Mystere Live [Soundtrack, Live]

Cirque du Soleil | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 12, 1996)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack, Live
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B000003G5G
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #106,606 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Ouverture/Ramsani

2. Misha

3. Égypte

4. Rondo/Double Face

5. Ulysse

6. Dôme

7. Kalimando

8. Kunya Sobé

9. En Ville/Frisco

10. Gambade

11. High Bar

12. Taiko

13. Finale

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Much better than the original Mystere, October 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Mystere Live (Audio CD)

I am a huge fan of Cirque du Soleil, and have almost all of the music. I believe that when Rene Duprere retired and Benoit Jutras stepped in, he did them a huge favor. Monsieur Jutras has altered the original music slightly, but just enough to actually give it some life. Pardon me, but compared to this, the original score on the studio CD is dead.

"Kunya Sobe," though about a minute and a half shorter, is definitely much livelier and better to listen to. "Kunya Sobe" is the song Jutras altered the most. Other than that, he barely touched "Egypte," so it still has a mysterious essence to it. "En Ville" and "Kalimando" were also revived, but both have hardly been changed. "Rondo" is better than the original also. I also like the extra songs that were put in later that were done only by Jutras.

Do not feel that I am putting Rene Dupere down. I loved his work on "Alegria" and "Saltimbanco." I just like the "kick" that Benoit Jutras puts into his music. Trust me, if you want to get a Mystere soundtrack, GET THIS ONE. Do not get the original, unless you want to compare the two, which is what I did.

If you like this Mystere, get the soundtracks to "O" and "Quidam" as well. These two were done only by Benoit Jutras. You'll love them.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The last guy missed the boat, July 13, 1999

By 

J. K. Grence "the Cosmic Jester" (Superstition Mountain, AZ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mystere Live (Audio CD)

For starters- Mystere NEVER toured. It was always at Treasure Island, and always will be- each set for Cirque is quite unique, and the ones in permanent theatres have *always* had the whole place built around the show.

Second, Rene Dupere and Benoit Jutras worked together on Mystere Live- the stuff that Dupere did for the original Mystere CD (Egypte, Rondo, Ulysse, Kalimando, Kunya Sobe, En Ville) is still there, and still arranged by Dupere. Jutras's work (Ouverture, Misha, Double Face, Dome, Frisco, Gambade, High Bar, Finale) is mixed in with Dupere's- sometimes both would do different songs mixed with each other on the same track. I don't know how ANYONE could possibly not realize this, especially considering that the CD's liner notes say who wrote what right next to each song. As the saying goes, people who think they know everything are annoying to those of us who do.

There, I'm done ranting. This is a REALLY good Cirque CD- I've given recommendations of which ones to get first (start with Saltimbanco PLEASE) and this one is fairly advanced Cirque to save for later in your collection. Because there are two composers working on this one, it's a good idea to get CDs that are exclusively one or the other- for Dupere's, get the original Mystere; for Jutras, start with Quidam. This way, you can get a better idea of which composer wrote which song, and can also hear what Jutras learned from Dupere- after all, Jutras started out in Cirque playing Dupere's music as a saxophonist for Cirque Reinvente.

My favorite tracks on this CD are 3 (Egypte), 10 (Gambade), 11 (High Bar), and 13 (Finale). Oh- one nice thing about this CD is that it's easy to set the right volume. Skip to track 12 (Taiko); there is a decrescendo about 2/3rds of the way through. You can't possibly miss it. When the decrescendo hits its softest point, adjust the volume up until you can BARELY hear the drumming. The rest of the CD will be at the ideal volume- which means the Finale is near deafening like it should be, with those oh-so-cool bass hits shaking the windows if you have a subwoofer.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The better recording, March 25, 2002

By 

P. T. Connelly (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mystere Live (Audio CD)

I'm usually wary of live recordings. There's very little that will put me off faster than microphone hiss and audience background noise. Mystere Live gets around this by (a) recording directly from the orchestra instead of the house and (b) keeping the audience too stunned by the show to make a sound during the acts.
After seeing the show in Las Vegas, I immediately grabbed the older studio recording, although the music wasn't the same and there were missing tracks. The CD occupied my shelf for a few weeks, and then I borrowed a friend's copy of the Live recording. I kicked myself, and immediately ordered it. The reworked score combines the best of old and new school composers. The reorchestrated Kunya Sobe is almost worth the price of the CD alone. And this is one CD that the audience noise actually adds to. The joyous nature of the applause between acts adds a cheerful tone to the whole work, and gives me a grin as I remember being part of the same experience.
In a nutshell, pick up this copy over the studio set.