Into Heaven

Track Listings
 
1. Into Heaven
2. There Once Was A Time
3. Your Hands Lie Open
4. In Somebody's Eyes
5. My Fortune
6. Are You Thinking Of Me
7. Path Of Heart
8. Flying
9. In A Canoe
10. Skating Away On The Thin Ice Of A New Day

Editorial Reviews
THE NIGHT GUIDE
"A Beautiful Album! "There Once Was A Time" will appeal to the masses. An artist to watch out for!

Product Description
A collection of lushly hypnotic and symphonic tunes. Into Heaven, the debut CD from Sun Palace, is full of richly textured guitars, ambient layers of keyboards, synths, drum loops, dreamy harmony vocals, and a solid foundation of bass and drums. The evocative words and melodies from singer/songwriter Andriette Redmann are sweetly sung, soaring at times and emotionally delivered.

Into Heaven

Into Heaven,Sun Palace,Drake Entertainment,A collection of lushly hypnotic and symphonic tunes full of richly textured guitars, ambient layers of keyboards, synths, drum loops, dreamy harmony vocals, and a solid foundation of bass and drums.,Pop,Rock

Into Heaven

Into Heaven
DEBUT ~ Nathan Gunn - "American Anthem" from Ragtime to Art Song / Kevin Murphy
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • okay
  • A promise about to be fulfilled
  • Amazing collection - amazing voice.
  • Amazing recordings
  • First Rate Singing!
 DEBUT ~ Nathan Gunn - "American Anthem" from Ragtime to Art Song / Kevin Murphy
Nathan Gunn , and Kevin Murphy
Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:
  1. Just Before Sunrise
  2. Barber: Prayers of Kierkegaard/Bartok: Cantata profanna/Vaughan Williams: Dona nobis pacem
  3. Brahms: A German Requiem (New English Adaptation)
  4. John Adams: Shaker Loops; The Wound-Dresser; Short Ride in a Fast Machine
  5. Prokofiev - War and Peace / Bertini, Gunn, Kit, Mamsirova, Gouriakova, Brubaker, Paris Opera

ASIN: B00000IWW3
Release Date: 1999-05-18

Tracks:

  1. Shenandoah
  2. Brother Can You Spare A Dime?
  3. Early In The Morning
  4. The Lordly Hudson
  5. At Howard Hawks' House
  6. Holding Each Other
  7. The Lass From The Low Countree
  8. Recuerdo
  9. Nocturne
  10. Sure On This Shining Night
  11. Fur (Murray The Furrier)
  12. Over The Piano
  13. Black Max (As Told By The De Kooning Boys)
  14. Slugging A Vampire
  15. Two Little Flowers
  16. General William Booth Enters Into Heaven
  17. The Lamb
  18. I Wonder As I Wander
  19. At The River
  20. Long Time Ago
  21. Lean Away
  22. American Anthem

Customer Reviews:

3 out of 5 stars okay.......2007-01-05

I heard wonderful things about this recording... but was a little disappointed. It is good, but nothing spectacular.

4 out of 5 stars A promise about to be fulfilled.......2006-12-17

Not all of EMI's Debut seeries make it to the U.S., but since this one features an American singer, it did (as did the one featuring rising pianist Jonathan Biss). Nathan gunn is certainly well kn0wn now, after high-profile Met appearances in The Magic Flute and Harbison's An American Tragedy. The past few years have seen him mature, even though his voice will never be heroic. Gunn is very well suited to songs, although he makes a moving (and physically handsome) Billy Budd.

Her he sounds a little stiff, and he cannot carry off the numbers that re comic (Bolcom's Fur) or popular (Buddy, Can You Spare a Dime?), but his straightforward masculinity works extremely well in Gene Scheer's Holding Each Other, he has enough poetry for Barber's Sure on This Shining Night, and just enough savoir faire for Rorem's Early One Morning. The voice itself isn't intrinsically beautiful, which may in the end mean that Gunn falls behind young counterparts like Gerald Finley and Simon Keenlyside, both of whom he resembles. Even so, this is a nice debut, and one can say that gunn's promise is being fulfilled.

5 out of 5 stars Amazing collection - amazing voice........2006-02-22

Nathan Gunn has chosen a collection of mostly obscure songs and has applied his remarkable baritone voice to music not usually in the operatic repetoire. What results is a CD of depth, some humor, and extraordinary listenability. It's nice to see one of my favorite opera stars branch out. Bravo!

5 out of 5 stars Amazing recordings.......2006-01-02

I first listened to this recording at the recommendation of a voice teacher and I am eternally grateful. I strongly recommend this album. Nathan Gunn is an extremely talented singer. As a singer myself (also a baritone like Nathan Gunn) I find much in his voice to model.

Nathan Gunn has an extremely beautiful voice, superb technique and execution, and has a very natural sound. There is an old steriotype of opera as sounding forced or artificial, but Nathan Gunn does a great job of avoiding this. He does a great job of communicating the "story" of the song to the listener, and I frequently found myself taken to the world of the song. Listening to many of his songs are like opening a good book and Nathan Gunn takes you there.

Highly recommended.

5 out of 5 stars First Rate Singing!.......2005-12-20

I only recently discovered Mr. Gunn, but after hearing this recording, it makes me wonder why his name has eluded me for so long. Simply put, Nathan Gunn sings like a god! His voice is pure, and hypnotically beautiful to listen to. Turn on this CD and you will be wrapped in the most luxurious blanket of sound--his phrasing is impeccable, and his dynamics are wonderfully varied without being affected. His recording of Barber's "Nocturne" is haunting. "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime" shows he isn't afraid of low notes, and the ending has some of the most spectacular high notes I've ever heard from a baritone. The Copland songs are also well done, as are the two John Jacob Niles selections. I wasn't familiar with Gene Scheer's songs prior to this CD, but they are all quite remarkable, though most especially "Lean Away" and "American Anthem." This is the best addition to my CD collection in a long time. I'm only saddened by the fact he doesn't have more recordings available. Mr. Gunn, I know you're busy with your opera schedule, but for those of us who can't make it to New York to see you in person, please record another CD!
John Rutter Collection
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Smooth As Silk
  • John Rutter Collection is glorious!
  • John Rutter Collection
  • Typically gorgeous Rutter
  • Wonderful!
 John Rutter Collection
Rutter , Cambridge Singers , and London Sinfonia
Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:
  1. The John Rutter Christmas Album
  2. Requiem & Magnificat/Rutter, Cambridge Singers
  3. Be Thou My Vision
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  5. Gloria: The Sacred Music of John Rutter

ASIN: B00006LIEZ
Release Date: 2002-11-12

Tracks:

  1. For The Beauty Of The Earth
  2. The Lord Is My Shepherd
  3. All Things Bright And Beautiful
  4. Shepherd's Pipe Carol
  5. The Lord Bless You And Keep You
  6. Open Thou Mine Eyes
  7. My True Love Hath My Heart (From Birthday Madrigals)
  8. Esurientes (From Magnificat)
  9. Gloria Patri (From Magnificat)
  10. Out Of The Deep (From Requiem)
  11. Pie Jesu (From Requiem)
  12. What Sweeter Music
  13. A Choral Fanfare
  14. A Prayer Of St. Patrick
  15. O Be Joyful In The Lord
  16. Behold, The Tabernacle Of God
  17. O Praise The Lord Of Heaven
  18. A Gaelic Blessing
  19. Angel's Carol
  20. Matthew, Mark, Luke And John (From Five Childhood Lyrics)
  21. Sing A Song Of Sixpence (From Five Childhood Lyrics)
  22. Go Forth Into The World In Peace

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Smooth As Silk.......2007-08-03

This is a potpourri of Mr. Rutter's compositions, sung by the peerless Cambridge Singers. Buy it only if you want outstanding music that cures the senses.

5 out of 5 stars John Rutter Collection is glorious!.......2007-07-23

This music begins my day in uplifting way. Each day a different piece catches my attention. I am so glad to have it.

5 out of 5 stars John Rutter Collection.......2007-02-19

This CD is one of several that features Rutter directing his own choir. It has a good cross section of the John Rutter compositions, and is a good starting place for someone who has not heard Rutter's music before. I think you will be "hooked" if you really love choral music.

4 out of 5 stars Typically gorgeous Rutter.......2005-12-20

I love John Rutter's music. Especially the "For the Beauty of the Earth" that is on this CD. Rutter is not the most inventive or varied composer of modern music, but if you have a taste for traditional choral writing with some angelic children's chorus singing, then you will probably share my enjoyment of Rutter's writing. Unfortunately I cannot give this CD 5 stars when it seems there is a drum set tapping annoyingly away on several of the songs. I do not understand this at all and am bothered by it every time I listen to those songs. It's a shame, because otherwise I love the music, and think it is lushly written, and simply but beautifully performed. I would highly suggest listening to sample track 3 before purchasing -- you can hear what sounds like a ride-cymbal right at the very end of the sample. This sound occurs in several of the songs on this recording.

5 out of 5 stars Wonderful!.......2005-12-03

I am a huge John Rutter fan. The lilting melodies, the poignant lyrics and the lush orchestrations make his music not only accessable but also uplifting. This compilation, although drawing from many other previous recordings, is a great composite of his wirk. The sound is exquisite. Even if you own other recordings of this music, this is worthwhile.
Maldoror
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Fantastic performances.
  • Dark, Weird & Accessible
 Maldoror

Manufacturer: Brassland Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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  5. Maldoror and the Complete Works of the Comte de Lautréamont

ASIN: B0000E5SJV
Release Date: 2003-11-11

Tracks:

  1. May It Please Heaven
  2. One Should Let One's Fingernails Grow
  3. The Wind Groans
  4. O Stern Mathematics
  5. The Palace Of Pleasures
  6. Here Comes The Madwoman
  7. I Am Filthy
  8. Flights Of Starlings
  9. Be Contemplates The Moon
  10. A Sewing-Machine And An Umbrella

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Fantastic performances........2005-05-02

"Maldoror" is a unique concept, producer Michael Montes put text rom Comte de Lautreamont in front of Friedlander-- the master cellist read the text and improvised what he saw. The results are nothing short of breathtaking.

If you're not familiar with Friedlander's work with John Zorn and others, you're likely in for quite a pleasant surprise-- I can think of very few musicians I have had the pleasure of hearing who possess such a stunning command of their instrument as Friedlander does. His technique is overwhelming, particularly in pizzicato, and as an improviser, he is agile and inventive. These lead to the great strength of this record, namely that Friedlander can through his technique express something much more visceral than one would expect from any musical performance.

The improvisations are largely oriented on texture and space, whether arco or pizzicato-- each note counts, as does each lack of note. Friedlander may have an overwhelming technique, but what makes both him and this recording brilliant is his ability to make decisions about when to show it and when not to. "The Wind Groans", for example, is better served by long tones and understated delivery, to meet the mood of the piece he read, then it is by any show of powerful playing.

For fans of improvised music and virtuoso performance, this album is essential. Highly recommended.

5 out of 5 stars Dark, Weird & Accessible.......2004-01-12

I bought this because I saw a piece on Erik and this record in the Wire, a magazine I really trust. And though it's not the kind of thing I usually pick up, I love Maldoror. It consists of dark and atmospheric cello scraping, bowing, plucking, and pulling -- all improvised. I know, I know, it sounds like it'd be really weird and inaccessible, but there's something about Friedlander's sense of melody, his technique, and his ability to compose on the fly that makes this a record a classy little thing. It makes me think of dark moments, French films, and John Coltrane's best work. Try it. You'll like it.
Reel Chill: The Cinematic Chillout Album
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • "cinema's main stay themes prevail ~ City of Prague"
 Reel Chill: The Cinematic Chillout Album

Manufacturer: Silva America
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0002IQGT4
Release Date: 2004-08-10

Tracks:

  1. Sarabande [From Barry Lyndon]
  2. Main Theme [From Midnight Cowboy]
  3. Promenade Sentimentale [From Dive] - Mark Ayres
  4. May It Be [From the Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the]
  5. Women of Ireland [From Barry Lyndon]
  6. Adagio for Strings & Organ [From Gallipoli [
  7. Romeo/Love Theme [From Romeo & Juliet)
  8. Balcony Scene [From Romeo + Juliet]
  9. Main Theme [From Chariots of Fire] - Mark Ayres
  10. Main Theme [From Bilitis] - Mark Ayres
  11. Main Theme [From Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence] - Mark Ayres
  12. Main Theme [From Cinema Paradiso]
  13. Main Theme [From Once Upon A Time in the West]
  14. Deborah's Theme [From Once Upon A Time in America]
  15. Suite: The Mission/Gabriel's Oboe/On Earth as It Is in Heaven ... - City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, Crouch End Festival Chorus

Tracks:

  1. Suite: Mountains and Sunsets/The Wedding/You Only Live Twice [From You
  2. Heart Asks Pleasure First [From The Piano]
  3. Agnus Dei [From Platoon] - Crouch End Festival Chorus
  4. Vide Cor Meum [From Hannibal]
  5. Adagietto from Symphony No. 5 [From DeAth in Venice]
  6. Any Other Name/Dead Already [from American Beauty] - Rick Clark,
  7. Into the West [From the Lord of the Rings: Return of the King]
  8. Where Dreams Are Made [From Artificial Intelligence]
  9. Main Theme [From Somewhere in Time]
  10. We Have All the Time in the World [From on Her Majesty's Secret ...]
  11. Electronic Battlefield [From Patriot Games]
  12. Now We Are Free [From Gladiator]
  13. Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana [From Raging Bull]
  14. Cavatina [From the DeErhunter]
  15. Main Theme [From Out of Africa]

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars "cinema's main stay themes prevail ~ City of Prague".......2004-08-15

What a crowning achievement to bring "Reel Chill:Cinematic Chillout Album", released by Silva America and featuring The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and the Crouch End Festival Chorus ~ conductors are Mark Ayres, Paul Bateman, Rick Clark, James Fitzpatrick, Nic Raine and David Temple director of the chorus ~ one can only expect the highest quality of performances and quench the thirst of all "film-score-buffs".

Sit back and unleash the first disc with composers ~ Albinoni, Craig Armstrong, John Barry, Vladimir Cosma, Enya & Nicky Ryan, Handel, Francis Lai, Ennio Morricone, Sean O'Riorda, Nino Rota, Ryvichi Sakamoto and Vangelis ~ taking each film score cue "BILITIS", "CHARIOTS OF FIRE", "CINEMA PARADISO", "DIVA", "GALLIPOLI", "THE LORD OF THE RINGS:THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING", "BARRY LYNDON", "MERRY CHRISTMAS MR. LAWRENCE", "MIDNIGHT COWBOY", "THE MISSION", "ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA", "ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST", "ROMEO & JULIET" and "ROMEO + JULIET", with arrangements that soar and then simmer into pure meditation of grandeur ~ classic film music prevails, as orchestration comes to the surface with pure originality ~ one masterpiece after another is long last presented as it should have been, is cause for celebration ~ each cue is a distinctive gift for striking modernism, touching on the transition of the period in this planets history.

Second disc is waiting in the wings are composers ~ Samuel Barber, John Barry, Patrick Cassidy, James Horner, Mahler, Mascagni, Stanley Myers, Thomas Newman, Michael Nyman, Howard Shore, John Williams and Hans Zimmer/Lisa Gerrard ~ take a musical ride with "AMERICAN BEAUTY", "A.I. ARTIFICAL INTELLIGENCE", "DEATH IN VENICE", "DEER HUNTER", "GLADIATOR", "HANNIBAL", "THE LORD OF THE RINGS:RETURN OF THE KING", "ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE", "OUT OF AFRICA", "PATRIOT GAMES", "THE PIANO", "PLATOON", "RAGING BULL", "SOMEWHERE IN TIME" and "YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE" ~ our composers with passion and skill for exploring human emotions, coupled with a unique gift for striking exotic orchestral colors, make this with all it's splendor unforgettable ~ themes that ring with familiarity as each film comes to mind through music.

Silva America gives the collector a treasure of thirty film cues that any "film-score-buff" would die for ~ in the past James Fitzpatrick (producer), Reynold da Silva (executive producer), mastered by Rick Clark and David Stoner (release co-ordinator) have given us compilation with such expertise and this one is no exception ~ keep up the outstanding limited editions and deluxe package releases, with your signature tidbits for all film music fans that's in all of us...gotta love it!

Total Time: 2-CD-Set ~ Silva America 1161 ~ (8/10/2004)
Ives: An American Journey
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • A superb evening of Ives, the best in decades
  • Something of a disappointment
  • a wonderful summary
  • Ives is Ives
  • The Mood of Time
 Ives: An American Journey
Michael Tilson Thomas , Charles Ives , San Francisco Symphony and Chorus , and Thomas Hampson
Manufacturer: RCA
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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  2. Ives: Symphony No. 2 & Symphony No. 3/Bernstein Discusses Charles Ives
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ASIN: B00005UED6
Release Date: 2002-02-05

Tracks:

  1. From The Steeples And The Mountains
  2. The Things Our Fathers Loved
  3. The Pond (Remembrance)
  4. Memories
  5. Charlie Rutlage
  6. The Circus Band
  7. The "St. Gaudens" In Boston Common
  8. Putnam's Camp
  9. The Housatonic At Stockbridge
  10. In Flanders Fields
  11. They Are There!
  12. Tom Sails Away
  13. Fugue From Symphony No. 4
  14. Psalm 100
  15. Serenity
  16. General William Booth Enters Into Heaven
  17. The Unanswered Question

Amazon.com

Michael Tilson Thomas is an expert Ivesian. His 1970 recording debut was with Three Places in New England, still available from DG. Here, he redoes the work with the interpolation of a chorus singing the poem on which the last movement, "The Housatonic at Stockbridge," is based--unusual, not as effective as the orchestral version, but fascinating. Tilson Thomas cites Ives's desire for performers to creatively shape his music, and this disc vindicates his editorial liberties by making Ives's surprising music even more unpredictable. The choral contributions are fine, too, but baritone Thomas Hampson steals the show with seven songs that display his empathy with Ives's varied styles and the range of the composer's music, from cowboy songs to touching elegies. The way Hampson bellows a Brooklynese "Coytin" (for "Curtain") at the end of the first song of Memories is worth the price of purchase. Here's a disc to be entertained by, and moved as well. The recording was made at SFS concerts, and we're privileged to share the audience's experience. A must-have for Ivesians and the curious. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars A superb evening of Ives, the best in decades.......2005-12-18

Tilson Thomas's PR team should put out a ocntract on me; I rarely express enthusiasm for him. So let me bow especially low to this superlative 1999 concert of Ives as viewed from his most melodic, least revolutionary perspective. This is Ives as recording angel of ice cream socials and Fourth of July parades.

In the Seventies MTT made good but not exceptioanl recordings of Ives's major orchestral works. Here he concentrates on songs and orchestral bits and pieces, except for the extended Three Places in New England, which is x-rayed with exceptionally detailed sonics. Thomas Hampson secures his position as the best singer of American songs with highly dramatized, unbuttoned singing--his Charlie Rutlage, a Texas-accented elegy for a fallen cowpoke, and the familiar General William Booth Enters Into Heaven are instant classics. Chorus and orchestra enter in the spirit of bumptious good cheer, and overall a good time was had by all, even though the crowd was sent home sobered up by the supernaturally melancholy Unanswered Question, which never fails to send a shiver through the listener.

3 out of 5 stars Something of a disappointment.......2004-01-12

I was very much looking forward to the latest Ives recording from Michael Tilson Thomas, whose reputation as an Ives specialist began with his first recording of the Three Pieces in New England, made in 1970 when the conductor was only in his mid-20s. That this disc came some way from living up to my expectations is perhaps due to a combination of over-optimism, uneven performances and what I feel is a less-than-ideal selection of works.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with the opening of the disc: a fine performance of the craggy, dissonant brass and percussion work From the Steeples and the Mountains, a highly impressive miniature which swells from its dissonant opening to a climax where sound seems to echo off in all directions. However, I'm less convinced with the rest of the purely-orchestral program: this reading of Ives' classic Three Pieces of New England lacks a little of the gracious flowing lines of Tilsom Thomas' earlier 1970 recording; in addition the experiment of adding a recently-found choral part to the finale merely demonstrates how right the composer was to leave it out. For his extract from the Fourth Symphony, Tilson Thomas chooses the slow movement fugue. I am guessing this choice was to emphasise the "accessible Ives", but this is by far the weakest movement of the work (it was in fact arranged from the first movement of Ives' then 20-year-old First String Quartet), and even a good performance--as here--can't entirely hide up its conservative, almost academic writing. That perennial Ives classic The Unanswered Question, which closes the work, is an infinitely finer work, but unfortunately Tilson Thomas cannot match the transcendence of his own--distinctly slower--Chicago Symphony Orchestra recording from 1986.

The rest of the disc concentrates on various incarnations of Ives' bewildering variety of songs, and as a result comes into partial competition with what is to my mind one of the finest Ives discs around--a recording of selections from the songs and the sets for orchestra with Susan Narucki, Sanford Sylvan and Music/Projects London under Richard Bernas (if you're an Ives fan and don't have this disc, I suggest you rectify this immediately). The songs are extremely uneven in quality--ranging from trivial kitsch to outright masterpieces--and their styles vary just as much.

Most of these songs appear here in orchestral garb, but in three of them Tilson Thomas accompanies Thomas Hampson's baritone on the piano himself. The salon song The Things our Fathers Loved is one of the examples of irreparable kitsch, but rather better is the bipartite Memories which switches from camp to sentimental at its midpoint. In contrast, Tom Sails Away is one of Ives' finest songs, but in this recording its effect is compromised by Tilson Thomas' rather insensitive playing in the piano part.

The Pond (Remembrance)--another of Ives' finest songs--appears here in a version for women's chorus and orchestra. This transcendental homage to the composer's father is in fact much more subtle and rhythmically complex than it appears at first, and it has appeared in a bewildering variety of versions (three of which appear on the Bernas disc mentioned earlier). Similarly restrained in means is John Adams' careful baritone-and-orchestra version of the touching song Serenity: it's well-judged and well-sung here, and Adams avoids the pitfalls that David Del Tredici walks into in his entirely unnecessary orchestration of In Flanders Fields.

By contrast, Charlie Rutlage is an absurdly over-the-top piece of cowboy kitsch that disintegrates into violent discords as the words describe Charlie's death: this voice-and-orchestra version isn't half as good as Sanford Sylvan's voice-and-piano reading on the Bernas disc. Similarly eccentric is The Circus Band, a bizarrely outrageous confection for chorus and orchestra (based on an early orchestral march) that lacks some of the lustre of similar Ives effects. The bizarre Ives is also at work They are There! This near-hysterial rant (not actually as militaristic as it sounds at first) is heard in a chorus-and-orchestral version that lacks something of the sheer outrageousness of Ives' own voice-and-piano recording (even though Tilson Thomas takes an effort to try to copy the style of that reading).

The chorus-and-organ setting of Psalm 100 ("Make a joyful noise unto the Lord") is an intriguing piece of writing that well merits its exposure here, though it can't match General William Booth Enters Into Heaven for sheer unbuttoned craziness. This setting of Vachel Lindsay's poem, heard here in a version for baritone, chorus and orchestra is one of Ives' most endearing creations: its remarkable mix of modernism, bizarre wit and sentimentality, topped off with the sudden introduction of a hymn tune at the climax, is typical of the composer at his best. Unfortunately, this performance misses out on the last edge of hysterical ecstasy that is so necessary for the work to have its full impact (in my opinion it's easier to bring off in the voice-and-piano version).

I realise I am perhaps being overcritical of this disc, but it seems to me that a disc by such a fine Ivesian as Tilson Thomas should be held to a very high standrd. Though I was personally disappointed by this recording, it may well appeal to those who know little of the composer: however, I fear that Ives specialists are likely to be underwhelmed.

4 out of 5 stars a wonderful summary.......2002-12-21

Charles Ives has always been a puzzle to me. From time to time I have listened to his music with a complete lack of resolution. Did I actually like it? Is it just an American marketing phenomena? Would we hear as much of him if he were, say, an Australian composer? I am still totally uncertain, but I love this CD for its variety of styles, variety of forces and general good humour. If you are immediately dismissive of Ives, can I suggest you start with the two songs called 'Memories'? Have a listen to this CD with an open mind - you may not like it all - even most of it - but one thing is certain and that is that this is not run-of-the-mill music.

5 out of 5 stars Ives is Ives.......2002-06-15

I grew up on movie soundtracks and scores from the likes of Bernard Herrmann, Dimitri Tiomkin, Alex North and others. We have lost many of these composers but not their music they have left us through the years. That's a gift to all of us. I have been slowly looking at "20th century" composers from the "classical" arena to enhance my listening pleasure and my nature or "quest" to always seek out music that I am certain I must have passed over. I discovered Charles Ives after reading up further on Aaron Copland and his foray into many diverse areas of musical composition. One door opens another. Ives' name and compositions seem to have come up frequently. So far Charles Ives' music doesn't have the melodic quality of Copland or many contemporaries yet it does seem to have roots resulting in American musical motifs very strangely orchestrated resulting in some twisted profoundness. What attracts me is how Ives' music almost seems as if it were composed for film. Ives is Ives as I have found out. I enjoy this recording. It is strange, contemplative and definitely esoteric. Abrupt turns abound but that is the strength of Ives.

5 out of 5 stars The Mood of Time.......2002-06-15

This collection of Ives compositions is exceptional. This CD makes for very good listening. I play it when I am alone in the car. The pensive music realy captures the mood of time.
Songs of Charles Ives and Ernst Bacon
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    		Songs of Charles Ives and Ernst Bacon

    Manufacturer: Composers Recordings
    ProductGroup: Music
    Binding: Audio CD

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    ASIN: B000005TWQ
    Release Date: 2001-04-24

    Tracks:

    1. Abide With Me - Helen Boatwright/John Kirkpatrick
    2. Walking - Helen Boatwright/John Kirkpatrick
    3. Where The Eagle - Helen Boatwright/John Kirkpatrick
    4. Disclosure - Helen Boatwright/John Kirkpatrick
    5. The White Gulls - Helen Boatwright/John Kirkpatrick
    6. Two Little Flowers - Helen Boatwright/John Kirkpatrick
    7. The Greatest Man - Helen Boatwright/John Kirkpatrick
    8. The Children's Hour - Helen Boatwright/John Kirkpatrick
    9. Berceuse - Helen Boatwright/John Kirkpatrick
    10. Ann Street - Helen Boatwright/John Kirkpatrick
    11. General William Booth Enters Into Heaven - Helen Boatwright/John Kirkpatrick
    12. Autumn - Helen Boatwright/John Kirkpatrick
    13. Swimmers - Helen Boatwright/John Kirkpatrick
    14. Evening - Helen Boatwright/John Kirkpatrick
    15. Harpalus - Helen Boatwright/John Kirkpatrick
    16. Tarrant Moss - Helen Boatwright/John Kirkpatrick
    17. Serenity - Helen Boatwright/John Kirkpatrick
    18. At The River - Helen Boatwright/John Kirkpatrick
    19. The See'r - Helen Boatwright/John Kirkpatrick
    20. Maple Leaves - Helen Boatwright/John Kirkpatrick
    21. '1, 2, 3' - Helen Boatwright/John Kirkpatrick
    22. Tom Sails Away - Helen Boatwright/John Kirkpatrick
    23. He Is There! - Helen Boatwright/John Kirkpatrick
    24. In Flanders Fields - Helen Boatwright/John Kirkpatrick
    25. It's All I Have To Bring - Helen Boatwright/Ernst Bacon
    26. Eden - Helen Boatwright/Ernst Bacon
    27. I'm Nobody - Helen Boatwright/Ernst Bacon
    28. As Well As Jesus? - Helen Boatwright/Ernst Bacon
    29. A Word - Helen Boatwright/Ernst Bacon
    30. Weeping And Sighing - Helen Boatwright/Ernst Bacon
    31. O Friend - Helen Boatwright/Ernst Bacon
    32. She Went - Helen Boatwright/Ernst Bacon
    33. A Threadless Way - Helen Boatwright/Ernst Bacon
    34. The Imperial Heart - Helen Boatwright/Ernst Bacon
    35. Summer's Lapse - Helen Boatwright/Ernst Bacon
    36. Is There Such A Thing As Day? - Helen Boatwright/Ernst Bacon
    37. To Make A Prairie - Helen Boatwright/Ernst Bacon
    38. A Spider - Helen Boatwright/Ernst Bacon
    39. The Grass So Little Has To Do - Helen Boatwright/Ernst Bacon
    40. The Snake - Helen Boatwright/Ernst Bacon
    41. So Bashful - Helen Boatwright/Ernst Bacon
    42. Alabaster Wool - Helen Boatwright/Ernst Bacon
    43. Eternity - Helen Boatwright/Ernst Bacon
    44. Sunset - Helen Boatwright/Ernst Bacon
    45. The Simple Days - Helen Boatwright/Ernst Bacon
    46. On This Wondrous Sea - Helen Boatwright/Ernst Bacon
    Handel - Messiah / Vyvyan · Sinclair · Vickers · Tozzi · Royal PO · Beecham
    Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    • Beecham's noisy Messiah
    • The Big Victorian Handel 'Messiah': Indulge Yourself!
    • Comfort Ye!
    • Familiarity hasn't bred much affection
    • Thanks to Jon!
    		 Handel - Messiah / Vyvyan · Sinclair · Vickers · Tozzi · Royal PO · Beecham
    George Frideric Handel , Sir Thomas Beecham , Jennifer Vyvyan , Monica Sinclair , Royal Philharmonic Orchestra , Jon Vickers , and Giorgio Tozzi
    Manufacturer: RCA
    ProductGroup: Music
    Binding: Audio CD

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    Similar Items:
    1. Handel - Messiah / Harper, Watts, Wakefield, Shirley-Quirk, LSO, C. Davis
    2. Handel: Messiah
    3. Purcell: Dido and Aeneas / James, Lewis, Baker, Herincx
    4. Handel - Joshua / Kirkby, Bowman, Oliver, Ainsley, George, The King's Consort
    5. Samson

    ASIN: B000003FB8
    Release Date: 1992-07-14

    Tracks:

    1. Messiah: Overture - Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
    2. Messiah: Recit: Comfort Ye, My People (Tenor) - Jon Vickers
    3. Messiah: Air: Every Valley Shall Be Exalted (Tenor) - Jon Vickers
    4. Messiah: Chorus: And The Glory Of The Lord - John McCarthy
    5. Messiah: Recit: Thus Saith The Lord Of Hosts (Bass) - Giorgio Tozzi
    6. Messiah: Air: But Who May Abide (Bass) - Giorgio Tozzi
    7. Messiah: Chorus: And He Shall Purify - John McCarthy
    8. Messiah: Recit: Behold, A Virgin Shall Conceive (Contralto) - Monica Sinclair
    9. Messiah: Air & Chorus: O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings (Contralto) - John McCarthy
    10. Messiah: Recit: For, Behold, Darkness Shall Cover (Bass) - Giorgio Tozzi
    11. Messiah: Air: The People That Walked In Darkness (Bass) - Giorgio Tozzi
    12. Messiah: Chorus: For Unto Us A Child Is Born - John McCarthy
    13. Messiah: Pastoral Symphony - Royal Philharmonic Chorus
    14. Messiah: Recit: There Were Shepherds Abiding (Soprano) - Jennifer Vyvyan
    15. Messiah: Recit: And The Angel Said Unto Them (Soprano) - Jennifer Vyvyan
    16. Messiah: Recit: And Suddenly There Was (Soprano) - Jennifer Vyvyan
    17. Messiah: Chorus: Glory To God In The Highest - John McCarthy
    18. Messiah: Air: Rejoice Greatly, O Daughter (Soprano) - Jennifer Vyvyan
    19. Messiah: Recit: Then Shall The Eyes (Contralto) - Monica Sinclair
    20. Messiah: Air: He Shall Feed His Flock; Come Unto Him (Contralto & Soprano) - Monica Sinclair
    21. Messiah: Chorus: His Yoke Is Easy - John McCarthy

    Tracks:

    1. Messiah: Chorus: Behold The Lamb Of God - John McCarthy
    2. Messiah: Air: He Was Despised (Contralto) - Monica Sinclair
    3. Messiah: Chorus: Surely He Hath Borne Our Griefs - John McCarthy
    4. Messiah: Chorus: And With His Stripes We Are Healed - John McCarthy
    5. Messiah: Chorus: All We Like Sheep Have Gone Astray - John McCarthy
    6. Messiah: Recit: All They That See Him (Tenor) - Jon Vickers
    7. Messiah: Chorus: He Trusted In God - John McCarthy
    8. Messiah: Recit: Thy Rebuke Hath Broken His Heart (Tenor) - Jon Vickers
    9. Messiah: Air: Behold, And See If There Be (Tenor) - Jon Vickers
    10. Messiah: Recit: He Was Cut Off Out Of The Land (Tenor) - Jon Vickers
    11. Messiah: Air: But Thou Didst Not Leave (Tenor) - Jon Vickers
    12. Messiah: Chorus: Lift Up Your Heads - John McCarthy
    13. Messiah: Air: How Beautiful Are The Feet (Soprano) - Jennifer Vyvyan
    14. Messiah: Chorus: Their Sound Is Gone Out Into All Lands - John McCarthy
    15. Messiah: Air: Why Do The Nations So Furious Rage (Bass) - Giorgio Tozzi
    16. Messiah: Chorus: Lets Us Break Their Bonds Asunder - John McCarthy
    17. Messiah: Recit: He That Dwelleth In Heaven (Tenor) - Jon Vickers
    18. Messiah: Air: Thou Shalt Break Them (Tenor) - Jon Vickers
    19. Messiah: Chorus: Hallelujah! - John McCarthy
    20. Messiah: Part III - Air: I Know That My Redeemer Liveth (Soprano) - Jennifer Vyvyan
    21. Messiah: Chorus: Since By Man Came Death - John McCarthy
    22. Messiah: Recit: Behold, I Tell You A Mystery (Bass) - Giorgio Tozzi
    23. Messiah: Air: The Trumpet Shall Sound (Bass) - Giorgio Tozzi
    24. Messiah: Chorus: Worthy Is The Lamb - John McCarthy

    Tracks:

    1. Messiah: Recit: Unto Which Of The Angels (Tenor) - Jon Vickers
    2. Messiah: Chorus: Let All The Angels Of God Worship Him - John McCarthy
    3. Messiah: Air: Thou Art Gone Up On High (Bass) - Giorgio Tozzi
    4. Messiah: Chorus: The Lord Gave The Word - John McCarthy
    5. Messiah: Recit: Then Shall Be Brought To Pass (Contralto) - Monica Sinclair
    6. Messiah: Duet: O Death, Where Is Thy Sting? (Contralto & Tenor) - Monica Sinclair
    7. Messiah: Chorus: But Thanks Be To God - John McCarthy
    8. Messiah: Air: If God Be For Us (Soprano) - Jennifer Vyvyan

    Amazon.com essential recording

    Sir Thomas Beecham's Messiah has become notorious among baroque purists (like this writer) for embodying the worst excesses of pre-1960 Handel performance: ponderous tempos, stentorian opera singers, huge lumbering choruses and orchestras, crashing cymbals, clanging triangles.... Well, we'll need a new straw man: this performance is WONDERFUL. Jon Vickers and Giorgio Tozzi negotiate Handel's writing surprisingly well; Jennifer Vyvyan takes to it naturally. The chorus and orchestra (yes, including trombones, tuba, triangle, and cymbals) may obscure the part-writing, but they fill the music with power, grandeur, and faith. If Mozart could re-orchestrate Messiah, why not Beecham? This may not be Handel's Messiah as such, it may even be a period piece itself--but it's magnificent. --Matthew Westphal

    Customer Reviews:

    3 out of 5 stars Beecham's noisy Messiah.......2006-12-23

    Here's the famous Messiah from Thomas Beecham and forces that uses crashing cymbals, enhanced timpani and brass to make it sound like a collusion between classical forces, a rock band and Canadian Brass. Listen to second CD excerpt from "Hallelujah!" for the opening cymbal crash to get an idea of what's going on.

    This performance has been debated for 40 years as to whether it is musically adept, musically correct, an exemplar of the English choral tradition, or just a big old batch of fun at Handel's expense. I first owned this during a time when I also owned a recording Handel's "Royal Fireworks Music" featuring 40 woodwinds. The two made roughly an equal amount of noise.

    There isn't much question this performance is completely out of step with the way Handel is performed in most venues today. Check out the wonderful Jon Vickers' highly operatic opening aria, "Comfort ye", then compare that to any leaned-out period group you've heard. You'll get another idea of the dimension of Beecham's project.

    While not on the agenda of the Flat Earth Society, the only real interest in a performance like this -- especially having to endure it on three CDs when just about everyone else puts it on two -- is nostalgia or history, whichever happens to be the case for you.

    My personal favorite version is in the 4-CD box of "Messiah" and "Israel In Egypt" where Andrew Parrott leads his Taverner Choir & Players and some of the best early music singers including Emma Kirkby, Emily van Evera, Margaret Cable, David Thomas, and Joseph Cornwall. HIs Messiah isn't perfect -- it uses a countertenor for a bass in one aria -- but it is more moderate than most PPP recordings and has a wonderful romantic edge to most of the score. It comes with a top notch recording of "Israel in Egypt" and still costs less than the Beehcham.

    5 out of 5 stars The Big Victorian Handel 'Messiah': Indulge Yourself!.......2006-12-16

    We live in an era when purity of intent and respect for composers' works is at an all time high. Not only are we blessed with superb 'authentic' performances on period instruments and with small choruses and countertenors and state of the art bel canto singers for Handel's evergreen "Messiah", there are many superlative recordings that are as polished as any one work on current recordings. Supposedly we are hearing Messiah the way Handel envisioned it. Perhaps so, but who is to say that had Handel the resources available today he wouldn't have jumped for joy at the drama of the old British Choral Societies version that Sir Thomas Beecham conducts on this anything but dusty recording from many years ago. The 'Old School' had its good points.

    Beecham goes all out with an orchestration, while attributed to Sir Eugene Goosens is also probably some of Beecham's own inimitable tinkering, that adds instruments not only in numbers but also in color and depth of sound. Winds double strings, percussion includes the full battery instead of just tympani, the big cello and viola sound stand equally with the big violin sound, etc. The chorus is huge, and while this allows the big dramatic moments to be intense, the fine diction Beecham demanded remains solidly intact.

    The soloists are in an operatic class of their own. Jennifer Vyvyan and Monica Sinclair were major singers when this recording was made and their singing is big and well ornamented. Jon Vickers and Giorgio Tozzi bring Verdi into the room and he is a welcome visitor to Beecham's vision of this work.

    For this listener, who prefers the 'correct, authentic' performance, this recording and others even older that celebrate the BIG Messiah are a delight. And that just proves that performance standards, no matter the interpretation of the conductor, are paramount: Beecham gives a solid, convincing interpretation to the operatic Messiah. It is lush, and huge, and absolutely wonderful to hear again! Grady Harp, December 06

    5 out of 5 stars Comfort Ye!.......2006-10-30

    If your not familiar with "Messiah" don't let the reviews scare you - this is certainly a great choice for your first or only recording. There is a lot of feeling in the playing and singing, and i feel it is quite respectful not only of the composer, but the subject matter. It includes a booklet with all the lyrics, and an essay by Beecham himself about the piece. It is a complete recording, with a "bonus cd" of extra verses not usually performed (as explained in the essay). The audio quality is great for the time it was recorded. Its much more worthy to be listened to and contemplated than to be put on as backround music at Christmastime. The price is certainly reasonable in light of the quality of the performance.

    3 out of 5 stars Familiarity hasn't bred much affection.......2005-11-02

    I first became acquainted with this recording at the tender age of 12 when I received the original Soria edition as a Christmas gift. I remember being intensely disappointed at what seemed to me then as more circus than music. Time has mellowed that negative reaction and gives a more balanced assessment of Beecham's achievement - I bought the CD reissue after all. It still doesn't inspire much affection in yours truly although I can appreciate the soloists' contributions, particularly Tozzi. The lamented Vyvyan was in better voice with Boult. Here she has a rapid vibrato and a curious way of articulating the high notes. The orchestrations seem to maintain more of the clarity of the writing by concentrating on the bass and the top without clogging up the middle voices in the manner of the Victorians. There are three pieces where it just doesn't work at all to these ears: the brassy "All we like sheep," "Hallelujah" (which summons visions of Fucik's 'Entry of the Gladiators' every time I hear it), and the disintegration of the obbligato trumpet into flute noodlings in "The trumpet shall sound," in a lightweight performance that is at odds with the grandeur of the text. I'll also admit that the splashy brilliance of "For unto us a Child is born" and the surging drama of "Surely, He hath borne our griefs" are very satisfying.

    In the forty some recordings I own (and the many performances I've attended) there's no best and no definitive. This is one I respect but don't care to hear very often.

    3 out of 5 stars Thanks to Jon!.......2005-03-08

    This recording is worth having first of all beacause of the credible singing of Jon Vickers! Yes, he really sings on the words. The "Comfort Ye" and "Every valley..." have a knew dimension after Jons reading of the score. Of course I know that in tradition we want a very much more lyrical voice to this masterpiece. But he's not alone here, and now we are already into the problem; the choir! It's just terrible, yes terrible!
    I'm just ending up with "Thanks to Jon!"




    The World's Greatest Tenors
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      		The World's Greatest Tenors

      Manufacturer: Eagle
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      Binding: Audio CD

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      ASIN: B000001YBQ
      Release Date: 1996-04-23
      Metal for the Masses Volume V
      Average customer rating: Not rated
        		Metal for the Masses Volume V
        Various
        Manufacturer: Century Media
        ProductGroup: Music
        Binding: Audio CD

        Death MetalDeath Metal | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music
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        1. Metal for the Masses Vol. 2
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        4. HELLYEAH
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        ASIN: B000NRZ7DK

        Product Description

        2CD 1DVD set of Various Metal bands. Including Lacuna Coil, Diecast, The Haunted, Into Eternity and many others.
        A Song - For Anything: Songs by Charles Ives
        Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
        • One of the best recitals of 2005
        • Near Definitive Ives Songbook Handled with Dexterity and Subtlety by Finley and Drake
        • 31 of 114... (please do them all!)
        • The Finest Charles Ives Song Collection Available!
        		 A Song - For Anything: Songs by Charles Ives

        Manufacturer: Hyperion UK
        ProductGroup: Music
        Binding: Audio CD

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        Similar Items:
        1. Charles Ives: Songs
        2. Songs of Travel
        3. Peter Lieberson: Neruda Songs
        4. The Complete Songs of Charles Ives, Vol. 3
        5. The Complete Songs of Charles Ives, Vol. 1

        ASIN: B000A7XJI8
        Release Date: 2005-10-11

        Customer Reviews:

        5 out of 5 stars One of the best recitals of 2005.......2006-06-09

        Over the years, the sparkling, quirky, haunting songs of Charles Ives have been interpreted by many of the world's great singers. I first encountered many of them through Jan DeGaetani's still-moving recording with Gilbert Kalish, which remains one of the best ever of some of these gems.

        But now we have a stunning new collection from baritone Gerald Finley, with his fine pianist Julius Drake. They have created not only one of the most definitive readings of Ives' songs to date, but one of the finest recitals of the year, period. The pleasures and surprises are almost too many to list, beginning with Finley's mellifluous voice, immaculate diction, and theatricality that helps shape these songs with unusual clarity. As just one example, consider the first part of "Memories" called "Very Pleasant," evoking the anticipation of sitting in the audience, waiting for a performance to begin. As the final word, the singer blurts out, "Curtain!" and Finley is the only one I've heard who throws his voice far away, as if the shout is coming from one of the stagehands, waiting in the wings. Not only does this make the ending more prototypically "Ives-ian," but the song makes more sense with the unexpected change in point of view.

        Some of the quieter songs are just ravishing, such as "Ich Grolle Nicht" and "When stars are in the quiet skies," both with intimacy and control to spare. One of my personal favorites, "Like a sick eagle" (text by Keats), shows Finley's exquisite precision in navigating quarter-tones, creating a languid image of a dying bird slowly circling in the air. Drake is more than just an accompanist in all of these, in piano parts that are often fiendishly complex, such as "General William Booth Enters into Heaven" or the marvelous "The Cage."

        The winsome "Ann Street" and poignant "The Greatest Man" both end abruptly, with tiny offhand phrases that Finley nails perfectly. And there are treasures such as the rarely recorded "Slugging a Vampire" -- as swift as the title might indicate -- and the equally delightful "1,2,3."

        One could go on and on in endless detail about the entire array of 31 songs (chosen from the 114 available), but the best thing is just to get to the most pleasant part: listening. If I have a small quibble (and make no mistake, it is very small), it is that Hyperion's gorgeous, rather tranquil cover art gives no clue to Ives' wild imagination, and to the blazing work by his two outstanding interpreters here. (It looks more like a cover for something by Delius.) But it hardly matters, when both of these artists are in such rapturous form -- and captured so effectively by Hyperion's engineers. The sound, recorded in All Saints Church, East Finchley (London) is a model for projects of this kind. A release that is sure to go down as one of the finest Ives recordings ever.

        5 out of 5 stars Near Definitive Ives Songbook Handled with Dexterity and Subtlety by Finley and Drake.......2006-04-21

        I have to admit I've had exposure to relatively unheralded American composer Charles Ives' work only twice in the past - the first was baritone Nathan Gunn's vibrant sampling of three Ives compositions on his 1999 debut recital CD, "American Anthem", and the second was soprano Deborah Voigt's recent recital disc, "All My Heart", in which she impressively opens the recording with seven hymn-like selections. With his acute dramatic sense and unobtrusive masculine tone, Canadian baritone Gerald Finley manages to bring his own impressive vocal shadings and consequently turns out to be the ideal muse for Ives' eclectic and unique song selection. Thirty-one of the composer's over 100 songs are covered here, some as short as 28 seconds ("Slugging the Vampire"), but each very individual in feeling and character.

        Expertly accompanied by the accomplished Julius Drake on piano, Finley deftly performs an immensely diverse range of material from the traditional lied format of "Feldeinsamkeit" and "Ich grolle nicht" to the haunting pastoral images of "The Housatonic at Stockbridge" to the youthful zeal of "The Greatest Man" to the swooning romanticism of "When Stars are in the Quiet Skies" to the funereal dirge of "Thoreau". The adventurous sequencing of the tracks also provides the right dynamic to the program. For example, a Brahms-inspired lullaby ("Berceuse") is followed by a passionate diatribe against poverty ("West London"), which is then followed by a sentimental war ballad ("Tom Sails Away"). In one selection, the tonal change occurs midway through the song - the aptly titled "Memories (A) Very Pleasant; (B) Rather Sad" starts out as a jaunty account of an exciting night at the opera, while the second half becomes a wistful piece of nostalgia using the same tune.

        My favorite performances on the disc are the stunning evocation of a French chanson, "Elegie"; the highly dramatic poem, "General William Booth Enters Into Heaven", full of jarring of rhythms and shouts of "Hallelujah!" to evoke the religion-fueled stanzas; "Charlie Rutledge", in which Finley evokes a bit over-the-top Texas twang to bring a blackly comic touch to an oddly tragic story; and the touching title song which closes the disc - a moving ballad consisting of three verses from three different sources - a love poem, a psalm and a Yale song - yet together quite compatible. I was quite impressed with Finley's portrayal of Robert Oppenheimer in John Adams' "Doctor Atomic", staged by the San Francisco Opera last fall, and also his moving performance as the title character in Benjamin Britten's "Owen Wingrave" (a 2001 cinematic production on DVD). This recording shows that he is able to translate his dramatic skills with dexterous ease into a recital setting.

        5 out of 5 stars 31 of 114... (please do them all!).......2005-11-20

        I have always wondered why there aren't a few readily-available recordings of the complete 114 songs of Charles Ives. Not just that it would be cheap to produce (piano and vocal only, filling up about 3 CDs), and not just that this is one of the most significant collections of American songs ever written (along with Gershwin's), and not just that these songs loom large in the overall Ives canon along with the Symphonies and Piano Sonatas.... It's mostly that they are just plain enjoyable to listen to and some of the most "accessible" Ives there is. Interestingly, it's a Canadian baritone and a British pianist coming through here with a great selection of 31 Ives songs covering the wide range of moods -- nostalgic, experimental, free-wheeling, silly, profound -- found in these miniature masterpieces. Let's hope they keep going and record the entire 114 (and that Hyperion survives the absurd legal trouble they find themselves in -- help them out by buying some of their CDs this month!)

        5 out of 5 stars The Finest Charles Ives Song Collection Available!.......2005-10-17

        Charles Ives, that wondrous American iconoclast, wrote 114 songs, songs that vary in content from comedic to nostalgic to patriotic to German lieder (!) to operatic. Here brilliant baritone Gerald Finley and his gifted piano collaborator Julius Drake have selected a fine range of that output in 31 songs that not only demonstrate the spectrum of Ives' creativity, but also give notice that Canadian Gerald Finley may just be the foremost authority on how Ives' songs should be performed.

        Included in no particular order (except thoughtful programming!) are such very familiar songs as 'General William Booth Enters into Heaven', 'When stars are in the quiet skies', 'Serenity', 'Tolerance', and 'Ann Street' along with the lesser known early German lieder composed in his early formative years. One of the revelations on this elegant recital is 'The Housatonic at Stockbridge' which lends text to the extraordinary last movement of Ives' orchestral 'Three Places in New England'.

        Finley's diction is impeccable and his baritone voice is pliant throughout his wide range. He conveys the essence of these texts as well as any interpreter ever has. Julius Drake provides exemplary piano accompaniment. This is one of the finest recordings released this year. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, October 05

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