Sonos Recordings

All of the pieces listed below include an audio sample. Each sample is between 30 seconds and 1 minute in length and come in two formats: MP3 and RealAudio. Click on the MP3 or RealAudio links to hear a sample of that song. For more information on MP3 and RealAudio, see the bottom of this page.

Newest Release:

Elements of contrast are very important to music. Without contrast we lose interest. The elements of meter, rhythm, tempo, dynamics, timbre, texture and others organize sound and give it momentum. This is an album about contrasts. In its biggest structure it is reflected in geography: Asia and America, regions with very different approaches to life and art.

Released in December of 2006, Sonos' sixth recording explores the contrasts in American and Asian music. William Billings' Chester, Charles Ives' Serenity and George Gershwins' tour-de-force Porgy and Bess paired off against spirituals, folksongs and the pop classic I Left My Heart in San Francisco are contrasted with the classic beauty of Japan's ancient and modern musical heritage. Sakura, Sakura, Red Dragonfly and a stunning arrangement of three timeless folksongs evoke the classic sounds and energy of this beautiful country.

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Track List

Total Playing Time 55:17

Prior Releases:

After 15 seasons of Sonos tours audiences have developed their favorites from our wide-ranging repertoire. Driving works like Khachaturian's "Sabre Dance" and Mozart's "Rondo alla Turca" always elicit enthusiastic responses, but quieter works such as Robert Lowry's deeply inspired "Shall We Gather at the River?" and Bach's sublime "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" have also brought much joy.

Old favorites have been newly re-recorded. "Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho" with cello on the bass line and acqua bells providing just the right bending of sound really brings this classic Hart Morris arrangement alive. And who can resist the heart-rending beauty of "Shenandoah" or the seasonal sound of "Greensleeves" with clarinet, harp and flute adding their timbres to the bells?

Also included are some of our favorite new works like Handel's "Water Music," De Falla's "Ritual Fire Dance" and Lecuona's "Malagueña." This is familiar music to sing, dance or just simply listen to. Let Sonos' musicality and virtuosity entrance you.

Track List

Total Playing Time 50:51

Flutist Timothy Day of the San Francisco Conservatory collaborated with Sonos to create a recording exploring the varied expressions of the Christmas spirit in the Classical tradition. The CD presents a true melding of these two instruments, with Mr. Day the featured soloist in half of the recording's 18 tracks. These include the the "Badinerie," the famous flute turn from Bach's "Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B Minor", the middle movement of Vivaldi's luscious "Winter" violin concerto, "He Shall Feed His Flock" from Handel's "Messiah", and a brief appearance in Tchaikovsky's haunting "Danse Arabe" from "The Nutcracker", among others. Mr. Day's brilliant virtuosity is showcased throughout, including Mozart's "Alleluia" from his cantata "Exultate Jubilate" and "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion" from "Messiah".

Sonos plays as soloist in a collection from Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker Suite", featuring the dances "Sugarplum Fairy", "Chinese (Tea)", "Reed Flutes" and "Arabe (Coffee)". The suite is rounded out with the "March" from the first act and the ever-popular "Trepak (Russian Dance)" from the second act. From "Messiah", Sonos presents the contemplative "Sinfonia pastorale", which is one of the two instrumental-only sections, "He shall feed His flock", and a rousing rendition of the "Hallelujah Chorus", heard around the world at Christmastime.

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Track List

Total Playing Time 55:13

Sonos' first CD, simply entitled Sonos Handbell Ensemble, hit the record stores in September of 1994, and was a smashing success! The CD was Allegro Records' top seller for the first two months after its release. The November 1994 issue of GRAMOPHONE magazine listed it as St. Louis radio station KUFO's favorite new classical release of the month. It also received considerable air time on stations across the country including KUSC in Los Angeles, KFUO, KPFA in Berkeley, WONO in Syracuse, and many others.

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Track List

Total Playing Time 62:50

After the success of the first CD, Sonos went back into George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch Scoring Stage to record their second CD, Christmas with Sonos Handbell Ensemble. The disc features Christmas music from around the world, including traditional, sacred and contemporary selections. It was chosen by San Francisco's classical radio station, KDFC as their CD of the month for December the year it was released, as published in Gramophone Magazine.

Along with some traditional bell arrangements, the CD also contains some more unique numbers, including Chris Kinzel's deliciously twisted arrangement, Fantasy on Carol of the Bells, James Meredith's mixing of Dixieland clarinet and bells on Christmas tidings, and a haunting mix of choir chimes and flute on Veni Emmanuel.

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Track List

Total Playing Time 59:14

Classical Sonos is by far the most challenging recording Sonos has ever undertaken. This disc focuses exclusively on the Classical and Baroque periods, as represented by Bach, Mozart, and Vivaldi.

Everyone will recognize Bach's famous Toccata and Fugue in D minor. Taking advantage of the similar harmonies of bells and organs, Sonos has transcribed it for a result you're not likely to soon forget. The chorale preludes are more contemplative in nature, making use of the contrast between bells and chimes and bells and oboe. The Vivaldi Concerto sounds as though the composer might have had bells in mind when he wrote it, it captures so well the fire of the handbell sound. The Mozart Adagio and Rondo was originally written for Glass Harmonica and instrumental quartet. Sonos has substituted bells for Glass Harmonica and come up with what we think you'll find is a very pleasing result. There's a little something in Classical Sonos for classical music lovers and bell lovers alike.

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Track List

Total Playing Time 54:54

Christmas Around the Country II, produced by National Public Radio, is a collection of Christmas music from various artists, recorded live at concerts all around the country for NPR's Performance Today. The music encompasses both vocal and instrumental pieces with contributions from Sonos as well as The Dale Warland Singers, The Western Wind Vocal Ensemble, Denyce Graves, and the Princeton Singers.

Sonos contributed two pieces to the CD: Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, and Trepak. These pieces were recorded during the Christmas Home Season concert at First Congregational Church in Berkeley, CA on November 29, 1998.

(Sonos) Track List

Total Playing Time 70:10

Where to purchase the CDs ...

You can order our CDs direct from Sonos via our purchase page, or by printing off an order form and sending it in with a by postal mail to the address on the form. Copies of our CDs are also available nationally at Tower Records, Borders Books and Music, Virgin Records and the Wherehouse. In the San Francisco Bay Area you can also find them at Rasputin Records. Additionally, Sonos sells its CDs at each concert.

About the Formats ...

MP3 (MPEG-1 Layer-3)

MP3 is an audio format that provides "near CD-quality" music at one-tenth the download time. "Near CD-quality" means that if you played an MP3 on your computer, it will sound almost as good as if you were playing a CD on your computer. This makes an MP3 recording a very useful internet audio format. A typical "near CD-quality" MP3 runs about 900 kilobytes to 1 megabyte per minute of music (whereas a CD audio file runs about 9 to 10 megabytes per minute of music). The following is a list of MP3 players:

Macintosh Players

• Quicktime is the choice for playing one MP3 file at a time inside your browser's window. You can download the free Quicktime player from the Quicktime Web site. (Quicktime is MacOS X native.)
• iTunes (from Apple Computer) is a more sophisticated MP3 player for use with MacOS 9 and X. It allows you to maintain playlists and organize your MP3s. If it did not come pre-installed with your operating system, you can download it for free from Apple's iTunes Web site.

Windows Players

• Quicktime is the choice for playing one MP3 file at a time inside your browser's window. You can download the free Quicktime player from the Quicktime Web site.
• MP3.com has a list of more sophisticated Windows MP3 players which you can access at the MP3.com Web site.

RealAudio (from RealNetworks)

RealAudio is an audio format created by RealNetworks. It is a lower-quality audio format that is optimized for slower internet connections. Its popularity comes from the fact that the music does not take nearly as long to download. One minute of music is typically less than 150 kilobytes. However, the sound is somewhat muffled as a trade-off. To get a free copy of RealPlayer, go to the RealNetworks Web site.

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