The Millennium Bell

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The Millennium Bell
Studio album by Mike Oldfield

Publication
(s)

November 29, 1999

Label (s) Warner bros.

Format (s)

CD

Genre (s)

skirt

Title (number)

11

running time

45 min 3 s

production

Mike Oldfield

chronology
Guitars
(1999) 		The Millennium Bell Tr3s Lunas
(2002)

The Millennium Bell is a music album by British musician Mike Oldfield from 1999, the title and cover of which is reminiscent of earlier works in the Tubular Bells series .

In contrast to most of Oldfield's albums, The Millennium Bell has a large orchestra , the London Handel Choir and a gospel choir . Gota Yashiki, who also played for Simply Red , made several guest appearances on the album. Many pieces are (in contrast to the almost entirely instrumental Tubular - Bells -albums) sung or spoken; the album sees itself as a musical journey through the last two millennia.

Oldfield performed the album live on New Year's Eve 1999 in Berlin at the Victory Column . In addition to seven pieces from The Millennium Bell , he also played five older pieces. The vocalists included Miriam Stockley and Pepsi DeMacque . The lightshow art in Heaven was elaborately staged with around 550 stage lights and 250 rockets. About 500,000 people were present. The concert is available in stores on DVD under the title The Art in Heaven Concert or The Millennium Bell - Live in Berlin .

Track list

  1. Peace on Earth - 4:10 - Modern Christmas carol that addresses the birth of Christ .
  2. Pacha Mama - 4:05 - Inspired by Oldfield's trip to Peru , this title is reminiscent of the Incas (the title stands for Mother Earth, " Pachamama ", who was worshiped by the Incas ).
  3. Santa Maria - 2:44 - Musical version of the discovery of America in 1492; the Santa Maria was the ship of Christopher Columbus .
  4. Sunlight Shining Through Cloud - 4:33 - Depiction of the slave trade with a spoken version of the song Amazing Grace .
  5. The Doge's Palace - 3:07 - recalls the time of the Doges in Venice between the 7th and 18th centuries.
  6. Lake Constance - 5:16 - (German: Bodensee ) time of romance.
  7. Mastermind - 3:03 - The piece, which is consciously reminiscent of James Bond melodies, addresses the era of American prohibition .
  8. Broad Sunlit Uplands - 4:03 - The name comes from a speech by Winston Churchill ; the piece deals with the resistance in World War II .
  9. Liberation - 2:38 contains excerpts from Anne Frank's diary and relates to the present.
  10. Amber Light - 3:42 - embodies the hope for a happy new millennium .
  11. The Millennium Bell - 7:37 - amalgamation from the previous pieces and new dance motifs.

Charts

D # 39, A # 43, CH # 94

Web links