CD-Charts Position 151
Average Rating:

Bruckner: Symphonies Nos. 8 & 9; Te Deum [DVD Video]

CD-Charts > Music > Vocal Non-Opera
from: Deutsche Grammophon

Release Date April 08, 2008
To mark the 100th anniversary of Herbert von Karajan Deutsche Grammophon continues the exploration of its video catalogue and unearthing these remarkable Bruckner concerts from 1978/79 with the Wiener Philharmoniker is a more than welcome event. What I find amazing about these filmed documents is that they disprove more than anything the complaints often laid against Karajan as the inhuman control freak.
Here is a conductor, in the autumn of his career, entirely on top of his game, serving as the most dedicated guide through these fascinating works, obtaining magnificent results from one of the finest orchestras of the day. Karajan knows as none else to blend sense of architecture with orchestral detail and transparency. His Bruckner may ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 152
Average Rating:

Bach: Motets BWV 225-230 [Hybrid SACD]

CD-Charts > Music > Vocal Non-Opera
from: Channel Classics Nl

Release Date May 13, 2008
There are many excellent recordings of the motets...but this tops my list. The Netherlands Chamber Choir are SOOOOOO good. Recorded sound from Channel is first rate.

CD-Charts Position 153
Average Rating:

Bach - Mass in B minor / Argenta, Nichols, Chance, Stafford, Milner, W. Evans, Gardiner

CD-Charts > Music > Vocal Non-Opera
by: Johann Sebastian Bach, John Eliot Gardiner, Nancy Argenta, Michael Chance, The English Baroque Soloists, The Monteverdi Choir, Mary Nichols, Wynford Evans, Howard Milner

Release Date October 25, 1990
I do not understand what exactly was the thought behind this performance. The tempi are all displaced, they sound either rushed or sluggish. There is no motivation or expression in the sound of either the choir or the soloists and the Kyrie is just awful! I have never heard such disjointed and pretentious phrasing. There is no feeling for the style nor the words! I'm a professional musician so I know a thing or two, and I would not recommend this recording to anyone.

CD-Charts Position 154
Average Rating:

On the Transmigration of Souls

CD-Charts > Music > Vocal Non-Opera
by: John Adams, Lorin Maazel, New York Philharmonic

Release Date August 31, 2004
I've always been of the opinion that all's fair in art; the contempt for this work displayed here by certain reviewers thus rings hollow. I'm also at a loss in understanding why the mere fact that it was a commissioned work should have a bearing on its merits as a listening experience. What The Transmigration of Souls manages to do is elicit a recollection of the "emotions of the moment" that surfaced in the aftermath of that horrible day coming up on seven years ago. As a sonic remembrance of the victims, heroism, and sudden personal losses; I think it's a perfectly fine piece that serves its purpose well enough. As a work of absolute music, it's probably found a bit wanting.

The use of an overlapping collage of spoken voices throughout ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 155
Average Rating:

Purcell: Complete Chamber Music

CD-Charts > Music > Vocal Non-Opera
from: Brilliant Classics

Release Date April 01, 2008
I have an enormous amount of affection for this anthlogy. The music is quintessential Purcell- ingeneous, straight-forward, the show tune king of his day. This is a seven disc set. The first four discs are performed by Musica Antiphon, one of several European H.I.P. ensembles who seem to draw personnel from the same pool. This particular group empressed me earlier with a performance of the Telemann Tafelmusik which was far more spirited and fun than the benchmark perfomance by Musica Antiqua Koln. That same sense of fun is present here as well. The final three discs are harpsichord (and a little organ) pieces played by Pieter-Jan Belder. His performances are pleasant and musical as well. It is nice to hear music in these discs (instead of a prissy HIP seminar). My only qualm ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 156
Average Rating:

The Ultimate Most Relaxing Classics for Kids in the Universe

CD-Charts > Music > Vocal Non-Opera
from: Denon Records

Release Date August 14, 2007
My five year old son loves this CD!!!!! I think its great,I listen to it too.

CD-Charts Position 157
Average Rating:

Bach: Greatest Hits

CD-Charts > Music > Vocal Non-Opera
from: Sony

Release Date August 09, 1994
Good good CD with all Bach's greatest hits in good arrangements.
The different songs give a good impression of Bach's great works.

CD-Charts Position 158
Average Rating:

John Rutter: Requiem

CD-Charts > Music > Vocal Non-Opera
from: EMI Classics

Release Date August 11, 1998
I would recommend The Rutter Requiem as performed by the choir of King's College in Cambridge, England, to anyone with an interest in that piece or in timeless religious music. The performance by both the singers and the instrumentalists is flawless and exquisitely beautiful, with an incredible range of emotions expressed as the composer meant for them to be.

CD-Charts Position 159
Average Rating:

Debussy: Orchestral Music

CD-Charts > Music > Vocal Non-Opera
from: Philips

Release Date February 15, 1994
This set is wonderful for anyone who is looking to get acquainted with Debussy, as well as anyone looking for new interpretations of his famous orchestral work. This 2 disk contains my favorite rendering of the majestic "Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun", as well as my favorite recording of the three Nocturnes and "Images". These three pieces are improved by the warm and luminous, yet vague ("impressionistic") sound of this recording.

The harp dances sound wonderful. So does the clarinet rhapsodie. The soloist has wonderful tone.

Elsewhere, the audio quality is my only complaint about this set - "La Mer", being as it is a highly dense, orchestrated piece of work, would benefit from added clarity and higher audio fidelity, but the version here is still ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 160
Average Rating:

Yo-Yo Ma - Simply Baroque II ~ Bach & Boccherini / ABO, Koopman

CD-Charts > Music > Vocal Non-Opera
by: Johann Sebastian Bach, Luigi Boccherini, Ton Koopman, Yo-Yo Ma, The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra

Release Date August 15, 2000
I own both Simply Baroque and Simply Baroque II. I think both offer the listener a truly beautiful listening experience. Yo Yo Ma and Tom Koopman have created magic here. The recording is crystal clear and the music... it's just incredible. I find myself relaxed, involved, immersed - a part of the music itself. How often does this happen? If you enjoy music that moves you body and soul, you really owe it to yourself to purchase both of these Cds.