> Classical Music |
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Artist:
Libera
 SERIOUSLY SUPERB, 2008-03-06
Yet more from Libera for my survival kit of their so peaceful, soothing and incredibly accomplished music. Every voice has, as ever, clearly been trained to perfection for its contribution to the overall fabulous blend, and in their skill the soloists really do defy belief, especially for singers who are so young. My only concern is the complexity of some of the solos and therefore the pressure for those who will be singing them live in high-profile concerts, etc. However, these appear always to have been risks that were carefully calculated by Libera's Director thus far, and I guess the same will be true again. New Dawn equals the very best of Libera to date, and that is praise indeed.
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List Price: £14.99
Our Price: £5.28
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Stephen Hough's recording of Saint-Saëns' piano concertos comes as no surprise: he is our leading champion of once-lost pianistic causes--Scharwenka, Sauer and Mompou being among the composers he has brilliantly committed to disc. For all his fame, Saint-Saëns is a harder cause to champion than any of the above, since his music really is at times mere padding. But what those who deride him fail to see is that the Muse also frequently perched on his shoulder, most notably in the Fourth Concerto with its lovely set of variations. They also miss the central point about his art, which reflected a rigorously anti-Romantic stance: "Art is intended to create beauty and character," he wrote. "Feeling only comes afterwards, and art can very well do without it." As the author of Hyperion's excellent liner-note rightly observes, it's ironic that Saint-Saëns ' anti-emotionality should have damned him in the eyes of critics, when Stravinsky's similar stance earned him accolades. Stephen Hough brings his customary grace and precision to bear in these unexpectedly interesting works, ably abetted by Sakari Oramo in the pit. Sometimes the composer paints intimate tone-pictures, sometimes he evokes vast waterscapes, but at all times Hough keeps you alert and on the edge of your seat. --Michael Church
Sparkling performances by a master pianist, 2001-09-20
Like many lovers of the romantic French repertoire, I have been eagerly anticipating this release for some time. Hough amazes yet again with his effervescent touch and dazzling virtuosity - indeed, he seems to toss off these gems of the concerto repertoire with such nonchalant ease. How do his interpretations compare with the other leaders in the field, namely Roge, Collard and Biret? Consider all other versions well and truly trounced. Oramo and his merry band provide sterling support with a perfect feel for this music and a marvellous balance, thanks yet again to the Hyperion team. Without reservation, this is a great recording by one of the greatest pianists around. One expects accolades galore in days to come - take note, Gramophone!
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List Price: £30.99
Our Price: £21.26
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Astonishing performances of two masterpieces, 2001-09-10
Whether 'Sancta civitas' or 'Dona nobis pacem' is the greater work is subject to debate. But both receive first-rate recordings on this disc.Hickox's recording of "Dona nobis pacem" is excellent (I rate it second, just a shade behind the late Robert Shaw's on Telarc); the singing is first-rate throughout, and the finale is a roller coaster of emotions, from fear to joy to quiet dignity. Yvonne Kenny in particular handles her solos effortlessly. Hickox's 'Sancta' will be, almost without question, the standard for any future recordings of the work. Using all the forces RVW recommended--especially the organ--the net result is incredible: the finale, "Heaven and earth are full of thy glory," is simply overwhelming, an incredible onslaught of sound, followed by one of the great surprises in all of 20th century music. And there are moments of great beauty as well: "Babylon the great is fallen" is a hushed lament (handled with even more skill than Walton's setting of the same text in "Belshazzar's Feast"), while "And I saw a new Heaven" is simply ravishing. I recommend this CD highly and without reservation.
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List Price: £6.99
Our Price: £3.85
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Artist:
Various Artists
If you only buy one worship compilation, 2006-10-16
If you only buy one worship compilation then this has to be it. It has a fantastic selection of modern, meaningful and very uplifting worship songs by some of the top Christian artists: Matt Redman, Stuart Townend, Delirious? etc., and singing along to some of the tracks is its own prayer. This is fantastic value considering there are 3 CDs with 16, 17 and 16 tracks. Fab!
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List Price: £17.99
Our Price: £7.50
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Artist:
Gustavo Dudamel
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List Price: £16.99
Our Price: £8.57
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Artist:
Queen
Genius, 2007-12-05
From the opening bars of Death on Two Legs to the final strains of the national anthem, this is the PERFECT Queen album. With all four members pulling in the same direction, the album as a whole is an absolute peach but there are a few standout moments that do deserve attention.
May's guitar playing has never been better, or bettered - from the snake wrapping itself round Mercury's vocal in the opening track, he playfully jollies it up with multiharmonies on Freddie's ditty - Lazing on a Sunday afternoon. Then comes the crunch - writhing in phasing and a 6/8 drum beat the most unlikely rock riff spins off I'm in love with my car - special mention to R Taylors quite superb vocal.
Now the genius really starts - a folk-rock science fiction song! - shouldn't work, but '39 does and with an impressive vocal and harmonies, the multitracks take nothing from the songs poignant (lump in the throat)lyrics and haunting melody.
Sweet Lady,another rocker in the improbable timing of 3/4 lifts off towards the end in a frenzy of overdubs and thrash-out drumming heaven!
John Deacon is also well represented with probably his best-ever composition; You're my Best Friend - listen closely to the musicianship from the bass lines to the broken drum patterns, this truly is a work of genuine genius guising and simple pop romance.
Lazing on a Sunday afternoon with its incomparable 'woodwind' solo reveals a band totally at one with its genuis and pushing the envelope with good humour and oodles of style.
A very special mention must be made of the unlikely standout track on this album (yes, we know Bohemian Rhapsody's there!) but, the overlooked Good Company holds its own against its big brother and with Brian May's meticulously weird guitar jazz-band; we are listening to one of the finest moments of guitar genius ever committed to tape - every one of those notes recorded one-by-one on electric guitar, you really have to wonder at the genius of its conception and marvel at its immaculate delivery - try that EC, JB or JP - not a chance! - it really is a pity that Dr May went 'off the boil' after this, his only truly great recorded performance
Buy this and marvel - betterstill, but the DVD with 5.1 dolby and you can marvel all around the room!
ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING - remember them this way!
And I didn't even mention Freddie's vocals.....
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List Price: £8.99
Our Price: £3.98
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Artist:
Magdalena Kozená Dorothea Röschmann Michael Freimuth Malcolm Martineau
This is an amazing recital, 2008-11-10
This is an amazing recital from the fab Ms Kozena. This woman could sing the phone book and it would move me. Magdalena sings with such power and emotion. I have played this CD everyday since I brought it and went to see Magdalena perform some of the arias/songs from this CD at the Barbican in London and the whole audience seemed to be spellbound her her presence. I do recommed this CD along with last year's Handel recital.
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List Price: £16.99
Our Price: £8.98
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Artist:
Renée Fleming Münchner Philharmoniker Christian Thielemann
A modern interpretation by a voice born to sing Strauss, 2008-09-27
Many people will be surprised by the negativity of the comments by bert1761, the first and previous reviewer of this disc on Amazon.com. First, let me say that I deplore the practice of some Amazon readers who give another reviewer a negative vote simply because they do not agree with the opinion expressed. I think "bert" writes honestly, more in sorrow than in anger, and that his is a thoughtful, intelligent, sincerely held opinion that deserves careful consideration. I know what he means by the overt expressiveness of Fleming's interpretation but I do not agree that it is obtrusive or excessive. The voice is in wonderful condition and she is able to sustain the line with apparently effortless ease - except when she clearly chooses to disrupt it deliberately for emotive effect. The lower register is rich and characterful - you can hear its development just from the resonance of Renne's speaking voice in the publicity interviews on this website - and the top soars as creamily and amply as ever; I hear no strain anywhere. Her German is of course impeccable and her breath control a thing of wonder. I, too, am a great fan of Janowitz's and Te Kanawa's (earlier version with Davis) more restrained, classical interpretations, but Fleming's "Im Abendrot", for example, still works its magic for me. She is perhaps delivering here on record more of what you might hear in a live performance (indeed, I believe these are live takes - although you'd never know), when your communicative gestures can be more emphatic than in a recording - but slightly idiosyncratic instances of vocal colouring and verbal inflection can, on repeated listenings, become a little quirky and irritating. Nonetheless, this is an immediate, heartfelt interpretation of these inexhaustibly moving songs and very much a performance for the modern listener who needs and expects more individuality to distinguish one version from another. Furthermore, the recorded sound is technically marvellous; I have never heard so much detail in the orchestration.
The subsequent Strauss arias and songs are a glorious addition to her discography; Fleming was born to sing this composer - and just as she would opt to sing Strauss over any other composer for the voice, I would choose Fleming to interpret him. I cannot hear any inadequacy in her lower register in the first extended "Ariadne" excerpt and I rank this disc with her earlier selection of Strauss "bon-bons" with Susan Graham and Barbara Bonney. The bonus arias on the second disc in the Deluxe Edition are testament to her versatility and supremacy in other composers, especially Tchaikovsky's Tatyana.
So I respectfully beg to differ from the previous reviewer's judgement - but would fiercely defend and welcome his right to express it, prompting, as it does, civilised debate.
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List Price: £16.99
Our Price: £8.97
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Artist:
Karl Jenkins,
The Cory Band,
Cantorion
Fantastic Voices, Fantastic playing, Fantastic Album, 2007-11-01
If you're looking for top class musical ability Cantorion & the Cory Band have it in spades. The sound they make and the arrangements by Karl Jenkins are great - how modern male voice and brass music should be. Delilah is a bit cheesy but Cantilena sends shivers down my spine. Great video on You Tube too.
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List Price: £14.99
Our Price: £5.33
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One of the most gifted composers of his generation, Herbert Howells (1892-1983) once observed how "all through my life I've had this strange feeling that I somehow belonged to the Tudor period"; you can hear something of this deep-rooted quality in his sublime Christmas anthem of 1940, Long, Long Ago. If the incredibly moving motet Take Him, Earth, For Cherishing (written in 1963 for JFK's memorial service) remains probably the best-known piece here, the most substantial is surely the intensely personal Requiem (composed in 1933, but only published 48 years later), material from which resurfaces in Howells's 1938 choral masterpiece Hymnus Paradisi. Christopher Robinson and his exemplary St. John's forces lend equally sympathetic advocacy to the thrillingly sumptuous Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis written for St. Paul's Cathedral and the 1956 Communion Service based on material from the unforgettable 1943 Collegium Regale service that Howells wrote for King's College, Cambridge. Throw in fine performances by Iain Farrington of the Rhapsody No. 3 and Paean for organ (an instrument of which Howells was an absolute master) and you have a winner of an anthology, extremely well recorded. --Andrew Achenbach
Amazing, 2002-04-10
This recording is absolutely sublime - a must for anybody even remotely interested in English choral music. I bought it purely for the track "like as the hart," which has long been my favourite anthem, and I was not disappointed by the St. John's performance of it. However, the highlight of this CD for me is the singing of psalm 121; I have never heard it sung like this before. It is the most awe-inspiring piece and the voice of the baritone singing it is majestic. It would be worth ten times the price to hear this. I can honestly recommend this to you as an amazing buy.
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List Price: £5.99
Our Price: £3.98
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