Rose Is Still a Rose

Amazon.com
Considering her immense contributions to American popular music over the past four decades, the Queen of Soul could be forgiven for coasting a bit. That's why it's such a pleasure to see her turning in such impassioned performances on this set of contemporary urban R&B numbers, her strongest and more consistent effort in several years. The poignant title-song teams Aretha with the Fugees' Lauryn Hill (who also produced), while Sean "Puffy" Combs produced and cowrote the percolating "Never Leave You Again." Elsewhere, the album matches the star with state-of-the-art producers Dallas Austin, Jermaine Dupri, Daryl Simmons, and Narada Michael Walden, while Franklin wrote and produced the torchy tour de force "The Woman" herself, which closes the album on an emotional high note. --Scott Schinder

What the Critics Say
Franklin sounds uncomfortable wailing above the lumpy hip-hop drums on [the title] song and rarely engages with the swingbeat and over-egged ballads.

Rose Is Still a Rose,Aretha Franklin,Arista,Pop,Popular Music,R&B,Soul/R & B

Average customer rating:

Handel: The Masterworks (Box Set)

Manufacturer: Brilliant Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Blowout Box Sets | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music

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ASIN: B00062FLI8
Release Date: 2004-11-30

Average customer rating:

Merry Christmas

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Oratorios | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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Christmas Album: Original Masters
A Christmas Carol/Mr. Pickwick's Christmas
Weihnachten - A German Christmas
The Baroque Christmas Album
Christmas In Vienna: Vienna Boys' Choir

ASIN: B000B8I8S2
Release Date: 2005-10-11

Tracks:

Chor: 'Magnificat' - Karl Richter
Maria Durch Ein' Dornwald Ging - Hermann Prey
Es Ist Ein Ros' Entsprungen - Hermann Prey
Still, STill, Still, Weil's Kindlein Schlafen Will - Hermann Prey
In Dulci Jubilo - Hermann Prey
Fuga Sopra Il Magnificat BWV 733 - Helmut Walcha
Nun Freut Euch, Lieben Christen G'Mein BWV 734 - Helmut Walcha
Fuga Sopra: Vom Himmel Hoch Da Komm Ich Her BWV 769 - Helmut Walcha
Hirten, Wachet Auf - The Trapp Family Singers
Zu Bethlehem Geboren - The Trapp Family Singers
Lobt Gott, Ihr Christen Alle Gleich - The Trapp Family Singers
Ihr Kinderlein Kommet - The Trapp Family Singers
Es Wird Scho Glei Dumpa - The Trapp Family Singers
Weihnachtslied - Jorg Demus
Der Hirtenlied Am Krippelein, Op.22 H.1 No.3 - Jorg Demus
An Das Christkind - Jorg Demus
Christleins Wiegenlied Op.137 No.10 - Jorg Demus
Maria Am Rosenstrauch Op.142 No.3 - Jorg Demus
Marien Kind - Jorg Demus
Cantique De Noel - Jorg Demus
O Du Frohliche, O Du Selige - Grosses Orchester Mit Chor Und Glocken
Es Ist Ein Ros' Entsprungen - Grosses Orchester Mit Chor Und Glocken
Am Weihnachtsbaum Die Lichter Brennen - Grosses Orchester Mit Chor Und Glocken
Alle Jahre Wieder - Grosses Orchester Mit Chor Und Glocken
Kling, Glockchen, Kling - Grosses Orchester Mit Chor Und Glocken
Ihr Kinderlein, Kommet - Grosses Orchester Mit Chor Und Glocken

Tracks:

Sinfonia - Berliner Philharmoniker
Arie: 'Frohe Hirten, Eilt, Ach Eilet' - Berliner Philharmoniker
Chor: 'Ehre Sei Gott In Der Hohe' - Berliner Philharmoniker
Rezitativ: 'So Recht, Ihr Engel, Jauchzt Und Singet' - Berliner Philharmoniker
Choral: 'Wir Singen Dir In Deinem Heer' - Berliner Philharmoniker
Pastorale BWV 590 - Helmut Walcha
Es Kommt Ein Schiff Geladen - Singgemeinde Eschwege
Macht Hoch Die Tur - Singgemeinde Eschwege
Als Ich Bei Meinen Schafen Wacht - Singgemeinde Eschwege
Ich Steh An Deiner Krippen Hier - Singgemeinde Eschwege
Bruder, Ich Geh Auch Mit Dir - Singgemeinde Eschwege
Das Neugeborne Kindelein - Norddeutscher Singkreis
In Dulci Jubilo - Norddeutscher Singkreis
O Tannenbaum - Frauenchor Und Jugendchor
Leise Rieselt Der Schnee - Frauenchor Und Jugendchor
Alle Jahre Wieder - Frauenchor Und Jugendchor
Adeste Fideles - Hellmut Wormsbacher
Stille Nacht - Hellmut Wormsbacher
Lieber Guter Weihnachtsmann - Hellmut Wormsbacher
Morgan Kommt Der Weihnachtsmann - Hellmut Wormsbacher
Eine Muh, Eine Mah - Hellmut Wormsbacher
O Tannenbaum - Hellmut Wormsbacher
Cantate Domino (Antiphon)-Magnificat - P. Corbinian Gindele
Bells Of St. Martin's Abbey, Beuron - St. Martin Beuron

Average customer rating:

Shameful and disappointing.
a Set Unworthy of the Queen
Aretha sounds great on this CD
Lets Be Real
Untouchable

A Rose Is Still a Rose
Aretha Franklin
Manufacturer: Arista
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | R&B | Styles | Music

General | Soul | R&B | Styles | Music
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So Damn Happy
Aretha Franklin - Greatest Hits (1980-1994)
Let Me in Your Life
Flame
Good Woman

ASIN: B000002VTV
Release Date: 1998-03-24

Tracks:

A Rose Is Still A Rose
Never Leave You Again
In Case You Forgot
Here We Go Again
Every Lil' Bit Hurts
In The Morning
I'll Dip
How Many Times
Watch My Back
Love Pangs
The Woman

Amazon.com

Considering her immense contributions to American popular music over the past four decades, the Queen of Soul could be forgiven for coasting a bit. That's why it's such a pleasure to see her turning in such impassioned performances on this set of contemporary urban R&B numbers, her strongest and more consistent effort in several years. The poignant title-song teams Aretha with the Fugees' Lauryn Hill (who also produced), while Sean "Puffy" Combs produced and cowrote the percolating "Never Leave You Again." Elsewhere, the album matches the star with state-of-the-art producers Dallas Austin, Jermaine Dupri, Daryl Simmons, and Narada Michael Walden, while Franklin wrote and produced the torchy tour de force "The Woman" herself, which closes the album on an emotional high note. --Scott Schinder

Customer Reviews:

Shameful and disappointing........2007-01-07

Unfortunately, this CD is among Aretha's all-time worst albums. Shame on Arista Records' boss Clive Davis and the producers involved for trying to make Aretha Franklin sound like just another Hip-Hop artist--instead of giving her better material that would do an artist of Aretha's status justice!!! Only "The Woman" and "How Many Times" manage to NOT sound dated. Not surprisingly, this CD is now out-of-print.

a Set Unworthy of the Queen.......2005-09-06

This set of super-slick, over-produced, sample-laden, desperately contemporary songs simply are not worthy of the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin. No doubt she is in fine voice. And true, this cd SOUNDS good. It ought to, considering the producers du jour involved. But listening to this album today, several years after its initial release ( when it was hyped as "a Comeback" ) is something of a chore, not the pleasure it ought to be. It has that regretable patchwork sound that comes from working with so many different producers. And I get the feeling that many of these songs are leftovers that some other younger, more "current" soul singer, some sexy little Diva-ette, turned down because they didn't have enough hooks. I can understand some artists sampling Aretha Franklin ( which HAS been done, by the way, by the 49'ers, on their club hit "Touch Me", which has vocal samples of Aretha's "Rock A Lott" ) but for Aretha Franklin to sing a song whose main hook is sampled... it's just beneath her. This cd is very calculated and formulaic, and ultimately disappointing, because those are things Aretha has never been.

Aretha sounds great on this CD.......2005-05-01

I pulled this CD out of my collection recently and have been listening to it quite a bit over the past 2 weeks. When I purchased it in 1998, I didn't care for it too much but now I have a new appreciation for Ree's effort on this album. She shows that she can keep up with today's chart topping R&B artists. Her collaborations with some of today's hottest producers are flawless. From the title track (written and produced by Lauryn Hill) to Never Leave You Again with P. Diddy, Ree shows that she can still carry the flame after age 50.

The best cuts on this album are her collaborations with Jermaine Dupri (who's been getting thumbs up for his work with Mariah Carey on her Emancipation of Mimi album). The two tracks he co-wrote and produced for Ree on this album are off da chain! Here You Go Again is a funky, upbeat jam that samples Change's The Glow of Love (before Janet did it in 2001) and the following track is the ballad Every Lil' Bit Hurts.

I guess if there was one track that didn't need to be on the album, it would have to be I'll Dip that was written and produced by Dallas Austin. It's the kind of song that was probably written for Monica or Brandy. Not to mention that Ree sounds very uncomfortable singing it.

Overall, the album is a stellar effort and Aretha remains the Queen of Soul. A much better collection of songs than its follow up, the sadly disappointing So Damn Happy album.

Lets Be Real.......2004-08-16

yo peoples lets be real. afta all ree ree is. all of dis hype about her singing style now and this n that is jus that. hype. anybody who can survive in this business for multiple decades maintain a voice with the emotional power and strength behind that aretha's has, continue to deliver with priceless soul, and to grow artistically is tha ish in ma book. if she stayed the same peeps would get tired of her.she is tha stuff and this is priceless. this is actually my favorite album. ive heard the older stuff. dont get me wrong i love em and they are truly undying classics. but "in case you all forgot". its a new time and place. my accolades to Lady Soul Ree Ree Retha Miss Thaing. you r doin ur thaing and i have a feeling you wont stop. and if you dont have the album get it

Untouchable.......2004-01-05

This has got to be one of the best Cd's out there. Not only for Aretha but....period! I have listened to it over & over. I truly love each song. The woman can sing and you feel her every emotion on every note. I never get sick of it and every one who hears it feels the same!

Average customer rating:

Fond Affection - Works of Ernst Bacon
Bacon , Brown , Burtis , Sharp , Musta , and Burton
Manufacturer: Composers Recordings
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Classical | Indie Music | Stores | Music
ASIN: B0000646U4
Release Date: 2002-03-01

Tracks:

Is There Such A Thing As Day?
My River Runs To Thee
When Roses Cease To Bloom, Dear
Schilflied
The Red Rose
Gentle Greeting
Fond Affection
The Commonplace
Grand Is the Seen
Lingering Last Drops
The Last Invocation
The Divine Ship
Omaha
Its ComingThe Postponeless Creature
How Still The Bells
Farewell To A Name And A Number
Brady

Album Description

Ernst Bacon was one of that pioneering generation of composers, along with Thomson, Copland, Harris and others, who found a voice for American music. Born in Chicago on May 26, 1898, his Austrian mother gave him a love of song and an early start on the piano. Although his varied career included appearances as pianist and conductor, along with teaching and directing positions, his deepest preoccupation was always composing. His musical awards included a Pulitzer Fellowship in 1932 for his Symphony in D Minor and three Guggenheim Fellowships.

As a composer, Bacon belonged to no “school” and followed no fads. He was largely self-taught in composition, except for two years study with Karl Weigl in Vienna in the early '20s. While there, he experienced the depression of post-war Europe first hand and concluded that the European avant-garde movement, reflecting the pessimism of that era and region, was not appropriate to America. Returning to Chicago, he set out to write music that expressed the vitality and affirmation of our own country.

At the age of nineteen, while majoring in mathematics at Northwestern University, Bacon wrote a complex treatise exploring all possible harmonies, which was published by The Open Court Publishing Company (“Our Musical Idiom,” The Monist, October 1917). However, when he began to compose music in his twenties, he rejected a cerebral approach, taking the position that music is an art, not a science. He felt that its source should be intuitive and imaginative, rather than abstract and analytical.

From his first job as opera coach at the Eastman School in the mid '20s, he went on to receive a master's degree from the University of California at Berkeley and to teach at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music under Ernest Bloch. During

the '30s he was director of the WPA Federal Music Project and Orchestra in San Francisco and was a founder of the Carmel Bach Festival. From 1938 to 1945 he headed the School of Music at Converse College in Spartanburg, South Carolina, where he established the New Spartanburg Music Festival. At Syracuse University, he was director of the School of Music from 1945 to 1947 and composer-in-residence and professor of piano until his retirement in 1963.

In 1964 he returned to the West, settling in the small town of Orinda, California, east of the Berkeley hills. Here, as everywhere else, he drew his greatest inspiration from nature, jotting down notes as he explored local trails. His fertile imagination and constant creative efforts left little time for self-promotion, and although nearly blind in old age, he continued to compose until the very end of his ninety-one years.

Throughout his long career, Ernst Bacon's chief aim as a composer was to express the spirit of America in music as Whitman, Emerson, Melville and others had done in literature. He was deeply immersed in our country's history and folklore, as well as its indigenous music; and was inspired by the poetry, folk songs, jazz rhythms and geography of America as well as the landscape itself—which he hiked, climbed and also painted. All of these elements found their way into his music.

Those who influenced Bacon included Carl Sandburg, Thornton Wilder and Roland Hayes. Bacon's music expresses the common touch and humor of Sandburg; the profound simplicity of Wilder; and the melodic beauty that Roland Hayes expressed so movingly in his singing. As with Schubert, a large body of more than 250 art songs is the heart of an oeuvre that also includes numerous chamber, orchestral and choral works, as well as descriptive pieces for piano.

In 1998 numerous vocal-chamber concerts of Bacon's music were held in honor of his centennial. These events took place at Merkin Concert Hall in New York City; the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Coolidge Auditorium at the Library of Congress; the Free Library of Philadelphia; Syracuse, New York; Evanston and Chicago, Illinois; also in Berkeley and Waln

Rudolf Friml: The Vagabond King
Average customer rating:

Could be so much better

It's about time that this was put on CD

Don't waste the money

At last a complete recording of a Friml favorite

Rudolf Friml: The Vagabond King

Manufacturer: Albany Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
Operettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
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Victor Herbert: Sweethearts/Ohio Light Opera

Maytime

Victor Herbert: The Red Mill

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ASIN: B000777I6K
Release Date: 2005-01-25

Tracks:

The Vagabond King

Album Description

The 15th century poet Francois Villon, between scrapes with the law in Paris, wrote lyrics both poignant and bawdy. At the end of the 19th century, novelist R.H. Russell sentimentalized his career in a plot that borrowed the king-for-a-day motif, thus allowing Villon to defeat France's enemies and win the hand of an aristocratic lady, all in under 24 hours. Adapted as a play in 1901, by New York writer Justin McCarthy, If I Were King served as a star vehicle for E.H. Southern in a Broadway stage production. In 1923, Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart were at the very start of their careers. They devised a musical version of the McCarthy play for a Manhattan girl's school and then looked for a more prestigious venue for their collaboration. Broadway backers turned down the young artists, but liked their idea, "borrowed" it from Rodgers and Hart and commissioned the more established Rudolf Friml to fashion a professional musical from the plot. Friml's Rose Marie was then enjoying great success in New York. Born in what is today the Czech Republic in 1897, Friml enrolled at age 14 in the Prague Conservatory (which was headed by Dvorak) and completed the six-year course in three years. He toured Europe and the United States as accompanist for violinist Jan Kubelik and made a piano debut in this country onstage at Carnegie Hall in 1904. Walter Damrosch and the New York Symphony premiered his Piano Concerto two seasons later, with the composer at the piano. Friml's true calling was as a composer of songs. In 1912, he was called in by Arthur Hammerstein to complete the music for a new work which Victor Herbert had abandoned, owing to a run-in with a temperamental soprano. The resulting operetta, The Firefly, was his first Broadway success, and would be followed by many others. Friml continued to live in America for much of the 20th century long after his sentimental musical style was considered old fashioned. As late as 1969, he was celebrated by Ogden Nash on the occasion of his 90th birthday in a couplet which ended: "I trust your conclusion and mine are similar: 'Twould be a happier world if it were Frimler."

Customer Reviews:

Could be so much better.......2007-07-04

I love "The Vagabond King", but not this versiom. The problem is the sound level ... I had to keep adjusting it and kept having trouble understanding the words.Is the problem the singers or the technicians? I'm not enough of an expert to say.

It's about time that this was put on CD.......2005-06-13

Of all the famous operettas produced in the 1920's, the one most neglected in recordings has been Rudolf Friml's "The Vagabond King", first produced in 1925. Only now is the complete work, dialogue and all, appearing on CD. For those unfamiliar with the music, the best known songs are "Only a Rose" and the stirring "Song of the Vagabonds", perhaps the most rousing "battle song" ever written for an operetta. The story is almost exactly the same as that of "If I Were King", the fondly remembered 1938 non-musical film which starred Ronald Colman as poet-adventurer-thief Francois Villon, who lived during the fifteenth century. Both film and operetta were based on the 1901 play "If I Were King", by Justin McCarthy.

We get the entire "Vagabond King" on this 2 CD set, which is a real bonus for anyone who wants to hear what a 1920's operetta actually sounded like in its original, unaltered version. But this brings me to the problem. I don't know why the Ohio Light Opera decided to do this on "The Vagabond King", when all of their other recordings (and I have three others) are so sonically excellent, but the volume on this CD has to be really cranked up for the listener to catch everything. The recording equipment for this live performance was apparently placed in such a way that there isn't enough treble, except at certain moments. At other times,as happens in some live recordings, the singers are too far away for the listener to catch all of their dialogue, and this operetta has a better story than most, being a faithful adaptation of a good non-musical play. Fortunately, a booklet with a libretto is included, but it is one thing to read the words and quite another to hear them performed.

The singing, though, is quite good, and excellent for what is supposed to be a semi-professional group. I have no idea if the orchestrations and vocal arrangements used are those that were used in the original 1925 production, but if the Ohio Light Opera followed their usual practice, those are most certainly the original arrangements.

It is a true pity that the company saw fit to revise their recording techniques for this operetta, and that is why I am subtracting one star, when I would have otherwise given it a 5-star rating. Operetta fans have long waited for a complete recording of "The Vagabond King", and since this one is not without merit, I am suggesting that you buy it. But be prepared to be fidgeting with the volume control on your CD player.

And as far as I can tell, the complete score of the show is included here. The previous reviewer may be confusing the additional songs written for the 1930 and the 1956 film versions of "The Vagabond King" with the songs used in the stage version. (The film versions used little of the original music.) Only the songs written for the stage version are used here.

But where are the usual Amazon audio clips?

Don't waste the money.......2005-04-15

This one is only for completists. The recording level is strangely low, so that only a strong audio system or listening indoors with headphones can give you a strong sound. This is especially problematic since the chorus is incomprehensible. The performers are conservatory types most of whom can't act, which makes it too bad that the producers for some reason record the dialogue along with the score. And -- that dialogue is what makes this a 2-CD set; this is by no means a full rendition of the score. There is clearly a lot of missing dance music and reprises; there is about half as much music as you get in, say, JAY's STUDENT PRINCE double-CD, and much less than on Encores' NEW MOON recording. This recording gives no notion of why THE VAGABOND KING was such a hit in its day, and most buyers will be better off waiting for someone else to really do the score proud.

At last a complete recording of a Friml favorite.......2005-02-26

May the Muse of Operetta shower blessings on the Ohio Light Opera for its seemingly endless stream of recordings of complete operettas, dialogue included (not always a Good Thing), as performed at the College of Wooster. Having enjoyed, some more than others, such rarely heard complete performances of Victor Herbert's "The Red Mill" and "Elaine," Gilbert and Sullivan's "Princess Ida" and "Utopia Ltd.," some Kalaman, some Messager, and so on, I am delighted to report that their latest, Rudolf Friml's "The Vagabond King," is among the best of the lot. It is on a double-CD set from Albany Records (TROY 738-39) and well worth the hearing.

For one thing, the tunes range from truly memorable to at least quite good: "Only a Rose," "Love for Sale," "Sons of Toil and Danger," "Love Me Tonight." The story is actually a pretty good one for an operetta, with just enough seriousness to make you care for these characters. The cast is game, with a virile sounding Francois Villon in Ted Christopher, who can handle both music and dialogue with an Alfred Drake dash.

If Brian Woods' King Louis sounds too much the stock stage villain (an older voice would have helped) without any real menace and if there is no real depth to the female roles, Julie Wright (Katherine) and Sandra Ross (Huguette), the music helps you forget that fact. Conductor Steven Byess does a good job with a small orchestra.

I begin to wonder if a chorus can be trained to sing so that we can actually understand the words without following the full text that is thoughtfully provided in all of these OLO sets. The same goes for sopranos at the higher registers. Granted these are taken from stage performances and not from a recording studio, but a little more attention to consonants within and at the end of words would help immensely.

Nevertheless, a complete recording of this Friml work is certainly a MUST for anyone who loves musical theatre. Ironic footnote: Rodgers & Hart had already adapted a play about Villon and wanted to create a Broadway version. The backers agreed and gave the job to Friml! Such is showbiz.

Average customer rating:

Uneven, though heavenly sound
An Outstanding Holiday Recording
I love it
Magnificent
few compare

Christmas with the Academy

Manufacturer: Philips
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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O Come All Ye Faithful: Christmas Carols at King's College, Cambridge
Carols from Trinity
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ASIN: B00000418V
Release Date: 1994-11-15

Tracks:

Church Bells: Past Three A Clock
O Come, All Ye Faithful
Ding Dong! Merrily On High
In The Bleak Midwinter
Christmas Oratorio: Sinfonia
Once In Royal David's City
Sussex Carol
Quelle Est Cette Odeur Agreable?
Il Est Ne Le Divin Enfant
L'enfance Du Christ: L'adieu Des Bergers A La Sainte Famille
L'enfance Du Christ: Le Repos De La Sainte Famille
Es Ist Ein Ros Entsprungen
Stille Nacht
Still, Still, Still
Singt Und Klingt
The Holly And The Ivy
The Three Kings
Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day
Away In A Manger
Christmas Song (Personent Hodie)
In Dulci Jubilo
Jesus Christ The Apple Tree
Hark! The Herald-Angels Sing: Church Bells

Customer Reviews:

Uneven, though heavenly sound.......2005-12-22

I am enjoying this CD, however I must continually adjust the sound level. Some selections are recorded quite low and some are quite loud. I am constantly reaching for the volume.

An Outstanding Holiday Recording.......2005-11-19

In 1994 I worked at a music store where I was considered "the classical music expert." How did I earn this distinguished honor you may ask? Well, I had music lessons as a child, had a somewhat good knowledge of classical music as a hobbyist (I am a die hard opera buff and love the symphonic repertoire too), and I was the oldest sales person in the store. I was in my early thirties but most of the other employees were either in or recent graduates of high school. Since I could answer a few basic questions, I was the expert. I was also the jazz expert, movie sound track expert, easy listening expert, and vocals expert. If my life depended on my expertise of these areas, I wouldn't be writing this review right now, but that's another story.

The manager asked me to select some Christmas CD's for the store and in the catalogue, I saw that there would be a new release by The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields under Sir Neville Marriner's direction. I had not heard the disc and we did not have a sample, but I had a hunch it would be well received and since the store catered to customers who loved good music, I figured that the recording would be well received. I remember when it arrived and we put it on the store stereo. From the church bells at the beginning to the first simple tunes of the disc, I knew this would be a great collection of holiday music. Customers agreed. It received airtime on the local classical station and we could not keep it in stock.

Since that time CHRISTMAS WITH THE ACADEMY has been a staple in my Christmas collection. It has three major strengths. First, the wonderful orchestra and beautiful chorus of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields under the direction of founder Sir Neville Marriner. Second, there is a variety of carols and traditional holiday music. We hear tracks we would expect from an English ensemble, but we also hear those wonderful melodies that when performed well add so much to this season. Third would be the overall excellence of this recording. This great ensemble has produced excellent music over the years and this collection is simply another example of its quality.

I loved the recording when it was new, but now it has become a classic. For anyone who loves good holiday music that is performed well and has the spiritual quality that is so much a part of the season, this is a disc you will love.

I love it.......2004-12-15

This is excellent Christmas music. Of the choir Christmas music I have heard, I think this is great because there seems to be such a great balance between the male and female singers. Its exactly how I'd want Christmas carolers to sound. If you like how the music previews sound then you will like this cd.

Magnificent.......2003-11-29

If I could only have one Christmas CD, this would be my choice. The harmonies are exquisite. The instrumentals are beautiful. There are several a cappella sections, which I love. This Christmas concert is a masterpiece. It is one of the few CD's with enough presence to evoke the feeling of "being there". I feel as though I'm sitting in a church, listening to the most wondrous choir.

This 60 minute CD was recorded digitally [DDD], so I had no concern about the quality of remastering. I found the CD audio quality to be very acceptable. I highly recommend this to anyone who loves choral Christmas music.

few compare.......2001-11-23

Few Christmas music CD's can compare to this entry by Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. As the previous reviewer notes, there is nothing startlingly new or insightful about this program--but its sheer excellence sets it apart.

From the opening bells to the shattering conclusion of "Hark! the Herald Angel Sing," the listener encounters the kind of great music Marriner is known for. This stuff is precise though not dry, clean though not clinical. It is like seeing a beautiful painting in perfect clarity after having had it shrouded in a fog for years.

The soul of these songs are clarified by the interpretations they receive here. The joy they proclaim to the world can be palpably felt by the listener. My personal favorites here are: "Hark! the Herald Angels Sing," "Il Est né, le divin enfant," and "Away in a Manger."

You need look no further if you want some great music to listen to and contemplate during this or any other holiday season. This is a great disc.

Tracks:

All The Things You Are
Spring Is Here
Love Is Here To Stay
In The Still Of The Night
With A Song In My Heart
Ave Maria
Amazing Grace
Greensleeves (What Child Is This)
The Holy City
Panis Angelicus
Messe solennelle de Ste. Cecile: Sanctus
There Is A Man Going Round
Give Me Jesus
Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray
Do Lawd, Oh Do Lawd
Gospel Train
He's Got The Whole World In His Hands

Tracks:

'Le nozze di Figaro': Porgi, amor
'Le nozze di Figaro': Dove sono i bei momenti
Zueignung, Op.10 No.1
'Ariadne Auf Naxos': Es gibt ein reich
Fruhling
Schlechtes Wetter, Op.69 No.5
'Dido and Aeneas': Dido's Lament: When I'm laid In Earth
'Les Nuits D'Ete': Le Spectre De La Rose
Gretchen am spinnrade
L'invitation au voyage
Je te veux
Les chemins de L'amour
'Tristan und Isolde': Tristan und Isolde: Isoldes Liebestod

The String Quartet Tribute to Elton John

Average customer rating:

The String Quartet Tribute to Elton John

Manufacturer: Vitamin Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0002IQMUW
Release Date: 2004-08-03

Tracks:

Sad Songs (Say So Much)
Bennie And The Jets
I'm Still Standing
Tiny Dancer
Candle In The Wind
Little Jeannie
Island Girl
I Guess That's Why They CAll It The Blues
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Your Song
Bonus Tracks: The Bitch Is Back
Bonus Tracks: Believe
Bonus Tracks: Blessed
Bonus Tracks: Captain & Me

Product Description

Tracks:

Vom HImmel Hoch Da komm' Ich Her (From the Heavens Above, I Come) - Murau Christmas Brass Quartet
Still, Still, Still - Ranten Quartett & Chor
Kimt Sche Hoamlich Die Nacht [Night Comes Softly] - Kaiser-Stoandl Family Music Ensemble
Hiazt Kumt a Wunderbare Zeit [A Wonderful Time Is Coming]
Alpenlischer Advent (Alpin Advent) - Murau Christmas Brass Quartet
Weihnacht Wie Bis du SchChristmas Is Beautiful) - Murau Christmas Brass Quartet
Auf Ihr BrGet up, Brothers) - Ingrid Brunner
S'kalte Wasserl (The Cold Water) - Ingrid Brunner
Kirchberger Mazur - Kaiser-Stoandl Family Music Ensemble
Es Mog Net Finster Werden (It Doesn't Get Dark) - Ranten Quartett & Chor
Alle Jahre Wieder (All Years Again) - Murau Christmas Brass Quartet
Schberger Wis' - Ingrid Brunner, Peter Brunner
Is Scho Still, Is Scho Kalt (It's Quiet, It's Cold) - Ranten Quartett & Chor
Schneeflockenwalzer (Waltz of the Snowflakes) - Kaiser-Stoandl Family Music Ensemble
Heiligenbluter Krippenlied - Murau Christmas Brass Quartet
Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht (Silent Night, Holy Night) - Murau Christmas Brass Quartet, Ranten Quartett & Chor, Ranten Quartett & Chor, Erwin Spreitzer
Kettenjodlere - Ranten Quartett & Chor
Den's Mir Tramt Hat (I Was Dreaming) - Kaiser-Stoandl Family Music Ensemble
Es Ist Ein Ros' Entsprungen - Ranten Quartett & Chor, Erwin Spreitzer
O Jubel O Freud - Murau Christmas Brass Quartet
Dreikslied (Song of Three Kings) - Ranten Quartett & Chor
Wie Maria Getanzet Hat (How Maria Danced) - Ingrid Brunner, Peter Brunner
Es Wird Scho Glei Dumpa - Ranten Quartett & Chor
Andachtsjodler (Christmas Yodler) - Murau Christmas Brass Quartet, Ranten Quartett & Chor, Ranten Quartett & Chor, Erwin Spreitzer

Customer Reviews:

Beautiful.......2006-12-02

The music on this CD is absolutely lovely. It makes you feel like you're in a cozy cabin in the Alps. The instrumentals are excellent as are the voices. Excellent CD.

Lovely album!!!!.......2005-11-07

For those of us who are willing to listen to music far from popular tastes , this is a lovely cd. This could be likened to a christmas card in sound.All the songs have an indescribable charm and brings to mind images of how christmases must have been far from our concrete canyons in the beautiful alpine countryside.It is a shame that so few copies are available but if you are wondering whether to buy it, by all means do try to buy it.

Average customer rating:

Give it 6 stars
Excellent
Dazzling Sound
Not your generic Christmas album
Bad performances, OK repertoire

Carols From the Old & New Worlds
Daniel Read , Christmas Traditional , Charles Ives , George Frideric Handel , Jeremiah Ingalls , James E. Spilman , Supply Belcher , Felix Mendelssohn , Jean Sibelius , King of England Henry VIII , English Traditional , Gustav Holst , Paul Hillier , Anonymous , and Theatre of Voices
Manufacturer: Harmonia Mundi Fr.
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Traditional & Modern Carols
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ASIN: B0000007DK
Release Date: 1994-10-18

Tracks:

While Sheperds Watched (SHERBURNE)
The Sheperd's Star
A Christmas Carol
Joy to the World!
The Apple Tree
Christmas Hymn: A Virgin Unspotted
Away In The Manger (AFTON WATER)
While shepherds watched their flocks by night
Hark! the herald angels sing (ELTHAM)
En etsi valtaa, loistoa
Still, O Himmel
Susser die Glocken
Weihnachtslied
Still, Still, Still
Gaudete, Christus est natus
Personent hodie
The Yorkshire Wassail Song
Green grow'th the holly
Here we come a-wassailing
The Cherry Tree Carol
In the bleak mid winter
There is no rose
A New Year's Gift (GREENSLEEVES)
A wassail, a wassail throughout this town!

Amazon.com

This is one of the most original and musically satisfying Christmas programs on disc. And it features some of the most characterful and proficient ensemble singing you'll find anywhere. It's not that the music is obscure--in fact, most of the texts and/or tunes are familiar. From early American settings of "While shepherds watched" and "The Apple Tree" to traditional Austrian and English carols such as "Still, still, still," and "Greensleeves" (sung to different-than-usual words), we're treated to outstanding arrangements (by Paul Hillier) and often surprising variations of tunes we thought we knew. In several cases--"While shepherds watched" and "Hark! The herald angels sing," for example--the familiar texts are sung to completely different melodies. Highlights include original carols by Charles Ives and Jean Sibelius, and a starkly beautiful setting of "There is no rose" by Hillier. --David Vernier

Customer Reviews:

Give it 6 stars.......2005-10-27

This is a wonderful collection of Carols from around the world, beautifully performed by the Theater of Voices. I don't know what CD the first reviewer heard, because this one doesn't contain strident voices - the choir is very well blended, and the soloists are outstanding. I highly recommend it.
It is hard to choose best tracks, as they are so varied and well done, but my personal favorites are Gaudete, Personent Hodie and the four german tracks. The women's choir does especially well on Still, O Himmel, authentically capturing the sound of an Austrian choir.

Excellent.......2003-12-10

This is beautifully directed and performed. Some people truly have the gift of music, TOV is on the top of the list.

Dazzling Sound.......2003-10-25

A thrilling collection of carols, mostly new to me, and beautifully sung. Listen to the first sample, Read's "Shepherds," to see what I mean. This has my favorite rendition of "Personent Hodie" (from Piae Cantiones). I now watch for more recordings by Paul Hillier and his ensembles.

Not your generic Christmas album.......2002-12-01

This has become one of my favorite Christmas discs. An unusual selection of carols, lovely arrangements (Shepherd's Star is stunning!), and the human voice the only featured instrument. Well worth the purchase

Bad performances, OK repertoire.......2002-10-21

Most of the reviews of this CD focus on the diverse repertoire performed on this recording. The diversity of repertoire on this CD, unfortunately, does not make up for the absolutely HORRIBLE singing given by the choir.

The choir's sound is often very strident, vowels are sometimes strikingly spread, the sopranos sing the correct pitches sometimes, etc. The first thing I was struck with when I listened to the first CD track was how nasal sounding the choir's tone was and how they were not in tune with each other. The choir's lack of attention to tuning and balance is mostly illustrated in the faster, rhythmic pieces, when the choir barrels through each selection with about as much attention to musicality as a dog might at dinner time. Even the slower pieces, though, are significantly unbalanced, and sung with a shrill timbre.

This is one of the worst choral CDs in my collection...soon to be OUT of my collection.

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