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| Musical Evenings With The Captain | 
 enlarge | Creators: Dorothy Lawson, Luigi Boccherini, George Frederick Handel, Franz Joseph Haydn, Jean-marie (i) Leclair, Pietro Antonio Locatelli, Philharmonia Virtuosi Of New York, Richard Kapp, Alexander Tenenbaum, Mela Tenenbaum
Label: Essay
Category: Music
List Price: $16.98
Buy New: $9.99
You Save: $6.99 (41%)
Buy New/Used/Collectible from $6.89
Avg. Customer Rating:  (11 reviews)
Sales Rank: 30564
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 1047
UPC: 090998104729
EAN: 0090998104729
ASIN: B00000083U
Release Date: June 18, 1996
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
Musical soothing of the soul June 10, 2002
68 out of 72 found this review helpful
I have been a fan of Baroque music since childhood (and I'm not all that old either). But I've only started reading the Patrick O'Brian books in the last few months, since it was announced that my favorite actor, Russell Crowe, was about to star as Captain Jack Aubrey in the Peter Weir movie. I am reading the books in order, and am currently on "HMS Surprise," so what else could be a more perfect accompaniment than this CD? Aubrey is such a multi-layered character, filled with imperfections and bad puns, however he has a great love for music and he plays the violin quite well. Often paired with ship's surgeon Dr. Stephen Maturin on the cello, music is a great release for this sea captain, and the pieces on this CD are fine representations of what Aubrey might have played while on assignment or heard when on land. The selections by Hadyn, Locatelli, Handel, Boccherini and Leclair are pleasant, soothing compositions that are complex and varied enough that they are not redundant, and range from peaceful to nimble. While listening to the CD, I could vividly imagine Jack Aubrey below decks in his cabin and asking Maturin to strike up a tune with him. And then they begin an Andante or an Allegro, allowing Aubrey to set aside his absolutely awful puns and jokes so he can clear his mind and relax. Considering some of the battles he's involved himself in so far in the series, he definitely needs it. Reading his adventures while listening to these charming pieces will relax you as well, and definitely take your imagination to some wondrous places in an era of great change.
Afloat on a sea of relaxation January 3, 2002
53 out of 56 found this review helpful
I like Mozart. I really do, and I used to put on a piano concerto or two over dinner when I had guests aboard.But now I've found the perfect music for a dinner party. Utterly entrancing and relaxing without being too obtrusive. Locatelli is unfamiliar enough with most people that they haven't heard his music, and where they might tune out of Mozart, they listen with an inner ear to the music on this CD. But dinner parties aside, it is also the perfect accompaniment to a quiet evening at home reading and rereading one of the Canon of the Aubrey/Maturin books. I don't need to imagine the music as Jack and Stephen play together in the great cabin of HMS Surprise - I can actually hear it, and it makes a marvellous difference to my enjoyment of the book. I was so impressed that I sent away for the second CD in this series, and I recommend that anybody buying one, buy the other at the same time so as to save on postage. Trust me, you'll buy the second, the first is so good. One minor niggle, and that is the insipid cover art. After enjoying Geoff Hunt's stunning pictures for O'Brian's books, the pedestrian square-rigger sailing over a painted sea looks utterly false. But this is a feast for the ears, not the eyes.
 Atmospheric diversions June 26, 2001
31 out of 34 found this review helpful
ESS.A.Y has a good idea here: presenting miscellaneous music for violin and 'cello that would have been heard and played at home during the Napoleonic wars around 1800, much as Captain Aubrey and Surgeon Maturin play together of an evening afloat in the Patrick O'Brian maritime novels. It's no knock on the modest claims of this music to say that these pieces are not necessarily the nameless ones played by Aubrey & Maturin (although ones they might have heard), and that they are played to a much higher standard than those worthy amateurs as described by O'Brian, and with keyboard accompaniment simply not available to them aboard ship. The CD Volume II, however, probably does contain several pieces O'Brian had exactly in mind, including the full oboe quartet featured in The Yellow Admiral. Withal, a pleasant meal or evening can be taken in their company, a "noble accompaniment" to late and quiet moments between the thunder and blood of novelistic battle.
Wonderful CD November 1, 2000
22 out of 22 found this review helpful
This CD is nearly perfect for relaxation. It is wonderfully soothing, and a perfect companion for the comfort and relaxation that O'Brian's wordsmanship gives me (after being immersed for years). I definitely recommend it to non-POB fans; calm, yet well balanced with some parts that make me want to beat time in the air, but knowing those consequences...
Wonderful and Relaxing June 5, 1999
46 out of 47 found this review helpful
My husband talked me into reading the Aubrey-Maturin Series--and I didn't really want to. I read the first one to placate him. I was hooked!!! I read much faster than he does, so it was fortunate that he was about 8 books ahead of me. We lay there in bed every night, each with our latest Aubrey-Maturin tome, and read until we go to sleep. You will be transported to the ship on the sea, in Aubrey's cabin with the two gentleman playing, and it is only a matter of time before Aubrey looks up at you with a twinkle in his eye and says "Ain't we grand!!"
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