Pieces in a Modern Style [Enhanced]

William Orbit

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 22, 2000)
• Original Release Date: February 22, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced
• Label: Maverick
• ASIN: B000046S1W
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (93 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #59,992 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #12 in	Music > Classical > Featured Composers, A-Z > ( G ) > Górecki, Henryk Mikolaj
  #12 in	Music > Classical > Featured Composers, A-Z > ( C ) > Cage, John
  #49 in	Music > Classical > Instruments > Electronic

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Adagio for Strings

2. In a Landscape

3. Ogive Number 1

4. Cavalleria Rusticana

5. Pavane Pour une Infante Défunte

6. Inverno

7. Triple Concerto

8. Xerxes

9. Piece in the Old Style 1

10. Piece in the Old Style 3

See all 11 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Adagio for Strings [Remix by Ferry Corsten]

2. Adagio for Strings [Remix by ATB]

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

William Orbit's Pieces in a Modern Style is an ambient album that rejigs 11 works by classical composers in a particularly tacky fashion. Even though Orbit has proved his mettle as an innovative and exciting producer for others--Blur's 13 and Madonna's Ray of Light--this is an ungainly meeting of the sublime and the absurd that, frankly, doesn't work. Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings," Ludwig van Beethoven's "Triple Concerto," Henryk Gorecki's "Piece in the Old Style I," and Antonio Vivaldi's "L'Inverno" are four that unfortunately meet their maker in a crude pileup of flat, belching synths and wallpaper flourishes. If he had combined live instrumentation with a playful reverence for the arcane glories of the past, perhaps he could have managed to make reality out of that most elusive of notions: experimental music that actually sells. However, Orbit fails to do anything more than resemble a second-rate Vangelis. --Maxine Kabuubi

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I like it...., February 23, 2005

By	J. Brady (PAWLEYS ISLAND, SC United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

The front cover photo of the lounging, pouting William Orbit and a glance at the titles on the rear ( works written by Beethoven, Ravel and Vivaldi, among others ) would lead one to believe the music in Pieces in a Modern Style is stuffy, uptight and pretentious. Nothing could be further from the truth. These songs are warm in instrumentation, and surprisingly varied in arrangement, considerig that they were all more or less programmed into ( and played by ) a computer. The opener, Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings, is the selection here that stays most true to the original, with synthesisers taking the place of the strings in question. It is rich, full and lush. Really beautiful. Other songs stray a bit from the original arrangements, often to the point of being unrecognizable, but never to the point of disraction or the compromise of the integrity of the originals. John Cage's In a Landscape features gently pulsing bass notes with very minimal synth sounds floating on top, and reminds me of Brian Eno's earlier ambient works. Another highlight is Ravel's Pavane pour une Infante Defunte, which is simply a beautiful piece of music on its own, here made ethereal and otherworldly. Vivaldi's L'Inverno is made delightfully playful, with an arrangement that makes it sound as though it is coming out of a music box. My personal favourite is Beethoven's Triple Concerto. It begins with the electric guitar treatment Orbit used on Madonna's Beautiful Stranger ( it sounds rather like vibrato, and I am sure there is a technical term for it, although I've no idea what it is ), then goes into a short section of mournful strings before settling into a sensual throb, with backwards percussion, techno-inspired bass and other assorted odd noises. The two Gorecki pieces are simple but very effective, as is the closer, Beethoven's opus 132, lulling the listeniner into states of relaxation, meditation and reflecton. The negative reviews I have read here mainly concentrate on the fact that other musicians have done in the past exactly what William Orbit is doing here - remake classical music using synthesisers.The idea in and of itself is nothing new, and could certainly be seen by some as somewhat creatively lazy. Wendy Carlos and Tomita immediately come to mind. So the question for the potential buyer is this: does a recording have to be particularly groundbreaking to be of any artistic merit or to entertain? I am of the opinion that it does not, and have thoroughly and consistantly enjoyed this since I bought it several years ago. One thing is certain - the polarity of the reviews here. People have an intense like or dislike for this cd, which I suppose in the long run is better than ambivalence. The in-house Amazon reviewer also trashed this cd,( calling it "second-rate Vangelis" ) which is not surprising, considering the heaps of praise they give to the likes of Maroon 5 ( a third-rate Jamaroqui, who are themselves a third-rate Stevie Wonder ) and Ashlee Simpson ( who gives all new meaning to "third rate"). In closing all I can say is..."well, I certainly like it."

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Somebody has to love it, July 30, 2004

By	A. Zilmer (the middle of Cornville, IL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I read all the reviews and was shocked at the amount of bad reviews it had. This is the first review I've ever written; the reason is that it simply needs someone to rave about it, because there are practically no others. I, like some or most of the other reviewers, am familiar with several of the pieces and classically trained in multiple instruments. Instead of being disgusted with his destruction of originally beautiful pieces, I was absolutely fascinated with his rendition of them. I immediately loved this album the first time I heard it, and still do. He produced a modern sound and at the same time preserved the original melodies and emotions of the pieces. I also appreciated his ability to resist the impulse to "remix" these pieces, as so many dance artists would have been tempted to do. Rather, he simply gave them his own interpretation and kept the fairly ambient feel of the original pieces. All of the pieces re-worked here were subdued, gentle pieces to begin with. I am also a fan of much of William Orbit's other work, including the more dance-floor oriented or rock work he has done solo and with countless other artists: Madonna, Depeche Mode, U2, Seal, etc. I can appreciate the remixes on the second disc, though I am generally a fan of more underground electronic music, and these remixes are a bit too mainstream for me. However, my general opinion is that this is an absolutely sublime album. I even consider myself a purist and still like it. If you are a fan of classical music, William Orbit, or ambient music and can stand the thought of creative liberties being taken with time-honored classical (or Romantic, Baroque, or contemporary/modern) pieces, get it. Hopefully you won't be disappointed, but apparently it's fairly difficult to judge who will like this album. Personally, I love it.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Where's the beef?, February 24, 2000

By	Trent Caldwell (Madison, WI) - See all my reviews

After one gets past its pretentiously crass "artsiness" (the title wants to be serious and the cover wants to look "classical"), the first reaction to "Pieces..." is "where is the beef"? It's been a while since synthethizers have been with us, and insipid "electronica" renditions of classics are hardly worth notice. The comparison of "Pieces" to Tomita's mesmerizing renditions of Holst (light years ago, but still fresh) would be an undeserved compliment. I usually enjoy creative and unconventional arrangements of classical pieces, and am always eager to "discover" cross-over artists who make me see (hear?) this great music in a new light. But this is a boring, unfocused hodge-podge. Even at his best, Orbit sounds like one of those self-propelling, diskette-recorded jobs at music store demo room. You can almost hear the sales person say "see, even if your child prodigy turns out to be less than a genius, our newest Clavinova can play all by itself, and it almost sounds like an orchestra." While Orbit's audible "touch" on Madonna's "Ray of light" was refreshing, his heavy-handedness with "modern pieces" is off-putting.