Monteverdi: Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria

Advantages: Great vocals, mellow music
Disadvantages: lack of divserity

...My wife is from South America and we both like Spanish/South America music, so we thought we'd try this CD out. The voices are beautiful. Well polished and they harmonise together very well, moving through their ranges with a sublime smoothness. This CD is great as background music. It doesn't ask your ear to give it full attention, but drifts mellow, relaxing sounds to you across an evenly paced albumn which has loads of quality but little diversity. You would be forgiven for not realising that one track has given way to the next at times. It's more smooth Spanish than sexy South America and more ballad than salsa. Overall it's a new sound and one your ears will thank for listening to.... 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. The rhythms... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Everything you could ever want from a classical CD
Disadvantages: none

.... The Nutcracker - Suite Composed by Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky 17. Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in E minor Composed by Felix Mendelssohn 18. Cavalleria rusticana Composed by Pietro Mascagni 19. Gloria in D Composed by Antonio Vivaldi 20. Coronation Anthems Composed by George Frideric Handel 21. Cantata No. 147, 'Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben' Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach 22. Requiem in D minor Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 23. Ave Maria Composed by Charles Gounod 24. Miserere mei Composed by Gregorio Allegri 25. Requiem Composed by Gabriel Fauré 26. Lakmé Composed by Léo Delibes 27. Les contes d'Hoffmann Composed by Jacques Offenbach 28. Pavane Composed by Gabriel Fauré 29. Gianni Schicchi Composed by Giacomo Puccini 30. Madama Butterfly Composed by Giacomo Puccini 31. Nabucco Composed... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful