CD-Charts Position 1
Average Rating:

Beyond Chant: Mysteries Of The Renaissance

from: Delos Records

Release Date May 23, 1994
This cd was mildly dissapointing, to say the least. The literature is fantastic. Some of the greats are featured on here with some of their best works. No doubt a great taste of the Renaissance, especially for someone new to it. However, I'm sorry to say that the performance is second-rate, at best. Dennis Keene apparently is either unaware, or just simply understudied when it comes to the Renaissance. He shows an incredible lack of messa di voce, which was what drove the counterpoint of the Renaissance. His interpretations rob this music of its deeply personal purpose. I would suggest the Hilliard Ensemble over any ensemble for Renaissance literature, and find it dissapointing that so many people praise such emotionless, understudied Renaissance ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 2
Average Rating:

The Greatest Choral Music of Palestrina: Prince of Music

from: Delos Records

Release Date May 25, 1999
I am an active choral singer. I have been in countless ensembles, this interpretation of Palestrina (the greatest word painter of all time) is truly breathetaking. It's worth every penny and I also recommend the beyond chant albums.

CD-Charts Position 3
Average Rating:

Duruflé: Requiem Op.9/Messe Cum Jubilo,Op.11

by: Maurice Duruflé, Dennis Keene, François Le Roux

Release Date September 19, 1995
Durufle is a composer who is new to me. I have really been missing something! Because my church choir was preparing a performance of this lovely and complex piece of music, I decided to familiarize myself with it, and I was well rewarded. Written in the 1940s, immediately after the end of World War II, this work harbors no bitterness towards the recent occupation, but speaks to the joy of salvation.

CD-Charts Position 4
Average Rating:

An Awfully Big Adventure: The Best of Peter Pan (1904-1996)

from: Delos Records

Release Date September 26, 1996
It was great to finally see a Peter Pan soundtrack that was all instrumental after searching for so long. The music is absolutely beautiful and just what I had been looking for. If you like classical music the songs are really pretty and easy listening. It was a shame that there aren't more tracks.

CD-Charts Position 5
Average Rating:

Heigh-Ho! Mozart

from: Delos Records

Release Date June 16, 1995
I enjoy all things Disney and love instrumental music so when I heard this CD playing in my daughter's 5th grade classroom, I asked the teacher where I could purchase a copy. He suggested Amazon.com, which is where I also discovered the companion CD: Bippity Boppity Bach. Beautiful classical style, with familiar Disney tunes ... how can it not be good? ;o)

CD-Charts Position 6
Average Rating:

Berlioz: Te Deum

from: Delos Records

Release Date March 20, 1997
I must agree with the late, great Bob Zeidler in his review that this disc deserves better than the Hurwitz review (and agree with another reviewer that it is probably a review pulled from a different performance of the Berlioz 'Te Deum'). This is an absolutely stunning work.

This recording was a live performance at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, one of the greatest neo-Gothic structures in North America, for the centennial celebration of the American Guild of Organists, the professional group who would be perhaps the most critical listeners possible for this kind of work. It was recorded in July of 1996, and this particular recording features a surround-sound encoding that brings even more fullness to the experience (it plays perfectly well on standard ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 7
Average Rating:

The Symphonic Wind Music of David R. Holsinger, Volume 1

by: The University of Arkansas Wind Ensemble, University of Illinois Symphonic Band, The U.S. Air Force Band, University of North Texas Symphonic Band

Release Date February 27, 1995
I must agree with the late, great Bob Zeidler in his review that this disc deserves better than the Hurwitz review (and agree with another reviewer that it is probably a review pulled from a different performance of the Berlioz 'Te Deum'). This is an absolutely stunning work.

This recording was a live performance at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, one of the greatest neo-Gothic structures in North America, for the centennial celebration of the American Guild of Organists, the professional group who would be perhaps the most critical listeners possible for this kind of work. It was recorded in July of 1996, and this particular recording features a surround-sound encoding that brings even more fullness to the experience (it plays perfectly well on standard ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 8
Average Rating:

Voices Of Ascension: From Chant To Renaissance

by: Peter Stewart, English Anonymous, William Byrd, Gregorian Chant, Guillaume Dufay, Richard Farrant, Hildegard of Bingen, Marc' Antonio Ingegneri, Heinrich Isaac, Josquin Desprez, Antonio Lotti, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Thomas Tallis, Thomas Weelkes, Dennis Keene, Kathy Theil, Susanne Peck, Alexandra Montano, Jeffrey Johnson, Neil Farrell, Thom Baker, Voices Of Ascension

Release Date January 08, 2002
Dennis Keene and Voices of Ascension have offered during the years recordings of remarkable quality. This one is a varied collection of pieces from chant to Renaissance. The earliest pieces,'O virga ac diadema' and 'Ave generosa' are from Hildegard von Bingen, with solos of outstanding purity and skill by Kathy Thell. There are Mass parts chanted by the tenors and basses as well as a beautiful and meditative version of 'Ave verum corpus' by Susanne Peck. The rest of the material is for the full choir, with pieces from a diverse group of composers from Renaissance Europe. The pieces are from texts that are part of the Christian liturgical year and they seemed distributed in no particular order, even though there is a progression from track sixteen onwards to focus on music for Holy Week, with the ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 9
Average Rating:

Best of Philip Glass

from: Sony

Release Date March 05, 2007
I really like Phillip Glass. The simple sounding and semi repetitive arrnagements are charming. This is not music that you listen to on a road trip. But it is great for creating a relaxing atomsphere. I personally like to listen to it when I'm grading. Sadly, this CD dosen't include the music he created for the film No Reservations which I really enjoyed. Other than that I really like this CD.

CD-Charts Position 10
Average Rating:

Heigh-Ho! Mozart: Favorite Disney Tunes In The Style Of Great Classical Composers

by: Eugenia Zukerman, Shanghai Quartet, Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, Anthony Newman, Paul Barritt, Voices Of Ascension

Release Date June 16, 1995
This album I got at Disneyland Paris. I saw it and just knew that I had to have it. It's classic disney tunes in the style of the great composers. And it really do remind of them. As a lover of classic music and disney music, this couldn't be a better album.