Adiemus III - Dances Of Time - Adiemus > Reviews > Dances of Time

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Not applicable
Quality and consistency of tracks	Flawless
Value for Money	Good

Advantages:	More good adiemus music
Disadvantages:	A few not so good tracks

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Released in 1998, Adiemus III: Dances of Time is the third album by Welsh composer Karl Jenkins as part of the Adiemus project. This album is a tribute to the interrelationship between music and dance throughout history. As such, most tracks are composed in a traditional style of dance, including meter.

In addition to the multitracked vocals used in the previous Adiemus recordings, Jenkins introduces the Finnish Adiemus Singers to perform the chorus to Miriam Stockley's lead.

This Adiemus CD continues on in the same way as the previous two CDs, having more good music of the same type as in previous CDs. It amazes me that Jenkins is still able to keep composing the same type of music over and over again and still manage to keep every track different and interesting to listen to.

Tracks on this CD include:
1. Corrente (Courante) - This is an amazing piece of music and a great opening to the CD. Right from the start it is able to catch your interest, even though it is being sung A Capella (without musical accompaniment) and the interest still holds throughout the first section, and into the second section where there is a great accompaniment to the words. This is definitely one of my favourite tracks on the CD and is just amazing to listen to.
2. Un Bolero Azul (Blue Bolero) - This is another good song, that in my opinion sounds similar to Ravel's Bolero - the one that the skaters danced to and got the perfect score - it has a similar sort of sound to it, but then I suppose that would be expected seeing as the both have the word Bolero, and that is a type of Spanish dance (and probably why the track has a Spanish title). But even though it sounds similar in the opening, when the voices begin it is totally different. This is another really good track, the only problem that I have is that it can be nearly too long to listen to - it is between eight and nine minutes long and this, in my opinion, is nearly too long for a track.
3. La La La Koora (Ländler) - This is another amazing track that catches your interest right from the start with its nice, light hearted tune, which then leads into a nice slightly more calming section. This, then is followed by a loud section with great orchestration and use of dynamics. This is a great track and the accompaniment is amazing. This is another one of my favourite tracks from the CD.
4. Dawn Dancing - This track isnt too bad. However, it isn't one of my favourite tracks, just because in my opinion it isn't as good as the rest. Musically, it is still a good track, and of a similar standard to the other tracks, it just is one that I don't happen to like very much.
5. Kaya Kakooya (Rumba) - This dance is a dance originating in Africa and then traveled with the slave trade over to Cuba and the New World. That is just some background information about the type of dance, but it doesn't really provide much when listening to the music. This track is another of my favourite ones on the CD. It has another nice, light hearted melody and a great accompaniment. It has the same idea being played/sung throughout and it may seem a bit repetitive but there is variety each time it is played and this variety makes the track so good.
6. Intrada & Pavan - This track has a good start, with a nice melody and a steady pulsing rhythm throughout which helps keep a feel of uniformity throughout the piece. It gradually builds to a loud bit near the middle of the piece and then after that dies away into another 'strange' bit where the voices are being more and more percussive in the way they are used. After that it goes back to a similar sort of thing as the opening material. This is a pretty good track, but once again I feel that it is nearly too long and interest is often lost when the whole thing is played - it still is another good track though.
7. Minuet - This is the shortest track on the CD, only last 1 minute 24 seconds. This follows a typical minuet pattern to start with and then changes in the middle to another lovely orchestral section before the main vocal music returns. This is a good track, not one of the best on the CD, but a good track nonetheless.
8. Rain Dance - This is another good track. It has quite a long introduction and then the vocal music begins, with the feel of an traditional African melody being sung. Then the accompaniment begins in the 'chorus' and the track picks up a bit. After this it goes back to the unaccompanied verse section and then alternates quite a bit throughout the remainder of the track. Another good track, but once again not one of the best on the CD, but still is good.
9. African Tango - Even from the beginning this sounds like a Tango, with the accompanying rhythms you would expect to hear in a tango, which is sometimes more than is heard in the other tracks. In some other tracks it can take a while to recognise what type of dance it actually is you're listening to, but not so with this track. This is another good enough track, just not one of the best, nor is it one of my favourites, but still is of a good standard and worth listening to.
10. Zarabanda (Saraband) - This is, in my opinion, the best track on the CD. This is the track that introduced me to the Adiemus music, I saw the video for this track one day when I had Classic FM TV on. This has a lovely melody with great orchestration of the voices and the musical accompaniment, and the way that it builds up to the ending is also amazing. It would be too difficult to describe the greatness of this track, but it really is an amazing track to listen to, especially when you are just sitting doing nothing with the music turned up. Then, the track's true greatness is shown.
11. Ein Wiener Walzer (A Viennese Waltz) - This track resembles a waltz, but it isn't what you would expect to hear in a waltz - the similarites are there but it isn't as fitting to the name as the African Tango is. It, however, is another great track, with a great orhestral accompaniment which helps point out the Waltz oom-cha-cha rhythm. This is another of my favourite tracks on the CD, it is nowhere near as good as the previous track, but then, in my opinion, none of the other tracks could come anywhere near it. This is still a great track, with some amazing parts to it.
12. Hymn to the Dance - This is a much calmer piece of music, and is more like a Hymn than some of the other tracks on different CDs that have the word 'Hymn' in the title. It has a lovely solo melodic line in the opening which then builds to the chorus where all the voices are present singing. Another good track, not one of the best, and it probably is one of the worst on the CD, but in my opinion there aren't any bad tracks on the CD - they are all good, and so this one is the worst of a great bunch, so it is still quite good.
13. Dos a Dos (Square Dance) - This is the final track on the CD and has a great 'spoken' introduction that makes a great introduction to the piece. Then there is a short orchestral section which sounds like music from Aaron Copland's 'Hoedown', but then it is supposed to sound like that sort of music. Then the voices come back in and sing their noises, but in places it still sounds very like some of Copland's music. Just in places, there is a short one or two bar long section that, to me, sounds just like music of Copland. This first half of the piece is pretty good but there is nothing really special about it. However, the second half of the piece is way better, the melodic line is amazing, along with the accompaniment and is definitely a track that has you 'dancing' along in some form or another, whether it be just tapping your foot or nodding your head, to acutally moving about in some form of dance. This has a pretty pathetic start compared to the second half of the piece, which is truly amazing, and so the track is an average track. The not so good start cancels out the brilliant ending. But, when listening to the CD from start to finish, the second half of this piece is the perfect way to end this CD, I don't think there could be a better way to end it and in that context the first half doesnt matter. Generally though, the track is another good one, like all the rest on the CD.

This CD is amazing, and definitely the best Adiemus CD that I have listened to. It, in my opinion, is well worth listening to many times because it is such a good CD and definitely one that people should consider buying, especially if they have not had any previous introduction to Adiemus music. This CD can be bought from amazon.co.uk for £6.99 with Used & New from £4.18. The picture on amazon shows a differen cover from the version of the CD that I have bought, and although the cover isn't as good as on the one that I have got, the music all appears to be the same and there being no other difference. It can also be bought from 101cd.com for £6.99 with free P&P to UK and the possibility of earning ipoints on your order. This definitely is a CD that is worth listening to, and at this price it is definitely one that people should consider buying.