New CD - The Titanic Requiem- by Robin and RJ Gibb - Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

[Mary J Freeman]

Hello, I'm really a new person on this forum. I don't know if you already know about this, but it's handy to know.

The Titanic Requiem

On 15 April 1912 the Titanic sank in the North Atlantic and over 1,500 people died. 100 years later, Robin Gibb and his son RJ, commemorate this disastrous voyage and catastrophic loss of life with the release of The Titanic Requiem, their first classical work together. Recorded at Air studios with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the RSVP Voices choir, and produced by Cliff Masterson and Savvas Iosifides, this modern classic includes three vocal pieces: Daybreak (Mario Frangoulis), Christmas Day (Isabel Suckling), and Don't Cry Alone in which Robin Gibb sings the evocative lead vocal.

Tracks
1.Triumph (Ship Building)
2.Farewell (The Immigrant Song)
3.Maiden Voyage
4.New York Suite in C Major
5.Sub Astris (Under The Stars)
6.Kyrie
7.SOS (Tract)
8.Distress (Confutatis)
9.Salvation (Gradual)
10.Reflections
11.Daybreak
12.Christmas Day
13.Libera Me
14.Don’t Cry Alone
15.In Paradisum (Awakening)

Available on iTunes and Amazon.co.uk (This title will be released on March 26, 2012.)

Pre-order now!

More information: Titanic Requiem - Robin Gibb

 

[Mary J Freeman]

I wanted to add the link where you can purchase this CD, now that it's available in the U.S. It's Amazon.com: Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more . Thank you to the person who the added tags to my post. You may notice the link at the bottom, Titanic Requiem - Robin Gibb presently doesn't show now the CD information. Robin Gibb is currently gravely ill, and the website is overwhelmed with attention. Robin has an avid interest in the Titanic. Because he is in the hospital, he missed the live performance of this requiem earlier in the month. Get well Robin!!!

 

[Mary J Freeman]

Robin has had a remarkable improvement, so his link to his Titanic CD is now working: Titanic Requiem - Robin Gibb .

 

[Mary J Freeman]

AudioPhile Audition
Classical CD Reviews

ROBIN GIBB, RJ GIBB: Titanic Requiem – Rsvp Voices/ Royal Philharmonic Orch./ Cliff Masterson – Redbreast Records

Looks rather sensationalist and sounds rather beautiful—don’t pass this one by.

Published on May 4, 2012


ROBIN GIBB, RJ GIBB: Titanic Requiem – Rsvp Voices/ Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/ Cliff Masterson – Redbreast Records, 61:32 *****:

Yes, astute reader, if you are awake and old enough you will realize that this Robin Gibb is the Robin Gibb of the smash 60s group the Bee Gees, and the “RJ” is his son Robin-John. They were initially contacted in Belfast about writing some songs for the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic (which sailed from Belfast as you recall). That project didn’t come to fruition but the idea remained, and RJ’s classical training gave him the idea of using the traditional Latin Requiem as an anchor and “genuine” memorial to those 1,517 people who perished at 2:20 AM on the morning of April 15, 1912. Robin agreed, and they were off to the races.

You might be tempted to think “here’s another classical piece by a rock composer” and you would be right. They did not orchestrate the thing themselves—that was accomplished by conductor Cliff Masterson—but neither does the work suffer a dearth of inspiration as do the McCartney crossovers. The feeling, lyricism, and profound emotion are in every bar, and this is a far cry from anything even remotely “popular” in nature. In fact, it has more in common with Mozart than McCartney, and if you didn’t know who the composers are you would never guess their origins. Well, maybe not “never”; the music does have a sort of unapologetic directness to it that you often find in film scores and television soundtracks. But it is much more than that, with the choral writing fully professional and the exquisite melodic content second to none despite the Hollywood feel to some of the louder passages.

Not all of the fifteen movements are choral; three are “songs” reflecting 1) a lover at daybreak thinking of his beloved, 2) a child realizing that her father didn’t make it off the boat and that there will always be an empty seat on Christmas day at the table, and 3) a husband begging his wife to know that he is always but a breath away, and that she should never cry alone. Each song is affectionate and touching, and the instrumental movements are also very beautifully conceived. This is an album that grabbed me unawares, and instead of spending time trying to penetrate depths that are not there I just reveled in the pure beauty of the music. Easily the best work I have ever heard by a former pop star and it would have captured my attention if I never knew the name “Gibb”.

—Steven Ritter

ROBIN GIBB, RJ GIBB: Titanic Requiem

 

[Mary J Freeman]

Robin has had a remarkable improvement, so his link to his Titanic CD is now working: Titanic Requiem - Robin Gibb .

I'm afraid Robin Gibb passed away on May 20, 2012. R.I.P.