From the Philip Glass Recording Archive, Vol. III -JENIPAPO [Import]

Philip Glass (Artist, Composer, Conductor) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Conductor: Philip Glass
• Composer: Philip Glass
• Audio CD (April 29, 2008)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Orange Mountain Music
• ASIN: B00167TZ5M
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #356,949 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting music, disappointing package, June 8, 2008

By 

Russ (Richmond, VA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: From the Philip Glass Recording Archive, Vol. III -JENIPAPO (Audio CD)

Orange Mountain Music's ongoing 'from the archive' series aims to release certain recordings that Philip Glass (b. 1937) has made over the last 30 years. Thus far, the series has been hit or miss with me. I thought the first volume was lackluster (Philip Glass: Theater Music from the Philip Glass Recording Archive, Vol. 1); however I thoroughly enjoyed the second volume (From the Philip Glass Recording Archive, Vol. II: Orchestral Music).

This release, the third volume in the series, contains the music from the 1995 film 'Jenipapo'. Glass is a highly effective film composer, so it is great to have this music available. Like much of Glass' music, this score is filled driving rhythmic motifs, and melancholy melodic fragments.

The orchestral score, in my opinion, contains some lovely moments; however, this is a difficult release to recommend. First, there is only 29 minutes of music on this volume. Further, the majority of the score's 17 tracks are merely fragmentary snippets. Several of the pieces last less than minute and seem to have no discernable end - that is, the music just stops. I am sure Glass' music is quite effective within the film, but the music fails to please as a standalone listening experience. The one exception is the dark and brooding 'Coleman's Dilema' (Track 9), which, at four minutes in duration, almost seems epic in comparison to the remainder of the release.

Orange Mountain Music claims to be in the possession of hundreds of hours of Glass recordings. The length of this release seems perplexing in light of this claim. Given this, all but the most serious Glass fans can skip this one.

TT: 29:44