Spanish Dances

Very pleasant music, but sorry, this doesn't really do it for me

I bought this disc partly because I am enjoying exploring different types of dance music, and was influenced by the reviews below. Which is why I'm writing this review, even at the risk of seeming like a heathen.

The disc is pleasant enough, but I don't listen to it very much and I was very dissapointed when I first heard it. The problem is partly because of my expectations - I had supposed and hoped it would be more.. dynamic. Although there are some fine tunes here, I find myself irritated that many of them are actually so gentle that they are hard to hear properly unless you turn the volume way up. There are a few more lively ones in the selection, but overall I found the disc to have a soporific effect.

All right, all right, it's my subjective criticism, and I've said too much, but I felt I needed to balance out the reviews below. October 24, 2006

Follow the Five Star Trail

Having been familiar with the works of ALK and The Harp Consort for some years, I was surprised that this bit of "the divine" passed me by. Courtesy of some of the more ecstatic reviewers below, I took a chance and ordered this disc. They are right. So beware: The music insinuates itself into your being. It may not make you a better person, but life can seem better after a bit of this uniquely tranquil, yet spirited, music. July 23, 2005

Wonderful, beautiful, sublime!

This is one of my favorite Classical albums. The approach to the music by King's ensemble is definitive. What do I mean? King's approach is as definitive as Bohm is to Mozart, as Dorati is to Haydn, and as Karajan is to Beethoven. (Perhaps a better comparison would be those great David Munrow recordings of the 1970s.) Frankly, I have never heard a better program of early music than this. These performances excite, challenge, and invigorate the imagination!

The recording is of demonstration quality. It really is splendid--that "in-the-room-with-you" feeling.

Now the unbelivable part: I found this CD sealed in a bin marked "99 cents" in a store that specialized in rap and jazz! (I go to this store for jazz bargains.) My point: whatever you pay for this CD, it's worth it! August 15, 2004

The most beautiful music in the world

I listen to this music day in day out..and never tire. It is confirmation of Shaw's theory of world history, which states that the high point of western culture was 1906, and that we are now evolving in reverse: the great beautiful music lies in the past. Modern music is a wasteland of drivel. Open a bottle of fine wine, sit back and enjoy. May 19, 2004

Just wonderful listening

I am not an audiophile. I do love this music -- I heard one track on a website and ordered the CD. The whole CD is delightful and very soothing -- but not boring in the least. November 23, 2002

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