Stone Flute

Stone Flute

ASIN: B00004L8DD

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
This is the first time this classic album has been issued on CD anywhere in the world. Originally released on Atlantic subsidiary Embryo in 1970. A n atypical album for Mann which has been described as, 'Herb ie Mann's answer to the Miles Davis classic 'In a Silent Way'. Guests include Roy Ayers, Ron Carter and Sonny Sharrock. 2000 release. Standard jewel case.

Customer Reviews:

For lovers of mal canto, this is without equal........2004-11-11

"Homophone" was originally the name of a record label inaugurated in 1905, its first release being a disc by the Wagnerian tenor Ernest van Dyck. At this time Van Dyck was far past his prime, and Gregor Benko continues this tradition (that of "singers in decline") with his new incarnation of the Homophone name.

"The Muse Surmounted", Homophone's first offering, is an uproariously funny excursion into what I would label "mal canto". Each singer in this collection set her own substandard for vocal art, and each one is presented in transfers that allow the holes in one's technique to shine through. Brightly.

The disc opens with an "overture" of sorts, a "Carmen" potpourri by the original Homophone Orchestra. If you like your Bizet with slap-tongued baritone saxophones and your Toreadors to boast to a fox-trot beat, this one's for you.

Next in line is a certain Rosalina Mello, in a "fado portugues" that is rendered in a tone reminiscent of a cat in heat. She also approaches several high A's in this piece with a long-discarded vocal technique known as "portamentissimo". Better put Garfield outside before giving Mme. Mello a listen.

Next we encounter Alice Gerstl Duschak, a long-time teacher at Baltimore's Peabody Conservatory. Benko's (excellent, I might add) program notes state that she was a teacher of Jessye Norman, and I might add that Gerstl Duschak's voice, as represented here, had no sideways.

The name Betty-Jo Schramm was hilarious enough for me - before hearing the track, I could picture her in pigtail and poodle skirt. According to Benko, she was a pioneer in the early-music movement, singing the music a half-tone lower than we normally hear it today. However, she failed to cue the orchestra in on her innovation.

Tryphosa Bates-Batcheller, another favorite of the producer, cut her precious few discs at the same Melotone studio where her more famous predecessor, Florence Foster Jenkins, sought to perpetuate her art. And what an art it is. She is represented with a Meyer-Helmund song and an American folk song. Edith Helena at 81 sang better than this.

My favorite - at least for now - is Natalia de Andrade, a rather interesting character, who imposes upon the role of Manon a rather distinctive tritone tremolo reminiscent of the dearly departed Mrs. Elva Miller. It takes a life of its own, creating a somewhat minimalist rhythmic shift and will cause you to reach for the tequila. Perhaps she already had.

Olive Middleton, beloved diva assoluta of the La Puma Opera Workshop, is represented with her beloved "Miserere" from "Trovatore" her alleged high C ringing rather clearly through the speakers.

A lovely surprise was the discovery of Norma-Jean Erdmann-Chadbourne, who is in fact the "Jenny Williams" of the Victor "Faust Travesty". If you thought her final trio from Faust (sung as a duet) with her partner "Thomas Burns" (actually Ellis Chadbourne, listed here as Thomas Garcia - he had to change his name a lot) was simply the living end of opera finales, just you wait until you hear their Tomb Scene from Aida.

A certain Sylvia Sawyer, who evidently actually filled in a few mezzo-soprano roles on some early-fifties opera LPs, offers an Aida excerpt (Amneris) that, although shows no gross lapses of pitch, taste, or intonation, is a precious textbook example of bland mediocrity combined with indifferent attention to the peculiars of Italian pronunciation. One wonders if the Capitol label thought to check the Yellow Pages under "mezzo-sopranos" when casting for this Aida album.

From the lamented Remington label comes the "Tosca from Hell", an infamous performance by Vassilka Petrova.

Madame Mari Lyn (although the program notes claim that she was a woman, and a widow to boot, I swear I think this person was a drag queen!) gives her special vocal rendition of "Una voce poco fa". [Later research on the part of this writer revealed that she was, in fact, a she. Mea culpa.]

The most disturbing performance on the disc is a 1980 performance by socialite and trophy-wife Sari Bunchuk Wontner, who gave staged performances of "Traviata" in her home - with full casts and orchestra. (One hell of a Tupperware party, don't you think?) Of course, art imitates life, and she was Violetta. Secretly taped from a live performance (presumably by a "former friend"), this first-act scene defies description. She is often several beats ahead of or behind the orchestra, she may be as much as a third off of the key in either direction, and the whole affair sounds as if she had a flask of Cuervo hidden behind each prop. A year after this performance, she fell overboard from her yacht. Perhaps she was rehearsing for a future Tosca.

Surely the best-known name included is that of Florence Foster Jenkins, arguably the most famous of the daffier divas. The track, a Cosme McMoon decomposition entitled "Valse Caressante", is not included in the Victor reissue of dear Flofojen's legendary Melotone discs; in fact it is not included in the Jenkins discography in the magazine "The Record Collector". This rather long affair seems to find the diva, the pianist, and the flautist all on a bad day, with the result being a performance that is cheaper than a home perm and twice as curly on your hair.

The last track is a recording of Jenkins' accompanist, Cosme McMoon, reminiscing about his musical life with our dear Flofojen. Benko also clears the air, after careful research, about the "Cosme McMoon was actually Edwin McArthur" rumor. Buy the CD to find the answer.

This is also a first-class prodution, with attention to quality in presentation. The program notes alone are worth the price of the CD. Benko has carefully researched these singers, often waiting years for leads to information. In fact, a picture of Natalia de Andrade arrived after the disc went to press, and it is posted on the Homophone website. Our poor Manon looks for all the world like trailer trash showing up for a Jerry Springer taping.

Another picture of interest to many will be the penultimate photo - a picture of Cosme McMoon, radiant in a 70s combover, flanked by ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER at the 1974 Mr. Universe Contest, during the time he had given up his music career and was managing a male bordello.

This will be The Party Album of the New Millenium. Buy it.

Average customer rating:

Great Classical Spectrum

Classic Chillout, Vol. 2
Various Artists
Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

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Compilations | Classical | Styles | Music

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Classical Chillout
Euphoric Classics: A Classical High
Jazz Chillout
Reel Chill: The Cinematic Chillout Album
Classic Chillout Album

ASIN: B00005Y49H
Release Date: 2004-03-09

Tracks:

Any Other Name - Nikolaj Bloch
Vision - Richard Souther
Song Of Tears - London Philharmonic Orchestra
Largo - Reginald Kilbey And His Strings
Hedwig's Theme - Nic Raine
Sheep May Safely Graze - Sir Neville Marriner
II. Adagio Un Poco Mosso - Philharmonia Orchestra
Cavatina - Manuel Barrueco
Eddie - Michael Nyman
Espiritu - Thomas Otten
Cinema Paradiso Love Theme - Ennio Morricone & His Orchestra
Pavane - New Philharmonia Orchestra
Pie Jesu - Choir Of King's College, Cambridge
Goldberg Variations - Maria Tipo
Agnus Dei - David Hill
II. Adagio Sostenuto - Dame Moura Lympany
Canzonetta Sull'Aria - Gianna Rolandi

Tracks:

Time To Say Goodbye - Orchestra
Aquarium - Katia & Marielle Labeque
Barcarolle (Les Contes D'Hoffman) - Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
Jean De Florette Theme - Toots Thielemans
La Valse D'Amelie - Yann Tiersen
Love In Slow Motion - The Planets
Heart Of The Volunteer - David Temple
II. Adagio - Ton Koopman
Nimrod ('Enigma' Variations) - London Symphony Orchestra
Going Home (Largo) - Izzy
Sarabande - Academy Of St. Martin In The Fields
Facades - John Harle
Panis Angelicus - Halle Choir
Teleplene And Rubber Band - Simon Jeffes
Agnus Dei - National Youth Choir Of Great Britain
II. Romance - Garrick Ohlsson
Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring - Choir Of King's College, Cambridge
II: Andantino - James Galway
Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini - Cecile Ousset
An Ending - Brian Eno

Album Details

Instrumental Chill Out of the Classical Variety, Not of the Dancefloor. Chill Baby!

Customer Reviews:

Great Classical Spectrum .......2005-03-21

These cd's are a great set of varied classical music. Pavane is my favorite. Additionally, Classical Chillout 2 offers theme music from Harry Potter and it is very well done.

Average customer rating:

made for the ipod type player..
For Philip Guston
"For Philip Guston": the quick version
Everyone I give this recording to likes it!
Unbelievable!

Morton Feldman: For Philip Guston

Manufacturer: Bridge
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

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Feldman: Crippled Symmetry
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String Quartet 2
Morton Feldman: Piano and String Quartet / Aki Takahashi, Kronos Quartet
Morton Feldman: Triadic Memories

ASIN: B000003GK0
Release Date: 1997-11-18

Tracks:

For Philip Guston
For Philip Guston
For Philip Guston
For Philip Guston
For Philip Guston
For Philip Guston
For Philip Guston
For Philip Guston
For Philip Guston
For Philip Guston

Amazon.com essential recording

For Philip Guston (1984) is quintessential--and very essential--Morton Feldman. His studies of pitch and notational austerities under John Cage produced one of the most unique voices in late 20th century American music. Feldman, who died in 1987, had also befriended a number of New York art world luminaries and the painter Philip Guston was one. For Philip Guston is technically a "chamber" work for piccolo, flute, piano, celesta, glockenspiel, vibraphone, marimba, and chimes--and lasts well over 4-1/2 hours. The work is a slow, deliberative, and ultimately meditative examination of just a handful of notes and limited pitches played with extreme slowness on usually one instrument at a time, with the flutes often balanced out by the piano or the celesta. This work demands a listener's patience, but yields immeasurable rewards, and the California EAR Unit does a tremendous job of restraint and acute inspection throughout. --Paul Cook

Album Description

Here is the California EAR Unit's recording of the late Morton Feldman's monumental, 4 hour long For Philip Guston (1984). Included in this discount priced, 4 disc-set is an enhanced multimedia track, which includes Feldman's remarks as well as a photo montage of the composer. Morton Feldman stands as one of our century's darkest and quietest musical poets. His music seems a muffled yet spiritually inspired reaction to the speed, noise and horror of the events of the 20th century-much as in the work of the painter, Mark Rothko. For Philip Guston, a composition from Feldman's last years, is music that attempts to suspend time, but without the nervous "sequenced" energy that dominates so much of today's "process art." In for Philip Guston, the gigantism of Feldman's time-scale is offset by the extreme intimacy and seductiveness of the composer's expression. As Bridge Record's annotator, Alan Rich, puts it: "This is music of an outward immobility and inward irresistible propulsion, random yet purposeful-its construction, intricate and precise."

Customer Reviews:

made for the ipod type player.........2005-06-27

This piece is especially suited to the newer digital music players.....put it on and soak in it for 4 hours.

For Philip Guston.......2001-05-05

There are other performances of For Philip Guston available (on Hat Hut and Dog w/a Bone), but this recording by the California EAR Unit seems to be the one most recommended. Honestly, I can go either way, sometimes preferring Blum, Vigeland, etc to the EAR Unit, and vice versa. Feldman's later works--his best in my opinion--are extremely long with minimal events (patterns and variations) often taking place over several hours. Hence they deal with memory, or the limitation thereof. I could describe this music as introspective, meditative, or glacial, but I'm reminded of someone else's description instead (perhaps it was Arto Lindsay's). That listening to Feldman was akin to holding up an object, like a crystal, to the light and examining it from several angles for an extended time. Other great Feldman "For..." performances that I recommend are "For John Cage" (Hat Hut) by Josje Ter Haar and John Snijders of the Ives Ensemble, and "For Bunita Marcus" (LondonHall) by the great John Tilbury.

"For Philip Guston": the quick version.......2001-04-25

Blum, Vigeland, and Williams, the première musicians, recorded it on about 265 minutes. The S.E.M. Ensemble was a little bit slower (288 minutes). But this version takes only 248 minutes to play, so after listening to it you still may have time to listen to something else in the same evening! Great!

Everyone I give this recording to likes it!.......1999-10-30

I have given this recording to a lot of my friends, many who have little interest in Classical music, and they are all blown away.

This recording presents music of great and natural beauty.

Unbelievable!.......1999-01-19

Like being shrunk into an Oriental rug and wandering around without time. You've never had an experience like this. Certainly one of the greatest composers of this century and into the next.

Average customer rating:

Worthy of the Widest Attention

Weiss: Lute Concerti
Richard Stone , Tempesta Di Mare , and Gwyn Roberts
Manufacturer: Chandos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Duets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

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Symphonies Concertantes
Lute Music, Vol. 2
Weiss: Sonatas for Lute, Volume 5
Weiss: Lute Sonatas, Vol. 8
Weiss: Lute Sonatas, Vol. 6

ASIN: B00022M46Y
Release Date: 2004-06-29

Tracks:

Allegro
Andante
Tempo Di Munetto
Largo
Allegro
Largo
Allegro Assai
Adagio
Allegro
Amoroso
Allegro
Allegro
Largo
Allegro
Largo
Allegro
Largo
Allegro
Adagio
Allegro
Grave
Allegro

Customer Reviews:

Worthy of the Widest Attention.......2005-09-17

This is a superb reconstruction and performance of how 6 of Weiss's lute concerti might have sounded. Richard Stone is an accomplished master of the lute as well as historically informed baroque music performance, now director of his own ensemble "Tempesta di Mare". Anyone interested in baroque lute or baroque concerti should give serious audition to this enjoyable recording.
[...]

Average customer rating:

Gardens of Anna Maria Luisa de Medici
Françoise Groben , Elisenda Fabregas , Hilary Tann , Elena Kats-Chernin , Meininger-Trio , and Christiane Meininger
Manufacturer: Profil - G Haenssler
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

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Ragtime & Blue

ASIN: B0009VV5C2
Release Date: 2005-08-16

Average customer rating:

Sollberger: A New York Retrospective

Manufacturer: Composers Recordings
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000005TYL
Release Date: 1997-03-18

Tracks:

A New York Retrospective: Chamber Variations
A New York Retrospective: I
A New York Retrospective: II
A New York Retrospective: III
A New York Retrospective: IV
A New York Retrospective: V
A New York Retrospective: VI
A New York Retrospective: VII
A New York Retrospective: Riding The Wind I
A New York Retrospective: Angel And Stone

Average customer rating:

Smoooooooth
Close your eyes and you'll be somewhere else.

Stone Flute
Herbie Mann
Manufacturer: Wounded Bird Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Smooth Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

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Memphis Underground
Push Push
Beyond Brooklyn
The Best of Herbie Mann
At the Village Gate

ASIN: B00004L8DD
Release Date: 2000-03-21

Tracks:

In Tangier - Paradise Beach
Flying
Don't You Know The Way (How I Feel About You)
Miss Free Spirit
Waltz For My Son
Pendulum

Album Description

This is the first time this classic album has been issued on CD anywhere in the world. Originally released on Atlantic subsidiary Embryo in 1970. A n atypical album for Mann which has been described as, 'Herb ie Mann's answer to the Miles Davis classic 'In a Silent Way'. Guests include Roy Ayers, Ron Carter and Sonny Sharrock. 2000 release. Standard jewel case.

Customer Reviews:

Smoooooooth.......2001-06-19

Let me begin by applauding AMAZON for allowing all of the frustrated, creative-expression-starved (like myself) to have a little outlet. What a shame that so few will ever experience this recording. If you like any of the better "Ambient" stuff from the past 20 years or so (such as Harold Budd & Brian Eno's "Pearl"), I'd put a Ben Franklin down that says you'll love this. Herbie Mann here strayed about as far as possible from the lounge-accessible genre of his other works. However, here's a warning: If you are looking for extreme displays of prowess and virtuosity, and especially if you tend to expect virtuosity to be synonymous with speed, this is not what you're looking for. But, if you are searching for a very unique, floating-above-the-clouds type experience, Herbie's your Mann. This could have been titled "StonED Flute" if they could've gotten away with it. Amazingly unique and fresh considering or even not considering that it dates back over 30 years!

Close your eyes and you'll be somewhere else........2001-01-14

That's the effect this music has. I purchased this album when it was originally released in 1970, about 2 years into my jazz listening experience. Since then, I've listened to hundreds of jazz albums and yet this one stands out as one of the most moving pieces of emotive jazz I've ever heard. While each title presents it own subtle and sensuous style of creativity, there is a continuity in the listening that makes for a total listening experience. Also, this collection is a very different Herbie Mann--not the pop jazz with which he tends to be more associated. The musicianship, finese of the arrangements, and subtle dynamics are all excellent. Dim the lights, close your eyes and let yourself be moved by this music.

Average customer rating:

Excellent, and New
Genious.

None But The Lonely Flute

Manufacturer: New World Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Trios | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0000030IC
Release Date: 1995-02-28

Tracks:

None But The Lonely Flute
Trio For Flutes
For Morton Feldman
And The Whole Air Is Tremulous
Indigenous Music II: Flute
Ryoan - JI

Customer Reviews:

Excellent, and New.......2004-02-28

This CD is full of something that is all too rare, originality. I loved it. It's not always easy, but it's worth it. This album pushes the what music is, and should be, to a high level. It's well worth the buy for someone who wants to study good new music.

Genious........2001-11-26

The music is obviously written by composers that are serious about their work but not serious about what the audience thinks. It is unique, beautiful and sometimes wierd. The performance is quite wonderful and amazing. I am sure that there are not many, if there are any, that can play the flute so masterfully as Dorothy Stone. Thank you for this amazing music. It took me quite a while to learn to listen to this music but my patience and attention to it has been well awarded.

Wadada Leo Smith: Grand Oak Trees at Dawn; String Quartet No. 1; etc.

Average customer rating:

Wadada Leo Smith: Grand Oak Trees at Dawn; String Quartet No. 1; etc.

Manufacturer: Cambria Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0001LJC34
Release Date: 2004-03-30

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Settings

Manufacturer: New World Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Classical | Indie Music | Stores | Music
ASIN: B0000AV51K
Release Date: 2003-08-04

Tracks:

Sextet - First movement
Sextet - Second movement
Sextet- Invocation
Sonatine - First movement
Sonatine - Second movement
Sonatine - Third movement
AmyAbilities
Prelude
Setting
Immobiles

Album Description

California EAR Unit: Erika Duke-Kirkpatrick, cello; Robin Lorentz, violin; Dorothy Stone, flute; Vicki Ray, piano; Marty Walker, clarinet; Amy Knoles, percussion; Stephen L. Mosko, conductor (in Sextet)

Mel Powell (1923-1998) once wrote: "Over the centuries, the invention of a music that sounds too lovely to be thought of as ingenious has remained one of the grand deceptions manageable by the great masters. Cleverness is not necessarily lovely, nor is loveliness necessarily clever; it is when they are hand-in-hand, in fact conjoined so as to be indistinguishable from one another, that composition proclaims its supreme achievement." Nothing better describes Powell's own music. A jazz prodigy in his youth and later one of the country's most distinguished composers, he created a legacy of works both sonically alluring and intellectually compelling. When he died in 1998, his close friend composer Milton Babbitt wrote: "We have lost the wit, warmth and wisdom of a singular musician whose creative achievements extend from the biggest of the big bands to the smallest of that small band of distinguished contemporary composers." A consummate stylist, Powell's music couples an Apollonian restraint and discipline with a celebration of sonority—a quick splash of castanets and drums in AmyAbilities, a delicate harmonic and whispering trill in Invocation. There is a coolness and reserve to his writing: His music is never indulgent or overwrought; it interrupts itself before it gets too carried away. Powell frequently quoted philosopher Frans Hemsterhuis's definition of the beautiful as "the greatest number of ideas in the shortest space of time." In listening to this album, featuring seven pieces written expressly for the members of the California EAR Unit, be prepared for an hour's worth of uncommon ideas and graceful, potent fantasy.

Sextet (1996) (for chamber ensemble), Invocation (1988) (for cello), Sonatine (1996) (for flute), AmyAbilities (1988) (for percussion), Prelude (1988) (for piano), Setting (for violin) (1972), Immobiles (1967) (for chamber ensemble with tape)

Of related interest: 80413 Mel Powell - Woodwind Quintet

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