I am myself a fan of music that particularly illuminates deeper aspects of ourselves; something that makes us 'think', or, as the back of this CD box says, 'uplifting, spine-tingling classical music'.
How could I possibly go wrong with this?
The answer is; I haven't. This is a lovely CD, the recordings are, if not beautifully clear, crisp and refreshed. The pieces are well played and some interpretations- for instance the Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No.3 Allegro ma non tanto- are some of the most beautiful I have heard.
This CD obviously lacks the massive buying power of larger compilation producers but through this it has found less well-known, more abstract performers that tend to push a far deeper message through their music.
The tracks are well-laid out and sourced; from the opening track of Sunrise from Also Sprach Zarathrustra
by R. Strauss to the closing The Lamb by Tavener you feel as though you are not just listening to music, but partaking in a journey to explore your senses.
This is some fine classical music in an innovative fashion, emphasising not only the purely relaxing form of Classical Music as Classic FM is often wont to do, but also the stirring sensations it can generate.
As to be expected there are some of the old 'spine-tingling' favourites here including the Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber and the Nimrod from the Enigma Variations by Elgar but these are well combined with some less recognised music such as Philip Glass' Facades and McCartney's Celebration, which both serve excellently to explore reaches of the human psyche often left untouched by other supposed 'emotional' classical compilations. Luckily, Fur Elise has not been touched at all...!
A crucial note is that the Rachmaninov ambiguously named 'Piano Concerto No.3' is not the Concerto in its entireity, or even- as I was surprised to discover- the First Movement. It is a section of the First Movement which stops rather abruptly. This is a great shame as to that point this track was one of the best interpretations I had come across.
A list of the tracks, by demand:
Disc: 1
1. Sunrise (Sprach Zarathustra) (Opening)
2. Montagues and Capulets - Philadelphia Orchestra
3. Vision - Richard Souther
4. Toccata & Fugue in D Minor
5. Ode to Joy (Symphony, No. 9, Choral) - Philadelphia Orchestra, Westminster Choir
6. Jupiter, The Bringer of Jollity (The Planets) - The Philharmonia Orchestra
7. Mission: The Mission - Ennio Morricone
8. Fond de Temple Saint (Temple Duet) (The Pearl Fishers)
This is a lovely overview. I think many readers would have been interested to know further contents. I'm not a great one for lists just for the sake of lists (and some people on this site are very negative towards their inclusion) but I think some reviews do benefit from them. I wouldn't usually list episodes on a DVD review and I wouldn't list ingredients on a bag of crisps. I do, however, think they have a place in non-fiction book reviews (where the chapters' contents can make or break that purchase decision), and I feel the same is true of a compilation of music. Here, because it's likely to be a lot of pieces that I know, I would like to see which favourites are included, maybe in a list at the end. That was the only thing which prevented me giving a VH instead of H. Goode review, none the less!
Sunrise (Strauss) Romeo & Juliet (Prokofiev) Vision (Hildegard von Bingen) ... more
Toccata & Fugue (JS Bach) Ode To Joy (Beethoven) The Planets - Jupiter (Holst) The Mission (Morricone) The Pearl Fishers (Bizet) The Piano (Nyman) Symp...
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