CD-Charts Position 81
Average Rating:

Discover Music of the Baroque Era

CD-Charts > Music > Oratorios
from: Naxos

Release Date March 22, 2005
I really love this collection of Baroque music! Back in the 1990s, when Naxos was a new company, there was a lot of talk about their recordings not being as good as those of some other music labels, but I believe that Naxos has much improved, and terrific collections like this are testimony to the fact. There's a very nice balance on these CDs in terms of style, types of performers, and in presenting pieces that span the entire Baroque era from about 1600 to 1750. The tempos also balance nicely, though perhaps there's a slight emphasis on slower pieces, so the overall effect on me of hearing this music is peacefulness and serenity, while the etherial choral works add to that sense.

So much of the Baroque music that is performed ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 82
Average Rating:

Classical Baby

CD-Charts > Music > Oratorios
by: Susie Tallman

Release Date October 18, 2005
This is a lovely CD. It would be very nice as a lullaby CD. I sometimes put it on when my four-year old is overactive or overstimulated, and it creates a wonderfully soothing atmosphere. When I began playing it during bathtime, the whole experience became less an exuberant bout of high-octane water play and instead a less-frenetic way to wind down for the day -- even with lots of play. Highly recommended.

CD-Charts Position 83
Average Rating:

Handel

CD-Charts > Music > Oratorios
by: Renee Fleming, Harry Bicket, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, George Friedrich Handel

Release Date September 14, 2004
Though it's true that Fleming's Italian is not that idiomatic, I find her very comfortable and at home in this repertoire, in fact much more so than in Puccini or Verdi, and quite frankly can anyone imagine the great Handel NOT liking her voice?. Let's not forget that Handel went to Italy to look for singers, not only for opera but also for oratorio. At some point he should have had enough of the likes of prim-and-proper Emma Kirkby. Certain roles like Alcina, Cleopatra and Rodelinda demand important voices, and singers with big personalities. The great failure of Rene Jacobs general excellent Giulio Cesare is his Cleopatra. Barbara Schlick is very good in Bach and church music, but the temptress Handel wanted is nowhere to be found; being a specialist ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 84
Average Rating:

The Ultimate Wedding Album

CD-Charts > Music > Oratorios
from: Decca

Release Date March 14, 1995
The perfect album for anyone planning a wedding. Both traditional and contemporary wedding favorites. Sound quality is excellent.

CD-Charts Position 85
Average Rating:

Bach - Christmas Oratorio / Claron McFadden, Bernarda Fink, Christoph Genz, Dietrich Henschel, John Eliot Gardiner, Monteverdi Choir

CD-Charts > Music > Oratorios
starring: Bernarda Fink, Claron McFadden, Dietrich Henschel, Christoph Genz, Monteverdi Opera Choir

Release Date November 15, 2005
This was the kick-off concert for the 2000 Bach Cantata Pilgrimage. Formerly, I regarded Gardiner's CD version of the Christmas Oratorio as the best, but this one is better. Perhaps it's the joy of seeing a crack ensemble at work or Gardiner having an absolute ball (he clearly loves the work). I know audiophiles who stop watching after about 10 minutes and just listen, but for me there's a real fascination of watching it all happen in front of you and marvelling that one single man wrote all this magnificence. You come away admiring Gardiner, you come away totally in awe of Johann Sebastian Bach.

The Weihnachtsoratorium is not really an oratorio in the traditional sense but a series of six cantatas, one per day for each of the days of the Lutheran ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 86
Average Rating:

The Top 100 Masterpieces Of Classical Music Vol. 1-5

CD-Charts > Music > Oratorios
from: Delta

Release Date November 01, 1995
These five discs are the first in a series of ten CDs that have what are considered to be the most famous and best known classical masterpieces of all times. It has most of those songs that everybody knows, and here and there a song that's familiar, but you didn't know who was the composer. It's a great collection to use to start your classical collection, because from these occasionally shortened clips you can move on to the "real deal" and discover lots of great music along the way.

My only issue with this was that there was an entire disc devoted to Mozart, and thus other less-known composers, who are just as good, got no mention at all. Everyone knows who Mozart is, but few know of Telemann, Spohr, etc. I feel that there should have been a few more pieces ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 87
Average Rating:

The Wurst of P.D.Q. Bach

CD-Charts > Music > Oratorios
from: Vanguard Records

Release Date December 03, 1993
This is my favorite PDQ CD. We learn a good deal about the illustrious youngest son of J.S. Bach - for example, we learn about the various periods by which the composer's works have been classified by critics: 1) The Early Period; 2) The Soused Period (by far the longest of the three) and finally, 3) Contrition.

I was lucky enough to see a few PDQ Bach concerts at Carnegie Hall. Once, during a performance of "Iphigenia In Brooklyn," my sister and I sat next to a man who I thought might have a coronary, he was laughing so hard, and then he'd start laughing at something else, so he couldn't catch a breath. That is what a PDQ Bach concert is like.

"Iphigenia in Brooklyn" alone is worth the price of this CD. And the more you know about music (basic stuff, ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 88
Average Rating:

Handel (arr. Mozart): Alexander's Feast; Ode for St. Cecilia's Day

CD-Charts > Music > Oratorios
from: Arabesque Recordings

Release Date July 01, 2003
This is my favorite PDQ CD. We learn a good deal about the illustrious youngest son of J.S. Bach - for example, we learn about the various periods by which the composer's works have been classified by critics: 1) The Early Period; 2) The Soused Period (by far the longest of the three) and finally, 3) Contrition.

I was lucky enough to see a few PDQ Bach concerts at Carnegie Hall. Once, during a performance of "Iphigenia In Brooklyn," my sister and I sat next to a man who I thought might have a coronary, he was laughing so hard, and then he'd start laughing at something else, so he couldn't catch a breath. That is what a PDQ Bach concert is like.

"Iphigenia in Brooklyn" alone is worth the price of this CD. And the more you know about music (basic stuff, ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 89
Average Rating:

Handel - Messiah / Augér, von Otter, Chance, Crook, Tomlinson, English Concert, Pinnock

CD-Charts > Music > Oratorios
by: George Frideric Handel, Arleen Auger, Anne Sofie von Otter, Trevor Pinnock, The English Concert & Choir, Michael Chance, Howard Crook, John Tomlinson

Release Date October 25, 1990
AUGER AND CHANCE ENCHANT AND ENTRANCE.
The English passion for oratorio is largely due to Handel. Every year from 1738 to 1751, he produced at least one. The 'Messiah' is THE modern oratorio, not only because of the custom of rising and stretching in the seventh inning, when the 'Hallelujah Chorus' is sung, but because of its magnificent choruses, soaring arias and orchestral accompaniment which are truly thrilling.

And that is precisely why I would not give this rendition five stars. It is incredibly 'laid back' and too 'cold' for my taste. However. let's examine the soloist's contributions one by one, for some of this overall impression has a great deal to do with them.

John Tomlinson (bass)- excellent technique with good emotional investment; ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 90
Average Rating:

Ah! Mio Cor' Handel: Arias

CD-Charts > Music > Oratorios
from: Deutsche Grammophon

Release Date April 22, 2008
There are beautiful arias on this disc, but they are spoiled by exageratedly slow tempi ("Scherza infida," for instance), exagerated "acting," and exagerated diction. I most of the Italian arias, Miss Kozena rolls her "Rs" in exagerated fashion ("Io trrradito in morrrte in brrraccio"), exagerates her "Ps." Her "acting" in the "Hercules" aria distorts the vocal line (this is also apparent in the "Agrippina," and "Orlando" arias), and causes her to make weird noises in the lower register - it almost seems she has no low notes. That said, Miss Kozena impresses in the rapid divisions and her commitment to the text is never in doubt. If the listener likes or doesn't mind the above, the album may delight.