Got to share my excitement!
Bought the EW04 Expansion Card and was a little disappointed with the sounds as there is a lot that I would not use.
HOWEVER I recently discovered a transcription of the Aria from Villa-Lobos' Bachianas Brasileiaris No.5 for cello and and soprano voice. Set up the KN7000 with Cello soloist Left voice, FemaleAh Soloist Right1 voice (EW04)and Concert Strings for Right2 voice. With a little volume tweaking it sounds absolutly brilliant. Well to my ears anyway!
Keith

Hey Keith!

Wow! Another enthusiast of the great music of Brazilian composer, Heitor Villa-Lobos! If you, my Forum friends, have never heard the Bachianas Brasileiras (try to find an old recording of it, with Bidu Sayao as the vocalist, if possible, although it may well be out of print by now), you will be amazed by the beauty of this composition. I lived and studied in Brazil years ago (when I was a youth) and had the privilege of having met and heard Bidu in person. What a thrill that was!

In my opinion, one of the most exciting musical adventures one can ever experience is hearing a masterpiece for the first time. The Bachianas Brasileiras has always been one of my favorites, since that first time I heard it in that majestic foreign land so far away! Try it my friends. Another, if you are not familiar with it, the masterful "Variations on a Theme of Paganini" by Sergei Rachmaninoff. The first time I ever heard that was also, strangely enough, also in Brazil as the background music from an American movie (with Portuguese subtitles!) called "The Story of Three Loves". I watched the movie three times to thrill at the music that I have loved ever since. Whew, I tremble just hearing these two creations in my mind, much less in my ears, as I listen to them being played!

Ted (an incurable romantic, among other things! )

wonderful story! the Bachianas Brasileiras is indeed astonishingly atmospheric, among the modern recordings I like Barbara Hendricks on EMI for purity, though Kiri Te Kananwa once did a great version too. I would also try layering sounds mixing a little of the soprano soloist with the female ah. You could edit so that after-touch pressure brought in more of the soprano vibrato loop on long notes just where you wanted to trigger it for a little distinction in the sound.

I still have a lp of the Rachmaninov Paganini variations by the New Philharmonia somewhere because after searching though many, many recordings never found another with such a sweep on the 18th variation to make the hairs on the back of your head stand on end. I really must digitise that recording one day so it is safe from the ravages of time. Ashkenazy and Haitink on Decca (London in the States) probably came the closest. Try also the second symphony and symphonic dances, which really were the fourth symphony. There is a human melancholy in Rachmaninov of the refugee who lost his homeland for ever. It is said he was one of the finest pianists of his time with huge hands able to span C to oct A and play C E G C E - phew!

You can order a CD and/or listen to a sample
of Bachiana brasiliera no.5 Aria with Bidu Sayao as the vocolist here :
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000029PG/ref=pm_dp_ln_m_2/104-2371855-/

SeeYa
Larry Hawk

Hi Keith,
love to hear it. Maybe you'd be interested in sharing it with those who also own Ew04 expansion card.

Me for one ( heehee)

best wishes
Rikki

Hi Ted,
I must admit I don't really know a great deal about classical music ( love all those big concerto's like Greigs etc) but "Variations on a Theme of Paganini" by Sergei Rachmaninoff along with Debussy's " Claire de Lune" would have to be my 2 favourite classical pieces. I really love that part of the movie where she dances for him.
Actually (back in the 80's)) picked up the complete musical score in miniature on the Variations on Theme of Paganini. Had the crazy notion I'd try and sequence the 18th variation ( in steptime , as I'm a lousy player) Unfotunately it was pre internet days, so no help available, and it was too difficult to try and work out what some of the strange sounding instruments ( I think they possibly had latin names) let alone the actual score. They were written in clefs?? I've never seen before. I really had some whacky ideas back then( still do).

I have a couple of boxes of original old sheet music stored out in the garage. Some of it dates back to the 20's & 30's. Way before my time.

best wishes
Rikki

Rikki
Will be delighted to send the end result to you, but after (a) I've tweaked a bit more, and (b) when I've worked in what form and how I send it. I'm still learning!
Regards
Keith

You Forum "guys" are absolutely fabulous!! Not only did I enjoy your fascinating comments about two of my favorite composers and their works (Villa Lobos and Rachmaninoff) but also that great link to the availability of Bidu Sayao!! (I wasn't aware of the recording of Kiri Te Kanawa but she, too, is one of the great singers of all time and I shall search it out.) I am constantly amazed at the knowledge I find here and I appreciate all of you who have comtinued this thread. Speaking of Rachmaninoff, it is said that he often composed his piano concerti and, because of his incredible facility on the piano and his vast hand stretch, he "defied" other pianists to attempt to play them. And if you have never heard the folk songs and even the many popular songs of Brazil, you have missed a great deal. During the time I lived in Brazil, I became acquainted with not only Villa Lobos and his lovely haunting melodies but also the pop songs of Dorival Caymi and the magic voice of Maysa (I suspect they both have passed on to a better life so many years later). The richness of the musical heritage of Brazil is more than just a samba beat!!!! Thanks, all for your great comments. Another "by the way": there are several recordings of Rachmaninoff himself playing his beautiful VARIATIONS and piano concertos. No one else sounds the same, with the possible exception (in my humble opinion) of Van Cliburn in his heyday. In my mind, I hear the beautiful music we are discussing again and again and yes, technicsplayer, the hair on my neck does stand up and my eyes tear over when that incredibly beautiful 18th variation reaches its heavenly crescendo...

I told you all I was an incurable romantic!

Ted

Kiri sang from Bachianas number 5 on a 2 cd set of the Chant's D'Auvergne by Canteloube on Decca in the early 80s, a superb record from every aspect. http://www.iclassics.com/iclassics/album.jsp?selectionId=2467

Hi Keith and Ted,

Another great piece that is similar to Villa-Lobos' Bachianas Brasileiaris No.5 for cello and and soprano voice is Sergei Rachmaninov's Vocalise, which has several versions, including orchestra, solo piano, orchestra with soprano voice, and piano with soprano voice.