Classical > Vienna State Opera Chorus Classical > by Composer

A mixed mess of good and bad

Advantages: Every sacred music by Mozart in 1 boxset
Disadvantages: Not the best available

...for the 250th anniversary of Mozart (other box sets include piano concertos, operas etc). This box set contains every mass, litany, vesper, that he wrote. It can seem a bit daunting, looking at all those discs, and the 3 or 4 works on each one, and wondering which one to put on. start at the beginning and go through them! The orchestra is the Concentus Musicus, a period ensemble (and one of my favourites) of high calibre. On this occasion, tey ...
...it comes to performances from most other conductors, and you can certainly hear it in the well-executed performances. (for more details on period music - see my review on Haydn's Creation). The Works: There are over 3 dozen works here, so I won't mention them all. The Requiem is quite different to most other recordings I have heard. The Dies Irea (played and imitated in god knows how many films) is taken quite slowly, a change from the usual bash-it-out-as-loud-and-quickly-as-possible ...

rwjkelly 27.05.2006 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Mozart 250th Anniversary Edition - Complete Sacred Works

Ode to Joy

Advantages: Catchy Tune
Disadvantages: None

Ode to joy was written by one of the worlds most renounced composers - Beethoven. This is in my opinion the best of beethoven's symphonies. This song is the easy to play and the tune is very catchy. The music is E E F G G F E D C C D E E D D E E F G G F E D C C D E D C C. The easy tune is very catchy and quite easy to remember. If you are learning to play the piano or keyboard I would suggest that you start by learning this one. I would recommend ...

TerryMan123 06.05.2006 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful
Review of Ode to Joy

Does exactly what it says on the tin!

Advantages: easy to find the piece of music you want
Disadvantages: maybe too familiar for the expert listener

...I have begun to explore the world of opera, deciding to inject a little culture in my life! My uncle had definitely been listening to my interests as this CD was one of the great gifts I had. It is a double disc album, cleverly titled 'The Only Opera Album You'll Ever Need! And I can honestly say that this may be a very true claim! Only the most famous arias are included on these cds, covering many composers including Mozart, Wagner, Verdi, Puccini, ...
...with the place you'll recognise the song from, such as the British Airways advert, the films Fatal Attraction and Moonstruck and the Baileys tv advert. This is extremely helpful for those times when you just can't place where you know a song from. In my house this has also settled many arguments about which composers feature on which advert! The songs are beautifully performed by Luciano Pavarotti, Lesley Garrett, Placido Domingo and many other ...

fluffyfreak 08.01.2004 · Read full review
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Review of The Only Opera Album You'll Ever Need, Volume 2

Exciting recording of Verdi's Requiem

Advantages: Glorious recorded sound, a fine group of soloists
Disadvantages: Some fans may not like Sutherland in this music

This version of Verdi's Requiem sounds absolutely terrific. The chorus has lots of presence -so important in the famous Dies Irae and the soloists are miked beautifully. The 'Hostias' and 'Ingemisco' are some of the finest recordings of Luciano Pavarotti available. Arguably he had more character by the time of his later recording from the late 80s with Riccardo Muti but he is caught here at his finest vocally with the hushed ingemisco amongst the ...
...been criticised quite a lot by critics that think she should not have recorded Verdi roles (similar complaints surround her Traviatas, her Leonora in Il Trovatore and her Elvira in Ernani). I really like her in this music. She is certainly preferable in my opiion to Schwarzkopf (Giulini/EMI and De Sabata (Naxos)) or Nelli (singing for Toscanini). Her voice is very different from Angela Gheorghiu so if that is the sort of voice you like in this music ...

operalover2000 04.04.2008 · Read full review
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Review of Verdi: Requiem; Quattro pezzi sacri

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
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Review of Karlowicz: Symphonic Poems Vol 1