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Music Of The Spheres

Childrens Toy Shop > Classical Music > Classical
by: Mike Oldfield

March 17, 2008
I was introduced to Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells in my teenage years, and have bought and listened to a great deal of his music in the intervening quarter century or so.
I guess it's always a mixed blessing to produce iconic debut material, and it was a peak that, in my opinion, Mike would struggle to reach again for many years.
Follow up albums were merititious in their own right, but over time I think it became obvious that something, perhaps his increasingly strained relations with Virgin Records meant that albums of the late eighties seemed to lack "desire" and Mike was maybe going through the motions to fulfil his contractual obligations - and with the exception of Amarok, I shied away from Mike's music.
1994 brought ... Read More:

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Works of Igor Stravinsky [22cd]

Childrens Toy Shop > Classical Music > Classical
by: Igor Stravinsky

July 02, 2007

It's common to find good value box sets from labels such as EMI Classics, Brilliant Classics and Warner Classics, but not so often on the Sony label.

In general, the bigger the set the better the value, with collections of more than ten discs often falling into the bargain category of under £1 a disc.

This collection though represents not only value for money but also provides pretty much all of Stravinsky's lifetime works (he composed around 127 pieces) in a compact box of just 5cm width thanks to the CDs being supplied in card sleeves.

The enclosed 24 booklet provides a biography of the composer, and more importantly full recording dates, venues, orchestras, soloists and conductors, and if this doesn't ... Read More:

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Torchwood

Childrens Toy Shop > Classical Music > Classical
by: Original TV Soundtrack

September 22, 2008
At long last the excellent soundtrack to the Torchwood series is finally released. The CD has nearly 79 minutes over 32 tracks of great music from Ben Foster and Murray Gold.
Like the first two Doctor Who OSTs this one does not disappoint although I must confess that I found this one slightly more enjoyable than the other discs by Murray Gold.
The CD has tracks that mainly stem from the second season of the show and it covers all the classic scores for a sci-fi series. It's dramatic (The Chase), poignant (Out Of Time), haunting (Pearl and the Ghostmaker), sad (Death of Toshiko) and strange (Look Right Then Leave).
It's not until you listen to this score that you realise just how much of an impact the music has on the show. There are some ... Read More:

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Classic FM Guitar - The Ultimate Collection

Childrens Toy Shop > Classical Music > Classical
by: Various Artists

June 16, 2008
As the previous reviewer said, this is a great introduction to the world of classical guitar music. As usual with ClassicFM Cd's, the quality of the music on offer is superb, with a few well known pieces that have been arranged for the guitar; like Elgar's Nimrod etc.. As said before, if your new to this style, or you want something to just relax to, then you can't go wrong with this.

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Into Paradise

Childrens Toy Shop > Classical Music > Classical
by: All Angels

November 26, 2007
soaring, searing, the voices of angels. I just got this one. I know it's been out a while. But i love it. Incredible vocal clarity and clever arrangements. I'm really looking forward to listening to this over the next few weeks whilst my kids are away at school. Perfect!

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Karl Jenkins: Stabat Mater

Childrens Toy Shop > Classical Music > Classical
by: Karl Jenkins

March 10, 2008
As a fan of "The Armed Man', 'Requiem' and 'This Land Of Ours', it's no wonder I listened to the CD prepared to be instantly blown away. However, at first I found it to be less inspired than the previous works, yet was delighted to find Jenkins was coming to my home town to conduct Stabat Mater, which I went to see last night.

It's true that the movements with more pace have the signature quirky rhythms we have come to expect from Karl Jenkins; yet the more contemplative movements are profound and poignant, particularly those featuring the amazing Belinda Sykes. Her Arabic singing and playing of the duduk (which I discovered last night is a recorder-sized instrument with a double reed) is nothing short of mesmerising, both on the CD and live. The work is worth ... Read More:

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Saint-Saëns: The Complete Works for Piano and Orchestra

Childrens Toy Shop > Classical Music > Classical
from: Hyperion

September 03, 2001
There is no doubt that these are brilliant performances. But the question in my mind is how much do you want three discs of this music? The works are well crafted, certainly, and I suppose they do sparkle. There is often invention that is both surprising and delightful. But after a while one wishes for a bit more of the "red meat" of truly great romantic repertoire. I have something of a soft spot for Saint Saens but discovering his works can be a bit of a mixed experience - sometimes joyful and sometimes almost cringing (at a particularly banal tune, for example). In the end I am not sorry I bought these records and will return to them with pleasure in some moods. But there are byroads of the repertoire that I have mined with more consistently satisfying results than I have here.

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Elgar - Cello Concerto; Cockaigne; Sea Pictures

Childrens Toy Shop > Classical Music > Classical
from: EMI Classics

August 02, 2004

There are now many releases in the EMI 'Great Recordings of the Century' series, and this has to be one of the best I've heard.

The three pieces on this CD date from the 1960's and all have benefited from recent remastering.

The 'Cello Concerto' is a 1965 recording performed by Jacqueline du Pre (who else would you expect?) and remains today, more than 40 years on, the standard to which all other performances of this work are measured. I'm sure I am amongst many others who regret not having seen such a gifted musician play live. I've seen several performances of Elgar's cello concerto, and always find that the best are when the soloist totally immerses him/herself into the music and brings out the emotions from somewhere deep within themselves. This recording ... Read More:

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All Angels

Childrens Toy Shop > Classical Music > Classical
by: All Angels

November 13, 2006

`All Angels', released in November 2006 is the first of a five album deal which the group signed with the Universal Classics and Jazz label. The album reached number 9 in the UK Music charts, was nominated for `Album of the Year' at the Classical BRIT Awards in 2007 (beaten by Sir Paul McCartney's `Ecce Cor Meum') and eventually won a platinum disc.

Of the 13 tracks on this album around half are classical/opera, the rest are contemporary and traditional. The classics are familiar ones, which will appeal to those who have little experience of classical music, and the contemporary choices are unexpected ones such as the Robbie Williams hit `Angels', which sounds lovely when given the `Angels treatment'. The traditionals are the Christmas carol `Silent Night', and the New Zealand ... Read More:

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The Best of Arvo Pärt

Childrens Toy Shop > Classical Music > Classical
from: EMI Classics

May 03, 2004
This is a music from the another dimension. Absolute clearity of the mind. A fragile balance you are looking... A touch of something beautiful that's uncomparable bigger than you.

Simple, but in very different way.

Must have!