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Angela's Ashes concert suite available on BSO.org

Started by Maurizio, Jul 23 2012 02:37 PM

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#1 Maurizio

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Posted 23 July 2012 - 02:37 PM

The live recording done in 2000 at Tanglewood is available!

WILLIAMS: MUSIC FROM ANGELA'S ASHES
DURATION: 20:00

Koussevitzky Music Shed, August 5, 2000
Boston Pops Orchestra
John Williams, conductor
Frank McCourt, narrator
Martha Babcock, cello
Ann Hobson Pilot, harp

Free Stream will be available until July 24, 2012 8:30 AM
Available for purchase starting July 24, 2012 8:30 AM


http://www.bso.org/b...=twd75downloads

Check out Richard Dyer's insightful liner notes as well.
"It's still baffling to me. I sit down with a pencil and a piece of paper and do my best... The remarkable thing is that my music is heard by billions of people." --John Williams

"Let me say, however, there is no "next" John Williams. Sadly, he is unique--- a figure who simultaneously embodies and transcends the music of all the masters of film music who preceded him (much like Brahms and Wagner of the Romantic era). He comes from a time when the craft of music in film was still one of the ear, heart and mind. Today, sadly, the craft is largely technical. Most composers do not conceive their music "inwardly" but rather at the computer--- and with rather limited skills, musically, at that. The inner spirit knows no boundaries--- our plastic abilities, sadly, do. John is a man of spirit, heart, intellect and soaring music." -- Conrad Pope about John Williams

#2 Incanus

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Posted 23 July 2012 - 02:41 PM

Thank you for the heads up Maurizio! :)

Once again I was reminded how profoundly beautiful this music is. Simply gorgeous. And Martha Babcock's cello solos are just about as soulful as they come.

Dyer makes one small mistake in the otherwise excellent liner notes. McCourt did not himself perform the narration on the soundtrack CD but that was rather an actor called Andrew Bennet. Funny how Dyer makes special point that fans did not like the narration on the CD. :P

Ars superior est vita hominum.

"We pop out and come into the world and music is there. We didn't invent it - it's all organised in the atmosphere by divinity or whatever. It's a miracle." - John Williams-

I think music is a stream of some kind. It could be blood. It could be water. It could be ether. Whatever it is it seems to be a living, organic force that’s in motion, that serves humanity and is part of humanity and part of what describes us as humans. We sing, play, dance, all the things that we do. And there is a vibrant and great literature we have been given. ... As musicians, we join the stream. We swim in the stream with all the other millions of music makers. It’s a life force, a strong one, surrounding us and we are part of it. -John Williams-

#3 Miguel Andrade

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Posted 23 July 2012 - 04:46 PM

I only listen to the CD with narration.
Also, there was another mistake, in the short review quote, as the cello solos weren't written for Yo-Yo Ma. On the original recording they were performed by Steve Erdody. Ma only played the solos on the Symphony Hall premiere of the suite, also with McCourt narrating.
Miguel Andrade
[url="http://johnwilliams.jw-music.net/index.html"]http://johnwilliams.jw-music.net/index.html[/url]
e-mail: miguel.jw@gmail.com
----------------------
"I owe a tremendous debt of gratitute do John Williams. Without his music, Superman's powers are greatly deminished. Believe me, if you try to fly without that theme, you go nowhere... one step, two steps and... down!" -- Christopher Reeve, May 1993
"John Williams will go down as one of the greatest composers." -- Leonard Slatkin, american conductor
"Ah yes, the Olympics. The quadrennial event where composer John Williams collects a hefty royalty check from NBC."
"Music is not a luxury but a necessity" - Robert Shaw
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe." -- Albert Einstein

#4 Incanus

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Posted 23 July 2012 - 05:04 PM

I only listen to the CD with narration.
Also, there was another mistake, in the short review quote, as the cello solos weren't written for Yo-Yo Ma. On the original recording they were performed by Steve Erdody. Ma only played the solos on the Symphony Hall premiere of the suite, also with McCourt narrating.

Well the review might refer to that first concert since not all this cello material was originally written for the instrument in the film score and Williams specifically adapted it for cello. Ma if I have understood correctly performed this suite first.

Ars superior est vita hominum.

"We pop out and come into the world and music is there. We didn't invent it - it's all organised in the atmosphere by divinity or whatever. It's a miracle." - John Williams-

I think music is a stream of some kind. It could be blood. It could be water. It could be ether. Whatever it is it seems to be a living, organic force that’s in motion, that serves humanity and is part of humanity and part of what describes us as humans. We sing, play, dance, all the things that we do. And there is a vibrant and great literature we have been given. ... As musicians, we join the stream. We swim in the stream with all the other millions of music makers. It’s a life force, a strong one, surrounding us and we are part of it. -John Williams-

#5 Miguel Andrade

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Posted 23 July 2012 - 05:08 PM

Yes, you are correct. Some of the solos were augmented in the suite, and in the premiere, it was Ma who played them. :)
Miguel Andrade
[url="http://johnwilliams.jw-music.net/index.html"]http://johnwilliams.jw-music.net/index.html[/url]
e-mail: miguel.jw@gmail.com
----------------------
"I owe a tremendous debt of gratitute do John Williams. Without his music, Superman's powers are greatly deminished. Believe me, if you try to fly without that theme, you go nowhere... one step, two steps and... down!" -- Christopher Reeve, May 1993
"John Williams will go down as one of the greatest composers." -- Leonard Slatkin, american conductor
"Ah yes, the Olympics. The quadrennial event where composer John Williams collects a hefty royalty check from NBC."
"Music is not a luxury but a necessity" - Robert Shaw
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe." -- Albert Einstein

#6 Maurizio

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Posted 24 July 2012 - 02:45 PM

The recording is now available for purchase at the BSO Digital Music Store in both 320kbps mp3 and FLAC 44.1Hz/16b:

http://www.bso.org/M...se/Detail/44877
"It's still baffling to me. I sit down with a pencil and a piece of paper and do my best... The remarkable thing is that my music is heard by billions of people." --John Williams

"Let me say, however, there is no "next" John Williams. Sadly, he is unique--- a figure who simultaneously embodies and transcends the music of all the masters of film music who preceded him (much like Brahms and Wagner of the Romantic era). He comes from a time when the craft of music in film was still one of the ear, heart and mind. Today, sadly, the craft is largely technical. Most composers do not conceive their music "inwardly" but rather at the computer--- and with rather limited skills, musically, at that. The inner spirit knows no boundaries--- our plastic abilities, sadly, do. John is a man of spirit, heart, intellect and soaring music." -- Conrad Pope about John Williams

#7 Incanus

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Posted 24 July 2012 - 06:51 PM

Great that BSO is making these concerts available. :)

Ars superior est vita hominum.

"We pop out and come into the world and music is there. We didn't invent it - it's all organised in the atmosphere by divinity or whatever. It's a miracle." - John Williams-

I think music is a stream of some kind. It could be blood. It could be water. It could be ether. Whatever it is it seems to be a living, organic force that’s in motion, that serves humanity and is part of humanity and part of what describes us as humans. We sing, play, dance, all the things that we do. And there is a vibrant and great literature we have been given. ... As musicians, we join the stream. We swim in the stream with all the other millions of music makers. It’s a life force, a strong one, surrounding us and we are part of it. -John Williams-

#8 E.T. & Elliott

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Posted 24 July 2012 - 10:32 PM

I only listen to the CD with narration.

Because that's how Williams intended it?
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#9 Romão

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Posted 24 July 2012 - 11:00 PM

It flows very well with the narration. Just like the Reivers suite is wonderful with Burgess Meredith's voice
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#10 Joe Brausam

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Posted 24 July 2012 - 11:54 PM

I agree, I think the album is great with the narration. It works. I own both the versions with and without narration, and I find myself gong back more to the narrated album.
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#11 Incanus

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Posted 25 July 2012 - 08:08 AM

I prefer the music as pure music and only own the Decca European release of the score but I have to admit that the suite with Mr. McCourt's narration is superbly dramatic and emotional combination.

Ars superior est vita hominum.

"We pop out and come into the world and music is there. We didn't invent it - it's all organised in the atmosphere by divinity or whatever. It's a miracle." - John Williams-

I think music is a stream of some kind. It could be blood. It could be water. It could be ether. Whatever it is it seems to be a living, organic force that’s in motion, that serves humanity and is part of humanity and part of what describes us as humans. We sing, play, dance, all the things that we do. And there is a vibrant and great literature we have been given. ... As musicians, we join the stream. We swim in the stream with all the other millions of music makers. It’s a life force, a strong one, surrounding us and we are part of it. -John Williams-

#12 Miguel Andrade

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Posted 25 July 2012 - 11:29 AM

I too find the narration to flow perfectly with the music, and yes, it flows that well, because that's how Williams intended it to flow.
Nevertheless, I do have a particular appreciation for both the music and the book (one of my favorite Williams' compositions and my favorite book), so to have them combined in a single work of art is a great treat, at least for myself.
Miguel Andrade
[url="http://johnwilliams.jw-music.net/index.html"]http://johnwilliams.jw-music.net/index.html[/url]
e-mail: miguel.jw@gmail.com
----------------------
"I owe a tremendous debt of gratitute do John Williams. Without his music, Superman's powers are greatly deminished. Believe me, if you try to fly without that theme, you go nowhere... one step, two steps and... down!" -- Christopher Reeve, May 1993
"John Williams will go down as one of the greatest composers." -- Leonard Slatkin, american conductor
"Ah yes, the Olympics. The quadrennial event where composer John Williams collects a hefty royalty check from NBC."
"Music is not a luxury but a necessity" - Robert Shaw
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe." -- Albert Einstein

#13 LaloCoyoacan

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Posted 26 July 2012 - 12:26 AM

It flows very well with the narration. Just like the Reivers suite is wonderful with Burgess Meredith's voice

I want that one but can't buy it, since it doesn't have a download from iTunes due to it's length; and can't download from Amazon because I'm outside the continental USA (Mexico). I posted at the marketplace help for downloading it and of course paying for it with pay pal, but no answer :(

#14 aescalle

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Posted 26 July 2012 - 11:31 AM


It flows very well with the narration. Just like the Reivers suite is wonderful with Burgess Meredith's voice

I want that one but can't buy it, since it doesn't have a download from iTunes due to it's length; and can't download from Amazon because I'm outside the continental USA (Mexico). I posted at the marketplace help for downloading it and of course paying for it with pay pal, but no answer :(


It's same for me! :-(
I tried to buy it but it's impossible from France.....

#15 Maurizio

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Posted 26 July 2012 - 01:20 PM

I had no problem during the purchase process (I'm from Italy).

FYI, the file is NOT available on iTunes or Amazon, it's exclusive to the BSO.org digital store. You have to set up an account over there and only then you can purchase the item.
"It's still baffling to me. I sit down with a pencil and a piece of paper and do my best... The remarkable thing is that my music is heard by billions of people." --John Williams

"Let me say, however, there is no "next" John Williams. Sadly, he is unique--- a figure who simultaneously embodies and transcends the music of all the masters of film music who preceded him (much like Brahms and Wagner of the Romantic era). He comes from a time when the craft of music in film was still one of the ear, heart and mind. Today, sadly, the craft is largely technical. Most composers do not conceive their music "inwardly" but rather at the computer--- and with rather limited skills, musically, at that. The inner spirit knows no boundaries--- our plastic abilities, sadly, do. John is a man of spirit, heart, intellect and soaring music." -- Conrad Pope about John Williams

#16 aescalle

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Posted 26 July 2012 - 03:54 PM

I had no problem during the purchase process (I'm from Italy).

FYI, the file is NOT available on iTunes or Amazon, it's exclusive to the BSO.org digital store. You have to set up an account over there and only then you can purchase the item.


I just try with several way of paiement and it's same answers... "We are sorry for the inconvenience". :-(

#17 Miguel Andrade

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Posted 26 July 2012 - 09:08 PM

Try their customer support. It works great.
I bought their digital subscription around the time they released the Williams' Harp Concerto, and at first also experimented some problems, but they helped me out and eventually all went fine. Last year, when they revamped the site, my subscription was still valid, but it stopped allowing me to download the new stuff, so they kindly sent me the CD released between then and my subscription expiration date. Great service if you ask me.

I also just subscribed the Tanglewood Archives, and have been happily downloading all this stuff.
Miguel Andrade
[url="http://johnwilliams.jw-music.net/index.html"]http://johnwilliams.jw-music.net/index.html[/url]
e-mail: miguel.jw@gmail.com
----------------------
"I owe a tremendous debt of gratitute do John Williams. Without his music, Superman's powers are greatly deminished. Believe me, if you try to fly without that theme, you go nowhere... one step, two steps and... down!" -- Christopher Reeve, May 1993
"John Williams will go down as one of the greatest composers." -- Leonard Slatkin, american conductor
"Ah yes, the Olympics. The quadrennial event where composer John Williams collects a hefty royalty check from NBC."
"Music is not a luxury but a necessity" - Robert Shaw
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe." -- Albert Einstein

#18 aescalle

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Posted 27 July 2012 - 08:03 AM

Try their customer support. It works great.
I bought their digital subscription around the time they released the Williams' Harp Concerto, and at first also experimented some problems, but they helped me out and eventually all went fine. Last year, when they revamped the site, my subscription was still valid, but it stopped allowing me to download the new stuff, so they kindly sent me the CD released between then and my subscription expiration date. Great service if you ask me.

I also just subscribed the Tanglewood Archives, and have been happily downloading all this stuff.


Thanks Miguel,
I will contact the customer service... Let's see.
Thanks again.

#19 TJH132

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Posted 28 July 2012 - 02:53 PM

Usually I don't need help with things like this, but I purchased the suite and followed the directions to download the .mp3 and have become stumped. On my Android device, I was able to long-click the 'download' link and get a file called DownloadDigitalMedia.bin and on an old Mac, the right-click produced a useless three-second .mp3.

Double clicking the .bin file decompresses yet another file which decompresses yet another (and so on). Long pressing on Android allows me to use the .bin file as audio and I can listen to it, but it's not very handy having it in a format other than what I paid for.

Is anyone else having this difficulty?

(I previously purchased the Harp Concerto with no problems.)

TJH

#20 LaloCoyoacan

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Posted 28 July 2012 - 05:06 PM


It flows very well with the narration. Just like the Reivers suite is wonderful with Burgess Meredith's voice

I want that one but can't buy it, since it doesn't have a download from iTunes due to it's length; and can't download from Amazon because I'm outside the continental USA (Mexico). I posted at the marketplace help for downloading it and of course paying for it with pay pal, but no answer :(

I had no problem during the purchase process (I'm from Italy).

FYI, the file is NOT available on iTunes or Amazon, it's exclusive to the BSO.org digital store. You have to set up an account over there and only then you can purchase the item.

I meant that I couldn't download The Reivers suite. I downloaded the Angela's Ashes suite w/o any problem

#21 crocodile

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Posted 28 July 2012 - 07:29 PM

Hey, I'm really enjoying this suite, even if it more resembles podcast (with all the clapping and introduction). Certainly worth if you have 3 bucks (or 2 quid in my case) to spare (for the FLAC version). It seems it is the same one that showed up on Youtube, with Yo-Yo Ma playing cello solos.

Karol - who never heard the album with narration so he can't compare
From a storytelling point of view, from a directing point of view, there is one thing I associate with what he does, which is calm. There is such an inherent calm and inherent trust of the one powerful image, that he makes me embarrassed with my own work, in terms of how many different shots, how many different sound effects, how many different things we’ll throw at an audience to make an impression. But with Kubrick, there is such a great trust of the one correct image to calmly explain something to audience. There can be some slowness to the editing. There’s nothing frenetic about it. It’s very simple. There’s a trust in simple storytelling and simple image making that actually takes massive confidence to try and emulate. - Christopher Nolan

#22 Miguel Andrade

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Posted 28 July 2012 - 07:43 PM

It seems it is the same one that showed up on Youtube, with Yo-Yo Ma playing cello solos.


The premiere of the suite was given in May 2000 at Symphony Hall, with the same performers. For the Tanglewood performance, Ma was replaced by Boston Symphony principal associate cello Martha Babcock, the only change on the performers. One of the Symphony Hall performances was taped and included on an "Evening at Pops" show for that summer, that being the source for the youtube videos.
While I love both performances, this one now made available seems to have something to it, that makes me prefer it to the former.
Miguel Andrade
[url="http://johnwilliams.jw-music.net/index.html"]http://johnwilliams.jw-music.net/index.html[/url]
e-mail: miguel.jw@gmail.com
----------------------
"I owe a tremendous debt of gratitute do John Williams. Without his music, Superman's powers are greatly deminished. Believe me, if you try to fly without that theme, you go nowhere... one step, two steps and... down!" -- Christopher Reeve, May 1993
"John Williams will go down as one of the greatest composers." -- Leonard Slatkin, american conductor
"Ah yes, the Olympics. The quadrennial event where composer John Williams collects a hefty royalty check from NBC."
"Music is not a luxury but a necessity" - Robert Shaw
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe." -- Albert Einstein

#23 crocodile

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Posted 28 July 2012 - 07:48 PM

The one I bought is better indeed.

Karol
From a storytelling point of view, from a directing point of view, there is one thing I associate with what he does, which is calm. There is such an inherent calm and inherent trust of the one powerful image, that he makes me embarrassed with my own work, in terms of how many different shots, how many different sound effects, how many different things we’ll throw at an audience to make an impression. But with Kubrick, there is such a great trust of the one correct image to calmly explain something to audience. There can be some slowness to the editing. There’s nothing frenetic about it. It’s very simple. There’s a trust in simple storytelling and simple image making that actually takes massive confidence to try and emulate. - Christopher Nolan
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