Kahikina O Ka Hau (The Coming of The Snow)

Keola Beamer (Artist), Randall Thompson (Composer), Keola Beamer (Composer), Keola / Winston, George Beamer (Composer), Erik Satie (Composer), Maurice Ravel (Composer), Igor Stravinsky (Composer), Astor Piazzolla (Composer), Alberto Ginastera (Composer), Brazilian Traditional (Composer), Traditional (Composer), Albert Ellmenreich (Composer), Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (Composer), Felix [1] Mendelssohn (Composer), Anonymous (Composer), John Dowland (Composer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 3, 2011)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: RCA Victor
• ASIN: B000K7UG0W
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #132,629 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #83 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Languages > Russian
  • #93 in Music > Classical > Forms & Genres > Lullabies & Berceuse

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very pleasantly surprised. Worth listening to, worth owning., July 9, 2007

By 

Edmund P. Crumb (Louisville, KY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kahikina O Ka Hau (The Coming of The Snow) (Audio CD)

I mainly bought this all instrumental CD for one song only, The Little Drummer Boy (with George Winston), but was quite surprised at what it had to offer overall. I had no idea the CD contained variations on classical works, as I thought this was just a collection of winter themed Hawaiian slack key music. Each piece is well worth listening too, and keeping on hand for any occasion or mood. Many times a CD features a few really good songs, with a bunch of fillers that are merely passable. This CD is jam packed with quality music (though most of the songs are short at under two and one half minutes and do sound similar). I have other CDs by Keola Beamer, so I knew going into this that this would be a decent CD regardless, as he is quite talented.

The works within are rather mellow and are not upbeat like some of his other songs/works, but I find that this CD makes a great companion piece to his other works - and just plain excellent on its own. My favorite song on the CD, The Snow Goddess (also with George Winston), is phenomenal. Brilliant, even. In fact, not only is this the best song on the CD it's also one of my all time favorites by any artist. It's just that good. However, the quality of this song isn't quite on par with it's release on the Windham Hill Winter Solstice V holiday CD, but a nice addition to this CD nonetheless.

And speaking of quality, that is really the only aspect of this CD that's worth complaining about. I'm not sure what happened or who oversaw this release, but it's not as polished as Keola Beamer's other works, or others by Windham Hill and Dancing Cat records. It sounds as if my speakers are busted on certain songs (this is obviously not the case). And going back to The Snow Goddess, it sounds as if someone turned the volume up on a lesser quaility CD player without the music playing - as you hear a terribly audible white noise throughout. Quite a shame.

Yet even with this quality issue being a nuisance, I can't lower it's score. I liked it too much to do so. It's not for everyone, but by no means would it make for a bad purchase. A must for George Winston fans looking to add another Christmas work of his to their collection (The Little Drummer Boy is very nice and just over four minutes in length), those who are fans of Keola Beamer (Wooden Boat is still my favorite CD of his), and recommended to classical music listeners and all those who enjoy good music.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great CD, January 10, 2010

By 

E. Walters - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Kahikina O Ka Hau (The Coming of The Snow) (Audio CD)

I purchased this CD for the holidays and like it very much. Not your traditional winter CD and plan on enjoying it throughout the year.

1 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Listen to the samples before you buy, January 19, 2008

By 

R. Nelson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kahikina O Ka Hau (The Coming of The Snow) (Audio CD)

This will not be an elegant review.
I have many slack key guitar albums by many different artists.
This CD depresses me.
Wish I had bought something else.