Music of the Spheres
 | Decca, 2008, Audio CD Customer Rating: 27 reviews Recommend |
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Mike Oldfield has always been famed for his unconventional approach to music. Throughout his career he has consistently broken musical boundaries, and with Music of the Spheres he continues to do so. Taking influences from Holst and Rachmaninov as much as Steve Reich or William Orbit, this piece is classical in nature, but yet is also immediately identifiable as classic Mike Oldfield. Using a full concert orchestra and choir, and with solo parts from Mike himself on guitar, legendary soprano Hayley Westenra and renowned pianist Lang Lang, this is a work with huge emotional and musical scope. The title of the piece is a reference to something that Mike feels strongly: that all music should aim to represent the spriritual, or otherworldly elements of life: something beyond the mundane and everyday. In this he has clearly succeeded. Music of the Spheres is by turns epic, tender, mournful and triumphant. It is the work of a composer who above all can make beautiful and substantial music, regardless of genre or instrumentation.
- Harbinger
- Animus
- Silhouette
- Shabda
- The Tempest
- Harbinger Reprise
- On My Heart (feat. Hayley Westenra)
- Aurora
- Prophecy
- On My Heart Reprise (feat. Hayley Westenra)
- Harmonia Mundi
- The Other Side
- Empyrean
- Musica Universalis
Title: Music of the Spheres
Sales Rank: 546 in Music
Artist: Mike Oldfield
Label: Decca, 2008-03-25, Audio CD, 1 Disc
Package Dimensions: 5.6 x 4.9 x 0.4 inches, 0.15 pounds
- Tubular Bells (Again).
- I like Oldfield, I have all of his albums including this one, but "Music Of The Spheres" is just more of the same. Oldfield has been spinning his creative wheels for over a decade now. I'd say the last Oldfield album I really enjoyed was 1994's "The Songs Of Distant Earth". Since then, Oldfield has been doing variations on the… More reviews
- nice addition
- The latest of Mike Oldfield's work is a nice addition to his collection of music, definitely would recommend buying this cd! More reviews
- A Heaven Sent Opus
- Within the first 5 seconds of the first song on the first listen - I was hooked - Didn't matter what was to come - I KNEW I'd love it. I've always admired Mike Oldfield's works. Sometimes they are great and sometimes they are outstanding. This falls in the later. Absolutely an exceptional piece of music. You cannot possibly go wrong with this… More reviews
- Tubular Bore
- I've heard this before, only when it was new and fresh and original back in the 70's. Not many artists, especially one of Oldfield's stature, can continue to make music of unending brilliance and creativity. Asking him to match his best work (TB, Hergest, Omma, Incantations, Platinum, etc.) 30 years out is probably not realistic. Every artist has… More reviews
- Yet another variation of Tubular Bellls, in Classical style
- Mike Oldfield fans will readily recognize Tubular Bells side one in this classical music style composition. This is not, however, the orchestral version of Tubular Bells which we have already heard. It is a variation on the theme blending classical music with the modern guitar and the variety of instuments Mike Oldfield is known for. Fans of classical music will find… More reviews