...
The pieces on the album are divided into three sections:
1: - Commonly Available Pieces:
These are:
Barber's "Adagio for Strings" (Even the single remix was a terrible kludge, taking the intro from the album and tacking on a rave beat to it, so hardly a remix.), Ravel's "Pavane ... Read review
Wiliam Orbit 's "Pieces in a Modern Style is an ambient album that rejigs 11 works by ... more
classical composers in a particularly tacky fashion. Even though Orbit has proved his mettle as an innovative and exciting producer for others--Blur's 13 and Madonna'...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Adagio For Strings-Samuel Barber In A Landscape-John Cage Ogive Number 1-Erik Satie ... more
Cavalleria Rusticana-Pietro Mascagni Pavane Pour Une Infante Defunte-Maurice Ravel L'Inverno-Antonio Vivaldi Triple Concerto-Ludwig Van Beethoven Xerxes-George F...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Wiliam Orbit 's "Pieces in a Modern Style is an ambient album that rejigs 11 works by ... more
classical composers in a particularly tacky fashion. Even though Orbit has proved his mettle as an innovative and exciting producer for others--Blur's13and Madonna'sRay of Light--this is an ungainly meeting of the sublime and the absurd that, frankly, doesn't work. Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings", Ludwig Van Beethoven's "Triple Concerto", Henryk Gorecki's "Piece In the Old Style 1" and Antonio Vivaldi "L'Inverno" are four of the pieces that unfortunately meet their maker in a crude pile up of flat, belching synths and wallpaper flourishes. If he had combined live instrumentation with a playful reverence for the arcane glories of the past--perhaps he could have managed to make reality out of that most elusive of notions: experimental music that actually sells. However, Orbit fails to do anything more than resemble a second rate Vangelis. --Maxine Kabuubi
Postage & Packaging:£1.21 Availability:Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Advantages: Perfect Execution and some interesting obscurities Disadvantages: The Real versions of all the pieces sound better
...versions.
The pieces on the album are divided into three sections:
1: - Commonly Available Pieces:
These are:
Barber's "Adagio for Strings" (Even the single remix was a terrible kludge, taking the intro from the album and tacking on a rave beat to it, so hardly a remix.), Ravel's "Pavane pour une infante defunte", Mascagni's "Cavaliera Rusticana" and "Xerxes" ... ..., Therefore giving exposure to pieces that may not get it, although real renditions would still be prefereable
These are:
John Cage's "In a Landscape, "Ogive No 1" by Satie, and "Piece in the Old Style 1 and 3" (so guess where he got the title from) by Gorecki.
3: - Music Box STuff - That sounds like it was played on a beefed up bedside music box, therefore not very good at all. more
When the world found out that Dance/Ambient producer William Orbit (who produced Madonna's excellent "Ray of Light" album and was responsible for at least some of the "Music" album) was going to release an album of electronically produced classical pieces, the world was impressed. This has been done many times before. Wendy (then Walter) Carlos produced a series of clascical albums ("Switched on Bach" etc) in the late sixties and early seventies which were entirely electronic, in the seventies we had Tomita ("Snow Flakes are Dancing" etc) who's releases were on the RCA Red Seal classical label. In the late eighties and early nineties Frank Zappa used the synclavier to produce his own classical pueces because very often orchestras couldnt play what Zappa wanted (very often they could, listen to "The Yellow Shark" and "The LSO play Zappa" albums.
So to the music on this album, what do you get? Everything is played in exemplary fashion, but this becomes pointless when real orchestral recordings of songs are available that sound as good as if not better than the Orbit versions.
The pieces on the album are divided into three sections:
1: - Commonly Available Pieces:
These are:
Barber's "Adagio for Strings" (Even the single remix was a terrible kludge, taking the intro from the album and tacking on a rave beat to it, so hardly a remix.), Ravel's "Pavane pour une infante defunte", Mascagni's "Cavaliera Rusticana" and "Xerxes" by Handel .
2: - More Obscure Stuff , Therefore giving exposure to pieces that may not get it, although real renditions would still be prefereable
These are:
John Cage's "In a Landscape, "Ogive No 1" by Satie, and "Piece in the Old Style 1 and 3" (so guess where he got the title from) by Gorecki.
3: - Music Box STuff - That sounds like it was played on a beefed up bedside music box, therefore not very good at all.
Beethoven's "Triple Concerto" and "Opus 132" and "L'Inverno" by Vivaldi.
So why did he do it. Because he could. The albub is very pleasant to listen to , comes in a nice slip case and is still in the Classic FM charts, but is ultimately a very disposable artefact.
William Orbit's solo albums are excellent, and his production likewise. Technically this is a triumph, point ultimately it's a pointless and fruitless excercise.
Advantages: Offers a unique interpretation of classical music. Disadvantages: Can blend too easily into the background.
...If you are expecting such pieces as Ferry Corsten's Remix of 'Barber's Adagio For Strings' then you should not buy this album because the music on it bears little resemblance to the popular dance version. However, you should buy it if you have an open minded approach to classical music, because in my opinion that is the genre to which this album belongs. Others would disagree, such as the directors of the classical music chart who for some reason ... ...Orbit has taken several classical pieces by well known composers (such as Beethoven, Satie and Barber) and arranged them in his own, individual modern style. Some have been arranged with subtlety, such as 'Barber's Adagio For Strings', and don't sound particularly different compared to the originals. Others are more adventurous, such as 'Cavellera Rusticana'. They still sound like the originals whilst at the same time being innovative, creative and ...
Analytikerin 27.05.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Pieces In A Modern Style - William Orbit
Advantages: Good modernised collection of dance music. Disadvantages: Maybe not what people expect from William Orbit
...He has selected 11 classical pieces of music from the likes of Vivaldi, Beethoven and Handel and added his own modern touch to create Pieces in a Modern Style. The pieces are still at a slow classical speed and are not for those who only like fast dance music. The pieces are also quite disimilar to the Ferry Corsten remixes that had so much airplay when Adagio for Strings was riding high in the charts. However as a relaxing albumn this does just ...
dan7hughes 21.09.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Pieces In A Modern Style - William Orbit
Advantages: Some great original work Disadvantages: Somewtracks
Pieces in a modern style, what is that you may say. Well, Mr Orbit, of Madonna production fame has reworked 11 classical pieces of music, using today’s electronic equipment. Oh my god, you could shriek, Heathen, philistine, butcher. Ahhhhh, go all the classical music lovers. Well that is one reaction, here is a more considered one.
Does this work? Well the answer is partly, of course the single from this Album was Adagio for strings, that ... ...the real stuff.
Other pieces include those by Beethoven, Vivaldi and Handel, and these are better as there has been some real re-working of the music to make it fit a modern style. There are some other lesser known composers works used such as Gorecki and Satie, I certainly had not heard of them and so these pieces were completely new to me.
As a person who likes classical music, but is not an avid collector, (I have about 7 classical CD’s), ...
KingHerrod 30.01.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Pieces In A Modern Style - William Orbit
Advantages: great to listen to Disadvantages: none
...William Orbit, it is called Pieces in a Modern Style and also includes his top ten hit Barber's Adagio for Strings, this is classical music as has never been heard before, it is inspiring and easy to listen to.
He has come up with an album which is diverse and is essential listening for everyone. Pieces in a modern style and Barber's Adagio for strings are not the only cds that he has been involved with recently, he also produced another masterpiece ...
combat_claire 08.02.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Pieces In A Modern Style - William Orbit
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Product Information for "Pieces In A Modern Style - William Orbit" »
Product details
Title
Pieces In A Modern Style
Performer
William Orbit
Genre
Electronic
Sub Genre
Electronica
Release Date
17/01/2000
Recomended Retail Price
15.99 GBP
Original Release Year
2000
Label / Distributor
East West / Cinram Logistics
Engineer
Sean Spuehler
Producer
William Orbit
Pieces in Set
1
Studio / Live
Studio
Stereo
Stereo
Format
Performer
EAN
639842895729
Catalogue Number
3984289572
Additional notes
Album Notes
This is an Enhanced audio CD, which contains regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files. Also includes bonus disc featuring two remixes of Samuel Barber's "Adagio For Strings." Personnel: William Orbit, Damian LeGassick (keyboards, programming); Sean Spuehler (programming). Recorded at Guerilla Studios, London, England and Guerilla Beach, Los Angeles, California. PIECES IN A MODERN STYLE was nominated for the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album. Though producer/writer/arranger William Orbit had already amassed an impressive body of work under a litany of monikers, PIECES IN A MODERN STYLE was the first album to be released under his full name. Though Orbit is known as a trendsetter and pioneer of the ambient-house genre, he decided to go a different route for this solo debut, an album of classical songs, all of which are given an ambient lilt. The 11 classic compositions include works by Handel ("Xerxes"), Vivaldi ("L'Inverno"), and Beethoven ("Opus 132"). What drew Orbit to these pieces was the timeless strength of their melodies, a fact that helps make PIECES IN A MODERN STYLE such a seamless--and exciting--meeting of the old and the new.
Album Reviews
Rolling Stone (3/16/00, p.74) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...sweet and becalming....The pieces drift by, cloudlike, accented by wind chimes, the rush of helicopter blades and other effects....little curios for anyone who's interested in the process of reinvention - or in just chilling out." Q (2/00, p.89) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...11 disparate...classical pieces from Beethoven to Henryk Gorecki done in vaguely ambient style....as with all the best indulgences, there's an all-pervading sense of joy and freedom..." Vibe (3/00, p.206) - "...a hypnotic suite of dreamlike mood pieces that....simply drift along with Orbit's mesmerizing flow....spinning variations on [classical composer's] themes..." Mojo (3/00, p.106) - "...well-chosen classical pieces....His pieces are mostly drawn from moderns such as Cage, Gorecki, Barber, Satie and Ravel, and work best when mined for their luxuriant melancholy..." NME (1/15/00, p.27) - 6 out of 10 - "...Orbit's ambitious ambientisation programme works well when it gives this music a sense of space and cinematic visions in your head....[he's] made a richly ambient, evocative record from apparently staid and stale old material..." Muzik (2/00, p.70) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...modernist lullabies for club babies....quite lovely, often mournful, generally unpretentious sweep of music you've never heard before properly..." Alternative Press (4/00, p.93) - 4 out of 5 - "...[His] ambient-electronic interpretations of immortal composers...reveal his true roots....His sensitive renditions...are both understated and instructive..." Magnet (4-5/00, p.86) - "...a new-age take on European art music....The album's best piece is Orbit's interpretation of Beethoven's 'Triple Concerto'. [It] is blended with electric guitar, shimmering bells, funky beats and other sounds to create a rich, atmospheric collage..." CMJ (2/14/00, p.20) - "...paralleling the spacious, sprawling aaspects of classical music with the same characteristics of modern-day electronic/ambient music, Orbit makes a connection that is sublime and powerful..."
Titles on disc 1
1.
Adagio For Strings
2.
In A Landscape
3.
Ogive Number 1
4.
Cavellaria Rusticana
5.
Pavanne Pour Une Infant Defunte
6.
L'inverno
7.
Triple Concerto
8.
Xerxes
9.
Piece In The Old Style 1
10.
Piece In The Old Style 3
11.
Opus 132
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Listed on Ciao since
21/09/2000
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