Classical > Massenet, Jules (Emile Frédéric) Classical

Quite a versatile album, if not totally so.

Advantages: Good packaging, good performances.
Disadvantages: Not the artist's strongest performance.

Jonas Kaufmann isn't an Italian singer. He owns a large, dark lyrical tenor voice bordering on 'spinto'. Many of the tracks in this album feature Italian operatic arias that could only be termed his 'second best' (his best lies with German composers like Schubert, Strauss, Mahler, Mozart et al). Even so, this album offers considerable joy to the listener since Kaufmann owns not only a sizeable and expressive instrument, but also owns considerable ...
...these recordings. You may find his voice not entirely Verdian or Puccinian, but his interpretation of works of this genre is more than acceptable. The best tracks on this album are those arias from French operas. Kaufmann's French and Italian are both idiomatic, as well as his English, considering that his native tongue is German. Of these foreign languages, he is strongest in French. For lovers of French opera, the arias by Massent, Bizet et al ...

shinabel 26.06.2009 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Jonas Kaufmann - Romantic Arias

mystery music

Advantages: make you image something
Disadvantages: packaging not very pretty

this classic FM relax music is one of the best instrument musics i have ever heard.some relax music can mek you feel sleep then forget tired,some relax music can make you excied ,then leave your boring things .they are all well workable i think .but this FM music can not either make you sleepy or too excited. instead it will make you feel bright and would like to start your dance .as is you are in a beautiful countryside and walk with your family ...
...will make you hear some bird pretty sound. in a word, this FM music can make you image many happy things and will help you come into many scene . after work,if you feel a little tired,please listen to it .then you will feel refresh. that is why i reconment i t ...

hugokang 17.01.2008 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful
Review of Classic FM Relax

(A) Bride's Guide to Wedding Music

Advantages: Its a bridal musicopedia!
Disadvantages: It could be overwhelming

(A) Bride's Guide to Wedding Music, is firstly, a CD worth more than the stated price. Not only does it serve the purpose of a songbook, but also acts as a complete resource for planning wedding music. Secondly, there is a myriad of songs which gives you the liberty to pick and choose. As compilation CD's go, this one surely falls in an above average category. The collection varies from traditional sacred songs to classicals varying from Wagner, ...
...of other ever-green composers. The relaxing elements in the songs add another dimension to the scenario, which may be played for several other events, like formal get-togethers, spas, or even while you're sitting back relaxing at home. It inspires a mood of love and happiness, and succeeds wonderfully. Its absolutely user-friendly and categorized according to need. Its an anthology of the best soothing songs ever! And last but not the least, this ...

THEwordwitch 23.09.2008 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of (A) Bride's Guide to Wedding Music

Sumptuous works by a little-known composer

Advantages: Good recordings of unfamiliar, but rewarding works
Disadvantages: None

Karlowicz is a relatively unknown composer whose chief claim to fame was his untimely death in a skiing accident just before the First World War. He left a small collection of works, the later of which (figured in this disc) show a talent that was tragically snuffed out before he could achieve greatness. The Symphonic Poems featured here reveal a composer adept at interesting orchestral effects (try the sad theme at the start of the Lithuanian Rhapsody, ...
...writing for the lower-toned instruments of the orchestra. Karlowicz has clearly learnt a lot from Richard Strauss, whose shadow fell across much pre-1914 music, but it often lacks the extrovert quality of the Gernman composer's tone poems; as the inlay notes say, there is a 'brooding' quality to much of this music, particularly evident in the middle sections of these works. Another feature of Karlowicz's writing is his tendency to pick himself up ...

chivhu 15.09.2009 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Karlowicz: Symphonic Poems Vol 1

Music for Meditation

Advantages: A good introduction to sacred music
Disadvantages: A rather niche album on which those into the genre will find nothing new

...the same. Requiem is subtitled "music for Reflection and Meditation". It takes various well known settings of the requiem mass, together with a couple of other fitting pieces and puts them together in one place. If one is so minded, one should note that this album is NOT a requiem mass. The pieces don't follow in the right order but, having said that, to the knowledgeable, the whole album stands on its own as a good religious set. One of the other ...
...who are less well-known. When one says "requiem" one might think of Verdi or Mozart but here we also have offerings from Spanish composer Lobo (a motet) and the Italian Pergolesi (an extract from his Sabat Mater). I feel that Naxos have really got it right with this compilation. The perfect balance between the known and the unknown is struck with excerpts from the more well known Requiems by Mozart and Verdi featuring more than once meaning ...

CareBear 15.09.2009 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Requiem - Classical Music for Reflection & Meditation