Winston's impressions of the fall season are full of slow chording and sudden melodic runs on his acoustic piano. He captures the mixed feelings of the season, both its final flaring of life and its gradual retreat. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
Ray Lynch's synthesizer playing sometimes approximates keyboard instruments and sometimes sounds like individually plucked strings on electrified string instruments, but always has a deeply textured melodic structure and a buoyant rhythmic underpinning. Isolated notes in series and patterns make a pointillistic mosaic of sound that alternately ...
A calming, diverse collection of lullabies from the world over. Assembly of the compilation is by violinist Tracy Silverman (Turtle Island String Quartet), a father of two. Silverman succeeded in capturing most lullabies performed by families. A smorgasbord of cultures is represented: Japan, Indonesia, Brazil, Ghana, Iceland, Israel, Russia, and ...
Featuring the languid, tropical sounds of the slack key guitar, Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Masters Collection, Vol. 2 picks up where the best-selling first volume left off. This collection includes songs by artists like Keola Beamer, Sonny Chillingworth, Led Kaapana, Ray Kane, and Dennis Kamakahi. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide
One listen to Lisa Gerrard's The Silver Tree (originally available only on iTunes and now as an Australia-only import) is enough to convince anybody -- who isn't already convinced -- that there's a very specific reason she has been courted by directors to compose soundtracks. There are 13 tracks here, full of wispy ambient soundscapes on top of ...
Vangelis' electronic score for a film set in 1930s Britain seemed an odd match at first, but the title theme, with its echoing, manipulated rhythm box and melodic hook, became one of the most popular theme songs of the early '80s. Just hearing the opening 30 seconds conjures up -- for those who have seen the film -- shots of men running on the ...
Suitably grand in scale and far-reaching in its scope, this soundtrack is the first new music from Vangelis since 1990's The City. 1492 stands up well next to Vangelis's classic Chariots of Fire, due to his innate ability to get right inside the material and provide an integral part of the film itself. Vangelis succeeds in capturing the 15th ...
Christmas 1984 is the first holiday album the Mannheim Steamroller released, and it remains their definitive work. Chip Davis never strayed from the clean, airy instrumental style that he exhibits here (and earlier perfected on his Fresh Aire albums), but it is here where it all sounded fresh. It's also where he had his best selection of songs, ...
Combining the whimsical yet elegant compositions of Vince Guaraldi and the mellow, restrained playing of George Winston, Linus & Lucy: The Music of Vince Guaraldi is a mostly happy marriage of the composer's and performer's styles. On much of the album, Winston tends to tone down the breeziness of Guaraldi's performances, opting for a gentler, ...
This warm, lyrical album was derived from Vangelis's music for a French television series. Rich, electronic orchestrations range from grandly symphonic to simple and serene. Curiously enough, this title has experienced a major revival since the opening cut, "Hymne" was used for a Gallo Wine commercial. This 1979 release is an excellent ...
Themes is one of the most entertaining and thorough of any of Vangelis' collections, with excerpts spanning such albums as Opera Sauvage, China, and the ever-popular Chariots of Fire release from 1981. Most of the selections from Themes speak for Vangelis' movie contributions, including the infamous "Chariots of Fire" track as well as the lonesome ...
R. Carlos Nakai has been at the forefront of Native American artists since the mid- to late '80s (around the time of release of this CD). On Earth Spirit, his acoustic reveries are direct and true. Each of the 15 compositions comes from Nakai's heart and goes to listeners' hearts. Two of the compositions are for the "eagle's bone whistle," the ...
Mike Rowland's 1982 new age classic Fairy Ring was recorded in Rowland's living room; it was high on innocence, shy on panache -- in short, a resounding success. Thirteen years later, Netherlands composer Henk Alkema arranged the essence of Rowland's themes for grand piano (played by Kate Williams) and the Sylvan String Orchestra with woodwinds, ...
Secret Garden is Norwegian composer Rolf Loveland (piano, keyboards) and Irish violinist Fionnula Sherry. The album, however, offers much more than this duo; it is awash in orchestral strings (real ones), a choir (real one), and as many percussionists, harps, fiddles, keyboards, and whistles as are needed. Songs from a Secret Garden, a chart ...
Like 1994's Forest, George Winston's 2000 album Plains is inspired by the subtle beauty of America's landscapes. Pieces like "Dubuque" and "Muliwai" evoke regions as diverse as Montana's fields and Hawaiian shores, but Winston's distinctive piano stylings unite the songs into a cohesive vision. Though his interpretation of Sammy Cahn's "Teach Me ...
Antarctica is the soundtrack to Koreyoshi Kurahara's film of the same name. Vangelis composed and performed all of the music. It is a very dynamic and dramatic set, but does not convey the iciness that listeners would expect. Conveying feelings of angst, isolation, and even desolation, it is actually very good music. It just does not feel like, ...
Compilations of Celtic music clog candle store endcaps. They're stacked in point of purchase tents adjacent to cash registers, come free with two pounds of coffee, and generally try to cash in on the music's inherent grace. Too often, though, these comps are poorly executed pretenders with a connection to Celtic music that can only be described as ...
Depending on the mood you're in, this compilation album will make you dream, smile, or cry a nostalgic tear. It is a typical Windham Hill sampler: wistful, joyful, lush, and lovely. Most songs stick with piano or string instrumentation, and none of them could ever be classified as up-tempo. A few of the tracks, including "The Gift" and "Sung to ...
Sanctuary: 20 Years of Windham Hill is an excellent sampler of the new age label's history, featuring all of their most famous artists, as well as most of their best-known music. It's an excellent way to become acquainted with the label's history, and it also encapsulates everything Windham Hill was about. ~ Rodney Batdorf, All Music Guide
December: Silver Anniversary Edition commemorates the 20th anniversary of George Winston's December album. Originally conceived as the follow-up to Autumn, an earlier album of Winston's, December went on to become Winston's most popular recording, particularly whenever the holiday season came around. This reissue features new packaging and two ...
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