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Karl Jenkins' The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace is a departure from his Adiemus recordings into the more conventional territory of large-scale choral and orchestral writing, though his customary passion for mixing languages remains in full force with texts in English, Latin and French. Jenkins has said that The Armed Man was inspired by the "L'Homme armé" masses which were popular in the 16th century, and he makes this debt clear with passages written in a neat pastiche of Palestrina-style renaissance polyphony. There are also echoes of earlier and later styles, including plainchant, medieval ballads, James Barry-style horn writing (think Goldfinger...
 Jenkins: The Armed Man - A mass for peace, 2010-08-27
I heard part of it on Classic FM and tuned in when I could to see if they were playing, as I drove along. Then one day I suddenly thought are they playing it? I switched the radio on, and guess what, it had just started - synchronicity.
Personally, I think the whole conception is quite outstanding, the best piece of music I have heard for years. The work of a genius. The songs of the psalms and the solo Muslim calling everyone to pray is breathtaking.Quite Interfaith - I am an Interfaith Minister - just proves we can all live together. For a thought provoking and uplifting piece of music, it is one that I never tire of hearing or be deeply moved by.
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List Price: £15.99
Our Price: £7.75
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Artist:
Various Artists
Body & Soul Relaxation, 2010-08-16
I liked this Cd - had been looking for this type of Spa music for sometime. This CD really helps you to unwind and relax. Delightful music for playing in the background in any environment.
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List Price: £5.99
Our Price: £2.49
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Artist:
Herbert von Karajan
Beethoven - glorious sounds, 2010-08-25
This is a gem of an edition. Not only is amazing value-for-money but the recordings are crisp and evocative of the peak of the Karajan era. Excellent for people wanting to update vinyl versions or just to try out if they are not familiar with all the Symphonies or Karajan's mastery. Highly recommended.
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List Price: £15.99
Our Price: £9.66
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Artist:
Biffy Clyro
It’s been a less than Roman trail up to this point for long-haul, stubbly Scot trio Biffy Clyro. From the proto-grunge of their debut, through gathering melodic grandeur, progressive cross-genre experimentalism, brief indie accessibility and some truly heavy songwriting, to say they’ve surpassed expectations along the way is an understatement as large as the chasm between their original potential and subsequent accomplishment. They had doggedness and resilience from the off, they were a roughly musical Glasgow-kiss that left a mark and no doubt one or two fractures, but as persuasive as they might have been the Biffy Clyro of then could never have written the Queen...
puzzles, 2010-08-17
this album is fantastic. having heard their newest album only revolutions, i wanted to hear some of their earlier stuff. you wont be disapointed.
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List Price: £10.99
Our Price: £3.60
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Artist:
David Bowie
GREAT SET!!!, 2010-07-27
This is a great set! you get so much stuff!! the '85 master, the 5.1 version,LP replica, Nassau live '76 2CD and double Lp,A 5 track EP with 2 unreleased edits(station to station edit and word on a wing edit) plus a 24 page booklet,poster, press kit and loads of other memorabelia!!! to get this stuff seperately would cost so much more1 i can understand putting the live gig on LP because it should have been released so long ago as it is such a brilliant live set and would have been released as an LP in '76 so this sort of makes up for that.i only have one problem with the E.P and that is that 'wild is the wind' single version isn't included? why? this would have made it a full collection of the single edits, that aside this set is magnificent and you get so much you won't believe when you get it! you even get a couple of badges,fan club certificate and tour programme! if you like memorabelia and are a completist(like me) then you need this set, but if you are just a casual fan just get the normal album, or if you are a big fan but are not rich there is a more standard edition which comes out the same day(£11.99) and includes the live concert. All in all a great set for the lover of art work and memorabelia but not for the casual or 'average' fan, i love david bowie and i am just 24! just goes to show, us youngsters love him too!
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Rated: Universal, suitable for all
Staring:
Meg Ryan,
John Cusack,
Christopher Lloyd,
Kelsey Grammer,
Hank Azaria
Director:
Don Bluth, Gary Goldman
Stomping out their usual cuteness and carbon copying Disney's grand animation style to a tee, directors Don Bluth and Gary Goldman (An American Tail) create a successful musical comedy from the story of the lost Russian princess. Adapting the story of imperialism and revolution is tricky, and subsequently the film's opening is weak. Once Anya (voiced by Meg Ryan, sung by Liz Callaway) is a teenager and on her own (suffering from some degree of amnesia), Anastasia is quite pleasing though never refreshingly new. 20th Century Fox's big-money gamble to horn in on Disney's realm is worthy. The songs, especially the recurrent "Once Upon a December" by Broadway...
Love this film, 2010-06-11
This film can never go wrong.
You can watch it millions of time and never get bored of it.
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List Price: £5.99
Our Price: £2.83
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Artist:
Royal Air Force Squadronaires
great presents, 2010-08-22
brought it for my fathers birthday he saw the squadronaires at butlins in the 40s nostalgia and they play it at a day club he goes to lucky enough he had two for his birthday so he could donate one to the club made his day
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List Price: £16.99
Our Price: £5.66
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Artist:
Karl Jenkins,
Hayley Westenra,
London Symphony Orchestra,
National Youth Choir of Great Britain
Mixed feelings - 4.5 stars would be nearer the mark, 2010-08-26
What makes me buy a new release from Karl Jenkins? Maybe the hope that somehow it won't be more of the same. Well, this time it was partly more of the same and partly something different. Gloria. In many ways more of the same. This is the work I like the least. It is a patchwork of styles with strange texts between the movements. I understand what Jenkins wants to do, but I am not sure that he achieved his goal. The patchwork of styles is the most irritating thing about the Gloria. Part IV "The Song - I'll make music" sounds like a piece of music from a musical with the sickly forced voice to go with it. Ugh. Jenkins' music usually has many ad nauseam bits. It is also true of the Gloria. The 5th movement "The Exaltation - Domine Deus" has a whopping 86 bar Amen section broken by an instrumental intermezzo from bar 161 to bar 168. What makes it even worse is the molto rall for the last 6 bars. It just prolongs the agony. Movement 3 (Psalm 150) is the usual Jenkins attempt to be ethnic. Interesting. I've heard better and more coherent Gloria's.
Now to the Te Deum. This is the work that really appeals to me. It is compact and contains very little ad nauseam repetition. The first movement takes consists of 232 of the total of 477 bars. The third part, Aeterna Fac is rhythmically very interesting. Add to that the beefy harmonies and you have music to climb into and enjoy. The use of triplets heightens the contrast between the recurring quaver en semiquaver rhythm in the bass. The last part (Te Deum reprise) differs from the opening part in the use of semiquaver scales in the violins. They are certainly not misplaced. The last 20 bars consist of te te en te deum repeated and repeated. But just short enough not to be annoying. The Te Deum is a delightful piece which is quite moving.
So why did I give it 5 stars? 3 for the Te Deum and 2 (1.5) for the Gloria. The Te Deum could be used outside the concert hall. The Gloria certainly not. For the fans, a valuable addition to the library. For others, a good introduction to the music of Karl Jenkins: like many composers, he re-uses themes.
Tip: try listening to the Gloria without the texts.
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List Price: £11.99
Our Price: £7.24
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Rated: Universal, suitable for all
Staring:
Tate Donovan,
Susan Egan,
James Woods,
Josh Keaton,
Roger Bart
Director:
John Musker, Ron Clements
Not the egregious foul it seemed to be in cinemas, Hercules stands up as an entertaining spritzer of an animated feature. The continual peppering of in-jokes and cultural references becomes less irksome on video. That there's no majesty or awe invested in the beloved Greek legends also seems less of an error. Also on the plus side is the bounciest Alan Menken music since Little Shop of Horrors. With Zeus's blood in his veins, young Hercules's amazing strength makes him an outcast (sorry, that still doesn't scan), so he trains with a satyr named Phil to become a hero. Along the way Herc meets Meg, a common mortal who falls hard for him. They're both against t...
Heroic Disney Classic, 2010-09-01
This Disney classic is so under appreciated and acknowledged. It's simply brilliant, and has all the ingredients
that other classics do. It's funny, has cute characters, villians and is romantic, touching and teary at the end.
It's a must for your Disney collection. But why has there been no 2 disc special edition or even just a version that
is visually remastered? Because you can really tell the difference in picture quality between this Hercules DVD and
other Disney DVD's that are newer releases of old classics with clearer upgraded pictures. Disappointed with this basic
version. Same goes for The Rescuers, The Rescuers Down Under and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. All of which have not been
released in special editions or better quality versions. Other than that, Hercules is Unmissable.
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List Price: £17.99
Our Price: £4.99
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Artist:
Various Artists
Nursery Rhymes, 2009-09-18
A great font of nursery rhymes for my grandson. He goes to sleep singing these every night and we also play them during the day. He is now starting to sing the words although only two he is picking the words of the songs amazongly wuickly.
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List Price: £4.99
Our Price: £1.64
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