Pops in Love [SOUNDTRACK]

Tomaso Albinoni (Composer), Claude Debussy (Composer), Gabriel Faure (Composer), Johann Pachelbel (Composer), Maurice Ravel (Composer), Camille Saint-Saens (Composer), Erik Satie (Composer), Boston Pops (Performer)

Product Details

• Performer: Boston Pops
• Composer: Tomaso Albinoni, Claude Debussy, Gabriel Faure, Johann Pachelbel, Maurice Ravel, et al.
• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: Philips
• ASIN: B0000040XS
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #102,966 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE POPS UNDER WILLIAMS, February 13, 2000

By	ernest a. dupont (Pembroke, ON Canada) - See all my reviews

Echoes of Arthur Fiedler, especially in the GREENSLEEVES by Vaughn Williams. I thought this version was not as well done as the Fiedler, not as intense, but still lovely. A varied programme, including GYMNOPÉDIE 1 and 2 by Satie. The PAVANE by Fauré is hauntingly beautiful. And for Pachelbel CANON fans, this is the most beautiful version I have ever heard. The opening chords, with the organ and strings, is out of this (imperfect) world. Oh, to dream...

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Romantic Music From America's Orchestra, September 2, 2003

By	Alex Diaz-Granados "fardreaming writer" (Miami, FL United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Although many of John Williams' Boston Pops Orchestra recordings showcase music from popular entertainment venues such as Broadway and Hollywood, in Pops In Love the emphasis is on short classical pieces by composers from various eras, ranging from the late Baroque to the post-Romanticism 20th century.

Because the Boston Pops is the Superman to the Clark Kentish Boston Symphony Orchestra, it is not surprising that the quality of the performances in this CD is matchless, and the music here is suitable for romance-minded couples to listen to -- perhaps as accompaniment to a candlelight dinner. The 11 selections chosen by conductor Williams and ace producer John McClure are gentle, soft, and like love itself, at times wistful and melancholy. Some may even be familiar to movie watchers: Baroque composer Johann Pachelbel's famous Canon was heard in Robert Redford's 1980 film "Ordinary People," and Tomaso Albinoni's Adagio in G Minor was heard -- with heart-rending effect in Peter Weir's "Gallipoli."

Albinoni's Adagio and Maurice Ravel's "Pavane pour une infante defunte" (Pavane for a deceased princess) are perhaps the loveliest, if perhaps saddest, selections of this CD, which was recorded in Boston in June of 1985. Of the two, Albinoni's composition is noteworthy because it's not really an Albinoni composition at all. Rather, it is perhaps the cleverest musical forgery in history. Although it is based on fragments of an Albinoni piece, its true author was Remo Giazotto, one of Albinoni's biographers. No matter who wrote it, the Adagio is a moving, melancholy piece.

Ravel's "Pavane for a Deceased Princess" is also singularly beautiful, with a repeated melodic refrain that is gentle yet haunting, I remember this piece having been adapted for a one-man show starring the actor who played Officer "Gross" Grossman in "Chips." The melancholy melody provided a sweet yet somber backdrop to this actor's bittersweet recollection of his marriage and the death of his beloved wife to cancer. Listeners getting over the end of a relationship may wish to skip these two tracks if they don't want to be moved to tears.

The album also highlights Ralph Vaughn-Williams' "Fantasia on Greensleeves," a melody that dates as far back as the 16th century; legend has it that its composer was none other but Henry VIII himself.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most beautiful music, February 15, 2006

By	a reader from (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

I can and do listen to this CD over and over again. The tracks are compelling and wonderful. The music is so beautifully composed and performed, to experience it puts you into a calm and happy place.