John Cage: Voice & Piano

On this CD:

1. Four Walls, for voice & piano
Composed by John Cage
Performed by Steffen Schleiermacher, Anna Clementi

2. A Flower, for voice & closed piano
Composed by John Cage
Performed by Steffen Schleiermacher, Anna Clementi

3. Experiences II, for solo voice
Composed by John Cage
Performed by Steffen Schleiermacher, Anna Clementi

4. She is Asleep, for voice, prepared piano & 4 percussion
Composed by John Cage
Performed by Steffen Schleiermacher, Anna Clementi

5. The Wonderful Widow of Eighteen Springs, for voice & closed piano
Composed by John Cage
Performed by Steffen Schleiermacher, Anna Clementi

6. Nowth upon Nacht, for voice & piano
Composed by John Cage
Performed by Steffen Schleiermacher, Anna Clementi

Tracks:

Chaucer: Mice Before Milk
Copland: The Cat And The Mouse
Faure: Kitty Valse
Cage: little four paws
Anon.: St. Jerome's Cat
Scarlatti: The Cat Fugue
Weyse: Cat Cavatina
Siegmaster: Our Cat
Guastavino: Gato
Swinburne: To A Cat
Barber: The Monk And His Cat
Chopin: The Cat's Waltz
Rans: The Cat Of Cats
Martinu: March Of The Cats In The Midnight Solstice
Wolf: Mouse-Catching Rhyme
Anon.: The Wonder Of The Cat
Howhaness: Cat Dreaming
Ravel: Cat Duet
Leighton: The Cat's Lament
Dickinson: She Sights A Bird
Faure: Mi-a-ou
Ketzel: Piece For Piano Four Paws
Anon.: Cats Are Wonderful Friends
Von Dohnanyi: Cats On The Roof
Wordsworth: The Kitten And The Falling Leaves
Bizet: Puss In The Corner
Satie: Song Of The Cat
Antheil: The Dog-Cat Polka
Anon.: The Cats Of Kilkenney
Tchaikovsky: Puss-In-Boots And The White Cat
Britten: For I Will Consider My Cat Jeoffrey
Salmanov: The Hungry Cat And The Well-Fad Cat
King: That Cat
Copland: I Bought Me A Cat
Confrey: Kitten On The Keys
Rossini: The Cat Duet

Customer Reviews:

More fun than a litter of kittens!.......2004-01-17

I am familiar with Mr. Lester's work, so when I found this CD, I had to get a copy. It is delightful. The wealth of music about cats is amazing! I played Copland's Cat and Mouse in a recital many years ago. I had no clue there were so many other cat tunes out there. The Cat duet that closes the CD is very funny. Zez Confrey's Kitten on the Keys rings so true - if you know cats.

Please don't let the "cute" idea behind this CD make you think the compositions or the performances are second rate. Nothing here is second rate. Noel Lester is a true artist and I admire his skill. The voices are full and rich. Even the short snippets of poetry work beautifully and I ordinarily don't like spoken word combined with my music. All the spoken word bits are very short, less than 25 seconds.

You will enjoy the playfulness and artistry of this CD. Look for more music from Mr. Lester. He is an American treasure.

Charming and delightful.......2002-10-20

This CD will appeal to lovers of classical music and cats. A surprising number of classical composers wrote piano pieces and songs about our feline friends and this disc serves up a number of surprising gems. The many moods and musical styles found are astonishing and the collection intersperses poems (about cats, of course!)and songs and duets among the piano pieces. The sound is brilliant and the performances are stellar. A winner!!

My Doggies Went Nuts When They Heard This CD!.......2002-10-20

If you love cats, or if you hate them, I'd say you'll LOVE this CD! It's clever, witty, beautifully packaged; and the music is wonderfully played --- one gem after another! Couldn't recommend highly enough. Meow!!

Meow.......2002-09-05

A very delightful album. Makes a great gift.
There are some rare musical treats that involve cats.

Average customer rating:

excellent overview of contemporaneous classic music
For the price you can't lose

Discover Music of the 20th Century

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Ballets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Compilations | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Hymns | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Instructional | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music

$7.99 and Under | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music

All Classical Music Blowout | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music

Opera & Vocal | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music
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Discover Music of the Classical Era
Discover: Music of the Romantic Era
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Discover Early Music
A History of Musical Style

ASIN: B000B6N6B8
Release Date: 2005-11-01

Tracks:

Prelude A L'Apres-Midi D'un Faune - Alexander Rahbari
Walzer - Peter Hill
I. Andante-Scherzo - Rebecca Hirsch
Sehr Ruhig Und Zart - Ulster Orchestra
Lebhaft Und Zart Bewegt - Ulster Orchestra
Sehr Langsam Und Ausserst Zart - Ulster Orchestra
Fliessend, Ausserst Zart - Ulster Orchestra
Sehr Fliessend - Ulster Orchestra
Forlane: Allegretto - Klara Kormendi
First Tableau: The Shrove-Tide Fair - Philharmonia Orchestra
The Mountebank - Philharmonia Orchestra
Vivo - Bournemouth Sinfonietta
III. Moderato Pesante - Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Hymn To St. Cecilia - Choir Of St. John's College, Cambridge
IV. Allegretto - Ondrej Lenard
Introduzione: Andante Non Troppo-Allegro Vivace - Alexander Rahbari

Tracks:

Romance - Czecho-Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra (Kosice)
II. Allegro - Ladislav Slovak
III. Allegro Agitato - Stephen Gunzenhauser
Main Theme From Schindler's List - Paul Bateman
The Unanswered Question - Northern Sinfonia
Second Electonic Interpolation (Conclusion) - Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra
Third Electronic Interpolation (Beginning) - Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra
I. Liturgie De Cristal - Amici Ensemble
IV. Commentaire - Idil Biret
Warming Up, Leading To Model 1, Bass - Gregory Rose
'Gott Nochmal' Sun God - Gregory Rose
'Vishnu' God Of Storms - Gregory Rose
God Of The Earth - Gregory Rose
First Interlude - Boris Berman
I. - Roger Heaton
Short Ride In A Fast Machine - Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
The Lord's Prayer - Choir Of St. John's College, Cambridge
II. Lento E Largo-Tranquillissimo - Zofia Kilanowicz
Lullaby - Philharmonia Orchestra
Vision Of The Hunt I - Philharmonia Orchestra
Voice For Solo Flute - Robert Aitken

Customer Reviews:

excellent overview of contemporaneous classic music.......2007-03-22

excellent overview of contemporaneous classic music.

Should be continued, plenty more 20th-century composers to be discovered.

For the price you can't lose.......2007-02-21

This 2 cd set consists of, as the title indicates, various 20c pieces or movements from the Naxos catalog. Sound quality is uniformly high, although for some such as Stockhausen's it's not clear if that's good or bad. What is excellent is the variety of the collection--some familiar (Debussy), others not, some pretty, others intentionally weird. Few will find every piece to his or her taste, but many listeners who do not spend much time on 20c music will find something to like. Overall, a great introduction to a period of much off-putting, yes, but also much compelling music.

Average customer rating:

a tribute with poor feedbacks
"Keep it new"
Classical avant-garde experimentalism from.....a rock band?
Can you guess what it is yet?
lost me as a fan

SYR 4: Goodbye 20th Century

Manufacturer: Sonic Youth / Syr
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Percussion | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music

Experimental Music | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music

General | Alternative Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music
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SYR 3: Invito Al Cielo
SYR 1: Anagrama
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SYR 6

ASIN: B00002R0NC
Release Date: 1999-11-16

Tracks:

Edges (Christian Wolf)
Six (John Cage)
Six for New Time For Sonic Youth (Pauline Oilveros)
+ - (Takehisa Kosugi)
Voice Piece For Soprano (Yoko Ono)
Pendulum Music (Steve Reich)

Tracks:

Having Never Written A Note For Percussion (James Tenney)
Six (John Cage)
Burdocks (Christian Wolff)
Four (John Cage)
Piano Piece #13 (George Maciunas)
Piece Enfantine (Nicolas Enfantine)
Treatise (Cornelius Cardew)

Amazon.com

Wildly influential four-piece Sonic Youth have self-released their version of a tribute to the 20th century: two discs of noisy interpretations of modern, experimental classical scores. The group has chosen composers whose works leave a great amount of innovation open to the performer. This chance-embracing approach--typified and in some senses originated by John Cage--is one of the crucial turning points of "new" music. What's great about this CD is that it demonstrates the freewheeling, decidedly unserious spirit behind this music, essentially combining the legacies of punk rock and out-sound. In addition to three late works by the chance-loving Cage, there are pieces by current Merce Cunningham collaborator Takehisa Kosugi, minimalist giant Steve Reich, "deep-listening" drone lover Pauline Oliveros, and Fluxus founder George Maciunas. Longtime collaborator Wharton Tiers, the young everything-ist Jim O'Rourke, and even some of the composers themselves join in on these exercises. The result is messy, fun, and anarchic, with occasional revelations (notably James Tenney's "Having Never Written a Note for Percussion"). It's not a disc to play all the time, but it is a challenging, enthused record that ideally will point listeners toward some of the most vital music of the last half of the last decade of the second millennium. --Mike McGonigal

Album Description

1999 & fourth release on their own SYR label. 13 tracks. The CD format is a double disc set that's enhanced with the CD-ROM video to George Maciunas' 'Piano Piece #13 (Carpenter's Piece) For Nam June Paik'. The album contains music composed by abstract artists like Yoko Ono, Steve Reich, John Cage and Christian Wolff. Gatefold slipcase. 1999 release.

Customer Reviews:

a tribute with poor feedbacks.......2006-04-14

The best thing with this product is undoubtly the names to whom it is contributed. One should really sincerely appreciate the good taste of SY to lift up and include such grand modern masteur composers as Wolff, Cardew, Cage and etc. Less successful however is the attempt to translate these 40 or so years old, mainly score, compositions and replace their original instrumentations and to attempt to change their structure to "rock".

Sometimes it does get endurable but at other times it completely falls out to miss the mark. Even if Wolff himself appears at times and also the renowned Marclay contributes it doesn't even come close to the originals at any time. It may be said that some of the tracks more demolishes than recaptures them.

Most of those who reviews here or rate are diehard SY fans and would probably give five stars to anything that SY put out, whatever it is. If they recorded an album of silence in hommage to Cage they would give it five stars too and call it great and important and other such stuff. We all know how that works, it is just sensual and silly.

But for those with commited interest in the musical field that is quite so misrepresented here it is but foolish to give this set of recordings too much attention.

Better is to try to get the original recordings themselves, or to get recent re-recordings of these, such like of California Ear Unit or Ars Nova ensemble etc. Pass this thing if you already know the composers work, and if you're new to these composers through this release, get the originals and compare.

I wish I could give three stars for this project, but I can't, the structures are too much weakened and the whole original soundwalls are too much torn down. If one wish to perform these works, which may not be too easy, than one should learn how to do so properly first. Otherwise, write a book...

"Keep it new".......2005-04-03

I came across this CD at my local library while searching for the works of Cornelius Cardew. My only criticism is that liner notes were not included. Liner notes would have been appreciated not only as explanations of this admittedly esoteric music, but as an opportunity for the performers to respond to potential criticism and explain their intentions. They are to be commended for taking the risk of alienating their commercial base with this collection of recent aleatoric compositions and performance art. The other reviews merely prove the point that despite their posturing, many fans of popular music are as conservative and hidebound as their great-grandparents, uncomfortable in their day with any composers after Brahms. A scan of the FM dial reveals little change in popular music over the past 50 years - lots of 3-minute songs in 4/4 time. Witness the proliferation of stations endlessly broadcasting the same 1960s to 1980s standards.

For this audience, this CD is just what was needed - a slap in the face of convention. If this sparks in anyone an interest in searching for "what else is out there," the exercise will have been well worth the effort.

Classical avant-garde experimentalism from.....a rock band?.......2004-11-21

It's hard to believe, but it's true.

The 4th CD in the SYR experimental series (titled Goodbye 20th Century, appropriatly) of Sonic Youth Records, is a fantastic double album soundscape of the finest kind. The CD has reinterpretations of post 50's era classical pieces (by such illustrious names as John Cage, Steve Reich, Christian Wolff), and they sound great for the most part. But Sonic Youth was not alone in recording this double album. They enlisted the help of many people, like Jim O'Rourke, Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon's daughter Coco Hayley Gordon Moore (who screams out Yoko Ono's Voice Piece for Soprano), and...surprisingly...Christian Wolff collaborates on his pieces with the band. There are many other contributors, but I can't recall them at the moment.

Judging from all the other tracks, the one that stands out the most (to me, anyway) is Pauline Oliveros' Six For New Time (composed specifically for this project). Thurston intones lyrics over rising and falling drone guitars. Genius. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of other tracks that are as great, such as Steve Reich's Pendulum Music (swinging microphones over amps, creating a pendulum effect of feedback), and George Maciunas' Piano Piece #13 (hammering down the keys of a piano till they no longer produce sound).

The centerpiece of the album, though, is John Cage's Four6. There are 2 other John Cage songs on the album (Six, performed twice) but this one stands out the most. It may seem like random banging and aimless instrumental wandering, but give it a chance, and it will slowly reveal its beauty.

Overall, this album is a fantastic piece of avant-garde, and will certainly entertain the artier person in you.

If you enjoy this record, why not try other CD's in the SYR series, Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music, or seek out the works of the composers on this album?

Can you guess what it is yet?.......2004-06-11

Well this is one Sonic Youth's more experimental releases ( if you hadn't gathered by now ) and it's fair to say that this is a challenging listen. You'll need to keep your wits about you and a sense of humour to contain this on first listen. It's quite possibly one of those " gets on your nerves " sort of album at first albums. But give it time and you appreciate the album that it sets out to be. You're not going to absolutely love this but you can enjoy it for what it is or yank it out of your stereo system and criticize Sonic Youth as bulls**t poseurs. It all means the same thing - nothing!

lost me as a fan.......2003-03-10

i used to love sy. during the washing machine tour they played the academy friday night, saturday afternoon for matinee and saturday night. i was at all three shows. i saw them a lollapalooze twice. the thousand leaves show at irving plaza? i was front row. those days are gone.
i had the first syr disc and liked it. not great but it was ok. after that this band died. maybe my tastes change and i mourning this whole thing because i truly was proud to be an sy fan. i felt they were alive here and now and i got to enjoy them now. not like beatles fans or zepplin fans who can no longer see them live. i mourn the loss of the smashing pumpkins, the death of kurdt cobain, the death of mia zappata, death of layne staley, breakup of soundgarden, as well as many other bands i adore so for me to love sy and they are still here and making vibrant music meant alot.
then they came out with the syr discs. i liked the first a little but after that, this disc, the 4th in this series, i was forced to leave my fanship behind. this dics is long, boring, to long, uninterseting and way too long. 30 minutes for one song which interests me not at all is too much to ask.
i see their new direction and like it not. it is pretentious in the worst way. aimless, drifting, and uninteresting. like i said, someone email me and explain me what is so good about this

Tracks:

Excerpts For Thirty Pieces For String Quartet
Excerpt From Thirty Pieces For String Quartet
Three Dances For Prepared Piano, Dance #1
Dance 2: Three Dances for Prepared Piano
Dance 3: Three Dances for Prepared Piano
First Four-Language Word Event in Memoriam John Cage
First Four-Language Word Event in Memoriam John Cage
First Four-Language Word Event in Memoriam John Cage
First Four-Language Word Event in Memoriam John Cage
First Four-Language Word Event in Memoriam John Cage
First Four-Language Word Event in Memoriam John Cage
First Four-Language Word Event in Memoriam John Cage
First Four-Language Word Event in Memoriam John Cage
First Four-Language Word Event in Memoriam John Cage
Six Melodies Variation for Solo Violin
Six Melodies Variation for Solo Violin
Six Melodies Variation for Solo Violin
Six Melodies Variation for Solo Violin
A Cage Went in Search of a Bird
A Cage Went in Search of a Bird
A Cage Went in Search of a Bird
A Cage Went in Search of a Bird
A Cage Went in Search of a Bird
A Cage Went in Search of a Bird
A Cage Went in Search of a Bird
A Cage Went in Search of a Bird
Concert for Piano and Orchestra: Three Solos for Trumpet
Concert for Piano and Orchestra: Three Solos for Trumpet
Concert for Piano and Orchestra: Three Solos for Trumpet
Concert for Piano and Orchestra: Three Solos for Trumpet
Concert for Piano and Orchestra: Three Solos for Trumpet
Concert for Piano and Orchestra: Three Solos for Trumpet
Concert for Piano and Orchestra: Three Solos for Trumpet
Concert for Piano and Orchestra: Three Solos for Trumpet
Concert for Piano and Orchestra: Three Solos for Trumpet
Concert for Piano and Orchestra: Three Solos for Trumpet
Concert for Piano and Orchestra: Three Solos for Trumpet
Concert for Piano and Orchestra: Three Solos for Trumpet
Concert for Piano and Orchestra: Three Solos for Trumpet
Concert for Piano and Orchestra: Three Solos for Trumpet
Cunningham Stories (At the Age of Twelve...)
Cunningham Stories (At the Age of Twelve...)
Cunningham Stories (At the Age of Twelve...)
Cunningham Stories (At the Age of Twelve...)
Cunningham Stories (At the Age of Twelve...)
Cunningham Stories (At the Age of Twelve...)
Cunningham Stories (At the Age of Twelve...)
Cunningham Stories (At the Age of Twelve...)
Haiku FM
Haiku FM
Haiku FM
Haiku FM
Art is self-alteration is Cage is...
Art is self-alteration is Cage is...
Art is self-alteration is Cage is...
Art is self-alteration is Cage is...
Art is self-alteration is Cage is...
Art is self-alteration is Cage is...
Art is self-alteration is Cage is...
Art is self-alteration is Cage is...
Art is self-alteration is Cage is...
Art is self-alteration is Cage is...
Art is self-alteration is Cage is...
Music for the Merce Cunningham dance Shards: Webwork
Music for the Merce Cunningham dance Shards: Webwork
Music for the Merce Cunningham dance Shards: Webwork
Music for the Merce Cunningham dance Shards: Webwork
Music for the Merce Cunningham dance Shards: Webwork
Music for the Merce Cunningham dance Shards: Webwork
Georgia Stone
Georgia Stone
Georgia Stone
Georgia Stone
Georgia Stone
Georgia Stone
Georgia Stone
Georgia Stone
Georgia Stone
Georgia Stone
Georgia Stone
Georgia Stone
Georgia Stone
Georgia Stone
Georgia Stone
Georgia Stone
Georgia Stone
Georgia Stone
Georgia Stone
Georgia Stone
Georgia Stone
Georgia Stone
Georgia Stone
Georgia Stone
Georgia Stone
Georgia Stone
Georgia Stone
Georgia Stone
Georgia Stone

Tracks:

Cunningham Stories (Merce Cunningham Phoned His Mother...)
Cunningham Stories (Merce Cunningham Phoned His Mother...)
Cunningham Stories (Merce Cunningham Phoned His Mother...)
Cunningham Stories (Merce Cunningham Phoned His Mother...)
Oregon: Chance/Choice
Oregon: Chance/Choice
Chance/Choice
Chance/Choice
Chance/Choice
Chance/Choice
Seventy-five Letters & Improvisation
Seventy-five Letters & Improvisation
Seventy-five Letters & Improvisation
Seventy-five Letters & Improvisation
Seventy-five Letters & Improvisation
Seventy-five Letters & Improvisation
Seventy-five Letters & Improvisation
Seventy-five Letters & Improvisation
Living Room Music
Living Room Music
Living Room Music
Living Room Music
Living Room Music
Living Room Music
Living Room Music
Living Room Music
Ergodos I for John Cage
Ergodos I for John Cage
Ergodos I for John Cage
Ergodos I for John Cage
Ergodos I for John Cage
Ergodos I for John Cage
Cunningham Stories (Every Morning...)
Cunningham Stories (Every Morning...)
Cunningham Stories (Every Morning...)
Cunningham Stories (Every Morning...)
Cunningham Stories (Every Morning...)
Cunningham Stories (Every Morning...)
Cunningham Stories (Every Morning...)
Factory Preset
Factory Preset
Factory Preset
Factory Preset
Factory Preset
Factory Preset
Factory Preset
Factory Preset
Factory Preset
Factory Preset
Factory Preset
4'33
4'33
4'33
4'33
4'33
In Memoriam John Cage
In Memoriam John Cage - Call Waiting
In Memoriam John Cage - Call Waiting
In Memoriam John Cage - Call Waiting
In Memoriam John Cage - Call Waiting
In Memoriam John Cage - Call Waiting
In Memoriam John Cage - Call Waiting
In Memoriam John Cage - Call Waiting
Aria
Aria
Aria
Aria
Aria
Aria
Aria
Aria
Aria
Aria
Aria
Aria
Aria
Aria
Aria
Cunningham Stories (The Cunningham Company...)
Cunningham Stories (The Cunningham Company...)
Cunningham Stories (The Cunningham Company...)
New York City
New York City
New York City
New York City

Customer Reviews:

Silence please!.......2006-08-30

My only reason for buying this CD is the track 4:33 by Frank Zappa. 4:33 minutes of total silence, well almost total silence because you can hear a little background noices in the control room of Frank. It is a very interesting cd. But if you are not a fan of Zappa or Cage, and you like to hear music I say: buy something else. If you are ready for an experiment: buy this one or the CD Roaratorio.

Georgia Stone the best antiwar composition to date.......2002-12-15

The whole collection is interesting. However, the great moment of this collection is the Ono contribution Georgia Stone. It's a fluxus symphony. Never have I heard a more poignant antiwar piece. It rates in power and beauty to Henryk Gorecki's Symphony #3 with soprano Dawn Upshaw. If anyone ever doubted the genius of Yoko Ono as being relevant and an artist of the highest calibre then listen to this masterpiece and you'll be jolted into her energy as an artist. Yoko, give us more of this kind of music.

unknown..but i'm real excited.......2001-06-05

Jspark wrote a review that totally grabbed my intrest..I did my senior art history project on John Cage..using random sheets of paper for the lecture. the idea of hitting the "random button" is a great idea..and the idea of running two disks at once is even neater..being a big fan of just about everybody on the cd..especially Laurie Anderson doesnt hurt either... I haven't heard it yet, but i think i'll be sticking with the 5 star rating.

What? 183 tracks? What for? There is a reason..........1999-08-03

It might be bewildering at first. The first disc has 98 tracks; the second, 85. If you listen straight through, you do not perceive any discontinuity. A collection of John Cage pieces performed by friends, collegues, and admirers. Frank Zappa (American composer [complete biographical blurb that he provided]) contributed 4'33". Laurie Anderson tells a few Merce Cunningham tales. Seems like a fun tribute from the git-go. But wait! (And this is where the fun begins!) Switch your CD player to the shuffle (random) mode. Now look what happens. It goes from, say, Yoko Ono's piece to the Kronos to the Moraz prepared piano performance to Ken Nordine's narration - all in the matter of seconds. It is a great to homage to Cage himself with the great use of the random chance operations that he might have enjoyed. Every performance of this disc becomes a unique experience (just like Cage). For even more fun, try playing both discs at the same time (provided, of course, you have the means; if not, improvise). Or add another sound source as well, like, say, the radio, or the television very low, or a tape of white noise. The possibilities are endless. I had the pleasure of trying this one day with FOUR players going on simulataneously: two with these discs, another with Miles Davis far in the background, the fourth with a disc of bird calls. It was quite a fun sound environment and I would not hesitate to try it again. But that was my experience. Your experience may be different.

Average customer rating:

A Great Intro to American Classical Music - Almost a Short Course!

The Story of American Classical Music

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Quintets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Trios | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Preludes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Compilations | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Musical Theater | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Marches | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music

General | Instructional | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music
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American Classics Sampler
Virgil Thomson: Symphony No 1-3
John Adams: The Dharma at Big Sur/My Father Knew Charles Ives
Voice of the Violin

ASIN: B0009JMELK
Release Date: 2005-06-21

Customer Reviews:

A Great Intro to American Classical Music - Almost a Short Course!.......2005-07-12

Many reasonably sophisticated American and European musiclovers still think there are really no American classical music composers of note other than perhaps Gershwin and Copland. It is to the credit of the Naxos label, via their 'American Classics' series, that the lie is put to that notion. Each month there are new issues from Naxos containing music by American composers. And it was a brilliant idea for them to take selections from their dozens of releases of this music to put together this sampler of such music to illustrate a 100+ page essay on the subject by an eminent writer on music, Barrymore Laurence Scherer. The combination of 2 CDs of music tracks, Scherer's essay, a chronological outline, suggestions for further listening, even a map showing where various composers were born helps the 'student' learn much about our nation's musical heritage.

There are selections by twenty-eight composers stretching from the amazing Wagnerian 'Macbeth' Overture by William Henry Fry (1813-1864) to the very recent 'Rapture,' a percussion concerto by Michael Torke (b. 1961). Some selections are complete movements, others are shorter passages from larger works. Included are such gems as the first movement of Arthur Foote's Piano Quartet, the third movement of Henry Hadley's Fourth Symphony, Charles Ives's 'The Unanswered Question,' 'King Cotton' by John Philip Sousa, 'Maple Leaf Rag' by Scott Joplin, a passage (the exciting Spanish Waltz) from Walter Piston's 'The Incredible Flutist,' the finale of Copland's 'Billy the Kid,' the opening of Samuel Barber's luminous 'Knoxville - Summer of 1915,' 'Tonight' from Bernstein's 'West Side Story,' the opening of George Rochberg's masterful Violin Concerto, and John Adams's incredibly popular 'Short Ride in a Fast Machine.' Plus selections by Louis Moreau Gottschalk, Edward MacDowell, George Whitefield Chadwick, Amy Beach, Charles Tomlinson Griffes, Charles Wakefield Cadman, George Gershwin, George Antheil, Zez Confrey, William Schuman, John Cage, Gunther Schuller, Alan Hovhaness, Elliott Carter and Philip Glass. The performances are more than acceptable and in some instances ('Knoxville,' Rochberg's Violin Concerto) definitive.

I would heartily recommend this set (especially at its superbudget price) to anyone wanting to know more about the history of American classical music -- Scherer is a master of cogent, clear prose -- and wishing to hear examples of the broad range it has taken over the past couple of centuries. I can easily imagine this set being used in a music appreciation course. And I am sure it will spark interest in the newcomer to this branch of classical music.

2 CDs TT=ca. 160 mins.

Scott Morrison

Average customer rating:

New Music in Church

Manufacturer: Cantate
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Requiems | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000003CG5
Release Date: 2000-08-09

Average customer rating:

Fantastic performances, Fantastic Works

Cage: Music for Eight

Manufacturer: MD&G Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0000021HK
Release Date: 1996-10-15

Tracks:

Music For Eight
Five (1st Version)
Aria
Five (2nd Version)
Quietly Flowing Along
Slowly Rocking
Nearly Stationary
Quodlibet

Customer Reviews:

Fantastic performances, Fantastic Works.......2000-11-02

This CD contains some of the best recordings ever of Cage's work. Included are two different versions of 'Five' (1988) each with different instruments and both of which demonstrate the versitility of Cage's music, and of the Ensemble Avant Garde. This group are clearly the leading ensemble in such performance, and this is demonstrated further in 'Music for Eight' (1984/85/87) in which their selection of instruments and style with which they convey Cage's intent is second to none. Also included is a superb version of 'Aria' (1958) by Salome Kammer who's virtuosity is displayed to its fullest in Cage's showcase for vocal talent. This CD is worth buying for this performance alone. 'Aria' is possibly the finest work conceived by Cage, and Kammer brings it alive, comforting and disturbing all at once, to leave a long-lasting effect on the listener. 'String Quartet in Four Parts' (1949/50) concludes, performed by the Leipziger Steichquartett. Effectively Cage's version of 'The Four Seasons', both music and group are inspiring. Never before has such a skilled and vibrant collection of musicians produced such fantastic performances of such fantastic works. Truly a landmark in the documentation of Cage's output.

Average customer rating:

Percussion XX

Manufacturer: Arts Music
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Percussion | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Stockhausen: Mantra

ASIN: B00000K0UP
Release Date: 1999-08-17

Tracks:

Prison Song
Monodrome I
Orion M 42
Eight Pieces: Saeta
Eight Pieces: Canto
Eight Pieces: March
Cartridge Music
Zuklus Fur Einen Schlagzeuger
Appendice Alla Perfezione
Towards

Average customer rating:

Lost Marbles

Manufacturer: Tzadik
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Avant Garde & Free Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | New Age | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Electronica | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0001C9YSG
Release Date: 2004-03-23

Tracks:

Toto Angelica
Music Is Not Music
Maritime Rites-Wasserkorso
For MG
In Hora Mortis
Endangered Species
Pittura Fresca
Inner Cities 2
Erat Verbum John
Romulus And Remus Make A Ruckus
Return To Sender

Average customer rating:

Truly joyous music

Home to Thanksgiving
Theatre Of Voices , His Majestie's Clerkes , and Andrew Lawrence-King
Manufacturer: Harmonia Mundi Fr.
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Masses | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Motets | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Classical | Imports | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Classic Thanksgiving Songs of Praise
Come, Ye Thankful People, Come
A Classic Thanksgiving: We Gather Together
Carols From the Old & New Worlds
Thanksgiving: A Windham Hill Collection

ASIN: B000028TXS
Release Date: 1999-10-19

Tracks:

Timothy Swan: Rainbow: 'Tis By Thy Strength The Mountains Stand'
William Tans'ur: Colchester: 'O 'twas a joyful sound to hear'
Jeremiah Ingalls: The Apple Tree
Peter Abelard: 0 quanta qualia
Nehemiah Shumway: Schenectady: 'From All That Dwell Below The Skies'
William Billings: Thanksgiving Anthem: 'O Praise The Lord Of Heaven'
William Billings: Brigg Fair (Harp Solo), Traditional
Thomas Tallis: Audivi vocem
John Cage: The Year Begins to Be Ripe
Benedicamus Domino
William Billings: Jordan: 'There Is A Land Of Pure Delight'
Abram Wood: Worcester: 'How Beauteous Are Their Feet'
Thomas Tallis: Benedictus
Peter Abelard: Epithalamica
It was summer now
The Keel Row II (harp solo) Howard Skempton
Give good gifts one to another
William Billings: Chester: 'Let The Tyrants Shake Their Iron Rod'
Elisha West: Evening Hymn: 'The Day Is Past And Gone'

Amazon.com

An album celebrating harvest's end, Home to Thanksgiving is a harvest itself, selected from nearly a dozen Hillier CDs. The only thing that suffered as the result of Paul Hillier's separation from the Hilliard Ensemble was his albums' graphic design. By leaving Hilliard, the men's vocal group he'd helmed, Hillier abandoned the elegant packaging afforded him by ECM Records. On ECM, his penchant for plainchant was matched by stark photography, lending a steady visual horizon while his group darted maverickly between liturgical music and Arvo Pärt's minimalism.

Somehow at Harmonia Mundi, a new Hillier collection calls for a Currier and Ives painting. So be it. Hillier listeners understand that no marketing feat can fill the gaps that punctuate the 12th-century "O quanta qualia"; only a faith in his distinct musical agenda (or, perhaps, His) can bridge such pauses. There is communal cheer ("The Apple Tree," dating from the Revolution, has a catchy chorus), but it's tempered by introversion. Secular Puritan John Cage shows up, having set lyrics by Thoreau. That follows a 16th-century snippet of Thomas Tallis, and is followed itself by a 12th-century piece that attenuates 13 syllables of benediction for over four minutes. Currier and Ives may greet listeners at the cabin door, but Hillier waits inside with a sermon straight out of Jonathan Edwards. --Marc Weidenbaum

Customer Reviews:

Truly joyous music.......2005-10-27

This is a wonderful collection of music for thanksgiving - not just for the holiday, but for everyday. From the energetic opening, "Tis By Thy Strength The Mountains Stand", to the haunting "Evening Hymn" at close, this music is pure joy to listen to. The styles are quite varied and cover everything from plainchant to a somewhat modern take on Thoreau, and it is all very well performed. It is music that sends the soul soaring in thanksgiving to God.

Music Review:

Music Review

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