Quiet Soothing Music...Classical or otherwise..suggestions.

[Stuart G]

Need to buy some new CDs..quiet music that sooths the nerves..

I've got Moonlight Sonata but I need as many as possible. Could you please give suggestions..thanks.

[lizziegrace]

1. The soundtrack from The Lake House

at least 6 beautiful instrumental pieces and a few nice surprises - a Paul McCartney song, some old Carole King too.

[azmouse]

2. Almost anything by Nat King Cole.

He had one of the best voices evah!

[sarge43]

15. His take on Star Dust can melt your bones. n/t

[sohndrsmith]

24. Nat King Cole's voice is liquid velvet. Incomparable. My absolute favorite

song of his is (I think) "You Can Call It Madness". It's either that or "I Call It Love".
It is * very * hard to find... here is a link to a clip that does not do it justice, but you'll know what I mean even so (unless you know the song already)
http://music.barnesandnoble.com/search/mediaplayer.asp?ean=724359205526&track=16&disc=1
It is an incredible song. It is one of my 17 year old's favorite songs, oddly enough.

It immediately makes me feel like I'm right smack dab in the middle of a 30's/40's black and white movie like Casablanca (my great uncle was actually in that, I just discovered) or something equally epic and romantic...

Man, that was a voice... wow. If you don't know it, try to find this song... it's ** gorgeous **.

[RandomThoughts]

3. Sultans of Swing

I like this one. The entire albumn is good.

Reminds me of some old friends.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SEULZIHru0

[leftofthedial]

4. Winter Into Spring by George Winston

Music for airports by Brian Eno, okay maybe not that one.

[MilesColtrane]

5. Here's two.

On the Impulse! label...recorded 1962:



On Columbia...recorded 1964:

[Swede]

6. Loreena McKennitt has some soothing celtic music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0B7sH5QLyXY

[Iggo]

7. Soothing metal. My current favorite song....

City Of Echoes by Pelican.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zukO1h11hrM

(It also works loud.)

EDIT: Here's the live version. Since it's an instrumental, it's not that different from the studio recording. Granted, your definition of soothing may be diffrerent from mine, but this kinda stuff really does it for me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUgOzLbPG1w

[ghostsofgiants]

23. Pelican are awesome.

:thumbsup:

[Iggo]

34. Yeah, I've been meaning to catch them live, but...

...Judas Priest, Heaven And Hell, Motorhead, Testament, Metallica, Lamb Of God, and The Sword ate up all my concert money.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

8. Brian Eno - "Music for Airports"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_for_Airports

[harmonicon]

9. two suggestions:

1. Howard Skempton, performed by John Tilbury:
http://www.amazon.com/Skempton-Pianoworks/dp/B000066AJF/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1228590571&sr=8-2

2. Laurence Crane, performed by Michael Finnissey:
http://www.amazon.com/Laurence-Crane-20th-Century-Music/dp/B001C7I6D8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1228590605&sr=8-1

The Crane link is to a download page where you can preview it. You can also get the cd, but the sound samples aren't on that page.

[sohndrsmith]

26. hey, nice recommendation! I just listened to some clips of the

Skempton/Tilbury CD.... it's lovely! I know I'm not the one who asked for suggestions, but this is a nice way of finding new music for all of us. : )

[Bossy Monkey]

10. Joshua Bell, Edgar Meyer, Sam Bush, Mike Marshall: Short Trip Home

http://www.amazon.com/Short-Trip-Home-Joshua-Bell/dp/B00000K4IU

[BlueIris]

11. Gabriel Fauré and lots of it. And if you're going to go contemporary, Norah Jones.

There's no way anyone could every be stressed out listening to Nora Jones.

[sohndrsmith]

27. well said re: Norah Jones... she makes my brain relax and

my thoughts simplified. Good answer...

[Lydia Leftcoast]

12. Ralph Vaughan Williams' "Variations on a Theme by Tallis" or

"Variations on Dives and Lazarus."

[nytemare]

13. Debussy "Claire de Lune" and "First Arabesque"

Also, a group called Zero 7 has some chillout music I really enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INn1C6ImJKg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCwwUMltXyA

And here is one of the songs from the Amelie soundtrack

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYaLl5xlSEA

[sarge43]

14. Georgia Kelly

http://www.georgiakelly.com/Albums/Albums.htm

Fresh Impressions is especially easy on the ears and nerves.

[lunatica]

16. Enya

I listen to her and others in the same genre on pandora.com while I work and the tensions just melt away. Every once in a while I feel a rush of warm release flow through me.

[Stuart G]

17. Thank you for these titles...any others,,,going out in a day or two to buy some.

Thanks for the great ideas, some great ones here..Any others would also be appreciated...

Stuart..:grouphug:

[SoxFan]

18. Sinead O'Connor's "Gospel Oak" CD

It's tough to find a copy, but worth the effort. It's a gentle, introspective work, with a a heavy Celtic influence.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

19. anything by Anonymous Four. It's a female quartet.

or anything by The Tallis Scholars.

[PBS Poll-435]

20. Anything by Dragonforce

Smooth flowing melodies.

Grab a nice scented candle, run the bubble bath, turn out the lights, and just relax.

[evlbstrd]

21. Pat Metheny.

You'll love it.

[sohndrsmith]

22. not sure if this is what you're looking for... it's not classical, but it is

...I don't know how to say it... "infectious tranquility" maybe. It is beautiful, uplifting, calming and cathartic.

Sacred Spirit - Chants and Dances

I have no idea if it would work for you, but it's a great CD even if it doesn't soothe. The combination of native american chants synthesized with "traditional" orchestral harmonies and arrangement is really very nice. I remember cringing as a younger person when my dad would want to enjoy some NA recordings, and they are very repetitive by design. But with the arrangement behind it, it becomes more "musical" and very magical and VERY calming. And, in my mind, addicting. Hard to describe, actually...

If you have an open mind, you may love it. I love Gregorian Chants, Ella Fitzgerald and Stevie Ray Vaughan, so I'm maybe not a good one to ask...

Carla Bruni's CD, Quelqu'un M'a Dit, is really nice too... I bought it a couple of years ago, I had no idea who she was, but I love French words and her music is sprightly but gentle at the same time. Basically, sexy lullabies. How's that for a heady oxymoron... yeeks. But that's what it sounds like to me. Acoustic guitar blends well with her raspy soft voice. (And it's fun to try to sing along with the tongue-twister of "Le Toi et Le Moi".

Neither of these CD's will "overtake" your environment or demand your attention, but if you're like me, you'll develop a crush before you know it. They can both serve as "background" music, too, whatever that is.

You can listen to sample tracks of both of these at Barnes and Noble, but I just listened to them and they're a far cry from the real work. A better idea would be to go to the brick and mortar so you can listen to more/longer/better samples. Or just buy 'em. : )

I'm French and Native American so perhaps I'm biased... but when I want something soothing, this is what I reach for. Or the Brandenburg Concertos (Beethoven can be a little dour and/or bossy. I love Mahler but can't recommend anything specific (other than live at Lincoln Center). Brought tears to my eyes.

When I need an instant cure for the blues - I reach for Pavarotti, and sing along at the top of my lungs. It's really fun and I'm really bad at it but I don't care... the Pavarotti Songbook is amazing. There is a 2-CD compilation that my mother has (and I'm extremely jealous about that) but it is very similar. All I know is that my 11 year old loves "Les Soirees Musicales". It's a workout to dance to more than 3 times in a row. She stopped at about 7.... : )

But I don't know if I would call that soothing. I get ebullient myself when I hear Pavarotti. Just as good but doesn't exactly relax me. It gives me joy and energy. Very different animal.

Good luck!

I've gotten so immersed in politics that I haven't been listening to music as much - which is dumb. I need it. Thanks for the reminder...

[ghostsofgiants]

25. Explosions in the Sky and Sigur Ros come to mind.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtW67TCAn0E

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0AZIFmkogY

[Lucian]

28. I find Paul Oakenfold - Zoo York to be soothing.

From the album Bunkka.

[sohndrsmith]

29. Forgot one. Getz/Gilberto... orange/black abstract cover... absolutely

fluid. beautiful. lilting. sultry. welcoming.

Hard to go wrong with this one... this is a re-release of an album that is only a year younger than I am, and I discovered it when I was 19 and have been in love ever since.

Another (livelier) choice, if you enjoy flute and piano... Jean-Pierre Rampal/Claude Bolling: The Picnic Suite . All instrumental - no vocals... cheerful, bright and elegant.

Here's a link to the rampal/bolling:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/recsradio/radio/B0000025FX/ref=pd_krex_listen_dp_img?ie=UTF8&refTagSuffix=dp_img#

(edited: to include link)

[xenussister]

30. Do you like stunning female vocals? (link to preview)

If so, you might like a woman named Happy Rhodes, in particular her album called "The Keep" which is a compilation of acoustic versions of previously-released songs, and other non-album songs. I've been a fan for about 20 years and she still blows me away. She has 11 albums, all very different (from lushly electronic to intelligent pop), but The Keep is one for lazy Sunday mornings, or late at night when you want to relax.

You can listen to the entire album via streaming audio here:
http://suspended-in-gaffa.com/happy/thekeep/

and/or you can download several of the songs here (just scroll down to The Keep):
http://wretchawry.com/happy/samples

To see her performing that first phenomenal song ("Temporary and Eternal"), go here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XVVkbUwprc


She wrote the song in my sig that I used for an Obama video.

[Eurobabe]

31. Steve Roach

Especially his 1992 classic World's Edge. The second CD contains a very long 60:00 piece that is guaranteed to put you into a coma: To The Threshold of Silence.

You can listen to it online here: http://www.steveroach.com/Music/discography.php?albumID=44

[Enrique]

32. the A-team soundtrack

good quilting music, per this Amazon reviewer :shrug:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/B00000I0DD/ref=cm_rev_sort/103-2821732-3468645?customer-reviews.sort_by=-HelpfulVotes&x=8&y=11

This is an absolutely amazing CD. When I first heard the single "More bandits" I was blown away by it's beauty. It is mystical. I play this CD while I am reading, quilting, writing, anything that I want to relax doing. This was one of the CDs we played during child birth....I wanted it to be a part of the experience, absolutely amazing.

[Jamastiene]

33. I love New Age.

Echoes Radio always soothes me. They play new age music from a lot of different artists.

You can listen to a few of their selections here:
http://www.myspace.com/echoesspace

[BurtWorm]

35. Ryko disk makes (or used to make) CDs of recorded rainfalls, or waves, or waterfalls.

I have their Midnight Shower in Hawaii and A Cape Cod Morning. Each is an hour's worth of gentle natural sounds. Very soothing.

For music, I recommend almost anything by Arvo Part. Transfigured Night by Schoenberg is surprisingly lovely. Mahler's 9th and 10th symphonies. I love Steve Reich's Music for 18 Instruments, but some people get irritated by his apparent repetitiveness.