Viva La Musica (CD & Booklet)

Elise Carr Sumner | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 1, 2000)
• Original Release Date: September 1, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• ASIN: B00005IA3J
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #296,353 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. ¿Cómo Se Llama Usted? — What's Your Name?

2. No Hablo Mucho Español — I Don't Speak Much Spanish

3. ¿Cómo Está Usted? — How Are You?

4. Los Números — Numbers

5. Un Café — A Cup Of Coffee

6. ¿Dónde Esta Ese Lugar? — Where Is That Place?

7. En La Tienda — In The Store

8. Oh, Doctor Y Enfermera — Oh, Doctor And Nurse

9. Necesito Una Habitación — I Need a Room

10. Quiero Hacer Un Viaje — I Want To Take A Trip

11. Hola. ¿Qué Tal? — Hi. How Are You?

12. En La Playa — On The Beach

13. Mi Familia — My Family

14. Estoy Enamorado De Ti — I'm In Love With You

15. ¡Vaya!¡Vaya!Voy A La Playa — I'm Going To The Beach

16. El Chico De Puerto Rico — The Guy From Puerto Rico

17. ¿Siempre La Misma? — Always The Same?

18. Trata De Ser Optimista — Try To Be Optimistic

19. Nos Gustan Distintas Cosas — We Like Different Things

20. Vengan Ustedes — Come

See all 28 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Learn Effortlessly, With Music That's Bright, Fun, Engaging, July 15, 2002

By 

Johnny Tomorrow "brineyman" (Ash heap of history) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Viva La Musica (CD & Booklet) (Audio CD)

Elise Carr Sumner has accomplished something wonderful here. She has produced an album of songs that are instructive as well as enjoyable.

My 7-year-old daughter and I have been receiving Spanish instruction for most of the past year. We've learned the numbers, colors, body parts, nouns, verbs, some conversation -- the usual, I'm sure. And it's been lots of fun.

And then a few weeks ago we received this marvelous CD, and we've had it in the player ever since.

My daughter started picking up the songs almost immediately. She follows the lyrics in the book -- it is very readable, with much bigger type than most lyric sheets have, and the English translations stand opposite the Spanish lyrics. Now my little girl is filling in the blanks for me when I falter in my renditions. (She learns faster than I do.)

What's nice is that we're picking up the cadences of the language, in addition to vocabulary and grammar.

The songs are arranged simply, with Ms. Carr Sumner singing and (I assume) playing solo guitar. But the simplicity helps you hear the words -- which you can, quite clearly.

And the songs are quick and interesting enough to hold your attention. For us, they don't bog down. On the contrary, they seem to get better the longer you listen.

Ms. Carr Sumner is a Spanish teacher, and her classes must be lots of fun. Because her CD definitely is.

One more point -- the packaging and graphics are also light and engaging, very much in keeping with the performance.

The disk is a little pricey, in comparison with most CD's, but there are nearly 30 songs included, and the book is quite substantial so I felt the price was reasonable.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Unique and Useful Delight, May 30, 2002

By 

Cara Snyder (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Viva La Musica (CD & Booklet) (Audio CD)

Viva la Musica is a delight. Its simple songs in Spanish not only help you learn to speak the language but also entertain and soothe. The songs cover situations from simple hellos and ordering coffee to spending the day at the beach or telling someone you love them (or not). You could probably travel across Spain and have a song for every occasion (surprise the hotel clerk by singing your need for a room). The vocabulary is basic but varied, and the accompanying booklet provides not only lyrics and translations but also a list of the grammatical forms being emphasized in each song.

What I like best, though, is the tone. Ms. Sumner's solo voice and acoustic guitar are both soothing and lilting. The tunes are simple and memorable (I often wake up singing them), and the lyrics are charming--sometimes funny and surprising, courteous and sympathetic. Children and adults alike can learn and enjoy these songs. Oddly enough, this is the CD I turn to when I am most stressed out and need to relax. It is an unadorned delight.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Good easy listening and entertaining, April 4, 2003

By 

Ron Anderson "BengalTigger" (Alma, AR United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Viva La Musica (CD & Booklet) (Audio CD)

This is a great addition to any Spanish learning. The lyrics vary greatly but the music, while pleasing, could use more variation either in instrument or voice (same guitar and singer throughout). I enjoy the style, but some variation would have helped in focusing attention through the last half of the CD.
The booklet is very helpful in translating what is being said. The songs are humorous and a great variety of words and topics are covered.

Our whole family enjoys listening to it, and we frequently catch ourselves singing the tunes even when not listening to the CD.