Say My Name [CD-single]

Disc: 1
1. Say My Name
2. Say My Name [Timbaland Remix] - Destiny's Child, , Timbaland
3. Say My Name [Nitro Remix w/Rap] [Mix] - Destiny's Child, Nitro
4. Say My Name [Album Instrumental]
5. Say My Name [Timbaland Remix Instrumental] [Mix]
6. Say My Name [Nitro Remix Instrumental] [Mix]
Disc: 2
1. Say My Name [Digital Black & Groove Club Mix] [Mix]
2. Say My Name [Digital Black & Groove Instrumental] [Mix]
3. Say My Name [Maurice's Bass 2000 Mix] [Mix]
4. Say My Name [Maurice's Last Days of Disco Millennium Mix] [Mix]
5. Say My Name [Maurice's Old Skool Dub Mix] [Mix]

Say My Name,Destiny's Child,Sony,Contemporary R&B,Pop,R&B,Teen Pop,Urban

Average customer rating:

Paul Robeson, Vol. 2

Manufacturer: Pearl
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Paul Robeson, Vol. 1
Ballad for Americans
Paul Robeson Sings "Ol' Man River" & Other Favorites
Green Pastures
Ol' Man River: His 25 Greatest

ASIN: B000000WUH
Release Date: 1993-01-04

Tracks:

Down In Lovers Lane
Swing Along
Bear De Burden - All God's Chillun Got Wings
Witness
Joshua Fit De Battle Of Jericho
De Ole Ark's A-Movering
Ezekiel Saw De Wheel
Scandalise My Name
Sinner Please Doan' Let This Harves' Pass
Work All De Summer
Didn't My Loard Deliver Daniel?
Dere's A Man Goin' Roun' Takin' Names
Shenandoah
Say It With Song: Little Pal
The Show Boat: Lonesome Road
Virginia: Roll Away, Clouds
King Solomon's Mines: Ho! Ho!
King Solomon's Mines: Climbing Up
Song Of Freedom
Song Of Freedom: Sleepy River
Trees
No! John No!
Song Of The Volga Boatmen
There Is A Green Hill
Nearer, My God, To Thee
Fat Little Fellow - Mama's Little Baby-Love

Average customer rating:

R.A.B. vol. 2 [CD & DVD] 28 Tracks Plus 6 Short political short films that you just have to see...
Favorite Son - Green Day (unreleased) / Let Them Eat War - Bad Religion / Unity - Operation Ivy / Necrotism: Decanting the Insalubrious (Cyborg Midnight) Part 7 - The Lawrence Arms (unreleased) , We Got the Power - Dropkick Murphys (rare) / Drunken Lullabies - Flogging Molly / Doomsday Breach - Only Crime / Gas Chamber - Foo Fighters (rare) , Status Pools - Lagwagon (unreleased) / What You Say - Sugarcult / 7 Years Down - Rancid / Off With Your Head - Sleater-Kinney (rare) , Scream Out - The Unseen (unreleased) / Violins - Yellowcard (unreleased) / Like Sprewells on a Wheelchair - Dillinger Four (unreleased) / Chesterfield King live - Jawbreaker (unreleased) , Born Free live - Bouncing Souls (unreleased) / No Hope live - Mad Caddies (unreleased) / Kids Today - The Dwarves (unreleased) / Can't Wait to Quit - Sick of It All (rare) , Comforting Lie - No Doubt / State of Fear - Useless ID (unreleased) / I'm Thinking - Autopilot Off (unreleased) / My Star - The International Noise Conspiracy (unreleased) , and Time's Up - Donots (unreleased) / Kill the Night - Hot Water Music (unreleased) / You're Gonna Die - Thought Riot / Fields of Agony acoustic - No Use For a Name (unreleased)
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Short Sleeves | Sleeve Length Browse (feature_browse-bin) | Refinements | Apparel
ASIN: B000QXKUWE

Average customer rating:

Shut up! and "say my name"
say my name

Say My Name
Destiny's Child
Manufacturer: Sbme Import
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00004TBVD
Release Date: 2000-05-23

Tracks:

Say My Name (Radio Edit)
Say My Name (Album Version)
Say My Name (Timbaland Remix)
Say My Name (Album Version Featuring Kobe Bryant)
Say My Name (Daddy D Remix W/O Rap)

Album Description

German version of the second single from the Grammy-nominated female urban quartet's second album, 1999's top 10 & triple platinum 'The Writing's On The Wall'. Contains five mixes of this smash that's been at the top of Billboard's Hot 100 chart for three

Album Details

Contains Five Mixes Three of which Are Not on Any Other Single.

Customer Reviews:

Shut up! and "say my name".......2000-07-24

This is the same CD as the USA one except it has a variant cover, there the same remixes and all. Must I say this cover is alot better looking than the USA cover. So if you want to pay 3 extra Dollars for a better cover than there is nothing wrong with that! Go out and buy this CD!

say my name.......2000-07-12

hey ! what happend? anyways sleep well~~

A Lonesome Road - Paul Robeson sings spirituals and songs

Average customer rating:

Robeson at his best

A Lonesome Road - Paul Robeson sings spirituals and songs

Manufacturer: Asv Living Era
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Green Pastures
Paul Robeson Live at Carnegie Hall

ASIN: B000001HFH
Release Date: 1994-04-20

Tracks:

Ol' Man River
My Curly Headed Baby
Water Boy
I'm Goin' To Tell God All O' My Troubles
Oh! Didn't It Rain
Little Pal
There's No Hiding Place
Poor Old Joe
Scandalize My Name
Ezekiel Saw The Wheel
Sinner, Please Don't Let This Harvest Pass
Just Keepin' On
Mah Lindy Lou
Steal Away
Mighty Lak' A Rose
Deep River
Hear The Lambs A-Cryin'
Get On Board, Little Children
Old Folks At Home (Swanee River)
Witness
Oh! Rock Me, Julie
Li'L Gal
I Got A Home In That Rock
Lonesome Road

Customer Reviews:

Robeson at his best.......2001-03-24

This album consists of recordings Paul Robeson made in Britain durong the 1920s. He is accompanied by the great pianist Lawrence Brown or by a small orchestra led by Ray Noble. The songs on this disc are spirituals or pop songs of the era, and Robeson shines on every one of them. Robeson has an uncanny ability to make any song his own property, and this is especially true on his version of "Little Pal" - originally a saccharine semi-racist ballad written for Al Jolson. Robeson turns the song into a searing lament of an estranged father, and makes the song valid even today with his urgent, committed delivery. The majority of the songs on the cd are spirituals, and Robeson's versions are definitive in every sense of the word. All in all, there isn't a bad track here, and as an introduction to Robeson's work the record is priceless. The only aspect worth criticizing is the fact that the liner notes seem to shy away from the fact that Robeson was the first important black artist to actively fight for civil rights. The music here, however, is extremely beautiful.

Average customer rating:

English is an asset and a drawback
You Will Love Opera After Hearing Carmen In English
A wholly credible "Carmen" -- finally!
I love Carmen!

Carmen (Sung in English)
Bizet , Bardon , Gavin , Plazas , Magee , and Parry
Manufacturer: Chandos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

Mozart: The Magic Flute
The Barber of Seville / B. Ford, D. Jones, A. Opie; G. Bellini [in English]
Verdi: La Traviata
Mozart: The Marriage of Figaro
Mozart - Don Giovanni / Garry Magee · Cullagh · Banks · Plazas · Shore · Tierny · PO · David Parry

ASIN: B00007JGRN
Release Date: 2003-03-11

Tracks:

Prelude
In The Plaza
Just Look At That Delicious Morsel
Here Come Our New Soldier Boys
Jose! There Was A Girl Here Looking For You Just Now
Off With You Old Soldier Boys
Corporal! Sir!
We Have Heard The Bell Summon Us To Meet Here
Ah, Just Look!
But Why Hasn't She Come, Our Carmencita?
Love's A Bird Wild As Any Rebel
Carmen! We Will Follow You High And Low!
The Cheek Of It!
Give Me News Of My Mother!
Your Dear Mother And I Were Leaving Church This Morning
I See My Mother's Face!
Wait A Moment - I'm Going To Read The Letter
Come And Help
So, Corporal: Tell Me What Happened
Well, Carmencita: What Do You Have To Say For Yourself?
Where Are You Taking Me?
There's An Old Bar In The City
Careful - It's Lieutenant!
Entr'acte
From Far Away Mysterious Sounds
Bravo, Bravo! More! Keep Dancing!
Hurrah! Hurrah! The Torero!
Who's That? It's Escamillo, The Bullfighter From Granada
Hurrah! Hurrah! The Torero!
You're Most Kind
We'll Come With You, Senor Torero
Toreador, Be Ready!
At Last! We Got Rid Of Them As Quickly As We Could
There's A Little Job That We're Starting!
Being In Love Is Not A Reason

Tracks:

To Bid You Welcome To Our Bar
La La La La La La La La...
Back To Camp!... Go At Once!
That Flow'r You Threw To Me I Treasured
No, It's Not Love At All!
Hello! Carmen!
Lieutenant Fair, It's True
The Sky Above The Open Road
Entr'acte
Keep Going, Dear Old Friend, Kep Going!
Right! Let's Stop For A While
Shuffle! Cut Them!
In Vain You Would Avoid The Bitter Things They're Saying
You're Back!
As For That Man, It Should Be Easy!
Is This The Place?
I Say That There's Nothing To Fear
It's Him! I'm Sure It's Him Over There!
Escamillo Is My Name, And I Come From Granada
She Had A Lover Here
Hola! Hola! Jose!
You Should Take Care, Carmen
Alas! Jose, Your Mother Is Ill
Entr'acte
A Few Cuartos! A Few Cuartos!
Here They Come! Here They Come!
If You Love Me, Carmen
It's You! It's Me!
Viva! Viva! What A Corrida!

Customer Reviews:

English is an asset and a drawback.......2004-07-20

The best thing about this recording of Carmen is the libretto. Conductor David Parry penned this facile and dramatic English translation. He avoids the pitfalls of literal translation to achieve an idiomatic flow that matches the rhythm of the original lyrics. I use this as a reference libretto for any of the French Carmens.

Unfortunately, the performance suffers from being sung in English. The singers declaim their parts with such proper British diction that Carmen comes across as a school marm. The spoken dialog is delivered beat for deliberate beat and is dripping with reverb. It makes the plaza, tavern and mountain pass all sound like a sewer pipe.

This is a good first Carmen for someone trying to understand the work. The libretto itself is a good investment for further listening. For an enjoyable performance with an emphasis on character and action, I recommend Regina Resnik on the London Double Decker set.

You Will Love Opera After Hearing Carmen In English.......2004-02-09

What a perfect introduction to opera. This newly released recording will surely get you hooked into opera. Carmen, a French opera by Georges Bizet, is the most recognizable and most popular in the opera world. It's famous melodies- the overture, the Habanera, The Toreador Song have all been featured in everything from cellular phone ring tones to Superbowl Commercial (last year's Superbowl with The "Opera In English" label has been making Italian operas into English for a number of years now. Also on the market are Verdi's La Traviata in English (with soprano Valerie Masterson as Violetta) Handel's Julius Caesar with Janet Baker and even Wagner's epic Ring Of The Nibeling sung in English. This is a terrific recording and I highly recommend it if you want to get into opera. Listen to this version first and then try the real, original French version Bizet had written. Patricia Bardon is sensational, sexy and dramatic as Carmen.

The real strength of this version is the dynamic drama. With the advantage of being sung in English, we get better insight on characters' emotions and motives, and we understand the drama a lot better. Carmen is all about great drama. Bizet drew the plot from the French writer Prosper Merimee's dark short story. Carmen is the ultimate femme fatale- a devil-may-care, sexy Gypsy living in Spain, seduces the conservatively raised soldier Don Jose, stealing him away from his fiancee, the passive Micaela, living a life of underground smuggling and rowdy taverns. "Habanera" and "The Gypsy Song and Dance" are very expressive of Carmen's extraordinarily liberal lifestyle. Don Jose, however, has fallen deeply in love- as he shows us in his song/aria "The Flower Song". But Carmen soon becomes tired of his constancy. Don Jose wants a committed, monogamous relationship with Carmen. But Carmen will not submit to love, since she is first and foremost a carnal creature. Eventually, she falls for the handsome Toreador Escamillo. Don Jose, consumed by jealousy, stabs Carmen at a bullfight after Carmen declares her love for Escamillo and rejects Don Jose's love. Don Jose's crazed, obscessive personality shines through in the English version as well. This tragedy has been done in English before so don't think this is the first time. Back in the 50's, there was a film, starring black actors "Carmen Jones" which was treated the same way as this opera- more like an English Broadway musical and with the dubbed singing voice of Marilyn Horne as Carmen. All in all, this recording is excellent.

A wholly credible "Carmen" -- finally!.......2003-09-17

This recording really sells "Carmen" as a drama. Although I have two other recordings of this opera and have seen it performed several times, it never quite worked for me dramatically. But thanks to the fine performances, conducting, and translation here, I've become a "Carmen" convert. Producing a good English-language performance of a foreign opera, especially a warhorse like "Carmen," is much more difficult than it might appear. You need performers who not only can sing the parts (of course) but also can sing *English* and make it halfway intelligible and make it sound like English and make it dramatically convincing to English-speakers. The singers on this recording do an excellent job all around. Don't be put off if you don't recognize their names -- they are up to the task musically and (especially) in their acting. Admittedly, as with *all* English-language recordings, some passages are very hard to understand without reading along, but most of the time the words are clear and effective. I would recommend this recording to any opera beginner or opera lover, even those who normally turn up their noses at performances in translation.

I love Carmen!.......2003-08-15

I do. I can think of no other opera with more melodic inventiveness, and few others with so sure a dramatic pulse. Carmen is popular and it thrills me to say that it is also a very good opera - not always true of popular things.

And what of this recording? Carmen sits well in English, so it is good to hear in translation, although some of the detais in the text jar. Escamillo refers to Jose as "my dear", which sounds rather peculiar, and the guide's line to Micaela: "it's not exactly inviting, is it?" sounds distinctly Middle England rather than Rural Spain. Some of the performers, not least Carmen herself, make the words work, although there are long tracts, especially with the chorus, where the language is distinctly indistinct.

The soloists are, by and large, strong. Patricia Bardon's deep, Handel-friendly voice adapts well to Carmen and she colours the music with phenomenal detail, sounding sexy and provocative from the start with an edge of pride and anger that emerges as the show goes on. She is out of her depth above the stave, though, and some extra top notes in the second act don't show her off to her best advantage. I have previously said that Julian Gavin is poorly served by recordings, though here he sounds much more even and gives a thrilling and musical performance (but his wooden spoken lines let him down). Mary Plazas is a lovely Micaela, rich-voiced and sincere (and word-perfect), but Garry Magee sounds miscast as Escamillo, lacking the ballast at the bottom of the voice to do justice to this tricky role.

The supporting cast is good (Mary Hegarty seems to do nothing but Frasquita these days!) but the really treasurable thing is the conducting. Stepping out of Italian Ottocento, David Parry turns his hand to this French Comedie with an appropriate lightness of touch. His pacing and handling of the set pieces is exemplary and the enrtractes go with a real swing.

Tracks:

The Old Hundredth Psalm Tune
Father We Praise Thee
The Golden Sun Lights Up The Sky
Come Down, O Love Divine
Almighty Word
O Little Town Of Bethlehem
On Christmas Night
'I Come' The Great Redeemer Cries
At The Name Of Jesus
By All Your Saints Still Striving
For All The Saints
Thou, Who At Thy First Eucharist
He Who Would Valiant Be
O Jesus, Crowned With All Reknown
Christ The Fair Glory
Hail Thee, Festival Day!
The Great Forerunner Of The Morn
Come, My Way, My Truth, My Life
God Be With You Till We Meet Again
All Hail The Power

Customer Reviews:

The final track alone is worth the purchase.......2001-04-07

If you like traditional hymns done the traditional way (with choir and organ), this CD is a good one.

A typical hymn-sing, but a great recording of it. This isn't your grandma's choir.

The arrangements aren't too flashy, but the final selection ("All Hail the Power") makes up for it, and will knock your socks off.

An ardent fan of Fred Swann's, I'd recommend this CD to any hymn-lover.

The final track alone is worth the purchase.......2001-04-07

If you like traditional hymns done the traditional way (with choir and organ), this CD is a good one.

A typical hymn-sing, but a great recording of it. This isn't your grandma's choir.

The arrangements aren't too flashy, but the final selection ("All Hail the Power") makes up for it, and will knock your socks off.

Tracks:

Say My Name [Album Version]
Say My Name [Timbaland Remix] - Destiny's Child, , Timbaland
Say My Name [Maurice's Last Days of Disco Milennium Mix]
Say My Name [Daddy D Remix w/Rap]
Say My Name [Album Version featuring Kobe Bryant]

Tracks:

Customer Reviews:

The Kobe remix.......2005-06-23

I have to say that I think Kobe's rap part is a decent rebuttle and it adds a nice touch to the song, letting the guy get a chance to share his side. Also, I might be wrong, but I believe the end of his rhyme goes "No shame in your name, I'll say it when I want to".

Great song, cool remixes.......2004-08-10

I have always loved Say My Name, but only recently bought the single for it. Here is my opinion of the five tracks on this disc:
1. Say My Name [Album Version] The original song. Great beat and fast, smart lyrics. The girls of DC really sing it well.
2. Say My Name [Timbaland Remix] This is one of my favorite remixes. timbaland completely makes the song his own, and turns it into a slow jam with different lyrics, and Kelly sings the first verse.
3. Say My Name [Maurice's Last Days of Disco Milennium Mix] What I like about this one is the redone vocals, making it an original remix.
4. Say My Name [Daddy D Remix w/Rap] Very funky background music, although the rapper sounds a little psycho.
5. Say My Name [Album Version featuring Kobe Bryant] just like number 1 except with fairly good rapping on Kobe's part.
So in conclusion, if you like the song, getting this is really worth the money.

Good except for the Kobe Bryant remix.......2002-09-14

Kobe Bryant ruined an otherwise dope song with his boring bars, especially when he ended with: "Say your name?/I'll say what I want to." It's stuff like that that explains why his album was shelved.

Destiny's Child at its Absolute Best........2002-07-16

Here is a song that will go down as an r&b classic: a slammin' tune with attitude, sass, and emotion. It's well sung, well-produced, and deservedly went to No. 1. You know the lyrics: Beyonce is confornting a guy who may or may not be creepin'. It's a topic we've heard before, but not like this. Credit also has to go to producer Rodney Jerkins for giving the the soul these ladies's voices demand. If Destiny's Child kept on making singles like this, they could have been on a road to legendary status. Unfortunately, they moved on to lesser material and dulled the edge of their sound. Still, you can always look back to this song as a high point in Destiny's Child's career.

If u liked the Timbaland/Aaliyah sound..........2001-11-15

Then you'll like track #2. It has that hypnotic, purely R&B sound that you'll find on the late Aaliyah's "One In A Million" album. I first heard this version when I visited NYC in the spring of 2001, on 107.5 WBLS-FM. The rest of the remixes are pretty good too, but it's track #2 that is the stunner. Folks who don't like R&B need not apply; this CD single is strictly for those who are into modern R&B, with a touch of house/dance mixed with it. I'm lovin it.

Thanks for reading!

C.H.R.

Vaughan Williams - Sir John in Love / Hickox, Northern Sinfonia
Average customer rating:

Pros & Cons for both versions

Five for the work ,for Hickox at least four stars!

Sir John's love is more impressive the first time around

Five stars, but not the only choice.

Vaughan Williams - Sir John in Love / Hickox, Northern Sinfonia
Ralph Vaughan Williams , Richard Hickox , Anne-Marie Owens , Sarah Connolly , Northern Sinfonia and Chorus , Brian Bannatyne-Scott , Donald Maxwell , Roderick Williams , Susan Gritton , Matthew Best , Mark Padmore , Stephen Varcoe , Stephan Loges , John Bowen , Richard Lloyd-Morgan , Laura Claycomb , Henry Moss , and Mark Richardson
Manufacturer: Chandos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Vaughan Williams, Ralph | ( V ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
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Similar Items:

Ralph Vaughan Williams: The Pilgrim's Progress - Gerald Finley / The Royal Opera Chorus / The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House / Richard Hickox

Ralph Vaughan Williams: A Cotswold Romance / Death of Tintagiles - London Philharmonic Choir / London Symphony Orchestra / Richard Hickox

Vaughan Williams: Hugh the Drover

Vaughan Williams: The Pilgrim's Progress: A Bunyan Sequence

Vaughan Williams: Sir John In Love

ASIN: B00005M0ER
Release Date: 2001-07-24

Tracks:

Act I: Orchestral introduction-What hoa, what hoa
Act I: Ahem
Act I: This is my father's choice
Act I: How now, what does Master Fenton here?
Act I: Vere is dat knave Rugby?
Act I: Episode
Act I: How now, mine Host of the Garter
Act I: I spy entertainment in her...
Act I: Wilt thou revenge...?
Act I: Love my wife? I will be patient
Act II: Orchestral introduction-Thine own true knight
Act II: Scene 1: Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more
Act II: Scene 2: Bardolph! Bardolph, I say!
Act II: Scene 2: Go thy ways, go thy ways, old Jack!
Act II: Scene 2: Sir, my name is Brook
Act II: Scene 2: Ha, is this a vision?

Tracks:

Act III: Scene 1 Interlude: Orchestral introduction-Yet hear me speak
Act III: Scene 1 Interlude: Fair and fair and twice so fair
Act III: Scene 1 Interlude: But listen, good mine Host
Act III: Scene 2: Orchestral introduction-When as we sat in Papylon
Act III: Scene 2: Yonder he's coming
Act III: Scene 2: Come, Master Ford
Act III: Scene 2: Orchestral-introduction-What, John! What, Robert!
Act III: Scene 3: Alas, my love, you do me wrong
Act III: Scene 3: Mistress Ford!
Act III: Scene 3: Ah!
Act IV: Orchestral introduction-Pardon me, wife
Act IV: Scene 1: There is an old tale goes that Herne the hunter
Act IV: Scene 1: Interlude
Act IV: Scene 2: Orchestral introduction
Act IV: Scene 2: The Windsor bell hath struck twelve
Act IV: Scene 2: Ah-Who Comes here?
Act IV: Scene 2: But till 'tis one o'clock
Act IV: Scene 2: Dance of the Fairies
Act IV: Scene 2: But stay! I smell a man of middle earth
Act IV: Scene 2: Nay, do not fly
Act IV: Scene 2: My heart misgives me
Act IV: Scene 2: Stand not amazed

Customer Reviews:

Pros & Cons for both versions.......2005-08-30

Boito took Shakespeare's Merry Wives, added a little Henry IV (e.g. the Honour Monologue) and shaped, moulded and cut them about to make a libretto that focused tightly on the Fat Knight and was absolutely perfect for what Verdi wanted. Out of it came one of the greatest of all comic operas.

With VW, you get something much closer to the Shakespearean original, teeming with richly drawn characters and all the variety of Elizabethan/Jacobean life bustling past. Falstaff is merely the primus inter pares among them, albeit a huge one. Out of it came a great comic opera. And one that has been too seldom performed, standing in the long shadow of its predecessor.

Vaughan Williams, who was a great admirer of the Verdi piece, knew that comparisons would inevitably be made. (He would also have included his friend, Holst's, At the Boar's Head as a real rival from the Falstaff canon.) But comparisons are invidious. The VW and the Verdi operas are not comparable, either in their intentions or in their music. And both should be allowed to co-exist happily as companion pieces, not as rivals as two great comic operas we're fortunate to have.

Perhaps I protest too much. But the Vaughan Williams is such invigorating, life-enhancing, often ravishingly beautiful stuff that I'd hate to see it slip off the end of the shelf. Verdi is lauded as the great tunesmith, but how many tunes from Falstaff can you recall - Nanetta's last act aria, perhaps, a couple of snippets of Fenton, the final fugue maybe, or Sir John's 'Quand'ero paggio' which is so brief an aria that its original singer had to record it three times in succession to fill a 78 side. Perhaps that's why Falstaff is so badly represented on 78's compared to the other mature Verdi operas. Great music, yes, but singalongaFalstaff had, in his mature operas, ceased to be the composer's intention.

In Sir John in Love, on the other hand, the tunes just pour out one after the other. Which are genuine folksongs and which are VW originals is often hard to tell without a score in front of you (where the composer comes clean). Just listen to the way Dr. Caius' 'Vray Dieu d'Amour' takes over the orchestra or how 'Lovely Joan' (the tune in the trio of the famous Greensleeves Fantasia) heralds Mistress Quickly's arrival and 'Greensleeves' in situ is even lovelier than in the Fantasia. But then listen to the gorgeous tune that accompanies Ann Page's entrance, the wonderful melody for Ford's plea for forgiveness from his wife or the magical chorus that accompanies the arrival of the real bride and groom in the final scene. Those are all VW originals and great ones, to boot.

Choosing between the two performances of the piece on disc, it's a question of swings and roundabouts. This Chandos recording with Hickox at the helm benefits from his direction - a bit tauter, a little more spring to the rhythms than Davies and the choral contributions are as polished as you'd expect from a seasoned choral specialist. The Chandos recording, too, is a bit more up to date in terms of sound, a bit fuller and richer. EMI, on the other hand, probably has the superior cast with the likes of Robert Tear, Felicity Palmer, Helen Watts and Robert Lloyd seeing off their Chandos counterparts. Honours between the two Falstaffs are more even. Neither is ideal in the part. Herincx has the 'fatter' voice: Maxwell on this recording is the more characterful. But a piece like the madrigal that Sir John sings before Ford/Brook's arrival needs more warmth and more steadiness than either of them provide (would Bryn ever consider it as a partner to his Verdi Falstaff?).

It's a tough choice between the two versions. Choose the EMI for the cast (including, by a short head, Herincx's Flastaff). Choose this Chandos set for the conducting, the chorus and the more modern sound.

Five for the work ,for Hickox at least four stars!.......2001-11-09

(Here my review for Davies - EMI "British composers" recording
of this masterwork.)
If you feel that Verdi has beautyfull music but it has a too much thick blood, and you think that beauty must be tensed by reason; You are looking at the right composer.
This opera or musical drama (in the wagnerian sense, cause it is a romantic comedy) makes a very whole unit, the "areas" and the recited-sung recitatives are in funtion of the "dramatic" momentum and inerce of the work. It's incredible how pleasently quick this work is heard, and yes it's very entretaining (I know that's not necesary a virtue for an opera, but here it is).
The music, well, is gorgeous as might be expected from V.W., transitions are well sewn, and the traditonal folk songs add a dash or elizabethian romanticism.
The cast is strong, Hendrix is very suited for the rol, but you may fantacised how well this rol will be portrayed now by Bryn Terfel, It's sad that Hickox not thinck (or did he?)of this in his new recording of this opera (perhaps Chandos not provide him with the budget that Abado's can manage for his new DG. Falstaff recording).
Maybe Langridge will sound more youthfull than Tear, but that is a small detail. Hellen Watts it's spicy and perky Mrs. Quickly, and Gerald English Caius' is is excellent!
Davies captures V.W. orchestration very well with a ADD recording that will cause envy in this days, and the price, is to laugh about.
Treat you and buy this forgotten treasure!

Sir John's love is more impressive the first time around.......2001-08-05

While I generally agree with the review of Ahmed Ismael, I must give the nod to the earlier EMI recording, which has greater depth and spread to the sound. Chandos engineers have practically placed the voices in our laps with a resultant loss of orchestral detail. The work is, of course, lovely but if the ear is fatigued by the sound the myriad beauties cannot make their full effect. If one adds to this the fact that the EMI is a midprice reissue the choice becomes even more clear. Bravo to Hickox and company but no standing ovation this time.

Five stars, but not the only choice........2001-07-26

Vaughan Williams's comic "Sir John in Love" is one of those true opera rarities--an opera whose highlights become more impressive as the music progresses. Indeed, the true highlight of this opera is its final "Windsor Forest" scene in Act IV, where all the action is resolved, and everyone gets their "just desserts."

If this were the first recording of the opera available, it would be easy to recommend it to any VW (or opera!) enthusiast--the orchestral details are abundant and vividly present, the choral contribution is alive and infectious, and the vocal parts are well-presented and clear. However, there is in additional recording, in EMI's British Composer series, conducted by Meredith Davies. While many comparisons are stacked in the new version's favor, there are a few shortcomings that prevent an absolute recommendation.

Where Hickox succeeds over Davies is particularly in the portrayal of Anne Page and her several suitors. Susan Gritton sings more effectively than Wendy Eathorne, while both Daniel Norman (Slender) and Adrian Thompson (Caius) seem more plausible as suitors than Bernard Dickerson and Gerald English, respectively--although overall English makes a more vivid Caius. However, there is no question that Mark Padmore is the better Fenton: as well as Robert Tear sings for Davies, I can't shake the impression that he is wooing an Amazon, and not the girl-next-door Anne.

While the supporting cast is marginally to markedly superior for Hickox, with the Fords and Pages are fairly evenly matched between the two performances, the one clear victory of the Davies version is a significant one. As the title character, Donald Maxwell's Falstaff is no match for Raimund Herincx, either in characterization or in vocal quality. Additionally, the EMI set benefits from a superior recording--there's more of a sense of a performance in a real space, which adds an extra dimension to the rather static performance as presented by Hickox. Occasionally, Hickox also omits some dramatic effects (such as gasps from the onstage characters in Act III and laughter from the chorus in Act IV) which adds to the sense that this is only a "recording" and not a "performance."

Customer Reviews:

Go To Amazon.com/uk.......2006-02-23

Thank you Paul Schleuse. Your review is right on, and most importantly, I paid $113. (including shipping) from amazon.com/uk to Boston. Less than halk the price here.

Wonderful Set, but why pay this much?.......2005-07-30

This is a landmark set: the complete works of one of the most important composers of the 16th century, in performances of grace and clarity. However, you can get it for less than half of the US price by buying it at Amazon.co.uk. At GBP65.20, it works out to just over $100, or about $10 per disc--quite a bargain on a major addition to any serious early-music collection.