wimpel69
03-12-2013, 09:23 AM
[Again, this one should (have) be(een) on ffshrine, but I can't track it
down via the formidable forum search function, only the individual scores]
The Essential Michael Nyman Band is a studio album featuring a collection of music by Michael Nyman
written for the films of Peter Greenaway and newly performed by the Michael Nyman Band. It is the seventeenth
album release by Nyman. The album features liner notes by Annette Morreau, who describes the album as
"a summation and digest of ten years of progress in the performance of music by a composer -- a composer
with whom, so evidently, a group of friends and expert musicians intimately identify their total commitment,
virtuosity, and joyous enthusiasm."
As the works on the album were written as concert pieces before being transmuted into film music, some of the
selections, particularly "Chasing Sheep Is Best Left to Shepherds" contain more material than their film versions,
and some are very different in style, such as "An Eye for Optical Theory", with a tempo more than double from its
original in The Draughtsman's Contract. The other films from which the music is derived are A Zed & Two
Noughts (where it was originally not performed by the Michael Nyman Band), Drowning By Numbers,
The Cook The Thief His Wife & Her Lover, Making a Splash, and Prospero's Books.
Nyman created a similar album in 2005 with The Composer's Cut Series Vol. II: Nyman/Greenaway Revisited.
Fan reaction has generally been that The Essential Michael Nyman Band is the superior album.
Music Composed by Michael Nyman
Played by the Michael Nyman Band
Conducted by Michael Riesman
"The Essential Michael Nyman Band collects some of the music Michael Nyman has composed for the
films of director Peter Greenaway. The films represented here are The Draughtman's Contract,
A Zed & Two Noughts, Drowning by Numbers, The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover, Water Dances,
and Prospero's Books. One might consider this collection to be a "Best of Nyman/Greenaway." Nyman's
music is an essential element of Greenaway's films, as the director usually shoots his film to the music
after it has been composed and recorded. Greenaway's films are known to be surreal, manipulative
endeavors, and the Nyman compositions on this album are no different. There's an off-kilter intensity
to much of the goings-on, and Nyman's band always sounds commited to achieving the final, epic
vision. The selected compositions are all quite superb, showcasing meditative pieces with all-out
classical attacks worthy of a disturbed techno artist. Nyman's music reveals many emotional layers,
including the distant, baroque grandeur of "Time-Lapse," the sad grace of "Fish Beach," and the
modern opera of "Miserere Paraphrase." Most of Nyman's critics lump him into the school of
classical minimalism associated with Philip Glass and Steve Reich. That is pretty good company to
keep. While there are ample doses of repetition in Nyman's work, there is always some greater
destination. Most of the pieces here hover around the five-minute mark, making the entire
album quite accessible. The title of the album says it all for Nyman or Greenaway fans, as it is
certainly nice to have the strongest tracks from the film scores in one place."
All Music
Source: Decca Argo CD (my rip!)
Formats: FLAC (compression level: -5)
File Size: 375 MB
Download Link (re-up) - https://mega.nz/#!wksi3bJQ!DoKO9KJR7NPsxZNXDKQE7gX-8wrul8PHZ4DXf143dGw
down via the formidable forum search function, only the individual scores]
The Essential Michael Nyman Band is a studio album featuring a collection of music by Michael Nyman
written for the films of Peter Greenaway and newly performed by the Michael Nyman Band. It is the seventeenth
album release by Nyman. The album features liner notes by Annette Morreau, who describes the album as
"a summation and digest of ten years of progress in the performance of music by a composer -- a composer
with whom, so evidently, a group of friends and expert musicians intimately identify their total commitment,
virtuosity, and joyous enthusiasm."
As the works on the album were written as concert pieces before being transmuted into film music, some of the
selections, particularly "Chasing Sheep Is Best Left to Shepherds" contain more material than their film versions,
and some are very different in style, such as "An Eye for Optical Theory", with a tempo more than double from its
original in The Draughtsman's Contract. The other films from which the music is derived are A Zed & Two
Noughts (where it was originally not performed by the Michael Nyman Band), Drowning By Numbers,
The Cook The Thief His Wife & Her Lover, Making a Splash, and Prospero's Books.
Nyman created a similar album in 2005 with The Composer's Cut Series Vol. II: Nyman/Greenaway Revisited.
Fan reaction has generally been that The Essential Michael Nyman Band is the superior album.
Music Composed by Michael Nyman
Played by the Michael Nyman Band
Conducted by Michael Riesman
"The Essential Michael Nyman Band collects some of the music Michael Nyman has composed for the
films of director Peter Greenaway. The films represented here are The Draughtman's Contract,
A Zed & Two Noughts, Drowning by Numbers, The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover, Water Dances,
and Prospero's Books. One might consider this collection to be a "Best of Nyman/Greenaway." Nyman's
music is an essential element of Greenaway's films, as the director usually shoots his film to the music
after it has been composed and recorded. Greenaway's films are known to be surreal, manipulative
endeavors, and the Nyman compositions on this album are no different. There's an off-kilter intensity
to much of the goings-on, and Nyman's band always sounds commited to achieving the final, epic
vision. The selected compositions are all quite superb, showcasing meditative pieces with all-out
classical attacks worthy of a disturbed techno artist. Nyman's music reveals many emotional layers,
including the distant, baroque grandeur of "Time-Lapse," the sad grace of "Fish Beach," and the
modern opera of "Miserere Paraphrase." Most of Nyman's critics lump him into the school of
classical minimalism associated with Philip Glass and Steve Reich. That is pretty good company to
keep. While there are ample doses of repetition in Nyman's work, there is always some greater
destination. Most of the pieces here hover around the five-minute mark, making the entire
album quite accessible. The title of the album says it all for Nyman or Greenaway fans, as it is
certainly nice to have the strongest tracks from the film scores in one place."
All Music
Source: Decca Argo CD (my rip!)
Formats: FLAC (compression level: -5)
File Size: 375 MB
Download Link (re-up) - https://mega.nz/#!wksi3bJQ!DoKO9KJR7NPsxZNXDKQE7gX-8wrul8PHZ4DXf143dGw
