18 große Komponisten von Barock (Händel,
Albinoni, Bach) bis Spätromantik (Elgar, Barber, Mahler). Zu
Beginn das Adagio aus Ravels Klavierkonzert in G-Dur - ein gelungener
Einstieg in die Welt zwischen Traum und Wirklichkeit.
the project
Classical music is hot. In fact, it is probably the
biggest story of the l990s in the recording industry. Classical
crossover
hits like
Nigel Kennedy's recording of
Vivaldi's
The Four Seasons,
Henryk Gorecki's
Symphony
no. 3, the Gregorian Chant album by the monks of Silo, and
Michael Nyman's score for the
Jane Campion
film
The Piano—to name just a few—have broken
out of classical music's traditional bounds and hit the pop charts.
Suddenly, a classical recording that sells 10,000 units is no longer
pushing the envelope; today's top classical releases are reaching
sales heights formerly reserved for pop icons like
Madonna
and the
Rolling Stones.
This stunning turnaround in classical music's marketing
power did not come out of nowhere, though. Celestial Harmonies helped
set the stage for it with its Adagio (Complete Edition) (19908)
series. Since 1981, long before the current interest in classical
music began, Celestial Harmonies' compilations have been used worldwide
for relaxation, meditation and even music therapy. And in a stunning
reversal of music industry rules, absolutely no advertising or promotion
was needed to achieve substantial sales figures. And while the rest
of the classical world scurries around looking for the next big hit,
Celestial Harmonies has released an updated digital version of an
already proven winner: The Adagio series, a total
of seven double–CDs. With sales of over 300,000 units in the
past decade, the reason for the series' success is no mystery. As
modern life has become increasingly complex and stressful, listeners
have turned to music as a source of relief—especially the timeless,
contemplative sounds of classical music. It seems that as the pace
of our lives gets progressively faster, the music that many listeners
are seeking is increasingly slow. The Adagio series,
presents over seventeen hours of the world's finest slow music, making
it the largest such collection anywhere.
the music
Adagio I includes the famous
Air
from the
Bach Suite no. 3 (better known
as the
Air on the G String) and the heartrending
Adagio
for Strings by
Samuel Barber, which listeners
have heard in countless films (most notably
Platoon).
Adagio I also includes the immensely popular slow movement
of
Dvorak's
New World Symphony—better
known in the United States as the haunting spiritual
Goin' Home.
But this set also includes the rarely–heard Invocation from
Jules
Massenet's
Les Erinnyes and the beautiful but
overlooked
Poème of
Ernest Chausson.
Adagio II (14052) includes
some idyllic instrumental music from Rossini and
Wagner; both were better known for their dramatic
operas, but both knew the value of a beautiful melody, and of having
the time to enjoy it. Popular movements from the Mozart
Clarinet Concerto and the Rakhmoninov
Piano Concerto no. 2 are among the other sixteen works
on this set.
the musicians
These compilations were put together by Celestial
Harmonies' President,
Eckart Rahn, and
Sister
Marie Therese Levey, RSJ, of Australia. They drew upon a
vast repertoire of classical and sacred music recordings, from some
of the most talented orchestras, chamber ensembles, and soloists in
Europe. The
Polish National Radio Symphony, the
Slovak
Philharmonic Orchestra, and the
Royal Philharmonic
Orchestra are among the ensembles heard in the Adagio recordings.
tracklist
| |
Disk 1: |
|
| 1 |
Adagio from Piano Concerto in G Major
by Maurice Ravel |
8'54" |
| 2 |
Largo from Xerxes by Georg
Friedrich Händel |
3'38" |
| 3 |
Air from Suite No. 3 in D Major BWV 1068
by Johann Sebastian Bach |
5'16" |
| 4 |
Adagio in G Minor (arr. Giazotto) by Tomaso
Giovanni Albinoni |
9'22" |
| 5 |
Invocation from Les Erinnyes by Jules
Massenet |
2'47" |
| 6 |
Elegy Op. 58 by Edward Elgar |
3'57" |
| 7 |
Solveigs Lied from Peer Gynt by Edvard
Grieg |
4'33" |
| 8 |
Notturno Op. 70, No. 1 by Guiseppe Martucci |
6'20" |
| 9 |
Largo from Symphony No. 9 in E Minor
by Antonin Dvorak |
11'22" |
| 10 |
Adagio from Concierto de Aranjuez by
Joaquin Rodrigo |
10'53" |
| 11 |
Romance No. 2 in G Major Op. 50 by Ludwig van
Beethoven |
9'48" |
| |
Total Time: |
77'43" |
| |
Disk 2: |
|
| 1 |
Dance of the Blessed Spirits from Orfeo
ed Euridice by Christoph Willibald Gluck |
6'04" |
| 2 |
Dernier Sommeil de la Vierge from La
Verge by Jules Massenet |
4'39" |
| 3 |
Letzter Frühling (Last Spring) Op. 34 No.
2 by Edvard Grieg |
4'14" |
| 4 |
Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis by Ralph
Vaughan Williams |
15'31" |
| 5 |
Adagietto from Symphony No. 5 in C Sharp
Minor by Gustav Mahler |
12'02"` |
| 6 |
Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber |
7'45" |
| 7 |
Sospiri Op. 70 by Edward Elgar |
4'51" |
| 8 |
Poème Op. 25 by Amédée-Ernest
Chausson |
14'49" |
| |
Total Time: |
70'35" |
the series
| Adagio I: A Special 2 ½
Hour Collection of Orchestral Classics |
(14050) |
| Adagio II: A Special 2 ½ Hour Collection
of Orchestral Classics |
(14052) |
| Andante: A Special 2 ½ Hour Collection
of Chamber Music Classics |
(14054) |
| Largo I: A Special 2 ½
Hour Collection of Piano Classics |
(14056) |
| Largo II: A Special 2 ½ Hour Collection
of Piano Classics |
(14058) |
| Magnum Mysterium I: A Special 2 ½ Hour
Collection of Sacred Music Classics |
(14060) |
| Magnum Mysterium II: A Special 2 ½
Hour Collection of Sacred Music Classics |
(14062) |
