Letter to God

Letter to God

Editorial Reviews
About the Artist
XYZ was originally comprised of Terry Ilous on vocals, Marc Diglio on guitars, Patt Fontaine on bass and Paul Monroe on drums. The band's mastermind Terry Ilous is now back with the long awaited follow up album. XYZ is a band that has taken it from the streets of Hollywood to the biggest stages in the world. During their four-year tenure as veterans of L.A.'s club wars, XYZ followed the familiar progression of recording and mailing demos to every ear they could catch. In early 1989 the band won the devotion of Enigma Records and earned their first accolades from Don Dokken, who was so taken with the band that he demanded to produce XYZ's debut. They emerged from the studio with an auspicious debut, simply titled "XYZ".

XYZ immediately put their performing muscle to work on major national tours as the tourmates of TED NUGENT, OZZY, FOREIGNER, ALICE IN CHAINS ... XYZ then graduated to their own headlining club tour, and continued to rewrite the XYZ's of rock 'n' roll. "Hungry" the second CD,was produced by George Tutko, and the band toured the world in the early 1990's and received 2 gold albums! Terry Ilous was born the son of a French mother and a Spanish father in Paris, France. His father, who played guitar, imbued Terry with the love of music he nurtures to this day. He settled in Los Angeles and began performing in clubs around the country. During that time, he recorded with members of such diverse rockbands as OZZY OSBOURNE, BLACK SABBATH, PETER GABRIEL, STING and others. The new members are JK NOTHRUP on guitars known for his work with FOREIGNER and KING COBRA, and SEAN MACNABB formally of QUIET RIOT, AND GREAT WHITE

The forthcoming comeback "Letter To God" is what the rock fans eagerly await since years! Along with JK Northrup the album was mixed by Tom Fletcher who worked for SCORPIONS, TOTO, YES among others and features 2 remakes of previous XYZ hits: "Inside Out" and "What Keeps Me Loving You". Original guitar player Mark Diglio did co-write several of the songs. "Letter To God" is dedicated to Terry Ilous' son as the song "Letter To God" was the last one they wrote for the CD especially after that tragedy of Terry's son dying late last year.

Product Description
It is the long awaited come back of hard rock group, XYZ.

Tracks:

What's On Your Mind
Letter To God
Asking
Tango
Rainy Day
United
Deny
Touch the sky
Tell me
Well
Inside out 2003
What keeps me loving you 2003
Never too late
Tango (Spanish version)

Album Description

XYZ let's loose a power-driven rock record that bristles with genuine, raw emotions, on an unsuspecting public, with new their release "LETTER to GOD." This long-awaited album was produced by XYZ singer Terry Ilous, new XYZ guitar player, J.K. Northrup and mixed by Tom Fletcher (SCORPIONS, YES & TOTO). "It is great to be back, playing and writing," exclaims Terry Ilous. "The album will have 3 bonus tracks when purchased off our site." The album also features two remakes of previous XYZ hits "Inside Out" and "What Keeps Me Loving You."

Drawing from the past and present, Terry Ilous and original guitarist Mark Diglio co-write several of the songs. The inspiration of this album is partly attributed to singer Terry Ilous' son. The song "Letter to God" was the last one they wrote for the CD, after the tragedy of Terry's son dying late last year.

Album Description

U.S. edition of the L.A. 80s hair metal band's long awaited 2003 album includes three bonus tracks, 'Well', 'Never Too Late', & 'Tango' (Spanish Version). FYCO.

Customer Reviews:

GREAT COMEBACK WITH A MATURE SOUND..........2004-10-26

Whoever that Bruce Forrest guy is who reviewed this needs to open his ears - he obviously is clueless about music (he must work for Rolling Stone or Allmusic). Since i did a few gigs as keyboardist for XYZ i was excited to be a part of this very mature album from my buddy Terry and friends. I really didn't know what to expect when i first got the cd , but i have to admit i was pleasantly surprised. Great hooks , top-notch musicianship and just a nice evolving mature sound. No grunge crap (butt-rock) or alternative elements here , but not full-on 80s glory either. It's a bit more Zeppelin-esque i'd say. Terry sounds great as always and the band is just smokin. A fine addition to your Melodic Hard Rock collection.

great cd.......2003-08-09

this is a great come back cd
i m glad i bought it
it still is 80 s rock but with a more mature sound
love that voice
please keep up the good work
jarka

GIVE XYZ A CHANCE!.......2003-07-11

This is the third release of XYZ. A very underrated band on the now defunct Enigma label, now featuring veteran JK Northrup (Paul Shortino, King Kobra, Cage) on guitars.

If you were into this guys before, do not expect the same sounds! These guys really play their hearts out in this one, giving the songs a melodic 80's sound but at the same time a modern dark feeling to the songs. Think Dokken's (underrated) Dysfunctional, but with gutsier vocals and harder drumming. They even include great new versions of the singles of their self titled debut: "Inside Out" and "What Keeps Me loving You".

If you are willing to give a couple of spins to the cd before critizicing, then give it a try. I did and I do not repent! If you expect to digest it immediately or if you are expecting a copy of the albums on Enigma, then forget it!!!

XYZ-"Letter to God" Review.......2003-07-08

XYZ/ "Letter to God" XYZ was one of a multitude of 80's bands that were basically handed a recording contract, in a mad signing frenzy by record execs attempting to find "The Next Big Thing." Some of these bands survived for a reasonable duration, while others, such as XYZ, fizzled faster than a firework dud. Fast forward to 2003. Now two of the former members, obviously tired of working fast food joints, decide to regroup, as if anyone even cares, and release, "Letter to God." With easily, one of the most irritating voices in rock, "singer" Terry Ilhous whails off some of the worst written lyrics, this side of Mr. Rogers. Warning: The cliches don't stop here. Backed by former Quiet Riot-bassist Sean McNabb's mundane bass lines, new guitarist JK Northrup demonstrates a barely-passable display of "Guitar Playing For Dummies," with riffs that were already played to death 20 years ago. Drummer Paul Monroe does little to appease the pain, whatsoever. There's not a single song on here I could recommend, without repeating myself: this collection of unlistenable songs would not have worked in the 80's, never mind today. Nice try guys, but there's a car awaiting you in the drive-thru.

letter to god.......2003-07-01

I just bought this cd and what a big disapointment. Save your money & buy the first & second cd they put out. They are GREAT.This one does'nt sound nothing like the first two

Average customer rating:

A Timely Performance
Outstanding; a soon to be classic
Uninspired tedium
Holocaust Cantata: A Five Star Work of Art
An excerpt from my liner notes...

Holocaust Cantata

Manufacturer: Albany Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Composers of the Holocaust: Ghetto Songs & Instrumental Works
MUSIC FROM THE HOLOCAUST
Rossini: Petite Messe solennelle
Music in the Holocaust: Confronting Life in the Nazi Ghettos and Camps (Oxford Historical Monographs)
Forbidden Music: Music from Theresienstadt

ASIN: B000031VRF
Release Date: 1999-11-23

Tracks:

The Prisoner Rises
Singing Saved My Life
Song Of The Polish Prisoners
The Execution Of The Twelve
In Buchenwald
A State Of Seperation
The Train
Singing From Birth To Death
The Striped Ones
There's No Life Like Life At Auschwitz
Tempo di Tango
Letter To Mom
Song Of Days Now Gone
Passacaille For Cello And Piano
Even When God Is Silent
A Child's Journey: An Accidental Meeting
A Child's Journey: I Once Had A Friend
A Child's Journey: There Are No Stars In The Sky
Is Not A Flower A Mystery?
We Remember Them

Album Description

The Holocaust Cantata uses the words and music of actual concentration camp inmates to create a wholly original and powerful work. Using material found within the archives of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Donald McCullough's Holocaust Cantata traverses one of the bleakest episodes in human history. Yet the piece also evokes a sense of music's life-affirming power, even in the face of absolute despair, to express what words alone cannot.

McCullough discovered the material within the vast Aleksander Kulisiewicz collection in the museum's archives. Kulisiewicz himself had performed as a kind of camp troubador during his own incarceration at Sachsenhausen, and, after the war, spent several years interviewing fellow survivors about music in the camps, gathering together the scattered remnants of this music.

As McCullough painstakingly sifted through this material-much of which was uncatalogued-the arresting melodies and compelling testimonies that make up the Holocaust Cantata gradually began to emerge. "I wanted the Cantata to speak with a sense of immediacy," says McCullough, explaining his decision to set the choral texts and spoken testimonies in English, and his hope is that the piece may "transform statistics into people in the minds of the Cantata's listeners, and perhaps be a part of making it more difficult for such a horror ever to occur again." The Washington Post, reviewing the world premiere in March 1998, called it "an experience that should linger long in the audience's memory and should be regularly revived."

Customer Reviews:

A Timely Performance.......2001-11-18

In August of 2001, the choral group I sing with began practicing this work for performance on Veteran's Day Nov 11. We rehearse on Tuesday nights. As we all know on Tuesday Sept 11 the world change forever. Of course rehearsal was cancelled. When we returned the next Tuesday - a piece that we all thought was so powerful became more so. The first song contains the words "the fires burning, the iron furnace..". The paralells to what happened were evident. As one of the reviewers noted " so this can never happen again", well it has, only much faster, in one single day. Hate caused both events. People need to hear this CD and really listen to the words of the songs and the narration, and maybe we can prevent this from happening again and again. A MUST HEAR FOR ALL THE PEOPLE OF THE WORLD. The music and lyics came from the hearts and the lives of the prisoners.This is a beautiful tribute to them.

Outstanding; a soon to be classic.......2000-05-04

Beautifully written and performed! This recording and an encore live performance of this inspiring work were downright demanded by audiences after the premiere. I rate it a "strong buy."

Uninspired tedium.......2000-04-28

McCullough has appropriated other people's material, "choralized" it, and appears to be attempting to capitalize on a wave of political correctness to buy himself a Grammy nomination. There are a few nice tunes scattered throughout this tedious piece, but overall the interpretation is lifeless, unimaginative, and uninspired, almost clinical. Here's hoping that victims of the Shoah can find a more suitable expression of their music than McCullough has tried to give them. They deserve better than this.

Holocaust Cantata: A Five Star Work of Art.......2000-01-07

For me, the Holocaust Cantata is one of those artistic representations of that cataclysmic period that evokes an even stronger picture of the horrors of the Holocaust then do many pictures in newspapers and museum exhibits. I think this is because the Cantata is poetry-it's message sounds a spare and powerful truth. I am grateful to Mr. McCullough for his vision and energy in bringing about the Holocaust Cantata.

An excerpt from my liner notes..........1999-11-25

I was present at the March 1998 Kennedy Center premiere of this extraordinary work, and subsequently wrote the liner notes for the CD. Because of the unusual nature of this recording-which I think captures the haunting beauty of this work-I believe that others would be interested in reading an excerpt from my notes on the music. Please note that I am posting this material with the permission of the composer, Donald McCullough:

Notes on the Music

It is well-known that during the Holocaust inmates wrote music while incarcerated in concentration camps. Much of it has since been recorded. At Theresienstadt, for instance-the infamous "Paradise Ghetto"-the Nazis organized an orchestra made up of young musicians who had studied under such luminaries as Leos Janacek and Arnold Schoenberg. Most of these musicians, among them such promising students as Gideon Klein and Viktor Ullmann, perished during the Holocaust, leaving behind but a few pieces, composed under duress and co-opted by the Nazis for their own propaganda purposes. What might they have eventually accomplished had they survived? Such classical music-beautiful as it is-was the product of formally trained musicians. What about the music of the common man-music embraced by the whole community and passed secretly by aural transmission-music that carried with it powerful words revealing different aspects of camp life, or expressing the inmates' innermost feelings, of mourning, or resistance, or patriotism? Was there other Holocaust music, akin to the spirituals that sprang from slavery in America, that spoke with the same startling immediacy to express the agony of the victims of the Nazi regime?...

McCullough's [quest to answer this question] began with a call to Bret Werb, musicologist at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, who revealed the existence of the Aleksander Kulisiewicz collection in the museum archives. Kulisiewicz had traveled about Europe during the postwar period collecting and preserving what he could of the music that had emerged from the Holocaust concentration camps, but little was known about the music itself.

McCullough's first task, then, was to immerse himself in the collection, playing through the hundreds of tunes. He was encouraged to find that they contained some compelling melodies, and for the first time he began to wonder whether a choral cantata-perhaps reflecting the role of music in the camps or evoking the daily lives of these people-might emerge from the material. But he still had no idea what lay within the accompanying text.

At some point, someone had added a rough, English-language index to the collection, but the materials themselves were mostly in Polish. Marcin Zmudzki, a young Pole, was engaged to sift through the mountain of texts. McCullough told the translator that he was interested in anything that had to do with camp life, especially as it related to music. As he recalls, "It was my good fortune that not only was Marcin an excellent translator, but also he had a sense for poetry and thus grasped, very quickly, the type of material I was seeking."

In addition to music, Kulisiewicz also collected interviews, articles, and letters that had anything to do with camp life. With this wealth of material, McCullough decided to place between each musical arrangement readings that also spoke of life in the camps. After considering and rejecting literally hundreds of documents, he finally decided that he had what he needed from the archives. But in a sense, the real work was just beginning. "Because I wanted the Cantata to speak with a sense of immediacy," says McCullough, "I thought it should be sung in English. But before I could arrange a single note of it, I needed to have singable translations. Here I employed the talents of lyricist Denny Clark, who at first worked with Marcin, getting a word by word translation. Knowing which words appear on which notes is important in keeping the overall impact of the song." A trained singer himself, Clark was able to make transliterations to ensure that the best vowels for singing fell on the proper notes, all while remaining faithful to the original text. It was an immensely complicated task....

A few words about the structure of the Cantata. As you listen you should not look for a plot, as such. Because each song and reading represents a different person, a different place, and a different time in the Holocaust experience, you should be wary about viewing the entire piece as a streaming narrative. Nonetheless, certain common truths will begin to emerge, and no doubt others will come to you with each successive hearing. Among these is the certainty that these are nakedly honest responses to the most unthinkable of acts. Sometimes the responses are jarring; who could find humor amid such horror? And yet humor-albeit dark in nature-undoubtedly exists within this work. Nevertheless the inmates' responses never sink to the level of triteness. For them, music functioned as something much more than just a light in the darkness; its very existence was a form of spiritual resistance in an environment where such resistance risked instant extermination.

Tracks:

Tuzba (Desire)
Stst'/Steadiness
Lavecka (Bench)
Stesk (Woe) - Skampa Quartet
Obrk Mileho (Lover's Likeness)
Svatba Kom (Gnats Wedding)
Kouzlo (Charm)
Slib (Promise)
Orisek Lovy (Hazel Nut) - Skampa Quartet
La (Love)
Jablunka (Apple Tree)
Jabucko (Sweet Apple)
Co Je to Za Nebe (What Sky)
Safva C (Alderman's Daughter)
Cervenab(Little Red Apples)
Dobr(Good Hunt)
He Warden)
Kony Mil [My Lover's Horses]
Kv MilodejnLove Herbs)
Pcko (Posy)
LoucenMilou
Jindy a NynThen and Now)
T (Uneasy)
VzknMessage)
Belegrade (Belgrade) - Skampa Quartet
Milenec Vrah (Lover Killer)
Pomluva (Calumny)
LoucenParting)
Sirota (Lonely Soul)
Osamel Alone)
Komu Kytka (For Whom the Posy)
Z Od Mil (Love Shining)
Polajka (Thyme)
Kol(KolTown)
Psano (Love Letter)
Karafi(Carnation)
Rozmarsemary)
Pamy (Mementos)
Zpevulenka (Tender Little Tune)
Nejistota (Uncertainty)
Kukacka (Cuckoo)
Zahrcka (Fence)
Muzikanti (Musicians)
Vernost' (Faithfulness)
Bolavlava (Headache)
Osud (Fate)
Daleko ProvdanWedded Far Away)
Budk (Wakening)
Dobrada (Sound Advice)
Slzy echou (Tears of Comfort)
Koukol (Corncockle)
Kalina (Guelder Rose)
Pohreb Zbojnv

Customer Reviews:

Moravian songs, via Janacek, Godar, Bittova and Skampa.......2006-05-09

This is a unique recording of Janacek's transcriptions of Moravian folk songs. Originally for piano and voice, they have been transcribed by Slovak composer Vladimir Godar for string quartet and (occasionally) three-voice male chorus. Here they are performed by renowned Czech singer and violinist Iva Bittova, accompanied by the Skampa Quartet and chorus. The effect is not so much of classical liede, but of authentic eastern European "popular" songs - the sonority of the string quartet adds to this in no small part. Janacek would be proud.

Skampa Quartet is great - the singer... yikes.......2005-07-28

I honestly did not know what I was getting myself into when I bought this CD. I love Janacek, I love folk songs... how could I go wrong? Iva Bittova! I was concerned that she would have a 50yr old woobly voice, but instead what exists is a thin VERY nasal tone... perhaps she should be singing traditional Bulgarian music! The voice is expressive, just ugly.
The recording quality is not very good, either. On many of the tracks, Iva seems to be muffled and in the background of the recording.
Really - dont waste your time and money, unless you really would just like to have a recording of over 50 Janacek songs.

Great Operatic Arias: Bruce Ford, Vol. 2

Average customer rating:

Great Operatic Arias: Bruce Ford, Vol. 2

Manufacturer: Chandos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Arias | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

French | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Italian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Oratorios | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Masses | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Oratorios | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
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Bruce Ford - Great Operatic Arias
Bruce Ford - Serious Rossini ~ Ricciardo e Zoraide · Armida · Mosè in Egitto · Otello · Ugo re d'Italia

ASIN: B0000AW0YH
Release Date: 2003-09-23

Tracks:

Comfort Ye My People
Ev'ry Valley Shall Be Exaulted
Her Beauty's A Wonder
If This Empire
All My Thoughts Are In Turmoil - Betrayed Me... Abused Me...
The True Sublime Enjoyment
I Lost The Will To Action
My Poor Heart Is So Full Of Emotion
Lord God Almighty
It Is Certain. She Wrote This Letter
One Hour To Wait Now
What Is This, Companions?
Death's Unrelenting Call
Aria: 'Rejoice Greatly, O Daughter Of Zion'
My Heart And I - We Are In Love With You
Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin'

Oxford Evening: Music By Oxford Composers

Average customer rating:

Oxford Evening: Music By Oxford Composers

Manufacturer: Griffin (Qualiton)
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00006IZMH
Release Date: 2002-09-24

Average customer rating:

Not the XYZ I once knew.
Classic Metal!
Good Stuff!
Great CD
A diamond in the rough

Letter to God
XYZ
Manufacturer: The Orchard
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Glam | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Hungry
XYZ
Forbidden Demos 1985/1991
II
Take What You Can Live, 2000

ASIN: B00009NH8P
Release Date: 2003-05-27

Tracks:

What's On Your Mind
Letter To God
Asking
Tango
Rainy Day
United
Deny
Touch The Sky
Tell Me
Well
Burn It Up
Inside Out
What Keeps Me Loving You
Never Too Late
Tango (Spanish Version)

Album Description

It is the long awaited come back of hard rock group, XYZ.

Customer Reviews:

Not the XYZ I once knew........2007-03-16

I bought this CD based on such high reviews from others. Sadly to say, it's not the same quality rock they put out on their first 2 albums, XYZ and Hungry. The lyrics just don't seem to go very well with the music. It's like it was just thrown together. I gave the CD 3 stars (should be 2.5) for giving 2-3 decent songs, none of which were spectacular. "Asking" was a personal favorite because it reminded me of an old XYZ ballad. Also, a lot of reviewers are calling this melodic rock; well, not exactly, but there are some nice guitar riffs. All in all, it's the new XYZ. If you have a few bucks to spare, it's probably worth checking out, but don't get your hopes too high.

Classic Metal!.......2005-07-28

If you have never heard this band before, I would recomend buying it. If you're a fan of classic 80's metal, buy it as well. It has some great songwritting, guitar work as well as Terry Ilous has an awsome voice. Recomend highly!!

Good Stuff!.......2005-04-28

XYZ will always be lumped in with the "hair band" scene. This is a shame really. Great song writing with great hooks. If you liked "XYZ" and "Hungry" you should like this one as well. Terry's voice has held up well over the years. Same great guitar tone. "Letter To God" should give you a taste of that guitar tone we all love. "Tango" is another great track you should check out. "Rainy Day" takes a minute to really get rocking but once it does it is high octane Rock and Roll."United" may be the heaviest track on here and will surely get your head bobbing back and forth. Something here for everyone including a ballad or two. Pick it up!

Great CD.......2003-11-12

Grit your teeth through track 3... this CD starts at track 4!

A diamond in the rough.......2003-10-23

Who said 80's melodic rock is dead? It wasn't XYZ. "What's On Your Mind" is a throwback to the classic metal songs, loaded with sexual inuendo. Ilous even has a hint of Robert Plant and David Coverdale in his vocals. New guitarist J.K. Northrup displays pretty impressive chops during his solo. XYZ throw out some heavy riffs on "United". This song about war couldn't have been better timed. Ilous us dead on when he says `freedom loves a battlefield'. "Burn it Up" is full of high-energy riffs, as well as some great rock licks. XYZ offers up updated versions of two of their classics, "Inside Out" and "What Keeps Me Loving You". I liked the songs, but I never heard the originals. I couldn't tell you how they differ. Of course with every rock release, you have to have some ballads. "Rainy Day" starts off slow with some calming acoustics, but kicks in the power, cranked to 11. "Deny" is a sappy power ballad, and I can't stress `sappy' enough. I'm sure it was penned to make all the ladies go `awwww'. "Tell Me" is a much better ballad. The lyrics are better written and the melody is touching. Terry shows his writing talent promently on two of the more personal tracks. "Asking" is the story of a man who never got to express his feelings to his father, who has since passed on. It's hard to tell if it's just a story, or taken from Terry's real life. "Letter to God", the centerpiece of the CD, is taken from Ilous' real life. Terry lost his son late last year, and on this track, he questions his faith. It makes you think. The song was decated to his son's memory.

Customer Reviews:

A must for modern music lovers.......2000-10-20

A monumental collection of some of the most important chamber works of the late 20th century, impeccably performed and recorded.

Average customer rating:

Letter to God
XYZ
Manufacturer: Mtm Music & Publish
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Glam | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

Rock | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00008VFEE
Release Date: 2003-05-13

Tracks:

What's on Your Mind
Letter to God
Deny
Touch the Sky
Rainy Day
Tango
All I'm Asking
Burn It Up
Inside Out
What Keeps Me Loving You
Tell Me
United

Album Description

Long awaited 2003 album for the L.A. 80s hair metal band. 12 tracks including remakes of their classics, 'Inside Out' & 'What Keeps Me Loving You'. MTM Music.

Album Details

Includes Two Remakes of "Inside Out" and "What Keeps Me Loving You".

Average customer rating:

Kremlin Christmas

Manufacturer: Delos Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Chants | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General Christmas | Holiday | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music

Opera & Vocal | Holiday | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music

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Opera & Vocal | Holiday Music | Special Features | Music
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Russian Christmas
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Ancient Echoes

ASIN: B00004WJM0
Release Date: 2000-11-14

Tracks:

Christmas Chant
Christmas Sticheron: 'Rejoice You Righteous'
Letter Of The Apostle Paul To The Galatians, Alleluia
Troparion: 'Thy Birth, Christ, Our Lord'
Kontakion: 'Virgin This Day'
'Who Is The Great God?'
This Day Christ Is Born In Bethlehem
Glory To God In The Highest
'God Is With Us'
Thee We Praise
Rejoice, Pure Virgin, Mother Of God
Hexapsalmos
Christmas Carols

Average customer rating:

A Long Time Coming...
Her Best Album
Price At Her Peak
of course world class
the greatest american soprano of the 20th century

The Essential Leontyne Price

Manufacturer: RCA
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

English | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

French | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Italian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Russian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Noels | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Requiems | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Price, Leontyne | Divas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B000003FWD
Release Date: 1996-08-13

Tracks:

Aida: Act I: Ritorna vincitor!
Aida: Act I: E l'amor mio?
Aida: Act I: I sacri nomi di padre, d'amante
Aida: Act III: Qui Radames verra!
Aida: Act III: O patria mia
Un Ballo in Maschera: Act II: (Prelude)
Un Ballo in Maschera: Act II: Ecco l'orrido campo
Un Ballo in Maschera: Act II: Ma dall'arido stelo divulsa
Un Ballo in Maschera: Act III: A tal colpa e nulla il pianto
Un Ballo in Maschera: Act III: Morro, ma prima in grazia
Il Trovatore: Act I: Che piu t'arresti?
Il Trovatore: Act I: Tacea la notte placida
Il Trovatore: Act I: Di tale amor che dirsi
Il Trovatore: Act IV: Siam giunti
Il Trovatore: Act IV: D'amor sull'ali rosee
Ernani: Act I: Surta e la notte
Ernani: Act I: Ernani! Ernani, involami
Ernani: Act I: Tutto sprezzo che d'Ernani
La forza del destino: Act II: Son giunta! Grazie, o Dio!
La forza del destino: Act II: Madre, madre, pietosa Vergine
La forza del destino: Act II: La Vergine degli angeli
La forza del destino: Act IV: Pace, pace, mio Dio

Tracks:

Cosi fan tutte: Act I: Come scoglio immoto resta
Madama Butterfly: Act II: Piangi? Perche?; Un bel di vedremo
Madama Butterfly: Act III: Tu? tu? piccolo Iddio!
TOSCA: Act II: Vissi d'arte
Manon Lescaut: Act II: In quelle trine morbide
Manon Lescaut: Act IV: Sola, perduta, abbandonata
Dialogues des Carmelites: Act III: Mes filles, voila que s'acheve
Don Giovanni: Act I: Don Ottavio, son morta!
Don Giovanni: Act I: Or sai chi l'onore
Don Giovanni: Act II: Crudele? Ah, no, mio bene!
Don Giovanni: Act II: Non mi dir
Turandot: Act I: Signore, ascolta!
Turandot: Act III: Tu che di gel sei cinta
Ariadne auf Naxos: Es gibt ein Reich
Antony And Cleopatra: Act III: Give me my robe

Tracks:

Otello: Era piu calmo?
Otello: Mia madre aveva una povera ancella (Willow Song)
Otello: Ave Maria
Fidelio: Act I: Abscheulicher! Wo eilst du hin?
Suor Angelica: Senza mamma, o bimbo, tu sei morto!
Carmen: L'amour est un oiseau rebelle (Habanera)
La Traviata: Act I: E strano, e strano !
La Traviata: Act I: Ah, fors' e lui
La Traviata: Act I: Sempre libera
Le nozze di Figaro: Act III: E Susanna non vien!
Le nozze di Figaro: Act III: Dove sono
Die Agyptische Helena: Act II: Awakening Scene
La rondine: Ore dolci e divine
Salome: Finale

Tracks:

Eugene Onegin: Act II: Puskai pogibnu ya
Eugene Onegin: Act II: Ya k vam pishu
Eugene Onegin: Act II: Net, nikomu na svete
Eugene Onegin: Act II: No tak i byt'!
La rondine: Act I: Chi il bel sogno di Doretta
VANESSA: Act I: He Has Come, He Has Come!
VANESSA: Act I: Do Not Utter A Word
Carmen: Act I: Pres des remparts de Seville (Seguidilla)
Manon: Act II: Allons! il le faut!
Manon: Act II: Adieu, notre petite table
Macbeth: Act IV: Sleepwalking Scene: Vegliammo invan due notti
Macbeth: Act IV: Sleepwalking Scene: Una macchia e qui tuttora
La Boheme: Act IIII: Addio. Donde lieta usci (Mimi's Addio)
Die Frau ohne Schatten: Act II: Empress's Awakening Scene
Dido and Aeneas: Act III: Thy Hand, Belinda!
Dido and Aeneas: Act III: When I Am Laid In Earth
Don Carlo: Act V: Tu che le vanita conoscesti del mondo

Tracks:

Otello: Act I: Gia nella notte
Otello: Act I: Quando narravi
Otello: Act I: Venga la morte!
Cosi fan tutte: Act I: Ah, guarda, sorella
Madama Butterfly: Act I: Bimba, bimba, non piangere
Madama Butterfly: Act I: Bimba dagli occhi
Madama Butterfly: Act I: Vogliatemi bene
Requiem: Recordare
Porgy And Bess: Act II: Bess, You Is My Woman
Norma: Act III: Me chiami, o Norma
Norma: Act III: Mira, o Norma
Ernani: Act II: Tu, perfida!
Ernani: Act II: Ah, morir, potessi adesso
Cosi fan tutte: Act II: Sorella, cosa dici?
Cosi fan tutte: Act II: Prendero quel brunettino
Aida: Act IV: La fatal pietra sovra me si chiuse
Aida: Act IV: Presago il core della tua condanna
Aida: Act IV: Vedi? Di morte l'angelo
Aida: Act IV: O terra, addio

Tracks:

Un Ballo in Maschera: Act II: Teco io sto!
Aida: Act III: Ciel! mio padre!
Aida: Act III: Rivedrai le forest imbalsamate
Aida: Act III: In armi ora si desta il popol nostro
Aida: Act III: Padre! a costoro schiava non sono
Requiem: Angus Dei
Manon Lescaut: Act I: Oh, saro la piu bella!; Tu, tu, amore?
Cosi fan tutte: Act I: Soave sia il vento
Porgy And Bess: Act II: I Loves You, Porgy
Aida: Act II: Silenzio! Aida verso noi s'avanza
Aida: Act II: Fu la sorte dell'armi
Aida: Act II: Pieta ti prenda del mio dolor
Aida: Act II: Alla prompa che s'appresta
Il Trovatore: Act IV: Udiste?
Il Trovatore: Act IV: Mira, di acerbe lagrime
Il Trovatore: Act IV: Vivra! Contende il giubilo
Madama Butterfly: Act II: Scuoti quella fronda di ciliegio (Flower Duet)
Carmen: Act IV: C'est toi! - C'est moi!
Carmen: Act IV: Ou vas-tu? - Laisse-moi!

Tracks:

Les nuits d'ete, Op.7: Villanelle
Les nuits d'ete, Op.7: Le spectre de la rose
Les nuits d'ete, Op.7: Sur les lagunes
Les nuits d'ete, Op.7: Absence
Les nuits d'ete, Op.7: Au cimetiere (Clair de lune)
Les nuits d'ete, Op.7: L'ile inconnue
Four Last Songs: Fruhling
Four Last Songs: September
Four Last Songs: Beim Schlafengehen
Four Last Songs: Im Abendrot
Clair de lune, Op.46, No.2: Clair de lune
Notre amour, Op.23, No.2: Notre amour
Au cimetiere, Op.51, No.2: Au cimetiere
Au bord de l'eau, Op.8, No.1: Au bord de l'eau
No.1, Cinq melodies de Venise, Op.58: Mandoline
Main dominee par le coeur
Miroirs brulants No.2: Je nommerai ton front
Miroirs brulants No.1: Tu vois le feu du soir
Ce doux petit visage

Tracks:

Knoxville: Summer Of 1915, Op.24: Knoxville: Summer Of 1915
Frauenliebe und -leben, op.42: Seit ich ihn gesehen
Frauenliebe und -leben, op.42: Er, der Herrlichste von allen
Frauenliebe und -leben, op.42: Ich kann's nicht fassen
Frauenliebe und -leben, op.42: Du Ring an meinem Finger
Frauenliebe und -leben, op.42: Helft mir, ihr Schwestern
Frauenliebe und -leben, op.42: Susser Freund, du blickest
Frauenliebe und -leben, op.42: An meinem Herzen, an meiner Brust
Frauenliebe und -leben, op.42: Nun hast du mir den ersten Schmerz getan
Widmung (No.1, Myrthen, Op.25): Widmung
Mignon (No.28, Liederalbum fur die Jugend, Op.79): Mignon
Volksliedchen, Op.51, No.2: Volksliedchen
Schone Wiege meiner Leiden (No.5, Liederkreis, Op.24): Schone Wiege meiner Leiden
Er ist's (No.23, Liederalbum fur die Jugend, Op.79): Er ist's
Heiss mich nicht reden (No.5, Lieder und Gesand aus Wilhelm Meister)
Lust der Sturmnacht, Op.35, No.1: Lust der Sturmnacht
Allerseelen, Op.10, No.8: Allerseelen
Schlagende Herzen
Freundliche Vision, Op.48, No.1: Freundliche Vision
Wie sollten wir geheim, Op.19, No.4: Wie sollten wir geheim
Der Gartner (Morike-Lieder No.17)
Lebe wohl (Morike-Lieder No.36)
Morgentau (From An Old Songbook)
Geh, Geliebter, geh jetzt (Spanisches Liederbuch No.34)

Tracks:

Ev'ry Time I Feel The Spirit - Various Artists
Let Us Break Bread Together On Our Knees - Various Artists
His Name So Sweet - Various Artists
'Roun' About De Mountain - Various Artists
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot - Various Artists
Sit Down, Servant - Various Artists
Were You There - Various Artists
He's Got The Whole World In His Hands - Various Artists
Deep River - Various Artists
Honor! Honor! - Various Artists
My Soul's Been Anchored In De Lord - Various Artists
On Ma Journey - Various Artists
A City Called Heaven - Various Artists
Ride On, King Jesus - Various Artists
I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free - Various Artists
Sinner, Please Don't Let This Harvest Pass - Various Artists
Sweet Little Jesus Boy - Various Artists
There Is A Balm In Gilead - Various Artists
Let Us Cheer The Weary Traveler - Various Artists
Ev'ry Time I Feel The Spirit - Various Artists
My Way Is Cloudy - Various Artists
Nobody Knows The Touble I've Seen - Various Artists
I Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray - Various Artists

Tracks:

Holy, Holy, Holy
Lead, Kindly Light
Blessed Assurance
Ave Maria
What A Friend We Have In Jesus
Amazing Grace
The Lord's Prayer
Pass Me Not, O Gentle Saviour
The Church's One Foundation
Bless This House
I Need Thee Every Hour
Fairest Lord Jesus
I Wonder As I Wander
Ave Maria
Porgy And Bess: Summertime
America The Beautiful
Lift Ev'ry Voice And Sing
A Mighty Fortress Is Our God
Battle Hymn Of The Republic

Tracks:

Chants tziganes, Op. 103: He Zigeuner
Chants tziganes, Op. 103: Hochgeturmte Rimaflut
Chants tziganes, Op. 103: Wisst ihr, wann mein Kindchen
Chants tziganes, Op. 103: Lieber Gott, du weisst
Chants tziganes, Op. 103: Brauner Bursche
Chants tziganes, Op. 103: Roselein dreie in der Reihe
Chants tziganes, Op. 103: Kommt dir manchmal in den Sinn
Chants tziganes, Op. 103: Rote Abendwolken
Adriana Lecouvreur: Act I: Io son l'umile ancella
This Little Light O'Mine
Interview With Leontyne Price By John Pfeiffer

Amazon.com

This 11-CD set, one might say jokingly, contains all the music ever written for the soprano voice and a bit for mezzo as well. And indeed, it's a staggering collection: In addition to her great Verdi heroines (the two Leonoras, Aida, Amelia, and Elvira in Ernani), Price is heard in her Puccini roles--Manon Lescaut, Butterfly, Tosca--and at least two dozen other roles, most of which she never sang on stage. Here are her heroic, secure Leonore in Fidelio, Strauss's high-flying Egyptian Helen, Purcell's Dido, Barber's Cleopatra, Bellini's Norma, Ariadne, Verdi's Violetta and Desdemona, Bizet's Carmen, Mozart's Countess, and Fiordiligi. Some are, naturally, more successful than others; almost none are embarrassing (Carmen comes close). In addition, she sings songs by Schubert, Schumann, and Strauss--none of them as well as say, Janet Baker or Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, and Barber's Knoxville, etc.--quite beautifully. Berlioz's Les Nuits d'été is not very good, but a group of spirituals is. In all, however, this is an amazing display by one of the century's greatest sopranos. There may be no new depths plumbed here, but the singing is a knockout. --Robert Levine

Customer Reviews:

A Long Time Coming..........2006-03-30

This compilation of Ms. Price's career is almost as complete as anything I've ever come across!!
An American Icon....I will forever be a loyal fan and admirer!!

Her Best Album.......2006-01-01

Along with the equally extensive "Prima Donna Collection" this is Leontyne Price's best album. Anyone who wants to become familiarized with her vocal technique and her art on record should own this album. It features her best work ever recorded. A lot of these arias and their respective soprano roles were not roles she sang on stage. Leontyne Price was not only a consummate artist, but a cautious one. The reason these arias, Lieder, Gospel and spirituals sound so beautiful and technically brilliant is because Leontyne was smart enough to sing them infrequently and in concert form. She did not take on new roles other than her repetitive Aidas, Leonoras, Butterfly, Toscas and Madame Lidoins, etc, because she was afraid of ruining her glorious voice too soon as many of her contemporary sopranos. Like soprano Zinka Milanov, Leontyne Price preserved the freshness and vitality of her voice through "operatic abstinence". Thus, the Norma, Salome, Manon, Lady Macbeth and even Traviata we hear on this album are well-rendered because she did NOT sing them on stage. She would have worn out her beautiful voice if she sung so many roles.

This collection is overwhelming. Leontyne Price proves herself to be a masterful artist of diverse repertoire. Pity she didn't really sing these on stage because she would have put Maria Callas and all the reigning divas before and after her to shame. Listen to her remarkable, unsurpassed Mozart repertoire. This she did sing in opera houses, probably because Mozart does not require a true lyrico-spinto heavyness and smaller opera houses can accomodate Mozartian voices that do not often rise above the staff/orchestra. She sang exquisite Fiordiligis at the Met. The arias from Cosi Fan Tutte here - Soave sia il vento, O Guarda Sorelle and the fiendishly difficult vocal showcase "Come Scoglio" with its vertiginious scales are all fine samples of Miss Price's artistry. She sang Susanna and Donna Anna with beauty and bravura. The Salome excerpt is quite thrilling. She would have made a terrific Salome but the role is quite difficult and it would have surely killed her voice. Leontyne Price was the number one Verdi soprano. Every opera cognoscente will tell you that. When you hear the excerpts from Verdi operas here - Lady Macbeth's Sleepwalking Scene, Aida's arias, Leonora's arias from Trovatore and Leonora's arias from Forza Del Destino, particularly La Virgine Del Angeli and the ravishing Pace Pace Mio Dio- are the best renditions of Verdi soprano singing. Anyone who wants to study how to sing in the letter-to-letter Verdi lyrico spinto style should hear these arias. A voice like Leontyne cannot be easily imitated. Maria Callas's own voice can be imitated as Romanian diva Angela Gheorghiu has proven. Leontyne was in a class of her own, a voice that is both dramatic and beautiful to hear. However, most people find fault in her lack of dramatic interpretation. I say they're not hearing hard enough. Yes, there is excessive beauty in her singing but she understood that the opera heroines should sound beautiful because they are beautiful and though I never saw her on stage, from the recordings I hear she sounds dramatic and character-driven enough for me to be satisfied. For a devoted fan of Leontyne Price, this album is the Holy Grail. She sings the most beautiful Norma, Madame Butterfly, Tosca, Aida, Violetta, Madame Lidoin, Suor Angelica, Susanna, Dona Ana, Gilda, Fiordiligi, Desdemona and countless other heroines. The last cd is a collection of Gospel, spirituals and patriotic songs. These "American", non-opera selections find her in beautiful voice and she is actually paying tribute to her roots. She was not only African-American, but a Southerner from Mississippi. Her voice must have been heavenly to hear in Church! This is the album that made me love Leontyne.

Price At Her Peak.......2005-05-02

Originally a Gospel singer, Leontyne Price rose to the heights of operatic superstardom in the 60's and 70's. She enjoyed the same success Maria Callas did in the 50's. Although Callas will forever be most people's idea of the greatest soprano of the 20th century, Leontyne Price was not a force to be reckoned with. In my opinion, and this is just me, she outshone Callas and was the greater singer as far as techinicality and musicianship. Leontyne Price's best work is recorded in this album. It is her best album, together with the Prima Donna Collection. The price is expensive but it's worth every penny. Prepare to be riveted and blown away by the dynamic strength and passion of her voice as it blasts through yours stereo. While many often point out that Leontyne Price was not much of an actress, from a purely operatic/vocal level, her voice was faultless and virtuosic, powerful, passionate, beautiful, lyrical, soulful. Never have I heard a soprano so richly endowed with strong chest register- she could sing the low octaves that are found in the roles of mezzo-soprano voices or contralto voices. But she was a dramatic soprano and that's dramatic with a capital D- all the high C's were there, perfectly in place, and she was a thrilling singer when reaching for the stratosphere with her voice.

This album contains arias from operas that I didn't even know she performed- La Traviata (yes, Leontyne Price as Violetta is a moving and powerful interpretation, executed with sublime beauty. She finds herself the equal to Callas in the role- for Callas had a big voice for a role that calls for the "dying" effect. Thus, Price, like Callas, could sing roles that call for beauty and not just dramatic vigor. It's unfortunate that unlike the stars that were rising in her time- Joan Sutherland, Beverly Sills and Montserrat Caballe- Price never mastered the bel canto repertoire - Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini (although she sang a sensational Norma, excerpts are found in this recording). But her strongest suit was Verdi. She had the voice Verdi was looking for in a soprano- rich, dramatic, beautiful, able to fill up the lines with smoky and velvety hues and a gleaming high top. Check out her Amelia in Un Ballo In Maschera, her Leonora in Trovatore, her Leonora in La Forza Del Destino. Of course, her greatest role, her signature role, and one which she connected with on a personal/ancestral level was that of Aida. The first selections in this recording are from that masterpiece. As Aida, she was at her best. It was easy for her somehow, when most other sopranos tackle the role with difficulty. She conveys grace, nobility, passion and spirituality in the role of the tragic Ethiopian princess.

Further roles she excelled in that are on this recording is Desdemona in Otello, which she sung opposite Placido Domingo. Their masterful voices blend together harmonically and gloriously in the Act 1 Love Duet. She's quite the ground-breaking artist. Most Violettas in Traviata or Desdemona in Otello are Caucasian lyric soprano (Desdemona was white, Otello was black, that was Shakespeare's intention) but in opera, race does not matter and Leontyne Price's voice made her a star in a time when it was incredibly difficult for a black woman to sing opera. From the start of the century, opera was always associated with white Europeans and later on Americans. But Leontyne Price followed the inspirational example of the gutsy contralto Marian Anderson, who suffered a lot of rejection in opera due to skin color in pre-Civil Rights Movement 30's, 40's and 50's. Finally in the late 50's, Anderson, after a lifetime of singing only in private concerts and recitals, debuted at the Met as Ulrica in Un Ballo. Leontyne Price immediately picked up where she left- singing all the soprano diva roles typically associated with white singers - especially Tosca. Her Tosca is second to her Aida. As Tosca, she encompasses the diva who dies for love in the most thrilling way.

Other than Tosca, Puccini heroines were just as magnificent vehicles for her voice. She sang Madame Butterfly to great acclaim. I dont know how she did it but she suddenly ceased to be herself and became the frail, naive, lovesick Japanese Geisha. Softness and fragility is also mixed with the maturity of a woman in love, with passion and dramatic vocal color. She sang La Rondine with equal success, though this role is more along the lines of Violetta/Traviata. She sang Suor Angelica, she sang in modern works such as Barber's Antony and Cleopatra- in that infamous Zefferelli production- she sang Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, she sang in Dialoge of the Carmelites. All these are on here, along with her Baroque specialties- Dido in Dido and Aeneas. Her Mozart voice is also the best I've heard, really, even with a more dramatic and beautiful charm than other singers I've heard. She sang the acrobatic role of Fiordiligi in Cosi Fan Tutte, both Dona Ana and Donva Elvira in Don Giovanni. I prefer her as Dona Ana, she is all fire, despair, intensity and repressed desire, but she sings a hysterical and lovesick Elvira with a passion as well. She even sang the Countess in Le Nozze Di Figaro. But the sky was the limit to Price. She even sang, in a Jessie Norman way, the Wagner role of Isolde. Her "Liebestod" is the greatest I've heard since Birgit Nilsson, with a passion that stemmed from her religious Gospel heart.
This is a great album and I recommend it to any fan of Price and any fan of opera in general. If you have never heard Price and want to start somewhere, start with this one. This one or the Prima Donna Collection.

of course world class.......2000-08-14

Price is amazing. I will have to also mention that Joan Sutherland in the 1960 is even more incredible, if that's possible. Check Dame Joan out, you will not be sorry. But Price is a D flawless diamond set by Cartier, in my opinion.

the greatest american soprano of the 20th century.......1999-12-12

This collection of arias, art songs, and spirituals is truly amazing for the sheer breadth and depth of this soprano's artistry. It is hard to imagine any Verdi soprano after Ms. Price who could offer us the smoky richness of her vocal color, and there are so many wonderful selections, many of them being roles she did not perform on stage. Among my personal favorites are her scene from Dialogues of the Carmelites, the Letter Scene from Eugene Onegin, and the drama of her Lady Macbeth. For those of us who heard Ms. Price over the years in opera and concert, this collection brings back wonderful memories...It is truly a must-have for any serious opera lover.

Music Review:

Music Review

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