|
|
|
Best of the Red Army Choir
|
|
|
Hildegard von Bingen: Canticles of Ecstasy
from: RCA
: :Although Hildegard von Bingen's music has been around for 900 years--and recordings of her music for decades--it seems that only now, as we approach the turn of another millennium, the time is right for the world to pay attention. In this first-rate traversal of her music--the most popular of several volumes released by the early-music ensemble Sequentia--we hear music that resulted from Hildegard's legendary visions, which often included song texts that she subsequently collected and dispensed to her religious community of women. As rendered here by the voices and instruments of Sequentia, her ...
|
|
|
King's Singers Christmas
from: Signum UK
: :Five centuries, seven languages, and six singers with 35 years of remarkable experience inform this rare collection of choral music. In the world-renowned King's Singers resplendent voices, ancient and modern choral music comes to life with all the blazing immediacy and timeliness of the gospel of the nativity. With 25 pieces of music--ranging from familiar works such as 'Coventry Carol' to the obscure Tchaikovsky piece 'The Crown of Roses'--the King's Singers move through this hallowed and festive set with the vocal mastery that only three-and-a-half decades of accomplished work together is capable of ...
|
|
|
Beethoven: The Complete Symphonies and Piano Concertos
from: EMI Classics
: essential recording:Otto Klemperer's Beethoven is one of the towering achievements in the history of recordings. By today's standards, these performances are hopelessly old-fashioned: dark, heavy, and frequently very slow. But they are also the grandest, most unsentimental, most purposeful versions in the catalog. In addition, the relatively slow tempos (only in the fast movements--the slow ones are pretty swift) and forward wind balance permit more detail to be heard than in most original-instrument performances. At budget price and with the entire piano concerto cycle thrown in for good measure, this is greatness ...
|
|
|
This Is Christmas
from: Primarily A Cappella
:Album Description:An American Christmas classic, originally recorded in Hollywood in 1963 and digitally remastered in 1995, these performances by the Voices of Jimmy Joyce capture on CD the original arrangements of all 15 Christmas classics by Alfred S. Burt. This recording was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1964. It includes This is Christmas, Some Children See Him, and The Star Carol.
|
|
|
American Spirit
:Album Description:An American Christmas classic, originally recorded in Hollywood in 1963 and digitally remastered in 1995, these performances by the Voices of Jimmy Joyce capture on CD the original arrangements of all 15 Christmas classics by Alfred S. Burt. This recording was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1964. It includes This is Christmas, Some Children See Him, and The Star Carol.
|
|
|
Christmastime
:Album Description:An American Christmas classic, originally recorded in Hollywood in 1963 and digitally remastered in 1995, these performances by the Voices of Jimmy Joyce capture on CD the original arrangements of all 15 Christmas classics by Alfred S. Burt. This recording was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1964. It includes This is Christmas, Some Children See Him, and The Star Carol.
|
|
|
Handel - Messiah / Nelson, Kirkby, Watkinson, Elliott, Thomas, AAM, Hogwood
from: L'Oiseau-Lyre (Decca)
: essential recording:This is the Messiah that started it all--the first period instrument performance recorded with a choir of men and boys. It introduced music lovers the world over to Christopher Hogwood, Emma Kirkby, and a whole host of performers who have since become ubiquitous as the 'English Early Music Mafia,' appearing as they do under zillions of different ensemble names on a variety of labels. Hogwood's performance still holds its own, however, as one of the finest and freshest available. A first-rate effort. --David Hurwitz
|
|
|
Gilbert & Sullivan - Pirates of Penzance / Anthony Warlow, David Hobson, Australian Opera
: :Lock up your daughters, the pirates are coming to town! Peppered with unforgettable melodies and tongue-twisting songs, The Pirates of Penzance is one of the most popular operettas ever written. Opera Australia's new production is an effervescent smash hit with a national tour and jubilant sellout seasons everywhere.In spite of being apprenticed to a Pirate King as a child, Frederic has led a very sheltered life. So when he arrives in Penzance with his boisterous shipmates, there are a few surprises in store for him! It all ends happily, but not before ...
|
|
|
Voice of an Angel
from: Sony
: :Those leery and weary of tasteless crossover need not shudder at the sight of this disc, which has sold over half a million copies in Europe. There's none of the softcore kiddie porn that came with Vanessa-Mae or the heavily packaged faux romanticism of Andrea Bocelli. (That of course doesn't necessarily mean that you'll want Voice of an Angel.) This 12-year-old Welsh soprano is so uncloyingly cute and has such an appealing personality (with just enough touch of cheek) that you'd almost rather have her as a dinner guest than on your CD ...
|
|
