CD-Charts Position 161
Average Rating:

.

Operas of Gilbert and Sullivan (D'Oyly Carte Opera Company)

CD-Charts > Music > General
by: Gilbert and Sullivan

Release Date February 09, 2004
I agree wholeheartedly with the review by J.J.Rhodes, but feel I should make the point that the whole set is recorded in full glorious MONO! Once you have got over the shock of the sound stage collapsing into a point source however, the music really is delightful, and takes me back to the days when I used to pay 9d to sit up in the gods at the Golders Green Hippodrome to hear the D'Oyly Carte company sing their way through all those charming numbers. This set has a distinctly dated feel about it, and makes one realise just how much performing styles, as well as recording techniques, have changed in half a century (and some of the artists were clearly chosen for their ability to act rather than their ability to sing!). But for all that, I'm glad ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 162
Average Rating:

.

Purcell: Dido and Aeneas

CD-Charts > Music > General
from: Legends

Release Date February 28, 2000
Henry Purcell's (1659-1695) opera "Dido and Aeneas" tells, in approximately one hour, of the frustrated passion of Dido, queen of Carthage, for the Trojan hero Aeneas, whose destiny it is to found Rome. The opera is based upon Virgil's Aeneid with a highly compressed libretto by Nahum Tate. Purcell's opera includes three parts for women and only one, Aeneas, for a male. The brief opera is in three Acts. According to "The New Grove Book of Operas", Purcell based his work on an earlier English opera, "Venus and Adonis" by John Blow. With its heavy emphasis on dance and chorus, "Dido and Aeneas" also draws heavily on French baroque opera.

This reissue of a 1961 recording of a young Janet Baker in the role of Dido is an outstanding way ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 163
Average Rating:

.

Mozart, W.A.: Don Giovanni

CD-Charts > Music > General
by: Sherrill Milnes Anna Tomowa-Sintow Peter Schreier Edith Mathis Wiener Philharmoniker Karl Böhm

Release Date November 13, 2006
This opera has really dark and deep feelings so I like the fact that Karl Bohm gives the orchestra a heavy sound. He makes the supper scene really horrifying. Don Giovanni is a bad man, but everyone likes him. Sherrill Milnes sings his roles with a charm in his voice. Anna Tomowa-Sintow has a golden voice and I like the way how she shows Donna Anna's grief. Teresa Zylis-Gara shows how Donna Elvira's heart has broken by the way Giovanni betrayed her. She expresses how much Elvira loves Giovanni. Peter Schreier has a beautiful voice and he sings Don Ottavio's roles, expressing Ottavio is a kind man. He acts as if Ottavio means he will avenge Giovanni. Walter Berry is a very fine Leporello. Edith Mathis has a elegant voice that depicts how much Zerlina ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 164
Average Rating:

.

Carreras Domingo Pavarotti in Concert

CD-Charts > Music > General
from: Decca

Release Date June 29, 1998

Living in Oman/ Arabia, working in Abu Dhabi & Dubai/ U.A. Emirates and travelling for business reasons all over the Gulf region and the Middle East I like to discuss with my Arabian friends and customers about the world most famous opera singers and most popular popmusic singers of both cultures - the Western (European & North American) and the Oriental culture.

We enjoy to listen to the best opera singers in Europe and in the Middle East. I was astonished to find CDs with music of Carreras, Domingo and Pavarotti in the homes of my Arabian friends - no wonder, many of them studied in their youth in the U.S. or in U.K.! My friends in Arabia deeply admire and truly appreciate CARRERAS, DOMINGO and PAVAROTTI !


Read More:

CD-Charts Position 165
Average Rating:

.

Different Trains

CD-Charts > Music > General
from: Nonesuch

Release Date March 09, 1989
The two works on this disc are essential listening for anyone with even the slightest interest in Steve Reich. For those who don't know the composer, there are perhaps easier places to start - the Music for Mallet Instruments, Octet, Music for 18 Musicians, for instance.

It's now nearly 20 years since these pieces were recorded. Different Trains juxtaposes the Kronos Quartet with taped railway announcements, words overheard on trains, lines relating to train journeys etc. Throughout, there's a true integration of the form, since the strings pick up rhythmic and melodic lines from the spoken words, develop them, amplify them.

Electric Counterpoint is performed on an electric guitar. Pat Metheney plays against pre-recorded tapes to create ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 166
Average Rating:

.

Rossini - Petite messe solennelle;Stabat mater

CD-Charts > Music > General
by: Cambridge King's College Choir

Release Date April 04, 2005
The two works on this disc are essential listening for anyone with even the slightest interest in Steve Reich. For those who don't know the composer, there are perhaps easier places to start - the Music for Mallet Instruments, Octet, Music for 18 Musicians, for instance.

It's now nearly 20 years since these pieces were recorded. Different Trains juxtaposes the Kronos Quartet with taped railway announcements, words overheard on trains, lines relating to train journeys etc. Throughout, there's a true integration of the form, since the strings pick up rhythmic and melodic lines from the spoken words, develop them, amplify them.

Electric Counterpoint is performed on an electric guitar. Pat Metheney plays against pre-recorded tapes to create ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 167
Average Rating:

.

Sibelius - Complete Symphonies

CD-Charts > Music > General
from: RCA Red Seal

Release Date March 15, 2004
I only really came to appreciate Sibelius in the last couple of years, travelling through time from Beethoven, Schumann, and Brahms; I'm glad to have taken the trouble.

Although I find something a little sterile about some aspects of the performances of some parts of this bargain box, I guess that Sir Colin Davis is allowed to relax a little on this umpteenth traversal of Sibelius's orchestral music.

The RCA sound quality is just fine and I agree with the other reviewers that this set would make a great choice for Sibelius beginners; it certainly proved to be so for me!

CD-Charts Position 168
Average Rating:

.

Baby Einstein: Baby Vivaldi

CD-Charts > Music > General
by: The Baby Einstein Music Box Orchestra

Release Date February 06, 2006
I only really came to appreciate Sibelius in the last couple of years, travelling through time from Beethoven, Schumann, and Brahms; I'm glad to have taken the trouble.

Although I find something a little sterile about some aspects of the performances of some parts of this bargain box, I guess that Sir Colin Davis is allowed to relax a little on this umpteenth traversal of Sibelius's orchestral music.

The RCA sound quality is just fine and I agree with the other reviewers that this set would make a great choice for Sibelius beginners; it certainly proved to be so for me!

CD-Charts Position 169
Average Rating:

.

Mirabilis - Mediaeval Baebes

CD-Charts > Music > General
by: Mediaeval Baebes

Release Date July 18, 2005
It is the same as the UK version but with a different 'Hot Chicks' cover to 'rope in' us dumb american consumers.
Some of us dont fall for it.
The UK cover is so beautiful.
The album itself is flawlwess

CD-Charts Position 170
Average Rating:

.

Pride and Prejudice: Original Soundtrack [SOUNDTRACK]

CD-Charts > Music > General
from: BBC

Release Date September 25, 1995
The music from the Pride and Prejudice 1995 tv series is good music in its own right. I really love the title theme. However, if you have watched the tv series enough times, then the music is inextricably tied to what is going on in the drama, and this serves to intensify the feelings evoked by the music.

This CD is great to own if you love the TV series, as listening to the CD almost makes you feel like you are watching it again!

It is a way of re-experiencing the emotions of the drama.