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classical music:

Bryars: The Sinking Of The Titanic / Barnett, Bryars Ensemble, et al

12 reviews
Gavin Bryars, Caroline Dale, ...

Philips, 1995

Meditative
I wonder how many people bought this recording thinking it had something to do with the "Titanic" movie? And if so, how many kept the recording? Their loss. This is a great work, well performed and recorded. Repetitious without being monotonous, it's the aural equivalent of watching light move across the water as seen from beneath the surface. Recommended to fans of Eno, Philip Glass, and their ...

I Have Heard It Said That a Spirit Enters
Bryars, Cole, ...

Cbc, 2002

Hommages

1 review
Gavin Bryars

LTM, 2008

A LONG OVERDUE REISSUE
None of my comments concerning "Hommages" will be very objective. This collection of pieces -- along with the Obscure release of "Irma" and "The Sinking of the Titanic" offered me my first exposure to Gavin Bryars' work and all made such a profound impression on the way in which I listen to and think about music that I have felt compelled to follow his work ever since -- for some thirty years ...

Discreet Music

9 reviews
Brian Eno, Gavin Bryars, ...

Astralwerks, 2004

i wanna clear things up for reviewer Ba "Ba"
the Canon in D major by Johann Pachelbel part of the cd is an actual intruments, only the first track is done with the reel to reel tape device. maybe people should read more liner notes.

Soir, Dit-Elle

7 reviews
Oleh Harkavyy, Leonel Power, ...

Ecm Records, 2004

Wonderful
This CD gets better each time I listen to it. There is a compelling perfection in the sound - it's sublime.

Glorious Hill
Günders Dzilums, Anonymous, ...

Gavin Bryars, 2008

"Curiously timeless music, mediating between the 14th century and the present in a teasingly expressive and lusciously beautiful way." -- The Guardian "One of the world's finest choirs." -- Gramophone A recording of major choral works of Gavin Bryars , personally supervised by the composer and performed by one of the world's finest choirs in wonderful acoustics. Follows On Photography , the choir's highly acclaimed previous ...

Children's Cello

3 reviews
Steven Isserlis, Amy Beach, ...

Bis, 2006

A DELIGHT
What a lucky little boy Steven Isserlis's son must be. His father is a leading cellist in the world and is good friends with a leading pianist of the world (Stephen Hough).The aforesaid two musicians are well known as a splendid chamber music team! Obviously (evidenced by this album) the son (Gabriel) is surrounded by great music. Also evidenced by this album, Gabriel has a loving father that ...

Bryars: Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet

56 reviews
Gavin Bryars, Michael Riesman, ...

Philips, 1993

Understated and Moving
I first heard this piece three years ago. I was sitting in a darkened classroom. My music appreciation professor introduced it by telling the background story. I was thoroughly expected to be annoyed and disinterested. However, I was far from either. I actually became very emotionally moved. The understated elegance and emotion of the orchestra underscores the pain and hope in the derelict's ...

Scattered Rhymes

1 review
Tarik O' Regan, Guillaume de Machaut, ...

Harmonia Mundi, 2008

Stunning and exhilarating!
Wow! I guarantee most people will not have heard a disc like this before. The Machaut is sublime, gritty, unexpected and just excellently performed here by the Orlando Consort. However it's Tarik O'Regan's 'Scattered Rhymes', which opens the disc that will blow you away. For one thing it's FAST, something which most new choral music is not. For this piece, the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber ...

Myths 3: La Nouvelle Serenite
Gavin Bryars, Harold Budd, ...

Sub Rosa, 2006

Bryars: 3 String Quartets

1 review
Gavin Bryars

Black Box Classics, 2002

one great piece, two blah
Gavin Bryars has become famous for quasi-ambient & somewhat philosophical pieces for large ensembles (like Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet.) The string quartet format doesn't seem to allow him to write the same deep, lush textures, though - what you get here is more straightforward post-minimal writing, not unlike Terry Riley's work for quartet, or even Debussy/Ravel/Britten. The first ...

Surprised by Beauty: Minimalism in Choral Music

1 review
Marc J. DeMille, Gavin Bryars, ...

Brave Records, 2007

Great Title
The Duckworth piece alone is worth the price of the disc, and the text of Ruth Lomon's "Transport" is moving in its simplicity. I was drawn by the lovely title of the disc...good marketing!

A Portrait
Gavin Bryars, Julian Lloyd Weber, ...

Philips Import, 2002

Philips's collection of major works that have propelled Gavin Bryars to New Music stardom is an effective overview of his music. The longest work is his Cello Concerto, handsomely played by Julian Lloyd Webber with a big, colorful tone and sustained intensity throughout its contemplative half-hour. A comparable mood pervades the bright tintinnabulating textures of the whimsically titled One Last Bar, Then Joe Can Sing . Similar as well, in ...

Bryars: Cadman Requiem, Adnan Songbook, etc. / Hilliard Ensemble, Fretwork

3 reviews
Gavin Bryars, William Hunt, ...

Philips, 1999

Title
'Cadman Requiem'must be one of the most beautifull pieces of music written in this century. If modern classical music ever made a must-have CD, this could be the one. 'Adnans songbook'is great to, though it loses in beauty compared to Cadman Requiem. Poor the 'musiclover' who misses out on this album...

Biped

1 review
Sophie Harris, Gavin Bryars, ...

Gavin Bryars, 2005

stunning
& don't miss an opportunity to see the merce cunningham company dance the piece, also called biped.

Gavin Bryars: Oi Me Lasso

1 review
Nick Cooper, Gavin Bryars, ...

Gavin Bryars, 2005

IF NOT FOR BRYARS
Throughout Bryars' work -- from the conceptually driven pieces like "The Sinking of the Titanic" to the sacred works such as this -- there is always a sense of profound care and delicacy. With "Oi Me Lasso" Bryars has effectively brought the tranquility of Medieval Lauds within range of 21st century hearing. If the sometimes overly homogenous tonality of plainchant and early music seem a bit ...

After the Requiem

2 reviews
Ray Warleigh, Gavin Bryars, ...

Ecm Import, 2001

Sheer Beauty
The albums beauty isn't caught in simple melodic lines but rather in a dense world of sounds. The combination of two viola's, cello and guitar creates a unique, emontional yet somewhat cold atmosphere(a bit comparable with 'OK Computer' by Radiohead). The other tracks on the album also seem to prefer to breath atmosphere rather then singing simple melodies, yet the music isn't 'difficult'. The ...

Soaring with Agamemnon

1 review
Amanda Forsyth, Gavin Bryars, ...

Marquis Music, 1999

Lovely playing
Amanda Forsyth is the daughter of Malcolm Forsyth, a composer. Not surprisingly much of this disc is devoted to dad's music. It's not music that does much for me. It is fluent and well-written and slips from my mind a few moments after I hear it. So why am I so strongly recommending this disc? For two great pieces, totaling 20 minutes, that are more than worth the price of the album. The first ...

On Photography

1 review
Gavin Bryars, Arturs Maskats, ...

Gavin Bryars, 2005

JUST RECENTLY TIMELESS
With "On Photography" we are introduced to a broader range of interests than the recent and equally outstanding "Oi Me Lasso". Still, Bryars seems lately to be charged with making aspects of early and sacred music into something better-tuned to the contemporary ear. While the forms may be familiar, few composers are able to strike such a distinctive tonality. Turning as he often does to unusual ...

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