Midnight Adagios: MusicNear.com

Music CD 1

Eine Leine Nachtmusik, K525 - Romance: Andante - Mozart
Piano Sonata No. 14 In C Sharp Minor, Op. 27, No. 2 'Moonlight'-Adagio Sostenuto - Vladimir Ashkenazy
Chanson De Nuit, Op. 15 - I Salonisti
Pavene, Op. 50 - Choeur De L'Orchestre Symphonique De Montreal
String Quartet No. 2 In D Major - Notturno: Andante - Borodin String Quartet
Wiegenlied (Lullaby), Op. 49, No. 4 - Marisa Robles
Berceuse Romantique (Caprice) - Joshua Bell
O Silver Moon (Rusalka) - Pilar Lorengar
Piano Concerto No. 5 In E Flat Major, Op. 73, 'Emperor'-Adagio Un Poco Moso - Vladimir Ashkenazy
Cello Sonata In G Minor, BWV 1029 - Adagio - Janos Starker
Carmen Suite No. 1 - Intermezzo - Bizet
Guitar Concerto In D Major, RV 93 - Largo - Eduardo Fernandez
Five Variants Of Dives And Lazarus (Excerpt) - Vaughan Williams
Nocturne In E Flat Major, Op. 9 No. 2 - Vladimir Ashkenazy
Bailero (Excerpt) (Songs Of The Auvergne) - Kiri Te Kanawa
Gymnopedie No. 1 - Satie

Music CD 2

Orchestral Suite No. 3 In D Major, BWV 1068 (Air On A G String) - Bach
Claire De Lune (Suite Bergamasque) - Pascal Roge
Meditation (Thais) - Nigel Kennedy
Piano Concerto No. 21 In C Major, K467 - Andante - Vladimir Ashkenazy
String Quintet In C Major, D956 - Andante (Excerpt) - Miklos Perenyi
Violin Concerto No. 1 In G Minor, Op. 26 - Adagio - Joshua Bell
Oboe Concerto In D Minor - Adagio - I Musici
Serenade For Strings In E Major, Op. 22 - Larghetto - Dvorak
Concierto De Aranjuez - Adagio - Pepe Romero
Consolation No. 3 - Rhondda Gillespie
Fantasie-Tableaux (Suite No. 1) For Two Pianos, Op. 5 - La Nuit, L'Amour: Adagio Sostenuto - Andre Previn
Romance (The Gadfly) - Alexander Kerr
Barcarolle (The Tales Of Hoffmann) - Offenbach

Free Music Notes for Midnight Adagios

Free Music Review: Enjoyable - but not beddy-bye music
Hit: 4 Stars

'Adagio' means 'at ease' or 'slow'--somewhere in between 'largo' and 'andante'--but it doesn't necessarily mean 'soft.' There are a few forte movements on both CDs that seem to occur just as I am finally drifting off to sleep. That's why I wouldn't recommend this album to those who are looking for music to lull them to sleep.

"Cello for Relaxation," "Celtic Lullaby," and "Soothing Harp" are all very soporific CDs if sleep is what you're searching for.

Other than the above caveats, "Midnight Adagios" is wonderful music to paint by or cook by (when I'm not fiddling with the volume control). There are a total of twenty-nine tracks interpreted by such artists and ensembles as Vladimir Ashkenazy, Pilar Lorengar, Kiri Te Kanawa, The Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, etc. etc.

CD 1 begins with Mozart's "Eine kleine Nachtmusik" (how could it not?), the andante movement (oops, what happened to adagio?), and ends with Satie's "Gymnopedie No.1."

CD2 begins with Bach's "Air on a G String" and ends with Offenbach's "Barcarolle.

You've probably heard all of the musical offerings before except, perhaps, for the Marcello "Oboe Concerto." So if you can be lulled by the familiar, serene in the knowledge that the music won't send any adrenaline racing through YOUR bloodstream, then maybe you will find "Midnight Adagios" to be a truly relaxing experience.