Grechaninov: Vespers

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

...Everyone must know Mozart, so I presume he needs litle introduction. the child genius of the 18th Century is the most prolific composer ever, especially for such a short lived person. The box set is part of a series produced 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 are conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt, who is quite different when it comes to performances from most other conductors, and you can certainly hear it in the well... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: 12. Vesper and 25. The Names Bond...James Bond
Disadvantages: The main title song is missing

...This has a number of good tracks on it, but the most important thing is missingd drom this CD and that is the main theme from the main titles. Chris Cornell - You Know My Name, (because of copyright issues) and even if it was on it still wouldn't be much better. This has a few good short themes throughout such as "03. Unauthorised Access" "09. I'm The Money" "14. Vesper" "24. The B*tch Is Dead" and "25. The Name's Bond..James Bond" Surprisingly throughout the soundtrack the James Bond Theme is only used at the very end of the film/soundtrack. Which is disapointing it wasn't used more. This has no special enhanced features and the inlay has a couple of nice pictures. This is an average soundtrack but there's not enough of the good stuff on it. This is more for those who collect the Bond Soundtracks.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: sublime music
Disadvantages: the hour it lasts is far too short!

...This budget album captures some of the most sublime pieces of Monteverdi's religious music. It consists of excerpts from works written over a period of 40 years, from the famous Vespers of 1610 to the Mass, Psalms and Litany to the Virgin published posthumously in 1650. The settings are for two sopranos and alto, soprano and alto, soprano solo and alto solo, accompanied by various combinations of organ, cello, violins, harpsichord and theorbo. The alto part is taken by the outstanding male alto Rene Jacobs, who also directs the ensemble. Judith Nielson is the principal soprano, and is joined in one piece by soprano Birgit Grenat. The sound of the music is something quite extraordinary. Melodies are interwoven, one against the other, sometimes colliding into unexpected dissonances which then resolve into perfect harmonies... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful