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Music : The Essential Michael Nyman Band
Rating: 
- A composer of our time, for our time
Michael Nyman is a composer for our time. He's as valid to us as Bach must have been to his 18th century audience. Think about words that sum-up how we live our modern lives and they apply to Nyman's music: Immediate, brash, vibrant, pulsing, gimmicky, superficial, quick, surreal, humorous, accessible, severe, and very slightly pretentious... Nyman's music is as enjoyable as a walk through the city in the middle of Summer. It's modern life in sonic form.
Nyman heard how our modern brains work and produced music to match. I hesitate to say for fear of offence but there's an autistic quality about Nyman's work. I suspect future historians will record that autism and especially Asperger's Syndrome are (were) the illnesses that somehow best characterised our time, just like tuberculosis was one of the many things that characterised the Victorian period. The sheer laser-like focus and single-mindedness of Nyman's music makes me think this, but it's more of a suggestion than a belief.
Nyman lacks the emotional depth of Bach, or other major composers, but that's the whole point. The music makes a point of being superficial. Its flaws are its strengths. Nyman would be a fraud if he wrote sweeping epic music, or music that was packed with depth but was inaccessible.
Nyman's problem might be how the future regards him. His music needs context. It needs to be heard right here, right now. I suspect it might only make sense that way.
But for now, enjoy the music, even if it can seem like a rather guilty pleasure. These are songs, not movements; lyrics rather than poetry. They tread closer to the pop and rock boundary than, perhaps, many would prefer. But there's no denying the sheer quality. It all works.
One top tip: Nyman's music is good for working-out to, if you don't like thumpy-thumpy dance music. Just choose some of the tracks with pounding rhythms.
Rating:
- The Essential Michael Nyman Band Cd Review
This CD contains all of Michael Nyman's best tracks ever made, ranging from "Time Lapse" to "Fish Beach". Some of these you may remember or you may not. This is definitely though a CD to get and is a perfect compliment to your CD collection. It is also quite good for new classical music listeners.
Nyman's music is incredibly detailed and coursely textured, with the pieces using a whole range of different instruments, for Sax to Cello. Some of it is fast-moving, some not. There is a whole range of different styles on this CD. The Nyman band have certainly played these pieces to perfection. No two tracks are the same, and you will quickly love his totally different and unique style. Some of the pieces you will recognize, some you won't. "Time Lapse" is my particular favourite, with its intricate and complex structure, though I feel other pieces come quite close. "Chasing sheep is best left to shepards" is also quite good, with a typical Monarchy style, like you're at Buckingham Palace; and a very upper-class style. "Prawn Watching" is face-paced and has a unusual minor twist in it. The pieces all feature a certain mysterious quality, like a spirit or a Holy Appriration. You can just imagine scenes in your head of slow Romance, or Spirituality.
However, you wont get bored easily, as with 13 tracks, and a whole host of melodies, you'll be coming back for more.
- A composer of our time, for our timeMichael Nyman is a composer for our time. He's as valid to us as Bach must have been to his 18th century audience. Think about words that sum-up how we live our modern lives and they apply to Nyman's music: Immediate, brash, vibrant, pulsing, gimmicky, superficial, quick, surreal, humorous, accessible, severe, and very slightly pretentious... Nyman's music is as enjoyable as a walk through the city in the middle of Summer. It's modern life in sonic form.
Nyman heard how our modern brains work and produced music to match. I hesitate to say for fear of offence but there's an autistic quality about Nyman's work. I suspect future historians will record that autism and especially Asperger's Syndrome are (were) the illnesses that somehow best characterised our time, just like tuberculosis was one of the many things that characterised the Victorian period. The sheer laser-like focus and single-mindedness of Nyman's music makes me think this, but it's more of a suggestion than a belief.
Nyman lacks the emotional depth of Bach, or other major composers, but that's the whole point. The music makes a point of being superficial. Its flaws are its strengths. Nyman would be a fraud if he wrote sweeping epic music, or music that was packed with depth but was inaccessible.
Nyman's problem might be how the future regards him. His music needs context. It needs to be heard right here, right now. I suspect it might only make sense that way.
But for now, enjoy the music, even if it can seem like a rather guilty pleasure. These are songs, not movements; lyrics rather than poetry. They tread closer to the pop and rock boundary than, perhaps, many would prefer. But there's no denying the sheer quality. It all works.
One top tip: Nyman's music is good for working-out to, if you don't like thumpy-thumpy dance music. Just choose some of the tracks with pounding rhythms.
Rating:
- The Essential Michael Nyman Band Cd ReviewThis CD contains all of Michael Nyman's best tracks ever made, ranging from "Time Lapse" to "Fish Beach". Some of these you may remember or you may not. This is definitely though a CD to get and is a perfect compliment to your CD collection. It is also quite good for new classical music listeners.
Nyman's music is incredibly detailed and coursely textured, with the pieces using a whole range of different instruments, for Sax to Cello. Some of it is fast-moving, some not. There is a whole range of different styles on this CD. The Nyman band have certainly played these pieces to perfection. No two tracks are the same, and you will quickly love his totally different and unique style. Some of the pieces you will recognize, some you won't. "Time Lapse" is my particular favourite, with its intricate and complex structure, though I feel other pieces come quite close. "Chasing sheep is best left to shepards" is also quite good, with a typical Monarchy style, like you're at Buckingham Palace; and a very upper-class style. "Prawn Watching" is face-paced and has a unusual minor twist in it. The pieces all feature a certain mysterious quality, like a spirit or a Holy Appriration. You can just imagine scenes in your head of slow Romance, or Spirituality.
However, you wont get bored easily, as with 13 tracks, and a whole host of melodies, you'll be coming back for more.