Immortal Beloved (1994) OST

Immortal Beloved is a film about the turbulent life and times of Beethoven. Throughout the film, highlights from his vast canon are featured, and those pieces of music were collected for the soundtrack recording. In essence, the soundtrack is "The Best of Beethoven" -- it features all of the melodies that have worked their way into popular consciousness. Naturally, this isn't the place to find challenging, inventive interpretations of Beethoven's standards, nor is it even the place to find definitive readings of these works. Instead, it is a sampler, designed to whet the appetite of a neophyte Beethoven fan; in that sense, Immortal Beloved works very well.

tracks

01. I. Allegro con brio (complete) (5:51)
02. Bagatelle for piano in A minor ("Für Elise"), WoO 59 (2:55)
03. I. Allegro con brio [Excerpt] (5:00)
04. I. Adagio sostenuto (complete) (4:31)
05. IV. Allegro. Thunderstorm (complete) (4:08)
06. II. Largo assai ed espressivo [Excerpt] (4:36)
07. I. Allegro ma non troppo [Excerpt] (2:59)
08. II. Adagio cantabile (complete) (5:22)
09. II. Adagio un poco moto (complete) / III. Rondo. Allegro [Excerpt] (11:28)
10. Kyrie [Excerpt] (6:05)
11. II. Allegretto [Excerpt] (3:00)
12. I. Adagio sostenuto - Presto [Excerpt] (3:30)
13. IV. "Ode to Joy" [Excerpt] (12:55)

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra ~ A Classical Christmas

This Classical Christmas album features 20 of the best known festival greats, beautifully played by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, one of the finest Orchestras in the world! EMI Gold. 2005.


tracks
01. White Christmas [Michael Dore, soloist]
02. Let It Snow [Mary Carewe, soloist]
03. Sleigh Ride
04. Mary's Boy Child [Michael Dore and Mary Carewe]
05. Little Drummer Boy [Mary Carewe, soloist]
06. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas [Michael Dore, soloist]
07. Winter Wonderland [Mary Carewe, soloist]
08. The Christmas Song [Michael Dore, soloist]
09. Lieutenant Kije (Troika)
10. Sussex Carol [Royal Choral Society]
11. Sleigh Ride KV605 (From 3 German Dances)
12. Fantasy, The Holly And The Ivy
13. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen [Royal Choral Society]
14. Unto Us Is Born A Son [Royal Choral Society]
15. Jingle Bells
16. Good King Wenceslas [Royal Choral Society]
17. Once In Royal David's City [Royal Choral Society]
18. Away In A Manger [Royal Choral Society]
19. O Little Town Of Bethlehem [Royal Choral Society]
20. The First Nowell / Christmas Carnival (Medley)

Bach's Adagios

The subtitle of this compilation - "27 Tranquil Tracks from the Master of Baroque"-might suggest you're in for a dose of watered-down, Muzaked treatments, but not to worry: this is actually a very attractive theme album that makes an enticing introduction if you're just setting out to discover the wonder of J.S. Bach. Some of the most familiar music Bach wrote does indeed reside in the slow movements of his concertos, suites, and sonatas. Often, they reveal an Italianate love for spinning gorgeous melodies that sound eternally fresh and haunting in a number of contexts (witness the opening "Air on a G String" and its reworking in Procol Harum's hit, "A Whiter Shade of Pale").
Opera was the only genre of his time in which Bach didn't write, but many of his slower movements display the intense emotional focus of operatic arias, and Bach's range of expression can cover an infinite degree of moods--from "tranquility" to the deeply mournful adagio of Brandenburg Concerto No. 6. From its archives, the Erato label has culled interpretations by some of today's leading Bach interpreters, such as Ton Koopman and his Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, Jordi Savall, and Gustav Leonhardt.

The concept of "adagio" has been extended here to include chorales and slower passages from the great choral works, whereas some compilations offer only instrumental arrangements, thus overlooking this aspect so central to Bach's output. From the nearly two hours of music in this collection, you'll gain a pretty good overview of the stunning variety of genres that inspired Bach: the cantata, passion, concerto, solo instrumental suite, and many more (though a selection or two from the solo keyboard works would have been a nice inclusion). And, while Bach's slow movements are always integrated into a larger architecture, the gem-like beauty of these selections will likely inspire you to check out some of the full-scale works from which they've been excerpted.

tracks

cd1

01. Orchestral Ste No.3 in D: Air On The G Str - Jean-Francois Paillard CO/Jean-Francois Paillard

02. Son in E flat: Sicilienne - Jean-Pierre Rampal/Robert Veyron-Lacroix/Jordi Savall

03. Con in d: Largo Ma Non Tanto - Monica Huggett/Alison Bury

04. St. Matthew Passion: 'O Haupt Voll Blut Und Wunden' - Ens Vox De Lausanne

05. Brandenburg Con No.1 in F: Adagio - Monica Huggett/Ku Ebbinge/Michel Henry/Paul Dombrecht/Michel Garcin Marrou/Joe Konings

06. Con in d: Adagio - Cyprien Katsaris

07. Magnificat: Suscepit - Ens Vox De Lausanne

08. Trio Son No.2 in c: Largo - Marie-Claire Alain

09. Vn Son No.4 in c: Adagio - Lars Fryden/Gustav Leonhardt

10. Ste No.1 in G: Prld - Jorg Baumann

11. Son in C: Adagio - Jean-Pierre Rampal/Robert Veyron-Lacroix/Jordi Savall

12. Brandenburg Con No.4 in G: Andante - Ricardo Kanji/Reine-Marie Verhagen/Monica Huggett

13. Vn Con in E: Adagio - Monica Huggett

14. Mass in b: 'Qui Tollis Peccata Mundi' - Ens Vox De Lausanne

cd2

01. Con in f: Largo - Cyprien Katsaris

02. Prld in C - Marielle Nordmann

03. Con in a: Andante - Monica Huggett

04. Brandenburg Con No.6 in B flat: Adagio Ma Non Tanto - Jan Schlapp/Trevor Jones/Christophe Coin/Sarah Cunningham/Jaap Ter Linden

05. St. John Passion: 'Ruht Wohl, Ihr Heiligen Gebeine' - Ens Vox De Lausanne

06. Vn Son No.5 in f: Adagio - Lars Fryden/Gustav Leonhardt

07. Son in G: Adagio - Jean-Pierre Rampal/Alain Marion/Robert Veyron-Lacroix/Jordi Savall

08. Son in G: Adagio E Pno - Jean-Pierre Rampal/Alain Marion/Robert Veyron-Lacroix/Jordi Savall

09. Brandenburg Con No.2 in F: Andante - Ricardo Kanji/Alison Bury/Ku Ebbinge/Crispian Steele Perkins

10. Cant No.208: 'Sheep May Safely Graze' - Elisabeth Von Magnus

11. Son in b: Largo E Dolce - Jean-Pierre Rampal/Robert Veyron-Lacroix/Jordi Savall

12. St. Matthew Passion: 'Erbarme Dich' - Ens Vox De Lausanne

13. Cant No.147: 'Jesu Joy Of Man's Desiring' - Scottish Chm Chor

The Mystery of Santo Domingo de Silos ~ Gregorian Chant

The musical perfection of the recorded legacy of the Abbey of Saint-Pierre de Solesmes aside (and what a legacy - and how impossible to set it aside!), for me this is the 'ultimate' recording of liturgical chant. So much recommends the recordings of Solesmes - the exquisite singing, especially of that one anonymous tenor voice which alone seems to create the 'sound' of the entire schola!- the aristocratic liturgical taste of Dom Gajard, and now Dom Jean Claire, the genuine poverty of the monastic life at Solesmes (I've stayed there and seen it). While Solesmes pursues the vast body of Gregorian chant, here the monks sing chant from an earlier age, so-called Visigothic (Mozarabic) chant, not much heard before the liturgical relaxations subsequent to the Vatican Council II. These monodic melodies of Spain's Arabic past mark not only a musical beauty, but lets us to hear Roman chant in fresh light. While the Kyriale included in here may more exactly be called neo-Mozarabic, the main selections come from the period prior to Roman codification under Gregory, Spanish in heart, and universal in beauty: the remarkable 'Introibo ad altare Dei mei', various Antiphons and Prayers intrinsic to an older national liturgical ideal usurped by Gregorian legislation, culminating in the otherworldly 'Lamentation of Jeremiah', which once heard will never leave you. Recorded in the great Romanesque Abbey church, with an acoustic richly suited to the sung prayer of glad monks. If you love liturgical chant, get this treasure and enter a rich path of consuming fire.

tracks
01. Misa mozárabe - 1. Praelegendum
02. Misa mozárabe - 2. Tractus 
03. Misa mozárabe - 3. Lauda
04. Misa mozárabe - 4. Missa (Preces: Ecclesiam sanctam catholicam)
05. Misa mozárabe - 5. Nomina Offerentium
06. Misa mozárabe - 6. Pacem meam
07. Misa mozárabe - 7. Illatio
08. Misa mozárabe - 8. Sanctus
09. Misa mozárabe - 9. Post Sanctus
10. Misa mozárabe - 10. Credo
11. Misa mozárabe - 11. Pater Noster
12. Misa mozárabe - 12. Ad confractionem: Gustate
13. Melodìas litúrgicas - 1. Kyrie I (Deus miserator)
14. Melodìas litúrgicas - 2. Kyrie II (Rex magne)
15. Melodìas litúrgicas - 3. Kyrie V (Conditor poli)
16. Melodìas litúrgicas - 5. Gloria I
17. Melodìas litúrgicas - 6. Sacrificum
18. Melodìas litúrgicas - 7. Sanctus I
19. Melodìas litúrgicas - 8. Agnus I
20. Melodìas litúrgicas - 9. Agnus II  
21. Melodìas litúrgicas - 10. Antiphon (Lauda)  
22. Melodìas litúrgicas - 11. Lamentatio Jeremiae Prophetae Lectio III, Feria VI

Laudate Dominum, quoniam bonus est psalmus