Largo in F major, instrumental arrangement ("Ombra mai fu" from the ope - Handel, George Frid
Air - Bach, Johann Sebast
Adagio, for violin, strings & organ in G minor, T. Mi 26 (composed by R - Albinoni, Tomaso
Les Invocation - Massenet, Jules
Elegy, for string orchestra, Op. 58 - Elgar, Edward
Peer Gynt Suite for orchestra (or piano or piano, 4 hands) No. 2, Op. 5 - Grieg, Edvard
Notturno for piano (or orchestra) in G flat major, Op. 70/1 - Martucci, Giuseppe
Symphony No. 9 in E minor ("From the New World"), B. 178 (Op. 95) (firs - Dvorak, Antonin
Adagio - Rodrigo, Joaquin
Romance for violin & orchestra No. 2 in F major, Op. 50 - Beethoven, Ludwig v
Track Listings (8) - Disc #2
Dance of t - Gluck, Christoph Wi
La Dernier Sommeil de la Vierge - Massenet, Jules
V?ren (Last Spring), elegiac melody for orchestra (or piano) No. 2, Op. - Grieg, Edvard
Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, for 2 string orchestras - Vaughan Williams, R
Adagietto, for orchestra (from the Symphony No. 5) - Mahler, Gustav
Adagio for strings (or string quartet; arr. from 2nd mvt. of String Qua - Barber, Samuel
Sospiri, adagio for strings, harp & organ, Op. 70 - Elgar, Edward
Po?me, for violin & orchestra, Op. 25 - Chausson, Ernest
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 ... more »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) (19908-2) 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. Adagio I includes the famous 'Air' from« less
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) (19908-2) 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. Adagio I includes the famous 'Air' from
CD Reviews
Excellent digital recording
Zack Davisson | Seattle, WA, USA | 03/18/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I realize that classical music is something were there is a range of conesuirship, and I represent perhaps the lowest tier of appreciators. In my wholly uniformed opinion, "Adagio I" is an excellent classic music collection, containing well-executed pieces ranging from a few instruments to full orchestral ensembles, representing a variety of composers. The digital recording is remarkable, and an unexpectedly full sound comes from the CD. The 2 1/2 length is nice, split onto two disks.My favorite pieces are the justifiably famous "Suite No.3 In D Major: Air" and the goose-bump inducing "Concierto De Aranjuez: Adagio." The style of the music is mostly soft, and relaxing but there are thrilling moments peppered in. The violin and the guitar have wooed me to contentment many evenings, and do so know as I am writing this review. An enjoyable CD set."
Track Listings (11) - Disc #1