CD-Charts Position 1
Average Rating:

The Priests

CD-Charts > Music > Oratorios
from: RCA Victor

Release Date November 18, 2008
Wow what a beautiful CD very calming in this world we live in. We found this to be full of beauty (we are ukrainian byzantine catholics and our entire liturgy is sung by all priests and congregation-harmonies to die for- we know beauty when we hear it) This will be played over and over again God bless all involved in this project.

CD-Charts Position 2
Average Rating:

Bach: Edition - The Complete Works

CD-Charts > Music > Oratorios
by: Various

Release Date October 17, 2006
This is a very good collection. The set comes in a box that is a bit longer than a foot long. Each disc has its own cardboard sleeve with different art on each sleeve. The sleeve also says what is on each disc. The sleeves are color coded by organ music, cantatas, etc so it is very easy to find the disc you want. Also under the lid of the box is a list of all the CD's and what they contain. There is also a PC disc that I guess is the manual for all the music although I never used that. The music is very nice quality. I mainly like the Organ Music and the Brandenburg Concertos so I listen to those over and over. The few Cantata's I've listened to are also very good. I'm not a classical music expert but I certainly enjoy listening to ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 3
Average Rating:

Beethoven: Complete Works

CD-Charts > Music > Oratorios
from: Cascade

Release Date March 11, 2008
This is a very good collection. The set comes in a box that is a bit longer than a foot long. Each disc has its own cardboard sleeve with different art on each sleeve. The sleeve also says what is on each disc. The sleeves are color coded by organ music, cantatas, etc so it is very easy to find the disc you want. Also under the lid of the box is a list of all the CD's and what they contain. There is also a PC disc that I guess is the manual for all the music although I never used that. The music is very nice quality. I mainly like the Organ Music and the Brandenburg Concertos so I listen to those over and over. The few Cantata's I've listened to are also very good. I'm not a classical music expert but I certainly enjoy listening to ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 4
Average Rating:

Mozart: Complete Works (170 CDs)

CD-Charts > Music > Oratorios
by: Various

Release Date June 06, 2006
If you are a Mozart freak and just have to own all that genius's music, this is the least expensive way to start (though it is not an exhaustive collection). In general, it is a very good collection, performed by a wide variety of orchestras and singers. However, the quality on some of the CD's is noticably poorer than one might hope - lacking the clear, crisp sound you might expect on a $25 CD. But for this price for 170 CDs, it is still well worth the money.

I only wish they had recorded them chronologically so the listener could appreciate the development of Mozart's genius. Instead, they lump symphonies together and concertos together, etc. Not nearly as much fun.

CD-Charts Position 5
Average Rating:

Celebration 30

CD-Charts > Music > Oratorios
by: Tafelmusik

Release Date November 04, 2008
If you are a Mozart freak and just have to own all that genius's music, this is the least expensive way to start (though it is not an exhaustive collection). In general, it is a very good collection, performed by a wide variety of orchestras and singers. However, the quality on some of the CD's is noticably poorer than one might hope - lacking the clear, crisp sound you might expect on a $25 CD. But for this price for 170 CDs, it is still well worth the money.

I only wish they had recorded them chronologically so the listener could appreciate the development of Mozart's genius. Instead, they lump symphonies together and concertos together, etc. Not nearly as much fun.

CD-Charts Position 6
Average Rating:

Messiah Comp

CD-Charts > Music > Oratorios
from: Universal Music Group

Release Date August 18, 2008
As has been previously mentioned, this version has some notable differences from more familiar versions, my favorite being the air "He shall feed His flock/Come unto Him" which is for contralto only. The recitative "And lo, the angel of the Lord..." is somewhat longer and more arioso-like. The air "How beautiful are the feet..." is a duet for contralto and soprano, followed by a chorus. The tempi are rather brisk, which works for the most part (especially in the opening sinfonia, which is often performed excessively slowly), however the air and chorus "Oh thou that tellest good tidings" is supposed to be adante and is much closer to allegro, and the chorus "His yoke is easy" while marked allegro, ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 7
Average Rating:

Baroque Masterpieces (W/New Pa

CD-Charts > Music > Oratorios
from: Legacy

Release Date March 12, 2002
As I have stated in many of my previous reviews, I am a huge fan of the Sony Essential Classics (SEC) budget series. Most of the recordings feature classic and often definitive performances featuring the likes of George Szell, Leonard Bernstein, Robert Casadesus, Isaac Stern and Rudolf Serkin among others. Here we get a variety of orchestras and conductors including big names like Jean-Claude Malgoire, Raymond Leppard, Pierre Boulez, Sir Charles Groves and the great Eugene Ormandy. This disc features excellent performances of what is arguably the most popular Baroque music ever written. I am not usually one to give five-star ratings to greatest-hits style collections (particularly in classical), but the half-dozen performances by Ormandy make this disc ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 8
Average Rating:

Christmas From Buckingham Palace

CD-Charts > Music > Oratorios
from: UCJ Music

Release Date October 21, 2008
As I have stated in many of my previous reviews, I am a huge fan of the Sony Essential Classics (SEC) budget series. Most of the recordings feature classic and often definitive performances featuring the likes of George Szell, Leonard Bernstein, Robert Casadesus, Isaac Stern and Rudolf Serkin among others. Here we get a variety of orchestras and conductors including big names like Jean-Claude Malgoire, Raymond Leppard, Pierre Boulez, Sir Charles Groves and the great Eugene Ormandy. This disc features excellent performances of what is arguably the most popular Baroque music ever written. I am not usually one to give five-star ratings to greatest-hits style collections (particularly in classical), but the half-dozen performances by Ormandy make this disc ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 9
Average Rating:

Legends

CD-Charts > Music > Oratorios
from: Opening Day

Release Date September 16, 2008
As I have stated in many of my previous reviews, I am a huge fan of the Sony Essential Classics (SEC) budget series. Most of the recordings feature classic and often definitive performances featuring the likes of George Szell, Leonard Bernstein, Robert Casadesus, Isaac Stern and Rudolf Serkin among others. Here we get a variety of orchestras and conductors including big names like Jean-Claude Malgoire, Raymond Leppard, Pierre Boulez, Sir Charles Groves and the great Eugene Ormandy. This disc features excellent performances of what is arguably the most popular Baroque music ever written. I am not usually one to give five-star ratings to greatest-hits style collections (particularly in classical), but the half-dozen performances by Ormandy make this disc ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 10
Average Rating:

Essential Bach

CD-Charts > Music > Oratorios
from: Decca

Release Date June 27, 2000
Its hard to find a faithful rendition of this. We managed to obtain an mp3 sample of the violin concerto #1 in A minor from the first disc on this set and found it very very nice indeed!