Customer Reviews

Alegria

5 star:		(47)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I picked up the Best of Cirque du Soliel CD on an impulse buy. As I listened to the songs, Alegria and Querer stood out as my favorites. On my next trip to the CD store, I snagged the Alegria album and have to say I was floored by the beauty and power that drew me into a state of musical extasy. For those of you who love the art house music styles of Europe mixed with a New Age spiritualness, this album will be playing over and over in your CD player for weeks to come.

Cirque du Soleil soundtracks are always enjoyable as they have some of the best producers and singers in the world on each CD. I now have each and every CdS soundtrack, even ones OOP, and Alegria is far and away my favorite. And it is no secret why.....Francesca Gagnon's haunting voice. The woman in white is mesmerizing and one of the most talented performers I have ever seen or heard. I never understood why people cried at operas; after hearing Francesca, I now do.

Vai Vadrai is my favorite song on any Cirque album......the raspy, sultry voice of Francesca has to be heard to be believed.....and then heard again. Alegria is another favorite of mine, and is a beautiful first song to start the show/CD. Mirko is amazing as it really is almost Francesca yelling and yet at the same time, it is a beautiful song.....I cannot picture any other singer pulling this off. And at one point in the song, her voice literally merges with the instruments and the listener cannot tell when her voice ends and the instruments begin. It really is unbelievable. Querer is another favorite, is belted out like nothing you've ever heard.....turn up the volume when this one starts.

These four songs alone are worth the cost of the CD. Rene Dupere should not be forgotten either, as he did a fantastic job.

Francesca has another CD coming out any day now, but buy this one while you wait. You will not be disappointed.

This CD is a fantastic mixture of wonderful songs. Although there is a constant style of music in all of them, there is not a common them along the disc. The songs are different one of each other; some ones are glad and some few are slow, but always beautiful and nice to listen to.

Some songs are rather long, and perhaps some people get tired for one moment. This is not a problem because there is always a pretty melody in that themes. Besides, the order of the songs in the CD is so good that there are not two slow songs one after another, and, when one of them finishes, the live rythm of the next starts.

Alegria has lyrics in several languages, including English, Spanish, Italian and an invented one. Although I don't like Spanish songs in general (perhaps because I'm Spanish and I have heard a lot), the Alegria lyrics are very good, and much better than the English-Spanish version of Quidam.

If you already have music of Cirque Du Soleil, you will like Alegria a lot, and if you don't have any disc, it's very dificult that you don't like this one. Buy it, don't hesitate.

Alegria is an unbelievable CD. It's not just music, it's more of an experience. I have been lucky enough to have seen the performance three times and I can tell you the music never gets old. What makes it stand out so wonderfully is the way the CD grabs you from the opening note and keeps you until the final. I have never heard a voice quite like the one featured on Alegria. The music is to say the least mesmerizing. While all songs are spectacular, "Querer" will remain with you long after hearing it. The only way to describe it is "hauntingly beautiful". Many of the remaining songs can also be described in much the same manner, but the CD must be heard to be believed. Whereas many of Cirque's CD's start to sound familiar after two or three listenings, the listener will always experience something new every time he or she listens. After seeing the performance, the CD quickly became one of my favorites. But, even without the performance, a listener will become totally enveloped in the mood and emotions the songs convey.

Rene Dupere has certainly outdone himself with 'Alegria'! Next to 'O', this is my second favorite Cirque du Soleil CD!
Alegria, Vai Vedrai, and Valsapena (although vocals accompanying the music) are each different, haunting, and superior in their own way. While Valsapena is sung in extreme emotional form - Vai Vedrai is sung huskily and softly as if someone were telling a story. Alegria is sung as if it were summoning guests to come and watch! It is also an interesting creation and is fitting for the opening song.
For those who care less for opera and more for instrumental, Jeux D'Enfants is destined to become a favorite! It's circus-like, playful music is meant to carry adults back to childhood.
The only song I didn't care for was 'Querer'-it's a bit to much opera for my taste (as well as earsplitting)!
But the rest of the music is excellently done and I would recommend this CD to anyone (expecially Cirque du Soleil fans)!

The album "Alegria" went double platinum and has sold over 2 million copies around the globe. This is by far Cirque's most successful album till this day. It's not hard to imagine why though!

Of all my Cirque CDs (And I've got 8), "Alegria" has to be my favourite. Composed by Rene Dupere, this showcases his best work to date. The music and the show is an expression of love, liberty and emancipation. The core of the music reflects the rallying cries for freedom of supressed hearts and souls, with such passion and vigor, it's hard to ignore...even for Kings, Emperors and aristocrats alike. The music also highlights the changing of the gaurd. Gone are the old rulers and governers of society(culture and traditons inclusive). The younger generations are crying for their voices to be heard. It's the triumph of joy and exhiliration that conqueres all, by taking you on a journey into the hidden gutters of goodwill, blurred by the relentless power and control of the old aristocracies.

The music itself is passionate and unpretentious. You can almost feel the cries of freedom echoed in the title track "Alegria". To me, "Querer" is the best track of the CD. The vocal performance in this track is simply second to none. Sung in Spanish, the song reflects the will and determination to set one's soul free and let it fly to heights that only love can take you. It's a passionate song and is sung so beautifully by Francesca Gagnon, who also leads the vocals in eight out of the twelve tracks on the CD.

In all, an outstanding CD that deserved it's 1996 Grammy nomination for best musical arrangement in the intrumental music catergory!

Five stars for the best of the best!

So I am a HUGE fan of Cirque du Soleil Soundtracks and I didn't think that anything could top "Mystere" but this one is AWESOME!!! as before mentioned in other reviews, Francesca Gagnon's voice is Truly breathtaking. There are at least 4 songs on this CD that I have played over and over again, one right after the other. I won't name them because everyone has their own "ear" for music. However I will say that I am always impressed with the use of the instruments with Rene Dupere's work how the vocals never take anything away from the individual instruments.

The Strings, Horns and yes even the synthesizers compliment each other when all together and Francesca's voice is one that you can appreciate rather you "speak-a de' language" or not LOL There is something for everyone who enjoys Cirque's style of music there are some "Carnie" tunes on here as well as "Jazz" and the staple new age. I've never seen this show in person but since hearing the CD I have decided to purchase the DVD and try to catch it when it comes on Bravo again.

Enjoy and Happy Listening

I can't get enough of the song "Alegria." It is so beautiful and almost magical; it is the best vocal song Cirque has, topping even that of the song "Quidam." As for the rest of the CD..."Kalandero" and "Ibis" are okay, and "Jeux d'enfants" is just fun to listen to. However, the rest of this CD is totally forgettable. So why did I give it 4 stars? They belong to the title song, which deserves 5 stars. I don't understand why people say this is their favorite Cirque soundtrack. If you want some really, really good Cirque music, get the CD to "O" or "Dralion." Those are the best Cirque CDs that I have heard.

We just received our CD this afternoon. It has been playing non-stop for 5 hours. It is fabulous! Having gone to Alegria both in Vancouver, B.C. (Aug '03) and Seattle, WA (Sept. '03), we couldn't get the bewitching melody off of our minds. My children (ages 7 and 9) were amazed by the show and the singing. I recommend this CD for anyone who has a fascination of music and showmanship. It's really fabulous!

I heard this cd in school one time when a friend brought it and I loved it! I FINALLY got around to buying it and loved it even more!! No matter how many of the other Cirque du Soleil cds I get(probably all of them) this one will remain my favorite. Alegria is purely magical.(to state the common opinion) Though it is the only one I actually understand, I sing along with all of them. Unfortunately, I probably garble the French horribly. As soon as I find someone who speaks French I am going to have them listen to the cd and write the lyrics down for me.:)