CD-Charts Position 181
Average Rating:

A Midsummer Night's Dream / Britten, London SO

CD-Charts > Music > Featured Composers- A-Z
from: Polygram Records

Release Date February 06, 1990
Did previous reviewer, Ralph Moore, just call us Pretentious? Just because we say we like Britten's opera? As if Verdi's take on Shakespeare precludes a different approach. Or Mendelssohn's interpretation of fairies has defined them musically for all time. This is a wonderful opera full of beautiful and expressive music, brilliantly evocative and while tastes differ and it won't be to everyone's liking it is not "modish" in the least and it is certainly not "boring," "trivial," or "tuneless" to anyone with half an ear for such things. And no, just because you cannot find the pleasure in this music does not mean that other's who do are only pretending to do so. And no, mentioning "even Bartok" among those whose music you've heard and not subjected ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 182
Average Rating:

Kathleen Battle at Carnegie Hall

CD-Charts > Music > Featured Composers- A-Z
from: Deutsche Grammophon

Release Date August 11, 1992
Ms. Battle covers musical styles from baroque all the way to spirituals on this CD, and excels at each song she sings. My personal fav's are "Frondi tenere...ombra mai fu" "Mein herr marquis" "Vocalise" "Swing Low" "Piangero la sorte mia". One impression I get when I hear this CD, is that Ms. Battle had fun with each one of these songs. She sounds like she is enjoying singing them and is totally relaxed with full confidence in her voice. So many singers you hear sound tense, but not here. It's hard to explain really, but generally, when a singer is struggling and fighting to sustain a good sound or sing artistically, you can sense it. This CD is would make a wonderful sampler for someone new to Ms. Battle's voice. It is a shame, though, that she is such a "diva". ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 183
Average Rating:

Franco Corelli: The Unknown Recordings

CD-Charts > Music > Featured Composers- A-Z
from: EMI Classics

Release Date October 21, 2003
A perfectionist -- only the greatest artists are like that -- Corelli felt these recordings needed more work. That they were not good enough. Well, that may be, but only compared to his own standards. However, hearing these splendid sounds, one wonders who else has come that close to perfection?

Track 1, of Luisa Miller, and track 10, of Un Ballo in Maschera, make one really sad that he never did these two roles in their entirety. But let us be grateful for what we have.

Tip: track 2, the aria of La Forza del Destino. Those who got the DVD or CD of his celebrated debut in that role in Napoli, 1958, may think they have heard it all. That version is, indeed, a definitive rendition, if there ever was one. But here, on this CD, you will discover his 1967 ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 184
Average Rating:

More Tears from Heaven

CD-Charts > Music > Featured Composers- A-Z
from: RCA

Release Date March 09, 1999
World class musicians performing masterpieces. So many sampler CDs offer mediocre performers, but the musicians here are the cream of the crop. The choice of composers is also inspired. This is a great way to test the waters on choral music and find favorites without having to break the bank. One of my all time favorite CDs.

CD-Charts Position 185
Average Rating:

Beethoven: Fidelio

CD-Charts > Music > Featured Composers- A-Z
from: Decca

Release Date February 13, 1996
Having for years been perfectly satisfied with the famous Klemperer EMI studio recording and not feeling especially tempted to try the mono Testament set (also with Klemperer at the helm) recently released, I was particularly pleased to discover how satisfying this performance is. It's not perfect; Sciutti is a little tremulous in her aria and the great Birgit sometimes sounds a bit detached -and occasionally a little under the note in the middle section of her voice - but she really delivers in her big moments and Sciutti perks up both to blend and to contrast nicely with Nilsson in the ensembles. Nilsson also scales her voice down attractively when the emotion demands it; it's not all sand-blasting by any means. Bohme's rotund bass is almost as good as Frick's and he also has a lovely ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 186
Average Rating:

Be My Love

CD-Charts > Music > Featured Composers- A-Z
from: EMI Classics

Release Date January 18, 1991
Be My Love - Placido Domingo
Beautiful song selections, fabulous voice, wonderful arrangements. A true delight to listen to and to dance to. A must have for Placido Domingo fans. What a talent!

CD-Charts Position 187
Average Rating:

Mozart: Exsultate, Jubilate, K. 165; Vesperae solennes de confessore, K. 339; Kyrie in D minor, K. 341; Ave verum corpus, K. 618

CD-Charts > Music > Featured Composers- A-Z
from: Philips

Release Date October 25, 1990
The original vinyl issue of this album was part of a series of the major Mozart choral works conducted by Colin Davis. Included were Requiem, Great Mass in c, Coronation Mass, Credo Mass and this album. Today all of the items have been reissued on CD, but alas, not as part of a combined CD set.

This is about the best performance of the Vespers on recording. Davis, orchestra, chorus and soloists are all on a wonderfully coordinated plane, and I prefer this to those perhaps more historically correct 'period' performances. It would be great if Phillips could rerelease all of the Davis' Mozart choral works on a CD set.

CD-Charts Position 188
Average Rating:

Lucky To Be Me

CD-Charts > Music > Featured Composers- A-Z
from: Philips

Release Date February 11, 1992
It is hard to imagine anything more precious and cloying than this collection of popular songs sung by a person whose interpretations so infect her vocal techniques as to come out totally laughable. One could use this as a party record except that after a few songs one has to stop listening out of boredom and anger....

CD-Charts Position 189
Average Rating:

Russian Liturgical Chant

CD-Charts > Music > Featured Composers- A-Z
from: Polygram Records

Release Date October 13, 1992
It is hard to imagine anything more precious and cloying than this collection of popular songs sung by a person whose interpretations so infect her vocal techniques as to come out totally laughable. One could use this as a party record except that after a few songs one has to stop listening out of boredom and anger....

CD-Charts Position 190
Average Rating:

The Jessye Norman Collection - Richard Strauss Lieder

CD-Charts > Music > Featured Composers- A-Z
from: Philips

Release Date May 10, 2005
Jessye Norman's voice is a force of nature, and this collection of Richard Strauss songs shows it off beautifully. Her singing style on these discs shows awesome power when singing with the full Gewandhaus Orchestra (disc 1) and delicate intimacy when singing with the wonderfully responsive piano accompaniment of Geoffrey Parsons (disc 2). Throughout, Jessye Norman's musicianship and diction remain both expressive and crystal clear.

For me the "Four Last Songs" of Richard Strauss, which begin the first disc, are the epitome of vocal music. As sung by Jessye Norman, they restore my faith in humanity. The additional Strauss songs add to that pleasure.

Both discs were recorded in the mid-1980's using DDD technology. The sound engineering is excellent. The somewhat distant ... Read More: