Orchestra

An orchestra (/ˈɔːrkᵻstrə/ or US /ˈɔːrˌkɛstrə/; Italian: [orˈkɛstra]) is a large instrumental ensemble used in classical music that contains sections of string (violin, viola, cello and double bass), brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. Other instruments such as the piano and celesta may sometimes be grouped into a fifth section such as a keyboard section or may stand alone, as may the concert harp and, for 20th and 21st century compositions, electric and electronic instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ὀρχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus. The orchestra grew by accretion throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, but changed very little in composition during the course of the 20th century.

Orchestral (Visage album)

Orchestral is an album by the British pop group Visage, released on 8 December 2014. It is an album of twelve songs (eleven from the band's back catalogue and one new song), rerecorded with a live symphony orchestra.

An orchestral version of the band's seminal hit, "Fade To Grey", was released as a single in November 2014 ahead of the album.

History

In March 2014, after a year promoting their previous album, Hearts and Knives, Visage were invited to appear at the closing ceremony of the World Ski Jumping Championships in Harrachov. They were backed by the Czech Synthosymphonica Orchestra, headed by Armin Effenberger, whose speciality is mixing classical music arrangements and full orchestras with classic synthesizer music. At the ceremony, Visage performed a ten-song set of their hits with the full orchestra. The album also contains tracks recorded with the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra.

Track list