Best Operas
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I have been a loyal Libera follower for year and while I have their previous Christmas album, I didn't hesitate to buy this one because I know that the constant renewing of choir members--as new boys are moved in to replace those who move on--make each album a unique and delightful experience. Don't hesitate to buy this album today because adding these Angel Voices to your music collection will truly add Merry to your Christmas for many years to come."
"The smoke of incense carries our prayers, and Libera's sound is just as potent and powerful, subtle and delicate....Maestro Prizeman and his choir (oops....'boy band'). pull out all the stops in both the CD and the Video (Which is absolutely gorgeous)."
"It might be my absolute favorite music for Christmas!!"
"When I was younger and not so busy I always listened to all types of music, in the last few years I have fallen out of that habit until I say these young men on a PBS special."
"This is Libera's first live CD release since Angel Voices in Concert in 2007 and it was well worth the wait."
"Beautiful!"
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"These songs were first introduced to my ears on my father's old collection of 45 rpm records."
"To be heard, the volume on my stereo must be turned way up to listen to it at all."
"The song selection and choral and orchestral renderings are beautiful and so fitting for the Christmas season."
"I think the Robert Shaw singers are the quintessential coral singer for Christmas songs, none better."
"I ordered this album to approximate an old 33 LP record by the same-named choir (probably different singers many years later) that my parents had when I was a child in the '50s and '60s."
"Great compilation of Christmas carols, all beautifully done in acapella."
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This narrative, along with the lyrics, are written out in the liner insert of some editions of the album--like the one I first experienced. After reading the narrative it became impossible for me to listen to the album (and I certainly mean "album" because I just can't bring myself to skip around to select tracks) without envisioning in my mind the whole tale as though it were an opera, theatre production, movie, or dream weaving silently throughout the songs, adding layers of depth to the music and lyricism. This item does not explicitly state that you are going to receive nothing more than the same music available as MP3 download packaged in a jewelcase with little more than the album cover art and track listings (including song lengths); however, the stated release dates coupled with the definition of their CD-R policies do leave enough room for ambiguity that it is hard to say what exactly to expect. You may even find elsewhere online that someone has typed up the narrative for those who have legally purchased the music-only album."
"Forget your Tommy, your American Idiot, and your Cyberpunk. Point is, this is the rock opera you need to be listening to. It blends influences that you wouldn't expect into an astonishingly polished, bombastic, satisfying tale of idealism, deceit, lust, murder, and robotic engineering. Twinges of Johnny Cash mingle with Meat Loaf and Springsteen, all crashing together with a delightful crunch, the dirge played by mariachi trumpets."
"After hearing the first, self titled Protomen album, I posed the following question to friends "What would a Queen inspired heavy metal band sound like if they performed a rock opera about Mega Man?" Act II: Father of Death has a much more ecclectic sound, with some almost country sounding tracks towards the beggining and more sweeping genre-hopping songs later in the album. There's an absolutely brilliant bit where an up-tempo, seemingly victorious song fades into a sound of unmistakable defeat as the music tapers into a sound uncannily like that of a heart monitor flat-lining. But in this case, I don't care if it changes your opinion or not, or if I sound like any of the annoying archetypal reviewer personalities."
"The Protomen are great interpretations of Megaman."
"With the first album I was able to follow the rock opera easily, with this album reading the liner notes is essential to get a sense of the stage direction and things happening outside of the lyrics."
Best Opera & Vocal
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"These songs were first introduced to my ears on my father's old collection of 45 rpm records."
"The song selection and choral and orchestral renderings are beautiful and so fitting for the Christmas season."
"I think the Robert Shaw singers are the quintessential coral singer for Christmas songs, none better."
"I ordered this album to approximate an old 33 LP record by the same-named choir (probably different singers many years later) that my parents had when I was a child in the '50s and '60s."
"Great compilation of Christmas carols, all beautifully done in acapella."
"My feeling after listening to this several times is that most of the songs are simply too short, clocking in at well under two minutes."
Best Polish
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Szymanowski's opera paints a wonderful,contemplative sound world with its heavenly choral singing at the beginning and the often dark orchestral colours used to depict the conflict between King Roger(Norman ruler of Sicily and the "shepherd" Dyonysus),the music is highly charged and often erotic in flavour,Zagorzanka sings beautifully as Roxana,meltingly so in her seductive aria,in fact it is a splendid version with all the singers characterising well on this clear digital recording of a rarely heard opera but one worth investigating."
"This recording of Szymanowski's opera, King Roger, is superior in every way to the recent EMI release with Simon Rattle conducting and Thomas Hampson in the title role."
Best Strings
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"These songs were first introduced to my ears on my father's old collection of 45 rpm records."
"To be heard, the volume on my stereo must be turned way up to listen to it at all."
"The song selection and choral and orchestral renderings are beautiful and so fitting for the Christmas season."
"I think the Robert Shaw singers are the quintessential coral singer for Christmas songs, none better."
"I ordered this album to approximate an old 33 LP record by the same-named choir (probably different singers many years later) that my parents had when I was a child in the '50s and '60s."
"Great compilation of Christmas carols, all beautifully done in acapella."
Best Russian
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This rendition of Tchaikovsky's 1812 overture with the late Erich Kunzel conducting the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is on the TELARC label released in 1979."
"not very good sounding."
"However, I have a record with the Mormon Tabernacle Choi, with Russian Church Bells and real cannons that sounded even better."
"Got cannons?"
"I owned the vinyl recording of this work and with the right stylus, turntable and speakers, the cannons were exceedingly real."
"Not one of Telarc's best - sonics are average."
"Great sound a classic recording."
"Every bit as good as it should be."
Best English
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The multi-layered libretto, by David Henry Hwang analyzes the search for knowledge as a basic human need, exceeding limitations, but with a cost to oneself or to others. The prologue with a wheelchair-bound scientist introduces the quest with a graphic description of physical limitations from which the questioning mind seeks liberation. The final scene of act III, after the spaceship launch, is particularly poignant, and demonstrates how superb music can universalize and convey the depth of emotion suggested by the text. One example is the repeated motion of the waves in Act II that intensifies the monotony and frustration of the long voyage before land is finally sighted. The conducting by Dennis Russell Davies brings out the fullest potential, from the crashing climax of Act 1 to the sublime calm that ends the opera."
"I was at the World Premiere for this opera - my first time to be in the Met Opera House, my first time to be at a Philip Glass premiere, in the first month after I moved to New York City."
"I recorded, live, the original broadcast from the Met. I live in Sierra Vista, AZ., and was very excited when it was broadcast live on KUAT, the night of Columbus day 1991, 500 years after Columbus discovered America."
"I have been trying to buy this since 1992, when it was played at the 500 year commemoration of the discovery of the Americas."
"This one grows on you."
"In fact, I am tempted to say that The Voyage is like a cross between the musical style of Akhnaten and La Belle Et La Bete (and other works from roughly that same mid-90s period, like the score to The Secret Agent film)."
"So, although I can't really compare it with the original (Troyanas since passed away) it was a very welcome recording and, being a Glass fan, I have enjoyed it greatly."
"Although not Glass's greatest opera (that title remains with 'Akhnaten' or 'Satyagraha'), this is still a monumental work."
Best Instruments
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"These songs were first introduced to my ears on my father's old collection of 45 rpm records."
"The song selection and choral and orchestral renderings are beautiful and so fitting for the Christmas season."
"I think the Robert Shaw singers are the quintessential coral singer for Christmas songs, none better."
"I ordered this album to approximate an old 33 LP record by the same-named choir (probably different singers many years later) that my parents had when I was a child in the '50s and '60s."
"Great compilation of Christmas carols, all beautifully done in acapella."
"My feeling after listening to this several times is that most of the songs are simply too short, clocking in at well under two minutes."
Best Early Music
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I plan to buy more classical choral music as I used to sing with the choral affiliates of the Indianapolis and the Detroit Symphonies."
"CD Arrived Timely and Nicely Packaged!"
"I have admired Robert Shaw and I love Choral arrangements."
"Anyone who pursues the art of choral excellence - and with it a representation of the masterpieces will want and enjoy this CD."
"I like knowing that music I have hunted for can be found at Amazon."
"As usual, the articulation of words is such that you can hear them clearly, even sung by a large chorus."
"Robert Shaw (1916-1999) founded his Chorale in 1948 in New York City."
Best Easy Listening
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"These songs were first introduced to my ears on my father's old collection of 45 rpm records."
"The song selection and choral and orchestral renderings are beautiful and so fitting for the Christmas season."
"I think the Robert Shaw singers are the quintessential coral singer for Christmas songs, none better."
"I ordered this album to approximate an old 33 LP record by the same-named choir (probably different singers many years later) that my parents had when I was a child in the '50s and '60s."
"Great compilation of Christmas carols, all beautifully done in acapella."
"My feeling after listening to this several times is that most of the songs are simply too short, clocking in at well under two minutes."
Best Historical Periods
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"These songs were first introduced to my ears on my father's old collection of 45 rpm records."
"The song selection and choral and orchestral renderings are beautiful and so fitting for the Christmas season."
"I think the Robert Shaw singers are the quintessential coral singer for Christmas songs, none better."
"I ordered this album to approximate an old 33 LP record by the same-named choir (probably different singers many years later) that my parents had when I was a child in the '50s and '60s."
"Great compilation of Christmas carols, all beautifully done in acapella."
"My feeling after listening to this several times is that most of the songs are simply too short, clocking in at well under two minutes."
Best Modern, 20th, & 21st Century
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I'm always on the lookout for good background music to write to, and my goodness, this album is incredible."
"Blackheart is worth the price of the entire album all by itself."
"Two Steps From Hell specializes in the increasingly popular genre known as "Trailer Music"; compositions that are clearly in the style of action-adventure symphonic scores, but which are clearly not from movies you've ever seen."
"When I love a track or feel my mind creating visuals for some epic movie trailer or thrilling fight scene. It's like I mentally become a movie director and start visualizing scenes that excite my imagination to no end. But the auto tuned lyrical songs are terrible and certainly not a strong point for the Two Steps team."
"Imagine trying to find inspiration to tackle on dull chores, or even finding the drive to make yourself finish that half-block of a morning jog."
"Which is nice to have - the album flows rather well, and the tracks do lend themselves quite well to the title of Skyworld.."
"I've been a fan of TSFH for a bit now so as amazing as this album sounds to me there is some bias in my opinion."
"Since first coming to this genre after listening to their first album and finding many other offerings, I've found TSFH to not be capable of delivering consistently album to album. Their albums have two versions of each track, one with vocals and one without."
Best Romantic (c.1820-1910)
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Songs as bleak as the Russian landscape are strangely addictive if a duo as good as Hvorostovsky and Ivari Ilya are interpreting them."
"This series is extremely well recorded with beautiful heartfelt singing and interpretations."
"", the haunting "She is as beautiful as the moon", opening with strummed arpeggios reminiscent of Schubert's "Dioskuren" and continuing with melismatas in a distinctly Polovstian minor mode, and "In the silence of the mysterious night" climaxing with a magnificent G-flat and a long-breathed piano D to conclude. This is Hvorostovsky's first recording on the Finnish Ondine label, with whom he has signed a long-term contract, and although he has recorded some of these songs before, his voice is now perfectly weighted and his artistry honed by long experience sufficient to give them his finest interpretation."
"Hvorostovsky's voice is powerful and beautiful, his musicianship is top-notch, and his interpretations are probing."
"His Rachmaninov Romances reflect his passion for dragging the listener into his music, with pure empathy."
"Fine Russian pronunciation; articulation and accent (without which singing have no power and not able to be identified as 'Russian')."