Michael Nyman: Collections of Film, Music, Photography, - MN Records - MNRS 204

Michael Nyman fans should find themselves in minimalist heaven with this multi-media release from the noted composer. This nifty little box set includes a CD featuring a selection of cuts from Nyman�s record label (including pieces that have appeared in the soundtracks to �The Piano,� �The Draughtsman�s Contract� and �Prospero�s Books�); a DVD of his short film �50000 Photos Can�t Be Wrong,� which artfully blends still and moving images Nyman has taken in recent years accompanied by his music; and a small-format hard-bound book of his photographs from various series that play with concepts of time and space, reality and abstraction, energy and decay. Linking these discrete yet complementary mediums is Nyman�s trademark focus on simplicity and repetition, and his ability to create hypnotic visual echoes of his deceptively complex�and emotionally satisfying�musical constructs.
Submitted on 11/27/10 by Dean Brierly

The composer as Renaissance man worth a look!

Michael Nyman has been a very unique, somewhat iconoclastic composer of "minimalist" works with a Baroque touch for a long time now. A recent two DVD release, "Michael Nyman, Composer in Progress" (ArtHaus) is an excellent introduction to the composer as a biographical overview and includes a full length in-concert performance film as well. I would suggest that the new "Nyman Collections" double CD set on Nyman's own label, MN Records, is a must have to complete the picture of what you need to know about this fascinating English artist. The first CD in the set, entitled "Portrait of Label", is basically a sampler album of some of Nyman's best known music as well as newer and lesser known works. For me, the cuts from his collaborations with crossover singer David McAlmont were new and a delight. McAlmont has a very clear, airy, higher timbre and reminded me, in the most complimentary way, of Bobby McFerrin. The selections from Nyman's newer operatic offerings, such as "Man and Boy: Dada" and "Love Counts" are also present along with much better known fare from "The Piano" and "The Draughtsman's Contract". There is good variety here and a very enjoyable collection. The biggest surprise to me in this set, however, was Nyman as photgrapher. A very well produced booklet of some of Nyman's photography is included entitled "Cine Opera". The title and theme of the collection is from his trip to Mexico where he encountered the Teatro Cine Opera, the shambles of a once beautiful theatre and its surroundings. Nyman's photographs are appropriately dark, bleak but very well done and quite artistic. Nyman comments that he has lately been dealing with a "preoccupation with the loss of (cinema)" and what it used to mean to a community. The DVD that rounds out this fascinating collection, "50,000 Photos Can't Be Wrong", is in a similar vein. Film editor, Myriam Blundell, has skillfully taken several of Nyman's photos and turned them into a kind of quick succession montage. The tone is also somewhat dark and abstract although there are some sequences of great wit and sarcasm such as his stills of some people at a beach wearing ... not nearly enough. The film score, by Nyman, is characteristic and engaging although it might not stand on its own as well as much of his other output, even his film scores. The greatest revelation in this collection is, indeed, Michael Nyman the photographer. He is a skilled artist with a keen eye and a unique look on still life. Altogether this is a very nice collection and I do recommend that any Michael Nyman fan would want this and the ArtHaus DVD set to go with the brilliant sound world that you probably already know!
Submitted on 11/30/10 by Modern Clarinet Guy

Works Details

Nyman, Michael [Piano] : Wonderland :: Debbie

Performer: Michael Nyman
Running Time: 3 min. 45 sec.
Period Time: Modern
Written: 1999

Nyman, Michael [Piano] : Man and Boy :: Dada

Performers: William Sheldon (Boy Soprano); Michael Nyman; Vivian Tierney (Soprano); John Graham-Hall (Tenor)
Conductor: Michael Nyman
Ensemble: Michael Nyman Band
Running Time: 3 min. 28 sec.
Period Time: Modern

Nyman, Michael [Piano] : The Libertine :: The Mistress

Performer: Michael Nyman
Conductor: Michael Nyman
Running Time: 4 min. 46 sec.
Period Time: Modern

Nyman, Michael [Piano] : The Draughtsman's Contract :: Chasing Sheep is Best Left to Shepherds

Performer: Michael Nyman
Conductor: Michael Nyman
Ensemble: Michael Nyman Band
Running Time: 5 min. 1 sec.
Period Time: Contemporary
Form: Film Score
Written: 1982

Nyman, Michael [Piano] : Prospero's Books :: Miranda

Performer: Michael Nyman
Conductor: Michael Nyman
Ensemble: Michael Nyman Band
Running Time: 4 min. 14 sec.
Period Time: Contemporary
Form: Film Score
Written: 1991

Nyman, Michael [Piano] : The Piano :: To the Edge of the Earth

Performer: Michael Nyman
Conductor: Michael Nyman
Ensemble: Michael Nyman Band
Running Time: 3 min. 58 sec.
Period Time: Contemporary
Form: Film Score
Written: 1992

Nyman, Michael [Piano] : Six Celan Songs :: Psalm

Performers: Michael Nyman; Hilary Summers (Alto)
Conductor: Michael Nyman
Ensemble: Michael Nyman Band
Running Time: 3 min. 46 sec.
Period Time: Contemporary
Written: 1990

Nyman, Michael [Piano] : Acts of Beauty :: Life's Chaos

Performers: Cristina Zavalloni (Mezzo Soprano); Michael Nyman
Ensemble: Sentieri Selvaggi
Running Time: 3 min. 23 sec.
Period Time: Modern
Written: 2004

Nyman, Michael [Piano] : The Ogre :: Magic Forest / Göering's Hunting Party

Performer: Michael Nyman
Ensemble: Wingates Temperance Band
Running Time: 3 min. 22 sec.
Period Time: Modern
Written: 1996

Nyman, Michael [Piano] : Love Counts :: "There you are...and that tree"

Performers: Helen Williams (Soprano); Michael Nyman; Andrew Slater (Bass Baritone)
Conductor: Michael Nyman
Ensemble: Michael Nyman Band
Running Time: 5 min. 25 sec.
Period Time: Modern
Written: 2005-2006

Nyman, Michael [Piano] : Prospero's Books :: Knowing the Ropes

Performer: Michael Nyman
Conductor: Michael Nyman
Ensemble: Michael Nyman Band
Running Time: 6 min. 33 sec.
Period Time: Contemporary
Form: Film Score
Written: 1991

Nyman, Michael [Piano] : I Sonetti Lussuriosi :: Apri le coscie

Performers: Michael Nyman; Marie Angel (Soprano)
Conductor: Michael Nyman
Ensemble: Michael Nyman Band
Running Time: 7 min. 4 sec.
Period Time: Modern

Nyman, Michael [Piano] : MGV :: 5th Region

Performer: Michael Nyman
Conductor: Michael Nyman
Ensemble: Michael Nyman Band
Running Time: 5 min. 18 sec.
Period Time: Contemporary
Written: 1993

McAlmont, David : The Glare :: City of Turin

Performers: David McAlmont (Voice); Michael Nyman
Conductor: Michael Nyman
Ensemble: Michael Nyman Band
Notes: This work was written in collaboration with Michael Nyman (Piano) (1944 - ).
Running Time: 3 min. 2 sec.
Period Time: Contemporary
Form: Vocal

Nyman, Michael [Piano] : Prospero's Books :: Come unto these Yellow Sands

Performers: Nigel Barr (Euphonium); Michael Nyman
Ensemble: Motion Trio
Running Time: 2 min. 58 sec.
Period Time: Contemporary
Form: Film Score
Written: 1991

Nyman, Michael [Piano] : The Coldest Place on Earth, song for voice & ensemble

Performers: David McAlmont (Voice); Michael Nyman
Conductor: Michael Nyman
Ensemble: Michael Nyman Band
Running Time: 3 min. 46 sec.
Period Time: Modern
Form: Vocal

Michael Nyman: Collections of Film, Music, Photography

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