Best Classical

I have always enjoyed carols ever since I first sang them as a member of my school choir, and it was not long before I began to write carols of my own-in fact my first two published compositions were the Nativity Carol and the Shepherd's Pipe Carol.

You're also treated to two Brubeck originals: To Us Is Given and Run, Run, Run to Bethlehem !

In 1997, this recording became the most successful first-year release in Collegium history.

No Description Available. No Track Information Available Media Type: CD Artist: PHILADELPHIA BRASS ENSEMBLE Title: FESTIVAL OF CAROLS IN BRASS Street Release Date: 09/29/1986. Domestic Genre: CLASSICAL ARTISTS.

It is a distinctive mix of folk instruments and courtly formality--a highly disciplined and richly ornamented music originally conceived for moments of importance and ceremony. Several unusual instruments are employed, including the dan bau , a one-string guitar with a bamboo stem that bends notes like a whammy bar , and the k'ni , a rifle-shaped fiddle with a mouth attachment that can create a voice-box effect similar to that used by rock guitarists such as Peter Frampton and Joe Walsh in the '70s. The music is so expertly performed and so beautifully sequenced--the focus shifting from ensemble to solo pieces, from stringed instruments to flutes--that attention never wanders. The most exciting pieces feature a clarinet playing long lines over pounding percussion, a combination common to the music of many Southeast Asian nations.

This description might also say that the program contains some of the best and best-loved Christmas choral pieces of all time, presented in a pleasing mix of familiar carols and lesser-known original works. Other notable highlights are Peter Cornelius's "The three kings" and the lively Willcocks arrangement of "Tomorrow shall be my dancing day."

Most touching are the string-backed laments that open and close the album, "Hawai'i '78 Introduction" and "Hawai'i '78," initially a reflection on his father's death, later on the passing of Hawaii's native culture. Best known is his medley "Somewhere over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World," which played over the closing credits of the film Meet Joe Black .

Teachers and families who have children with special needs will find that Bean Bag Activities can be a wonderful resource.

After his career peaked with one of the most unlikely top five hits ever, the gloom-laden 1976 narrative "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," Lightfoot's production tailed off sharply, though this anthology's "Stay Loose" ('86) and "Restless" ('93) are testament to his enduring skills as a songwriter and performer.

This twentysomething, Mozambique-born beauty of Portuguese, Spanish, German, African, and Indian descent rapidly rose from the Mouraria district of Lisbon to become fado's newest and brightest star.

Fronted by pianist Thomas Lauderdale, Pink Martini is the real article--a band that approaches the music with unwavering seriousness yet never forgets the fun at the heart of it.

Arctic Monkeys release their fifth album, entitled AM .

Revival In Belfast captures the passionate worship of Robin Mark and the Christian Fellowship Church in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

This is a production rife with odd pairings: English actor Daniel Day-Lewis joining up with the Mohawks; James Fenimore Cooper adapted by Michael Mann; disparate composers Trevor Jones and Randy Edelman teaming up.

At times, the analog synthesizers used in this 1984 recording sound dated and a little cheesy, particularly on "Deck the Halls" and "Good King Wenceslas." As pleasant and soothing as a Willard Scott birthday wish, Christmas does offer one selection that truly merits "classic" status: the reverent, prayerful, slow-motion interpretation of "Silent Night" ("Stille Nacht") for piano and strings that closes the album--a beautiful and heart-touching work.

To celebrate 10 years as the world's most popular musical, the cast of Les Misérables threw a phenomenal birthday party at London's Royal Albert Hall in 1995.

Contrary to most pop experimentalists, NMH songs stretch way past the two-minute mark: "Two Headed Boy" transforms from a Guided by Voices-ish romp into a New Orleans big band funeral march, "The Fool" is as catchy as anything Poi Dog Pondering ever produced, and "Holland" builds up to a crescendo of saw, Uillean pipes, a chorus of voices, and fuzzed-out guitar.

The very first double album in rap, "All Eyez on Me" was a critical and popular success, shooting all the way up to number 1 on the Billboard Top 200 album chart.