Cristal: Glass Music Through The Ages

armonica/cristal baschet Dennis James (Artist), Emerson String Quartet (Artist), David August von Apell (Artist), Garry Eister (Artist), Gabriel Faure (Artist), Johann Adolf Hasse (Artist), Linda Ronstadt (Artist), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Artist), Alessandro Scarlatti (Artist), Joseph Aloys Schmittbauer (Artist), Frederich Schnaubelt (Artist), Johann Schultz (Artist), Daniel Cuiller (Artist), Ensemble Stradivaria (Artist), David Shostac (Artist), Geri Rotella (Artist), Dennis James (Artist), Marcia Dickstein (Artist), John Ellis (Artist), Leslie Reed (Artist), clarinet Gary Bovyer (Artist), Ruth Ann Swenson (Artist), Veronique Dietschy (Artist), Michael Horton (Artist), Roland Kato (Artist), Simon Oswell (Artist), Julie Gigante (Artist), Sarah Parkins (Artist), alto Teri Koide (Artist), Virenia Lind (Artist), cello Sebastian Toettcher (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 15, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B00005UT2L
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #98,246 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #65 in Music > Classical > Forms & Genres > Lullabies & Berceuse

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The haunting, ethereal tone of the glass armonica, which was invented by Ben Franklin in 1761, was said to drive its players insane. On Cristal, Dennis James risks madness as he surveys three centuries of music composed for Franklin's armonica, and two other glass instruments called the seraphim and the cristal baschet. Most of the selections date from the armonica's first period of popularity, which started in the late 1700s and ended in the 1830s, and include compositions by Hasse, Apell, Scmittbauer, a composer who also made armonicas, and Mozart, who composed the Adagio and Rondo for armonica just weeks before he died. James is joined on the Mozart piece by the Emerson String Quartet, who also play on Garry Eister's Quintet for Glass and Strings, one of the few 20th century pieces written for armonica. Cristal was produced by Linda Rondstadt, who also sings a duet with Ruth Ann Swenson on a lovely arrangement of Fauré's Pavane. Ronstadt wisely avoids trying to turn this into a pop crossover and instead lets the fragile beauty of the music speak for itself. --Michael Simmons

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars CRISTAL-ization, January 18, 2002

By 

Erik North (San Gabriel, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Cristal: Glass Music Through The Ages (Audio CD)

Have you ever wanted to know how it's possible for music to be produced with glasses? The new album CRISTAL, with featured artist Dennis James on Cristal Baschet, Seraphim, and most prominently Glass Armonica, demonstrates it very well.

With help from members of the L.A. Opera, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, soprano Ruth Ann Swenson and the album's co-producer Linda Ronstadt (although this is not, repeat NOT, a Linda Ronstadt solo album), James spins the musical glasses for some eerie effects that are both ancient and Space Age. The CD includes the Adagio and Rondo In C Major for Glass Armonica, composed by Mozart in the final weeks of his life, as well as the new Quintet for Glass and Strings by Garry Eister. Swenson and Ronstadt also sing an arrangement, made by Eister, of Gabriel Faure's celebrated "Pavane", accompanied by James and the Emerson String Quartet.

How this album impresses probably depends on the listener's ability to adjust to the strange sounds of the glass instruments, which sound nothing like synthesizers. It won't be easy for some. But for those who are adventuresome enough, CRISTAL is worthy of your attention

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Glass Music Rocks!!!!, January 15, 2002

By 

Kevin Green (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cristal: Glass Music Through The Ages (Audio CD)

Who would ever think that instruments invented by Benjamin Franklin around the time of the Declaration of Independence would be the hottest CD on the market. The sounds coming from these instruments, played with great aplumb by the talented Dennis James, are otherworldly. There is no description of how the glass armonica sounds (and the other glass instruments also used)...think of the ding you hear when hitting a crystal glass...how pure it is. Mozart specifically wrote pieces for this one instrument! This purity purveys this disk.

The guests add class and pizazz. Classical soprano Ruth Ann Swenson has a truly beautiful instrument. French singer Veronique Dietsche shines. The Emerson String Quartet personify quality and ability. The big event on this disk is the classical singing of Linda Ronstadt. Her high Soprano with a spectactular mezzo soprano/alto chest voice separates her from classical singers. While lacking the fullness of an opera singer at the top of her range, her voice approximates the sound of the glass instuments she is singing to. It is reminiscent of Ella Fitzgerald creating Scat singing to emulate Jazz. It is that amazing.

This is an event not to be missed!

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Celestial sound, March 20, 2002

By 

jfvoros "jfvoros" (Salt Lake City, Utah USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cristal: Glass Music Through The Ages (Audio CD)

You must hear this CD to believe it. The glass armonica and other glass instruments produce, in the hands of Dennis James, an otherworldly resonance that seems almost mesmerizing. Of particular note are Garry Eister's "Quintet for Glass & Strings" and his exquisite arrangement of Faure's "Pavane." Though classical clear through, this CD should appeal to fans of Ronstandt as well as Faure.