Sangue de Berirona (Remixes) [CD-single]

1. Sangue de Beirona [Main Pass 12]

2. Sangue de Beirona [Body&Soul Vocal Mix]

3. Sangue de Beirona [Dub Mix]

4. Sangue de Beirona [Acroostic Ambient Space]

5. Sangue de Beirona [Spiritual Wave Dub]

6. Sangue de Beirona [Fk's Drum Mix]

Amazon.com

Sir Colin Davis has long been considered the world's finest Berlioz conductor, and over the years, Philips has released all of the composer's major works with Davis at the helm. Now, they're all here, in a 24-CD box, and it is an astonishing achievement. This treasure trove consists of the definitive, available readings of Les Troyens, Béatrice et Bénédict, and Benvenuto Cellini; a wonderfully energetic, passionate Roméo et Juliette; a Te Deum which is huge yet clear and not over-the-top for its own sake; Les Nuits d'été with different singers (of varying ranges in different songs), as Berlioz wanted them performed; the young Dame Janet Baker superb in Herminie and La Mort de Cléopatre; a relaxed, sweet Enfance du Christ; a Requiem which could knock you over; a Damnation de Faust which is both lyrical and exciting; a performance of Lélio which almost makes sense of that strange work; a Symphonie Fantastiquewith atmosphere and thrills; along with 7 overtures, 5 songs, and more. In addition to the moderate price, the packaging is such that the 24 CDs takes up less space than just the earlier releases of Cellini and Troyens together. This is one-stop shopping at its best. --Robert Levine

Average customer rating:

After TABULA RASA, the next stop for fans of Part's "holy minimalism"
An excellent recording of sacred music
Pärt on song, yet somehow neglected
An icy wind of delicious sadness
Some gems

Arvo Pärt: Arbos

Manufacturer: Ecm Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Miserere
Alina - Arvo Part
Orient & Occident
Lamentate
Tabula Rasa

ASIN: B0000260TR
Release Date: 2000-01-25

Tracks:

Arbos
An den Wassern zu Babel
Pari Intervallo
De Profundis
Er sang vor langen Jahren
Summa
Arbos
Stabat Mater

Amazon.com essential recording

This CD features some great performances by Pärt specialists of a variety of shorter works. The clamorous Arbos for brass makes a startling opening for those who expect abstracted reverence; the lament, An den Wassern, has a startling ending that builds in intensity and volume only to break off midphrase. The static Pari Intervallo for organ leads into De Profundis, with its sense of slow but unstoppable movement (every note the same length, every measure the same rhythm). Es Sang has an unexpectedly lilting tune for solo alto, punctuated by string exclamations; Summa is a straightforward Pärt-style setting of the Credo. Arbos is repeated (this is oddly satisfying), and the disc closes with a masterpiece, the unbearably sad Stabat Mater for three voices and three strings. --Matthew Westphal

Customer Reviews:

After TABULA RASA, the next stop for fans of Part's "holy minimalism".......2007-06-22

This ECM disc is an important document of the work of Estonian composer Arvo Part, containing as it does a number of important early pieces from the composer's "tintinnabuli" phase. If the earlier TABULA RASA on the same label is the traditional entry point into this style, ARBOS is where one should head next. And as with all ECM discs, the performers are Part's hand-picked men, giving a definitive sheen to the recordings.

Those who have heard the TABULA RASA disc are familiar with "Cantus in memoriam Benjamin Britten" for bell and strings. That's a mensuration canon, where various instrumental parts play a descending scale in different speeds, but it is peaceful and contemplative. On this disc "Arbos" for 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, and percussion (1977) takes the same form, but with very different instrumentation, a faster tempo, and louder dynamics it obtains a very different sound. Those who think of Part only as a creator of calm moods will be surprised indeed by this piece which turns the basics of tintinnabuli writing towards a troubled, though fairly static, surface. The Staatsorchester Stuttgart conducted by Dennis Russell Davies gives a confident performance.

The other pieces here are performed by the Hilliard Ensemble. "Pari Intervallo" for organ (1976) does with that instrument what "Fur Alina" did with piano, display the sound of tinntinabuli in the simplest possible form. It's notable for being Part's calmest piece for organ; others are somewhat monsters.

The title of "An den Wassern zu Babel" for trombone and chamber orchestra (1986) refers to the well-known psalm, but instead of merely setting the text Part communicates the soul of the Israelites' lament though anguished vocalizations. The a capella "Summa" (1986), on the other hand, sets the Nicene Creed without any emotional edge whatsoever, letting the listener soberly listen to its theological truths, a good counter to, say, the Glagolitic Mass of Janacek.

"De Profundis" for male chorus, percussion & organ (1980) sets Psalm 130. While the chorus and percussion range everywhere through the seven-minute length of the piece, the organ maintains a slow ostinato much like in "Pari Intervallo".

Though Part usually sets Biblical or liturgical texts, "Es sang vor langen Jahren" for counter-tenor or alto with violin & viola (1984) is a setting of a poem by Clemens Brentano talking of a human lover and a nightingale. The music is fairly standard Part, though. Perhaps a little too standard, for I have a hard time enjoying this piece, which doesn't do much to stand out.

"Stabat Mater" (1987) is at 25 minutes the longest piece on the disc, and one of Part's greatest achievements. A setting of the well-known hymn, it consists of alternating sections focusing either on chorus or the violin, here performed by the great Gidon Kremer. The text telling of the Theotokos sorrowfully gazing at Christ on the Cross is, as one can expect, set solemnly indeed, but surprising are the joyful dance-like cadences led by the violin that break in.

While most of the music here is mainstream tintinnabuli, "An den Wassern zu Babel" (1976) is unusual, coming after Part's creative silence but not squaring with his new style. It displays the composer's interest in medieval music, and is closer to his Symphony No. 3 of several years previously than to "Fur Alina" written the same year and the tintinnabuli pieces that have followed.

One regrets that ECM places "Arbos" here twice--the label is infamous for rarely putting together enough material to nicely fill a disc. That and the presence of the frankly dull "Es sang for langen Jahren" causes me to subtract a star. Nonetheless, those who have heard TABULA RASA and want to head deeper into Part's singular soundworld are highly encouraged to check out this disc which, as a fellow reviewer noted, is strangely neglected.

An excellent recording of sacred music.......2007-03-22

This was the first Arvo Pärt recording I ever heard. I think that was around 1993? I heard the Stabat Mater on a long drive from Melbourne to Ballarat, where I was performing in a midday concert of Renaissance and Baroque music as a part of an Arts festival held in that great country city.
I was alone in the car, listening to ABC Classic FM, as always, and I heard all of the Statbat Mater. I was captivated by this poignant, sublime and beautiful music. The three soloists, soprano, countertenor and tenor, sing the music with great style and beauty. The melodic lines seem to be weightless and float through each other in a very graceful way. The work is accompanied by a small group of string instruments.

I bought the recording when I got back to Melbourne and it has been a favourite of mine ever since. I also bought the Hilliard Ensemble's recording of the Pärt St. John Passion, commonly known as the Passio.

Lovers of the music of John Tavener and Henryk Gorecki, who haven't heard any of Pärt's music will be in for a very pleasant surprise.

Pärt on song, yet somehow neglected.......2006-06-09

This disc, one of many ECM recordings of the music of Arvo Pärt, has often seemed to be rather neglected compared to the higher profile Tabula Rasa or Alina (just compare the number of reader reviews of those discs to this one). Yet it's a disc that contains one of the composer's finest works (Stabat Mater) and a collection of shorter pieces that show him to great advantage.

The brass-and-percussion fanfare Arbos is a brief, rapid series of descending scalic melodies overlaid in a canonic structure similar to that of Pärt's justly famous Cantus in memoriam Benjamin Britten (the sound of bells is also prominent in both works). Though much more active on the surface--and louder--than the more famous work, Arbos has the same static overall feel. It is succeeded by An den Wassern zu Babel, a setting for organ and four voices of the Waters of Babylon passage from Psalm 137. Probably the most stylistically complex work on this disc (dating from 1976, it forms a transitional work between the Third Symphony and Pärt's mature minimalism), it is unusually dissonant for the composer, and bears the influence of Sibelus and the liturgical Stravinsky as well as Pärt's love of early music. Though dating from the same year, the organ elegy Pari Intervallo is a much simpler work, slowly rocking between consonances on its serene path.

The next three works all date from the early maturity of Pärt's minimalist style. The gently ritualistic De Profundis layers triadic harmonies in the upper voices over the organ and bass voice, Es sang von langen Jahren restricts development mostly to the alto range (alto singing with the accompaniment of violin and viola), and the four-voice Summa is perhaps one of the most characteristic examples of Pärt's tintinnabular harmonies and slow-moving minimalism.

After a second performance of Arbos, the disc closes with the main focus of the disc, the Stabat Mater for three voices and string trio. This work, written for the 50th anniversary of Alban Berg's death (like another late 20th century masterpiece, Alfred Schnittke's string trio), extends the procedures of the previous works over 25 minutes--adding passages of great dramatic intensity to contrast the more minimalist sections.

Though I am far from an uncritical admirer of Pärt's work, I think this disc is an excellent selection of his music. If ultimately I have returned to the Stabat Mater much more often than the shorter works which precede it, this is as much as tribute to its qualities as to any failings on the part of the other works on the disc.

An icy wind of delicious sadness .......2004-08-17

Arvo Part creates a world where bleakness becomes almost an indulgence, and upon the first hearing of Stabat Mater you'll feel an icy wind of delicious sadness blow over your eager and expectant frown. The solo organ piece Pari Intervallo (which can also be found on the purely organ album Trivium), is a study in restrained and sterile beauty, meaning that the piece (and most of the tintinnabuli pieces) doesn't crash and bellow and forcefully announce its intent, but whispers it in cold hintings. As for myself, I will not hint: buy this album now.

Some gems.......2002-02-10

All of this music was new to me before listening to this disc. I assume the performances are definitive, so the issue is, how attractive is the music itself? To me the winner on this CD is track 4, De Profundis, almost 7 minutes of austere beauty for organ, small choir and remarkably effective percussion (bell and gong). Track 6, the Summa (Credo) is nice, but the music seems to be content to create a somewhat mystical mood, and does not reflect the text (like many mass Credos do). The major work on the disc is track 8, the Stabat Mater, a very austere piece. It has not won me over yet.

The Segovia Collection, Volume 9: The Romantic Guitar

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My Personal Favorite
The Greatest Classical Guitarist who ever lived!
An expressive Genius

The Segovia Collection, Volume 9: The Romantic Guitar

Manufacturer: Mca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Waltzes | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

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The Segovia Collection, Vol. 3: My Favorite Works
The Segovia Collection, Vol. 6: Manuel Ponce Sonatas
Segovia Collection (Vol. 1): The Legendary Andres Segovia in an All-Bach Program
The Segovia Collection, Vol. 2
Andrés Segovia: 1927 - 1939 Recordings, Volume 1

ASIN: B000002OGJ
Release Date: 1991-06-04

Tracks:

Op. 62, No.2: Chant du Paysan, Op. 62, No.2
Op. 12, No. 2: Waltz, Op. 12, No. 2
Op. 30, No. 3: Song Without Words, Op. 30, No. 3
Canzonetta
Op. 19, No. 6: Song Without Words Op. 19, No. 6
Menuetto
Largo assai
Romanza
Andantino Variato
Op. 39, No. 2: Waltz, Op. 39, No. 2
Prelude in A
Romanza
Melodie
Preludio
Allegretto
Sonata
Homenaje, Pour Le Tombeau De Debussy
Prelude
Prelude: La Fille Aux Cheveux De Lin

Amazon.com

Of all the discs in MCA's fine Segovia collection, this is the least successful, though fans of the great guitarist will naturally want this collection of transcriptions of piano works by various Romantic composers, including Grieg, Mendelssohn, Brahms, and Debussy. The problem does not lie with Segovia's performances, which are excellent, but with the music itself, some of which resists being performed on the guitar rather more than the Spanish pieces that are the "meat and potatoes" of the classical repertoire. If this one reservation doesn't trouble you, then by all means buy. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews:

My Personal Favorite.......2004-06-12

While Segovia's forte is Spanish music and his mastery of the Bach sonatas and partitas which were transcribed from the violin to the guitar, I keep finding myself listening to this CD on an almost daily basis. As a classical guitarist myself, hearing pieces like Grieg's piano works and Mendlesohns' string quartets played to perfection on his 1947 Herman Hauser II with such strength, clarity and authority makes me realize this man understood more about the music that went onto this one CD than most "musicians" past and present could ever hope to understand in a lifetime. His guitar sings like a human voice and when he plays it truly sounds like a choral ensemble being played through one instrument. Sweet!

The Greatest Classical Guitarist who ever lived!.......2000-09-22

Every classical Guitarist today owes a debt of gratitiude to Andres Segovia. He was not only an amazingly unique talent but an innovator as well. When he rediscovered the guitar it was a forgotten instrument that shared little respect from the musical community. He literally invented the technique that all classical guitarists use today. In addition he sought out and compiled thousands of lost pieces for the instrument. He also made many transcriptions of pieces written for other instruments such as the piano and translated them brilliantly into the language of the guitar. Out of the entire Segovia collection, this CD is my personal favorite for the diversity and choice of material. The waltzes are charming. My favorite cuts are Canzonetta and Song Without Words OP 19.no 6, both but Felix Mendelssohn. If you only buy one CD out of this collection it should be this one.

An expressive Genius.......1999-02-17

Segovia truly shows his expressive genius on this album. Many of these pieces were written for the piano but arranged for the the guitar by Segovia. These titles express much of what is moving about the romantic period in classical music and Segovia captures this in his masterful way. This is a must have for Segovia fans. If not for some noisy recordings, I would have given this album 5 stars.

Average customer rating:

Rare gem of a contemporary singer.
Superb!
Good compilation--but don't buy it new
A Lieder Singer Who Also Does Opera
Simply Stunning

The Radiant Voice of Barbara Bonney
Barbara Bonney
Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Exultate, Jubilate
Barbara Bonney - Fairest Isle
Songs by Robert & Clara Schumann
My Name is Barbara
Im Chambre séparée: The Operetta Album

ASIN: B00005M05B
Release Date: 2001-07-24

Tracks:

Come Again: Sweet Love Doth Now Invite
Thy Hand, Belinda... When I Am Laid in Earth
Heute Noch, Lieber Vater, Tut Es Doch
Stabat Mater - Barbara Bonney/Andreas Scholl
Alleluia
Laudate Dominum
Deh, Vieni, Non Tardar
Ach, Ich Fuhl's
Chiedi All'aura Lusinghiera
Mondnacht
Solveigs Sang
Var Det En Drom?
Flickan Kom Ifran Sin Alsklings Mote
Morgen
Mir Ist Die Ehre Widerfahren
Die Nachtigall
In Trutina
Pie Jesu
Vocalise

Amazon.com

Of all the laudatory epithets applicable to Barbara Bonney, the term "radiant" might not be the one that springs to mind--at least, not insofar as it suggests the warm luxuriance of sunshine. Bonney's light, bright lyric soprano is something else: a voice of delicate refinement and transparent, pure-toned beauty. But it's capable of silkily seductive textures, too. And there are wonderful examples on this compilation disc that, if featuring a less-established artist, might qualify as a demo tape. Most of the tracks are previously issued, but together, they define her capabilities and home-base repertory, from Bach, Purcell, and Mozart through to Scandinavian song and Richard Strauss. With "Morgen," "Solveigs Sang," "The Presentation of the Rose" from Der Rosenkavalier, and "Ach, ich Fuhls" from The Magic Flute, this is a catalog of silver, if not golden, moments. Jewel-like singing and pure joy to hear. --Michael White

Customer Reviews:

Rare gem of a contemporary singer........2007-02-15

This is my first CD of Ms. Bonney.
I would say that Ms. Bonney is the greatest lyrical soprano of the late 20th century (she has retired last year from opera, I saw on the internet).
I've yet to hear another contemporary singer to beat her in her Susanna aria 'Deh vieni non tardar', or her Pamina aria.
Her Solveig's Song I took as a real vocal guide towards this song. Just listen to her 'ah' section and you will understand what I mean - such well nuanced musically line, such refined phrasing. Hard to beat.
Her opening song of Dowland is again a great wonder. Such drama built into so simple a song! Together with her Bach cantata, it reflect her vast span of repertoire that falls nowhere short of greatness.
Yes, I do not find her 'alleluia' from Exultate Jubilate 'very' exceptional, but this, as pointed out, may not be her best account of this work.
If she has really retired from opera then it is a great great loss indeed.

Superb!.......2005-12-03

Barbara Bonney has a very clear voice.
This is my favourite cd of her.

Good compilation--but don't buy it new.......2005-01-03

I am a decided Bonney fan. So it is with hesitation I give this disc only three stars (three and a half really, but I don't have that option). But, it does reflect my feelings about this cd. There are certain selections that are especially disappointing because seeing them listed on the cover was my motivation for purchasing the cd to begin with-- the rose presentation from "Rosenkavalier," for example. As far as I'm concerned, Miss Bonney is the best Sophie around today. But this recording doesn't do her justice. Her signature floating pianissimi on the high a's and b's seemed under par here. Too much gear-changing and some vibrato issues (slight, but perceptible). And I wasn't particularly thrilled with the mezzo on this recording. Perhaps I'm spoiled by seeing the Lott-Bonney-von Otter DVD (by the way, THAT'S a definite keeper, if you have the 40 dollars it costs. . . worth it!). The "Exsultate, Jubilate" was less than stellar. It seemed to me that the tempo was just a hair faster than she could comfortably sing the florid lines. The high "c" at the end sounded far too difficult for a soprano like Bonney who does have such easy beautiful high notes. Additionally, I would have liked to hear her sing the entire piece as opposed to just the "Alleluia". I wish the Weber "Pie Jesu" weren't included. I always skip it. There's too much glorious music that suits Bonney so well for her to waste an entire track on this silliness.

Having said all this, the album is not at all a complete loss. There are some truly fine moments on here too. The Mozart arias are wonderful. Her voice really has the appropriate sex appeal for Susanna's aria. That's a favorite of mine anyway. Love the Strauss! Like the Dowland to open the cd. And check out track 16, "Die Nachtigall." The first time I listened to the cd, I had to do a "double take" halfway through this song. I grabbed the cd case and liner notes to see if someone else were singing this piece (since there are several guests on this collection) because it simply didn't sound like the same person. There's a depth and steely quality to her voice that I had never heard from her before. I was amazed. I suspect that she couldn't sustain that sound comfortably for an extended amount of time, but I was still very impressed to hear that she has that capability.

I tend to be overly wordy, so I'll wrap up by saying that this is indeed a cd that is worth buying if you can find it for reasonably less than the retail price. It's worth having for some of the better moments on the recording, but might be somewhat disappointing if you have invested the full retail value (as I did).

A Lieder Singer Who Also Does Opera.......2003-03-04

Barbara Bonney is a phenomenon. With a rich and sensuous voice, she imparts more subtle emotional colors and musical nuances to the works she performs than any soprano in recent memory. To hear her sing is to come away with both a new understanding of the work and a heart full of joy. At the risk of seeming to hedge, however, I am less ecstatic about some of her performances of larger works. On this CD, for example, the "Laudate Dominum" seems strangely forced. (It is only because other of her albums are even more exquisite that I gave this one four stars. She deserves all the stars in the firmament.) But there is no comparison with her renderings of lieder, like the exquisite "Mondnacht." She is haunting, delicate, seductive - and all things in between. I have written elsewhere of the ongoing rediscovery of Robert Schumann. Ms. Bonney's recordings are, in my view, among those leading this revolution, which has led others besides this reviewer to consider Schumann's lieder even more remarkable than Schubert's. Her recent disc with songs of Liszt balanced by the "Dichterliebe" is so lovely as to be almost unearthly. Similarly, in a recording with Vladimir Ashkenazy, she sings the "Frauenliebe und Leben," excerpts from Eichendorff's "Liederkreis," and champions to excellent effect a number of sumptuous lieder by Clara Schumann. This is by way of saying that what Ms. Bonney herself asserts is accurate: that she is a lieder singer first and foremost. Her Richard Strauss and Sibelius are subtle, powerful and passionate. The Mozart arias are sprightly and, where called for, sexy as well. She also works wonders with Andrew Lloyd Weber and Andre Previn, though I think she really deserves to sing better material. This is a marvelous overview of Ms. Bonney's range, and while I am always suspicious of hagiography in program notes, here I can only say "Amen"!

Simply Stunning.......2002-03-28

Radiant aptly describes the voice of Barbara Bonney. Her silvery tones, the effortless highs, and the quality of her pianissimo are simply stunning. Her voice shimmers with life, and love, and color. The music selections are varied and a grand example of the beauty of Barbara's instrument and artistry. This disk is a heavenly collection of some of the best lyric soprano literature and is pure joy to listen to.

Average customer rating:

Simply, she's one of the best sopranos I've ever heard!
I am enraptured
Beautiful music oversung
Beautiful Korean Art Songs

Korean Songs; Hei-Kyung Hong
Myung-Mun Yang , Kwang-Suk Lee , Su-Hyun Gum , Mal-Bong Kim , Duc-Ki Kim , and Ensemble Orchestral de Paris
Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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Similar Items:

Korean Traditional Music Ensemble: Traditional Music from Korea
Korean Court Music
Bellezza vocale ~ Beautiful Opera Duets

ASIN: B0000B0A24
Release Date: 2003-10-07

Tracks:

Mount Peak-Du Of Mine
The Barley Field
Missing You
The Daffodil
I Want To Go Home
New Arirang
The Hamlet In The Mountains
An Ode For My Home Town
The Swing
My Heart
Because You Are Here
Love
A Boat Sailing Away
My Heart Is Waiting
Dongshimcho
I Miss Mount Keumkang

Customer Reviews:

Simply, she's one of the best sopranos I've ever heard!.......2004-10-03

First of all, my review is not about this particular album. The previous reviewer compared her to Sumi Jo. If Hong should have a lesson on how to sing Korean songs from Jo, then Jo should learn how to act on the stage from Hong. I'm a Korean myself and I have almost all recordings of Ms. Jo including my favorites of her recordings, "Carnaval" and "Ariadene Aux Naxos." I also went to operas and heard both great singers on stage. I'm not an opera expert..but as an opera lover, I truely think Ms. Jo has technical perfection. However, that's not enough for singing an opera. Ms. Jo can sing beautifully in recordings but on the stage, her voice is not big enough and her acting is weak. I'm not talking about physical expression. but vocal expression. Ms. Jo is a Great coloratura soprano but I don't think she's a Great opera singer. I still remember Kei-kyung Hong in Turandot. I don't understand Italian and I didn't even have to read translations because my heart already understood every word she sings.

I am enraptured.......2004-08-31

I listened to this because I am studying Korean, and I have been listening to anything Korean that I can get my hands on.

On my first listening I was not too impressed. But subsequent listenings have left an indelible impression of incredible beauty that grows and grows with every return.

I have only one complaint. The CD includes translations of these traditional Korean songs in English, German, and French, but without either the Korean or a transliteration.

Beautiful music oversung.......2003-10-27

I would actually give this about 3 and a half stars if that were an option. I enjoyed Hei-Kyung Hong's recital disc from 1998 immensely, and I've seen her live and she is amazing. However, on this disc of traditional Korean songs she seems to be over-singing. Her vibrato is uncontrolled and sometimes she actually sounds like a parody of an opera singer. Which is unfortunate, because her voice is gorgeous and if she had held back a little bit this album could have been amazingly beautiful.

Korean coloratura Sumi Jo is a singer who understands that you must change the way you sing when you sing different styles of music. Perhaps she could have given Ms. Hong lessons on how to sing this type of material, as she released a couple of similar albums several years ago. She still sings them "correctly," that is to say, operatically, but her vibrato doesn't get in the way and she doesn't try to sound bigger than she is. Her CD's are difficult to find, but if you can, I highly recommend them over this version.

Beautiful Korean Art Songs.......2003-10-08

Considering the status of Korean Music in the classica field, it is very understandable that this CD didn't get much publicity from media like Bartoli or Fleming's new CDs.
However, in my opinion, this CD deserves some attention.
Because it has beautiful art songs from Korea. You will find something new from this CD. It can be said something Oriental flavor from some songs like "mt Paek du"
or "New Aririang". But, generally, I don't think you can tell much difference of it from the European operatic art songs especailly if you are not familiar with the language.
So I have to say this CD is worthy for listening to because it is so beautiful and moving.
My favorites are "Mt Pake-du(reminds of a piece of dramatic opera aria), "Missing You", "I want to go home", "my heart",
"Boat sailing away", "Dongshimcho".
For me, these songs are quite familiar since I have CDs by
Sumi jo and Youngok Shin for same songs.
Unlike Jo or Shin's, Hong's interpretations for songs are quite
dramatic and expressive. In terms of who was the best, I guess,it depends on songs.
For instance like "Barley field", Jo has more suitable voice.
Shin has her own merit as well for her soothing and vulnerable voice.
Anyhow, Hong did express her own color on each songs.
I loved this CD more aftering listening several times since her voice was too dramatic for some songs(needed time to get used to it).
For Marketing aspect for EMI, I am not sure if this was good decision to release Korean songs for first project by EMI for Hong(in my opinon, neither Hong or Korean art song doesnot have big name recognition in the market except New York area and Korea). She might have released more safe well-known opera arias.
Anyhow,I hope you could enjoy these songs as much as I enjoyed.

Average customer rating:

Wonderful Singing But Possibly Lost Soon
A world tour of some fine songs
Her songs go around the world and to the heart
Sheer Enchantment
Not bad

My World
Johann Paul Aegidius Martini , Giovanni Battista Pergolesi , Ottorino Respighi , Ruggero Leoncavallo , Manuel de Falla , Xavier Montsalvatge , Erik Satie , Leo Delibes , Francis Poulenc , Edvard Grieg , Robert Schumann , Franz Schubert , Richard Strauss , Tiberiu Brediceanu , Enrico Mezzetti , George Cavadia , Antonin Dvorak , Franz Liszt , Manos Hadjidakis , Sephardic Traditional , Young-Sup Choi , Akira Mitake , Jaime Ovalle , Nicholas Brodszky , Angela Gheorghiu , and Malcolm Martineau
Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Sopranos | Voices | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Gheorghiu, Angela | Divas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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Verdi Heroines
Puccini - La Rondine / Gheorghiu · Alagna · Matteuzzi · Mula · Rinaldi · Ciofi · Bacelli · LSO · Pappano
The Essential Angela Gheorghiu
Diva
Songs by Mahler, Handel & Peter Lieberson

ASIN: B0000069D9
Release Date: 1998-04-07

Tracks:

Piacer d'amor
Se tu m'ami
Nebbie
Mattinata
El pano moruno
Canto negro
Je te veux
Les Filles de Cadix
Les Chemins de l'amour
Solveigs Sang - Peer Gynt, Op.23
Widmung - Myrthen, Op. 25 No. 1
Du bist wie eine Blume
Standchen
Zueignung
Mult ma-ntreaba inima
Cantec de sirena
Umbra
Kdyz mne stara matka - Ciganske Melodie, Op. 55 No. 4
Oh! quand je dors
Pai efiye to treno
Durme kerido hijico(Traditional Sephardic)
Guriwoon Geum Gang San
Kawa no Nagare no you ni
Azulao
Be My Love

Amazon.com

The cover is a bit much: Angela Gheorghiu descending from an airplane in a glamorous 1950s suit suggesting she's the reincarnation of Maria Callas. And in the notes, the fabulous Romanian soprano tells of her jet-setting life and how this international program of songs reflects that. She's not quite as versatile as she would like us to believe, but she's the real thing, singing with a strength of conviction and depth of musical understanding that overrides lapses in style. Many singers would just sail through Poulenc's tuneful Les Chemins de l'amour, for example, but Gheorghiu shows what guts it has. --David Patrick Stearns

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful Singing But Possibly Lost Soon.......2005-08-22

This recording contains 25 beautiful works by composers from various regions of the world. Angela Gheorghiu's artistry is excellent. She is not only expressive, but she possesses the ability to demonstrate dynamics without losing control of the breath support. Gheorghiu's ability to crescendo and decrescendo on a given pitch is impressive because her tone stays clear regardless of what she is doing. Respighi's Nebbie is a good example.
Additionally, The short Greek piece shows that Gheorghiu can be rather versitile. Her voice becomes almost one that is not easily recognizable in the lower register. It's almost chest voice singing to me. This is just another of Gheorguiu's amazing abilities.
Her pianist is also excellent. He plays with much sensitivity and is a joy to hear. He has the touch of few gifted accompaniests today.
If you like Gheorghiu, I highly recommend this CD especially since there seem to be only several available copies of the recording out there. I certainly hope that more copies will become available and that this recording will not disappear as some already have in today's market.

A world tour of some fine songs.......2004-12-26

Ms. Gheorghiu undertakes a lot with this CD, some very disparate literature in a passel of different languages. I think she succeeds quite wonderfully. Her Italian, French, and German pronunciation are quite good (and one assumes her Romanian as well). More importantly, she carries off the songs effectively. Schuberts Ständchen is very nice as is Schumann's Du Bist wie eine Blumen. I can't speak much about the Asian songs, some have apparently found fault with her Japanese and Korean pronunciation. I can understand that, but I'm willing to cut her slack on that. The Hadjidakis song is marvelously done. She remarks in the liner notes that it doesn't even sound like her voice, and I concur. Turn up the volume, and at the very end of the song, you can hear her exhale as she finishes. No, not part of the music, but is somehow conveys the sense of melancholy inherent in the song. Sometimes compilations like this don't work, but in my mind, this one certainly does.

Her songs go around the world and to the heart.......2001-06-08

On this 'diva on a world tour' CD, Angela Gheorghiu sings splendidly in a wide variety of styles, from art song to folk song to cabaret song, and even goes slightly into the pop genre, proving that 'crossover' can indeed sound wonderful from a singer of integrity. It doesn't hurt that she has what is probably the most beautiful soprano voice of our time, from a serene, splendid top to a rich and very sexy bottom. Her superb technique is shown by beautiful control of tone and dynamics, especially gorgeous pianissimi. Of course, she is much more than just a `beautiful voice'. Gheorghiu brings the same intensity, total commitment, attention to detail and nuance to her song interpretations as she does to her operatic ones, often with a quietness and introspection that opera usually doesn't require. She not only varies her vocal style, character and even her sound perfectly to each song, she also proves to be an adept linguist, singing 25 songs in 13 (!) languages. While I'm not familiar enough with all the languages to judge her handling of them, anything that Gheorghiu sings in a romance language is wonderful. This includes not only her native Romanian but also French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Ladino (the language of Sephardic Jews, mostly medieval Spanish). She paints words - and entire musical worlds - with the skill of a true artist and rarely fails to touch the heart and soul.

The best track on the disc, without question, is Respighi's 'Nebbie'. Gheorghiu not only brings out all the agony of this character but actually uses her voice to create a frozen landscape of desolation and hopelessness. I also was very taken with her interpretations of two 'arie antiche' that proceeded this - the familiar 'Plaisir D'Amour' sung here in Italian, and a sad, introspective rendition of 'Sei tu m'ami', which makes a nice contrast to Cecilia Bartoli's more outgoing and mischevious version. There is also a wonderful rendition of the famous Sephardic lullaby `Durme kerido hijico'. I always admire a `star' singer who introduces new or obscure repertory for a wider audience to fall in love with, and Gheorghiu does this with 3 hauntingly beautiful Romanian songs. The Greek song is the best of many songs where she gets to display her aforementioned mezzoish lower register - her voice is almost unrecognizable. Other highlights include `Solveig's Song', `Chemins de l'amour', `Oh! Quand je dors', `Je te veux', `Azulao' (where she seems to be conjuring the song up from the depths of the earth) and most appropriately to her own life, the Japanese pop song where she sings about the joys of traveling the long road with her lover beside her. The disc ends with a splendid rendition of 'Be My Love', capping the recital with a spectacular high C and proving once and for all that this song is hardly just tenor-only property.

My only qualm is that while Gheorghiu's renditions of Schubert and Schumann songs are by no means bad, she has a great deal of competition in this repertory and her renditions don't come quite as special as those of others, or of the other songs on this CD. I think `Zueignung' in particular needs a more heroic sound than she gives it here. Also, I was a bit spoiled for 'Guriwoon Geum Gang San' by hearing Hei-Kyung Hong sing it - she actually IS Korean and brings more deep and specific feeling to this song than Gheorghiu can. I'm also slightly disappointed that she does not include any English (as opposed to American) songs, considering how much she loves working in England and how popular she is there.

Malcolm Martineau plays beautifully and is an accompanist of imagination and sensitivity. His affinity with Gheorghiu is shown by the fact that her singing of 'Azulao' was at his suggestion. He seems to becoming a latter day Gerald Moore in the way that he accompanies so many singers so well in such widely varied repertoire and brings out their best, although I do not know if he posssesses Moore's gifts for explaining the music to the audience. I hope he and Gheorghiu work together again, despite the fact that they are now primarily based at different record companies.

The documentation includes an essay by Gheorghiu herself on the songs and how they relate to the joys of her peripatetic existence,as well as full texts and translations. One possible error - I believe they translate a different verse of 'Les Filles du Cadix' than Gheorghiu actually sings. I also like the cover and interior photos of Gheorghiu - they show her as a smart, strong, confident world traveller, not a submissive sex object the way so many other female classical singers appear in their CD booklets. By contrast, the photos of her actually taken at the recording session show her as a complete 'un-diva' in a cartoon character T-shirt.

While I am delighted about the many opera recordings, both complete works and solo recitals, that Gheorghiu plans to make over the next several years, I really hope she commits much, much more song literature to disc. It is certainly the best way for her to develop an artistic identity separate from her equally splendid husband Roberto Alagna (although it doesn't take a genius to figure out who 'Je te veux' and 'Be My Love' are aimed at!). For the sheer variety, depth, and skill of her interpretations, she could become the 21st century's equivalent of Victoria De Los Angeles. The first priority is a disc of Romanian songs, and I hope she also records more material from the surrounding area (Hungary, Czechoslavkia, Greece, etc). Based on her performance of 'Canto Negro', I want her to record the entire Montsalvatge cycle - can you IMAGINE what she could do with 'Ninghe, ninghe'? Perhaps more Sephardic songs? Kurt Weill's French songs? 'Les Nuits D'Ete'? 'Sheherezade'? The list is endless and mind boggling.

Sheer Enchantment.......2000-03-25

I'll be brief. After listening to this CD on and off for nearly a year, I find that the rougher, less interesting moments that came up when I first bought the disk have faded, and that from start to finish I have a new Desert Island Disk to accompany my favorites of years past. Buy it, then give it time to work its magic and for your erotic center to familiarize you to this sexy voice. The same goes just as strongly for Gheorghiu's glorious ARIAS album with Mauceri. This is more quickly taken in but as time passes it is like having Angela's fingers stroking your back. All right, stroking your sympathetic ganglia.

Not bad.......1999-04-23

In this CD, at first I listened to KAWA NO NAGARE NO YOU NI. I'm a Japanese, so I interested in how Angela Gheorghiu singing it. After the song finished, I'm so sorry because she couldn't singing this song so well. I don't know about other song, but as a Japanese, I'm so disappointed. But, this disc's concept is very good.

Berlioz - Sacred Music (L'Enfance du Christ · Requiem) · Symphony Dramas (Roméo et Juliette · La damnation de Faust) · Orchestral Songs (Les nuits dété · Lélio · La mort de Cléopâtre) / Sir Colin Davis

Average customer rating:

Some of the best of the Davis cycle
Limited edition set of Sir Colin Davis doing Berlioz

Berlioz - Sacred Music (L'Enfance du Christ · Requiem) · Symphony Dramas (Roméo et Juliette · La damnation de Faust) · Orchestral Songs (Les nuits dété · Lélio · La mort de Cléopâtre) / Sir Colin Davis
Hector Berlioz , Colin Davis , Janet Baker , Nicolai Gedda , London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus , John Alldis Choir, Thomas Allen Philip Langridge José Carreras Ambrosian Singer , and Joseph Rouleau, Josephine Veasey, Gillian Knight Eric Tappy Jules Bastin
Manufacturer: Philips
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Oratorios | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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

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

Te Deum | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Classical | Box Sets | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00000C2FD
Release Date: 1998-01-01

Customer Reviews:

Some of the best of the Davis cycle.......2004-01-11

Of the three boxes of reissues form Colin Davis' pioneering Berlioz cycle, this is probably the one I would not want to be without more than the other two boxes. But I suppose that's because I dearly love more of the works in this set than the works in the orchestral works box or the opera box. The major works (La Damnation de Faust, Requiem, Romeo et Juliette, and L'Enfance du Christ) are in the eyes of many unmatched by any other recordings. And many would say that about the orchestral songs too. My only quibble is with some of the track editing in La Damnation de Faust, my favorite item in the box. The recording is analog in origin, much to its credit personally. Several track changes sound like old tape-joins though. Clean it up Philips! These classics deserve better treatment.
Documentation is minimal of course.

Limited edition set of Sir Colin Davis doing Berlioz.......1999-02-15

A complete review of this set will follow at a later date. What I wish to highlight here is that this set contains Davis's reading of Berlioz's Requiem, though it is not listed as part of the contents in Amazon's description. (I've submitted a suggestion that it be added.) Those genuinely interested in Berlioz's sacred music will probably know this recording, which is justly famous for its dramatic power, and for a depth that Davis, above anyone else, consistently achieves in Berlioz. The Davis recording has recently gone out of print as a single item and is now available only as part of this set, which is limited edition. Practically, that means most record stores will not be able to order it, and that the set may not be available for long. These considerations, as well as Davis's peerless interpretations of the other items in the set, make this collection valuable indeed. Berlioz fans would regret protracted indecision.

Massenet: Thaïs / Sills, Milnes, Gedda; Maazel

Average customer rating:

Lapsing Faith and Lost Beauty
Stylish Thais Set
AN UNDER-APPRECIATED GEM
A fad
Lovely but too late

Massenet: Thaïs / Sills, Milnes, Gedda; Maazel
Jules Massenet , Lorin Maazel , Beverly Sills , Nicolai Gedda , New Philharmonia Orchestra , John Alldis Choir , Sherrill Milnes , and Norma Burrowes
Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

French | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Operettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
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Bellini - I Puritani / Sutherland

ASIN: B000002S67
Release Date: 1995-09-26

Tracks:

Thais: Act I - Scene I : Voici le pain...Et le sel (Cenobites, Palemon)
Thais: Act I - Scene I : Le voici! Le voici! (Cenobites, Athanael, Palemon)
Thais: Act I - Scene I : Helas! enfant encore (Athanael)
Thais: Act I - Scene I : Ne nous melons jamais, mon fils (Palemon, Cenobites, Athanael)
Thais: Act I - Scene I : Vision (Orchestre)
Thais: Act I - Scene I : Toi, qui mis la pitie dans nos ames (Athanael)
Thais: Act I - Scene I : Mon fils, ne nous melons jamais (Palemon, Athanael, Cenobites)
Thais: Act I - Scene II : Prelude (Orchestre)
Thais: Act I - Scene II : Va, mendiant chercher ailleurs ta vie! (Serviteur, Athanael)
Thais: Act I - Scene II : Voila donc la terrible cite (Athanael)
Thais: Act I - Scene II : Ah! Ah! Ah!...Athanael, c'est toi!
Thais: Act I - Scene II : Ah! Ah! Ah!...Je vais donc te revoir (Crobyle, Myrtal, Nicias, Athanael)
Thais: Act I - Scene II : Gorde-toi bien! Voici ta terrible ennemie! (Nicias, Choeur)
Thais: Act I - Scene II : C'est Thais, I'idole fragile (Thais, Nicias)
Thais: Act I - Scene II : Quel est cet etranger (Thais, Nicias, Athanael)
Thais: Act I - Scene II : Qui te fait si severe (Thais, Nicias, Choeur)
Thais: Act I - Scene II : Non! Non! je hais vos fausses ivresses (Athanael, Thais, Nicias, Choeur)
Thais: Act II - Scene I : Ah! je suis seule, seule enfin!
Thais: Act II - Scene I : Dis-moi que je suis belle (Thais)
Thais: Act II - Scene I : Etranger, te voila comme tu l'avais dit
Thais: Act II - Scene I : Eh bien, fais-moi connaitre tout cet amour
Thais: Act II - Scene I : Je suis Athanael, moine d'Antinoe! (Thais, Athanael, Nicias)
Thais: Act II - Scene I : Je n'ai pas plus choisi mon sort que ma nature (Thais, Athanael, Nicias)
Thais: Act II - Scene I : Meditation Religieuse - Symphonie (Orchestre)

Tracks:

Thais: Act II - Scene II : Pere, Dieu m'a parle par ta voix,
Thais: Act II - Scene II : Non loin d'ici, vers I'occident
Thais: Act II - Scene II : Considere, o mon pere (Thais, Athanael)
Thais: Act II - Scene II : Suivez-moi tous, amis! (Nicias, Choeur, Crobyle, Myrtal)
Thais: Act II - Scene II : Divertissement (i) (Orchestre)
Thais: Act II - Scene II : Voila I' Incomparable! (Nicias)
Thais: Act II - Scene II : Celle qu vient est plus belle (Crobyle, Myrtal)
Thais: Act II - Scene II : Divertissement (ii) (Orchestre)
Thais: Act II - Scene II : Eh! c'est lui!...Athanael! (Nicias, Choeur, Athanael)
Thais: Act II - Scene II : II dit vrai! (Thais, Nicias, Athanael, Choeur)
Thais: Act III - Scene I : L'ardent soleil m'ecrase
Thais: Act III - Scene I : Ah! des gouttes de sang coulent de ses pieds (Thais, Athanael)
Thais: Act III - Scene I : O messager de Dieu, si bon dans ta rudesse (Thais)
Thais: Act III - Scene I : Baigne d'eau mes mains et mes levres (Thais, Athanael, Choeur)
Thais: Act III - Scene I : La paix du Seigneur soit avec toi (Athanael, Albine)
Thais: Act III - Scene I: Mon oeuvre est accomplie! (Athanael, Thais, Albine, Choeur)
Thais: Act III - Scene II : Que le ciel est pesant! (Cenobites, Palemon, Athanael)
Thais: Act III - Scene II : C'est lui qui vient! (Athanael, Palemon)
Thais: Act III - Scene II : Qui te fait si severe (Thais, Athanael, Choeur)
Thais: Act III - Scene II : Thais va mourir! (Athanael)
Thais: Act III - Scene III : Seigneur, ayez pitie de moi (Choeur, Albine)
Thais: Act III - Scene III : Sois le bienvenu dans nos tabernacles (Albine, Athanael, Choeur)
Thais: Act III - Scene III : C'est toi, mon pere! (Thais, Athanael)

Amazon.com

This set is primarily for devoted fans of Beverly Sills, for fans of Sherrill Milnes in his prime, and for those who must have the uncut version where it's available. The estimable Ms. Sills was in less than ideal voice for the making of this recording, which is unfortunate, but the artistry still shines through. Mr. Milnes sings with rich tone. But Lorin Maazel's conducting is leaden and out of empathy with the score. --Sarah Bryan Miller

Customer Reviews:

Lapsing Faith and Lost Beauty.......2006-09-23

The reason I assign the recording four stars rather than five is that the pathos of the opera strikes me as too extreme. The same combination of exquisite beauty and suffocating pathos turns up in Barbra Streisand's song "The Way we Were." Beverly Sills sings the pathetic part of Thais to the hilt; and Massenet's familiar "religious meditation" does the rest. All of these intensely pathetic operas including Pagliacci and Tosca derive from the epoch-making example of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde with its unrelieved love-and-death sorrow. As a Christian I associate this powerful tradition with lapsing faith in Europe after 1865. Massenet's opera treats the early Christian monks of Egypt as caught up in tragic error. Thais is a supremely beautiful woman won from a life of immorality to Christianity by a well-intentioned monk who knew her in his earlier days. As the converted Thais lives and dies for the abstract reward of heaven, the monk grieves over the beauty he has destroyed. The real spiritual solution to the dilemma posed by the opera lies in the correlation between future resurrection, universal vitality and intense beauty; but theologians have generally missed he point and shown more interest in heaven than in concrete resurrection. In any case there was no way out for Massenet and his source.

Stylish Thais Set.......2005-10-16

This 1976 recording of Thais is my favorite of the two recordings I have - the other being the Fleming/Hampson. Sills' vibrato is a little more pronounced here than it was a few years earlier, but it doesn't bother me. She still has a gorgeous voice and brings this conflicted character vividly to life. Having studied with the likes of Mary Garden as a young singer, Sills has an innate understanding of the French style, and uses her voice with much imagination and flair. Also, the character of Thais is not supposed to be a young girl - an aging courtesan of 30ish or so... Sherrill Milnes, in a departure from his usual Italian repertoire, sings a most impassiaoned Athaneal - the voice full and resonant, the character's obessiveness wonderfully realized. I think he never did anything better on disc. Nicolai Gedda is a little past his best here, but like Sills understands the French style and delivers the vocal goods as required. Maazel conducts an exciting performance (even playing the solo violin in the Meditation himself) and the sound is excellent. The Fleming/Hampson set is beautifully sung, but I feel the drama of the story is not fully realized somehow - hard to put my finger on what's missing there. This Thais is one of my favorite French opera recordings - recommended highly.

AN UNDER-APPRECIATED GEM.......2004-12-03

Late 19th-century French opera is often disparaged these days, which isn't really fair. Delibes had some beautiful melodies, and Massenet was a much better composer than many give him credit for. And although "Manon" and "Werther" may be more famous, to me, his late opera "Thais" is his masterpiece. There are three major recordings of this opera, one with Anna Moffo, Gabriel Bacquier and Jose Carreras, a recent one with Renee Fleming, Thomas Hampson and Giuseppe Sabattini, and this 1976 recording with Beverly Sills, Sherill Milnes, and Nicolai Gedda. All three versions have their strengths and weaknesses. The Moffo/Bacquier vesion, although excellent and showing Carreras in his prime, is unavailable. (I'm not sure it was ever issued in CD.) The Fleming/Hampson recording is also excellent--Fleming has a gorgeous and luscious voice, and Hampson a silky smooth baritone--but I find myself reaching for the Sills/Milnes version most often.
Sills was past her prime when she recorded this, and her high notes are a little thin and sometimes wobbly. Nevertheless, her artistry is so great that she infuses the role of the courtesan with the tremendous drama the role requires. Thais' radical change of character, from the insouciant hedonist to the redeemed penitent, is gloriously demonstrated in Sills' portrayal.
And this opera is as much about Athanael as it is Thais. Milnes, at the height of his career when he recorded this in 1976, brings tremendous power and vitality to the role of the priest, whose reverse progression from moralistic religious surety to tortured doubt parallels that of Thais, the object of his forbidden love. Nicolai Gedda's singing is, as always, stylish and graceful, and Loren Maazel's reading of the score is well paced and forceful. This recording belongs in all opera collections.

A fad.......2004-05-21

This Thais is ruined by Sills. Buy Renee Fleming's Thais instead. She has the big voice, the looks and the talent. Sills didn't, all she can do is make my ears bleed. Shame on that shrieker!

Lovely but too late.......2004-02-24

I have a live-recording with Sills which is MUCH better. Sills was always at her best live on stage. For studio-recordings get the Fleming-set or the sadly cut recording with the divine Renee Doria. (My favourite Thais)

Average customer rating:

Extraordinary!
solo trombone
A wonderful display of trombone artistry!

Christian Lindberg: Songs for Sunset

Manufacturer: Bis
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Waltzes | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Preludes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B0000016OE
Release Date: 1996-12-17

Tracks:

Meditation From 'Thais'
La Pius Que Lente
Le Cygne
The Terry Theme From 'Limight' ('Eternally')
To Spring
Serenade
Auf Flugeln Des Gesanges
Chant Du Menestrel
Apres Un Reve
Salut D'Amour
Sang Till Lotta
Lied Der Mignon: Nur Wer Die Sehnsucht Kennt
La Fille Aux Cheveux De Lin
Adagio From Cello Sonata
Smile From 'Modern Times'
Vocalise
Reverie

Customer Reviews:

Extraordinary!.......2007-03-12

This is the most beautiful trombone recording ever! Lindberg plays with a lot of intensity and passion. A must for every trombone player and everyone who likes good music!

solo trombone.......2006-08-02

As a trombone player myself, I can only say that Christian Lindberg is impossibly gifted as a featured soloist...this cd is an absolute treat!

A wonderful display of trombone artistry!.......2000-03-18

This CD is by far my favorite Lindberg recording, and I own many. Lindberg takes melodies that may not be as technically demanding as some that he has recorded, but takes them to a new level musically. He truly makes the trombone an extension of the human spirit on this recording. I am a trombonist myself, so I know how difficult that is to accomplish and to accomplish it on the level that Lindberg does on this CD. His treatment of pieces such as the Rachmaninov Vocalise and Debussy's Girl With the Flaxen Hair truly do the music justice. He plays with a sense of freedom that truly pulls the listener into the music along with Lindberg.

Average customer rating:

DON'T TAKE US FOR GRANTED
Definetly for the Anglophile

John Williams: Echoes of London

Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

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The Queen

ASIN: B0000026EF
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

For 2 Guitars: Streets Of London
For 2 Guitars: La Volta
For 2 Guitars: Air On A Ground Bass
For 2 Guitars: Holland Park
For 2 Guitars: Courante
For 2 Guitars: Sarabande/Air
For 2 Guitars: Harmonious Blacksmith
For 2 Guitars: Salut D'amour
For Guitars and Orchestra: A Nightingale Sang In Berkley Square
For Guitars and Orchestra: A Room In Bloomsbury
For Guitars and Orchestra: London Pride
For Guitars and Orchestra: A Foggy Day
For Guitars and Orchestra: London By Night
For Guitars and Orchestra: Maybe It's Because I'm A Londoner

Customer Reviews:

DON'T TAKE US FOR GRANTED.......2005-01-14

John Williams is a great player of the guitar and no two ways about that. Apart from his solo and individual performances, I recall his duo concerts with Julian Bream. Williams would sit upright, poised, aloof and above-it-all while Bream sweated and laboured, but when it comes to sheer aristocracy as a player I can't think Williams is the equal of the great Bream.

This disc is a very odd medley indeed. Stephen Dodgson's 'Fantasy Divisions' is an original composition for the guitar, and no arrangement is attributed to the three Dowland numbers at the start of the disc, from which I infer that they must be lute works. The others are arrangements either by Williams himself or by Steve Gray, or, in the case of the Lennon/McCartney 'Fool on the Hill', by Leo Brouwer. There is a vague link of 'London' in the music -- obviously Handel's English career happened there and several of the other pieces have the capital's name in their titles, but I would have liked less eclecticism in the choice of music, and I don't believe we would have lost anything by abandoning the half-hearted London theme. The recital starts with mediaeval music, skips to Purcell and Handel and then, via Elgar's ever-fresh Salut d'Amour, to a a complete ragbag of 20th century offerings. Dodgson's modernistic Fantasy Divisions are not likely to share much of a public with Lennon and McCartney, I wouldn't have thought, although I hope Ralph McTell's 'The Streets of London' will appeal to anyone who is not tone-deaf and who has any love of any kind of music at all. In my own view a love of music is a serious impediment to being able to tolerate 'A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square', although I owe to this production the information that the world owes this work to one Sherwin Maschwitz. Otherwise the Gershwins are here, as is Stanley Myers's Cavatina which was adapted for The Deer Hunter. I own up to an abomination of Noel Coward that turns me off anything bearing his name, and I find that Sandy Wilson's 'A Room in Bloomsbury' was partly responsible, alas, for launching the career of Julie Andrews. There are some orchestral contributions, but the names of the participants, other than the conductors, remain understandably suppressed.

I can forgive just about any compositional atrocity when the performance is of a certain stature. However I have to measure this record against a recently acquired disc of 'Spanish'/Catalan works from Bream, and the playing here just does not seem to me to be in the same class. Maybe Williams deliberately adopts a certain sameness of tone to reflect English pallor, but I suspect that the wonderful creativity and versatility of Bream is just not Williams's way of doing things.

The recorded sound is fine if unexciting, and the liner note moderately informative. We are not told who is responsible for them, and I can't say I feel particularly curious either.

Definetly for the Anglophile.......2001-03-20

For lovers of classical guitar and London, this album is a great addition to a good CD collection.

John Williams plays many of the songs on this album accompanied by full orchestra and chorus, and while the album does not bring out the extent of William's talent as one the world's best classical guitarists, it does evoke whimsical memories of London and is very well crafted. Let me put it this way, this album is best enjoyed on a rainy afternoon with a hot cup of tea. It is beautiful relaxing music that will not be dissappoint you.

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