5 comments about The Mystery Of Santo Domingo De Silos Gregorian Chant From Spain.

1. This is superb. The passion in the voices melts my heart...I can hear the longing for Christ in their voices. One of my all time favorites.



2. I am a writer, so I got this CD to listen to while I write. Each chant on this CD is a jewel in its self. The voices are mystical and haunting and at the same time so peaceful, each of the singers is so insync with the others. When listening to this CD, I feel like I am transported into a medieval abbey surrounded by gregorian chant. I have heard many gregorian chant albums and this is by far one of best, it had the richness and a haunting, beautiful quality that many of them lack.



3. While I agree with the other reviewers that this is a fine recording, two precisions are necessary for the sake of accuracy. The disc is titled "Gregorian Chant" but in fact it is Mozarabic or Old Spanish Chant. The reviewer who wrote that the monks observe this rite is mistaken. The monks observe the same monastic rite as the monks of Solesmes and other Benedictine abbeys. The choir director at the time (1968), however, is a musicologist who prepared a special program of Old Spanish Chant for the historically based Archiv Produktion of Deutsche Grammophon.



4. The monks of Santo Domingo de silos follow the rites and traditions of the ancient Mozarabic period of Hispania (modern day Spain). This period stemmed from the Visigothic period of control over the former Roman protectorate. And from this period throughout the generations this form of pure, magical and yet authentic chant has been saved and will continue to be saved. I brought this CD initially for my stepdad but I decided to keep it with me after listening to it. I fell in love with the sound, the atmosphere and it made me great when I listened to it.
   I hope to one day visit the abbey and listen to these chants in person and live. 22 tracks of solid gold chants and the voices are so in sync with each other that the real mystery is why there is not more monasteries like this one.



5. By happy coincidence, this CD was my introduction to Gregorian Chant and while I have since listened to many more, this disc is clearly the best. Right from the opening Dominus Regnavit and Laudate Dominum, the listener is caught up in what seems to be a swelling wave of deeply felt emotion, all the more impactful for the pure voices. Follows in due course the majestic old Credo and lastly for the moving finale, the Lamentation of the Prophet Jeremiah. Sung with tremendous control and feeling by the monks of the Abbey of Santo Domingo, the sound quality and the depth of the individual voices is amazing. Listening with your eyes closed, you can picture cowled monks singing in an echoing hall, yet the acoustics are so good that while giving the listener a feeling of resonance in space, there isn't the faintest of ghost echoes. I learn from the inset that the Abbey of Santo Domingo in the village of Silos is one of the oldest surviving Benedictine monasteries in Spain and an earlier reviewer on this page, Jason Anderson, has written some very informative historical notes. The inset also has a nice piece on the abbey and the history of the chant, as well as the full text of the lyrics in Latin plus an English translation. I cannot recommend this CD too highly: whether you love Gregorian Chant or you just want a soothing listen for a quiet evening or a long drive, I guarantee you will not go wrong with this one.

5 comments about Mozart for Mothers-To-Be: Tender Lullabies for Mother and Child.

1. My wife is 7.5 months pregnant and I purchased this product to help stimulate our growing baby's brain. As soon as we started playing the music the baby would start kicking. I have read reviews that other parents have sent, stating that even after the baby is born playing the music still gets a great response. The product in my opinion is definately worth the price, if it doesn't help put your baby to sleep once their born it'll definately put you to sleep, I can never seem to stay awake past track 3.



2. I just love this CD. The selection is fabulous, really soothing and relaxing. I hear it everyday while thinking about the babies growing inside of me.



3. I got this about a month ago and listen to it in the car and so enjoy my ride to work now. Its so soothing and I cannot wait to play it to my baby once she is born. I am sure it will help to calm and relax her to sleep since I have so enjoyed listening to it during my pregnancy.



4. I bought this CD to listen to at work (I am 6 months pregnant). The quality is awesome and the choice of songs is perfect I can listen to it over and over.



5. I absolutely love this CD! In fact this is our second one because we wore out the first since we played it so much. It is very soothing, and in fact we used it to help both our kids (now 4 and 18 mo) go to sleep since they were babies. I highly recommend it!

5 comments about Gershwin: Rhapsody In Blue/An American In Paris.

1. Enjoy this cd very much,it included my favorite GEORGE GERSHWIN SONG RHAPSODY IN BLUE. The cd was shipped timely and in good condition.



2. The feeling is that Bernstein truly 'gets' this music, that its pace, its mood really speak to him, and the orchestra. There is a special vitality to the performance here. But of course the heart of the greatness is the music itself. 'American in Paris' is one of Gershwin's finer pieces but 'Rhapsody in Blue' is the gem of all his non-vocal music, and I believe, the greatest of all 'classical'pieces of American music. It has a lyric intensity and beauty a romantic fire that no other piece of American music I know, can hope to reasonably compare with. Many complain, including Bernstein that it is not truly a single organic developing composition but rather a set of set pieces placed one after the other. Nonetheless there are moments in it so beautiful, that they truly take the person in joy to another world in feeling.
   What a genius Gershwin had when he wrote this work.



3. In my opinion you just can't go wrong with Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. I have many of their recordings in addition to many recordings of other orchestras; some great, some not so much...but the New York Phil is cosistently great. This recording is a superb example of Gershwin's writing, thoughtfully reproduced by a fine orchestra. Both the brashness of the pieces and the subtleties are interpreted well by Mr. Bernstein and the orchestra. The soloists are nothing other than excellent. The brass section is easily as strong as the Chicago symphony's famous section, and the strings intonation is superb. The pathos and the humor of both pieces are readily projected by this sensitive orchestra and conductor. I couldn't recommend this recording higher!



4. To play Gershwin accurately demands from the player, the absolute domain of an invisible taste, unsaid in the score. Few pianists (and Bernstein is among them) were able to convey the listener, this savoir vivre, humor, elegance, that idiomatic atmosphere that plainly justifies your effort.
   
   To my mind, there just have been five pianists who have surmounted this peak: Oscar Levant, Jesus Maria Sanroma, Eugene List, Earl Wild and Leonard Bernstein.
   
   So, under any pretext you should miss this invaluable musical gem.



5. I originally found this record in a used record store and purchased it for $1. This was not too long ago. After listening, i could not believe that this record only cost me $1 and that some idiot actually sold this to a used record store without listening first. I have never heard a performace of Rhapsody In Blue that is as powerful and heartfelt as this one. Bernstain melts into the piano, resulting in a performance that outshines so many Gershwin performances that exist. On the other side of the record is An American In Paris, a textbook tone poem, and i mean this as a great compliment. The images of Paris and a partially homesick/partially jubilant American strolling along exude from every note. When i found these great performances on CD, i snatched up a copy as quickly as i could. GET THIS RECORD. It is truly a Great Performance.

5 comments about 25 Classical Favorites.

1. Overall an excellent collection of classical favorites and for $3.99 its a steal, but strangely there is not a single Beethoven composition in the CD.



2. This turned out to be the right pace and type of classical music that I was looking for. (I like and appreciate classical music but can't stand, nor understand, a lonesome violin screeching away for 55 minutes).
   I think this set is a great gift and/or as an introduction to classical music especially to younger audiences.
   As for the sound quality - it sounds like...well..a regular "Digital Audio" CD. Nothing to write home about. Its not the audiophool quality recording you might be looking for. Some tracks are recorded better than others. But if you think MP3 sounds freakin' awesome, don't worry about what I said about sound quality.



3. The CD was well represented by the clips on the Amazon website and came in time for our event. We did have a problem with the charge but that was taken care of promptly. Great service.



4. It is an excellent collection of classical music. I would recommend this CD if you have a friend who don't like classical music, since it has the most beautiful overtures and portions of famous artists. If you are a Classic Music Savvy you probably will not be impressed by it, unless you want to play the CD as background music in a friends gathering.



5. All the best composers! Over an hour of music. A samble of the greatest pieces.

5 comments about 25 Mozart Favorites.

1. This CD is brand new and -- YAY -- didn't arrive with cracks in the case! Very happy with this purchase.



2. Toma una dimensión distinta de Mozart cuando escuchas sus mejores temas.
   
   ...



3. I was extraordinarely ignorant when I purchased this recording. I thought,"WOW!! Look at all the music you get in this CD set. The price cannot be beat!" When I received the CD, I discovered that you don't really get any music at all. This is a great sample CD, and should be bought by a person brand new to classical music. However, if you have any experience with classical music, you will want to pass on this CD.
   
   Each of the pieces are hacked apart to the point of it being comical. It's interesting to listen to the greatest music in the world, only to have the development cut. All of a sudden I was thrust into a new key, I thought my ears were going crazy. Perhaps an effort by a decent high school orchestra, but this music is not up to snuff with any other recording.
   
   Do yourself a favor and go out and purchase real recordings of Mozart, and not watered down stereotypes.



4. Very pleased with product, delivery, cost and service. Will use this vendor again.



5. I found this to be a nice collection of favorites, especially to keep in the car and listen to. It is a variety of well known compilations. Although not encompassing, it is perfect as a review for driving, relaxing, and enjoyment. Plus, the price is right!

5 comments about Classical Music for Children: A Toddler's Introduction to Classical Music.

1. We bought this to use in the church nursery. It is entertaining and yet calming to listen to. Short review, but definitely worth the $4!



2. I listened to this CD intending to buy it, but then noticed that the composer for each piece is listed as Johann Sebastian Bach. If that error is continued in the CD itself, it is a gross one. Chopin, Mozart, Beethoven, Tschaikovsky, etc., are represented in the CD. I certainly wouldn't buy it in order to mis-educate my grandson as to who wrote what.
   
   If the error is just in the online contents listing, someone should correct it immediately!



3. Perfect CD for my little baby. I love the song selections. It's perfect according to what music they should listen to for brain development.



4. Have enjoyed this CD immensely with our four-year old. Great price for the quality. Thank you.



5. My 12 month old loves this CD and happily bops away to the music (in the car he sometimes even starts singing!). We like it too and not being very well versed in Classical music, it is a nice mix for us.

5 comments about God Bless America.

1. God Bless America is a fine collection of American anthems and battle-cry songs, beautifully executed by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. My only complaint is that, while the CD contains more tracks than the original vinyl of the same title, a couple of the better tracks have been left off. But combine this one with their 30 best songs, and you get the lot.



2. This CD has a great selection of songs from a top-notch choir. Unfortunately the instruments are so loud that you can't hear the singing.



3. I am involved with several veteran/patriotic organizations and frequently have need of music of this nature. This CD is of the highest quality music of this type. I find it to be one of the best choices available for this usage. I would advise others in like situations to consider adding this CD to their resource materials.



4. Very well conducted, every song is sung with such enthusiasm and fullness. Every song is sung to its fullness and then some.



5. This CD can only be described as "a sonic orgy" or "a celebration of sound efects". I'm very disappointed at this compilation. A good example of this cacaphony (as one reviewer puts it) is "This land is your land". I have to stop this piece after the first 90 seconds, the orgy then takes effect. The choir, on the other hand, deserves high marks for the songs it seems to have sung countless times, like "Battle hymn of the republic" or "The Star-spangled banner". But, as I have said before, the habit they have of adding orchestras and brass choirs is a distraction from the singing. In that way, they may be typically American, where bigger seems to be the equivalent of better. I still love the art they displayed in the LP 'A Mighty Fortress". That is the choir at its very best.

5 comments about Build Your Baby's Brain.

1. I simply adore this CD. The compilation is great. It has uplifting moments and soothing moments. My baby is still in the womb and so I can't tell you if the enjoyment is there or not but I heard they can hear from in there and it seems very serene for now. I'd love a sequel.



2. I am a true fan of Classical music and this was purchased as a gift for a co-worker who is adopting a child from China. Therefore I did not open it nor listen to it. The recipient is now overseas picking up their daughter so I know they haven't had the opportunity to listen to it. I think it's a great idea, though, and purchased a used set for my Grandson.



3. I am sorry for the previous review who said that intelligence is hereditary. If that is true, all mankind would have been doomed from the start.
   
   Intelligence is not hereditary, but rather a result of stimulation during infancy and birth. Sure, it isn't a guarantee that your child *will* become a genius if you attempt to educate them from birth, but there is no doubt that real educational stimulation of a young mind is a powerful indicator that the child will be more advanced than the average child.
   
   Music is not just notes played. Music--real music--is everything. Though the music of today will fade, classical music will always be around because it is classic. It fits no matter what era you place it in. There is always a home for it. The artists are timeless just as the beautiful melodies are.
   
   I certainly believe that babies who listen to music will become more familiar with and more easily understand music and instruments. Therefore, they will be quicker of mind. It is just a fact that people who play instruments are usually of higher intelligence.
   
   I don't think that people are destined to be stupid or geniuses. I believe it is a question of environment. I feel I'm a great mother but I haven't done everything I could have been doing to help my son's mind expand as an infant. Now that he is a toddler (18 months) I am teaching him to read and exposing him to the magic of classical music in hopes that it will help mold him and set him apart from the rest.
   
   Minds are trainable. You just have to work at it. This CD compiled of beautiful pieces composed by instrumental geniuses will help you do just that.



4. I received this CD free when I had my first baby and it instantly became my fav cd of all time. I have it on my computer and I had another copy made because I just can not imagine not having it.
   And as for the comment that the music has nothing to do with intellingence, you stand alone on that front. Besides, what does it hurt? It's great, soothing music and the babies enjoy it.



5. I love my child, but the first time I heard this CD, It immediately went from her recorder to mine. I take it practically everywhere I go. I know it's technically "Her" CD, but the selections are so soothing; and you need that type of comfort when stuck in traffic. Honestly, we both enjoy it - and I'm glad someone thought enough to give it as a gift.

5 comments about Beethoven - The Complete String Quartets / Alban Berg Quartet.

1. I guess I'm just used to Haydn and Mozart, because these string quartets were just too dissonant and untraditional for me - one who loves the Beethoven symphonies. To each his own, as they say. The recording itself is terrific - great engineering.



2. All the performances on this set of the Beethoven String Quartets are of the highest quality. Particularly outstanding is the performance of Op 59 no 1
   Intonation, expression, the ability of the players to meld together, and the dynamic range is all superb.
   One small flaw (nothing to do with the playing)
   In the very last track, the final movement of the B flat quartet (not the great fuge, but the movement Beethoven replaced it with), there is a continual flapping sound - I don't know where it came from, but it is very irritating, and I'm surprised that EMI let it through.



3. This boxset has everything you need to know about String Quartets.
   If this is not enough to mention, we can also remember that the musicians here are one-of-a-kind, and Beethoven wrotes the most rich and precious Opuses for String Quartets.
   Enjoy yourself!



4. A great job by the Berg quartet.
   
   I started with the old Columbia LP of the Budapest's version of the final quartets, but it would be a false note for the Berg quartet to try to recapture the feeling of disaster that pervades the Budapest versions, made as these were during the world war period; no "l'art pour l'art" hot air could convince me that music (a most social art, indeed sociological in Adorno) can be independent in its making from horror.
   
   Instead the Berg quartet seems to me to be more technically proficient, not that I give too much of a damn about this; I have never understood why we think we deserve the first rate reproduction at all times, and the second or third rate reproduction can reveal much more (I'm thinking in this connection of the version of *Kunst der Fuge* made for Naxos by a guy who used to play in my church, Wolfgang Rubsam: there seems to this layman to be a lot of Rubsambato in it but it reproduces for the modern listener the risk of dissonance implicit in fugueing tunes).
   
   To meet the price point, EMI has the quartets in a completely screwed up, if not kittywumpus, order, probably to reduce the disk count. But when you buy the CDs for immediate copying to iPod, you can then put them in the "right" order, by quartet number within opus number.
   
   Be advised, though, that the superb liner notes mention that the opus and number order doesn't reflect Beethoven's order of composing the quartets, but give the correct order.
   
   Listening in either order is a long, spiritual journey, because LVB used the quartet as a laboratory for risky experiments that an orchestra wouldn't be able to play. You discover the origin of the slow movements, the visions of eternity, in the late quartets in the Rasumovsky quartets and in general how Beethoven, like Shakespeare as seen by Gary Wells, didn't finish "finished" works once and for all, but was troubled by aporias and untried alternatives and would screw around with them until the late quartets, when it appeared that Beethoven decided to be hanged for a sheep as a lamb, and used the quartet for distinctly Modernist experiments.
   
   Modernist, in the sense of clearing out the concert hall as the more typical music "lovers" fled in horror in the middle of the Grosse Fuge, in which he gave himself license to cock a snook at a society of pompous fools that had taken his best and given him jack s*t.
   
   Adorno (yeah, Adorno) felt that you can't understand music except as a dialectical logic. This is the opposition of thesis and antithesis and the production of a synthesis containing both, in a nondialectical formulation which drops most of the dialectic on the floor: the dialectic has to be lived and may be sheer Blarney: but it pervades our reception of all music worth more than one listening.
   
   The fact is that I stopped being able to listen to David Bowie's Helden (Heroes) despite this being my favorite rock and roll anthem, but never fast forward past the Grosse Fuge.
   
   In the late quartets, the magnificence (sublimity) of utter loss of control somehow contained is followed by slow movements which constitute sincere and loving apologies for smashing the crockery. Beethoven's irreconcilability to himself and the unacceptability of being raised by an alcoholic (which is what his Dad was) was also his relation to his family and society as a whole. It makes great cinema as two recent movies (Immortal Beloved and Copying Beethoven) have shown.
   
   My fat pal Adorno was puzzled by the theological implications of the late Beethoven and never managed to stop writing about it, his writings being themselves a search for the solution to this mystery: Bach is only with difficulty shoehorned into an ad maiorem dei gloriam Procrustean framework, and the theology of the Dangkegesang is something pre-Christian, a sacrifice for a fleeting sense of material well-being. Pain isn't celebrated in the late quartets.
   
   Beethoven didn't go back to Bach, but like most advanced musicians of his day, including Mendelssohn, he was fascinated by "learned" music, music that almost (but not quite) is meant to be read in a score, and not played at all by a cafe orchestra...or if played by a Wolfgang Rubsam, to be played, as he plays, without excessive respect for the text, and some abandon.
   
   Frank Zappa said that most rock and roll writing is written by those who cannot write for those who cannot read. Most classical music reviews on Amazon seem to affirm this also for classical music and its dialectical potential: on the one hand, one wants to shake the theological respect people have for classical concerts out of them by farting loudly, on the other hand, one is enraged by the lack of respect underlying the excessive respect (a lack of respect shown by the actual material treatment of the members of actual symphony orchestras, neatly and dialectically answered by their alienation, which was noted early on by Aaron Copland).
   
   Oh Freunde, nicht dieses Tonen. Enough! Ess muss sein.



5. What a fantastic set of cds! The recordings are superb. I have listened to this set repeatedly and it is always fresh! The Alban Berg Quartet plays the music with sensitivity and polish. I listen to the music with my headphones and am transported to a different place. It's just me and the quartet...and the music! The price for this journey is less than a good meal at a fine restaurant. If you like the idea of enjoying hours of music at a price that is astounding, this is the box set for you! Go ahead order the set-you deserve it.

5 comments about Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto Op35; Brahms: Violin Concerto in D Op77.

1. I will join the throng of positive reviews for this outstanding bargain CD.
   
   I own/have owned numerous performances of the magisterial Brahms Violin Concerto but have never been satisfied with any of them, including Heifetz/Reiner (actually, ESPECIALLY Heifetz/Reiner!). While there are many wonderful recordings of his chamber music, I've always felt that interpretations of his orchestral music in general--the Violin Concerto in particular--have been much more problematic. There are great recordings out there, but too many times I feel like conductors just don't 'get' Brahms' large-scale orchestral works (the Serenades, Overtures are understandably less problematic).
   
   This performance by Milstein and Fistoulari, however, gets it just right in my opinion: the perfect balance of lush, expressive Romanticism and attention to line, texture and rhythm. On the basis of this performance, Milstein has become one of my very favorite violinists. Along with Grumiaux/Haskil playing Beethoven's "Kreutzer" Sonata, this is one of my treasures of violin playing.
   
   The Tchaikovsky Concerto has never really appealed to me much so I'll refrain from commenting on it--many others here have done so, so you can take their word(s) for it.
   
   For $4, repeat: FOUR DOLLARS (!), this is an essential purchase. Thank you Nathan, thank you EMI, thank you Amazon!
   
   (Grumiaux/Haskil: Beethoven Violin Sonatas[ASIN:B000OPPSX0 Beethoven: The Violin Sonatas])



2. I bought Milstein's rendition of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in 1967--I believe it was produced by Capitol Records. I got rid of all my vinyl records years ago, and subsequently found that none of the many CD versions by other artists measured up to this one. I was thrilled to see that it is now available on CD--and at a bargain price! This is one of my favorite CDs and I highly recommend it.



3. If you have this recording, you do not need another one of these pieces. This one has satisfied me for what must be at least 2 decades. You'll never need another recording.



4. The availability of this CD phenomenon with a $3.98 price should be shouted from the rooftops. Milstein outperforms everyone on both concertos; the Brahms is sublime, and the recording quality is excellent throughout. Push the purchase now key without further delay. It doesn't get any better than this, ever!



5. As one who grew up adoring the Jascha Heifetz/Fritz Reiner recordings of these two great concerti, and certain they had set a standard of musical excellence impossible of being equalled, much less bettered, imagine my surprise upon hearing this fabulous disc.
   
   HEIFETZ & REINER HAVE BEEN DETHRONED!
   
   Having beaten back great artists in recent years such as Vengerov and Shaham, it hardly seemed possible that there were two old recordings by Nathan Milstein (which must have skipped my notice) which had long ago taken the prize....
   
   ...Music lovers, forget the Rosette and attendant babble given by the Penguin Guide to the Milstein Brahms Concerto (with Steinberg conducting, in mono). That publication after dismissively mentioning the Jochum conducted performance of the 1980s adds insult to injury by ignoring completely this Fistoulari conducted version! (Even if it is currently unavailable in the UK, surely it should be remembered - it was even recorded there!)
   
   Of course any performance by a genius such as Milstein will have wonderful moments now and then, but this recording, with Fistoulari conducting, in stereo, is the best of them all - it has real magic and passion, and is the performance to get.
   
   The Tchaikovsky with Steinberg is probably more of a draw, but the "Finale" is as good as it gets, and the rest is merely magnificent. What a fiddler!
   
   Finally, that this disc is being sold to the public at a price this low should make all music lovers weep in gratitude, certain that "Yes, Virginia - there is a Santa Claus...."