Your cart is empty.
Your cart is empty.Richard Wagner's entire "Ring of the Nibelungen" on one CD-ROM. The definitive Vienna Philharmonic recording, Sir Georg Solti conducting.
* Complete piano-vocal score, German libretto with English translation, and running commentary-all synchronized to the music.
* All 14.5 hours of pristine digitized sound captured by The Media Café's new audio compression technology.
* More than one hundred original essays with detailed explanations.
* Extensive full-color image database from contemporary and historical sources.
* Comprehensive analysis of all the leitmotifs along with hypertext links to specific musical occurrences.
* Search functions instantaneously isolate and index individual leitmotif, characters, and musical examples throughout the entire cycle.
One disc with 14.5 hours of pristine digitized sound.
Computer Requirements:
Pentium Processor PC
Windows 95 or Windows NT
8MB Ram
4xCD-ROM Drive
800x600 Screen Resolution with 16 bit color
Stephen Chakwin
Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2016
Seems like a nice idea in so many ways. Sad that it won't work on a Mac.
My Mileage Varies
Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2012
I like this CD-ROM, but there are a few things you should know. It requires Windows; if you click "Show More" in the Amazon description, it says Windows 95 or NT (and 8 MB RAM!), but it is working well in Windows 7. The disc seems primarily oriented toward playing the music, with synchronized display of brief commentary, score, and/or libretto in German and English. It offers a variety of ways to search and navigate to locations in the opera. There are also some general commentaries including synopsis, characters and a comprehensive list of leitmotifs, with the score for each. Below, I mention the interface isn't obvious. I just found a way to navigate to a passage where a selected leitmotif is played by the orchestra. Search the Running Commentary for, say, "Sword Motif" to get a list of locations, with a "Go To" button. Locations seem to be in no particular order. Somehow I was expecting more of a "book" approach, with a more extensive commentary at the center of things, and pointers to passages in the music. The approach taken is an interesting one, perhaps superior, but it means there is no "guide" - it is up to us to explore. The commentaries present interesting overviews, but don't delve deep. The user interface for the disc isn't really difficult, but takes a little experimenting to figure out. The best source of info is the "help" button at the right side of the menu at the bottom of the window. The printed insert is quite brief, and references a web site which apparently no longer exists (or was offline?). The disc was created 15 years ago; the music is timeless, but computer technology has evolved. The controls, navigation, etc. don't work quite the way a modern interface does. That said, this remains a very interesting presentation of the Ring music, score, commentary, and libretto.
Y.P.
Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2011
This is a most successful case of applying technology and musicology to music appreciation. In a nutshell, this CD-Rom contains1. Compressed digital sound of the entire Solti's Ring Cycle ,2. Complete Ring vocal/piano score reduction,3. Complete libretto with English translation,4. Comprehensive analysis, including detailed analysis of all leitmotifs,5. Hyperlinks between scores, analysis and leitmotifs.2-4 can be played concurrently with the music. When a hyperlink is clicked, the short analysis or the leitmotif will pop up. You then have the option of clicking at the "More" link to stop the music and go to the full analysis. Then one click at "return to music", you are back to exactly where you were.On the "musicological" side, this is most complete and sophisticated guide to Wagner's tetralogy known to me. The author apparently has studied and loved the Ring dearly. For most part, the traditional terminology and conventions are used. Only occasionally, an alternative term is proposed and explanation given to justify the deviation from the "norm". An example is the "love-curse" motif in place of the usual "renunciation" motif.Technologically, this piece of software is a marvel of coding and design! It is small and nimble, and works flawlessly on any PC. During my many years of use, I have never encountered any problem with the software. Not even once has the software ever crashed on me. Furthermore, you can save the entire disc on your hardisk and (in case of a notebook computer) take it with you wherever you go.In conclusion: This is a most amazing guide to Wagner's tetralogy and it belongs to any Wagnerite's collection. My hat off to the author/creator Monte Stone!Highest recommendation.---------------P.S. You can buy the CD-Rom from the seller Montague, screen name for the author Mr. Stone. (I got my copy from him ~6 years ago.) Don't make copies, unless it is for your personal use. Mr. Stone's efforts deserve our support!
Recommended Products
$59.95
$ 30 .99 $30.99