KA - Dark Publications

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•	Le Best of Cirque du Soleil

Editorial Reviews:

Album Description
The soundtrack of the show KA is the most ambitious musical project produced by Cirque du Soleil to date. While remaining firmly rooted in Cirque du Soleil musical tradition, the recording features a symphony orchestra and a 40-member choir, as such creating a unique musical universe both epic and lyrical.

The powerful percussion and distinctive sound invites comparisons with classic movie soundtracks creating "a rich soundtrack that lives up to the overarching eye-candy on display", says Variety. To create this sound, KA was recorded at the renowned Paramount Studios in Los Angeles and in Montreal, where Cirque du Soleil is based. Hollywood veteran Simon Leclerc, the conductor for Star Trek: Voyager and Enterprise and the play Les Miserables, conducted the orchestra in Los Angeles.

Composer Rene Dupere has been part of Cirque du Soleil since the very beginning. KA is the first work Dupere has composed for Cirque du Soleil since 1994's Alegria, the best-selling Cirque du Soleil recording to date. "We pulled out all the stops in the making of this album, and the result is, I believe, a record of the highest quality," says Dupere. The album KA is worthy of the show that Time magazine called "bigger than Vegas."

Both the stage production and the soundtrack called for highly innovative use of musical technology. Says Martin Lord-Ferguson, co-producer of the recording: "Technological innovation, artistic audacity and technical prowess are all features of KA that the soundtrack had to reflect."

Customer Reviews: Read 24 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

Cirque du Soleil - Ka January 24, 2006
20 out of 21 found this review helpful

If you're in the mood for non descript, extremely pleasant music, the various soundtracks of Cirque du Soleil, always seem to be a good choice. I find that the mellow, easy going, low key, mellow deliveries of Cirque du Soleil to be therapeutic and relaxing. It also serves as excellent background music for reading or writing.

I have, or have heard about eight of the Cirque du Soleil scores, either the CD or from the DVD and when it comes to the music, my latest purchase, Ka is a shinning star in the heavens. Epic sounding in nature, KA has sixteen wonderful varied tracks, including two bonus tracks, running the gamut from exotic tribal sounds, to ethnic melodies, to gorgeous mainstream compositions. The music of KA comes from the show KA, currently in production at the MGM Grand hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

My favorites are "Pageant," a catchy ethnic melody with a syncopated beat and strong orchestral and choir backing the remarkable vocal talents of Elise Velle; "Storm" starts out with a cello introduction segueing into a full choir anthemic sound augmented by violins and strong percussion; "Pursuit" opens with the sound of ancient horns and drums joined by the men's choir the full choir in a frantic up tempo piece that truly lives up to it's title; "Love Dance," Opens with a sad violin joined by the full complement of violins and orchestra in a lovely melodic instrumental with subtle choral backing; "Battlefield," is another song that fits the title, since I can imagine a frenetic battle taking place in my mind. The music has a varied pace but is mostly medium fast sung entirely by the choir while the entire orchestra seemingly participates; "If I could reach your heart," Is a lovely airy ballad, performed by Elise Velle, ably backed by the choir; "We've been waiting so long," is another pretty ballad with a catchy melody but a with different singer - Nitza. Their voices are similar but Nitza's is a little lower.

While the music is obviously in the same realm as previous Cirque shows, they have obviously assigned more importance to the music in Ka. With a symphonic orchestra of 57 musicians and a choir of over 40 singers, the score of Ka has a grander fuller sound.

The entire score was written, arranged and produced by Rene Dupere, a person I had not heard of but had apparently participated in many previous Cirque productions.

When it comes to Cirque du Soleil; if the music makes the show, the most enjoyable music of Ka makes the show even better.

5 out of 5 stars

BEAUTIFUL MEMENTO March 21, 2006
12 out of 12 found this review helpful

I bought this CD to try and recapture the magic of the Vegas show, which I saw twice in one week. But when listening to the CD on its own I realized how extraordinary beautiful the music is , even without a show to accompany it. I would classify it as the most outstanding Cirque du Soleil soundtrack you can buy right now. Very well produced and beautifully performed, this CD will be played for a very long time in my humble abode. PS -Make an effort to see "Ka" and "O" at least once in your life... the best two shows in the world.

4 out of 5 stars

Great, but just not enough. December 3, 2005
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

Pretty good, it just isn't enough. (Like French cuisine.) After a while it gets boring, but the first few weeks (or months) with this blaring in your ears is almost heaven. Great music, as long as you don't get used to it.

1 out of 5 stars

It's about the Effects, NOT the Performances June 15, 2006
4 out of 30 found this review helpful

I have seen 3 other Cirque's, Mystere (fantastic), O (great) and the one in Orlando (Okay). This one was a total disappointment. It was all about smoke, grunts, lights and the stage. In fact, the stage was the star of the show.

There were NO breathtaking acts like the other shows. The music was canned, not live. The only "performances" were a baton twirler (very lame .. better ones at high school football games), two guys who ran on the outsides of two rotating wire cages (okay but not really Wow!), and an aerial act that was so so.

At $150 per ticket I feel totally ripped off.

5 out of 5 stars

Epic Soundtrack February 23, 2006
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

If you've been fortunate enough to see the KA production, this soundtrack will take you right back. If you haven't seen the production, this is still a terrific CD. The music covers a broad range of emotions, taking you on a journey along the way. The music is slightly more mainstream than the typical Cirque du Soleil music, which will be appealing to some and might feel like a compromise to Cirque du Soleil purists. It certainly is a matter of taste, but I prefer KA, the production and the CD, over the other Cirque du Soleil productions I've seen / CD's I've heard.

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