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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The tracks by Coldplay and Keene are excellent....my heart and soul and eyes shed a tear of joy, brilliant music, re-created into an excellent classical arrangement...I hope they do some more!!!!
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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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I was so looking forward to this, based on the radio advertising that I had heard. But when it arrived I could not have been more disappointed. The songs that were heard on the radio, were basically all the best ones, the rest of the album was rubbish. I love jazz but this album is not relaxing or enjoyable and I would not recommend it.
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The Classic FM `Movie Themes' 3 CD box sets appear on a annual basis. In 2006 we had `Classic FM at the Movies', in 2007 there was the `Sequel' and now we have the 2008 `Ultimate'.
The first and sequel sets were a good choice of music from popular films, the sequel making a particularly good buy because it consisted of tracks from a different selection of films than on the original.
The `Ultimate' title of this latest release implies that it's either the best one or the final one, but in my opinion it's neither. It's not the best for there is a considerable overlap with the music from the previous Classic FM Movie CDs, and it probably won't be the final one of its type thanks to the vast back catalogue of film music ... Read More:
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Mike Oldfied does what it says on the tin no more no less. Why buy or review something which changes slightly from disc to disc but be shocked that it sounds similar to the last album?
You could of course be clever and slate it with a wolf in wonderland review but it will change nothing
A well chosen selection of 26 mostly familiar pieces of orchestral music on 2Ds which, judging by the title and the album cover, is intended to make you feel good and smile.
I found the choices a good mix of familiar, like Handel's Zadok the Priest, Haydn's Cello Concerto No.2 and Vivaldi's Gloria, along with slightly less familiar but equally welcome pieces such as the orchestral arrangement of David Bowie's Life on Mars and Elgar's lesser played Finale from his Enigma Variations (it will be instantly recognisable to Classic FM listeners as one of the short jingles used on their radio show).
As usual Classic FM have introduced the big names, Hayley Westenra and David Garrett included, and chosen good recordings of recognised ... Read More:
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Unfortunately, this album contains a cover of Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah', a song which about the pain of sexual love. Katherine turns it into an anodyne, passionless 'hymn', devoid of the heartache that made Jeff Buckley's cover so perfect. A tragic waste of her talents. Yet another example of how 'crossovers' don't work. Avoid. (It isn't even an aria!).
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The `Classic FM Music For' series of CDs, released during 2004 to 2005, aims to provide classical music to suit a variety of moods and occasions, including music for Babies, Bath time, Christmas, Dinner Parties, Driving, Fitness, Romance, Mums, Studying and Weddings.
This collection of well chosen short pieces, intended to be played while driving, is more of a cross section of classical music's most popular hits (they will be familiar to most non-classical fans) than a good listening accompaniment for driving - musical taste will surely dictate the most suitable music for that.
Some of the albums in the series are appropriate for the occasion, but this one is simply a very good selection of classical music suitable for listening to any ... Read More:
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There are so many classical music compilations which claim to `relax' the listener that it becomes either daunting for the newcomer to know which to buy, or repetitive to others who have already purchased several such collections. There's no answer to which is best, for they all have their merits, some being better quality performances, others offer a better selection of music, and others may just be great value for money.
The Classic FM series of CD releases - and they are growing in number - generally offer a little of all these attributes, and are increasingly becoming the first choice of classical music compilation for many people.
This 3CD set entitled `relax' is certainly good value and as usual is well packaged and presented. The ... Read More:
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