CD-Charts Position 21
Average Rating:

Wynton Marsalis - Baroque Music for Trumpet

CD-Charts > Music > Oratorios
from: Sony

Release Date October 25, 1990
I first encountered this on cassette, quite by accident. It later became the background for my work at morning at the easel painting watercolours. But this is no wallpaper music. The technical genius of matching separate recordings of different trumpet parts is surpassed only by Marsalis's bright and lively technique. The masters would be pleased. As for the watercolours, I can now stand before them and see the music's influence on paper. Well worth the listening...

CD-Charts Position 22
Average Rating:

Mendelssohn: Elijah

CD-Charts > Music > Oratorios
from: EMI Classics

Release Date February 15, 2005
I was so pleased to come across the CD release of this old recording. I have a CD of a cassette tape of a reel-to-reel tape from the 60s and it's my standard. This recording finds all of these magnificent singers at their best, and Mme. Jones is here sans wobble which accompanies her later in her career. My only regret is M. Fischer-Dieskau. His singing is lovely as ever, if a bit too lovely for the music, but one misses a real bass (or bass/baritone) in this role. The chorus and conducting are fine. What I love about this recording is the straight-forward playing and singing which this chestnut needs. A more recent Elijah with Bryn Terfel and Renée Fleming is unfortunately marred by someone's idea of "drama" (I guess the conductor, ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 23
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Norton Recorded Anthology of Western Music, Concise Version (6 Compact Discs)

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

Release Date January 01, 2006
I was so pleased to come across the CD release of this old recording. I have a CD of a cassette tape of a reel-to-reel tape from the 60s and it's my standard. This recording finds all of these magnificent singers at their best, and Mme. Jones is here sans wobble which accompanies her later in her career. My only regret is M. Fischer-Dieskau. His singing is lovely as ever, if a bit too lovely for the music, but one misses a real bass (or bass/baritone) in this role. The chorus and conducting are fine. What I love about this recording is the straight-forward playing and singing which this chestnut needs. A more recent Elijah with Bryn Terfel and Renée Fleming is unfortunately marred by someone's idea of "drama" (I guess the conductor, ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 24
Average Rating:

The Complete EMI Sessions, 1928-1939

CD-Charts > Music > Oratorios
from: EMI Classics

Release Date August 19, 2008
I was so pleased to come across the CD release of this old recording. I have a CD of a cassette tape of a reel-to-reel tape from the 60s and it's my standard. This recording finds all of these magnificent singers at their best, and Mme. Jones is here sans wobble which accompanies her later in her career. My only regret is M. Fischer-Dieskau. His singing is lovely as ever, if a bit too lovely for the music, but one misses a real bass (or bass/baritone) in this role. The chorus and conducting are fine. What I love about this recording is the straight-forward playing and singing which this chestnut needs. A more recent Elijah with Bryn Terfel and Renée Fleming is unfortunately marred by someone's idea of "drama" (I guess the conductor, ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 25
Average Rating:

The Story Of Haydn

CD-Charts > Music > Oratorios
from: Vox (Classical)

Release Date April 16, 1995
I was so pleased to come across the CD release of this old recording. I have a CD of a cassette tape of a reel-to-reel tape from the 60s and it's my standard. This recording finds all of these magnificent singers at their best, and Mme. Jones is here sans wobble which accompanies her later in her career. My only regret is M. Fischer-Dieskau. His singing is lovely as ever, if a bit too lovely for the music, but one misses a real bass (or bass/baritone) in this role. The chorus and conducting are fine. What I love about this recording is the straight-forward playing and singing which this chestnut needs. A more recent Elijah with Bryn Terfel and Renée Fleming is unfortunately marred by someone's idea of "drama" (I guess the conductor, ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 26
Average Rating:

Handel: Messiah (Complete Oratorio); Battle, Quivar, Aler, Ramey, Davis

CD-Charts > Music > Oratorios
by: George Frideric Handel, Andrew Davis, Kathleen Battle, Florence Quivar, John Aler, Samuel Ramey, Toronto Symphony Orchestra & Toronto Mendelssohn Choir

Release Date October 25, 1990
This is the most exquisite version of "Messiah" I have heard to date. Although I am not a professional musician, I have a good ear and these artists are simply flawless! I particularly appreciate the occasional personal flourish at the end of some arias--a tiny bit of artistic license that still respects the glorious work of Handel. My only complaint relates to the production side of this CD set: the overture and all solos are so quiet, I have to crank up the volume, yet when any chorus begins, the sound is nearly deafening. This peculiar lack of balance is truly disappointing, but something I can live with for the stellar quality of the music.

CD-Charts Position 27
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Flute For Relaxation

CD-Charts > Music > Oratorios
from: RCA

Release Date October 10, 2000
This music is really soothing and relaxing. All you have to do is put the CD on and close your eyes. Stress relief on a CD. Great!

CD-Charts Position 28
Average Rating:

Elgar: The Collector's Edition (30 CDs)

CD-Charts > Music > Oratorios
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" themes ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 29
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Kathleen Battle · Wynton Marsalis ~ Baroque Duet / Anthony Newman · Orch St. Luke's · Nelson

CD-Charts > Music > Oratorios
by: George Frideric Handel, Alessandro Scarlatti, Luca Antonio Predieri, Alessandro Stradella, Johann Sebastian Bach, John Nelson, Kathleen Battle, Wynton Marsalis, Orchestra of St. Lukes, Anthony Newman, John T. Kulowitsch, Krista Bennion Feeney, Eriko Sato, Marc Goldberg

Release Date April 21, 1992
I had heard of this album in 1992, and since then I had not found it available in Brazil. Fortunatelly, I've got it through Amazon now. Despite of the fact that it is not played in the strict baroque style, Battle/Marsalis are great, brilliant, and they turn the difficult duets into delightfull virtuosism. The duets were very well selected, and some I did not know until now, which are also wonderful. This is the kind of CD anyone would enjoy, and I do recommend it.

CD-Charts Position 30
Average Rating:

A Bride's Guide to Wedding Music

CD-Charts > Music > Oratorios
from: Naxos

Release Date February 19, 2002
If you're looking for full pieces, look at other CDs. This one gives relatively small offerings of various pieces, which is awesome if you're just trying to listen to a bunch of selections in hopes of finding the 'right' one. Check it out if you have a wedding on the horizon, need to pick a piece for your wedding, and have $10 to spare.