FREE/BARGAIN — Media Deals (non-eBook/non-audiobook)

[ATDrake]

X-link to the DRM-free thread for a free video game:

Neverwinter Nights Diamond, the popular fantasy roleplaying game from Bioware, is offered free for Windows until the end of Dec 2nd, via Gog.com as a promo for their Winter Sale.

This edition contains a soundtrack and a lot of behind the scenes artwork as bonuses, which you may be interested in, even if you don't play the game.

[GtrsRGr8]

My puny little post is going to pale in comparison with TrevorViking's find. Amazing deal!

I'm not as early in the day, today, as I try to be posting the daily YourClassical post. However, with this being the last YourClassical freebie for the week (M-F), it should be staying up all the way until Monday (even if it didn't, their posts are archived for at least 7-10 days, anyway).

The piece is Sheherazade, from composer Maurice Ravel. It comes from the Naxos album of his works entitled Orchestral Works - 1. As usual, at least with Naxos albums, there is a dedicated webpage on the Naxos website for the entire album, and you might find reading or perusing the information there informative, if not enjoyable.

Back to the free piece itself . . . . you know me, I'm no music critic. But to me, it has a more modern sound to it than most classical works that I've heard; it actually sounds like a soundtrack to an action movie of some kind. One of these days, I might have to buy the Modern Courses' course on music appreciation . . . .

The thing to do, of course, is just to stream it (that's free, also) and listen to the 12 minute, 57 second long piece, yourself, first, from this webpage. That is, if you have any questions about it and are averse to deleting files that you don't want.ha You can download the free piece from the same webpage, by clicking on the link that says "Direct MP3 download link."

Credit the performance of this piece to the Lyon National Orchestra, and the role of conductor to Leonard Slatkin.

See you Monday!

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by TrevorViking

Nine free Christmas albums from Microsoft digital, today only.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/stor...holiday_albums

Help, how do I download these to a Windows 7 PC?

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by Catlady

Help, how do I download these to a Windows 7 PC?

Not sure if it's possible. I thought there was a workaround, but tried searching and can't find it now. The album pages say "When you buy an album or a song, you can also download it on Android, Windows 10, Windows 8, and Windows Phone 8".

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

Not sure if it's possible. I thought there was a workaround, but tried searching and can't find it now. The album pages say "When you buy an album or a song, you can also download it on Android, Windows 10, Windows 8, and Windows Phone 8".

Well, now I've found a download button, but I get a popup telling me that I've already downloaded whichever album I attempt to download. Which I haven't.

P.S. Ah. I've discovered I can download individual songs, one by one. Once they're in the library, when I hover over the song title I can see an ellipsis; clicking on that gives me a download option that works. (The similar option for the whole album didn't work for me.)

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by Catlady

Well, now I've found a download button, but I get a popup telling me that I've already downloaded whichever album I attempt to download. Which I haven't.

I see no download button, but I'm on Windows 10 so that might be why. I just asked a friend who might know and he said something about downloading the album all at once being broken and needing to download the tracks one at a time. Not sure if that makes sense as I'm not seeing a download download button (Win 10 uses their Groove app for downloads).

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

I see no download button, but I'm on Windows 10 so that might be why. I just asked a friend who might know and he said something about downloading the album all at once being broken and needing to download the tracks one at a time. Not sure if that makes sense as I'm not seeing a download download button (Win 10 uses their Groove app for downloads).

It is well hidden. When you are on the album page, under the title is a "play" icon and a "more" icon (ellipsis). If you click on the ellipsis, one option is download. But that's what wasn't working.

I've downloaded a couple of albums song by song; I'm giving up temporarily in hopes that the full-album download will be working tomorrow.

[skinmaan]

Originally Posted by Catlady

It is well hidden. When you are on the album page, under the title is a "play" icon and a "more" icon (ellipsis). If you click on the ellipsis, one option is download. But that's what wasn't working.

I've downloaded a couple of albums song by song; I'm giving up temporarily in hopes that the full-album download will be working tomorrow.

Catlady, you deserve a gold star! When Microsoft first started their music service Win7 users COULD NOT download. I had to download it on my father's machine. This is a (relatively) recent addition, and I never would have spotted it if you hadn't pointed it out.

[Conan46]

I would not have found it either. Thanks Catlady!

[Red Falcon]

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

My puny little post is going to pale in comparison with TrevorViking's find. Amazing deal!

I'm not as early in the day, today, as I try to be posting the daily YourClassical post. However, with this being the last YourClassical freebie for the week (M-F), it should be staying up all the way until Monday (even if it didn't, their posts are archived for at least 7-10 days, anyway).

The piece is Sheherazade, from composer Maurice Ravel. It comes from the Naxos album of his works entitled Orchestral Works - 1. As usual, at least with Naxos albums, there is a dedicated webpage on the Naxos website for the entire album, and you might find reading or perusing the information there informative, if not enjoyable.

Back to the free piece itself . . . . you know me, I'm no music critic. But to me, it has a more modern sound to it than most classical works that I've heard; it actually sounds like a soundtrack to an action movie of some kind. One of these days, I might have to buy the Modern Courses' course on music appreciation . . . .

The thing to do, of course, is just to stream it (that's free, also) and listen to the 12 minute, 57 second long piece, yourself, first, from this webpage. That is, if you have any questions about it and are averse to deleting files that you don't want.ha You can download the free piece from the same webpage, by clicking on the link that says "Direct MP3 download link."

Credit the performance of this piece to the Lyon National Orchestra, and the role of conductor to Leonard Slatkin.

See you Monday!

Maurice Ravel was a French composer of the Early Twenith Century, He was part of the French Impressionsim movement. French Impressionsim was a style of classical music that kind of bridged the period between the late Romantic and early Modern period. If you like this piece you might like fellow artist Claude Debussy or Gabriel Faure and Camille Saint-Seans who were precusors to these two.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Debussy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Ravel

[GtrsRGr8]

Originally Posted by Red Falcon

Maurice Ravel was a French composer of the Early Twenith Century, He was part of the French Impressionsim movement. French Impressionsim was a style of classical music that kind of bridged the period between the late Romantic and early Modern period. If you like this piece you might like fellow artist Claude Debussy or Gabriel Faure and Camille Saint-Seans who were precusors to these two.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Debussy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Ravel

I'm beginning to learn a little "by the seat of the pants." When I first started making posts of classical music, I knew practically nothing about it. Practically all that I knew before I started posting free pieces were the names of the most popular, first tier, composers--Mozart, Bach, Wagner, Dvorak, et al. And, Grieg, whom I don't consider in the first tier, but he was from Norway, where I had some ancestors and have distant cousins now.

I guess that I saw a freebie and decided to post it, and it grew from there. Listening is as far as I'll go, though. Growing up, I had practically no instruction in playing a musical instrument, and didn't want any. Same now. We had no classical music in the house growing up, unless you consider the works of John Phillip(sp?) Sousa to be classical music. But I do listen to classical music and enjoy it, especially the styles with a calming effect.

[GtrsRGr8]

Well, it's the beginning of another exciting and fun-filled week (M-F) of free classical music pieces, courtesy of YourClassical!

Being slow-witted as I am, it didn't occur to me that the free classical giveaways that we might be offered in the next two or three weeks could conceivably include some traditional Holiday (Christmas) music. That is, until I saw today's freebie from Your Classical.

It is a piece from The Nutcracker: Waltz of the Snowflakes. Many of you recognize immediately that the album, and therefore this piece from it, are composed by Peter Tchaikovsky.

This rendition runs 7 minutes and 23 seconds. It is performed by the Gurzenich Orchestra of Cologne, with Dmitri Kitayenko conducting.

It is produced by a company called Oehms Classics. Should you wish to find out more about the album, there is a dedicated webpage for it located here. That webpage comes courtesy of our friends at Naxos.

Stream the piece, free, if you so desire from this webpage. From the same webpage, you may also download the MP3 piece by clicking on the "Direct MP3 download link" link. And you also will find a couple of options of places where you might purchase the album, should you so desire (the Oehms Classics album consists of 2 CD's).

Of course, with my very important responsibility of posting these pieces from YourClassical, it is also incumbent upon me to have to download and listen to the pieces myself. To make sure that they sound alright and everything, you know. This piece is a fine-sounding one but, I would have to say, not one of the more familiar pieces from The Nutcracker. However, I would not be surprised if we do not get more opportunities, from one source or another, to download other pieces of The Nutcracker before St. Nick arrives here from the North Pole in a few weeks. Maybe one or more of them will be pieces more recognizable and beloved than today's.

[Red Falcon]

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

Well, it's the beginning of another exciting and fun-filled week (M-F) of free classical music pieces, courtesy of YourClassical!

Being slow-witted as I am, it didn't occur to me that the free classical giveaways that we might be offered in the next two or three weeks could conceivably include some traditional Holiday (Christmas) music. That is, until I saw today's freebie from Your Classical.

It is a piece from The Nutcracker: Waltz of the Snowflakes. Many of you recognize immediately that the album, and therefore this piece from it, are composed by Peter Tchaikovsky.

This rendition runs 7 minutes and 23 seconds. It is performed by the Gurzenich Orchestra of Cologne, with Dmitri Kitayenko conducting.

It is produced by a company called Oehms Classics. Should you wish to find out more about the album, there is a dedicated webpage for it located here. That webpage comes courtesy of our friends at Naxos.

Stream the piece, free, if you so desire from this webpage. From the same webpage, you may also download the MP3 piece by clicking on the "Direct MP3 download link" link. And you also will find a couple of options of places where you might purchase the album, should you so desire (the Oehms Classics album consists of 2 CD's).

Of course, with my very important responsibility of posting these pieces from YourClassical, it is also incumbent upon me to have to download and listen to the pieces myself. To make sure that they sound alright and everything, you know. This piece is a fine-sounding one but, I would have to say, not one of the more familiar pieces from The Nutcracker. However, I would not be surprised if we do not get more opportunities, from one source or another, to download other pieces of The Nutcracker before St. Nick arrives here from the North Pole in a few weeks. Maybe one or more of them will be pieces more recognizable and beloved than today's.

Tchaikovsky is a Russian Classical Music composer of the mid 19th century. His music falls squarely into the Romantic Period. His later Symphonies are considered some of the best of all time even though my favorite is his 1st one. Leonard Bernstein and the New York Symphony Orchestra did the full set in the late 60's and early 70's and I bought the box set for under $30 if memory serves me correctly a few years ago that I highly recommend. If you like his Symphonies I recomend Dvorak, Sibelius and Shostakovich. Recomended symphonies would be Dvorak's 8th and 9th, Sibelius 4th & 7th and Shostakovich's 7th, 8th & 9th. Dvorak and Sibelius also did a bunch of short orchestral pieces called Tone Poems that are fantastic.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Sibelius

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dmitri_Shostakovich

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton%...o%C5%99%C3%A1k

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Red Falcon

Tchaikovsky is a Russian Classical Music composer of the mid 19th century.

He's one of my Top 3 composers. The other two are Grieg and Mozart.

[GtrsRGr8]

Originally Posted by Red Falcon

Tchaikovsky is a Russian Classical Music composer of the mid 19th century. His music falls squarely into the Romantic Period. His later Symphonies are considered some of the best of all time even though my favorite is his 1st one. Leonard Bernstein and the New York Symphony Orchestra did the full set in the late 60's and early 70's and I bought the box set for under $30 if memory serves me correctly a few years ago that I highly recommend. If you like his Symphonies I recomend Dvorak, Sibelius and Shostakovich. Recomended symphonies would be Dvorak's 8th and 9th, Sibelius 4th & 7th and Shostakovich's 7th, 8th & 9th. Dvorak and Sibelius also did a bunch of short orchestral pieces called Tone Poems that are fantastic.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Sibelius

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dmitri_Shostakovich

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton%...o%C5%99%C3%A1k

Not wishing to detract at all from your helpful information, the webpages that I mention, in my posts, that have additional information about the albums sometimes have the same kind of information that you've given. I've noticed that three or four times, at least. In the case of this post of mine today, however, the kind of information that you gave is lacking for some reason. So, thanks.