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BJ,While you can't make it to RMAF, why don't you send your best cuts with me so we'll think as though you'll be there with us.
Hey John....How about two nice soundtracks.... One....Short tunes....to the point....good variety of sounds...some deep bass....some nice "tingles" on top...American Beauty Soundtrack...A few You Tube samples....Track 7....Track 19....Two...Vocals are "rich" here.....provided by the Harlem Boys Choir....music by James Horner.A gorgeous, deeply moving score....Glory...SoundtrackSample...Sample....Happy listening....
Here's a track that you'll hear today John..... Link.....
For real fans of the Blade Runner music, in case you missed it, here is the 25th Anniversary edition 3CD Blade Runner soundtrack with previously unreleased music that was used in the movie. These newly released tracks are stunning in their clarity and show the technology differences between the initial release in June of 1994 and the December 2007 release of the additional material. Link to Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Blade-Runner-Trilogy-25th-Anniversary/dp/B000Z0OX9O/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1287064814&sr=8-2-catcorrScotty
Some time ago I wrote a post about a CD from Yarlung Records. It was one of the "ONLY" well produced and engineered Piano recordings I had ever heard with a Piano that actually imaged like a "life sized" Piano, not some "room sized" Keyboard.It was this CD of David FungI also liked the Janaki String Trio (which I now plan on re-visititing)Bob Attiyeh is a very dedicated and personable fellow and LOVES recording great performances for Audiophiles.He recently sent me 2 CD's to listen to and it is kind of a funny story.The CD's are:1) Inner WorldMusic by David S. Lefkowitzand2) Antonio Lysy at The BroadMusic from ArgentinaWhich was recently honored with a Latin Grammy Nomination.So anyhow I recieve both CD's and they came at a very busy time. I hadn't actually listened to my system in a while and when I did get a chance to quickly run through them, to be quite frank I found them nice recordings, but rather un-involving.I spent most of the time on the Cellist Lysy CD and while a second run through gave me reasonable appreciation for the engineering quality, I still didn't connect to the music.Well that changed BIG TIME today. I was reintroducing my VMPS Subwoofers flanking my RM40s and blending them with the Rm40s. I found out that I had a HUMMMMMM in my system and tracked it down and removed it.I then just totally freaked out at how BLACK and QUIET my listening space was now. I had been hearing this hum (noise) and simply mentally blocking it out while it was making the music BLAHHHHH.So I spun up the Yarlung Music from Argentina and I was simply knocked out.Oh the quality of this recording on a well tuned system. :o From top to bottom you hear sonic pleasures of LIVE performers as good, if not better, than I have EVER heard before.The Cello is quite a wonderful instrument that has an exceptional range and in the right hands some of the sounds that can be created are truly incredible.But now that I had solved my NOISE problems and my concious and subconcious were able to melt into the music, I now made the connection and with eyes close had the artist, or artists in front of me performing the most incredible music.Now aside from Yo Yo Ma, I haven't spent a lot of time with Cello Centric CD's. And I won't say Lysy plays rings around Yo Yo, but I will say I heard Cellistic sounds and music that I have NOT heard from any previous artist.And as I mentioned earlier, the miking and engineering here is SECOND TO NONE.The rich harmonic overtones, from the strings, to the cellos surface, to its resonating body gave this recording a truly special sound.You combine that with the passion with which Lysy (and the other musicians/particulalrly the pianist) perform and you have CD Magic.Now I cannot guarantee you will connect with this CD in the same way for many different reasons, as Cello Faire may not be your cup'o tea, but if you are looking for some great classical music to listen to seriously then this could be it.And I might add that it would also be EXCEPTIONAL to use as backround music for a HIGH CLASS Dinner party too. It has that Latin Tango type lilt to it.I don't know how much you can tell from listening to the tracks on your computer, but you can go HERE and take a listen.This CD is definately included in my "CLASSICAL" Reference Discs.
Wow John, thank you so much for your post! This is what we live for, and what keeps us going at Yarlung Records. I've been joking with people who wonder how it is that we are still in business during the recession. Unlike AIG, we are "Too Small to Fail." Being a tiny record label (with only two of us working here full time) is truly an advantage right now. But your comments remind us why we do what we do. Thank you so much John.
I'm glad you like Antonio Lysy's album too. We are off to Las Vegas next week. Hard to believe. Our first time at anything like the Latin GRAMMY awards. We'll keep our fingers crossed. Just being nominated is a great thing, and we will be proud to be in the audience regardless of who wins.
For those of you (like John) who are intelligent fanatics about the size of the soundstage, and the accuracy of the placement of musicians on stage, I should mention a great gizmo we used last weekend for our recording of Rite of Spring and Shostakovich's first symphony at Ambassador Hall in Pasadena. An additional challenge making a recording in a concert environment is that one doesn't have time to go to a great listening room and check the sound stage, the balance, the tonality, etc. I've struggled with headphones trying to figure this out on the fly, and I have become fairly adept. But I great listening room has always been better for me than what I could train myself to hear with headphones. Here comes the connection to John's point about the size and location of the piano in Evening Conversations:Elliot Midwood (whom many of you know at Acoustic Image in Studio City) told me about the Smyth headphone amplifier which he saw and heard demonstrated at AES last year. Stephen Smyth (based in Northern Ireland I think) developed algorithms to give your headphone listening experience a soundstage similar to what one hears listening to a perfectly setup room with stereo playback. With the Smyth algorithm turned on, one can indeed hear the soundstage, in front of you (not on top of your head) and around to the sides as the music is supposed to be. I wrote to Stephen and asked if I could borrow a demo set for the weekend, and he said yes. I met with the local rep, a very nice fellow named Lorr, and he configured the set to my head width and the shape of my ears, such that I did in fact "hear the room" at Acoustic Image. But I was wearing the headphones. It worked well in the recording when we had very little time to make adjustments. This sort of equipment could revolutionize the way we hear audiophile music, especially music we're listening to a digital medium. If you're interested, look for this company at the next AES convention or audio show. Definitely worth experiencing. Here's a link: http://www.smyth-research.com/products.html I look forward to using these again in the future.
John, you mention Yo Yo Ma, also a hero of mine. I'd love to know what you think of his version of Piazzolla's Le Grand Tango, which we also recorded on Antonio's album. Ma's was my introduction to the piece, and he does a very special job. Antonio has Argentine blood, however, and I think it makes a difference in the authenticity of the performance. Ma's version is on his Soul of the Tango album.And John, if you're becoming a 'cello-ophile in addition to being an audiophile, I should send you Dialoghi, with 'cellist Elinor Frey. This has become Bob Levi's favorite reference recording apparently. We chose a very different presentation of the instrument for this album, and I'll be curious to know what you think. You can also hear some of the tracks here by clicking on the "listen" button:http://www.yarlungrecords.com/#dialoghi1
