CD-Charts Position 1
Average Rating:

Norton Recorded Anthology of Western Music, Fifth Edition, Volume 1: Ancient to Baroque (6 CDs)

CD-Charts > Music > Partsongs
from: W. W. Norton

Release Date January 01, 2006
The CDs in this set are not packaged in standard jewelboxes nor even in cheap sleeves, but are mounted directly atop a printed surface. As a result, when I purchased the set from my school bookstore, I found that several of the CDs had dried flecks of ink on the data side that made it impossible to play or rip certain tracks. Beware.

CD-Charts Position 2
Average Rating:

Music for Compline

CD-Charts > Music > Partsongs
from: Harmonia Mundi USA

Release Date January 16, 2007
This CD rocks, if you are into this kind of music. I listen to it on my morning commute and it is uplifting and wonderful. Hearing is believing!

CD-Charts Position 3
Average Rating:

Beethoven Edition: Complete Works (85CD Box Set)

CD-Charts > Music > Partsongs
from: Brilliant Classics

Release Date October 09, 2007
This collection is as the name of the company says, "Brilliant". The recordings are flawless and classic. If you like classical music and enjoy even a few of Beethoven's pieces, this is a must-have purchase.

CD-Charts Position 4
Average Rating:

Elgar: The Collector's Edition (30 CDs)

CD-Charts > Music > Partsongs
from: Emi Classics

Release Date November 06, 2007
It's hard not to like Elgar -- his music is tuneful, bombastic in all the right ways, and has an air of ceremony that somehow perfectly fits what British music should sound like. I guess it's just that Elgar defines "British" music.

There are certainly highlights in this set -- Falstaff and the Cello Concerto are so good that I think any other performance I'll ever hear of either of them will be ruined because they won't compare. The oratorios The Dream of Gerontius and The Apostles as presented are widely considered the best out there. And I haven't heard better. There's plenty more here to enjoy even if they're not absolutely authoritative.

I don't like Barbirolli's interpretation of the symphonies -- he takes the "noble" ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 5
Average Rating:

Renaissance: Music for Inner Peace

CD-Charts > Music > Partsongs
by: The Sixteen

Release Date April 12, 2005
I heard some sample tracks on iTunes and they really had an effect on me.. had to have the rest of the album. The singing is awe-inspiring. The Sixteen is an incredible.. "singing troupe"? Whatever you call them they're great.
The one thing I noticed in the recording was a very slight humming that's not audible at normal volumes. But if you really crank it, to like 11, it becomes irritatingly noticeable. I don't think it was my stereo equipment but anything's possible.
Very good CD though. Recommended.

CD-Charts Position 6
Average Rating:

Music for the Spanish Kings

CD-Charts > Music > Partsongs
from: EMI Classics

Release Date June 05, 2001
This is a wonderful(double)CD, and great value for money. Anyone who loves early music would enjoy this. I'd been looking for Hesperion xx or xxi music for ages, as I'm always hearing them on Radio 3, and I just never came across their recordings in any shops, so this is a real treat. A good variety of sounds, with some beautiful solo singing. I shall definitely be looking for more of their recordings from Amazon in the future.

CD-Charts Position 7
Average Rating:

All At Once Well Met: English Madrigals; The King's Singers

CD-Charts > Music > Partsongs
by: John Dowland, Thomas Morley, Thomas Weelkes, John Wilbye, William Byrd, John Farmer, The King's Singers

Release Date October 25, 1990
I wasn't sure what to expect when I bought this CD. True, I could have listened on line before buying but that would have taken the fun out of the purchase. Besides, I really didn't care for the CD the first couple of times I listened but now I really love it. It's not something to listen to all the time but given the right circumstances e.g. a small gathering of friends, it's perfect. If I'd listened to online, I wouldn't have purchased it.

CD-Charts Position 8
Average Rating:

La Folia, 1490-1701

CD-Charts > Music > Partsongs
from: Alia Vox Spain

Release Date February 09, 1999
The quality of the recording is very good. The performance has high points and low points. For one thing, someone keeps moaning and sighing loud enough during the performance so as to distract the listener at times. Sometimes the castinets and percussion seem to be a bit awkward. The music is beautiful and haunting enough to overlook these minor shortcomings. I still loved it!
Gil Sarabia

CD-Charts Position 9
Average Rating:

Thomas Tallis: Complete Works

CD-Charts > Music > Partsongs
from: Brilliant Classics

Release Date April 01, 2008
I can't praise highly enough the service to the music world that Brilliant Classics is doing by issuing the complete works of both well-known and lesser-known masters. Brilliant is perhaps best known for its complete sets of Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven, each priced at a little over $100 for close to 100 CDs in each set.

I was previously familiar with the English Thomas Tallis (1505-1585), but not with the complete spectrum of his works, which is available in this set. Most of the works are Catholic Latin choral works, highly suggestive of the sublime master of sacred polyphony, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1514-1594), Tallis's Italian contemporary.

Palestrina remained completely Catholic, and wrote only for the Church. Tallis, as an Englishman, ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 10
Average Rating:

Allegri: Miserere

CD-Charts > Music > Partsongs
by: Alison Stamp, Tallis Scholars

Release Date April 10, 2001
I'll always be grateful to David Saint George, the musicologist who recommended this recording to me about 20 years ago. Today I still pay plenty of attention to what music critics say, because I'm a perfectionist about the music I buy. Many probably believe that my standards are too high, but this recording exceeded my expectations.