Relax with Baroque

Advantages: Relaxing, serene, dreamy
Disadvantages: The first track is not actual Albinoni

...Albinoni's Adagios Albinoni is an Italian composer of the late Baroque era. The Baroque era, 1600 to 1750, is used musically to describe a period in music in which the techniques used and expression achieved share similar characteristics. An important characteristic of the Baroque era is the use of contrasts; loud and soft, fast and slow, solo and tutti (all instruments). Adagio an Italian word translated to English as slow. Albinoni used slow movements to provide a contrast to faster movements. He is credited with being the first Italian composer to use three movements for a concerto. A concerto being a genre of music, in which a small group of players is set against a much larger group thereby providing the contrasts of soft and loud, solo and tutti. The usual pattern of concerto is three movements - fast – slow – fast... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Great Electro music
Disadvantages: Just the one

...A Heavy Nite With... is the one and only album by Relaxed Muscle who formed in 2002, gigged in 2003 and sort of disappeared after the release of A Heavy Nite With.. towards the end of 2003. Often passed off as a bit of fun as many side-projects are I feel that this album is very under-rated, the lyrical content, grimey feel and quality music ensures that this electro album is up there with the best of them. Relaxed Muscle consist of Jarvis Cocker (need I say Pulp?) and Jason Buckle (All Seing I, Fat Truckers & a cameo role in Harry Potter), they used the pseudonyms Darren Spooner and Wayne Marsden and billed themselves as "The Sound of Young Doncaster" and claimed to have met whilst planting flowers, doing community service for burglary. With Relaxed Muscle's darkened image (black make up and skeleton suits), songs about domestic... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Superb collection of beautifully recorded pieces
Disadvantages: Nothing particularly abstract, few 'original' interpretations

...The Classic FM CDs tend to excel particularly in the regions of recording quality, original and varied choices of music from all periods, and a well-enforced central theme. This CD is no different-from the most ancient of Baroque composers to Modern Film pieces each style is well-represented here. As ever, the recordings are crystal-clear, which is to be expected from this franchise. However, the music, though varied in period and musical aspects, is very little out of the ordinary. In the typical Classic FM style the music is recorded for the casual listener, and as with all compilations the educated musician will often be frustrated at the incompleteness of full works, and also perhaps the often unoriginal interpretations of the pieces. This is definitely a compilation again aimed at the listener with a piece in mind who doesn... Read review

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