Ida Haendel plays Baroque Transcriptions

Advantages: Rich, creamy vocal; enveloping warmth; text, character alive; facile Baroque ornamentation; impeccable diction; fine Symphony.
Disadvantages: Only over an hour of music here; wanted more!

...If you’ll kindly pardon the gushing tone of this review, the blame for which you can lay wholly on the phenomenal British mezzo-soprano, Sarah Connolly (whom I hereby unofficially dub the operatic Anjelica Huston). Her riveting portrayal of the title character in Glyndebourne’s 2005 staging by David McVicar of Georg Frideric Händel’s ‘Giulio Cesare’ first made this writer into a very interested listener [reviewed here: http://dvd.ciao.co.uk/GiulioCesareHandelThreeDiscsReview5644748]. With this disc, she’s become a full-fledged Connolly fan. This 2004 CD comprises airs (arias) and orchestral sinfonias from four works by Händel, and any Händel/Baroque music or opera/vocal music lover will not regret its acquisition. This disc also heralds Ms Connolly’s superb turn as the aforementioned Giulio Cesare the very next year... Read review

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Advantages: The only extant recordings of Francesco Zappa's work?
Disadvantages: Idiosyncratic voice selection from FM synthesis

..., and was duly instructed to try to dig up the music. This he did. He then spent some weeks/months inputting the music into the synclavier. He hit the big play button, and then Frank started playing about with the patches on the Synclavier to change the overall timbral qualities. The final results were dumped to tape, mixed, and then released on thsi disc. What exactly does this mean for the listener? It means that if you are looking for faithful reproductions of baroque string music, then you are going to be sorely disappointed. The selection of voices includes such things as electric guitar, electric piano, glockenspiel, and other unidentifiable voices. Why unidentifiable? Basically the Synclavier was in its infancy, and the level of synthesis was generally poor. The music itself represents two of Francesco's collections of string... Read review

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Advantages: A great diversity of famous works
Disadvantages: Not everything is perfect

...I am a huge fan of classical music, with a collection soon breaking the 700 marker. But where did it all begin? Well right here. When I got my first CD player, I played my parents CDs until making my first CD purchase. I stumbled along a 2-CD collection called "Simply the Best classical Anthems." Honestly, I had not the slightest clue about what music al the names on the back contained. But there were so many interesting pieces there so that I immediately decided to get it. And I have not regretted the buy. Unlike many other collections, this one features many top flight recordings of some of the most popular classical music. Some of them are still holding their own in the mass of my collection. It was also extremely useful for me in expanding my collection. TRACK LISTING AS FOLLOWS: CD 1 VERDI: Dies Irae from Requiem ORFF: O... Read review

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