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Music Of The Spheres

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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This Land of Ours

by: Karl Jenkins, The Cory Band, Cantorion

October 22, 2007
Well done to 'Only Men Aloud' (aka Cantorion) on winning the BBC TV 'Last Choir Standing'! It was great to hear that they had recorded this album under their other group name of 'Cantorion', and what a great album it is! If you love the unique sound of Adiemus and Karl Jenkins, then you'll love this album. Recorded together with the excellent Cory Band - one of the finest brass bands in Britain - there's so much to enjoy. I loved watching the great 'Cantilena' music video on YouTube too!

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Chant

by: Cistercian Monks Of Stift Heiligenkreuz

May 19, 2008
This Cistercian abbey has a continous history since its foundation. My only criticsm is that according to the Rule Cistercians should chant in the Ambrosian mode - very slow & ponderous, and this CD is a little too fast. One of the plus points is that Cistercians do not have choir boys so the overall effect is a deeper more inspiring chant.

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Karl Jenkins - Requiem

by: Karl Jenkins

March 21, 2005
This disc was a birthday present from a friend. I'll leave aside the issue of what kind of friend purchases a requiem for a birthday present, but I think it's important to say that I had not consciously listened to any of Karl Jenkins's music before I was given this CD. I understand that there is a kind of snobbery concerning the popular Jenkins - the Oxford Concise Dictionary of Music briskly moves non-stop from the seventeenth-century cavalier composer John Jenkins to US conductor Newell Jenkins - so there may be something in this, but listening to this CD made it clear that Karl Jenkins certainly has talent. Perhaps it is the self-promotional aspect of his activities that rubs people up the wrong way. For instance, on the informative sleeve ... Read More:

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Jenkins: The Armed Man - A Mass For Peace

from: Virgin

September 10, 2001
I would guess that the Amazon reviewer Warwick Thompson is under 25.
Anyway, he writes as if he is, judging by his use of the English language
("think Goldfinger", eeeeeeeeh!).
He also believes that L'Homme Armee is 16th century. Oh dear.
I find the reviews of the actual buyers much more to the point, wheher positive or negative.
Pity that the text of the Amazon reviewer is displayed at the top.
OK?

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Durham Concerto

by: Kathryn Tickell, Jon Lord, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Mischa Damev

January 28, 2008
I bought this recording because my son, a student at Durham, was in the cathedral for the first live performance and rated it highly. I was a Deep Purple fan in my youth, too! The first time I listened to the concerto all the way through I was left feeling slightly 'flat', as other reviewers have commented, but I have listened to it quite a few times now and love it more and more. I was going to say that 'From Prebends Bridge' is my favourite movement but I went and checked the CD and decided I'd be hard pushed to chose one track above the others. Listen to them all - more than once - and see what you think!

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New Dawn

by: Libera

March 03, 2008
I am a new fan of Libera and am certainly not dissapointed. I heard them on a chat show on TV and immediately ordered the CD. I have had to wait a while for it - almost two months - but wow! was the wait worth it. The Solos are second to none, these boys have awesome voices. I will order some of the earlier CD's and am finding othert reviews very helpful in this. I would love to hear them sing The Wind Beneath My Wings. Ever hopeful.
JOYMARNew Dawn

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Stabat Mater: Vocal Score

by: Karl Jenkins

March 10, 2008
I am a new fan of Libera and am certainly not dissapointed. I heard them on a chat show on TV and immediately ordered the CD. I have had to wait a while for it - almost two months - but wow! was the wait worth it. The Solos are second to none, these boys have awesome voices. I will order some of the earlier CD's and am finding othert reviews very helpful in this. I would love to hear them sing The Wind Beneath My Wings. Ever hopeful.
JOYMARNew Dawn

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Karl Jenkins & Adiemus: The Essential Collection

by: Karl Jenkins & Adiemus

March 20, 2006
I have been picking up pieces of Jenkins' pieces for a while now but i must say that for anyone new to his work or just interested in hearing some really great music then this album hits the spot. A good collection of many highlights. I recommend it as a great general listening piece and thoroughly worth buying just for adiemus alone! Super!

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Classic FM Guitar - The Ultimate Collection

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.