CD-Charts Position 1
Average Rating:

.

Jenkins: The Armed Man - A Mass For Peace

CD-Charts > Music > General AAS
from: Virgin

Release Date September 10, 2001
I would guess that the Amazon reviewer Warwick Thompson is under 25.
Anyway, he writes as if he is, judging by his use of the English language
("think Goldfinger", eeeeeeeeh!).
He also believes that L'Homme Armee is 16th century. Oh dear.
I find the reviews of the actual buyers much more to the point, wheher positive or negative.
Pity that the text of the Amazon reviewer is displayed at the top.
OK?

CD-Charts Position 2
Average Rating:

.

Handel: Messiah

CD-Charts > Music > General AAS
from: Duo

Release Date May 10, 1993
This is more like it. I bought the Harry Christopher/Sixteen version and was left unmoved by it. This however, was sublime - fantastic soloists, an orchestra and chorus that sounded as if they meant it, a wonderful range of emotion beautifully realised. To me this is what a performance of the Messiah should sound like. The other reviewers got this one spot-on. I can only 'rejoice greatly' for such a recording.

CD-Charts Position 3
Average Rating:

.

Sacred Chant: a Beautiful Collection of Gregorian Chants

CD-Charts > Music > General AAS
by: Benedictine Monks Of The Abbey Of Santo Domingo De Silos

Release Date May 19, 2008
This is more like it. I bought the Harry Christopher/Sixteen version and was left unmoved by it. This however, was sublime - fantastic soloists, an orchestra and chorus that sounded as if they meant it, a wonderful range of emotion beautifully realised. To me this is what a performance of the Messiah should sound like. The other reviewers got this one spot-on. I can only 'rejoice greatly' for such a recording.

CD-Charts Position 4
Average Rating:

.

Vaughan Williams: Choral Works

CD-Charts > Music > General AAS
from: British Composers

Release Date August 23, 1993
Neither work is particularly well known, even among enthusiasts for Vaughan Williams music. Don't let that put you off. Both are original and gripping works and Sancta Civitas is an extraordinary piece unlike any other work I know. It is the work in which the composer found the unique colours and dissonance that would lead to works like Job and the Fourth Symphony and is, perhaps, even finer than those great works. It is certainly original. The only previous recording that came anywhere near to doing the work justice was that conducted by Sir David Willcocks. This new account is in the same class and has the benefit of a superb modern recording that the earlier record cannot match. I genuinely believe that Sancta Civitas is one of Vaughan Williams' ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 5
Average Rating:

.

Andrea Bocelli - Sacred Arias

CD-Charts > Music > General AAS
from: Philips

Release Date May 13, 2002
A CD that has so much beauty it moves you from beginning to end. His voice portrays so much emotion that you don't just appreciate the sound, you feel every note that he sings.

There are some CDs that are simply labelled "mood music", and this for me is one that I file under such a category. Every time I listen it lifts me and transports me to places only I can go to. Somewhere that escapes the modern world.

The choice of arias is perfect. Many of which I was unfamiliar with. However, I have since introduced this CD to a number of people, many who listen to an entirely different genre of music; nearly all have been captivated by it.

All I can say is buy it and soak up the rich fare on offer.

CD-Charts Position 6
Average Rating:

.

Karl Jenkins - Requiem

CD-Charts > Music > General AAS
by: Karl Jenkins

Release Date March 21, 2005
This disc was a birthday present from a friend. I'll leave aside the issue of what kind of friend purchases a requiem for a birthday present, but I think it's important to say that I had not consciously listened to any of Karl Jenkins's music before I was given this CD. I understand that there is a kind of snobbery concerning the popular Jenkins - the Oxford Concise Dictionary of Music briskly moves non-stop from the seventeenth-century cavalier composer John Jenkins to US conductor Newell Jenkins - so there may be something in this, but listening to this CD made it clear that Karl Jenkins certainly has talent. Perhaps it is the self-promotional aspect of his activities that rubs people up the wrong way. For instance, on the informative sleeve-notes I learned ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 7
Average Rating:

.

The Best Gregorian Chant Album In The World... Ever!

CD-Charts > Music > General AAS
by: Monks & Choir Boys Of Downside Abbey

Release Date April 19, 2004
My wife (for whom I bought it) says that this CD set is very restful and soothing and I have to say that I quite like to hear the singing in the background whilst I slave away at the computer. And, of course, the great thing is that we got two CDs for about the price of one. Excellent!

CD-Charts Position 8
Average Rating:

.

Abide with Me - 50 Favourite Hymns

CD-Charts > Music > General AAS
from: Double Decca

Release Date July 08, 1996
I have often listened to church music thinking to myself is it all manifested in the same place and released under different titles? However this selection 'hits the spot' with some great renditions of worshipful music and if you like to listen to part singing then cd 1 is excellent. There also some lovely descants some of which i had not heard before, an inspiring selection. Excellent.

CD-Charts Position 9
Average Rating:

.

Allegri - Miserere; Lotti - Crucifixus; Palestrina - Stabat Mater Dolorosa

CD-Charts > Music > General AAS
from: Coro

Release Date May 05, 2003
Allegri's Miserere is given the top billing on this disc, perhaps because of some celebrated special effects, explained in the liner notes, that it contains. The first track is devoted to a sombre and beautiful Crucifixus (from the Nicene Creed) by one Lotti, an older contemporary of Bach. Admirable and compelling, both of these, but what I bought this disc for was the two items by Palestrina, his Stabat Mater and the celestial Missa Papae Marcelli.

It is not just the quality of the early music specialists these days but the sheer profusion of them that continues to astonish me. I looked through the list of singers (18, not 16) and while I did not recognise most of the names offhand that may simply be because I did not investigate my large record ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 10
Average Rating:

.

Verdi - Requiem

CD-Charts > Music > General AAS
from: EMI Classics

Release Date October 08, 2001
Well I would have to disagree with the previous reviewers. Of course, it's all a matter of personal taste, but I was quite disappointed (having read the first review before I purchased) with this recording. I thought the pace a little slow -- ponderous, even -- at times, especially the "Te decet hymnus" passage. And the soloists, who look so promising on paper, failed to deliver, to my mind. The singers are supposed to serve the music, not the other way around. Having said that, Gheorghiu does hit some beautiful notes. I'm afraid that Daniela Barcellona's voice has a tinny quality, and Roberto Alagna may have been having an off day. Picky of me? Probably, but I expect more of such a line-up.
The orchestra and the chorus, on the other hand, get a big thumbs ... Read More: