America - King's Singers And The English Chamber Orchestra

Advantages: Interesting, beautifull, well written
Disadvantages: Bad choice of soloists

...The Requiem, written shotly after his fathers death, is the only piece in this genre that Andrew Lloyd Webber has written. It is a relatively short piece, only 45 minutes long (NOT as the CD discription says, 1h 45min!!), written for chamber orchestra, organ, SATB choir and tenor, soprano and treble soloists. It uses the well known texts of the Requiem mass. I find the music beautifull in a haunting way. The music os mainly classical, but bears a modern touch, which is refreshing. The music is reasonably easy to sing for a choral singer, which makes it an attractive piece for choirs. This recording uses a boy choir and the soloist Placido Domingo (tenor), Sarah Brightman (soprano) and Paul Miles-Kingston. To me, the soloist are the weakest part of the recording. Placido Domingos voice is to heavy to manage the fast Hosanna, Sara... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Light, clear, could be played over and again
Disadvantages: Perhaps lacks a bit of magic or sparkle

...If I was to think of performers I would choose to play my favourite pieces of music, then I would not readily think of the Oregon Bach Festival Chamber Orchestra. But a friend of mine who played in the orchestra tipped me off that this was a good one. So I got hold of the CD, opened a bottle of red and sat back with an open mind. Surprise surprise, it's good. Enthusiastic playing for sure, with plenty of joie de vivre. The typical American attention to detail slightly grates with my British sense of spontaneity, but the flawless phrasing, breathing (and no doubt bowing too) and dynamics work in the overall performances because of the lack of indulgence in the tempi. Bach can all too easily sound like a mathematical exercise written out in notes, but there is a lightness and deftness of touch here in the conducting that lifts this out... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Virtuosic operatic vocalism, unusual repertoire, mad scenes...
Disadvantages: Fleming's voice is maybe not best suited for this...

..." by Richard Strauss and various Mozart roles. Away from classical her voice was heard in the Lord of the Rings film, "The Return of the King". Conductor, orchestra and chorus: The conductor on this CD is Patrick Summers who is Music Director of Houston Grand Opera in the USA. The Orchestra of St Luke's is based in New York and is a highly versatile group playing everything from chamber music to contemporary orchestral pieces. As the chorus on the CD, record company Decca have gone for an authentic Italian sound with the excellent Coro Maggio Musicale Fiorentino from Florence, Italy. The music and performances: Firstly I have to say that much of the music on this CD was completely new to me, so this is a great choice if you are wanting to get an introduction into the genre of bel canto Italian opera in the early 19th century... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful