I will say from the start that I am certainly no expert on classical music. I do often have Classic FM on the radio at home and recently bought their 2 CD set, Voices 2008. This is a compilation containing a selection of vocal pieces from the worlds of choral music and opera. There are pieces in this collection which you would immediately recognise on hearing them, even if their names are not familiar. In the set is a CD of relaxing pieces and a CD of uplifting pieces, so you have the choice of which best suits your mood. The notes which accompany the set are very brief, so here I am adding my own impressions along with information I have found from other sources.
Track Listing
Relaxing CD
1 Elgar - 'Lux Aeterna'. This is a vocal arrangement of the piece titled Nimrod from the Enigma Variations. Elgar wrote the Enigma Variations as a series of musical portraits of his friends. Nimrod is prbably the most famous of these portraits and was written as a depiction of Elgar's friends and publisher August Jaeger. I wonder if Elgar would like this arrangement for voices, done by John Cameron in 1996. I think it is a soothing piece and fits well with the rest of the CD. But having listened again to the original orchestral version in order to compare the two I think I still prefer the piece as Elgar wrote it. This version with voices doesn't quite have the same inspiring feel.
2 Brahms - 'How Lovely Are Thy Dwelling Places'. This piece is from A German Requiem, which had its first complete performance in 1868. Although it is heard here on the Relaxing CD, personally I find it quite uplifting. I like how the voices weave together, building towards more complex harmonies. It would have been at home on either CD really. It wasn't a piece I remembered hearing before I bought Voices 2008, but now I enjoy listening to it.
3 Brunning -
'Pie Jesu'. John Brunning is one of Classic FM's own presenters. He composed this short piece, which is sung on the CD by All Angels. I would describe it as a sweet piece, but it doesn't really stick in my mind after I've heard it. It's pleasant enough to hear in the background though.
4 Canteloube - 'Bailero'. Canteloube took his inspiration from the traditional folk songs of the Auvergne region of France where he was born. He arranged these songs for orchestra and really made them his own. On the CD this piece is sung by the American Renee Fleming. I think the warmth of her voice captures the spirit of this song perfectly. I find this a beautiful, tranquil piece which makes me think of lazy summer afternoons.
5 Cassidy - 'Vide Cor Meum'. This is from the film Hannibal, the scene where Dr Hannibal Lecter and Inspector Pazzi are watching an opera in Florence. I find this a very haunting piece.
6 Delibes - 'Flower Duet'. This is from the opera Lakme and was also used in a very popular British Airways advert on TV a few years ago. It's one of those pieces that I've now heard so many times that it no longer has much of an effect on me. It's nice enough to hear another time though.
7 Faure - 'Cantique de Jean Racine'. One of Faure's earliest pieces of signifance, written in 1865 while the composer was still a 20 year old music student. Quite a well know piece with a soothing feel about it.
8 Handel 'Eternal Source of Light Divine'. The soloist here is Elin Manahan-Thomas. This piece has a very simple melody, and a sound I would describe as very pure.
9 Hummel - 'Benedictus'. This is from Hummel's Mass in D Major. He was a composer I'd previously heard of, but I have since found out he was Austrian, lived from 1778 to 1837 and was a child prodigy on the piano before going on to compose music. Again this is a very calming piece of music.
10 Lauridsen - 'O Magnum Mysterium'. I love this track and it is one of my favourites from the whole album. Morten Lauridsen is a modern American composer but here he has written a wonderful choral work which sounds as though it was written in a much earlier time. It has a very spiritual feeling to it and a lot of depth.
11 Tallis - 'Spem in Alium'. This is an amazing choral piece sung here by The Sixteen. Tallis was an early English composer of church music. The first time I heard this piece I found it hard to get into. It seemd a bit discordant and there isn't really a tune running through it which you can hang onto. But now I've listened to it many more times I find it quite hypnotic. The 40 voices of the choir are divided up into 8 groups, to give a very powerful and moving effect. Wonderful.
12 Sibelius - 'Be Still My Soul'. This music was originally part of Sibelius's Finlandia, composed between 1899-1900. It was later adapted by the composer for use as a hymn tune, though in fact the words are much older than the music. They were written in the eighteenth century by Katherina von Schlegel. This particular recording is by Katherine Jenkins. I find it very calming.
13 Robbins - 'In Paradisum'. This piece won a competition run by Classic FM in 2007 to compose a 'smooth classic'. 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.
4 Mozart - 'Champagne Aria'. This is from the opera Don Giovanni and sung by Bryn Terfel. I'm afraid that personally I can't stand this one and would have to skip it.
5 Doyle - 'Non Nobis Domine'. This comes from the 1989 film of Henry V. It is quite an uplifting piece, with that distinctive full-bodied sound that a lot of film music seems to have.
6 Haydn - 'The Heavens are Telling the Glory of God'. This is from the oratorio The Creation. It's a more traditional choral track and for me it's one of the best pieces on the Uplifting CD.
7 Arne - 'Where the Bee Sucks'. Emma Kirkby is the soprano on this track, with the Academy of Ancient Music. The words are form Shakespeare's The Tempest. Thomas Arne was a British composer who also write out national anthem and Rule Britannia. Where would Last Night of the Proms be without him? This is an OK track, though not particularly uplifting.
8 Kats-Chernin - 'Eliza's Aria'. We don't hear much about Australian composers but apparently Elena Kats-Chernin is one. This piece was originally from a ballet score and is currently being used for the Lloyds TSB bank advert. It's another Ok piece, though not one I want to listen to over and over.
9 Monteverdi - 'Deus in Adjutorium from the Vespers of 1610. I love this one. It's a very powerful choral piece, unfortunately also very short at only 2 and a half minutes.
10 Leoncavallo - 'Mattinata'. The composer wrote this popular song for Caruso. On this CD it's sung by Pavarotti and it's nice to hear his rich voice.
11 Rossini - 'Largo al Factotum' from The opera The Barber of Seville. Cannot stand this one personally. Again it is too operatic for my tastes and I find it very irritating.
12 Puccini - 'Un Bel Di' from the opera Madame Butterfly. Renee Fleming sings this aria. While I love her voice this is a piece which I have heard too often and it does nothing for me. I don't find it uplifting and I would probably skip the track.
13 Lara - 'Granada'. This is sung by Jose Carreras. Another famoud song which you would probably recognise. When I was a child it was used for an advert for Granada television. An Ok track, but for me it's nothing special.
14 Parry - 'I Was Glad'. This is one I really like. It's also know as the Coronation Anthem and is sung here by the choir of King's College, Cambridge. This definitely qualifies as uplifting in my book, though Parry is perhaps better know for his other stirring composition, Jerusalem.
In Conclusion
Of this CD set I much prefer the music on the Relaxing CD to the one on the Uplifting CD. I would be happy with the Relaxing one in the background at home or in the car. The Uplifting CD seems to have an odd mixture on it, a jumble of tunes that don't belong together. My own tastes are more towards the choral kind of music anyway so I don't really enjoy all the operatic arias on this CD. Overall there are some good recordings by famous artists on both of the 2 CDs. The set is good value and would make a nice present for someone with a broad enjoyment of choral music and opera. If the Uplifting CD had been as good as the Relaxing CD I would have given this set 4 stars, but it's the odd concoction of music on the Uplifting CD which has led me to only give it 3. 
by (16%):
by (84%):
04.02.2009 09:44
Very well written. I would find it difficult to review classical music as well as this.
29.09.2008 15:09
Great Review..very informative...
18.07.2008 23:17
Lovely review, I liked the descriptions.