Customer Reviews

A Different Prelude

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

"A Different Prelude" is a follow-up to the incredible "A Different Mozart", which was released in 1996 on Imaginary Road Records. With Dawn Atkinson once again at the helm as producer, this new release is equally exciting. With selections by composers such Bach, Chopin, Debussy, Gershwin, and Satie, the range is broad and the styles of the various artists are diverse, but this album holds together as a seamless and fascinating mix!

The album opens with Patrick O'Hearn playing the Bach Cello Suite #1. The melody is true to the original, with the addition of a catchy rhythm track and ambient electronic sounds in the background. That the piece is immediately recognizable in a new setting indicates just how timeless this music is. Violinist Charlie Bisharat is one of my all-time favorite musicians, and he gives the Chopin Prelude #6 in B minor a surprising Latin flavor with his violin accompanied by Spanish guitar and light percussion - a very refreshing interpretation of this haunting piece! Trumpeter Chris Botti jazzes things up with a great, slinky version of Gershwin's Prelude #2. One of the highlights is Dawn Atkinson's debut as a recording artist playing Chopin's Prelude #20 in C minor. A combination of piano, voice, and keyboards, this is a very stirring and evocative arrangement that brings it right into the present. I couldn't imagine Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C# minor as a guitar solo, but Steve Erquiaga more than pulls it off. Richard Schonherz gives Chopin's Prelude #4 in E minor a gentle percussion and synth accompaniment to the original piano solo. Clara Ponty plays Debussy's "Girl With the Flaxen Hair" with the grace and elegance of her former classical piano performing career. Tim Story closes the collection with a gorgeous version of Eric Satie's "Heroic Gate of Heaven".

Adaptations of well-known classical music often fall flat, but "A Different Prelude" is strong from start to finish, and should appeal to classical music lovers as well as fans of contemporary instrumental music. One can hear a very strong respect to even reverence for the original pieces. "A Different Prelude" will undoubtedly be on my Top 10 Favorites for the Year 2000, and I very highly recommend it!

The breathtakingly hopeful and modern renditions of such powerful classics on this CD has really inspired me!

Bach's cello solos no. 1 is some of the most *haunting* melody ever written. Somehow, Patrick O'Hearn's beautiful rhythm manages to bring a hopeful beat to this piece, and the result is an excellent modern tribute that exemplifies "anticipation" more than anything. The cello notes in the original are long and drawn out, almost reaching for you, but O'Hearn's rendition has shortened the draw ever so slightly, giving the feeling of a speaker anxious to get the words out, nearly out of breath with anticipation to deliver a message. This beautiful piece captures the inescapably haunting feeling of the original and does it justice while bringing it to a new dawn of modern flavor. For those who love both Patrick O'Hearn and this particular piece, you just have to add this piece to your collection!

The second track manages something of the same with the Wagner piece. It lets go of much of the inherent power in the original, sacrificing it for a hopeful turn like the first track. It's an interesting exploration.

Track 8 is a Spanish classical guitar rendition of a Rachmaninoff piece that will captivate you and keep you riveted, waiting to hear where it goes next. It loses nothing of the incredible romance and nostalgia of Rachmaninoff. Indeed, it gains much in the way of a "nighttime" sort of feeling with the Spanish flavor of the guitar. Exquisite.

After even one listen, this CD has become one of my favorites. It's incredible!

This CD is not exactly what I had in mind when I made the order, but it is definitely not a disappointment. I am enjoying it immensely. I highly recommend this CD and am looking for more like it.

Bought this under the mistaken identity of another musician, who isn't even featured. Definitely not impressed. A shallow and incomplete rendition of classical selections. The featured players are talented, no question. But if I wanted a traditional intrepretation, there are better. Something more radical, please.
Ronaldo El Malo