tune To Itself./Iberia (Almeria).
The Range Of The Normal Clarinet Parts Goes Quite High...
The Snow Maiden (Scene 5: Melodrama)
...And Quite Low.
Peter And The Wolf (The Cat)
The Clarinet As Concerto Soloist
Clarinet Concerto In A Major (Rondo)
But That's Not The Instrument Mozart Wrote It For; This Is:
Clarinet Concerto In A Major (Rondo)
Introduction To The Saxophone
Hary Janos Suite (Mvt 4)
The Soprano Saxophone Has Quite A Different Feel To It.
L'Arlesienne Suite No.1 (Minuet)
The Little Sopranino Sax Goes Even Higher.
Bolero
The Most Famous Use Of The Saxophone Is In An Orchestration By Ravel.
Pictures At An Exhibition (The Old Castle)
The Saxophone Can Be Quite Contagiously Good-Humoured.
Sax-O-Phun
The Puffa-Puffa Image Of The Bassoon
Peter And The Wolf (Grandfather)
The Bachian Bassoon, In Accompanimental Mode
Cantata 'Weichet Nur, Betrubte Schatten' ('Wedding Cantata'), BWV 202 (Aria No.1)
Bizet Leaves The Puffa-Puffa Image Out, Allowing The Bassoon To Sing./Carmen Suite No.1 (Les Dragons D'Alcala)
And Ravel, Also In Spanish Mode, Does Likewise.
Bolero
The Bassoon As A Voice Of High Seriousness, Indeed Desolate Loneliness
Symphony No.3 (Opening)
The Eerie Bassoon In Its Highest Register
The Rite Of Spring (Opening)
Stravinsky Now Draws On Its Lowest Register, Lonely And Melancholy.
The Firebird Suite (1919, Berceuse)
The Bassoon As Concerto Soloist, Avoiding All Exaggeration
Bassoon Concerto In G Minor (Finale)
The Deep-Voiced Contra-Bassoon, As A Fairy-Tale Beast
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Beauty And The Beast)
The French Horn Under Its Woodwind Hat
Wind Quintet, Op.43 (Last Mvt)
Now A More Prominent Role, In A Woodwind Quintet From An Earlier Era
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Op.100 No.5 (Mvt 2)
The Horn In Harmonious Blend With Strings In Another Quintet
Horn Quintet, K.407 (Finale)

Tracks:

The Trumpet As Virtuoso Soloist
Brandenburg Concerto No.2 (Last Mvt)
The Special Brillance Of Paired Trumpets
Concerto In C For Two Trumpets, RV537 (Mvt 1)
The Ceremonial Trumpet
Fanfare For The Common Man
Trumpets And Drums - An Incomparable Alliance
Messiah (The Trumpet Shall Sound)
The Versatility Of The Trumpet, From The Most Public To The Most Lonely
Piano Concerto In F (Slow Mvt)
The Trumpet As The Voice Of The City/An American In Paris/The Trumpet As Recruitment Officer/The Soldier's Tale (The March)/The Trumpet As Swaggerer
Carmen Suite No.2 (Habanera)
The Trumpet As The Voice Of Strength And Courage
Carmet Suite No.2 (Toreador's Song)
The Trumpet Muted/Petrushka (No.4: The Blackamoor)/Lieutenant Kije Suite (Opening)/The Trumpet As The Voice Of Weariness
Billy The Kid
The Trumpet As Character Actor
Pictures At An Exhibition (No.6)
The Trumpet As The Voice Of God
Mass In B Minor ('Et Exspecto')
The Birth Of The Trombone
Aenmerckt Nu Hier
The Birth Of The Brass As A Family
Canzon 12 In Double Echo
The Trombone In The Eighteenth Century
Trombone Concerto In B Flat Major (Finale)
The Tone Of The Tenor Trombone/Romance For Trombone And Organ/The Memorable Voice Of The Bass Trombone/Requiem (Mvt 2)/But The Bass Trombone Is More Than An Instrumental Bullfrog.
Hosannah
The Trombones Become Part Of The Orchestra.
Symphony No.5 (Finale)
The Wagnerian Trombone:/Overture To 'Tannhauser'
The Trombone As Caricaturist
Pulcinella (No.19: Vivo)
The Trombone As Raspberry/Concerto For Orchestra (Intermezzo)
The Horn And The Hunt
Horn Concerto No.4 In E Flat, K.495 (Finale)
The Challenging Horn Of The Baroque
Abaris Ou Les Boreades (Menuet)
The Scarcity Of First-Rate Players In Handel's Time
Walter Music (Minuet 1)
The Horn As Magician/The Firebird Suite (1919, Finale)
Horns And The Sound Of Nobility
Overture To 'Tannhauser' (Opening)
The Special Sound Of The Horn In Its Higher Register
Mass In B Minor ('Quoniam Tu Solus Sanctus')
The Trumpet-Like Sound Of Massed Horns
Symphony No.3 (Mvt 1, Opening)
The Tuba - Unfairly Maligned?
Symphony No.6 (Mvt 3)
The Tuba Perfectly Cast By Ravel
Pictures At An Exhibition (Bydlo)

Tracks:

Introduction. And We Begin With A Bang.
Fanfare For The Common Man/The Bass Drum On The Battlefields/Wellington's Victory, Op.91 (Opening)
At The Opposite Extreme Is The Triangle.
Piano Concerto No.1 In E Flat (Scherzo)
Categories Of Percussion: Tuned And Untuned. The Side Drum
Overture To 'La Gazza Ladra' - The Thieving Magpie (Opening)
The Side Drum In An Effective But Unexpected Role/Clarinet Concerto (Mvt 1)
The Tambourine. One Of The Oldest Instruments In The World
Den Hoboecken Dans
Even Older Is The Originally Oriental Gong.
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Laideronette)
No Single Instrument Can Match The Gong In Evoking The Breaking Of Waves./Passacaglia, Op.33b From 'Peter Grimes'/But Gongs Don't Have To Be Struck To Be Effective.
Gymnopedie No.2
The Cymbals Are Generally Discovered Early In Life./The Sanguine Fan/And They Do More Than Clash Together Loudly. They Can Be Clashed Together Softly./Studio Example: But They Needn't Be Clashed Together At All/Studio Example: They Can Be Lightly...
Other Untuned Percussion Instruments Include The Whip.: Piano Concerto In G Major (Opening)/And Here Are No Fewer Than Twenty, Cracked By Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker (Act I, Scene 5)
More Versatile Than The Whip Are The Wood Blocks.../Studio Example/...Which Crop Up All Over The Place In Twentieth-Century American Music.
Rodeo (Hoe-Down)
Related To The Wood Blocks, By Sound, Are The Castanets./Jota Aragonesa/But The Castanets Were Also Used By Monteverdi Back In The Seventeenth Century.
Scherzi Musicali (Damigella Tutta Belle)
A Still Earlier Example From Fifteenth-Century Spain
Yo M'Enamori D'Un Aire
The Birth Of The Bongo
Symphonic Dances From 'West Side Story'
From The Streets Of New York To The Blacksmith's Shop/Il Trovatore ('Anvil Chorus')
Desert-Island Decibels: Grand Canyon Suite (On The Trail)/Arcana
From One Vegetable To Another: The Humble Squash, Or Marrow/Huapango
Onwards To The Tuned Percussion. First, The Timpani
Also Sprach Zarathustra (Introduction)
But The Drum Roll Can Be More Effectively Frightening Than The Big Bang.: Symphony No.2 'Resurrection' (Mvt 3)
Not One Drum Roll, But Many/Grand Canyon Suite (Sunrise)/Symphonie Fantastique (Last Mvt)
Taking Advantage Of Tunability
Music For Strings, Percussion And Celeste (Mvt 2)
The Russian Composer Rodion Shchedrin Takes A Downward Turn./Carmen Suite (Changing Of The Guard)/Tuned, Yes; But For The Truly Melodic We Must Look Elsewhere.
Introducing The Glockenspiel/Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)
Saint-Saens And The Xylophone
The Carnival Of The Animals (Fossils)
Ravel And The Xylophone
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Laideronette)
Introducing The Marimba/Carmen Suite (First Intermezzo)
Introducing The Vibraphone
The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (Narange Dolce)
The Vibraphone Goes Russian.../Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)/...And Is Joined By The Marimba./Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)
Introducing The Hungarian Cimbalom
Folk Dances
The Cimbalom And The Symphony Orchestra
Hary Janos Suite (Mvt 3)
Introducing The Tubular Bells
Hary Janos Suite (Viennese Musical Clock)
A More 'Up-Front' Approach From Rodion Shchedrin
Carmen Suite (Introduction)
But The Bells Can Also Make The Sinister Even More Sinister./Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Mvt 1)
Introducing The Celeste
The Nutcracker (Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy)
Magic, In The Use Of Collective Percussion
Miroirs (La Vallee Des Cloches)
Plucked Instruments: The 'Undercover Percussion'/Carmen Suite (Scene)
A Prime Case In Point Is The Harp, Irresistible To The Romantics./The Nutcracker (Act II, No.1: Scene)/The Non-Solo Harp As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra/Hungarian Rhapsody No.1
The Traditionally Subservient Role Of The Harpsichord In The Baroque Orchestra
Brandenburg Concerto No.2 (Slow Mvt)
The Piano: King Of The Tuned Percussion/Symphony No.3 'Organ' (Mvt 3)/And A Quarter Of A Century After That:
Petrushka (Russian Dance)
The Anti-Romantic Piano As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra
Music For Strings, Percussion And Celeste (Last Mvt)

Tracks:

Keyboard Instruments In The Orchestra - The Most Powerful Of Them All:
Symphony No.3 'Organ' (Finale)
But Things In Handel's Day Were Very Different.
Organ Concerto In B Flat, Op.4 No.3 (Last Mvt)
The Organ Is Difficult To Classify.
An Unexpected, Organ-related Guest
Concerto Pour Zampogna (Last Mvt)
Peasant-Fancying... And A Touch Of The Roaming Cowboy
Les Miserables (Drink With Me)
Outside Artefacts And The Power Of Association
Mahler's Sleighbells
Symphony No.4 (Opening)
A Roll-Call Of Some Unusual Guests/The Typewriter/Parade
Chains, And More/Integrales/An American In Paris/Sandpaper Ballet
Purpose-Built Oddities: Wind Machines/Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Opening)
Don Quixote (Variation VIII)
National Calling Cards: The Guitar For Spain/Concierto De Aranjuez (Finale)
And The Guitar's Poor American Relative, The Banjo/Washington Breakdown
And Poorer Still, The Mouth Organ/The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (Packing Up)
The Balalaika For Russia/Romeo And Juliet (Act II: No.14)
The Maracas For Mexico/The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (El Desayuno)
The Bongos And Congas And A Whole Wealth Of Other Drums For Africa And Central America/Studio Example
The Sitar Of India/Evening Raga: Bhapoli
The Accordion For France (Especially Paris)/Paris Canaille
The Zither For Vienna/The Third Man (Theme)
The Cimbalom For Hungary/Folk Dances
The Guitar As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra/Rondena
There Are Whole Orchestras Of Balalaikas./Sveit Mesiats
The Effect Of The Wordless Human Voice, Used Purely As An Instrument/Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Mvt 1)
Nocturnes
Instruments And the Imitation Of Nature. The Clarinet As Cuckoo
The Carnival Of The Animals (The Cuckoo)
The Flute As An All-purpose Aviary
The Carnival Of The Animals (The Aviary)
The Oboe As Duck
Peter And The Wolf (The Duck)
The Recording Of Reality. Does It Work As Well?
The Pines Of Rome (The Pines Of The Janiculum)
The Recording Of Reality Electronically Reborn In New Guises
Cantus Articus - Concerto For Birds And Orchesra (Mvt 2)
Beethoven Turns Avian: Cuckoo, Nightingale, And Quail
Symphony No.6 'Pastoral' (Andante Molto Mosso)
Some Improbable Casting: The Violin As Braying Donkey
The Carnival Of The Animals (Persons With Long Ears)
A Truly Orchestral Hee-haw To Be Reckoned With
Overture To 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'
A Thunderstorm In A Million
Symphony No.6 'Pastoral (Allegro-Allegretto)
the Instrumental Depiction Of A Silent World
The Carnival Of The Animals (The Aquarium)
Saint-Saens' Menagerie Takes A Curtain Call.
The Carnival Of The Animals (Finale)

Tracks:

The Grouping Of Instrumental Families. An Additive Approach. First, Two Violins
Forty-Four Duos (No.4)
A Great Contrast, Of Both Pitch And Character: Violin And Viola
Duo For Violin And Viola In B Flat Major, K.424 (Finale, Vars 1 & 2)/Studio Example
Arrival Of The Standard String Trio: Violin, Viola, And Cello
String Trio In B Flat (Menuetto)
The String Quartet: Two Violins, Viola, And Cello
String Quartet In F, Op.18 No.1 (Mvt 3)
The String Quintet - When The Extra Instrument Is A Second Viola
String Quartet No.5 In D, K.593 (Adagio)
The String Quintet - When The Extra Instrument Is A Second Cello
String Quintet In C (Mvt 3)
The String Sextet: Two Violins, Two Violas, And Two Cellos
String Sextet In B Flat (Mvt 2)
The String Octet: The Standard String Quaret Times Two
Octet In E Flat, Op.20 (Mvt 1)
Double The String Octet: A Fully Fledged String Orchestra
String Symphony No.2 (Finale)
The Massed Strings Of A Symphony Orchestra
Fantasia On A Theme Of Thomas Tallis
Contrasts Of Pitch And Instrumental 'Colour' In The Woodwind Section
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Op.100 No.5 (Theme)
In The First Variation It's The Horn That Gets The Lion's Share.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 1
In Variation Two The Torch Is Handed To The Bassoon.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 2
In Variation Three The Oboe Leads.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 3
Variation Four: Conversation Before Returning To A Solo-dominated Texture
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 4
And Variation Five is Dominated By The Clarinet.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 5
The Next To Be Featured Is The Virtuoso Flute.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 6
Individual Farewells And A Closing Chorus
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 7
A Mixed Group: Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, String Quartet, And Double-Bass
Octet In F (Mvt 3)
The Early Classical Symphony Orchestra Of Haydn And Mozart
Symphony No.29 In A, K.201 (Finale)
Strings, Wind, But No Brass. What Haydn And Mozart Never Knew
Canzon 28
Beethoven's Fifth: Two Horns, Two Trumpets, And Three Trombones Join The Team.
Symphony No.5 (Finale)
From Beethoven To The Massive Orchestras Of Berlioz, Wagner, And Mahler
Beethoven Changed The Face Of The Symphony And The Orchestra Forever
Symphoy No.6 'Tragic' (Mvt 1)
The Cult Of Orchestral Elephantiasis Reaches Its Peak.
Symphony No.1 'Gothic' (VI: Te Ergo Quaesumus)
When Large Doesn't Necessarily Mean Loud: Debussy
Images (Gigues)
A Crisis Of Confidence; The Orchestra's Survival Hangs In The Balance, But It Still Develops. The Ondes Martenot:
Turangalila Symphony (Chant D'amour 1)
The Advent Of The 'Early Music' Movement Brings A New Vitality And Freshness.
Balle De Xerxes (Gavotte En Rondeau)
Computer And Synthesiser: Friends Or Foes?
Concerto In D Minor For Two Violins (Largo)
A Speculative Look Ahead/Mass In B Minor ('Dona Nobis Pacem')

Customer Reviews:

Instruments of the Orchestra - Great Reference Material!.......2007-04-04

This set lends itself to greatly enhancing one's knowledge of the orchestra, instruments in it, and their usage. I am a huge music buff, and I still picked up a great deal I previously did not know. I highly recommend this for all who wish to understand the origin of music, as well as the processes that are employed to create music!

Beginner or Expert.......2007-03-12

This CD is excellent for the beginner or expert! To be able to haear the instrumets separately and then together really provides a good education. and/or refresher. The book thaty comes with the CD is alomost worth the price by itself!

Very Informative and Enjoyable.......2006-11-20

Whether you're a music novice or pro, "The instruments of the Orchestra" is a very worthwhile purchase. The 7 CDs, with a total of 8 hours, are expertly narrated by Jeremy Siepmann. He's a great speaker, very much like the late Leonard Bernstein was. Mr. Siepmann takes you on an unforgetable musical journey covering the origins and use of the various orchestral instruments throughout musical history. The balance between his narration and a wealth of musical examples, which range from snippets to entire movements, is superb. The comprehensive enclosed booklet is excellent and faithfully follows the 7 CDs in content. Even with my 40+ years of music training I still learned new things from this wonderful collection. Considering the excellence of the content, and a cost that translates to about $5 per disc, this collection is a great value. Grab it, you won't regret that you did. Five solid stars!

Frank's view.......2006-08-19

This boxed set of CD's with booklet achieved all I had hoped that it would. There are good samples of individual instruments and well done commentary on each. The only drawback was that some of the samples were too brief and could have been longer, hoiwever I guess this fits in with time constraints of the medium. It has given me a lot of clues as to future purchases of CD's for listening to individual instruments. Altogeth a satisfactory purchase and a welcome addition to my collection.

Excellent Intro for Those Not Familiar with the Orchestra.......2003-11-08

I've listened to classical music for years and am interested in composition. I bought this CD set to learn how an orchestra and its instruments work. I thought the CDs would be a nice but boring lecture. They aren't! Not only are they FUN but they are informative as well. I learned a huge amount from each CD and couldn't wait to listen to the next one.

The narrator and writer is a great speaker and holds your attention well. He is definitely knowledgeable. He provides musical examples for each point he makes, so you get to "hear" what he just talked about. I'd say the CDs are about 65% music and 35% narration. You'll learn about the range of instruments, some history, different ways to play them, how they sound, and how they are used in the orchestra. This CD set was a great learning experience and is sold at such a low price!

I recommend this CD for those who want to learn about classical music and those who know about it but are interested in learning more about the inner workings of an orchestra. You'll learn much useful information. For instance, the Rite of Spring (with that eerie start) is written for bassoon! I never knew a bassoon could sound like that but now I do.

Tracks:

Love Vigilantes
The Perfect Kiss
This Time Of Night
Sunrise
Elegia
Sooner Than You Think
Sub-Culture
Face Up

Amazon.com essential recording

With the 1985 release of Low Life, New Order put forth their most commercially accessible effort to date. While some of the dark-wave drippings of their Joy Division roots are evident, high energy progressions, which would carry them for years to come, began to emerge here. Hits like "Perfect Kiss" and "Sub-Culture," with their synth hooks, club-stomping accents, and visceral lyrics, helped bridge the gap for growing synth-pop audiences who bolstered their success. Other refined techniques on the album became standard New Order conventions: sweeping analogue rolls, live and sequenced drum percussion, tight bass melodies, and edgy guitar leads. Sustained by a peerless level of emotional involvement, the vocals and lyrics further entice the listener with the obliquely nuanced style of Bernard Sumner. Standing the test of time, this release is a must-have in order to understand the origins of introspective pop-wave culture. --Lucas Hilbert

Customer Reviews:

O.K., but far from their best.......2006-06-09

For those fans more into New Order's 80's techno-brit-pop sound, I suppose "Low-Life" might be a favorite. To me though, the band really came into its own with the lusher and more layered sounds of "Republic," "Get Ready," and "Waiting for the Sirens' Call," N.O.'s last three albums. While "Sub-Culture" is certainly one of their dance classics, it really doesn't have the resonance of "Age of Consent" or "Blue Monday." "Love Vigilantes" and "Perfect Kiss" are certainly fun, but hardly stand out. The other tracks (other than "Elegia" and "Sunrise," which are discussed below) hardly make an impression. In general Bernard Sumner's vocals and lyrics on "Low-Life" are sub-par.

There are two songs on "Low Life" I like quite alot. The instrumental "Elegia" strongly reminds me of the soundtrack from the "Phantasm" movies, and that, by itself, is enough for me to really like the song. What truly puzzles me though is that the other reviewers don't unanimously acknowledge what is clearly the best song on the album by far: the amazing "Sunrise." Finally we hear what the boys can sound like playing real instruments -- scintillating guitars, riveting bass-line, real drums, and Bernard Sumner singing with soul. Oh yeah, and let's not forget the song's obvious connection to The Cure's monumental "A Forest." Surely the opening notes are a dead giveaway that the comparison is meant to be made.

With these earlier albums, those with my taste heard alot of potential in New Order, but may have been somewhat put off by the all too frequent reliance on 80's styled synthesizers and drum machines. But the best was yet to come, as Bernard Sumner continued to grow into his role as the creative force of the band, both musically and lyrically.

The Definitive Work By The Splendid New Order.......2005-12-19

"Low Life" is New Order's definitive work, and a defining moment in 80's music. Finally finding their post-Joy Division voice after the splendid but less confident "Power, Corruption & Lies", New Order joyfully arrive fully formed on "Low Life". Every song bristles with energy and is celebratory, even when dark. Starting with the haunting but deceptively upbeat "Love Vigilantes" it's game on. "The Perfect Kiss" follows, yet another New Order classic, and "Low Life" is chock full of them. There is the darkly sophisticated "Sooner Than You Think", club favorite "Sub-culture", and the gorgeous, and I mean gorgeous instrumental "Elegeia". The incredibly buoyant "Face Up" ends things. The sound of "Low Life" is everything that made New Order so very unique, and what still sets them apart as absolute originals; no one else sounds like them. Musically the relentlessly inventive and energetic counterpoint of synth, bass, guitar, and percussion create a sound that simply compells and propels every song. Bernard Sumner's lyrics and enigmatic vocals bring the sinister contrast to the almost ebullient chemistry of the music. "Low Life" is a midnight sun of happy darkness, and one of the very best albums of the 80's.

the pinnacle of all their brilliance.......2005-06-04

This album is a cut above everything else they've ever done, and that's saying a lot. Even with New Order's long and magnificent career, I think this album truly stands out as something special. It has that special quality that can only be attained when Bernard is "Pumped Full of Drugs."

New Order has had so many songs with vague and hard-to-puzzle lyrics, but "Love Vigilantes" actually narrates the story of a man fighting in Vietman. Not my favorite song on the CD, but a good one.

If you're considering buying this album, you've probably already heard "The Perfect Kiss," and you know just how complex and beautiful this song is. If you haven't heard it, then you need to buy the album just to experience this one song. A lot of people prefer the longer version found on Substance, but I've always prefered the shorter one... it's just a rush.

The first time I listened to "This Time of Night," I thought to myself, "Wow, this is so 80's." The drums definitely give it a very typical 80's feel and in some ways I think it is exemplary of mid-80's synthpop, but it still kicks the ass of anything else like it.

"Sunrise" is the only song here that I've ever seen receive any real criticism. The guitar is very heavy, almost too heavy, and maybe the song isn't quite up to the standards of the rest of the album, but it's still New Order, and damn good.

"Elegia" perfectly lives up to its title and is one of my favorite instrumental tracks. The song is a line drawn between the first and second parts of the album, but in a good way.

"Sooner Than You Think" is always overlooked. Hard not to be, when it shares a disc with such greatness, but it stands on its own. The song starts in a mellow sort of way (following "Elegia," it almost has to), but after a minute or so, there's a kick-in with the sort of subdued energy that no one does like New Order.

"Sub-culture" is one of those songs that has caused New Order to be labelled "dark pop." Bernard's voice is almost monotone and emotionless at times, and it complements the song much more than any sort of lyric-matching wailing would have.

"Face Up" is a mood-lifter after Sub-Culture. I think others would agree that this one is reminiscent of "The Village" on Power, Corruption, and Lies. An all around good song, and a nice closer to their best of albums.

Off the Hook!.......2005-05-11

This an awfully good album. I picked this up after purchasing Substance and Brotherhood back in the day.

I remember lying in my bed thinking this band is ridiculously good. Only two of these songs appear on Substance when realistically Love Vigilates would be the high point of most bands careers.

Pick it up and discover what the 80's were all about!

"Tonight I Should Have Stayed At Home...".......2004-08-24

Here you have it, New Order's first full fledged masterpiece. Flawless in every way, shape, and form. Band members Sumner, Morris, Hook, and that fine fox Gillian hit every note. "Low-Life" is sort of the theme for the whole album, because throughout the album the members of New Order make it blatently clear that they are in fact "low-lifes". If they are "low-lifes", they are some of the most talented, charismatic, hot (one member anyway) "low-lifes" I've ever heard. Now that you've seen my sneaky ploy to use the term "low-life" as many times as I can in a two sentence period let's get down to reviewing this album. This is one of the few albums where I don't think about how hot Gillian is when listening to it, and that takes a lot of willpower. That shows how good this album really is. "Love Vigilantes" starts off the album and is more or less a metaphor for Sumner being lost, alone, and confused for so long from Ian Curtis's death, but he finally finds his way home. Just so you know, that interpretation was probably a bunch of bullcrap, as I am really bad at interpreting lyrics. No matter what hidden message lies in the song, it doesn't change anything as the song is great, very, very poppy, but not overly sugar coated as to where it leaves a bad taste in your mouth, like that candy "Warheads". The second track, "The Perfect Kiss", is the most masterful use of synths I've ever heard. The song is just so elegant, and it's arguably the most complex song with synths ever recorded, screw The Cure. The rest of the album is great. "This Time Of Night" is probably the best dark and gritty song that New Order wrote, leagues above their Movement stuff. "Elegia" is one of my favorite instrumentals every, and it lives up to it's title. Every song is excellence, there's no reason to go in and review every song from you. I will tell you this though, "Face Up" has, in my opinion, the best vocal performance by Sumner ever. Uplifting and spirtual. Every song on here is a ten out of ten. And that is why it's my favourite album of all time.

Average customer rating:

Kurt Weill: Re-discovery...
Incredible Live Album

Kurt Weill: The Centennial
Kurt Weill , Brock Peters , Carole Cook , Charlotte Rae , Nancy Dussault , Norm Lewis , Peter Becker , Rod McKuen , Shirley Jones , Tim Curry , and Steve Orich
Manufacturer: Lml Music
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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September Songs: The Music of Kurt Weill

ASIN: B00005U8HM
Release Date: 2002-01-08

Tracks:

Act 1: Pirate Jenny - Charlotte Rae
Act 1: I'm A Stranger Here Myself - Jodi Stevens
Act 1: Economics - Jane A. Johnston
Act 1: Is It Him Or Is It Me? - Pam Dawber
Act 1: Barbara Song - Linda Purl
Act 1: Lullaby - Kathryn Skatula
Act 1: That's Him - Nancy Dussault
Act 1: Don't Look Now - Sharon Lawrence
Act 1: Apple Jack - Norm Lewis
Act 1: Speak Low - Sally Kellerman
Act 1: September Song - Rod McKuen
Act 1: Ice Cream Sextet - David Holladay

Tracks:

Act 2: Wouldn't You Like To Be On Broadway? - David Holladay
Act 2: What Good Would The Moon Be - Melissa Dye
Act 2: It Never Was You - Hugh Panaro
Act 2: We'll Go Away Together - Hugh Panaro
Act 2: Tschaikowsky - Jack Noseworthy
Act 2: The Saga Of Jenny - Carole Cook
Act 2: Surabaya Johnny - Tim Curry
Act 2: My Ship - Shirley Jones
Act 2: Mack The Knife - Loretta Devine
Act 2: Lost In The Stars - Brock Peters

Customer Reviews:

Kurt Weill: Re-discovery..........2006-11-10

I am so impressed and pleased to have found this recording on Amazon.com. I am always amazed when I find these seemingly obscure recordings, and thrilled to know they exist. What a wonderful history of our musical world---and what a chance to hear interesting, challenging, and unusual performances from so many well-known people. The songs live on--the composer is 'new' again, and this recording becomes part of history re-discovered. Thank you Amazon.com for your continued professionalism and for having these recordings available.

Incredible Live Album.......2002-02-10

This incredible concert (which i attended) benefitting The Actors' Fund of America, contains some absolute MUST performances for any Broadway collector.

For me, the highlights are HUGH PANARO ("It Never Was You"), NANCY DUSSAULT ("It's Him") and TIM CURRY singing "Surabaya Johnny" in German!

Tracks:

Rock 'N' Roll Gangsta - Aalon
If My Heart Could Speak - The Manhattans
Baby Baby Please - Timothy Wilson
Lowrider Girl - Don Julian
I'm Still Here - The Notations
My Cloud - Joe Bataan
You've Got The Makings Of A Lover - The Festivals
I'm Just An Average Guy - The Masqueraders
Be My Girl - The Dramatics
I Ain't Got To Love Nobody Else - The Masqueraders
The Party's Over - The Latinos
Ain't No Big Thing On You - The Radiants
Jealous Kinda Fella - Garland Green
Somebody Loves You - The Delfonics
When You're Gone - Brenda & The Tabulations
Hey Romeo - The Sequins
Let It Be Me - Tiera

Customer Reviews:

Sweet Soul Treasures.......2000-12-13

I was elated when I first ran across this CD some years ago. It contains songs, I thought, I would never hear again. I used to own many of these songs on vinyl back in the day, many of which are now rare collectables. Of the hundreds of CD's I own, this is still one of my favorites. Sweet Soul is my main music interest and this CD, in my opinion, is one of the sweetest. I encourage all sweet soul aficianados, definitely pick this one up. I gaurantee you will be just as elated.

lifestyles of the slow & low; 17 classic oldies.......2000-09-29

this compilation of oldies, notations

this compilation of oldies, notations, dramatics, etc is fabulous i enjoyed every song on this cd. i would strongly urge serious listeners who enjoy oldies to make this their next purchase. if you enjoy oldies like, dells, temprees, manhattans, madlads, five stairsteps this is the one one cd that you will like that will impress you. happy listening.

, dramatics, etc is fabulous i really enjoyed every song this cd offered.

Thixotropic
Average customer rating:

Evan Bliss <3

You gotta get this CD!

buy this album!

Listen Up!

This is some damn good music

Thixotropic

Manufacturer: The Low Life III
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
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Repossess: A Live Album

ASIN: B0002FE82E

Product Description

13 Full Tracks released 2003

Customer Reviews:

Evan Bliss <3.......2007-07-09

I met Evan Bliss, the lead singer of this band, on a internet video game 4 years ago. Since hearing his music, I've probably been one of his number one fans. I've only ever talked to this guy online, and I do a bit, but I know the lyrics to almost every single song this band has ever written.
He's done solo work since the bands split.

If you liked this cd, which you probably did, you should also look into Evan Bliss and the Welchers. It's probably the only CD they'll have released being he's gotten married and moved to Ireland.

The CD is absolutely amazing. "Fiona" is one of my favorite songs on the entire cd. The message in the song is well delivered. My absolute favorite is "Bag of Money". The first time I heard this song, I had hounded Evan on MSN on how he came up with such a glorious song. "It was a dream I had one night".

The CD is filled with hits left and right. While the song "thixotropic" is just an instrumental, it's still worth listening.

This is one of my favorite CD's in my entire collection (4500+ songs)

You gotta get this CD!.......2006-02-21

The only word is WOW! I may not agree with their morals or politics but man, the music is just AWESOME! I just can't stop
listening.

buy this album!.......2004-09-10

You won't stop tapping your foot along with The Low Life. This album was giving to me by a friend and I haven't stopped listening to it. I love all the songs, but You Are Everything is my favorite. This album, or anything by The Low Life, is a great buy! :-)

Listen Up!.......2004-07-29

Let me be honest. I, at first, did not like this cd. It was given to me by a friend of a friend who wanted to get the band's name out. I played it, and put it away. Maybe it was cause i was in the middle of a video game, I just wasn't interested in it at the time. But when I pulled it out a second time, I loved what I heard. Every song has very memorable opening sounds. My favorite opening has to be "Work You Did". You can't help but bob your head to the beat. My favorite songs on the album are "Bag of Money" and "You are Everything". I always love the idea of a story in a song, and "Bag of Money" has that. "You are Everything" speaks to every guy that has had a very annoying girlfriend that just can't take a hint. There are very memorable songs on the album, but those two are the two i skip to over any others. My only problem with the lyrics is this: at some points the words run together and you can't understand what they are saying. But this mostly happens when the lead singer hands the mic over to someone else for a short phrase or two. But for the most part, this cd is a very good buy. If only I knew they were playing at Artscape in Baltimore, I woulda been there. Definitaly get this cd.

This is some damn good music.......2004-06-23

The low life is the best band to come out of maryland. i just saw them in concert in towson and it couldent get any better.Some of there better songs are Bag Of Money, They're coming, You Are Everything and well the whole cd is good. they also came out with a live cd which is not as good but still high quality music.Trust me you will be a fan after hearing just one of there songs.

Kurt Weill: Life, Love, & Laughter--Dance Arrangements, 1927-50

Average customer rating:

SAIL ON, KURT!
Not at All Vile Weill
ELEVATOR MUSIC

Kurt Weill: Life, Love, & Laughter--Dance Arrangements, 1927-50
H.K. Gruber , and Palast Orchestra
Manufacturer: RCA
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Ein Freund ein Guter Freu
Krokodile und Andere Hausfreunde
Wochenend und Sonnenschein
Superhits Präsentiert Vom Palast Orchester
Superhits V.2

ASIN: B000055YBR
Release Date: 2001-02-12

Tracks:

Mile After Mile
Bilbao Song
Stay Well
Life, Love And Laughter
My Ship
Green-up Time
The Little Gray House
Blues Potpourri
September Song
All At Once
Le Roi d'Aquitaine (Waltz)
Foxtrot Potporri
Alabama Song
Lied Der Jenny
Speak Low
It Never Was You
What Good Would the Moon Be
Tango Ballade
Kanonen-Song

Amazon.com

Here's a disc of 19 familiar and unfamiliar Kurt Weill songs arranged for dance band and played by an expert group of specialists in Roaring Twenties band music. They're led by singer-conductor-composer H.K. Gruber, whose previous recordings include Weill's Die Dreigroschenoper. The result is a start-to-finish delight. From the first notes, you're beamed back in time to one of those sleek transatlantic passenger liners, sitting in an art deco ballroom watching elegant couples in tuxedos and ball-gowns swirl by while the band plays hits from Weill's German and Broadway triumphs. Sure, the venom is leached from the originals, but who needs agitprop when you're on a dance floor? The arrangements are by a variety of hands, hired by Weill's European and American publishers with his approval to get more mileage from his musical theater works. They're delightfully square rhythmically and formulaic in transferring Weill's music to conventional dance bands, but the music still holds up and is fun to hear in its new clothes. A special treat is the eight tracks with Max Raabe, whose light tenor and falsetto singing preserve the spirit of Weill's songs, as well as perfectly mimic the boy band singers of times gone by. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews:

SAIL ON, KURT!.......2006-04-23

I wouldn't take offence here oh, Weill purists! These reconstructions are charming and harmonically reverent to their originals, more than could be said for many versions of the Weill Songbook through the decades, including Lou Reed's friendly `adaptation' of the September Song's chord progression and melodic line!

Shoenberg and Webern expressed their disdain of Weill's music; curiously, Arnold had also disclosed a secret wish of having his own audiences walk back home "whistling his tunes", oh, don't ask why... You can certainly whistle, hum and sway your partner now, as the transatlantic's bouncy dancehall sails on just as Kurt, Lotte and the lot of them did when escaping the lethal hounds of early 30s Berlin.... the-next-little-dollar bound.

Not at All Vile Weill.......2001-08-13

The ever versatile HK Gruber has done it again digging up these gorgeous dance arrangements for Weill's music--proving, if anything, Weill's versatility. Anyone familiar with the Capriccio historical Weill recordings will be aware of the long tradition of dance bands taking Weill's music as the lead for dance music or pop music incarnations (all the way up through the more obvious appropriations familiar to Americans: Mack the Knife and September Song). Hardly MUZAK arrangements (listen to the delicate violin in track 17's "What Good Would the Moon Be" to hear what I mean), this generous helping of 19 songs offers a chance to see Weill through a delightfully different but entirely compatible lens. Max Raabe provides the ideal vocal compliment on 8 of the tracks, his tenor floating effortlessly into his head voice suggesting a "period" sound reminiscent of Bing Crosby. The import title for this disc is "Charming Weill," and that modest adjective expresses the least of its virtues.

ELEVATOR MUSIC.......2001-05-23

This is a very strange CD: why would anyone want to take the quirky rhythms and melodies of the great Kurt Weill and "tame" them into dance arrangements? Certainly one has listened to (& even perhaps admired) dance arrangements of composers from Victor Herbert to Cole Porter to Jerry Herman, but these are all, if you will, main stream composers-- men whose music sounds good in original Broadway or Hollywood arrangements and just as good (or almost as good) as played by a dance band...think "Begin The Beguine" as done by Fred Astaire on film or "Begin The Beguine" done by Jo Stafford with the Paul Weston Orchestra.

But Weill was an innovator: a man who can still be listened to experiencing the thrill of something fresh and new. One immediately thinks of his collaborations with Bertolt Brecht in Germany: "Threepenny Opera" and "The Rise & Fall Of The City of Mahagonny" or "The Seven Deadly Sins", etc. his American opera, "Street Scene" with Langston Hughes or his American musical plays: "One Touch of Venus" with Ogden Nash or "Love Life" with Alan Jay Lerner, etc. The songs on this CD all deserve great recordings from the "Alabama Song" to "September Song" but they turn into a kind of flattened elevator music instead of having fresh interpretations or even more traditional ones. What happens is that the longing in "What Good Would the Moon Be" and the romance of "Speak Low" and the raucousness of "Bilbao Song" are all much too similar and much too easy.

Tracks:

Die Sieben Tods Prologue
Die Sieben Tods No. 1 Faulheit (Sloth)
Die Sieben Tods No. 2 Stolz (Pride)
Die Sieben Tods No. 4 Zorn (Anger)
Die Sieben Tods No. 5 Vrei (Gluttony)
Die Sieben Tods No. 6 Unzucht (Lust)
Die Sieben Tods No. 6 Habsucht (Avarice)
Die Sieben Tods No. 7 Neid (Envy)
Die Sieben Tods No. 8 Epilog
My Ship
One Life To Live
Buddy On The Nightshift
Nannas Leid
Bilbao - Song
Surabaya - Johnny
Das Leid Von Der Harten Nuss
Je Ne T'amie Pas
Schickelgruber
Der Abscheidsbreief
Foolish Heart
Speak Low
I'm A Stranger Here Myself

Amazon.com

Kurt Weill's ballet with songs is one of this century's greatest theatrical works. It has all the wit and melodic appeal of The Threepenny Opera and social conscience of Mahagonny, but more warmth and musical sophistication than either. It's also all over with in about 40 minutes. Some critics believe the piece was intended as a sort of love poem to Weill's wife, Lotte Lenya; given the tenderness of much of the music, it's hard to disagree. Lenya herself recorded the piece in the 1950s (a recording recently reissued by Sony) and this very much newer performance is welcome particularly for Anne Sofie von Otter's highly intelligent and musical way with the text. The other songs, from both Weill's Berlin and Broadway periods, make the perfect filler. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews:

Very Good.......2006-01-03

This is a very nice selection of Weill pieces showing the full range of his output. These range from the ambitious Seven Deadly Sins to songs from Happy End to some of his Broadway work. All are very interesting. The performers, particularly Von Otter, are excellent. Recommended strongly.

Excellent Weill Alternative to Lenya and Lemper.......2005-09-29

`Speak Low Songs by Kurt Weill' is a great addition to the performances of Herr Weill's works by the prominent mezzo-soprano, Anne Sofie Von Otter. I have listened to many performances by Weill specialists from the archetype, Weill's wife, Lotte Lenys, for whom many of the songs were originally written to Ute Lemper and Gisela May, who lean heavily toward Lotte Lenya's gravel-voiced interpretation of Weill's songs.

Anne Sofie Von Otter breaks with this tradition and gives us what are easily the sweetest interpretations of Weill's songs from both his German and English works, which I have heard anywhere.

The flagship performance on this disc is `Die Sieben Todsunden' (`The Seven Deadly Sins') which was a cycle of songs to be sung on the stage, accompanied by dances done by a second performer. This takes the first nine (9) tracks and is at least as good as what I have heard from Weill specialist, Lemper. This album is the first time I have noticed that there are two versions of this work, and that Ms. Von Otter is performing the version for soprano.

But, I think the most moving performances come later, especially in von Otter's performances of the three numbers from `Happy End', `Bilbao-Song', `Surabaya-Johnny', and `Das Lied von der harten Nuss' (Song of the Big Shot). I have heard these done by many people, but never so sweetly. These numbers are so lovingly performed that I insist that you ignore the fact that the lyrics are in German. The accompanying booklet gives English translations, which I simply ignore and enjoy the musical talent with no filter. My understanding German has nothing to do with this, as I do the same with French, which I can just barely make out.

Kurt Weill may not be the most important influence on American musical theatre in the 20th century, but he is easily in the top five, along with the Gershwins, Irving Berlin, Richard Rodgers and collaborators, and Cole Porter.

Ms. Von Otter is ably accompanied on this disk by her favorite pianist, Bengt Forsberg plus the Norddeutch Rundfunk orchestra directed by John Eliot Gardiner. While I really like her selection on this disk, the collection makes me wish Ms. Von Otter would do some more Weill and spend less time hanging out with Elvis Costello, but that's a different story.

Everything is right but the style.......2005-09-24

Weill and Brecht defined a nasty age with nasty art, writing some of the grittiest satire in the history of music. In this CD von Otter misses that edge, skirts all the dangerous, sleazy implications, and ultimately sounds too much the opera singer slumming it for an hour. Her earnestness is no subtitute for the right period style, a la Lotte Lenya.

Intelligent reading from both singer and conductor.......2005-01-27

THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS is such a brilliant mini-masterpiece (and, to me, the pinnacle of the Brecht-Weill years) that it is hard to screw up. It is a testament to the staying power of this work (and to the brilliance of Weill's music in general) that it can be performed by the likes of Lotte Lenya, Julia Migenes, Ute Lemper, Judy Kaye, Marianne Faithfull, Teresa Stratas, and -- as here -- Anne Sofie von Otter, and STILL work... and EACH of these women are totally successful in the piece on their own terms.

Here, Anne Sofie von Otter gives us an intelligent (and highly musical) rendering of the text, keeping the musical line very much intact. She sings with vibrato at times, and then will turn around and use straight-tones at moments where it is dramatically appropriate to do so. She balances the performance well, shifting gears between cool detachment (which she is often criticized for) and impassioned outbursts (which her critics often fail to notice).

John Eliot Gardiner surprised me with how easily this music seemed to come to him, especially as he seems to be a man more at home with "Period-Instrument-Mozart" than highly charged 20th century works. However, his reading of "The Rake's Progress" by Stravinsky was totally staggering. For example, his choice beginning the climactic moment of the score ("Envy") as slowly as he does caught me very much off guard at first, and I didn't really care for it at all. However, with each successive listen, I find myself "getting" this choice more and more.

Finally, the "filler." As to be expected, she is more successful with the European material than she is with the songs from Weill's Broadway years. But this is the case with about 99.9% of all opera singers who try to sing Weill's Broadway scores. You will never hear any singer give "Je ne t'aime pas" a more hauntingly beautiful, passionately intense performance than Anne Sofie von Otter. Truly, the ultimate interpretation of one of my favorite Weill songs. "Nannas Lied," "Der Abschiedsbrief," and the HAPPY END selections. However, "My Ship" and "One Life to Live" seem to fail at catching fire -- the former because it is marred by an attempt to sound like a "pop singer," the latter because von Otter sings English better than native speakers (she knows where the ACTUAL emphasis in the phrase "nothing: the thing is to have fun" goes, as opposed to where Ira Gershwin placed it). I also -- surprisingly enough -- don't care for her performance of "Schickelgruber" -- she just seems totally lost to me. (I really think that this song is foreign territory to 'legit' sopranos and mezzos -- I don't even care for the Stratas rendition.) Just when I thought I would have to suffer through another bad batch of "opera-crossover," Anne Sofie turned around and surprised me by giving highly successful performances of the numbers from ONE TOUCH OF VENUS (especially on "I'm Stranger Here Myself").

All in all, a worthy purchase: highly recommended to all fans of THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS and Kurt Weill enthusiasts.

Brilliant--The best of the 7 Deadly Sins recordings.......2002-10-12

Weill, and particularly anything Brecht-Weill, has suffered for too long with interpertations based on tired ham theatrics, burlesques of Lenya's style, to the point where we have come to expect it as the only way to sing this music. Lenya herself is said, late in life, to have commented that a better singer (specifically Stratas at that time) would be more appropriate for properly interpreting Weill's music.

Here, after countless CD releases of the Seven Deadly Sins, is the first recording sung in the key the composer originally intended! The result is relevatory, sublime and magnificent.

Ms. Von Otter interprets the rest of the songs with mixed results--all are lovely, several are excellent, though several others have been handled better by singers with more "theatrical" talents. Nevertheless, this recording stands alone, head and shoulders above the others.

Average customer rating:

Life After Love
Low vs Diamond
Manufacturer: Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
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Myths of the Near Future

ASIN: B000M5B3SG
Release Date: 2007-02-12

Album Details

Produced by Mark Williams (Bloc Party, Nine Black Alps).

Kurt Weill from Berlin to Broadway - a selection

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Kurt Weill from Berlin to Broadway - a selection

Manufacturer: Pearl
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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

German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Musicals | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music
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Lotte Lenya Sings Kurt Weill / Levine, Lenya, Armstrong, Gilford, et al
Kurt Weill: The Centennial
Kurt Weill / Songs Volume 2 - A Centennial Anthology
Kurt Weill / Songs Volume 1 - A Centennial Anthology
Knickerbocker Holiday

ASIN: B00004WZTK
Release Date: 2000-10-24

Tracks:

The Threepenny Opr: Mack The Knife - Harald Paulsen With Orch
The Threepenny Opr: Cannon Song - Harald Paulsen With Orch
The Threepenny Opr: Pirate Jenny - Lotte Lenya With The Lewis Ruth Band/Theo Mackeben
The Threepenny Opr: Babarasong - Lotte Lenya With The Lewis Ruth Band/Theo Mackeben
The Threepenny Opr: Lied Von Der Unzulanglichkeit Menslichen Strebens - Bertolt Brecht With Theo Mackeben And His Orch
Happy End: Mandalay Song - Lewis Ruth Band
Happy End: Surabaya Johnny - Lotte Lenya With Pno
Rise And Fall Of The City Of Mahagonny: Moon Of Alabama - Lotte Lenya With The Three Admirals And Orch
Rise And Fall Of The City Of Mahagonny: Denn Wie Man Sich Bettet - Lotte Lenya With Pno
Knickerbocker Holiday: September Song - Walter Huston With Orch/Maurice Abravanel
Knickerbocker Holiday: There's Nowhere To Go But Up - David Brooks With Orch/Maurice Abravanel
Knickerbocker Holiday: The Scars - Walter Huston With Orch/Maurice Abravanel
Lady In The Dark: One Life To Live - Gertrude Lawrence With Orch/Leonard Joy
Lady In The Dark: The Princess Of Pure Delight - Danny Kaye With Orchestra/Maurice Abravanel
Lady In The Dark: And Other Russians - Danny Kaye With Chor And Orch/Maurice Abravanel
Lady In The Dark: The Saga Of Jenny - Gertrude Lawrence With Chor And Orch/Leonard Joy
Lady In The Dark: My Ship - Gertrude Lawrence With Chor And Orch/Leonard Joy
One Touch Of Venus: I'm A Stranger Here Myself - Mary Martin With The 'One Touch Of Venus' Orch/Maurice Abravanel
One Touch Of Venus: Westwind - Kenny Baker With The 'One Touch Of Venus' Orch/Maurice Abravanel
One Touch Of Venus: Foolish Heart - Mary Martin With The 'One Touch Of Venus' Orch/Maurice Abravanel
One Touch Of Venus: Speak Low - Mary Martin/Kenny Baker With The 'One Touch Of Venus' Orch/Maurice Abravanel
One Touch Of Venus: That's Him - Mary Martin With The 'One Touch Of Venus' Orch/Maurice Abravanel
Ulysses Africanus: Lost In The Stars - Walter Huston With Orch/Victor Young
Ulysses Africanus: Lover Man - Lotte Lenya With Pno
One Touch Of Venus: Very, Very, Very - Kurt Weill
One Touch Of Venus: Wooden Wedding - Kurt Weill
One Touch Of Venus: Jersey Plonk - Kurt Weill
One Touch Of Venus: The Trouble With Women - Kurt Weill

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From Berlin to Broadway

Manufacturer: Chandos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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

German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Easy Listening | Pop | Styles | Music
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On the Town

ASIN: B00005YUH5
Release Date: 2002-03-26

Tracks:

Overture
Ballad of Mac the Knife
Cannon Song
Ballad of Immoral Earnings
Second Threepenny Finale
Solomon Song
Call from the Grave
Epitaph
Third Threepenny Finale
Surabaya-Johnny
Alabama Song
Je ne t'aime pas
Jennys Lied
Speak Low
Lost in the Stars
My Ship
One Life to Live

Album Description

This release by the award-winning Center City Brass Quintet showcases the depth and variety of music by the German-born composer Kurt Weill, beginning with a suite of songs from his best-known Threepenny Opera. This is followed by a collection of cabaret and art songs composed in Europe, and concludes with songs composed in America for the Broadway stage in collaboration with the likes of Ira Gershwin and Moss Hart. Every song is in a brand new arrangement for brass quintet, written especially for this recording. Fans of the Center City Brass Quintet's previous CD releases will enjoy the same rich sound, technical brilliance, and artistry they have come to expect from this fabulous ensemble which the American Record Guide has deemed "one of the strongest of today's brass quintets".

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