Tir [Import]

1. Sono Donna

2. Amico Giorno

3. Baby

4. Grida

5. Uomini

6. Letre Verita'

7. Domani Domani

8. Uomo Nuovo

9. Ricominciare

10. Foglia

Customer Reviews:

Valuable compendium.......2007-01-24

This set is extremely valuable, not only as an overview of Dame Joans career but because it contains three complete LP sets that have been very hard to find. The sets are the 2 LP French opera (operetta) set, the Mozart album and the Wagner album. Although some of these do not show her to her best advantage (the Wagner set) they all have some very beautiful things and the French items are superb. The annotations and photos are interesting as well and there are some piano songs with Bonynge that are released here for the first time along with a scene from a live Covent Garden Norma.

Rareties available on CD at last!.......2006-03-29

While Joan Sutherland has recorded a number of impressive aria collections throughout the many years of her recording career, they tend to get lost in the shuffle of the countless reissues Decca/London has endlessly repackaged. While some of the original collections have appeared intact on CD--"The Art of the Prima Donna," "The Age of Bel Canto," "Love Live Forever" (her operetta collection that was originally titled "The Golden Age of Operetta"), to name a few--others are currently represented in the CD catalogue by only a few selections on discs that also include excerpts from complete opera recordings or duplicates of selections from other original collections. As a result, it has been impossible to assemble a CD collection of her recordings without a LOT of duplication, and some of the most interesting collections are still unavailable (e.g. "Command Performance" and "Serate Musicale").

While this newest set does include a lot of bits of this and that, ranging from her very first LPs to excerpts from complete recordings most Sutherland fans already have and a few "live" performances, what is perhaps most significant about it is that it features the complete contents of the "Sutherland Sings Wagner" LP--a real repertoire departure for her--and the double-LP album called "French Opera Gala" (in the U.S.--the British title was "Romantic French Arias"), neither of which, to the best of my knowledge, has been available on CD before. "Opera News" magazine once ran an article in which they asked various stars to name the one album that they felt best represented their artistry for future generations, and Dame Joan selected the "French Opera Gala," so for Sutherland fans, this is a long-awaited treat.

I'm not going to waste space saying how miraculous I consider Dame Joan's artistry. If you are familiar with her work already, you know whether you adore her or not; and if you aren't, this massive set is probably not the best place to start (that would be "The Art of the Prima Donna" album that introduced her to most listeners decades ago)--especially since this newest set doesn't contain the lyrics, a must for newcomers. Let's hope Decca/London gets around to releasing the rest of her recordings intact instead of endlessly scrambling and repackaging the same selections over and over.

Heavenly.......2006-01-31

I first heard of Dame Sutherland while on the internet while listening to a internet radio station. I was instantly a fan, her control, technique, and tone is perfectly executed and rivals the equally fantastic Maria Callas. She has a powerful voice and presence that will evoke every emotion from her listeners. Highly recommended to all Opera Diva fans.

WHO ELSE CAN SING LIKE THIS TODAY?.......2005-04-10

This is Decca's second multi disc evaluation of this fantastic singer's long career and many recordings. True that a lot on the first set is duplicated here, but there are a few exceptions here and there that make it a worthy addition. Of particular interest are the very early items of Handel and Italian baroque arias, some forgotten song recordings and a live performance of the duet from Norma. It can't be said too many times - who can sing like this today? For sheer vocalism it's hard to find anyone on the same wavelength. This set will give very young opera goers an idea of what they missed.

Average customer rating:

La Stupenda is stupendous on this recording. Don't miss it!
Sutherland is Amazing
A Phenomenal Historic Recording Newly Minted
Canary in the silver mine
Bel Canto from an angelic voice

The Art of the Prima Donna

Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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La Stupenda ~ The Supreme Voice of Joan Sutherland
Joan Sutherland - The Greatest Hits
The Art of Joan Sutherland
Joan Sutherland: BBC-Recitals 1958, 1960, 1961
Very Best of

ASIN: B00004XQ8G
Release Date: 2000-10-10

Tracks:

Artaxerxes: The Soldier Tir'd
Samson: Let The Bright Seraphim
Norma: Sediziose voci ... Casta diva ... Ah! bello a me ritorna
I Puritani: Son vergin vezzosa (Polonaise)
Semiramide: Bel raggio lusinghier
I Puritani: O rendetemi la speme ... Qui la voce ... Vien, diletto
La Sonnambula: Care compagne ... Come per me sereno ... Sovra il sen
Faust: O Dieu! que de bijoux ... Ah! je ris de me voir

Tracks:

Romeo et Juliette: Ah! Je veux vivre
Otello: Mia madre aveva una povera ancella ... Piangea cantando
Die Entfuhrung Aus Dem Serail: Martern aller Arten
La Traviata: E' strano ... Ah, fors'e lui ... Sempre libera
Hamlet: A vos jeux, mes amis
Lakme: Ah! Ou va la jeune Indue
Les Huguenots: O beau pays de la Touraine!
Rigoletto: Gualtier Malde ... Caro nome

Amazon.com

In February 1959, an unknown (well, comparatively) Australian singer appeared at Covent Garden in Franco Zeffirelli's new production of Lucia di Lammermoor and took the world by storm. The following year, Joan Sutherland went into the studio to record this reissued tribute to prima donnas of previous generations, illustrating along the way the bel canto tradition of which she was to become a leading exponent. The 16 excerpts on this digitally remastered double CD include several roles she had already sung or was on the verge of singing, from Gilda in Rigoletto, which she had sung at Covent Garden before her Lucia debut, to Norma. What a performance! The voice is fresh, remarkable in its beauty, and she makes it all sound so effortless, tossing off Handel's "Let the bright Seraphim" or the Jewel aria from Gounod's Faust as if they're the easiest things in the world. This sparkling selection of glorious singing demonstrates just why Sutherland was to remain at the top of her profession for the next 30 years and join those to whom she here pays tribute as one of the great singers of all time. --Richard Fawkes

Customer Reviews:

La Stupenda is stupendous on this recording. Don't miss it!.......2007-01-05

I originally bought "The Art of the Prima Donna" in 1963, when I was just a kid, after seeing Dame Joan's debut in "Norma" with the Vancouver Opera in October of that year, and I was completely bowled over by both her live performances and her recording. She made me an opera fan for life. I've worn out and replaced that miraculous recording since then, and now have a third version on CD.

I completely disagree with those who believe that Sutherland lost the gleam on her voice after 1961. It's true that she suffered for several years with intermittently poor diction and rhythmic lapses, but these were due to terrible medical problems and the results of serious operations that were required to restore her health. Later she recovered most of her vocal lustre and all of her enthusiasm for performing, and her diction steadily improved. Her fabulous technique remained intact until her retirement in 1990.

No singers sound as fresh at 50 as they do at 30. Just listen to how Callas sounded in her later years, when her voice had almost completely deteriorated, and her career was far shorter than Sutherland's. The fact is that Sutherland sang in public for forty years, without amplification and often in barnlike theatres, and yet she still sounded formidable when she retired. Just listen to her performance of the final aria from "Lucrezia Borgia" on YouTube. I heard her debut in that role, again in Vancouver, shortly before that Covent Garden performance, and can attest that she was still in fabulous voice at the age of 53 and her coloratura remained spectacular.

What "The Art of the Prima Donna" gives us is the memory of an unparalleled vocal phenomenon in her glorious youth, before her physical disabilities briefly interrupted her career. No singer since has created a recording that exhibits anything like the range, vocal beauty and versatility that Sutherland displayed on this historic recording--not Callas, nor Caballe, nor Sills, nor any of their recent imitators. The title of this recording was not an exaggeration. This is singing that truly revived "The Age of Bel Canto," to quote the title of another Sutherland recording. "The Art of the Prima Donna" and Sutherland's earlier recordings, if you can get them, constitute an invaluable legacy from an artist who truly restored the golden age of singing.

Sutherland is Amazing.......2006-06-29

The first thing I ever heard by Sutherland was the Bel Raggio and I was floored. The voice sounded huge but I wondered if it was a technicians trick. I heard her on stage many times. Recordings do NO JUSTICE to the hugeness of the voice. Her diction was weak and her line sometimes droopy but the warm, huge, fexible voice was amazing. I don't think she or anyone else was the Voice or Singer of the century- no voice or singer could sing every role in the repetoire. Sutherland could no more sing Brunnhilde than Flagstad could sing Lucia.

In her repertoire, JS was one of the greatest voices with an incredible technique and style that ever made recordings. This is a great CD - but some others which were issued on vinyl but to my knowledge not on CD help round out the Sutherland greatnes, viz., Command Performance, The Age of Bel Canto and the French Opera Album. She did a 2 disc set called "A Festival of Baroque Operas- There is an aria called "Barbaro, Barbaro" which is mind boggling for the speed and clarity of its coloratura. Even in 1977 at 51 yrs old her video performance of Lucrezia Borgia is amazing - it is one of the greatest performances she ever did- exciting, tender and again with that huge voice and flexibility. The last scene is amazing.

Flawless-NO Unique-WITHOUT A DOUBT!!!!!

A Phenomenal Historic Recording Newly Minted.......2005-10-08

There is not much to add to the encomiums of previous reviews. This is one of the most astounding vocal recitals, if not THE most astounding, ever recorded. It caught one of history's greatest singers in her absolute prime, before the well-known defects - mushy diction, cloudy tone, sliding into notes, enervated rhythmic sense - began to compromise her singing. (Well, ok, the diction here is not crystal clear, but mostly quite acceptable and MUCH better than it later became.)

One wonders if any other soprano in history ever sang so fast, so high and so loud while always preserving such a full, golden, round sound. Sutherland was a genuine vocal phenomenon, and even those who don't generally care for her singing surely must find their jaws on the floor repeatedly during this recital. Every selection has something treasurable. My personal favorites: "A soldier tir'd," "Bel raggio lusinghier," "Qui la voce," "Come per me sereno," the "Hamlet" Mad Scene, the Bell Song, and "O beau pays."

The remastering is superb, enabling us to hear Sutherland's voice in all its pristine glory. The engineers have even managed to mitigate the rumble of Underground trains (the Picadilly Line?) that were a perpetual problem in Kingsway Hall, although I was glad to hear that the loud yell in the distance one hears during the "Croce e delizia" section of "Ah, fors'e lui" is still there; by now it is an old friend, and I would miss it.

Canary in the silver mine .......2005-09-20

This is a good compilation, and Sutherland was captured at the right time, before she went completely mushy dictionwise and lost her vocal sheen. The remastered sound is very good, too, spectacular for a recording from the 1960s.
However, after digesting this CD for several weeks, I still have a mixed response to all these Stupendous vocalistics.
The beginning is the main sour note- Arne is tired, with often imprecise, behind the beat coloratura, quite unlike the rest of Sutherland's output, and Let the Bright Seraphim is unbelievably leaden- the orchestra in particular sounds awful, and clunky. I can't comment on ornamentation here because I didn't detect any. This is a poor man's Seraphim, only impressive if you never heard any other versions, and Sutherland's voice is wasted in this piece.
This CD really picks up with Casta Diva, a dazzling showcase for Sutherland's voice. I was very impressed with Sutherland's performance as Norma in this recording- what happened to her in later years, when her "acting" was limited to, as she herself described it, wearing a "generally pained expression" and singing without much color or feeling?
Pieces from I Puritani are great, then we get excellent Rossini, wonderful Jewel Song, and then sparkling Juliet and very effective, beautiful and dramatically involved Desdemona.
And then- another fly in the ointment, Marten Aller Arten. This is one of my favourite arias and I can be very unforgiving when it comes to its performance, plus I like Konstanze to be really angry and wired, which is sort of opposite of what Joan does. This is a pretty, chirpy Marten, and she works hard on her German- way too hard actually, she seems to be slowing down trying to pronounce it, and still "Ich verlache" and "mich" turn into "Ich ve-ayee" and "meeeh", plus she does not sound as secure on top as I would expect, with a metallic high C. She picks up at the very end, putting some feeling into the sound, then topples again... This is a hit and miss one.
Fortunately the rest of the CD is filled with sparklers more in Sutherland's vein. Violetta is really great, with a fantastic high E, Ophelia is nice, Lakme is vocally one of the best I have ever heard, the dull Meyerbeer aria is made interesting and shimmery- that fabulous trill is finally put to work after many tracks of underuse- and then it all ends with a most charming Gilda.
It's not the greatest vocal performance ever put on vinyl/plastic/megabites, but overall, a good, historical set to add to your collection of opera recitals and soprano specials.

Bel Canto from an angelic voice.......2005-04-19

There are only a few soprano-recitals that are absolutely essential and must be in every opera collector's collection. The art of the primadonna, does it qualify? Oh yes indeed and here's why. Joan Sutherland had one of the most brilliant and beautiful voices in recorded history, combine that with an excellent technique, high notes that sparkle like stars and coloratura of angelic quality and you get what Joan Sutherland was in 1961. To describe only a few favourites:

2. Samson, oratorio, HWV 57 Let the bright Seraphim
Composed by George Frideric Handel
with Joan Sutherland

A sparkling and intense interpretation of this well known yet hardly ever magnificently performed piece. Lucid, beautiful and technically impeccable.

3. Norma, opera Sediziose voci... Casta diva... Ah! bello
Composed by Vincenzo Bellini
with Joan Sutherland

Surely her best studio-recording of this killer-aria. She is one of the few Normas who masters the recitativo without cracking or sounding strained, yet full of authority and intelligent drama. The Casta Diva itself is fluent, the make-or-break coloratura wonderfully executed. As for the cabaletta, not since young Callas in 1949 have I heard this piece sung so beautifully! Amazing high notes crown a cabaletta that broke more than one famous Norma before.

6. I Puritani, opera O rendetemi la speme... Qui la voce... Vien, diletto
Composed by Vincenzo Bellini

A Bellinian madscene at its finest. Once again only Callas in 1949 can be compared to this wonder of a recording. Callas too found darker colours and more intensity. (Dolore e passione as described in the score) Sutherland may lack these but she sings it with her own sense for drama which is uniquely sublime.

10. Otello, opera Mia madre aveva una povera ancella... Piangea cantando
Composed by Giuseppe Verdi
with Joan Sutherland

An interesting and excellent choice. There are pictures of Joan Sutherland as Desdemona and what a pity that no complete recording of her performances survived. I find her Desdemona to be far more convincing than Tebaldi because she sounds more fragile and elegant, plus she has that silvery tone of innocence that I don't hear in Tebaldi's golden, sensual voice. Excellent in the floating lines, beautiful and tender in the cantabile.

16. Rigoletto, opera Gualtier Maldè... Caro nome
Composed by Giuseppe Verdi
with Joan Sutherland

This can be compared to Maria Callas' live-performance of this piece and, being in excellent sound, might be preferred. (Callas was excellent in the studio as well, yet in 1955 she was less daring and defying) Stunningly intense in the cantabile and brilliant in the coloratura-passages. Far better than her famous performance with Pavarotti where she had lost the youthful, silvery sound that made her earlier Gilda so loveable.

I do not adore her as much in French opera and La Traviata or anything German but that doesn't mean that her singing was anything but amazing, just a personal preference. In short: Buy it and discover why Joan Sutherland is indeed La Stupenda!

Average customer rating:

they're at it again!
Musica en el Palacio de los reyes catolicos
Very good
Some very lively and lovely music

Cancionero Musical de Palacio

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Music of the Spanish Renaissance
Secular Music from Christian and Jewish Spain
Sephardic Romances
Music for the Spanish Kings
Spanish Music of Travel and Discovery/ The Waverly Consort

ASIN: B00000149R
Release Date: 1996-11-05

Tracks:

Rodrigo Martinez
Con Amores, Mi Madre
Pues Que Jamas Olvidaros
Si Abra En Este Baldres
Si D'Amor Pena Sentis
Tir Alla, Que Non Quiero
Todo Quanto Yo Servi
Levanta Pascual
Malos Adalides Fueron
Todos Los Bienes Del Lmundo
Durandarte
Fata La Parte
Pedro, I Bien Te Quiero
Danza Alta
Qu'es De Ti, Desconsolado
La Tricotea
Ay Triste, Que Vengo
So Ell Enzina
Como Esta Sola Mi Vida
O Voy
Tres Morillas M'Enamoran
Hoy Comamos Y Bebamos

Customer Reviews:

they're at it again!.......2001-08-07

The players here (also known as Unicorn and Oni Wytars) are among the very few truly brilliant early music performers. Not for them the dry, desiccated path of passionless scholarship! Unlike almost every other instrumental early music ensemble (and I've surveyed a LOT), they display fully engaged, scintillating musicianship at every turn. Their unconventional performance decisions tend to cut them out of critics' golden lists -- most of this music shouldn't really be considered authentically presented -- but such objections go lame and impotent before the vivacity and improvisational panache saturating this CD...along with their MANY others!

Musica en el Palacio de los reyes catolicos.......1999-12-07

One of my favorite cancioneros ,and one that I recommend to all.It is performed on period instruments,and it contains romances,songs from about the times of the "reconquista",instrumental pieces, pieces for viols, and solos for vihuela. One of my favorite pieces of this is track 14 Danza Alta by Francisco de la Torre,it's an intrumental piece for viols and recorder.This music that was performed at the court of King Don Fernando de Aragon.It is hard of finding recordings of Cancioneros at budget price so take advantage of this one...It's really good

Very good.......1999-07-11

Another 4 stars, though I don't share the reviewer from Australia's reservations about the lack of rasp in the singing. Who really knows how these notes were sung? It's a matter of personal preference. Alround a very good recording but not "the definitive" version of these songs (we may never have that). There is a companion disc by Wimmer : Early Music - Sephardic Romances which, like this one, has Spanish texts and English translations. (Naxos) 553617.

There is also another recording of similar material on Naxos : Royal Songbook, by Thorby and Musica Antiqua London - but that is marred by lack of texts or translations. (Naxos 553325)

And a final recommendation : Music of the Spanish Renaissance / Shirley Rumsey / Recorded 1991 / Spanish texts and English translations. 550614

Some very lively and lovely music.......1999-02-28

After centuries of Arabic and Jewish influence, the new music of Spain born at the court of Ferdinand and Isabella had all the strength of European melody with all the richness of rhythm and chromatic freedom of Northern Africa and the East. The performances by Ensemble Accentus do full justice to this music - largely because it and its director, Thomas Wimmer, have delved into and brilliantly performed the Jewish Sephardic music of old Spain. My only complaints are that there is not enough music here by Juan del Encina; and the singers do not understand the texture of old music. Most singers strive for purity and smoothness of voice and register, but the Renaissance loved loud, deep, rich, overtoned and raspy voices: voices with the sting of crumhorns and hurdy-gurdies. Here we hear some of the instruments played well, but not the larynxes which should accompany them. Nonetheless, a valuable and enjoyable CD for any fan of this era. [SW]

Average customer rating:

Benedictus
J. Brwynog Jones , Rhys Jones , Annette Bryn Parri , Joseph Parry , A. H. D. Troyte , The Children of Bontnewydd School and Pen Barras School , Catrin Finch , and Ensemble Cymru
Manufacturer: Sain Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0009XPB5C
Release Date: 2005-09-27

Treasures of Baroque Opera / Sutherland, Horne, Baker

Average customer rating:

Monteverdi with bite!

Treasures of Baroque Opera / Sutherland, Horne, Baker

Manufacturer: Polygram Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Tracks:

L'Orfeo: Toccata
L'Orfeo: Prologo: Ritornello...Dal mio Permesso amato
Rosamond: Rise, Glory, Rise
Dido and Aeneas: But Death, alas! ... When I Am Laid In Earth ... With Drooping Wings
Artaxerxes: The Soldier Tir'd
Hippolyte et Arcie: Ah! qu'on daigne du moins ... Puisque Pluton est inflexible
Le Temple de la gloire: Le Temple de la glorie - Overture
Les Indes galantes: Soleil, on a detruit tes superbes asiles
La buona figliuola: Furia di donna
La Calisto: Ardo, sospiro e piango
La Serva padrona: Stizzoso, mio stizzoso
Rinaldo: March & Battle
Rinaldo: Armida dispietata!... Lascia ch'io pianga
Rodelinda: Vivi, tiranno
Atalanta: Care selve
Alcina: Tornami a vagheggiar

Customer Reviews:

Monteverdi with bite!.......1999-10-29

Orfeo is one of my favorite operas, and this is a wonderfully imaginative and fun interpretation to listen to--very much in the spirit of this opera, which is itself wonderful and fun. I always enjoy hearing the New London Consort's instrumentation--you never know what combnation of neat early instruments they're going to use, but it always works! (Listen to the Moresca at the very end of the opera & you'll know what I mean.)

Average customer rating:

Priceless
Fun, entertaining, and wonderful

Lo Gai Saber

Manufacturer: Elektra / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Dante and the Troubadours

ASIN: B000005E7Q
Release Date: 1992-05-07

Tracks:

I. Del Gran Golfe De Mar: Ondas do mar; Altas undas que venez suz la mar... - Fulton/Cohen/Azema
I. Del Gran Golfe De Mar: Del gran golfe de mar - Francois Harismendy
II. Proensa: Pos tornats sui en Proenza - Francois Harismendy
II. Proensa: Ab l'alen tir vas me l'aire - Jean-Luc Madier
III. Ab Joi Et Ab Joven: Er, quan renovella e gensa - Camerata Mediterranea
III. Ab Joi Et Ab Joven: Bel m'es, quan vei chanjar lo senhoratge - Francois Harismendy
III. Ab Joi Et Ab Joven: Ab joi et ab joven - Anne Azema
IV. Novel Amor: Interlude; Danca dels dos domnas - Cheryl Ann Fulton/Shira Kammen
IV. Novel Amor: Sirvens sui avutz et arlotz - Francois Harismendy
IV. Novel Amor: Dona, tant vos ai preiada - Anne Azema/Jean-Luc Madier
IV. Novel Amor: Domna, pos vos ai chausida - Jean-Luc Madier
IV. Novel Amor: Ab la dolchor del temps novel - Francois Harismendy
IV. Novel Amor: nouvele amor qui si m'agree - Camerata Mediterranea
V. Ben Es Dreihz Qu'eu Planha: Lancan vei la folha - Anne Azema
V. Ben Es Dreihz Qu'eu Planha: Dirai vos senes duptansa - Jean-Luc Madier
V. Ben Es Dreihz Qu'eu Planha: Ar mi puesc ieu lauzar d'amor - Joel Cohen
VI. Ar Em Al Freg Temps Vengut: Interlude : Lo freg temps. ar em al freg temps vengut - Fulton/Kammen/Madier
VI. Ar Em Al Freg Temps Vengut: Be'm degra de chantar tener - Anne Azema
VI. Ar Em Al Freg Temps Vengut: Un sirventes novel vueill comensar - Francois Harismendy/Camerata Mediterranea
VI. Ar Em Al Freg Temps Vengut: Judicii Signum (Chant de la Sibylle) - Jean-Luc Madier
VI. Ar Em Al Freg Temps Vengut: Esperanza de totz ferms esperans. Ondas do mar - Azema/Fulton/Cohen

Customer Reviews:

Priceless.......2006-12-05

This recording first turned me on to early european music when it was released. If you are at all interested in this type of music or even just curious it is money well spent.

Fun, entertaining, and wonderful.......2005-09-27

This is another stellar production by Erato, of the Camerata Mediterranea, under the direction of Joel Cohen. In my collection, I treat this disc as a companion piece to the collection 'The Sacred Bridge' by the Boston Camerata, which has sacred music from the Jewish and Christian traditions in the Middle Ages. This disc concentrates on secular music of the age of the minstrels and troubadours. Much is anonymous, both in lyric writing and musical composition. Indeed, according to Cohen, 'virtually all the minstrels' instrumental music of the troubadour period has been lost, and was perhaps never written down.' Musicians and musicologists have to rely on the folk tunes and later compositions known to incorporate themes to reconstruct as best they can the music from this period.

The performances of troubadours was sometimes a capella, but more often accompanied by plucked string sounds such as harp and viola. Cohen argues that the wind and percussion instruments of many recordings are less likely to be authentic. These are story/text driven songs.

One of the interesting aspects of authentic troubadour music is that performers were recruited not on the basis of music merit, but rather on connection with Occitan/Provencal as a primary consideration. For this recording, Anne Azema, Francois Harismendy, and Jean-Luc Madier have living Occitan connections. Joel Cohen, Cheryl Ann Fulton and Shira Kammen round out the players.

The songs (chansons) are divided into six main story lines, with improvised musical interludes. Troubadours told stories with their songs, and this disc is no different.

The performances are wonderful, lively, fun and full of energy. One can imagine being in a medieval chamber being entertained.

Average customer rating:

A folk gem
Classic

Tir Na Nog
Tir Na Nog
Manufacturer: Bgo - Beat Goes on
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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A Tear and a Smile/Strong in the Sun

ASIN: B0000270HI
Release Date: 2001-11-21

Tracks:

Time Is Like a Promise
Mariner Blues
Daisy Lady
Tir Na Nog
Aberdeen Angus
Looking Up
Boat Song
Our Love Will Not Decay
Hey Friend
Dance of Years
Live a Day
Piccadilly
Dante

Customer Reviews:

A folk gem.......2005-05-14

This album which I accidentally discovered so many years ago, written by an obscure (at the time) Irish pair of songwriters, steeped in folk tradition and yet intensely modern, has always enthralled me and continues to do so today, because of it's rare, other-worldly yet wonderfully tender atmosphere, it's poetic, intelligent and often humorous lyrics, the beautifully interwoven voices of the two singers.... It's a rare gem.

Classic.......2005-04-13

If I were to be invited to choose my ten all time great albums this would be a strong contender. This collection of songs has a wonderful atmosphere to it. The singing and the music is beautifully crafted and delivered. In the 1970s when I was immersed in Led Zeppelin, Stones, Jethro Tull, Yes etc - this gem struck a cord for me - and I'm not even a great fan of folk music!

Average customer rating:

gorgeous music
Simply Fantastic

A Tear and a Smile/Strong in the Sun
Tir Na Nog
Manufacturer: Beat Goes On
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Tir Na Nog

ASIN: B00062YUGM
Release Date: 2004-11-04

Tracks:

Come and See the Show
Down Day
When I Came Down
Same Thing Happening
Bluebottle Stew
So Freely
Hemisphere
Lady Ocean
Goodbye My Love
Two White Horses
Free Ride
Whitestone Bridge
Teesside
Cinema
Strong in the Sun
Wind Was High
In the Morning
Love Lost
Most Magical
Fall of Day

Album Details

Tir Na Nog's Second and Third Records for Chrysalis, Dating from 1972 and 1973.

Customer Reviews:

gorgeous music.......2005-10-28

Just had to put something here because the only (other) review here is so silly as to be kinda useless. These two albums are truly underrated things of utter beauty. Any fans of Donovan, Fairport Convention, Bert Jansch, Pentangle, Trees, Incredible String Band, etc etc would do very well to check these guys out. It is great to see them on CD, and the remastering isn't half bad for BGO, whose reissues I usually hate (to be honest :P )

Simply Fantastic.......2005-05-28

This is definitely a "must have" album if you enjoy egg nog as much as I do...especially at Christmas with lot's of rum or whiskey. You can listen to this cd for weeks on end and not tire of it. Buy it....Cuckoo ForCeltic

Average customer rating:

Like a walk in the clouds!
It reach the highest status, just how high? you be the judge
Sutherland's greatest achievment, need I say more
Since int's inception in 1960, this is the standard
Dazzling display of coloratura singing by La Stupenda

Art of the Prima Donna

Manufacturer: Polygram Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

French | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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

Sutherland, Joan | Divas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0000041VT
Release Date: 1991-02-08

Tracks:

Artaxerxes: The Soldier Tir'd - Joan Sitherland
Samson: Let The Bright Seraphim - Joan Sitherland
Norma: Sediziose Voci...Casta Diva...Ah! Bello A Me Ritorna - Joan Sitherland
Norma: Son Vergin Vezzosa - Joan Sitherland
Semiramide: Bel Raggio Lushingier - Joan Sitherland
I Puritani: O Rendetemi La Speme...Qui La Voce Sua Soave...Vien, Diletto - Joan Sitherland
La Sonnambula: Care Compagne...Come Per Me Sereno...Sovra Il Sen - Joan Sitherland
Faust: O Dieu! Que De Bijoux...Ah! Je Ris (Jewel Song - Air Des Bijoux Juwelenarie) - Joan Sitherland

Tracks:

Romeo et Juliette: Je Veux Vivre - Joan Sutherland
Otello: Mia Madre Aveva Una Povera Ancella...Piangea Cantando (Willow Song - Chanson Du Saule - Lied Von Der Weide) - Joan Sutherland
Die Entfuhrung Aus Dem Serail: Martern Aller Arten - Joan Sutherland
La Traviata: E'strano...Ah Fors' E' Lui...Sempre Libera - Joan Sutherland
Hamlet: A Vos Jeux, Mes Amis (Mad Scene - Scene De Folie Wahnsinnsszene) - Joan Sutherland
Lakme: Ah! Ou VA La Jeunne Indoue (Bell Song - Air Des Clochettes - Glockchenarie) - Joan Sutherland
Les Huguenots: O Beau Pays De La Touraine! - Joan Sutherland
Rigoletto: Gaultier Malde'...Caro Nome - Joan Sutherland

Amazon.com

One customer calls this CD "simply the greatest recording of a coloratura soprano's art ever"--a kind of superlative and a level of enthusiasm that critics try to avoid. But looking through a century of recorded sound, not a single recording is a clearly better coloratura example. Joan Sutherland's voice is young, fresh, agile, superbly controlled, and rich in tone. To ask for more expressive power would be missing the point; that is not what this music is about. It is perfectly chosen to display the best qualities of Sutherland's voice at its peak. --Joe McLellan

Customer Reviews:

Like a walk in the clouds!.......2004-07-13

What can one say about one of the greatest soprano recitals ever. Despite all her later achievements, this early recital is Sutherland's most significant contribution to operatic discography.

This recital is full of her huge but always sweet high notes. This is after all, what made them so special. When I listen to these high notes it's as if a bird is taking me on a trip to the sky. Her coloratura abilities are jaw dropping to say the least. You have no idea what a trill or staccato means if you haven't heard Joan singing! Everything here is stunning but my favourites are her Bell Song, Care compagne and The soldier Tir'd.

I've never been Sutherland's greatest fan due to her mushy enunciation, which fortunately is restricted to the minimum here but this early recital never stays far from my cd player! Indeed the art of a primadonna, Sutherland's art!

It reach the highest status, just how high? you be the judge.......2003-07-30

The recital by one Australian diva recorded in 1960 by a young and unknown soprano that has taken the world by storm. She not only became the most celebrated coloratura soprano the world had ever known, she became the most loved.
16 arias...the test of every coloratura skills known to mankind. Does she past, or fall short? You be the judge. I say she sings the most incredible recital ever recorded in the history of the grammophone. A gigantic claim. A claim that is substantuated by her singing.

Sutherland's greatest achievment, need I say more.......2003-07-30

Sutherland's first and finest moments in her reign as one of opera's most beloved sopranos. I need not say more. Her name and reputation speaks for itself. She is La Stupenda.

Since int's inception in 1960, this is the standard.......2003-07-28

The best selling recital by a coloratura soprano ever released. That includes Callas. Now it's time to upgrade to this remaster of the most astonishing singing on record.
The old cd "Art of the Prima Donna" is of course, the last world for stupendous singing. But this is a remaster version of it. The flaws with the non remaster cd in nothing comparing to the sonic of this gem.
You will hear Sutherland as never heard before. IN full voice, an her dynamic range is finally capture on CD. Before when the soprano hits a D or E, the sound is not capture properly by Decca's engineer, her high notes are just too big and vibrant.. Here, you get to hear the real Sutherland, the engineers at decca allows you to hear La Stupenda as she really it. You hear the full Sutherland range, form low G to the F above high C. I have to recommend this. It is the last world in bel canto.

Dazzling display of coloratura singing by La Stupenda.......2003-07-27

I adore this recital done by La Stupenda in 1960. It is a true feat of Bravura for Dame Joan Sutherland, and I am thrilled to death to have it on cd. I already have this on cassette
and lp, but this is my first Cd with Sutherland because I'm a starving artist. But it is superb, far more
luminous than the lp or the cassette. The sound is so life-like! Finally, a medium that allows the
Sutherland voice to be heard as it should be. Every aria is a tour de force of the highest caliber.

The most remarkable thing is the huge top. It is both enormous and has a brilliant vibrato. Funny
thing that as Sutherland ages, the high notes got smaller and smaller. But not here, this is Sutherland
at her best. I think if Birgit Nilsson had an E flat, that's what it would sound like, Wagnerian in size.
Almost every aria has an high E flat or E. Besides the high notes is the most true to form of a trill that
exist. An actual trill, not a tremolo like other divas.

I believe that when Donizetti and Bellini wrote for Pasta, Grisi, and Malibran, this is the kind of
soprano he had in mind when he wrote these near impossible arias. A true diva from the golden age.
Of course, the difference between these divas of the past and Sutherland is the enormous size of
Sutherland's instrument. Plus the fact that all those divas of Bellini's time transpose these arias down
one full step or more.

Sutherland doesn't do that. Even though she has a right to do so because the tones today are now
almost a full tone higher than they were in the 17th century, so a high C then is only a B flat today.
So an E flat today is much higher than an E flat in Donizetti's time. So all of Sutherland's E flats are
actually high Fs! Imagine that.

If there is a single cd I can have on a desert island, this would be it. This is, without a doubt, the
most taxing program that any prima donna has attempted in a single recital, every arias is a tour de
force, stretching the limits of the human voice in all but Sutherland. In fact, this seems easy for her -
it's effortless. I challedge anyone to find a coloratura today, or anyday, who can match up to La
Stupenda.

Tracks:

Calum Crubach Medley
Duthaich nan Craobh
Mo Thruaigh Leir Thu 'Ille Bhuidhe
Mo Dhachaidh Medley
An Gille Donn
Stoiridh a' Phiobaire
An T-Oighr'Og
Medley of Jigs
'S Gann Gun Dirich Mi Chaoidh
Oran Do Cheap Breatuinn
Bu Deonach Leam Tilleadh Medley

Album Description

This recording presents a selection of traditional Gaelic song,story and music

performed in much the same way that Gaels have been entertaining themselves in homes and

community halls in Nova Scotia for a hundred years or more.

Gaelic people have been coming to Nova Scotia from the Highlands and Islands of Scotland since

the second half of the eighteenth century. Some came willingly,some came for political

reasons,but for the most part they were forced by greedy landlords or by famine and dire

economic circumstances to leave their homes and land.

They came with little but their language and the culture that emanated from it. We have brought

together here some examples from that language and culture-songs that were brought over from

Scotland and still remain in the culture today;a song that illustrates local bardic skills;a story

also,because story-telling was and has remained an essential part of Gaelic entertainment.And the

instrumental music,Gaelic in origin,is interwoven here with song and story as it has always been in

the living culture.

An Comhlan(the group) consists of a number of performers who were brought together for this

special recording.Included in this group are well-known fiddlers Winnie Chafe and Buddy

MacMaster,both accompanied by their daughters Patricia Chafe MacKinnon and Mary Elizabeth

MacMaster; piper Barry Shears; Gaelic singers Kenny Morrison and Neil MacPhee and story-

teller Rosemary McCormack.

There are two newer Gaelic voices on the recording too-Margo Carruthers of Halifax(who last

year released a solo CD entitled Talant Nam Bard) and Lewis MacKinnon,originally from

Antigonish but now living in Halifax. Both are adult learners of the Gaelic language and have been

singing Gaelic songs for several years.Ryan MacNeil of Sydney Mines(a younger brother of the

Barra MacNeils and the leader of the exciting Celtic group Slainte Mhath) provides piano

accompaniment for some of their songs.

Al Bennett of North Sydney produced the album which was recorded at Island Recordings and

Production in Frenchvale.

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