CD-Charts Position 1
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Vaughan Williams: Choral Works

CD-Charts > Music > Bass-Baritone
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 2
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We'll Keep a Welcome

CD-Charts > Music > Bass-Baritone
by: Bryn Terfel Orchestra of the Welsh National Opera Gareth Jones

Release Date October 16, 2000
I was given this album as a Christmas present, and I can only say it's one of the best presents I've ever received! Lots of old favourites are here, including 'Sosban fach' and of course 'Land of my Fathers'. But for me the highlights are a truly rousing rendering of 'Men of Harlech' (enough to make even an army of the dead want to rise and fight!)and Bryn's impassioned delivery of one of the greatest of hymns, 'Cwm Rhondda (Bread of Heaven)'. Even if one is not religious (and I am not), this must surely move all who hear it - it had me in tears. It comes from the guts, and it goes straight to the guts. Terrific stuff!

CD-Charts Position 3
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Bryn Terfel - Opera Arias

CD-Charts > Music > Bass-Baritone
by: Bryn Terfel Metropolitan Opera Orchestra James Levine

Release Date April 08, 1996
As the disc states: Bryn Terfel sings Famous Opera Arias. No surprises here.

However, one must marvel at the sheer range of that man's dramatic talent. From the sweet-voiced, almost falsetto Don Giovanni, over the pious Wolfram to the downright silly Magnifico and the desperate but fiery Holländer. To think that one (young) voice has recorded all this repertoire on one CD is incredible.

One could pick at his diction in the french repertoire, but all such nitpicking is forgotten when he unleashes the inner tenor on the high g sharp at the end of "Scintille, diamant". One might argue that he is a little too heavy in Guilgielmo's "Rivolgete a lui lo sguarda" but who cares, when the same voice only minutes later portrays ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 4
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R Strauss: Salome

CD-Charts > Music > Bass-Baritone
from: Great Recordings of the Century

Release Date September 06, 1999
Generally, late 1970's and 1980's Karajan studio recordings, to my liking at least, must be approached with care and even mistrust. His immense talent not being the subject of discussion, yet as he aged he tended to give a lot more attention to how things were played, how they actually sounded, than to what was being played, somewhat along the lines of Elisabeth Schwarzkopf or Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, who also tended to give so much attention to these matters as to sound affected and artificial. Those special qualities (see following paragraph) that so much distinguished his recordings with the Philhamonia Orchestra made during the 1950's for EMI, or his early '60's discs made for Decca, EMI and DG with the Vienna and Berlin orchestras gradually faded along ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 5
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Something Wonderful - Bryn Terfel

CD-Charts > Music > Bass-Baritone
from: DG

Release Date October 14, 1996

It may sound superflous for opera singers to sing Rodgers & Hammerstein, but Bryn Terfel's recital proves an exception to this perception. Terfel's R&H disc is arguably one of his finest recordings, displaying a characterful feel for this music and impeccable diction. I know his song selection is a little skewed to the first half of R&H, but many well-loved favourites such as Some Enchanted Evening, If I Loved You and Edelweiss show off his voice to good effect. The first-class, traditional backing from the chorus and orchestra, and the sumptuous and clear recording, complete with a superb essay and full song lyrics in the booklet, only serve to add icing to the cake.

Terfel's recital opens bracingly with Oklahoma's Oh, what a Beautiful ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 6
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Lehár: Die Lustige Witwe

CD-Charts > Music > Bass-Baritone
from: DG

Release Date January 10, 1995
This is a recording which you can simply never tire of. Overflowing with youthful freshness and yet so polished that, it its more intesely romantic moments, it sweeps us into another world entirely. The dialogue is not drawn out and the operetta seems to dance from scene to scene as if there were no gaps at all between the numbers. This must be the 'Merry Widow' as audiences heard it in 1905 and it is crystal clear why it conquered the world.

CD-Charts Position 7
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Bryn Terfel - The Vagabond

CD-Charts > Music > Bass-Baritone
by: Bryn Terfel Malcolm Martineau

Release Date July 11, 1995
This CD contains work by some of my favourites, particularly the Finzi and the Vaughan Williams; and though it's the first Bryn Terfel album I've owned, he's always made a positive impression when I've seen him before.

But this CD is gloomy and depressive throughout. The accompaniments are uniformly leaden in tone, and Terfel's voice is poorly served. He attempts a wide range of pitch and of mood, but in the higher ranges, in the softer and gentler diction, he consistently sounds woolly and indistinct, only in the 'hearty' passages that fall in the middle of his range does his singing carry any conviction.

But the mood! If you have friends with depressive tendencies, keep this CD far from them. Much of the content ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 8
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Messiaen: Saint François d'Assise

CD-Charts > Music > Bass-Baritone
from: 20/21

Release Date October 11, 1999
This CD contains work by some of my favourites, particularly the Finzi and the Vaughan Williams; and though it's the first Bryn Terfel album I've owned, he's always made a positive impression when I've seen him before.

But this CD is gloomy and depressive throughout. The accompaniments are uniformly leaden in tone, and Terfel's voice is poorly served. He attempts a wide range of pitch and of mood, but in the higher ranges, in the softer and gentler diction, he consistently sounds woolly and indistinct, only in the 'hearty' passages that fall in the middle of his range does his singing carry any conviction.

But the mood! If you have friends with depressive tendencies, keep this CD far from them. Much of the content ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 9
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Delius: Choral Works

CD-Charts > Music > Bass-Baritone
from: Chandos

Release Date October 01, 1999
I would like to restrict my "review" to the Songs of Sunset although the other selections, Sea Drift and Songs of Farewell, are very much worthwhile too. Bryn Terfel is excellent, Sally Burgess also good, but not excellent. In spite of the fact that this recording(the Hickox one) is much younger I would prefer the one directed by Sir Charles Groves with John Shirley-Quirk and Janet Baker.Somehow the older recording seems more exciting.

CD-Charts Position 10
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Stravinsky: The Rake's Progress

CD-Charts > Music > Bass-Baritone
from: DG

Release Date August 09, 1999
This set captures such excellent, vivid and clear performances that the story leaps out by just listening. You won't really even need to follow the printed libretto. Every single character is perfectly sung and the orchestra and conductor are in top form. The whole thing brims with wit and charm making it very very enjoyable. I have listened to it several times already.