CD-Charts Position 1
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Vaughan Williams: Tallis Fantasia; Fantasia on Greensleeves; The Lark Ascending etc.

by: Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Neville Marriner

Release Date April 03, 1986
Whilst all the reviews are 5 star for this cd, I think it is worth noting a couple of points that may be helpful for anyone not particularly well aquainted with RVW. For my money the version of the Tallis Fantasia on this disc is the best I have heard from the many available. You really get the sense of awsome grandeur and spirituality that I think were intended. Many versions, by really great conductors/orchestras somehow fall short. For that reason alone this is an essential purchase. However, as an added bonus you also get one of my favourite RVW pieces, the very beautiful and moving Dives and Lazarus, which must be one of the most lovely melodies in English music.

CD-Charts Position 2
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Vaughan Williams: (2CD) Lark Ascending, Tallis Fantasia, Greensleeves, Variations on Dives and Lazarus

from: Double Decca

Release Date April 12, 1999
Everything you would want as in introduction to Vaughan Williams is here and it sounds fabulous. Whilst not my favourite recording of "The Lark Ascending", its still a treat and more than compensated for by the magnificent recordings of the "English Folk Suite" and "Oboe Concerto".
Disc 2 is just a sheer delight from start to finish. Every track is sublime and you couldnt ask for a better selection of Vaughan Williams on 2 discs. The only comparison I can draw is the "Abba Gold" collection. Thats how good Vaughan Williams and this cd is. Just buy it and enjoy England's finest composer. It makes my day better whenever I put it on.

CD-Charts Position 3
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Fauré - Requiem

by: Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Elin Manahan Thomas, Roderick Williams

Release Date March 03, 2008
I was present at the live concert at the Barbican in August 2007 when this was recorded. It was probably the best concert ever attended, and the recording shows this in it's energy, yet passionate and sensitive qualities.Harry Christoper ,The Sixteen and the Academy of St martin's in the field have produced a superb C.D..
J. Battershill

CD-Charts Position 4
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The Most Relaxing Classical Music in the World

by: Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Philharmonia Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Cambridge King's College Choir, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Slovak Symphony Orchestra, City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra

Release Date June 06, 2005
My knowledge of classical music is not so advanced, but it is a breed of music you must learn to appreciate if you get what I mean. I am to keen to expand my knowledge of classical music, so buying this album is a great starting point. Classical music is a breed of music which existed long time ago and is really old fashioned, but a real pleasure to listen to. It is very much instrumental orientated. You can hear the piano, violin or the flute with their distinctive sounds in the background.

The Most Relaxing Classical Music in the World is an excellent album featuring and honouring the talents of all the major acts to embrace their names in classical music combined in four CDs. Remember The Four Seasons, Fantasia, Concerto For Two ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 5
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Mozart for Meditation

from: Philips

Release Date February 10, 1997
I really enjoyed this CD and I did find the music relaxing. However as someone who meditates regularly I do not think that it is music that would be used to meditate to. One can sit and relax to this CD but if you want to meditate this CD, in places, can be quite stirring and would not lend itself to an actual meditation practice.

CD-Charts Position 6
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Haydn - The Creation

by: Academy of St Martin in the Fields

Release Date November 06, 2006
I really enjoyed this CD and I did find the music relaxing. However as someone who meditates regularly I do not think that it is music that would be used to meditate to. One can sit and relax to this CD but if you want to meditate this CD, in places, can be quite stirring and would not lend itself to an actual meditation practice.

CD-Charts Position 7
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Mozart: Requiem etc...

from: Double

Release Date March 01, 1994
I'm glad I bought this recording. Not only is it good value for money, with the "Coronation Mass" and the "Exsultate Jubilate" included, as well as the Litany K195, it's a fine performance of one of the most moving works ever written. It also has the added bonus of giving us the (I think) rarely heard edition by Franz Beyer, who "cleaned up" the more regularly performed Sussmayr version. Marriner and the Academy show their mettle to perfection here. If I have one quibble, it lies in the inexplicable arrangement of the items on disc one. Why place them in the order: Exsultate, then the "Coronation", then the Litany? The only reason I can conceive is that they were arranged from shortest to longest work, which doesn't make logical sense. Surely "Exsultate ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 8
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The Most Relaxing Classical Album in the World...Ever!

from: Classics

Release Date October 27, 1997
While there are some lovely pieces of music on these CDs they don't match the titles. When I bought this 2-set CD I thought that maybe I had received Vol2. or something by mistake as none of the tracks match the information on the CD insert. I decided to check by listening to the samples here on Amazon & discovered that they too are incorrect. Just to ensure I wasn't going mad I found the CD set on a US website and listened to their samples & they were correct!!! I wish someone could explain.

CD-Charts Position 9
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The World's Greatest Mozart Album

from: Decca

Release Date May 08, 2000

Putting a title like `Worlds Greatest' on the front of a CD is obviously a bold claim, and one which many people have become so familiar with that they tend to take it with a pinch of salt. There are so many ways of trying to catch the buyers interest that very few titles like these really jump out at the buyer.

This one did jump out at me, though not so much for the choice of tracks, more for the quality of artists who perform them. Considering this is only a 2CD set, far too short for any Mozart compilation, the list of performers reads like a roll call for the best `Last Night of the Proms' ever staged.

A simple list of some of the orchestras, conductors, singers and soloists sums up this gem of an album:

Orchestras: ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 10
Average Rating:

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Vivaldi - The Four Seasons

by: Academy of St Martin in the Fields

Release Date October 06, 2008

Putting a title like `Worlds Greatest' on the front of a CD is obviously a bold claim, and one which many people have become so familiar with that they tend to take it with a pinch of salt. There are so many ways of trying to catch the buyers interest that very few titles like these really jump out at the buyer.

This one did jump out at me, though not so much for the choice of tracks, more for the quality of artists who perform them. Considering this is only a 2CD set, far too short for any Mozart compilation, the list of performers reads like a roll call for the best `Last Night of the Proms' ever staged.

A simple list of some of the orchestras, conductors, singers and soloists sums up this gem of an album:

Orchestras: ... Read More: