by Stephen Eddins
Ultimate Classical Chill Out: The Essential Masterpieces basically delivers what it promises: a large selection of mellow classical music appropriate for unobtrusive background listening. The pieces are from a variety of genres, including orchestral, symphonic, vocal, chamber, and keyboard music. Most are gently lyrical and are from the Romantic and post-Romantic periods, but there are also pieces from the Baroque, Classical, and Modern eras. The performances come from Decca's extensive archive and are consistently top-notch in quality, and the notes identify the performers of each piece. The sound ambience varies somewhat from track to track, but it is never less than very good. This five-disc set with over six hours of music is a good bargain for anyone looking for a broad assortment of quiet classical pieces.
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关于DECCA的《Ultimate》极致系列:
DECCA 公司出版的《Ultimate》极致系列包括多套5CD一组的主题选集,着重地介绍了各个时代的大师们最有影响力、最广为流传的古典音乐作品,其中包括贝多芬、巴赫、肖邦、柴可夫斯基、莫扎特、舒伯特等的必听之作。此外,该系列还以不同体裁作为类别划分,加入了古典小提琴、大提琴、钢琴、钢琴协奏曲、休闲古典、巴洛克、歌剧等主题选集。虽然这个系列中某些选曲的录音年份有些久远,但演绎者中不乏宗师级的人物,故欣赏价值也是颇高的。全系列由环球公司下属的德国 EDC压片生产,品质优良,而封面设计则简约而不失典雅。该系列比较适合初涉古典音乐的朋友欣赏、收藏,通过这套入门级的CD能对古典音乐有一个基本的、初步的认知和了解。而已是古典音乐爱好者的乐友,或许也能从中找到一些自己可能还没有听过的演绎版本。
本套《极致:轻松古乐选集》收录了许多抒情、优美的古典音乐选段,其中的一些可能是许多人平时不常听到然而却也十分优秀的作品。虽然将Chill-out这一概念套用到古乐作品多少有些让人觉得滑稽,但如果我们将外面纷扰喧嚣的世界当成一个诺大的舞厅,那么当我们回到自己温暖的家里,听一听这些隽永的音乐,让心灵获得片刻的明净,亦乃一大乐事。
by Leonson@VeryCD