Coral [Hybrid SACD]

Coral [Hybrid SACD]

ASIN: B0002JELCM

Track Listings

1. Eu Sei Que Vou Te Amar

2. Matita Pere

3. Vidala

4. Coral

5. Panambi

6. The Elements ll

7. Vexilla Regis

8. Cancion del Canaveral

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Puerto Rican tenor saxophonist David Sanchez has been exploring the connections between jazz and Latin music ever since he burst on the scene in the early '90s, when New York gigs with Eddie Palmieri led to a spot in Dizzy Gillespie's band. He takes a giant step forward on his seventh CD, performing the French impressionist-influenced works of Brazilian and Argentine composers; he is supported by his sextet, featuring alto Miguel Zenón, as well as arranger/conductor Carlos Franzetti and the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. Sanchez's lyrical tenor breathes new life into Antonio Carlos Jobim's atmospheric "Matita Perê," Heitor Villa-Lobos's moody and majestic title track, and the Pampa pulsations of Alberto Ginastera's "Vidala" and "Panambi." Augmented by original works by Franzetti and Sanchez, this project is reminiscent of Stan Getz's Focus and Joe Lovano's Rush Hour. It beautifully highlights Latin America's classical European heritage--and its African heartbeat. --Eugene Holley, Jr.

From the label:

On its spectacular debut recording, the exciting young British vocal group stile antico presents a program of English Renaissance music associated with the office of Compline, the service that ends the monastic liturgical day. A who's-who of 16th-century British composers--including Thomas Tallis, William Byrd, and John Sheppard--is represented here by hymns, antiphons, responsories, motets, and psalms: the occasion not only for music of intimacy, elegance, and reflection, but for flights of breathtaking canonic and contrapuntal invention and harmonic daring.

Stile Antico is an ensemble of young British singers, fast gaining recognition as one of the most original and exciting new voices in its field. In 2005 the group won the inaugural Audience Prize at the Early Music Network International Young Artists' Competition, drawing critical praise for its `wonderfully vivid singing' and `perfectly focused and ideally balanced voices.' Since this success, Stile Antico has appeared throughout the UK, including at the City of London, Lake District Summer Music and Beverley and East Riding Festivals; engagements for 2007 include the York Early Music Festival. The group has also collaborated with Sting on tour in his project Songs from the Labyrinth, performing lute songs by John Dowland.

Working without a conductor, the members of Stile Antico rehearse and perform as chamber musicians, each contributing artistically to the musical result. Their repertoire ranges from the glorious legacy of the English Tudor composers to the works of the Flemish and Spanish schools and the music of the early Baroque. They are passionate about the need to communicate with their audiences, combining thoughtful programming with direct, expressive performances. They are also committed to developing their educational work, for which they have received generous funding from the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique [Hybrid SACD]
Average customer rating:

The febrile incandescence!

A Living Stereo Classic

It doesn't get any better than this!

Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique [Hybrid SACD]

Manufacturer: RCA
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

All Works by Berlioz | Berlioz, Hector | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
General | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music
General | Classical | Styles | Music
General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
Classical Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music
Opera & Vocal | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Respighi: Pines of Rome; Fountains of Rome; Debussy: La mer [Hybrid SACD]

Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition, A Night on Bald Mountain, and Other Russian Showpieces [Hybrid SACD]

Mendelssohn: Italian & Reformation Symphonies [Hybrid SACD]

Brahms, Tchaikovsky: Violin Concertos [Hybrid SACD]

Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade; Stravinsky: Song of the Nightingale [Hybrid SACD]

ASIN: B000E1NWJ6
Release Date: 2006-02-07

Customer Reviews:

The febrile incandescence!.......2006-09-26

The close relationship between Charles Munch and Hector Berlioz, was much more a happy coincidence. The narrow affinity aroused due the sumptuous and elegant baton of this Alsatian conductor, who always knew to depict a gallant and incandescent Berlioz, conferring an aura that transcended the arcane vision of the inflamed Romantic composer, bewitched by his flaming love. This Fantastic remains among the most expressive and refulgent ever recorded. Besides the fact we are talking the Boston Symphony is additionally another important factor to take into account. The European taste emanated by this one thousand carats ensemble and those expressive and radiant strings section was obviously a determining factor that even accented with major blaze the enraptured state of mind of his febrile composer.

Don' t miss this superb version.

A Living Stereo Classic.......2006-05-12

Well RCA has fufilled a couple of my wishes. This recording of
the Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique from Munch and the BSO from
1954 is a classic! Charles Munch and the Boston Symphony recorded many of Berlioz's best works for RCA Red Seal, this and the Requiem are some of their best efforts. Munch's 1954
recording is really a romp, at just over 46 minutes you get a really fast performance, but you never get the feeling of being rushed. As icing on the cake, RCA includes the Love Scene from
Romeo et Juliette Op. 17 as a filler, and what a filler! Some of Berlioz's best music. Now perhaps the RCA people will fufill my next wish and issue Erich Leinsdorf's Living Stereo recording
of Mozart's " Don Giovanni" on SACD. Along with Maestro Leinsdorf's recording with the BSO on Richard Strauss's " Ein Heldenleben" . As for this SACD If you don't already have a recording of the Symphonie Fantastique this is a good one to add to your collection!

It doesn't get any better than this!.......2006-02-25

Charles Munch's performance of this old warhorse to me cannot
be outdone. I have read many glowing reviews of Davis/Concertgebouw,but have never heard it. Maybe someday I
will break down and buy it,but Munch just seems to have the
right idea. I like the sound of the bells in the 4th movement.
Someone told me years back that they were crafted for Munch
per his specifications. With the DSD remastering and SACD the
excitement is even better. Shame on RCA for taking so long to
reissue this treasure.

Average customer rating:

Karajan's best Beethoven Ninth--is the SACD better, too?
The Best Version Of Beethoven's 9th Ever Recorded
Brilliant!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 [Hybrid SACD]

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Deutsche Grammophon: Music | Specialty Stores | Music

More Titles at Least 20% Off | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music

All Classical Music Blowout | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music

Instrumental | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 6 [Hybrid SACD]
Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 7 & 8 [Hybrid SACD]
Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 3 & 4 [Hybrid SACD]
Beethoven Sonatas [Hybrid SACD]
Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition, A Night on Bald Mountain, and Other Russian Showpieces [Hybrid SACD]

ASIN: B00029CX0E
Release Date: 2004-08-10

Customer Reviews:

Karajan's best Beethoven Ninth--is the SACD better, too?.......2006-02-07

I am buying the 1963 Beethoven cycle from Karajan one disc at a time in its new format. This one of the Ninth is a very successful remastering. Listening in two-channel CD, I find the sonics indistiguishable from a contemporary CD, except for a hint of shrillness in the upper ranges at forte and louder. There is little or no hiss, the bass has been cleared of tubbiness, and one hears more air around the orchestra (indicative of the engineers capturing more ambience from the hall).

This Ninth last appeared on an "Originals" reissue in 1995, which also sounds quite good--there is no jacket note indicating a new remastering at that time. Except for added bloom in the instrumental tone and a wider soundstage, the new hybrid SACD, as played on a regular CD player, isn't a huge improvement. For anyone who owns an SACD player, however, this is an obvious first choice for the Beethoven Ninth.

The Best Version Of Beethoven's 9th Ever Recorded.......2006-01-04

Herbert Von Karajan is considered to be one of the 20th century's top composers and the Berlin Philharmonic is the world's finest orchestra. Little wonder that this old recording digitally remastered by Deutsche Grammophone from the original 60's LP is hailed as the greatest recording of Beethoven's 9th. All in all, this is a terrific and sumptuous performance. The strings are in complete unison, the trumpet/brass during the 3rd movement Andante Cantabile is awe-inspiring. The first movement is majestic and lyric, and the Finale is superb. The soloists are incredible- tenor Waldemar Kmentt has a heroic sounding voice and is also very lyric in the Germanic sense. Gundula Janowitz has a beautiful soprano voice that is angelic and moving. Hilde Rossel-Majdan has a stately mezzo voice and transfers well into recording. Walter Berry was a legendary German baritone who excelled in Liedger and Mozart. His voice here has never sounded better. Trained by a master composer, every force behind this recording is top-notch. At an affordable price, this is a must have. Please do not hesitate to pruchase this recording as your ULTIMATE RECORDING OF BEETHOVEN'S NINTH.

Brilliant!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.......2005-08-12

A superb performance and recording of the ninth symphony. It is right up there with the Toscanini gold label version. Excellence to the max.

Bolivian Baroque [includes DVD] [Hybrid SACD]

Average customer rating:

Bolivian Baroque CD
Historicismo y musicalidad

Bolivian Baroque [includes DVD] [Hybrid SACD]

Manufacturer: Channel Classics Nl
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Classical | Imports | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Bolivian Baroque Vol. 2 [Hybrid SACD]
La Noche Buena: Christmas Music of Colonial Latin America
Moon, Sun & All Things
New World Symphonies: Baroque Music from Latin America
Pilgrimage to Santiago

ASIN: B00079RNEU
Release Date: 2005-04-12

Customer Reviews:

Bolivian Baroque CD.......2007-02-15

If you like baroque music, it's a delight to hear this unexpected music from South America.
Good quality sound
The DVD is interesting in filling in details of the history, the area and how the CD was produced.

Historicismo y musicalidad.......2006-07-21

Dentro de la aún acotada discografía que existe sobre música colonial, los trabajos sobre este repertorio que provienen del norte de Europa son los mejor interpretados, más creativos y de mejor calidad. Este disco no es una excepción. A diferencia de la mayoría de los trabajos realizados desde Latinoamérica que tienden a reunir música de toda América del Sur o, en todo caso, por países (hay que tener en cuenta que la actual división política nada tiene que ver con la administración colonial), el criterio bajo el cual se seleccionó el repertorio responde a una motivación real: música que se encontró y pudo ser interpretada en las Misiones Chiquitanas y Moxos en Bolivia.
Es el resultado de un riguroso trabajo cooperativo entre un musicólogo, Piotr Nawrot, y un conjunto de gran trayectoria profesional, Florilegium Musicum, al cual se añadieron cuatro cantantes provenientes de Bolivia con la intención de aportar cierto "nativismo" a la interpretación. De todos modos, éste rasgo (el nativismo) no llega a vislumbrarse en la interpretación ya que la misma no logra alejarse mucho de una visión europeísta del repertorio.
Las obras presentadas en el disco representan una verdadera novedad, ya que en su mayoría fueron grabadas por primera vez en este proyecto.
Una de las cosas más interesantes es el "plus" o premio final que es el reslutado de una improvisación realizada en los ensayos con sikus, guitarra y bajo.
Se agradece especialmente la incorporación de un DVD en el que se exponen detalles del montaje discográfico y de la investigación que se llevó a cabo para su realización.

Average customer rating:

Super Audio CD Sampler [Hybrid SACD]

Manufacturer: Pentatone
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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

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

Oratorios | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Oratorios | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Vivaldi: Four Seasons [Hybrid SACD]
Concord Records SACD Sampler 1 (Multichannel Hybrid SACD)
Super Artists on Super Audio, Vol. 3 [Hybrid SACD]
Concord Jazz Sampler Vol.2
SACD: The Classics Sampler [Hybrid SACD]

ASIN: B0000E39NF
Release Date: 2003-11-25

Bach: Cantatas Nos. 74, 87, 128, & 176 [Hybrid SACD]

Average customer rating:

Bach: Cantatas Nos. 74, 87, 128, & 176 [Hybrid SACD]

Manufacturer: Bis
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Classical | Imports | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Cantatas Vol. 34 (BWV 1, 126, 127) [Hybrid SACD] / Bach Collegium Japan * Suzuki
Bach: Cantatas, Vol 32 (BWV 111, 123, 124, 125) /Bach Collegium Japan * Suzuki
Bach: Cantatas, Vol 33 (BWV 41, 92, 130) /Bach Collegium Japan * Suzuki
Bach: Cantatas, Vol 30 (BWV 51, Aria BWV 1127) /Bach Collegium Japan * Suzuki
Bach: Cantatas, Vol 31 (BWV 91, 101, 121, 133) /Concerto Palatino * Bach Collegium Japan * Suzuki

ASIN: B000PSJCCO
Release Date: 2007-05-29

Average customer rating:

10 stars and counting!

Orff: Carmina Burana [Hybrid SACD]

Manufacturer: Telarc
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Classical | Indie Music | Stores | Music

Opera & Vocal | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Dark Side of the Moon 30th Anniversary Edition
Telarc SACD Sampler: The Absolute Sound
Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture etc. / Kunzel, Cincinnati Pops (Multichannel Hybrid SACD)
Bach: The Four Great Toccatas and Fugues [SACD]
Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition, A Night on Bald Mountain, and Other Russian Showpieces [Hybrid SACD]

ASIN: B00005QZLD
Release Date: 2001-10-23

Customer Reviews:

10 stars and counting!.......2007-05-27

Wow! Holy cow! What a performance! What a recording! Did I tell you that I L-O-V-E this recording?

For those of you who refer to Orff's semi-minimalist work as "Carmina Bore-anna," try this recording on for size. This is the most exciting performance of this much- (if not over-) recorded work I've ever heard, with the sonics of Telarc and SACD to boot. Imaging is magnificent. I can point to the exact spot left of center where the bass drummer did his work. Baritone soloist Earle Patriarco stands just to the right (from my perspective) of my center speaker, and soprano Hei-Kyung Hong stands by his right arm. Tenor Stanford Olsen is on the opposite side of the center speaker. You say you like dynamic range? Buy 500 watt amplifiers, sturdy speakers, and stand back. Whoa!!!

Patriarco's performance of the "Ego sum abbas" recitative (I suppose you could call it) is a perfect combination of control, irreverence, and humor that section requires but seldom gets. Hong's light soprano on the "Dulcissime totam" brings out goose bumps and sets up the finale magnificently. The singing of the Atlanta Symphony Chorus has not faded one iota since the death of its beloved director, Robert Shaw. Whatever he taught them, stuck and won't let go. This is simply the finest chorus in the country, if not the world.

Do not walk, do not run, do not even drive, but FLY to purchase this recording.

Mozart: Requiem in D Minor, K. 626 [Hybrid SACD with CD-ROM track of Mozart's Original Manuscript]

Average customer rating:

The Mozart Requiem performed like a great lost opera--bravo!
A Requiem to Rely On
Neither great nor terrible
What in the world?
Mozart's Requiem in D Minor

Mozart: Requiem in D Minor, K. 626 [Hybrid SACD with CD-ROM track of Mozart's Original Manuscript]
W. A. Mozart , Kurt Streit , Gerald Finley , Concentus Musicus Wien , and Arnold Schoenberg Choir
Manufacturer: RCA
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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

Classical Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music

Opera & Vocal | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Bach: The Four Great Toccatas and Fugues [SACD]
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1; Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2 [Hybrid SACD]
Mozart: Flute Concertos; Rondo; Andante [Includes the Bis 2005 Catalog] [Hybrid SACD]
Vivaldi: Four Seasons [Hybrid SACD]
Richard Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra; Ein Heldenleben [Hybrid SACD]

ASIN: B00022UO9I
Release Date: 2004-08-10

Tracks:

Requiem
Kyrie
Dies Irae
Tuba Mirum
Rex Tremendae
Recordare
Confutatis
Lacrimosa
Domine Jesu
Hostias
Sanctus
Benedictus
Agnus Dei
Lux Aeterna

Amazon.com

Beethoven called Mozart's Requiem "wild and terrible," and that's what we get in Harnoncourt's new recording. Ominous dread hangs from every note of the dark opening measures, the Rex tremendae and Confutatis are driven with terrifying strength, and the supplications of the Lacrimosa, with their weeping stabbings of the orchestra, are freighted with emotional power. The Tuba mirum duet of bass soloist and trombone has a beauty almost never achieved in other readings. Nor does Harnoncourt overstep the stylistic boundaries of this classical-era work; rather, the intensity is heightened for being in the idiom of its time. Call it a Romantic reading of a Classical piece that looks forward to a more unbuttoned era. The soloists couldn't be better; the orchestra is first-rate, the chorus, sensational, singing with a sense of color, line, and emotion,. Harnoncourt uses the Beyer edition of Süssmayr's completion of the work, and Mozart's unfinished original manuscript can be accessed via a CD-ROM track, which scrolls as the music plays. This release gets my vote as the best Mozart Requiem on disc, all the more impressive for being a live concert performance in excellent sound. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews:

The Mozart Requiem performed like a great lost opera--bravo!.......2006-08-27

Harnoncourt has a long history of troulbing ideas that either thrill or disturb the listener. This is particularly true in his Mozart recordings, where Harnoncourt almost recomposes the music to make it sound drastic, conflicted, and turbulent. Is this a modernist breakthrough or an insult to Mozart's serene genius? In this live 2003 recording of the Requiem, I think Harnoncourt's intervention, which is as extreme as ever, justifies itself. Every section, virtually every bar, is phrased and shaped in new, incisive ways that wake up the listener's ears.

To Harnoncourt, the Requiem displays Mozart in transition, groping for a more succint yet 'catchy' style. His conducting is certainly succinct--phrases gasp and stagger, almost lurching along. To overcome the blandness of Sussmayr's much-maligned completion, Harnoncourt extends Mozart's intentions, giving each section a contrasting personality, almost as if we are hearing scenes from an unstaged opera of the soul's struggle. Being himself such an imaginative musician, Harnoncourt's stylistic notions are often brilliant and always effective. You'll never mistake the Requiem for a familiar, comfortable church piece again.

As to the performers, I admire the period excellence of Harnoncourt's own Concentus MusicuS Wien, the ensemble he first made his name with. The porfessional Arnold Schoenberg Choir is a revelation in their ability to sing with the flexible expression of a single voice. In the vocal quartet, the standouts are bass Gerald Finley and soprano Christine Schafer, but the whole group sings with alertness and conviction.

I would rank this new CD as the top Mozart Requiem I've heard, albeit I will still return to its exact opposite, the monumentally Romantic version under Bruno Walter on Sony.

A Requiem to Rely On.......2006-06-07

So, I've never done a classical review before, so I thought that I would begin with one of my favorite works. For those so inclined, I'm going to include a bit of history on the work itself. If you'd rather skip that, go on ahead. Most know that Mozart died while working on this, his final piece. Those who got that information from "Amadeus" will be shocked to find out that Salieri had quite little to do with the final penning of the work. There was no dramatic scene of Salieri sitting at Mozart's bedside, actually penning some of the work. The work was, in fact, never completed by Mozart (or anyone else) during his lifetime. The work as completely finished by Mozart breaks off after 8 bars of the Lacrimosa, leaving only bits and pieces of the Domine Jesu and the Hostias.

After his death, his widow Constanze Mozart was anxious to have the work completed and to collect the second half of her husband's comission. She first enlisted Josef Von Eybler to complete the work. After much trying, he gave up, saying he was not up to the task. After Eybler gave the manuscript back to Constanze, she gave to work to Mozart's pupil Franz Xaver Süssmayr, who completed the work and added the Lux Aeterna. And it is Süssmayr's version that has become the traditional performed Requiem.

This version uses the Süssmayr manuscript, was some additions by Beyer. The Lacrimosa is very different from the Süssmayr edition, and the Sanctus has a new ending. This is my favorite edition of the Requiem, and this disc my favorite recording of it (Honorable mention goes to the Christopher Hogwood recording of the Maunder edition).

The conductor is Nikolas Haroncourt, who does a masterful job orchestrating one of the most challenging pieces in the classical repertoire. The truly cinematic and epic feel of the piece is well preserved (if not highlighted), yet he never lets the orchestra run away from him. He deftly spins this whirlwind of a piece, and his efforts most assuredly pay off.

The orchestra plays flawlessly almost to a fault, in a VERY Vienna Philharmonic style. Anyone overwhelmed by the brass section (and apparently there are a few) should go seek out a different interpretation, but I believe this to be quite close to what Mozart originally intended. The Daes Irae is truly terrifying, and the piece fits together marvelously. The loud, almost bloated brass is used as a device to convey the message, not simply for the sake of "pretty" music.

The soloists are adequate, but not overwhelming. They fit into the mix seamlessly, which is a more difficult task. While not NEARLY as gorgeous as the performance's on the Hogwood recording, these singers fit neatly into Haroncourt's direction.

Now, I certainly don't have any glimmer of a hope to comment on the work itself. Let it suffice to say that this is my second favorite classical piece (only to Verdi's Requiem....hmm, theme?). If you haven't heard it, go buy it. If you don't want to buy it, borrow it from me. If you're not a fan of classical music, don't write off the genre until you've heard a good version of this amazing work. This one will suffice.

Neither great nor terrible.......2006-05-10

I find the praise European and American critics heap on any new recording from Harnoncourt tiresome in the extreme. What I find equally as tiresome are exhibitions of Harnoncourt's ego, which are on display in his notes to this issue.

"...time after time in my days as an orchestral musician (Harnoncourt was an orchestra cellist before ascending to the podium) I was forced to play (Mozart's G minor music) in such harmless and sugary interpretations that in the end I couldn't bear this misunderstanding of Mozart's music any longer. I had no choice but to leave the orchestra and take up the baton myself!"

Is the world better off for this? Some think so but not me. I find an annoying sameness to many of Harnoncourt's recordings. The fault tends to lie in his wayward reading of scores, his habit to merging passion with unemotional personal involvement, and tendencies to make himself larger than the music he presents.

Prima facie evidence of that exits on this recording in the "Hostias" section of the Offertorium, where he drives the chorus to finish in 3:02, which must be a world record for this section. Elsewhere, I found this interpretation varied uncomfortably between operatic approaches by the soloists and objectivity by the conductor, mated to an SACD recording that isn't very special by 2006 standards.

Recorded during concert in Vienna's Musikvereinsaal in late 2003, the performance includes some big name soloists -- soprano Christine Schafer, alto Bernarda Fink, tenor Kurt Streit and bass Gerald Finley -- Harnoncourts Arnold Schoenberg Choir and Concenuts Musicus Vienna, his regular band and chorus. For those of you not conversant with period performance style, you may not like the sour sound of the band's brass and woodwinds.

I think the singers and chorus do fine but I find little in the overall interpretation that is very memorable. For all Harnoncourt's talk in the notes about the Requiem being a revolutionary work that even put off Beethoven -- whom Harnoncourt claims called the score "too wild and terrible" -- I found nothing individual outside that terrible Hostias and Harnoncourt's usual tendency to emotional detachment.

The super audio recording is OK by 2006 standards but doesn't come close to the better choral recordings I've heard (check my reviews of Mozart's Missa Solemnis and Verdi's Requiem by Ormandy). I don't have my 5.1 system hooked up for surround sound but I listened to the back speakers in my den and didn't hear anything different that what came out the front.

Harnoncourt's brief essay about the music is interesting and there is a CD-ROM of the score for those of you that like to play disks in your computer.

I played my current favorite recording of this music -- the one recorded by Bruggen and forces in Japan in 1998 -- immediately after hearing this one. I like Bruggen's emotional attachment to the music far more than this one. While the Bruggen recording is in concert stereo that is only half as good as Harnoncourt's, it is still more appealing and a more satisfying musical experience.

Harnoncourt has certainly done some great work in the past including his masterly recording of Schubert's D. 950 mass. But, for this one, my advice is to stick with whatever your favorite is and borrow a copy from your library before investing your money. After hearing this, there is no justification for the hyperbolic critical press it has received. I don't think it will long stand the test of time as part of your collection.

What in the world?.......2006-03-19

First I will start with the positive (and only reason it got anything above a star). The chorus in this was terrific, wonderous, and beautiful. Their voices were perfect, and their talent... unquestioned.

However, what is to be questioned... is the conductor and the orchestras talent. Which confuses me because Harnoncourt's Brahms cycle is very good... this, is not. A poor waste of SACD if one asks me.

So, where does it go wrong?

(1) The horns are awful. They are like piercing beasts which rip through ones soul. Terribly out of place, and played with such force as to approach ugly. If this is what Harnoncourt intended... then it was an awful intention. The chorus is almost totally drowned out by their blairing voice.

(2) It seems that there is no balance, nor true dynamic range in this piece. It seems that Harnoncourt has forced everything in this narrow lane and doesn't allow a chorus to realize its full potential. I'm sorry but "artistic creativity" can only take one so far. It can't, and shouldn't, be allowed to cover for either poor playing, poor performing, or good old stupidity.

(3) Finally, these effects come together to create something of such awful quality that I've only run across one requiem that was worse (Hogwood's). Such a terrible interpretation and performance should be buried and forgotten.

If you want quality, seek out Marriner's interpretation.

Mozart's Requiem in D Minor.......2006-03-13

An absolute wonderful rendition of Mozart's work. I am presently using it in my rehearsal of the same work that will be performed by the Battenkill Chorale located in beautiful Cambridge, New York May 6th and 7th of 2006 under the direction of Janet McGhee. I would recommend this CD to anyone interested in gorgeous Chorale work

Average customer rating:

Bolivian Baroque Vol. 2 [Hybrid SACD]

Manufacturer: Channel Classics Nl
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | International | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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

Classical | Imports | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Bolivian Baroque [includes DVD] [Hybrid SACD]
La Noche Buena: Christmas Music of Colonial Latin America
Pilgrimage to Santiago
Moon, Sun & All Things
New World Symphonies: Baroque Music from Latin America

ASIN: B000JBWWLA
Release Date: 2006-11-14

Tracks:

Allegro Assai
Andante Spirituoso
Allegro
Cayosole Al Alba (ANB, Musica 831)
Gloria Et Honore (AMCh 199, Mo 17)
Stella Coeli Extirpavit (ANB, Musica 705)
Quis Me A Te Sponse Separabit (AMMoxos)
Kyrie (Bells From Cathedral De Conception)
Gloria
Credo
Sanctus
Agnus Dei
Untitled
Andante
Allegro
Si El Amor Se Quedare Dormido (ANB, Musica 896)
Tota Salutis (AMMoxos)
Salve, Regina (AMCh 131; Am 10)
Tota Pulchra Es Maria (ANB, Musica 722)
Traditional Bolivian Melody

Average customer rating:

Splendid Deutsche Grammophon Recording Debut For Helene Grimaud
Excellent performances of Beethoven Tempest Sonata and Choral Fantasy
Music chosen with a purpose - a program with a message

Credo [Hybrid SACD]

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Fantasies | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Deutsche Grammophon: Music | Specialty Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Sibelius: The Symphonies [Hybrid SACD]
Beethoven: Complete Sonatas & Variations [Hybrid SACD]
Mahler: Symphony No. 6 [Hybrid SACD]
J.S. Bach: Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin, BWV 1001-1006
Beethoven Symphonies 4 & 5

ASIN: B0000YWFMW
Release Date: 2004-04-27

Customer Reviews:

Splendid Deutsche Grammophon Recording Debut For Helene Grimaud.......2007-05-26

This is truly one amazing CD which captures finally at last, both the sensitive as well as dramatic sides of Ms. Grimaud's performances, which I have been blessed to hear before both live and on CD. Indeed, here she makes a very compelling case that she can play with much conviction, not only such Classical works as Beethoven's "Tempest" piano sonata (one of the most exciting, brilliant recordings of recent vintage) and the Choral Fantasy (which is a sterling example of her lyrical, dramatic playing) but also the Corigliano work and Part's Credo (which is a fascinating example of her subtle playing alongside an orchestra and chorus). Salonen may be her best orchestral collaborator to date, conducting the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and chorus in two exemplary performances of Beethoven's Choral Fantasy and Part's Credo (The impassioned singing of the chorus, along with Grimaud's superb, subtle playing may be the highlight of this CD; this is one work which I intend to listen again and again.). Deutsche Grammophon's sound engineers have done a brilliant job not only in recording the orchestra and chorus, but perhaps more importantly, in capturing the dynamic range of Ms. Grimaud's performances. If anyone still has doubts regarding Ms. Grimaud's splendid musicianship, this excellent CD - especially here in its Hybrid SACD format - should finally put these to an end. For me it is truly a tantalizing glimpse as to what a Beethoven piano sonata and/or concerto cycle might be like from Ms. Grimaud and Deutsche Grammophon; either would be replete with thoughtful, impassioned performances akin to the best from the likes of Kempff and Arrau, to name but a few.

Excellent performances of Beethoven Tempest Sonata and Choral Fantasy.......2006-10-18

Helene Grimaud is somewhat of an enigma and also a maverick. For one thing she loves wolves and helps sponsor a wolf sanctuary. Also she is exceptionally attractive and has a very strong personality which comes through even in recorded performances. But Helene Grimaud is also a very good pianist for whom artistry is as important as technigue, and she has an abundance of both. Buy any performance by Grimaud and you will probably be very favorably impressed by it even if it differs in subtle ways from performances by other pianists. I purchased this CD primarily to hear Grimaud's performance of Beethoven's Fantasy for Piano, Chorus, and Orchestra (often called simply the Choral Fastasy) -- an unusual, but very impressive, work which I love and which served as a precursor for the finale of Beethoven's 9th Symphony. As I expected Grimaud gives a very satisfactory performance of this work as well as of Beethoven's Tempest Sonata. Since I am not a fan of 20th century music, I can't comment knowledgably on the other two works on this CD. You may find them quite impressive, but even if you don't Grimaud's performances of the two works by Beethoven (especially the Choral Fantasy) are worth the quite reasonable purchase price. Incidentally, this is a hybrid CD which will play on regular CD players but give even better sound if you are fortunate enough to have a Super Audio CD player -- the finest sound currently available in my opinion. Highly recommended.

Music chosen with a purpose - a program with a message.......2004-10-20

This an intriguing album. The music was chosen to build a growing impression as the listener proceeds from piece to piece. Grimaud begins with John Corigliano's ostinato based on the second movement of Beethoven's Seventh Symphony. Then an ethereal interpretation of Beethoven's "Tempest" sonata is followed by a driving performance of Beethoven's predecessor to the Ninth ymphony, the Choral Fantasia. This sequence of music could have ended here successfully - leaving the listener well rewarded and fully satisfied. But Grimaud doesn't let us off easily. She takes us further along this path, reaching out beyond Beethoven's 18th-19th century exposition of brotherhood into a hair raising breath-taking horror wherein it appears that the sopranos in the chorus are actually screaming! At that cresting point of intensity, the piano leads us from discord to harmony and the music resolves magnificantly along the lines of a Bach Prelude culminating in a sense of peace. This is a deep and meaningful experience, one I am grateful for. In her notes, Grimaud speaks of "Illumination of the Spirit" - without becoming religious about it she shows / acknowledges a sense of the numinous and has chosen this music to bring it to us. Her execution is more than "good enough" her interpretations are luminous and the sound is of the SACD is wonderful.

As an aside, the booklet alone, with Grimaud's notes, was for me well worth the purchase price of the album! One should read this before listening!

Jazz Music:

Jazz Music

Jazz Music