Wood River

Track Listings

1. Wood River

2. Outlaw

3. Sleepy little Town

4. Can't Go Back

5. Modern Lullaby

Tracks:

Haunted Heart
River
When Did You Leave Heaven?
You've Changed
Answer Me
My Cherie Amour
In My Life
The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress
Wozzeck/The Midnight Sun
Liebst du um Schit
My One And Only Love/This Is Always
Can do Amor
Psych
Hard Times Come Again No More

Amazon.com

While countless fans flock to see soprano Renee Fleming's performances of the Countess in The Marriage of Figaro because she's got the voice and the dramatic ability to handle such meaty roles, the versatile singer throws her fans a curveball on Haunted Heart, singing popular standards and ballads as well as a few altered classical pieces. In her liner notes, Fleming calls this album a "look back at the road not taken" -- she played a weekly gig in a jazz club while in school. Nonetheless, her feel for the material here is undeniable. Interestingly, she drops her voice a full octave from her usual tessitura, and the change reveals a robust gospel-oriented approach filled with dramatic breaths and moans. The lyrical Fred Hersch (piano) and the idiosyncratic Bill Frisell (guitar) provide support, and both are adventurous jazz players who create subtle and uniquely haunting backdrops. It adds up to an interesting cross-section of ideas well carried off by the generous talents of all involved. --Tad Hendrickson

Interview with Renee Fleming
Renee Fleming speaks about recent projects, including her memoir The Inner Voice and her recent Handel CD, in our interview.

Customer Reviews:

Sublime and ridiculous.......2007-06-13

The sublime: much of the artistry of this recording is about sound, and the subtle blending/responding of voice with guitar sounds and / or piano sounds. It is in the sensitive musical interplay between the artists where this effort shines. Definitely not recommended for road trips!

The ridiculous: Fleming ended the majority of most phrases in most of the songs with a guttural of some sort which for me becomes irritating to the point of distraction. These punctuations are mostly quite awful: really tasteless, clumsy, and overused big time and I'm amazed at how this ever got released. Without these ersatz testifyin' noises this CD would be stunning.

So, if you have the ability and inclination to edit out this garbage from your perception as you listen I think you'll be glad you experienced these artists at work together. (Unfortunately I'm not up to it).

Eeeeeeeeeeewwwwwww.......2007-06-06

Ugh. Like a manufactured home vs. a stick-built house, Fleming's manufactured (aka "training and technique") blues voice compares unfavorably to other jazz/blues singers/lounge acts. Would not, COULD not, listen to this recording straight through--one big long, breathy, minor key train wreck in the making. Took the CD on a road trip and had to pull over and remove from queue--either that or drive into a wall.

Better than I thought it would be.......2007-04-10

I have to admit, Haunted Heart was a lot better than I thought it would be,especially her recordings of "River", "The Moon's a Harsh Mistress, "My Cherie Amour" and "In my life".
I think this is the most artistically successful recording of Pop/Jazz by a classical singer. I enjoyed it even better than the Anna Sophie Von Otter'/ Elvis Costello CD.
The perspective I am coming from is that of a classical singer who started out as a pop singer/songwriter. I perform and teach cross-genre but love a world class instrument such as Flemming's
I wanted to get the perspective of a friend who used to sing jingles and is also a trained singer but is usually critical of any attempts that opera singers make at crossing -over.
My friend is very familiar with Flemming's voice, but did not recognise it in this context when I played the CD for her. Her reaction was very complimentary, although she did comment that the diction was a bit strange.
She then played it for her brother a well known jazz singer and arranger who had a somewhat negative reaction.He found the singing to be overly dark and round. He prefers a cleaner more 'spoken' approach to this style of singing. I understand this perspective and therefore personally prefer Ella to Sarah as well, but let's not get too picky. Obviously, Rene Flemming is of the Sarah Vaghan School of jazz singing, which is not too shabby.

I will continue to enjoy this CD and will wait for another opera diva to top this one. But, somehow I think the next really good CD of Pop/ jazz from an opera star will also come from Rene.

To those who have been unreasonably mean and negative towards her, I can only say you are not fit to polish her shoes!

Brava Renee.......2007-04-09

This talented woman can sing anything. I really enjoyed this cd with the lights turned down and a glass of wine to relax after a very stressful day at work. Renee could definitely have another singing career outside of opera should she choose. Hearing her drop that gorgeous voice down one octave rivals the best chanteuses in the business - Cassandra Wilson, Nancy Wilson, Regina Belle, Sarah Vaughan, etc. This cd of different musical styles reminds me of Nina Simone and Cassandra Wilson, two great singers whom could interpret any song genre and make their versions special. I loved all the songs and the standouts here are "Haunted Heart", "River", "My One and Only Love", "My Cherie Amour", "Cancao do Amor", and Beatles "In My Life", and "Hard Times Come Again No More".
I hope Renee keeps recording whatever catches her fancy because I'll certainly always listen.

Art is always new. .......2007-03-10

Renee Fleming is an artist bringing us something new, and beautiful. The poor will always be with us as manifest in those who resent other's movement from their established zones. Renee Fleming is a great female voice with accomplishments her detractors will never have, but in their dreams.

I welcome Renee's elan demonstrated with her recent recordings, Love sublime with Brad Mehldau, and Haunted Heart with Fred Hersch and Bill Frissell. Bravery, fun, and talent combined by artists and for people who are listening. Hearing long time favorites Mehldau, Hersch, and Frissell is all the more sublime.

All My Heart: Deborah Voigt Sings American Songs

Average customer rating:

Mixed results
Like driving a Ferrari in a school zone.
Stellar Soprano Applies Her Considerable Talent to a Lightning-Quick, All-American Repertoire
May have a heart but what good is it if the artistic results are a void?
Great new context for Voigt

All My Heart: Deborah Voigt Sings American Songs

Manufacturer: Angel Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Arias | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Operettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Easy Listening | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Obsessions (Wagner & Strauss: Arias and Scenes)
Sacred Songs
Cecilia Bartoli ~ Opera Proibita (Handel · Scarlatti · Caldara) / Les Musiciens du Louvre · Minkowski
Plácido Domingo & Deborah Voigt - Wagner Love Duets ~ Tristan und Isolde, Siegfried
My Name is Barbara

ASIN: B000AQACM0
Release Date: 2005-09-13

Tracks:

The Side Show
Two Little Flowers
Down East
The Circus Band
Berceuse
At The River
The Children's Hour
Piccola Serenata
Greeting
So Pretty
In The Dark Pine-Wood
The Ivy-Wife
The Cloak, The Boat, And The Shoes
I Am In Need Of Music
To The Virgins To Make Much Of Time
This Heart That Flutters
Darkling, I Listen
Bright Cap And Streamers
The Half-Ring Moon
Pierrot
Cleopatra To The Asp
Evening Song
Ah, Love, But A Day
I Send My Heart Up To Thee
The Year's At The Spring

Amazon.com

This collection of American songs spanning 150 years shows Deborah Voigt, one of the world's leading sopranos, in a new light. She successfully achieves the transition from the larger-than-life operatic stage to the intimate world of song, especially in the more outgoing, dramatic pieces. Voigt enters into each composer's style with complete empathy. Charles Ives was an irrepressible maverick and a stylistic chameleon. Voigt captures the songs' hymn-like simplicity and irreverent rambunctiousness, though her voice is a bit too heavy for them. Leonard Bernstein's jazzy irony also needs more lightness, but the slow love songs are done beautifully. Voigt really comes into her own in Charles Griffes's lush impressionism, evoking the sultriness of Cleopatra and the rhythms of a Spanish dance, and Amy Beach's unabashed effusive romanticism. Composer Ben Moore is a child of our own time, born in 1960. He moves between many styles with natural ease. Set to great English and American poetry, some of his songs were written for Voigt, and she sings them to perfection. The splendid pianist Brian Zeger provides both leadership and support. --Edith Eisler

Customer Reviews:

Mixed results.......2006-02-22

This is an interesting collection of American songs, but I don't feel that Ms Voigt sold these selections to me. She still sounds like an opera singer trying to squeeze a very powerful and large voice into smaller setting for these songs, with mixed success. She is much, much better than many of her fellow sopranos that tried such repertoire, but I feel that she only gets it right in Amy Beach and Griffes songs. And even there, she does not have a sound that would make every song recital fan happy.
And what's with the title of this album? I think she is a classy artist and deserves better than such silly title, her label probably came up with that.
Nice try overall, but I hope Ms Voigt will do more Strauss and Wagner from now on, not more songs like these.

Like driving a Ferrari in a school zone........2006-02-02

Like a lot of big operatic voices, Voigt is hard to capture on CD; her recordings of Wagner and Strauss excerpts are good, but they can't convey the experience of hearing her live in an opera house. And singing with only piano accompaniment, as here, she simply can't use most of the power in her voice. As sensitive as her performances are I can't help feeling that she's having to hold back. For American song sung with more delicacy and grace I would suggest Barbara Bonney or Dawn Upshaw (I can't agree with previous reviewers' suggestion of Cheryl Studer's Barber, though Hampson is wonderful on that set).

Stellar Soprano Applies Her Considerable Talent to a Lightning-Quick, All-American Repertoire.......2005-11-08

It's a shame that soprano Deborah Voigt hit her greatest notoriety last year for being fired by the Royal Opera House for being too fat for the title role of "Ariadne aux Naxos" by Richard Strauss. She subsequently lost eighty pounds but luckily none of her vocal prowess as can be heard to great effect on this intriguing collection of American songs, 25 in all and averaging a little over two minutes each. It would have seemed like a mismatch to apply her powerful voice - famous for her big Wagnerian roles - to sometimes delicate tunes. Voigt, however, confounds expectations with a surprisingly nuanced performance that showcases her interpretative skills on a diverse set of musical styles.

Similar to what countertenor David Daniels did with his 2003 disc with guitarist Craig Ogden, "A Quiet Thing", Voigt and pianist Brian Zeger have created a wide-ranging lyrical repertoire that encompasses significant vocal demands while remaining intimate in setting. In fact, both Daniels and Voigt cover Leonard Bernstein's anti-war lullaby, "So Pretty", with haunting aplomb. She also manages to dance effectively over the "Da-ga-da-ga-dums" of Bernstein's challenging "Piccola serenata". Voigt does wonders with the opening Charles Ives selections by not overplaying the innate sentiment of the tunes, in particular, soaring with the highly dramatic "The Children's Hour" by Longfellow and even covering the churchy warhorse, "At the River", with conviction.

There are eight highly individualistic songs by Ben Moore that stretch Voigt with bountiful results. The standouts of the Moore set are the English sea chantey-like "The Ivy-Wife" by Thomas Hardy, the lushly romantic "I Am in Need of Music" by Elizabeth Bishop; the sweeping "Darkling, I Listen" by John Keats; and the discordant waltz, "Bright Cap and Streamers", by James Joyce. For me, the highpoints of the recording are the last two sets by Charles Tomlinson Griffes and Amy Beach, both of whom tap impressively into Voigt's natural theatricality proven especially by her performances of Griffes's lush "Cleopatra to the Asp" and Bishop's rolling "I Send My Heart Up to Thee".

The one shortcoming of the recording overall is that the briefness of the songs does not really capitalize on Voigt's impressive dramatic capabilities in showcasing changes in characters she would have been allowed in her opera roles. For all the limitations it represents, this is a genuine recital album, and truly transcendent moments are fleeting at best especially given the variety of moods that need to be expressed in lightning-flash strokes. However, taken for the genre it represents, this is a stellar recording to appreciate a singer who is able to do more than Wagner and lose weight.

May have a heart but what good is it if the artistic results are a void?.......2005-10-31

The header says it all. Thumbs down all the way. Get instead the Samuel Barber double set with Cheryl Studer and Thomas Hampson if you wish to experience true heartrending Americana. As another reviewer put it, you get no gimmicks and no camp from these two distinguished artists.

Great new context for Voigt.......2005-09-30

It is great to hear Voigt in an American lieder recital. She is a top vocalist in her vocal prime. I think this is a lovely disc, and it really takes off especially with the songs of Ben Moore who has written many works just for Voigt. She tones down the volume of her sound and reins in the dramatic aspect of her soprano to give these songs a proper context and remains in service of them throughout the recital. Give this one a try! EMI - Release her Marshallin from Der Rosenkavalier, I think it would be wonderful. I know she just took on that role this summer.

Average customer rating:

Kaleidoscope

Manufacturer: Carmen
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

English | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music
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Denyce Graves - Voce di Donna
French Opera Arias - Denyce Graves
Angels Watching over Me
The Lost Days: Music in the Latin Style
American Anthem

ASIN: B0006B97LQ
Release Date: 2004-11-30

Tracks:

Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man
Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)
The Joint Is Really Jumpin' In Carnegie Hall
Ol' Man River
Just You
Something You Always Knew
Hungry
Time Heals Everything
I Got Plenty O' Nuttin
Blues In The Night
I Love A Piano
I Remember
Lazy Afternoon
How Do You Keep the Music Playing
Ne Me Quittes Pas

The Great Organ at St. Mary's Cathedral, San Francisco

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The Great Organ at St. Mary's Cathedral, San Francisco

Manufacturer: Reference Recordings
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
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Hymns on the Crystal Cathedral Organ
Organ Sensation

ASIN: B000062XAL
Release Date: 2002-03-05

Tracks:

Trumpet Voluntary
Concerto In B Minor: Allegro
Concerto In B Minor: Adagio
Concerto In B Minor: Allegro Vivace
Variations On A Noel
Sonata On The 94th Psalm: Fugue
Symphonie Gothique: Andante Sostenuto
Scherzo
Carillon-Sortie
Simple Gifts
Shall We Gather At The River?
Dawn
Carillon De Westminster

Average customer rating:

Wood River
Connie Kaldor
Manufacturer: Coyote (Gol300)
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Folk | Styles | Music

Traditional Folk | Folk | Styles | Music
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Small Cafe

ASIN: B00006L5ZR
Release Date: 2003-03-25

Catamount Collective presents H.U.A.C. VOL 2

Average customer rating:

Catamount Collective presents H.U.A.C. VOL 2
Misty River , James Talley , Sara Cox , The Believers , Mary Alice Wood , Amy England , Ken Layne and the Corvids , Dave Isaacs , Dolly Ranchers , and Ernie Hawkins
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B000PHSXEI

Product Description

This is an advance copy. Subtitle is The Hot Unsigned & Unsung Americana Compilation - other artist are - Harriet Reynolds - Eric Fontana - Little Pink - Tim Grimm - Uncle Cuckleburr's Champion Possum Carvers - Nels Andrews & the El Paso Eyepatch - Jo Serrapere & the Willie Dunns - Danny Schmidt

Canadian Safari / Chor Leoni Men's Choir, Diane Loomer (Director)

Average customer rating:

Great recording of great performances of great arrangements
Canadian Safari

Canadian Safari / Chor Leoni Men's Choir, Diane Loomer (Director)

Manufacturer: Skylark
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Classical | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Chor Leoni Men's Choir
Goin' Home
Yuletide Fires

ASIN: B00000K2WI
Release Date: 1998-06-01

Tracks:

Fogarty's Cove
The Water is Wide
Vive l'Amour
Away from the Roll of the Sea
Ave Maris Stella
Chi Mi Na Mor Bheanna
Song for the Mira
She's Like the Swallow
Red River Valley
The Carrion Crow
Potlatch Fair
Northwest Passage
Four Strong Winds
Dondaine La Ridaine
Wood River
Oh Mary, Come Home
Grand Hotel
Drunken Sailor
Barrett's Privateers
Make and Break Harbour

Album Description

Well known for its imaginative programming, Vancouver based Chor Leoni Men's Choir has done it again with a new recording entitled Canadian Safari. Director Diane Loomer leads her “choir of lions” on a musical ride across the Canadian landscape in these innovative arrangements of some of Canada's best loved folk music. Virtually every style of traditional music is represented here: Stan Rogers' Fogarty's Cove, Barrett's Privateers, Northwest Passage and Make and Break Harbour ; Dondaine la Ridaine from Quebec; Connie Kaldor's Wood River and selections of the best mariner's songs from both coasts.

Chor Leoni's entertaining delivery and adventurous approach to choral music has made it one of Canada's most recognized vocal ensembles. The choir has commissioned, performed and recorded numerous works by Canadian composers and consistently won prizes in the CBC national choral competitions. It has performed with the CBC Vancouver Orchestra, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and the Vancouver New Music Society, and its Remembrance Day and Summer Solstice concerts are highlights of the Vancouver choral calendar.

Customer Reviews:

Great recording of great performances of great arrangements.......2004-10-31

The Chor (Greek for Choir) Leoni (Italian for Lion) have voices and arrangements that are not superficial. While the soloists are not Pavarotti, they are also not Michael Bolton or Justin Timberlake, and when the entire chorus comes in with harmonies as hearty and robust as prime rib, yet as feathery fine as angels wings well.... the effect is musical magic.

I'm interested in all types of music, but there's a special place in my heart for talented musicians who commit themselves to mastery of musical artforms that they KNOW are not going to get them a triple-platinum CD. A capella men's chorus's are a special breed - dating back before sea chanty's all the way to Gregorian chants.

The music here is as varied as music sung by about 25 men without instrumental accompaniment could be. Sometimes it soars. Sometimes it is robust and up-tempo. The old ballads "The Water is Wide" and "Red River Valley" sound like a heavenly host. Robert Shaw's arrangement of "Vive L'Amour" sounds like the musical equivalent of Shakespeare's St. Crispin's Day speech from "Henvy V": full of life and shared accomplishment.

While I don't expect to see Chor Leoni on "The Tonight Show", the listening pleasure I get from this CD tops that of any 10 "Special Musical Guests" on "Tonight" or "Saturday Night Live".

Admittedly, this is music for those with a taste for it - but I get the same kind of thrill hearing a great Mariachi band, or Ray Charles or a great Bluegrass Band like Alison Krauss and Union Station. This is music that is as far removed from the lip-synced techno-pop of today as it can be.

Enjoy.

Canadian Safari.......2002-02-24

Beautiful choral arrangements of songs displaying the rich cultural diversity of music from across Canada. A must for all lovers of choral music. TWO THUMBS UP.

Average customer rating:

A Cappella II

Manufacturer: Koch Int'l Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Magnificats | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Oratorios | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0000B1A3C
Release Date: 2003-10-07

Tracks:

Leo Sowerby: Eternal Light
T. Tertius Noble: Go To Dark Gethsemane
Horatio W. Parker: A Setting Of The Collect
Anthony Piccolo: Heaven And Heart
J.H. Ossewaarde: Draw Us In The Spirit's Tether
Charles Villiers Stanford: Three Models - Justorum Animae
Charles Villiers Stanford: Three Models - Coelos Ascendit Hodie
Charles Villiers Stanford: Three Models - Beati Quorum Via
Alan Gray: Magnificat
Charles Wood: Nunc Dimittis
Charles Wood: 'Tis The Day Of Resurrection
Edward W. Naylor: Vox Dicentis: Clama
Alexandre Guilmant: Cinqieme Sonate En Ut Mineur, Opus 80: Choral Et Fugue (Allegro)
Traditional, Arr. Gerre Hancock: Deep River
Arr. William L. Dawson: Ain' -A That Good News
Arr. William L. Dawson: Ezekiel Saw De Wheel

Average customer rating:

From the Heart

Manufacturer: Skylark
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Masses | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Partsongs | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Psalms | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000003Y2F
Release Date: 1999-07-13

Average customer rating:

South Station Slide
Laura Wood
Manufacturer: Mill River Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Country | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0000AGWM2
Release Date: 2003-08-05

Tracks:

I Am Your Lover
Even My Baby (Gets the Blues)
Azul
Water Is Wide
Road to Heaven
Miller River Run
Song to a Weaver
Everything You Do
Anything I Can Say?
White Lace Promises
South Station Slide

Music Album:

Music Album

1. Wood River
2. Outlaw
3. Sleepy little Town
4. Can't Go Back
5. Modern Lullaby