Sibelius: Complete Piano Works

Advantages: Good background listening
Disadvantages: Odd mixture of music on the Uplifting disc

...-Thomas. This piece has a very simple melody, and a sound I would describe as very pure. 9 Hummel - 'Benedictus'. This is from Hummel's Mass in D Major. He was a composer I'd previously heard of, but I have since found out he was Austrian, lived from 1778 to 1837 and was a child prodigy on the piano before going on to compose music. Again this is a very calming piece of music. 10 Lauridsen - 'O Magnum Mysterium'. I love this track and it is one of my favourites from the whole album. Morten Lauridsen is a modern American composer but here he has written a wonderful choral work which sounds as though it was written in a much earlier time. It has a very spiritual feeling to it and a lot of depth. 11 Tallis - 'Spem in Alium'. This is an amazing choral piece sung here by The Sixteen. Tallis was an early English composer of church music. The first... Read review

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Advantages: Heroic fifth. Mysrterious sixth.
Disadvantages: None

...Jean Sibelius is striking for his originality and his innovative use of tonal colour in his orchestral compositions. The conductor of this recording of Symphonies Nos 5 & 6, Sir Colin Davies once said, “Nothing else sounds like Sibelius”. The music is indeed unique and distinctive. Jean Christian Sibelius, Finland's greatest composer, was born in 1865 and is best known for his seven symphonies that he wrote between 1899 and 1924. Sibelius felt that music should be pure music and that every note within the music given importance. Sibelius once commented that, “A symphony should be music first and last." His Symphonies, number 5 and 6, recorded on this CD are just that. The two symphonies contrast and compliment each other to produce a magnificence. The fifth is heroic, strong and vivid whilst the sixth is mysterious and radiant yet... Read review

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Advantages: Bonney's gorgeous voice; intelligent singing; great selection of songs
Disadvantages: No translations included

...perfectly captures the rapt stillness that characterises this song. Bonney has the ability to ‘colour’ different words in different ways, illustrating why her voice suits the German lieder genre so well. It’s just a shame more lieder isn’t included on this album! This is immediately followed by Greig’s ‘Solveig’s Song’ from Peer Gynt. This much-performed song has a rich and weighty orchestral accompaniment and Bonney’s lyrical voice has a haunting tone and simplicity which lends itself perfectly to the sad character of Solveig. I was surprised at Bonney’s success with the two Sibelius songs, initially fearing that they would be too ‘big’ for her voice, but she has a striking expressiveness here and the gorgeous virtuoso piano accompaniment by Antonio Pappano reinforces... Read review

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