Nuages

Nuages

ASIN: B0002J9TT2

Track Listings

1. Daphne

2. Limehouse Blues

3. Tears

4. At the Jimmy's Bar

5. Rythme Futur

6. Blues

7. Swing 41

8. Nuages

9. Pour Vous (Exactly Like You)

10. Fantaisie Sur une Danse Norvégienne

11. Vendredi 13

12. Liebesfreud

13. Mabel

14. Petits Mensonges (Little White Lies)

15. Yeux Noirs (Dark Eyes)

16. Sweet Sue, Just You

17. Swing de Paris

18. Oiseaux des Îles

19. All of Me

20. Stockholm

See all 21 tracks on this disc

Tracks:

Angelicus
Extollere
The Way You Want It To Be
Indoctrination
Self-Saboteur
Tectonic Shift
Lumenis
Fleeting Instant
Sister Sojourn Ghost
Lost And Found
Apparition

Amazon.com

There aren't a lot of musicians who actually start a trend, but as Delerium, Rhys Fulber and Bill Leeb can take credit for the ethereal-girl genre of dream-pop electronica. From early releases like Karma, which included singer Sarah McLachlan, they've specialized in a mixture of lush, almost romantic electronica coupled with female singers that tend toward the ecstatic. Their latest album, Nuages du Monde, is no exception. Fulber and Leeb bring in a host of singers, from the operatic soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian to Punjabi Bollywood singer Kiran Ahluwalia. Also on board are old favorites the Mediæval Bæbes, whose "Blow Northern Wind" is sampled and adapted with new vocals on "Extoller." Kristy Thrisk, who goes back to the earliest vocal works of Delerium on Semantic Spaces, returns, joined by Kirsty Hawkshaw--a singer who's already been a favorite foil for artists like BT, Orbital, and DJ Tiësto. Along with Jael's "Lost and Found," Hawkshaw's "Fleeting Instant" is among the most likely pop singles from the disc. Like their previous album, Chimera, Nuages du Monde ("Clouds of the World") flirts dangerously with soporifically shlocky arrangements, but they've pulled back considerably, thickening the beats and trading synth strings for real on many tracks. The tribal "Sister Sojourn Ghost," the Bæbes' second appearance on the disc, is one of the few tracks that play with the formula, as an uncharacteristically primal chant from the Bæbes treads a dark, percussive groove. A bit more of that would have lifted Nuages du Monde beyond what seems to be a business-as-usual approach by Delerium. --John Diliberto

Customer Reviews:

At times, this might be Delerium's best -- mostly, it's just solid.......2007-06-15

Delerium's newest, Nuages du Monde ("Clouds of the World"), is perhaps the best "update" of a band's signature sound in recent memory. While not without its flaws, the album provides the return to form we've all been waiting for. While it's unlikely, in my opinion, that any future Delerium work could echo the majestic grace of 1997's "Karma"-- whose tracks consumed and summarized entire years of my life-- Nuages du Monde does a respectable job. It certainly could have been improved beyond this, so for that I have to knock off a star, but it isn't "bad" by any stretch.

The highlights of the album for me are the two instrumentals-- the soaring "Lumenis", with layer upon layer of textures and ethnic samples, and "Tectonic Shift", easily Delerium's best instrumental work to date. The latter is a slowly-unravelling masterpiece of tension, with perhaps the best blend of modern electronics and ancient instruments I've ever heard-- from this band or anyone. The sheer grandeur of its movement, undulating across violins, choirs, arpeggiated electronics and tribal drums, suggests nothing so much as the dance of the continents--truly, few tracks ever recorded possess such fitting titles! Unquestionably worth the album price for this one alone.

Similarly, most of the tracks here are generally strong, though at times the vocals (which tend to bring in some rather strange harmonies) can be a little grating-- especially in "Self-Sabateur" and "The Way You Wanted To Be". Unlike most people I really like "Lost and Found" because of its catchiness, though I completely understand everyone's complaints about it--it is unapologetically pop, completely out of place, and silly. "Indoctrination", on the other hand, grounds ethereal synth-rock with spiritual vocals and a sense of fun that's often lacking in the Canadian duo's earlier and more serious works. Also of note is "Apparition", a surprisingly moving, appropriately mystical finale that perfectly encapsulates a sense of "ending".

One never knows exactly what to expect from Delerium-- and I've been a fan of every modern album they've released-- but "Nuages du Monde" rightfully takes its place in their catalog. While certainly imperfect, often marred rather than bolstered by vocals, it is far preferable to many other artists' attempts to "duplicate Karma"-- showing once and for all that Leeb & Fulber have definitely still got it goin' on.

Not a return to Delerum more a something else..........2007-06-13

I am so glad I can listen to these online before buying. I have been a fan of Delerium since Sematic Spaces and they have really changed the sound on this one. I think Chimera is a much better album and I wrote a horrible review for that one. If you liked Chimera then maybe this album is for you... but then again its different than Chimera. I like some songs on this album don't get me wrong, but if you are expecting anything like Conjure One or Deliriums Karma album this will really disappoint you. I still think out of all the projects Rhys Fulber's done his best by far to me was the first album of Conjure One.

Track 1
It starts with opera (no joke) and tries to mix it with techno, which can be good, but the music doesn't mix with the voice on several passages. However its still a decent song and probably one of the better ones on the album.

Track 2
This is a very electronic sounding song, with some airy vocals. Normally I am a huge fan of this sound however they just did it wrong... and I find myself wanting to change to a different track. However if you hang on it does get better.

Track 3
This has some piano in it which I love, but the singing starts so depressing that you want to shoot yourself in the head. Make it stop already... But again it gets better if you just hand on. ;-)

Track 4
What a start its so awesome that you want to crank it up, then somehow the vocals just mess it up. I am not sure what it is but something is wrong. However if the whole album sounded more like the background in this I would rate the album a 4, 4.5. The vocals come in right when you are relaxed with a shrill sound that makes you want to change the track yet again.

Track 5
This song is okay, the voice is a little odd which in this song adds to it. The song is more popish but still one of the best on the Album.

Track 6
Again a great start for a song... This is more like the roots of Delerium then they mess it up again with some odd voice in the middle of the song.
To me its like they are trying to hard to sound different than anything they have done so they throw this odd sound into it in random spots. Yeah that will fix it and make it sound like something new. All these extra sounds they throw in make me why did you do that?

Track 7
There are some good sounds in this song. Another decent song, again they throw in some electronics and voice where it doesn't really fit.

Track 8
This sounds like song, yet I don't like parts of it. Still one of the better ones on the album.

Track 9
Very dark and has some highs, a great song. This is Delerium at its finest, smooth transitions between sounds. Love it, can you make an album like this again? If you do it will sit in my car cd player for months at a time and never get old.

Track 10
Good song again. This one is vocal but it has smooth transitions.

Track 11
Very good song. This is why I love Delerium right here. Now what happened on the rest of this album? This song makes me want to rate this whole album higher and play it again. However I can't stand the first tracks.

Its like they tried to hard on this album to make a new sound. In a lot of the tracks they went back to the roots and then throw in a new sound so it sounds like something new. Unfortunately none of the new sounds mix well with the old on the entire album.

If you really like the older Sematic Spaces sound of Delerium check out Ameythestium. If you like the popish check out Mysteria, Lesiem, Frou Frou, Vargo, 4-Strings, Hooverphonic, Kristy Hawkshaw, and if you like dark music check out Lunascape. Bottom line go elsewhere on this one.

Delerium continues to grow.......2007-02-16

I have been listening to Delerium for a long time, and this album, in my opinion, shows further growth of Delerium as a whole. If you liked Poem, you will like this one! If you didn't like Poem, you probably won't like this one, as this CD continues to grow in that general direction.

Excellent Work.......2007-02-15

This release from Delerium is pretty much there most polished up & edited cd to date. It is good. Although I feel it is not there best, it is nice to hear the 2 members working together again.
I give it 5 stars.
Buy it.

DELERIUM redeem themselves..........2007-02-12

...after their last disaster, CHIMERA, which, aside for a couple of songs, is best forgotten (see my review).

NUAGES DU MONDE is still not up to KARMA's level of outstanding mix of songs and ambient/electronic music but it's a step in the right direction. There's only one bad song in the lot and it's "Lost & Found", which I don't even listen to. But all the others range from very good to excellent, with my favorite being "Extollere" "The Way You Want It To Be" "Self-Saboteur" "Indoctrination" "Sister Sojourn Ghost".

Though a tad uncharacteristically DELERIUM-like, "The Way You Want It To Be" is probably the best song of the entire album. The great thing about it is the singer's voice, which is very androgynous and gives a really unique sound/feel to what would have probably sounded ordinary if the song had been sung by someone with a clearly feminine voice.

"Extollere" is the one that I listen to a lot now. It's just pure DELERIUM. And would it be a DELERIUM album if it didn't include a song ("Self-Saboteur") with the great Kristy Thrisk? "Self-Saboteur" lyrics are very good and so true. And "Apparition" is strikingly melodious in its melancholy. A great way to end the CD.

What's funny about NUAGES DU MONDE is that DELERIUM are sampling their past songs/sounds. Are they running out of ideas? Or are they simply telling us disgruntled fans of CHIMERA that they heard us and these samples are just little winks at us? I dunno. I don't mind the sampling at all. I just hope they're not running out of ideas...

Anyway, I'm glad I purchased this album. The album's name, NUAGES DU MONDE is great and very accurate. I listen to songs from it almost every day. Good job, guys.

Average customer rating:

Debussy is the BEST
Beautiful!
Debussy IS for Relaxation

Debussy for Relaxation

Manufacturer: RCA
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Waltzes | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

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Preludes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

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

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Rachmaninoff for Relaxation
Chopin For Relaxation
Mozart for Relaxation
Vivaldi for Relaxation
Beethoven for Relaxation

ASIN: B00000IFOY
Release Date: 1999-04-13

Tracks:

For Relaxation: Prelude: L'Apres-midi d'un faune (Prelude To The Afternoon Of A Faun)
For Relaxation: Suite Bergamasque: 3 - Clair de Lune
For Relaxation: Reverie
For Relaxation: Preludes, Book 1 No. 4: Les sons et les parfums tournent dans l'air du soir (Sounds And Perfumes Stir In The Evening Air)
For Relaxation: Quartet In G Minor, Op. 10: 3 - Andantino, doucement expressif
For Relaxation: Fantaisie pour piano et orchestre: 2 - Lento et molto espressivo
For Relaxation: La plus que lente
For Relaxation: Nocturnes: Nuages (Clouds)
For Relaxation: Preludes, Book 1 No. 8: La fille aux cheveux de lin (The Girl With The Flaxen Hair)
For Relaxation: Children's Corner: V - Le petit berger (The Little Shepherd)
For Relaxation: Pour le piano: Sarabande
For Relaxation: Danse sacree et danse profane

Customer Reviews:

Debussy is the BEST.......2002-03-05

This CD is Excellent for relaxing. I listen to it every night.

Beautiful!.......2001-03-14

If you are new to Debussy, this CD is great to start. If you are already a fan, this CD is the perfect weekend companion. It features a well chosen selection of pieces from several of his works, both orchestral and solo piano. Best of all (as the title indicates) these pieces are all adagio/lento that are pleasant to listen to and relax... It is also very well priced, so it is a good CD to recommend.

Debussy IS for Relaxation.......2000-06-13

This CD's title says it all - just for relaxation.

Debussy is for soul searching time, contemplation of the universe or just vegging out.

Tracks:

Suite Bergamasque: Clair de lune
The Sea At Dawn
Dances For Harp & Orchestra - Sacred Dance
Suite Bergamasque: Prelude
La Plus Que Lente
La fille aux cheveux de lin (The Girl With The Flaxen Hair)
Prelude No. 11 For Composed Arpeggios
Nocturnes for Orchestra - Nuages
Pour le piano - Sarabande
Images: Lent
Images: Souvenir de Louvre
Images: Images - Book 1, Reflections In The Water
Images: Rhapsody For Clarinet & Orchestra
Images: Nocturnes for Orchestra - Sirenes

Customer Reviews:

An absolute joy.......2006-01-26

So many pieces on this album are jewels. "Le fille aux cheveux de lin" and "Nocturnes for Orchestra - Sirenes" are particularly heavenly. "The Sea at Dawn" has an amazing sense of freshness and motion to it and is well placed at the beginning of the CD. A few of the songs on here make excellent background music but lack memorable themes. I wish I could wake up to this CD every morning, truly.

CD review.......2003-04-06

This is a great debussy CD. This CD is my introduction to Debussy, and now debussy is one of my favorite composers. The music in here is relaxing. The performances are excellent also. One complaint, however, is there is a repeat. There are two of the same pieces on the CD. Overall, this is a great CD.

Franz Liszt: Complete Piano Music, Vol. 1

Average customer rating:

Planned spontaneity
One of the best Liszt CD's out there
Somehow I missed this one when it first came out
A Portrait of the Virtuosity and Mind of Franz Liszt

Franz Liszt: Complete Piano Music, Vol. 1

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

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Liszt: Sacred Music Transcriptions

ASIN: B0000014FJ
Release Date: 1997-06-10

Tracks:

Danse Macabre, Op. 40: Danse Macabre, S555 - R240
Nuages gris (Trube Wolken), S199 - R78
Unstern: sinistre, disastro, S208 - R80
Reminiscences des Huguenots, Grande fantaisie dramatique sur des themes de l' opera Les Huguenots de Meyerbeer (2nd and final version), S412 - R221
La lugubre gondola I, S200: 1 - R81: 1
La lugubre gondola II, S200: 2 - R81: 2
Impromptu ('Nocture'), S191 - R59
Totentanz, 'Danse Macabre', S525 - R188

Amazon.com

The sound could be better, but Arnaldo Cohen's whirlwind technique and rapier temperament is tailor-made for the demanding transcriptions presented here. By contrast, the Brazilian pianist imbues the cryptic late Liszt works with tenderness and mystery. A disc no Liszt maven should pass up, especially at Naxos's bargain price. --Jed Distler

Customer Reviews:

Planned spontaneity .......2007-03-24

People who shy away from ''classical'' - or ''serious'', as some would put it - music for its supposedly greater depth and sounder intellectual basis should make acquaintance with one of the funniest, wierdest and most imaginative composers of all time, the Hungarian virtuoso Franz Liszt. Totentanz is the closest thing to Iron Maiden and Andrew Lloyd Weber that we have in classical music. It always reminds me of "Fear of the Dark" and "Jesus Christ Superstar". It's so trivial, gratuitous, frenzied, shallow, pointless, ugly, flamboyant, showy and outright over-the-top that it borders on ridicule. One gets embarassed upon hearing it. Some of the music in this disc is so unashamedly bad and shallow that it becomes utterly funny and hugely entertaining. Arnaldo Cohen has succeeded more spectacularly than anyone before him in conveying the sheer excitement and the very well planned spontaneity of these pieces. His fiery playing and absolute command of dynamics and colour are breathtaking. He's undoubtedly one of the most intense and impressive pianists to have ever played this music (by the way, he's a great Schumann interpreter too). Other highlights of this recording are the irresistible and haunting ''Unstern: sinistre, disastro'' and the chilling ''Danse Macabre''. Nuage gris is an interesting attempt at atonality and the Impromptu is beautifully and masterly played. After all is said and done, it's a wonderful and exciting recording (provided you don't take some of these pieces too seriously). I've constantly found myself getting back to it lately. I dare to say it's a must-have.

One of the best Liszt CD's out there.......2006-06-29

I'm sure most of us are familiar with the countless CD's out there by Bolet, Brendel, Kissin, Horowitz, even Hamelin of encore Liszt pieces. You know the type: Liebestraume No. 3, Un Sospiro, Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, La Campanella, Mazeppa et al. While these pieces are certainly good, I find myself tired of seeing these same types of recordings. It seems every professional pianist has his own Liszt CD of music that we've heard twenty other pianists play.

Then comes along Naxos' idea for the Complete Piano Music of Liszt (perhaps following Leslie Howard's success) and their first CD is probably one of the best Naxos Liszt CD's in existence. The musical selection and the pianist is what makes the CD shine. Before getting this CD I had never heard of Arnaldo Cohen, but this guy plays Liszt just right; superb, sensitive, stunning, and what other good adjective starting with an "s" I could think of.

The first piece, a piano transcription of Saint-Saens' 'Danse Macabre' is testimony to Liszt's ingenuity of transcription for the piano. There aren't that many recordings of this. Cohen's performance is chilling, exciting, and sounds like it's summoning a troupe of dancing skeletons from the piano. The second gloomy 'Nuages Gris' is a staple of late Liszt and is played solemnly as it should be, a soft and murky touch. The 'Unstern: sinistre disastro' is startling in its modernism and evocation of an impending misfortune or evil. As a composition it also shows Liszt's prolific genius.

Next on the list and going back to the Lisztomania days, the 'Reminiscences des Huguenots' by Cohen is, in my opinion, the best interpretation of this splendid fantasy. Leslie Howard's countless recordings of the first, second, final and other version pales in comparison. There is something about Cohen's flight and dynamics on the piano. His tempo and phrasing, his refusal to rush through tender moments, but also his sense enough to speed up a bravura section is quite refreshing. The piece is a great fantasy from Liszt's touring days.

The two 'La lugubre gondolas' are the most darkly disturbing and heartfelt pieces of the Romantic piano oeuvre. Only Alkan stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Liszt in making the piano a morbid and bleak instrument of sadness. Inspired by R. Wagner's death, they are amazing, haunting, beautiful and seductive.

If the choices so far haven't left me beyond contented, a colossal monster of a composition launches itself at the very end. The 'Totentanz' is an underappreciated work of Liszt. With all the Piano Concerto No. 1 and 2's out there, this one should be higher in its popularity. It's a work of genius, combining demonic power and at times grace together into an epic set of variations on the 'Dies irae' theme. What makes it outstanding on this CD in particular is that the work for orchestra and piano is transcribed to the single piano here; to me, the result and performance of Cohen's effort sounds better than Howard's playing.

Again, I must reiterate the original and exquisite repertoire on this CD; the choices of music here expose Liszt's great piano works that have sadly been under the radar for a while.

If you enjoy Liszt or any of the Romantic period piano music, this is a must-have. I think this CD is one of the best of Liszt that I own; highly recommended.

Somehow I missed this one when it first came out.......2003-06-28

I've only recently become familiar with the playing of Arnaldo Cohen, and I've gotten several of his recordings in the last month or so. I'm impressed by his red-blooded playing. He's not one of those cookie-cutter competition-winning note-spinners, but tends to put more of his own passion into the performance. Of course, that's important with repertoire on this Liszt disc. Just listen to the coruscating 'Danse macabre,' Liszt's arrangement of Saint-Saëns's symphonic poem. It will peel the paint off your listening-room wall.

He plays both versions of 'La lugubre gondola,' something we rarely get, and certainly not in recital. He manages to make them very different.

This is mostly late Liszt, the exception being the 'Huguenots' piece which, I have to admit, does go on a bit too long. That's Liszt's fault, not Cohen's. He does all that can be done with it.

I've always been struck by the unsettling 'Unstern' ('Dark Star', as some translate it, but I've come to think of it as Liszt's 'Black Hole' because it's so weird and modern-sounding) ever since I heard it as an encore played by Garrick Ohlsson years ago. It's one of those forward-looking, almost-atonal things that Liszt has, in latter years, gotten more and more attention for. Liszt subtitled it 'sinistre, disastro' and Cohen infuses those qualities into this strange little masterpiece; it is head and shoulders above Leslie Howard's pale performance from his complete Liszt traversal. The only other worthy competitor that I'm aware of is Pollini on DG.

Finally we have a chillingly effective performance of the solo piano version of 'Totentanz', Liszt's exhaustive workout on the Dies irae. I've always preferred it to the piano-and-orchestra version, which is more commonly heard and recorded.

This is volume one of Naxos' ongoing series of complete Liszt piano music; they are using a different pianist for each CD and they certainly picked a good one to start with.

Scott Morrison

A Portrait of the Virtuosity and Mind of Franz Liszt.......2000-04-25

This is a brilliant and wonderfully priced CD! If you enjoy the works of Liszt, then get this CD. The selected works here detail, in my opinion, the darker, more emotional pieces written/transcribed by Liszt. This includes Nuages gris and the 2 Lugubre gondola pieces, all considered to be "experiments" in mood and tonality. In Nuages gris, Liszt pours out some of his darker emotions, possibly related to the turmoils of his life with women, composition (and its critics, to which there were many), and old age (since this was one of his last works). Many dislike these darker works, but there are a few, such as myself, who find an inherant beauty to them. Of course, the album is also full of Liszt's virtuoso piano writing, which Mr. Cohen pulls off in fine fashion. Totentanz features some amazingly fast runs, while also filling in for the rest of the orchestra (this is an orchestral work of Liszt's which he condensed for piano). This album pays homage to the often misunderstood genius of Franz Liszt, and is a worthy addition to any collection. (Oh, and the price doesn't hurt either :)

Debussy, Ravel: Complete Works for Piano Duet and Two Pianos

Average customer rating:

Superlative Performances

Debussy, Ravel: Complete Works for Piano Duet and Two Pianos

Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Encore!
Gladrags

ASIN: B0007RA7AY
Release Date: 2005-05-24

Tracks:

I. En Bateau
II. Cortege
III. Menuet
IV. Ballet
Marche Ecossaise Sur Un Theme Populaire
I. Pour Invoquer Pan
II. Pour Un Tombeau Sans Nom
III. Pour Que La Nuit Soit Propice
IV. Pour La Danseuse Aux Crotales
V. Pour L'Egyptienne
VI. Pour Remercier La Pluie Au Matin
Lindaraja
I. Avec Emportement
II. Lent - Sombre
III. Scherzando
Prelude A L'apres-Midi D'un Faune
I. Nuages
II. Fetes
II. Entre-Cloches

Tracks:

I. Pavane De La Belle Au Bois Dormant
II. Petit Poucet
III. Laideronnette, Imperatrice Des Pagodes
IV. Les Entretiens De La Belle Et De La Bete
V. Le Jardin Feerique
Frontispice: For Two Pianos And One Hand
Mouvement De Vaise Viennoise
I. Prelude A La Nuit
II. Malaguena
III. Habanera
IV. Feria
I. L'Escarpolette
II. La Toupie
III. La Poupee
IV. Les Chevaux De Bois
V. Le Volant
VI. Trompette Et Tambour
VII. Les Bulles De Savon
VIII. Les Quatre Coins
IX. Colin-Maillard
X. Saute-Mouton
XI. Petit Mari, Petite Femme!
XII. Le Bal
L'Apprenti Sorcier

Customer Reviews:

Superlative Performances.......2007-03-07

Superlative Duo in superlative music - really sums up these performances. The Debussy is sublime from the "Six Epigraphes antiques" the exotic,"Lindaraja", the spirited,"Marche Ecossaise",the charming, "Petite Suite", to the modern abstract,"En Blanc et noir". The Ravel is as ravishing and the music's strong linear sweep is revealed in two pianos or four hands(with Ravel's "Frontispice" for two piano with one hand - an unusual combination). This is music that brightens up your aural realm!

Average customer rating:

So Great
I highly recommend this disk!
Guitar Genius
Even better live!
Roland Dyens

Nuages - Solo Guitar Works
Django Reinhardt , Heitor Villa-Lobos , Antonio Carlos/ Bonta, Luis Jobim , Roland Dyens , Thelonious Monk , Angel Villoldo , and Erik Satie
Manufacturer: Gha
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Elena Papandreou plays Ronad Dyens

ASIN: B00000G5G5
Release Date: 1999-01-25

Tracks:

Nuages
Bachianas brasileiras Nr.5: Aria
Felicidade
Hommage a` Boris Vian: Ville d'Avril
Valse en skai
Round Midnight
Deux hommages a Marcel Dadi: Tristemusette
Songe capricorne
El choclo
Sols d'leze
Gnossienne No. 1

Customer Reviews:

So Great.......2004-10-25

What a great CD. This is one of the most musical guitarists I have heard. The jazz arrangements on this CD are top notch.

I highly recommend this disk!.......2004-08-08

This disk is a must for all music lovers. Roland Dyens plays with a flair that few guitarists do. His tone is great, and he posesses the technique to get the job of making great music well accomplished. He is also a great composer: check out Songe Capricorne, my favourite of his many fine compositions. Roland Dyens is an excellent musician; listening to this disk is a great pleasure.

Guitar Genius.......2003-12-13

An awesome work!, A beautifull rendition of this classics, and his compositions are just amazing!, a true artist, a genius. Definitely my favorite musician.

Even better live!.......2002-08-03

I've been fortunate enough to have seen Dyens perform several times in the past few years. He's the most natural and gifted performer I've ever seen, period. This cd is a good example of some of his repertiore. The only way it could be better is if it was a video. He conveys such emotion, affection and an improvisational spirit through his music on stage, there's no way it could come out on a cd. His only peer is John Williams, and his is a different, practised kind of virtuosity.
Be on the lookout for an upcoming cd from Dyens featuring his transcriptions of jazz standards. His performance of several of these pieces, notably an incredible version of "All The Things You Are" and a rip your heart out "Misty" brought the house down in June 2002.

Roland Dyens.......2000-05-20

Besides being a convincing guitarist, Roland is also a proficient composer and arranger. The works found on this CD display his ability on guitar, his arrangement capability, as well as his compositional mastery. For the player, listen and learn, because you'll get no better representation of the original works here. For the enthusiast, listen and enjoy, since this work is an emotional and well-planned journey through some of the most inspiring and interesting music written for guitar. I must add that Dyens is by far my favorite composer and performer, and although his modesty would not allow him to agree, it adds to his likeable character and honest nature. All around, a five-star recording by a five-star guitarist.

Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Sergio and Odair Assad

Average customer rating:

A wonderful CD
A luminous, brilliant performance
I Concur with the Disappointed Ones
Fiery!
Very Dissapointed

Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Sergio and Odair Assad

Manufacturer: Nonesuch
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
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Sergio & Odair Assad Play Rameau, Scarlatti, Couperin, Bach

ASIN: B00000K2WO
Release Date: 2000-01-18

Tracks:

Andalucia
Fantasy On Dark Eyes
The Chase
Istanbul: Awakening And Turkish Dance
Tatras
Gypsy Songs: The Pretty Girl; Coming Home' If I Could Catch The Mouse; Difficult For You; Curd-Porridge...
Vardar's Boat
Nuages
Somogy's Dream

Amazon.com

Aside from the odd Ravi Shankar project, classical and world music fusions seldom seem to work. Here's one that does. Violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg teams up with Brazilian guitarists Sergio and Odair Assad on a set heavily influenced by the gypsy music of Europe and the Middle East. Written mostly by Sergio Assad, these are lively compositions, with dizzying guitar parts punctuated by Salerno-Sonnenberg's piercing violin to great effect. "Andalucia" is a stunning display of the trio's interplay; "The Chase" will appeal to flamenco lovers; and "Gypsy Songs" is a medley of traditional Hungarian folk tunes. On Django Reinhardt's "Nuages," the tempo unfortunately plods along, but "Somogy's Dream"--based on the gypsy music of Transylvania--is a glorious closer. If you like the guitar and world music, or were enthralled by Joshua Bell's Short Trip Home classical fusion disc, you'll love this. --Jason Verlinde

Customer Reviews:

A wonderful CD.......2004-01-03

I listen to this CD frequently. All of the numbers are super and the interaction of the guitars and violin are glorious.

A luminous, brilliant performance.......2002-06-03

Sergio Assad's clever improvisations on melodies ranging from "Dark Eyes" and Django Reinhardt's "Nuages" to traditional Russian, Slavic and Turkish melodies are beautifully rendered by this string trio. Percussion is added to some tracks, and the phantomic voice of either Nadja or another female vocalist (sister Badi Assad?) is present, nearly in the background, of one haunting song.

The complaints in some reviews here, such as grousing over a lack of discernible melodies, are largely unfounded.

Of course we don't get "Greensleeves" or "Danny Boy" or any familiar, sentimental favorites. And, of course, these tracks are not for the fans of Jim Nabors or Montovani.

But lush, romantic, and witty, dashing tunes abound. A degree of musical sophistication and experience as a listener helps. But anyone who can listen with pleasure to Keith Jarrett and Chick Corea will love this album. It's not nearly as far out as Elliot Carter's String Quartets or Crumb's "Ancient Voices of Children." Not at all, as some reviewers might lead you to believe.

The playing is virtuosic, and I am a classical guitarist and can testify with a technically educated ear. The Thomas Humphrey guitars the Assads play ( one a spruce top and one a cedar top) blend beautifully under Nadja's violin.

One is nearly tempted to make symbolic comparisons here, marking the bird of the violin singing over the ocean of melody pouring from the guitars, or some such silly thing.

Why? Because the whole performance is braided with an erotic yet intellectual chain of musical perfection tied to vital, soaring imagination.

Like the Assad Brothers' Piazzolla album, this one is a must-have for fans of contemporary acoustic music, classical guitar or simply luscious string playing. The gypsy melodies themselves are a magical enough suite to warrant buying this disk.

I Concur with the Disappointed Ones.......2001-07-04

I too am a fan of Nadja, that is what led me to this, as well as being a classical guitar lover. I've only played this three times, and that will be it.

The music leaves me grasping for something else, anything else on my shelf. Certainly there are great musical talents here. Likely, they enjoy the challenge musically. But for the listener class such as we, we'll put our listening time and 5-star reviews with others.

If this is representative of fusion, count me out.

Fiery!.......2000-10-20

I've been a great fan of the Odair Assad's compositions since hearing the "Natsu no Niwa" (Did I get the title right?) suite they released a few years back. This album was not disappointing at all. Odair has a wonderful, lyrical sensitivity and does justice to the various Spanish folk themes, evoking fiery passion and beauty within an intimate setting. A critic once called the Assad Bros. a "four-armed guitar virtuoso," and he was right on the money with that. Ms. Salerno-Sonnenberg's playing is absolutely stunning and is perfectly on par with the Brothers' virtuosic ability. I truly hope that Odair will compose regularly, and not just for the guitar either!

Very Dissapointed.......2000-09-26

I'm a music lover, not a critic, but I know what I like! The premise of this album caught my eye, but unfortunately, not my ear. I love traditional Middle Eastern and Indian music and have purchased several crossover albums over the years that have been fairly successful attempts to bridge cultural differences. Unfortunately, this album is not one of them.

These are certainly hightly talentd artists, but their collective interpertations of these "tunes" not only destroy their ethnicity but also their beauty.

I fail to understand the rationalization behind taking traditional tunes and warping them into some post-modern mush. Those diminished/augmented/6ths over dropped 7th clashings grate on my nerves! Sometimes I get the impression that "serious" classical artists are not permitted to play beautiful melodies lest they destroy their reputations. Guess we still have to leave that job up to the traditionalist musicians.

Tracks:

The Late Pieces: Schlaflos! Frage und Antwort S203
The Late Pieces: Trube Wolken (Nuages Gris), S199
The Late Pieces: Recueillement, S204
The Late Pieces: Toccata, S197a
The Late Pieces: Resignazione, S187a
The Late Pieces: Wiegenlied (Chant du Berceau), S198
The Late Pieces: Unstern! -- Sinstre, S208
The Late Pieces: Carrousel de Madame P-N., S214a
The Late Pieces: Sospiri! (Funf Klavierstucke No 5), S 192- 5
The Late Pieces: Schlaflos! [alternative version], S203
The Late Pieces: Klavierstuck in F Sharp Major, S193
The Late Pieces: Klavierstuck In E Major S192-1
The Late Pieces: Klavierstuck In A Flat Major S192-2
The Late Pieces: En Reve -- Nocturne, S207
The Late Pieces: Klavierstucke In F Sharp Major S192-3
The Late Pieces: Romance Oubliee S527
The Late Pieces: Klavierstucke In F Sharp Major S192-4
The Late Pieces: Die Trauergondel (La Lugubre Gondola)--I, S200-1
The Late Pieces: Die Trauergondel (La Lugubre Gondola)--II S200-2
The Late Pieces: RW--Venezia, S201
The Late Pieces: Am Grabe Richard Wagners S202
The Late Pieces: Abschied--Russisches Volkslied S251
The Late Pieces: (Slyepoi) (Der Blinde Sanger) S542a
The Late Pieces: Ungarns Gott, S543
The Late Pieces: Ungarisches Konigslied S544
The Late Pieces: Epithalam--Zu Eduard Remenyis Vermahlungsfeier S526
The Late Pieces: Mosonyis Grabgeleit S194
The Late Pieces: Dem Andenken Petofis S195
The Late Pieces: Trauervorspiel, Und ...
The Late Pieces: Trauermarsch, S206

Customer Reviews:

GREAT MUSIC, poor interpretation.......2004-10-10

Well, well... a Great Music indeed, extremely tragic and elegiac but... what a hurried and superficial interpretation by Mr.Howard! "Nuages gris" (I LOVE Marc-André Hamelin's one!) is very simple to play but paradoxically more difficult than "Mephisto-Valzer". It's not a matter of technical difficulties of course, but more "artistic" one. Howard simply doesn't know to sink in the deep darkness of Liszt late, gloomy masterpieces. I can't hear distress or hopless in that interpretation, it's just a plain reading, with almost no soul.

Looking at the duration of the present CD (79:41 min) I could think that such hurry is only to make 1 CD instead of 2. What a pity...

Mister Howard's incredible task (and courage) is really admirable (musicological one is astonishing!), but Liszt is not only supersonic octaves!

Liszt looks to the future.......1999-09-17

Liszt "hurled his lance further into the future than Wagner," and this CD shows just how far. Bartok said Liszt was the first modernist in music. Need I say more? Again, fabulous playing by Howard.

Liszt: Sonata for piano in Bm; Lugubre Gondola No1&2

Average customer rating:

The Liszt B minor played as a fascinating tone poem
Simply amazing!
simply very good
Simply amazing - and not only the Sonata
Simply amazing - and not only the Sonata

Liszt: Sonata for piano in Bm; Lugubre Gondola No1&2

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Deutsche Grammophon: Music | Specialty Stores | Music
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ASIN: B000001GF5
Release Date: 1992-04-14

Tracks:

Sonate H-Moll In B Minor: Lento assa - Allegro energico-; Andante sostenuto-; Allegro energico
Nuages gris
La notte
La lugubre gondola 2
Funerailles

Amazon.com

Krystian Zimerman's brilliant, powerful account makes an extraordinary impression, both in its overall sweep and in its extremely fine resolution of textural detail. The pacing is excellent, the playing electrifyingly virtuosic yet disciplined, the interpretation impassioned yet dry-eyed and impressively controlled. The fugato is taken at an unbelievable clip and rendered with dazzling accuracy and effect. The recording, made in the concert hall of Copenhagen's Tivoli Park in 1990, achieves an outstanding balance between presence and ambience. --Ted Libbey

Customer Reviews:

The Liszt B minor played as a fascinating tone poem.......2006-08-30

I don't have much to add to the praise so deservedly lavished on Zimerman's 1990 account of the Liszt B minor sonata. As noted below, the piano sound is deep, ful, and realistic. Famous accounts by Horowitz and Pollini aren't recorded half as well. Zimerman plays with remarkable originality and variety--he's in a class by himself on that score.

Liszt invented the orchestral toen poem, and this pianist plays an abstract sonata as if it's full of people and places, shifting pscyhological moods and dreamy fantasy. He's ultra-Romantic in the sense that every shrede of imagination is being extracted before our ears. The fillers, mysterious fragments from the late Liszt, are played just as evocatively.

Simply amazing!.......2005-07-08

This is a truly amazing disc. Zimerman has it all: a great sound, a great overall vision of this exceptional work (probably the best work of Liszt) and a stunning virtuosity (listen to the fugato!). For me this is without doubt the best recording of the Liszt sonata, with all respect for all those other great recordings of great masters as Bolet, Argerich, Arrau, Gilels, Pollini, etc.
Do not even hesitate one second, buy this CD!

simply very good.......2005-03-09

That's really one of the best Liszt Sonatas I own on CD. It's probably the best, but that's very hard to tell, if you know Horowitz (let's go...), Argerich (see what my Steinway can bear), PLETNEV (maybe the most virtuosic interpretation), Gilels ("broad"), Curzon (incredibly risky), Cziffra (3 hands), Pogorelich (surprise), etc...
What I really like about this CD is the beautiful sound quality of the piano. Also listen to the other tracks, it's so abysmal Liszt-
I love it- and you will love it too....

Simply amazing - and not only the Sonata.......2002-12-26

Incredible - even compared to Horowitz's this Sonata-recording is breathtaking, but i would like to point out that the other performances on this CD are amazing as well: You hardly can get a good recording of the piano version of La Notte and Zimerman plays it so movingly (it is surely the best what You can find by now), La Lugubre Gondola is also played with much understanding although i prefer it to be a little slower and gloomier (like the Erno Szegedi-recording), the Funerailles is PERFECT!!! No other words to describe! Zimerman is not affraid of using the pedal (most pianists are) as indicated in the beginning of the piece, the funeral march makes one cry, the Chopinesque left-hand octaves in the second half are played with incredible evenness (i only heard such delicacy in that passage from Bolet before). The Nuages Gris is played well as well, although a bit too fast in the beginning i felt.
Alltogether - IF YOU LIKE LISZT'S MUSIC YOU HAVE TO GET THIS DISC.

Simply amazing - and not only the Sonata.......2002-12-26

Average customer rating:

Jazz in Paris: Nuages
Django Reinhardt
Manufacturer: Umvd Import
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Swing General | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

European Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B000068WT1
Release Date: 2007-01-30

Tracks:

Blues for Ike
September Song
Night and Day
Insensiblement
Manoir de Mes Rs
Nuages
Brazil
I'm Confessin' (That I Love You)
Soir
Chez Moi Six Heures
I Cover the Waterfront
Deccaphonie

Album Description

Part of the Jazz In Paris series from the French label Gitanes. Remastered. Digipak. 2002.

Jazz Music:

Jazz Music

Jazz Music