1. HEROES & VILLAINS 2. FALL BREAKS & BACK TO WINTER 3. LITTLE PAD 4. WITH ME TONGIHT 5. GETTIN' HUNGRY 6. WHISTLE IN 7. AREN'T YOU GLAD 8. COUNTRY AIR 9. DARLIN' 10. HERE COMES THE NIGHT 11. HOW SHE BOOGALOOED IT 12. HEROES & VILLIANS-ALTERNAT
Tracklita: 1. Return Of The Dragon 2. Streets Of Terror 3. Killing For Religion 4. What A World 5. Ruler Of The Dark 6. The End Of The World 7. Scream In The Night 8. Legacy Of Rock 9. Just Like In Paradise 10. Dancing With My Demons 11. Dragonride´17
1.Imagine2.Honesty3.My Way4.A White Shade of Pale5.Danny Boy6.Melody Fair7.Feelings8.Greensleeves9.I Say a Little Prayer10.Green Green Grass of Home11.Killing Me Softly With His Song12.Hey Jude
Although Britten is particularly celebrated for the substantial body of music he composed for the tenor voice—almost all of it directly inspired by the artistry of his long-term partner and creative muse, Peter Pears—the composer also left an important legacy of music for baritone. Characteristically, Britten’s output for low voice was also inspired by the talents of specific performers with whom he was closely associated, among them Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, John Shirley-Quirk, Owen Brannigan and Benjamin Luxon. In addition to song-cycles, individual songs and folksong arrangements, Britten wrote challenging baritone roles in operas as diverse as Billy Budd (1951), Owen Wingrave (1970) and Death in Venice (1972)—the title role of the second of these made very much Gerald Finley’s own in his magnificent interpretation in Margaret Williams’s 2001 television film of the opera. Even when Britten was writing for other singers, however, Pears’s influence remained apparent in the composer’s choice of texts for musical setting, which often reflected the tenor’s literary tastes as well as Britten’s own.The many poems set to music by Britten when he was a prolific schoolboy composer date from long before he met Pears, and the composer’s literary choices were at that early stage fairly conservative. Britten’s favourite poet during his youth was Walter de la Mare, and in 1968 the mature composer assembled a set of five of his juvenile settings of de la Mare’s poetry under the title Tit for Tat, which was given its first performance by John Shirley-Quirk and the composer at the Aldeburgh Festival in 1969. In his programme note written for the occasion, Britten commented that he had made his selection from songs composed between the ages of fourteen and seventeen; he said that he had ‘cleaned them very slightly, and here at this first performance, offer them in gratitude to the poet’s son, the wise and encouraging chairman of my new publishers, whose father’s poems have meant so much to me all through my life.’ (The reference was to Richard de la Mare, who was celebrating his seventieth birthday in that year, and who had become Chairman of Faber Music in 1966, having previously served as Chairman of the parent company Faber & Faber.) Britten’s punctilious attention to detail in his manuscripts meant that all the songs could be dated fairly precisely: ‘A Song of Enchantment’ was composed in January 1929, ‘Autumn’ (originally accompanied by string quartet) on 28 January 1931, ‘Silver’ on 13 June 1928, ‘Vigil’ on 23 December 1930, and the concluding title song in the first two weeks of 1929. In his preface to the published score, Britten noted that ‘oddly enough, the inadequacies seemed to be more striking in the later songs—new musical styles had appeared on the composer’s horizon too recently to be assimilated … At any rate, although I hold no claims whatever for the songs’ importance or originality, I do feel that the boy’s vision has a simplicity and clarity which might have given a little pleasure to the great poet, with his unique insight into a child’s mind.’Four years before Shirley-Quirk gave the premiere of Tit for Tat, the Aldeburgh Festival had also been the venue for a more substantial and challenging baritone cycle, the Songs and Proverbs of William Blake. Britten’s close association with the legendary German baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau began in the early 1960s, and the baritone parts in Britten’s War Requiem (1962) and Cantata Misericordium (1963) had been written specifically for him to sing. Shortly afterwards the composer embarked on the composition of a solo song-cycle designed to showcase Fischer-Dieskau’s unique blend of intense lyricism and dramatic characterization, and Britten turned for inspiration to the vivid and sometimes visionary poetry of William Blake. Britten’s working title for the cycle—which was based on fourteen short but striking Blake texts selected by Pears—was Songs and Sentences of William Blake. The score was completed on 6 April 1965, the manuscript inscribed with the words ‘For Dieter: the past and the future’. The work, under its slightly revised title, was first performed by its dedicatee and composer at Aldeburgh’s Parish Church on 24 June 1965, and six months later the two men recorded their powerful interpretation for Decca at Kingsway Hall, London.Britten’s Blake cycle returns in places to the dark intensity of his much earlier Blake setting, ‘The Sick Rose’ (‘Elegy’) from the Serenade for tenor, horn and strings of 1943. Both the fully chromatic melody and striking image of cankerous corruption in the earlier song look directly ahead to the Songs and Proverbs—which are based on texts drawn from Blake’s Songs of Experience (1794), in which ‘The Sick Rose’ is also to be found. With the addition of one poem from the Songs of Innocence (1789) and several epigrams from the undated Proverbs of Hell, Britten created a continuous structure in which the Proverbs are set to recurrent but constantly reworked ritornello material, a structural plan familiar from other Britten works of the late 1950s and early 1960s (principally the orchestral song-cycle Nocturne, the opera A Midsummer Night’s Dream and the Cantata Misericordium). These stark Proverbs are clearly distinguished from the songs they punctuate by their disconcerting lack of metrical synchronization between voice and piano—a feature retained from the Church Parable Curlew River, composed in the previous year—and they also make limited use of twelve-note techniques.As so often in Britten’s later music, the tension between luminous diatonicism and elusive chromaticism is exploited throughout the cycle as a potent symbol for the conflict between innocence and experience at the heart of Blake’s poetry. The settings of ‘London’ and ‘Every Night and every Morn’ that frame the cycle are closely related in their ambiguous and subtly disturbing chromaticism, while greater tonal simplicity is reserved for natural scenes: the bright glow of ‘The Tyger’ and the lament for ‘The Fly’. Moments of tremendous rhetorical power are strategically located in ‘A Poison Tree’ and ‘Ah, Sun-flower’. ‘A Poison Tree’ features a highly original use of simple major and minor triads within a context of chromatic saturation. The young Britten had previously set this same Blake text to music on 2 March 1935; the earlier song remained unperformed until 1986, and is also included in the present recording. As in the opera The Turn of the Screw (1954), the intense chromaticism of the mature treatment of this gripping text serves as a graphic symbol of cankerous evil, and forms the utterly chilling core of the cycle.The last of Britten’s many published sets of folksong arrangements was prepared in the summer of 1976, shortly before his death, and featured harp rather than piano accompaniment since the composer had for some time been too ill to accompany Pears in public. The harpist Osian Ellis had accordingly become one of Pears’s regular accompanists, and the 1976 folksongs were designed to serve (as had Britten’s earlier folksong settings with piano) as popular encore items for the duo. ‘She’s like the swallow’ and ‘Bird Scarer’s Song’ were first performed in this capacity at the Aldeburgh Festival on 17 June 1976, and ‘Lemady’ was first performed at the University of Chicago on 10 November 1977. ‘David of the White Rock’ (‘Dafydd y Garreg Wen’) was a tribute to Ellis’s Welsh ancestry. The Eight Folksong Arrangements of which these songs formed part were published posthumously in two distinct editions in 1980, the original with harp accompaniment and an alternative version with piano accompaniment prepared by the composer’s music assistant Colin Matthews.The other songs on the present disc also received exposure and publication only after the composer’s death in December 1976. Several date from the early 1940s when Britten and Pears were beginning to make their names in the USA as a recital duo: these include the setting of ‘Greensleeves’ and ‘The Crocodile’, the latter performed on 14 December 1941 at a concert given under the Auspices of the American Women’s Hospitals Reserve Corps at Southold High School in upstate New York, as part of a programme that also included Charles Dibdin’s ‘Tom Bowling’ (1789)—a song of which Britten later prepared his own realization, launched at the Aldeburgh Festival in 1959 and recorded by Pears in the same year. ‘I wonder as I wander’ was frequently performed alongside Britten’s folksong arrangements in his recitals with Pears following their return to the UK in 1942, but they never recorded or published it since they subsequently discovered that the words and melody were not in the public domain: the song had been published by John Jacob Niles in 1934, and in direct consequence Britten’s version did not receive its first recording until 1995, thanks to a belated special arrangement between Niles’s publishers and the Britten Estate. The triptych ‘Evening’, ‘Morning’ and ‘Night’ (first published in 1988) originally formed part of the incidental music Britten composed in 1945 for the Masque and Anti-Masque of This Way to the Tomb, a play by Ronald Duncan, who in the following year went on to provide the libretto for Britten’s opera The Rape of Lucretia.Two other songs date from the 1950s, although the date of the second remains uncertain. In 1952, Britten prepared a comic duet arrangement of the Appalachian folksong ‘The Deaf Woman’s Courtship’ for Kathleen Ferrier to sing as part of a national tour with Pears and Britten conceived with the aim of raising funds for the English Opera Group. According to Britten’s memoir of Ferrier, she sang her part ‘in a feeble, cracked voice, the perfect reply to Peter’s magisterial roar. A masterpiece of humour, which had the audience rocking, but never broke the style of the rest of the concert.’ After Ferrier’s untimely death, the contralto part was taken over by Norma Procter, though the arrangement was to remain unpublished until 2001. Britten’s setting of Goethe’s ‘Um Mitternacht’ (published in 1994) was probably composed in 1959, shortly after the composer’s strong interest in German poetry had borne fruit in his tenor song-cycle Sechs Hölderlin-Fragmente. At this time, Pears was enjoying an enviable reputation as one of the leading exponents of Lieder in the world, repeatedly earning ecstatic reviews in the German press that inspired the BBC to capitalize on this success by carefully promoting his and Britten’s work in Germany.
Tracklista:1. Big Boat Ride2. We Always Come Back Strong3. Face to Face4. Up Is Down5. I Can't Leave You Alone6. The Party Life7. When a Woman Loves a Man8. A Love Like Yours9. You Get to Me10. Claim Jumpin'11. If I Had My Way12. A Hundred Years from Today13. What Good Is a Love14. I Want 'Cha to Let Me Come Home15. I Still Love You16. I've Come Too Far With You (To Turn Back Now)17. Hollywood Faces18. It Takes More Than a Moment19. Come and Get It20. Go Away Get Out of My Life21. Complain to the Clouds22. So Can I23. The Best of My Years
Kongos są autorami jednej z najczęściej wykorzystywanych do reklam piosenek ostatnich lat - rockowo-alternatywny „Come With Me Now” brzmiał m.in. w kampaniach spotowych wydarzeń, seriali, elektorniki, gier a także całej gali MTV Movie Awards. Klip do „Come With Me Now” obejrzany został prawie 50 milionów razy, zespół prezentował go m.in. w najważniejszych amerykańskich programach telewizyjnych – takich jak Late Night With Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel LIVE!, The Today Show i innych, a debiutacka płyta „Lunatic” z 2014 roku spowodowała, że Kongos okrzyknięto jednymi z najbardziej intrygujących wykonawców młodego, alternatywnego brzmienia z Ameryki, choć wszyscy członkowie zespołi - czterej bracia: Johnny, Jesse, Dylan i Danny - pochodzą oryginalnie z Afryki Południowej.
Tracklista: CD 1 1. Time After Time 2. True 3. Africa 4. Bette Davis Eyes 5. Little Lies 6. Save a Prayer 7. Wonderful Life 8. Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home) 9. Hunting High and Low 10. Do You Really Want to Hurt Me 11. Human 12. Belfast Child 13. What's Love Got to Do With It 14. Total Eclipse of the Heart 15. If You Don't Know Me By Now 16. Don't Know Much 17. This Woman's Work 18. Love Changes Everything 19. The Power of Love CD 2 1. With Or Without You 2. Eternal Flame 3. Sexual Healing 4. Avalon 5. Higher Love 6. Sign Your Name 7. Nightshift 8. Smooth Operator 9. Ain't Nobody 10. Too Shy 11. What Is Love? 12. Move Closer 13. Hold Me Now 14. Kokomo 15. Glory of Love 16. Down Under 17. Forever Young 18. Joan of Arc 19. On the Beach CD 3 1. Drive 2. China in Your Hand 3. Nothing's Going to Stop Us Now 4. I Want to Know What Love Is 5. The Power of Love 6. Listen to Your Heart 7. Don't Dream It's Over 8. All Out of Love 9. Toy Soldiers 10. Dignity 11. Hymn to Her 12. I Don't Want to Talk About It 13. Life in a Northern Town 14. It's My Life 15. Killing Moon 16. This Must Be the Place 17. Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want 18. Golden Brown 19. Lullaby
Tracklista: CD 1 1. The Sorcerer: Overture 2. The Sorcerer: Act I: Ring Forth, Ye Bells (Chorus) 3. The Sorcerer: Act I: Constance, My Daughter (Mrs Partlet, Constance) 4. The Sorcerer: Act I: When He Is Here (Constance) 5. The Sorcerer: Act I: The Air Is Charged; Time Was, When Love And I Were Well Acquainted (Dr Daly) 6. The Sorcerer: Act I: Sir Marmaduke (Dr Daly, Alexis) 7. The Sorcerer: Act I: Minuet (Orchestra) 8. The Sorcerer: Act I: With Heart And With Voice (Chorus Of Girls) 9. The Sorcerer: Act I: My Kindly Friends; O Happy Young Heart (Aline) 10. The Sorcerer: Act I: My Child, Join In These Congratulations (Lady Sangazure) 11. The Sorcerer: Act I: With Heart And With Voice (Chorus Of Men) 12. The Sorcerer: Act I: Welcome Joy! Adieu To Sadness (Sir Marmaduke, Lady Sangazure) 13. The Sorcerer: Act I: All Is Prepared (Notary, Chorus, Alexis, Aline) 14. The Sorcerer: Act I: With Heart And With Voice (Chorus) 15. The Sorcerer: Act I: Love Feeds On Many Kinds Of Food (Alexis) 16. The Sorcerer: Act I: My Name Is John Wellington Wells (Mr Wells) 17. The Sorcerer: Act I: Incantation; Finale (Mr Wells, Aline, Alexis, Chorus) 18. The Sorcerer: Act Ii: 'Tis Twelve (Alexis, Aline, Mr Wells) 19. The Sorcerer: Act Ii: Why, Where Be Oi (Chorus Of Villagers) 20. The Sorcerer: Act Ii: If You’ll Marry Me; Country Dance (Chorus Of Villagers) 21. The Sorcerer: Act Ii: Dear Friends, Take Pity On My Lot (Constance, Notary, Chorus) 22. The Sorcerer: Act Ii: Oh Joy! Oh Joy! (Aline And Alexis) 23. The Sorcerer: Act Ii: Thou Hast The Power (Alexis) CD 2 1. The Sorcerer: Act Ii: I Rejoice That It’s Decided (Alexis And Ensemble) 2. The Sorcerer: Act Ii: Oh I Have Wrought Much Evil With My Spells (Mr Wells, Lady Sangazure) 3. The Sorcerer: Act Ii: Alexis Doubt Me Not (Aline) 4. The Sorcerer: Act Ii: The Fearful Deed Is Done (Aline) 5. The Sorcerer: Act Ii: Oh My Voice Is Sad And Low (Dr Daly) 6. The Sorcerer: Act Ii: Oh Joyous Boon; Alas That Lovers Thus Should Meet (Aline, Dr Daly, Alexis, Ensemble) 7. The Sorcerer: Act Ii: Finale (Ensemble) 8. The Sorcerer: Act I: Ring Forth, Ye Bells (Chorus) 9. The Sorcerer: Act I: Constance, My Daughter (Mrs Partlet, Constance) 10. The Sorcerer: Act I: The Air Is Charged; Time Was, When Love And I Were Well Acquainted (Dr Daly) 11. The Sorcerer: Act I: My Kindly Friends; O Happy Young Heart (Aline) 12. The Sorcerer: Act I: Welcome Joy! Adieu To Sadness (Sir Marmaduke, Lady Sangazure) 13. The Sorcerer: Act I: All Is Prepared (Notary, Chorus, Alexis, Aline) 14. The Sorcerer: Act I: With Heart And With Voice (Chorus) 15. The Sorcerer: Act I: My Name Is John Wellington Wells (Mr Wells) 16. The Sorcerer: Act I: Incantation: Sprites Of Earth And Air (Mr Wells, Aline, Alexis, Chorus) 17. The Sorcerer: Act I: Finale (Mr Wells, Aline, Alexis, Chorus) 18. The Sorcerer: Act Ii: Thou Hast The Power (Alexis) 19. The Sorcerer: Act Ii: I Rejoice That It’s Decided (Alexis, Ensemble) 20. The Sorcerer: Act Ii: Oh I Have Wrought Much Evil With My Spells (Mr Wells, Lady Sangazure) 21. The Sorcerer: Act Ii: Oh Joyous Boon (Aline, Dr Daly, Alexis) 22. The Sorcerer: Act Ii: Finale: Come To My Mansion (Sir Marmaduke, Ensemble)
Tracklista:1. Hello, How Do You Do?2. You Might Even Say3. Alexander4. Send You With Loving5. You're Running You and Me6. Peace7. Eagle's Son8. Graves On Grey9. New Day10. It'll Never Be Me11. All Gone Now
Tracklista: CD 1 1. Come Fly With Me 2. The Lady Is A Tramp 3. One For My Baby (And One More For The Road) 4. You Make Me Feel So Young 5. I Get A Kick Out Of You 6. My Funny Valentine 7. Chicago 8. Love And Marriage 9. Night And Day 10. I've Got You Under My Skin 11. Anything Goes 12. In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning 13. Makin' Whoopee 14. A Foggy Day 15. Nice 'N' Easy 16. How About You? 17. Witchcraft 18. You're Getting To Be A Habbit With Me 19. Nice Work If You Can Get It 20. The Tender Trap CD 2 1. Go, Go, Go, Go 2. That's Amore 3. Sway 4. Memories Are Made Of This 5. Volare 6. Mambo Italiano 7. Standing On The Corner 8. How Do You Like Your Eggs In The Morning? 9. When You're Smiling 10. Come Back To Sorento 11. In The Cool, Cool, Cool Of The Evening 12. Return To Me (Ritorna A Me) 13. I Can't Give You Anything But Love 14. Besame Mucho (Kiss Me) 15. Arrivederci Roma 16. You Belong To Me 17. The Naughty Lady Of Shady Lane 18. On An Evening In Roma (Sott'er Celo De Roma) 19. Innamorata 20. Buona Sera CD 3 1. Something's Gotta Give 2. That Old Black Magic 3. What Kinda Fool 4. Gonna Build A Mountain 5. Love Me Or Leave Me 6. Hey There 7. Too Close For Comfort 8. A Lot Of Livin' To Do 9. Come Rain Or Come Shine 10. Birth Of The Blues 11. Lonesome Road 12. Easy To Love 13. Just One Of Those Things 14. New York's My Home 15. Frankie And Johnny 16. Someone Nice Like You 17. Someone To Watch Over Me 18. Comes Love 19. The Thrill Is Gone 20. Begin The Beguine