CD-Charts Position 91
Average Rating:

Bach - Christmas Oratorio / Gardiner

CD-Charts > Music > Featured Performers- A-Z
by: John Eliot Gardiner, Nancy Argenta, Olaf Bär, Hans Peter Blochwitz, Alison Bury, Lisa Beznosiuk, Valerie Darke, Valerie Botwright

Release Date October 25, 1990
MONTEVERDI CHOIR AND THE ENGLISH BAROQUE SOLOISTS THE 'STARS' OF THIS RECORDING!!!!!
Johann Sebastion Bach (1685-1750) wrote very little church music after 1730, so it is not surprising that when he produced for Christmas, 1734, an 'oratorio' in six parts he adapted much of it from earlier compositions, mostly from secular odes. Recitatives and chorale settings were, of course, new, but otherwise all but one of the arias and nearly all of the choruses were 'parodies'. The six cantatas of the 'Christmas Oratorio' are designed to be performed on separate days from Christmas to Epiphany, but it does not necessarily follow that they are unconnected. Bach must have composed the work continuously, and there are many, sometimes obvious, sometimes ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 92
Average Rating:

Schubert: Masses Nos. 2 & 6

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from: Telarc

Release Date May 07, 1990
Schubert: Masses Nos. 2 & 6 Absolute choral purity and diction make this another of Robert Shaw's exquisite recordings. Perfect in every way.

CD-Charts Position 93
Average Rating:

Cecilia Bartoli - The Vivaldi Album / Il Giardino Armonico

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by: Antonio Vivaldi, Giovanni Antonini, Cecilia Bartoli, Il Giardino Armonico

Release Date October 26, 1999
Cecilia Bartoli possesses a unique combination of beauty of voice, vocal technique, and musical knowledge. Although sometimes her intensity may strike a newer listener as "over-the-top", I found it very much in character for each and every piece that she sings. It is not often that a singer puts as much of herself into the character she is portraying as Ms Bartoli does. One reviewer mentions her "aspirations" on some rapid passages. In my experience, this is a style and method appropriate for many Italian composers. Ms Bartoli doesn't use this style when singing Mozart or Haydn, for example.
In this album Cecilia treats us to works of Vivaldi that are seldom performed. And the supporting orchestral ensemble, Il Giardino Armonico, performing on authentic period ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 94
Average Rating:

Viaggio Italiano / Andrea Bocelli

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from: Philips

Release Date November 18, 1997
As always, Andrea Bocelli's singing has moved me deeply emotionally. You can tell that his range of emotions, inflections and performance come from deep within his very heart and being. He is, indeed, a fantastic tenor - albeit perhaps not a perfectionist which to me is not as important as his deep feeling for the words and music he is singing. His voice does, indeed, appear to come directly from heaven. As for the more famous tenors, I prefer Andrea Bocelli over ALL of them. His deep feeling for and of music puts the perfectionist "all star" tenors to shame.

CD-Charts Position 95
Average Rating:

Cecilia Bartoli ~ Opera Proibita (Handel · Scarlatti · Caldara) / Les Musiciens du Louvre · Minkowski

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

Release Date September 13, 2005
One can't help but be impressed with the agility in Bartoli's voice. Vocal fireworks! And yet the "Mentre io godo...", "Caldo sangue" and "Lascia la spina..." are so sweet and calming. I consider this CD a must have!

CD-Charts Position 96
Average Rating:

Poulenc: Gloria; Stabat Mater

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from: Deutsche Grammophon

Release Date July 20, 1989
This is the simply a slpendid recording- well paced, energetic and in excellent sound. I have a suspicion that many people drawn to these works pay undo emphasis on the choir [or they are choir singers] and understandably get frustrating when the choir is not front and center in the musical proceedings. But what Poulenc wrote here does not emphasize the choir [he was a master instrumentalist after all!] so the orchestra should be more prominent at times. Ragardless, this is a great performance!

CD-Charts Position 97
Average Rating:

Kathleen Battle Sings Mozart

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

Release Date October 25, 1990

The fact that I didn't enjoy this as much as I hoped is not the fault of the singing, which is inexpressibly lovely.

It's just that there are 2 albums by this title. I really prefer to listen to arias, which this is not. (I have now ordered the __other__ KBSM, which I very much look forward to hearing.)

If you like really long pieces composed for soprano and orchestra, this is a lovely example. Just not what I thought I was getting.

CD-Charts Position 98
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Handel - Messiah / Nelson, Kirkby, Watkinson, Elliott, Thomas, AAM, Hogwood

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from: L'Oiseau-Lyre (Decca)

Release Date October 10, 1991
While there may be no perfect "Messiah" recording out there, this is STILL one of the very finest, and I've owned it since its original release & still return to it regulary. Emma Kirkby's solos alone make this One of the top Three to Five choices out there among hundreds of versions available. This is one of the Original attempts to produce an more "historically accurate" version, by using a choir of Men and boychoir, rather than the more commonly used mixed choir of males & females. And surely the Christ Church Choir of Oxford delivers a serene, rich, pure tone, which is very "transparent" in the four vocal parts Handel wrote for the chorus, balanced by the clear & equally transparent Academy of Ancient Music Orchestra. Some often dismiss this "style" of performance as ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 99
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Verdi - La Traviata / Sutherland, Pavarotti, Manuguerra, NPO, Bonynge

CD-Charts > Music > Featured Performers- A-Z
by: Giuseppe Verdi, Richard Bonynge, Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti, National Philharmonic Orchestra, London Opera Chorus, Della Jones, Matteo Manuguerra, William Elvin, Marjon Lambriks

Release Date October 11, 1991
The authenticity of Joan's performance is unmatched, its hard to imagine how she could sound more consumptive without pathologically being so.

CD-Charts Position 100
Average Rating:

Offenbach - The Tales of Hoffmann / Domingo, Sutherland, Bacquier, Bonynge

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

Release Date October 25, 1990
First, I'd like to correct something said by a previous reviewer. This recording was made in August 1971, not 1976. Joan Sutherland is in at least as good of voice as she was in her 1971 recordings of Lucia di Lammermoor and Rigoletto. Domingo is in glorious, luscious voice. Any criticism of his work here is ridiculous. Bacquier does a fine job as the bass, though his high note in the "Diamond Aria" is less than first-rate. Sutherland is in her best vocal and dramatic form as the third heroine, Antonia. I would recommend this over the Sills recording because, even though the sopranos are evenly matched, Domingo is a far better tenor than Burrows, and the overrall "sound" of the recording is also much better.