Label: Universal Music (Japan), UCCS-1113
Style: Electronic, Classical
Country: Reading, Berkshire, England (15 May 1953)
Time: 45:29
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 235 Mb
Charts: UK #9, AUT #62, GER #14, SPA #7, SWE #31, SWI #37. UK: Silver.
The
legendary British composer will always be most identified with his
breakthrough long-play composition "Tubular Bells" and the way it was
used to illuminate fear in The Exorcist. The happy truth is that since
then he's amassed an incredible catalog of over 20 albums featuring just
about every instrumental form but jazz: pop, classical, new age, world
music, computer game, film soundtrack, etc. The title of his 2008
45-minute classical-influenced opus Music of the Spheres is a reference
to the prolific and eclectic composer's feeling that all music should
aim to represent the spiritual or otherworldly elements of life --
something beyond the mundane and everyday. He accomplishes that via the
sheer hypnotic beauty of the gentler passages and the percussive drama
of others, both of which characterize the multi-movement opening track,
"Harbinger," which lives up to its title as a preview of the
overwhelming, ethereal joys to come. Mike Oldfield is a highly
accomplished film composer and it would be easy to imagine gorgeous,
sweeping pieces like "Animus" and "Silhouette" behind pastoral romantic
scenes, and action-packed, percussively dense expressions like "The
Tempest" building some heavy suspense for some nail-biting plot.
Completely recorded by an orchestra at Abbey Road studios and featuring
Oldfield himself on guitar, Music of the Spheres -- which features guest
performances by world-renowned young soprano (and Decca labelmate)
Hayley Westenra and classical piano phenom Lang Lang -- is huge in scope
yet at heart simple and emotionally direct on a purely melodic level.
While the piece was entirely conceived, produced, and written by
Oldfield, he turned to popular modern classical composer Karl Jenkins to
translate his ideas into traditional classical notations arranged for
orchestra -- a great departure from the artist's usual array of
studio-only wizardry. Jenkins, who once played oboe on a live BBC
recording of "Tubular Bells" in 1975, gets a co-production credit, and
with good reason. Oldfield scored his music via a computer program
called Logic, while Jenkins used Sibelius to create the musical
notation. Oldfield recorded an elaborate demo using orchestral samples,
then handed it over so that Jenkins could add the human touch by
re-recording it by an orchestra of classical musicians. It's a rich,
heartfelt collaboration that breaks new ground for both men. Oldfield
had no trouble declaring that he was almost moved to tears while
listening to Music of the Spheres come alive at Abbey Road. It's a
primitive spiritual and emotional response that every listener would
later relate to.
(allmusic.com/album/music-of-the-spheres-mw0000497578)
01. Harbinger (04:08)
02. Animus (03:09)
03. Silhouette (03:19)
04. Shabda (03:56)
05. The Tempest (05:48)
06. Harbinger (Reprise) (01:30)
07. On My Heart (Vocals - Hayley Westenra) (02:26)
08. Aurora (03:42)
09. Prophecy (02:54)
10. On My Heart (Reprise) Vocals - Hayley Westenra (01:16)
11. Harmonia Mundi (03:46)
12. The Other Side (01:28)
13. Empyrean (01:37)
14. Musica Universalis (06:24)
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