Bach: Cantata Arias for Soprano & Oboe

Advantages: Bonney's gorgeous voice; intelligent singing; great selection of songs
Disadvantages: No translations included

..., to the full symphony orchestra used in the operatic arias. The album begins with a selection of early music, including ‘Come again’ by Dowland, ‘Dido’s Lament’ from Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas and ‘Heute noch, lieber vater’ from Bach’s Coffee Cantata. Bonney demonstrates superbly that early music doesn’t have to be lacking in emotion- her Dido is subtly drawn but full of pain and tragedy. The Alleluia from Mozart’s Exsultate Jubilate shows an impressive technical flexibility and skill, with Bonney making the scalic coloratura runs sound ridiculously easy (and having sung the piece I can assure you that they are not!). But for me it is in the Mozart operatic arias that Bonney really shines. She has the perfect voice for Mozart opera- light but warm and full of personality. Her ‘... Read review

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Advantages: A fine mixture of gothic, medieval and modern music and words. You will know some of the themes - it will repay study. This is a superb rendition.
Disadvantages: None

...”. “The girl without a lover does without any pleasure; she keeps the last watches of the night alone.” There next comes the second most well known aria from the work “In trutina mentis dubia”. Many sopranos (Sarah Brightman, Charlotte Church, Barbra Streisand) have included this in their repertories. It is a song agonising over the choice between love and chastity. “Opposite courses hang in the balance of my wavering mind. Wanton love and chastity. But I choose what I see and bend my neck to the yoke – to the sweet yoke I submit” Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi The piece is rounded off with a triumphal full orchestral and chorus recapitulation of the wheel of Fortune motif. We hear at the end the desperate pleas “Fortune’s wheel turns: I am cut down and fall: another is raised to the heights: the king sits at its peak.” THE PERFORMANCES I... Read review

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Advantages: Good background listening
Disadvantages: Odd mixture of music on the Uplifting disc

...'. It is a pleasant track, though it doesn't really stick in my mind afterwards. Uplifting CD 1 Verdi - 'La Donna e Mobile'. Sung here by Alfie Boe, this well known piece comes from the opera Rigoletto. This seems an odd choice for the album. It's cheerful enough I suppose but I can't say that I personally find it uplifting. It strays too far into opera territory for my own tastes but obviously others may enjoy it more. 2 J.S Bach - 'Wachet Auf'. This is one of Bach's cantatas and is an enjoyable choral piece which would have fitted equally well into the Relaxing CD. 3 Grieg - 'In The Hall of the Mountain King'. Another famous tune but a strange choice for the album. Voices 2008 is obviously all about vocal classics, but in this piece the section containing voices is relatively small and secondary (I think) to the orchestral sections... Read review

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