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The Ultimate Sacred Christmas Album ~ Ave Maria
from: Decca
: :If you're already stocked up on your favorite Christmas carols but are looking for a nice solid anthology of sacred music, this one certainly has a lot of enjoyment to offer. True, a little more thought could have gone into this themed compilation. What does the Largo from Handel's opera Serse, featuring countertenor Andreas Scholl (his name consistently misspelled on the CD, by the way), have to do with the Yuletide season? No matter, it is after all one of the world's supreme melodies, and Scholl is part of the motley collection of ...
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Cecilia Bartoli - Live in Italy / Jean-Yves Thibaudet
: essential recording:In the beginning, Cecilia Bartoli seemed to do one thing better than anybody, i.e., Rossini arias, which would not guarantee a long career even for a singer of her ebullience. This live performance from the Teatro Olympico in Vincenza, Italy, shows how much she's expanded, both linguistically and musically. The first five selections reflect her newfound specialty, early opera. The three Caccini selections from the 17th century--accompanied by small string ensemble--are deeply felt and stylistically convincing enough to make one eager for future forays. She's guilty of spinning out Handel's 'Lascia ...
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Charpentier - Noƫls & Christmas Motets
: essential recording:In the beginning, Cecilia Bartoli seemed to do one thing better than anybody, i.e., Rossini arias, which would not guarantee a long career even for a singer of her ebullience. This live performance from the Teatro Olympico in Vincenza, Italy, shows how much she's expanded, both linguistically and musically. The first five selections reflect her newfound specialty, early opera. The three Caccini selections from the 17th century--accompanied by small string ensemble--are deeply felt and stylistically convincing enough to make one eager for future forays. She's guilty of spinning out Handel's 'Lascia ...
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Bach: Sacred Vocal Works
from: Deutsche Grammophon
: essential recording:In the beginning, Cecilia Bartoli seemed to do one thing better than anybody, i.e., Rossini arias, which would not guarantee a long career even for a singer of her ebullience. This live performance from the Teatro Olympico in Vincenza, Italy, shows how much she's expanded, both linguistically and musically. The first five selections reflect her newfound specialty, early opera. The three Caccini selections from the 17th century--accompanied by small string ensemble--are deeply felt and stylistically convincing enough to make one eager for future forays. She's guilty of spinning out Handel's 'Lascia ...
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Handel - Israel in Egypt / Bostridge, Chance, Gritton, Varcoe, King's College Choir, The Brandenburg Consort, Cleobury
: :Israel in Egypt is by far the most choral of all of Handel's oratorios. Indeed, Part II (which describes the plagues of Egypt with extraordinary vividness) is all chorus, apart from one short alto aria. For the most part, the King's College Choir, Cambridge, does a splendid job here. There's something unutterably beguiling about the freshness of children's voices in this context, especially when they are warmed with the delicate touch of vibrato which the 'King's sound' requires. If the young singers do not have the sophistication of the adult female voices of, ...
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Angelic Voices: The Best of the Vienna Boys' Choir
from: Philips
: :Israel in Egypt is by far the most choral of all of Handel's oratorios. Indeed, Part II (which describes the plagues of Egypt with extraordinary vividness) is all chorus, apart from one short alto aria. For the most part, the King's College Choir, Cambridge, does a splendid job here. There's something unutterably beguiling about the freshness of children's voices in this context, especially when they are warmed with the delicate touch of vibrato which the 'King's sound' requires. If the young singers do not have the sophistication of the adult female voices of, ...
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Rossini: Stabat Mater; Petite Messe Solennelle
from: EMI Classics
: :Israel in Egypt is by far the most choral of all of Handel's oratorios. Indeed, Part II (which describes the plagues of Egypt with extraordinary vividness) is all chorus, apart from one short alto aria. For the most part, the King's College Choir, Cambridge, does a splendid job here. There's something unutterably beguiling about the freshness of children's voices in this context, especially when they are warmed with the delicate touch of vibrato which the 'King's sound' requires. If the young singers do not have the sophistication of the adult female voices of, ...
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Victorian Musical Boxes
from: Saydisc
: :Israel in Egypt is by far the most choral of all of Handel's oratorios. Indeed, Part II (which describes the plagues of Egypt with extraordinary vividness) is all chorus, apart from one short alto aria. For the most part, the King's College Choir, Cambridge, does a splendid job here. There's something unutterably beguiling about the freshness of children's voices in this context, especially when they are warmed with the delicate touch of vibrato which the 'King's sound' requires. If the young singers do not have the sophistication of the adult female voices of, ...
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Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius
from: EMI Classics
: :Israel in Egypt is by far the most choral of all of Handel's oratorios. Indeed, Part II (which describes the plagues of Egypt with extraordinary vividness) is all chorus, apart from one short alto aria. For the most part, the King's College Choir, Cambridge, does a splendid job here. There's something unutterably beguiling about the freshness of children's voices in this context, especially when they are warmed with the delicate touch of vibrato which the 'King's sound' requires. If the young singers do not have the sophistication of the adult female voices of, ...
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Hallelujah: 35 Great Sacred Choruses
from: Sparrow
: :Israel in Egypt is by far the most choral of all of Handel's oratorios. Indeed, Part II (which describes the plagues of Egypt with extraordinary vividness) is all chorus, apart from one short alto aria. For the most part, the King's College Choir, Cambridge, does a splendid job here. There's something unutterably beguiling about the freshness of children's voices in this context, especially when they are warmed with the delicate touch of vibrato which the 'King's sound' requires. If the young singers do not have the sophistication of the adult female voices of, ...
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