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 Adams: Shaker Loops/Phrygian Gates/Chamber Symphony $16.98 I've been listening to Adams' music since 1981 or so, when I purchased an LP recording of his Shaker Loops coupled with Phrygian Gates, on 1750 Arch Records. Now come these new performances of those two works along with a more recent work, Chamber Symphony. When Adams first appeared, he was hailed by many for reconciling minimalism with a more traditionally dramaturgical approach to composition. Little did we foresee that he would go to cartoons and Schoenberg for further inspiration, as he does in Chamber Symphony, but guess what? It works. The piece is quite brilliant and demands amazing virtuosity by its performers, which the Ensemble pulls off seemingly without effort. In fact, this performance is more assured and dramatic than the reading conducted by the composer himself, on Nonesuch. As for the Shaker Loops comparisons, this record presents the chamber music version (this one is for string septet, as opposed to being for string orchestra). I have always preferred this, original version, and it beats out the competition, the recording that was originally on 1750 Arch records, but is now available on New Albion. The Phrygian Gates is wonderful, but I wouldn't be without the version by Gloria Cheng-Cochran, who gives the work a more sonorous cast.  Kirby's Wonderful And Scientific Museum: Or Magazine Of Remarkable Characters V4 $51.95 Including All The Curiosities Of Nature And Art, From The Remotest Period To The Present Time Drawn From Every Authentic Source. This scarce antiquarian book is included in our special Legacy Reprint Series. In the interest of creating a more extensive selection of rare historical book reprints, we have chosen to reproduce this title even though it may possibly have occasional imperfections such as missing and blurred pages, missing text, poor pictures, markings, dark backgrounds and other reproduction issues beyond our control. Because this work is culturally important, we have made it available as a part of our commitment to protecting, preserving and promoting the world's literature. |
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