Letter to Myself [Original recording remastered]

Track Listings

1. A Letter To Myself

2. Too Late To Turn Back Now

3. Just Two Teenage Kids

4. Sally

5. Someone Elses Arms

6. We Need Order

7. Love Comes In All Sizes

8. My Heart Just Keeps On Breaking

9. You Smiled The Same Old Way

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
Featuring the title hit plus 'We Need Order' & 'My Heart Just Keeps Breaking'. 9 tracks. Brunswick. 2002.

Letter to Myself,Chi-Lites,Brunswick Records,Pop,R&B,Soul/R & B,Soul/Reggae/Rhythm & Blues

Letter to Myself [Original recording remastered]

Anne Sofie von Otter - Speak Low ~ Songs by Kurt Weill / Gardiner
Average customer rating:

Very Good

Excellent Weill Alternative to Lenya and Lemper

Everything is right but the style

Intelligent reading from both singer and conductor

Brilliant--The best of the 7 Deadly Sins recordings

Anne Sofie von Otter - Speak Low ~ Songs by Kurt Weill / Gardiner
Kurt Weill , John Eliot Gardiner , Anne Sofie von Otter , Bengt Forsberg , Hannover North German Radio Orchestra , Karl-Heinz Lampe , Frederick Martin , Christfried Biebrach , and James Sims
Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Stratas Sings Weill

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ASIN: B000001GM3
Release Date: 1995-03-14

Tracks:

Die Sieben Tods Prologue
Die Sieben Tods No. 1 Faulheit (Sloth)
Die Sieben Tods No. 2 Stolz (Pride)
Die Sieben Tods No. 4 Zorn (Anger)
Die Sieben Tods No. 5 Vrei (Gluttony)
Die Sieben Tods No. 6 Unzucht (Lust)
Die Sieben Tods No. 6 Habsucht (Avarice)
Die Sieben Tods No. 7 Neid (Envy)
Die Sieben Tods No. 8 Epilog
My Ship
One Life To Live
Buddy On The Nightshift
Nannas Leid
Bilbao - Song
Surabaya - Johnny
Das Leid Von Der Harten Nuss
Je Ne T'amie Pas
Schickelgruber
Der Abscheidsbreief
Foolish Heart
Speak Low
I'm A Stranger Here Myself

Amazon.com

Kurt Weill's ballet with songs is one of this century's greatest theatrical works. It has all the wit and melodic appeal of The Threepenny Opera and social conscience of Mahagonny, but more warmth and musical sophistication than either. It's also all over with in about 40 minutes. Some critics believe the piece was intended as a sort of love poem to Weill's wife, Lotte Lenya; given the tenderness of much of the music, it's hard to disagree. Lenya herself recorded the piece in the 1950s (a recording recently reissued by Sony) and this very much newer performance is welcome particularly for Anne Sofie von Otter's highly intelligent and musical way with the text. The other songs, from both Weill's Berlin and Broadway periods, make the perfect filler. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews:

Very Good.......2006-01-03

This is a very nice selection of Weill pieces showing the full range of his output. These range from the ambitious Seven Deadly Sins to songs from Happy End to some of his Broadway work. All are very interesting. The performers, particularly Von Otter, are excellent. Recommended strongly.

Excellent Weill Alternative to Lenya and Lemper.......2005-09-29

`Speak Low Songs by Kurt Weill' is a great addition to the performances of Herr Weill's works by the prominent mezzo-soprano, Anne Sofie Von Otter. I have listened to many performances by Weill specialists from the archetype, Weill's wife, Lotte Lenys, for whom many of the songs were originally written to Ute Lemper and Gisela May, who lean heavily toward Lotte Lenya's gravel-voiced interpretation of Weill's songs.

Anne Sofie Von Otter breaks with this tradition and gives us what are easily the sweetest interpretations of Weill's songs from both his German and English works, which I have heard anywhere.

The flagship performance on this disc is `Die Sieben Todsunden' (`The Seven Deadly Sins') which was a cycle of songs to be sung on the stage, accompanied by dances done by a second performer. This takes the first nine (9) tracks and is at least as good as what I have heard from Weill specialist, Lemper. This album is the first time I have noticed that there are two versions of this work, and that Ms. Von Otter is performing the version for soprano.

But, I think the most moving performances come later, especially in von Otter's performances of the three numbers from `Happy End', `Bilbao-Song', `Surabaya-Johnny', and `Das Lied von der harten Nuss' (Song of the Big Shot). I have heard these done by many people, but never so sweetly. These numbers are so lovingly performed that I insist that you ignore the fact that the lyrics are in German. The accompanying booklet gives English translations, which I simply ignore and enjoy the musical talent with no filter. My understanding German has nothing to do with this, as I do the same with French, which I can just barely make out.

Kurt Weill may not be the most important influence on American musical theatre in the 20th century, but he is easily in the top five, along with the Gershwins, Irving Berlin, Richard Rodgers and collaborators, and Cole Porter.

Ms. Von Otter is ably accompanied on this disk by her favorite pianist, Bengt Forsberg plus the Norddeutch Rundfunk orchestra directed by John Eliot Gardiner. While I really like her selection on this disk, the collection makes me wish Ms. Von Otter would do some more Weill and spend less time hanging out with Elvis Costello, but that's a different story.

Everything is right but the style.......2005-09-24

Weill and Brecht defined a nasty age with nasty art, writing some of the grittiest satire in the history of music. In this CD von Otter misses that edge, skirts all the dangerous, sleazy implications, and ultimately sounds too much the opera singer slumming it for an hour. Her earnestness is no subtitute for the right period style, a la Lotte Lenya.

Intelligent reading from both singer and conductor.......2005-01-27

THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS is such a brilliant mini-masterpiece (and, to me, the pinnacle of the Brecht-Weill years) that it is hard to screw up. It is a testament to the staying power of this work (and to the brilliance of Weill's music in general) that it can be performed by the likes of Lotte Lenya, Julia Migenes, Ute Lemper, Judy Kaye, Marianne Faithfull, Teresa Stratas, and -- as here -- Anne Sofie von Otter, and STILL work... and EACH of these women are totally successful in the piece on their own terms.

Here, Anne Sofie von Otter gives us an intelligent (and highly musical) rendering of the text, keeping the musical line very much intact. She sings with vibrato at times, and then will turn around and use straight-tones at moments where it is dramatically appropriate to do so. She balances the performance well, shifting gears between cool detachment (which she is often criticized for) and impassioned outbursts (which her critics often fail to notice).

John Eliot Gardiner surprised me with how easily this music seemed to come to him, especially as he seems to be a man more at home with "Period-Instrument-Mozart" than highly charged 20th century works. However, his reading of "The Rake's Progress" by Stravinsky was totally staggering. For example, his choice beginning the climactic moment of the score ("Envy") as slowly as he does caught me very much off guard at first, and I didn't really care for it at all. However, with each successive listen, I find myself "getting" this choice more and more.

Finally, the "filler." As to be expected, she is more successful with the European material than she is with the songs from Weill's Broadway years. But this is the case with about 99.9% of all opera singers who try to sing Weill's Broadway scores. You will never hear any singer give "Je ne t'aime pas" a more hauntingly beautiful, passionately intense performance than Anne Sofie von Otter. Truly, the ultimate interpretation of one of my favorite Weill songs. "Nannas Lied," "Der Abschiedsbrief," and the HAPPY END selections. However, "My Ship" and "One Life to Live" seem to fail at catching fire -- the former because it is marred by an attempt to sound like a "pop singer," the latter because von Otter sings English better than native speakers (she knows where the ACTUAL emphasis in the phrase "nothing: the thing is to have fun" goes, as opposed to where Ira Gershwin placed it). I also -- surprisingly enough -- don't care for her performance of "Schickelgruber" -- she just seems totally lost to me. (I really think that this song is foreign territory to 'legit' sopranos and mezzos -- I don't even care for the Stratas rendition.) Just when I thought I would have to suffer through another bad batch of "opera-crossover," Anne Sofie turned around and surprised me by giving highly successful performances of the numbers from ONE TOUCH OF VENUS (especially on "I'm Stranger Here Myself").

All in all, a worthy purchase: highly recommended to all fans of THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS and Kurt Weill enthusiasts.

Brilliant--The best of the 7 Deadly Sins recordings.......2002-10-12

Weill, and particularly anything Brecht-Weill, has suffered for too long with interpertations based on tired ham theatrics, burlesques of Lenya's style, to the point where we have come to expect it as the only way to sing this music. Lenya herself is said, late in life, to have commented that a better singer (specifically Stratas at that time) would be more appropriate for properly interpreting Weill's music.

Here, after countless CD releases of the Seven Deadly Sins, is the first recording sung in the key the composer originally intended! The result is relevatory, sublime and magnificent.

Ms. Von Otter interprets the rest of the songs with mixed results--all are lovely, several are excellent, though several others have been handled better by singers with more "theatrical" talents. Nevertheless, this recording stands alone, head and shoulders above the others.

Average customer rating:

Letter to Myself
Chi-Lites
Manufacturer: Brunswick Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00006JNDN
Release Date: 2002-09-24

Tracks:

A Letter To Myself
Too Late To Turn Back Now
Just Two Teenage Kids
Sally
Someone Elses Arms
We Need Order
Love Comes In All Sizes
My Heart Just Keeps On Breaking
You Smiled The Same Old Way

Album Description

Featuring the title hit plus 'We Need Order' & 'My Heart Just Keeps Breaking'. 9 tracks. Brunswick. 2002.

"C'est ca la vie, c'est ca l'amour": French Operetta Arias

Average customer rating:

Enchanté, Mlle Graham!
excellent singing, not so great programming
A CD full of scrumptious French chocolates!
REYNALDO AND SOME LIGHT STUFF
C'est magnifique!!

"C'est ca la vie, c'est ca l'amour": French Operetta Arias
Reynaldo Hahn , Andre Messager , Susan Graham , Yves Abel , and City of Birmingham Symphony
Manufacturer: Erato
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

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Artist Portrait: Susan Graham

ASIN: B00005UW0Z
Release Date: 2002-04-02

Tracks:

"C'est ca la vie, c'est ca l'amour" (Moises Simons, from Toi c'est moi, 1934)
"J'ai deux amants" (Andre Messager, from L'Amour masque, 1923)
"Yes" (Maurice Yvain, from Yes, 1928)
"Si vous saviez" (Arthur Honegger, from Les Aventures du roi Pausole, 1930)
"O mon bel inconnu" (Reynaldo Hahn, from O mon bel inconnu, 1933)
"Je ne vois rien..Lorsque je n'etais qu'une enfant" (Andre Messager, from Fortunio, 1907)
"Les hommes sont biens tous les memes" (Andre Messager, from Coups de roulis, 1928)
"Air de la Lettre" (Reynaldo Hahn, from Brummell, 1931)
"L'amour est un oiseau rebelle" (Andre Messager, from Passionnement, 1926)
"Vois-tu, je m'en veux" (Andre Messager, from Les P'tites Michu, 1897)
"Etre adore" (Reynaldo Hahn, from Mozart, 1925)
"Je regrette mon Pressigny" (Andre Messager, from la Petite Fonctionnaire, 1921)
"Amour, amour, quel est donc ton pouvoir" (Andre Messager, from Les Dragons de l"Imperatrice, 1905)
"Mon reve" (Andre Messager, from L'Amour masque, 1923)
"C'est tres vilain d'etre infidele" (Reynaldo Hahn, from O mon bel inconnu, 1933)
"C'est pas Paris, c'est sa banlieue" (Reynaldo Hahn, from Ciboulette, 1923)
"Vagabonde" (Moises Simons, from Toi c'est moi, 1934)

Amazon.com

This record presents the esteemed opera singer and French music specialist Susan Graham in a new light. French operetta began with Jacques Offenbach (creator of The Tales of Hoffmann) in the 1850s; his ability to blend sweet lovely melodies with bitter political satire made him and the form famous, and composers all over the world have emulated him ever since, including those represented on this disc. Most of them, though popular during their lifetime, are hardly known today. The most familiar are Arthur Honegger and Reynaldo Hahn, though not primarily as operetta composers; the latter contributes some of the loveliest music.

The arias on this program are thoroughly appealing and very different, ranging from frothy creampuffs to almost operatic dramas, from ingenuous simplicity to ironic sophistication. As one might expect, the texts, all written from a woman's point of view, focus on the relationships between men and women in all their infinite, subtle variety. Susan Graham uses her very beautiful voice and captivating charm to bring out the teasing humor, the intimacy, passion, joy, and regret in words and music. One song is a trio, but since no other singers are mentioned, one assumes that she covers all three parts! The first song is the only one in which the singing is artificial and exaggerated, as if Graham were feeling her way into the style. The orchestra is very good, but some of the arrangements are overloaded. --Edith Eisler

Customer Reviews:

Enchanté, Mlle Graham!.......2004-11-13

Though it's fair to say that the stunning title track reaches a creative standard unmatched by any of the later items (no wonder it comes first), this is still refreshing stuff, which will bring out the slumbering Maurice Chevalier in us all. Anyone who can hear it without wanting to grab the nearest straw hat and proclaim "Zank 'eaven for leedle girrrrrlz" is a tougher man than I am, Gunga Din.

Refreshing stuff, but seldom flippant. Other than the X-rated Honegger song (who'd have thought sober-sided Artur H had a bawdy streak in him?) and the subtler but still eyebrow-raising Maurice Yvain number "Yes", the prevailing atmosphere is often surprisingly operatic. Surprising at any rate to me, since I can't recall hearing most of this material before. Reynaldo Hahn sometimes does a rather good Richard Strauss impersonation, as in "O mon bel inconnu", which suggests a Gallic version of ROSENKAVALIER's final trio.

Presumably Miss Graham sings all the vocal parts of this piece in a multi-tracking arrangement, but it would be nice to have been told in the booklet note whether this was the case. The short playing time deplored by Joy Fleisig is also a nuisance, since one wants even more of the same. Miss Fleisig rightly censured, in addition, the white-print-on-purple-background design which some graphic-design-school genius decided to employ for the lyrics' translations. So no fifth star for this review. The release remains a pretty enchanting (not to say enchanté) production, even if a native French singer would have cultivated - as native French singers will - an edgier, more acidic timbre than Miss Graham's warm, sonorous, very slightly cloudy tone. Altogether a splendid supplement to heftier and more austere listening.

excellent singing, not so great programming.......2002-10-02

A delightful album by Graham, who has apparently been cast as a French expert...but I wish there had been a few more uptempo numbers on here, so many of them are slow that it almost detracts from the sparkle of her singing. Great performances and sound, though.

A CD full of scrumptious French chocolates!.......2002-09-03

When one thinks of 'French operetta', the composer that most often springs to mind is Jacques Offenbach. However, the generations of operetta composers that came after him also produced some wonderful music. Unfortunately, although these works were very popular in their time, they are virtually forgotten today. Apart from Andre Messager, the best known names on this anthology, Reynaldo Hahn and Arthur Honneger, are better known for other types of work, and most of the other composers are unknowns. Susan Graham, perhaps the finest American mezzo-soprano of our time, is to be commended for bringing these sweets out into the open once again.

Graham is a singer very much in the mold of Frederica von Stade - like von Stade, she is best known for trouser roles such as Octavian and Cherubino, but she has done some wonderful work in French music, especially as a recitalist. Her voice is firm and lustrous with an easy, sopranoish top, her phrasing is exquisite, and her French is excellent. By turns Graham is funny, ironic, sensual, wistful, charming, and heroic.

Most of the music on this CD was written between 1920 and 1935, although one selection here is from as early as 1897. The music actually has greater similarity to 'modern' musical comedy than to traditional operetta. Of course, the primary theme of these works is the travails of women in love - either they struggle with their (often illicit) passions - in one case attempting to invoke Joan of Arc! - or muse on the perfidy of men. My favorite song on the disc is the title track, a delightful samba take on 'Carmen' (from Cuban-born Moises Simons' 'Toi c'est moi') with a verse that sounds quite a bit like the 'Habanera' - only in this version, Carmen murders Escamillo! It actually occurred to me while listening to this disc that Graham might make an excellent Bizet Carmen on records or in a small theater. By the way, the 'Carmen' connection shows up again in a song entitled - you guessed it - 'L'amour est un oiseau rebelle'!

Other tracks which I love are `Yes', wherein a French woman goes to England knowing only that word and gets her self married - and more, and `O mon bel inconnu', where three women get letters from the same man (their husband, father, and employer respectively) through the lonelyhearts column. Thanks to the miracle (?) of multi-tracking, Graham gets to sing all three roles, and her `voices' blend together gorgeously. And in the final track, 'Vagabonde' (also from 'Toi c'est moi') is a delightfully whirling 'impatient, quivering, impulsive' plea from a woman who wants to find a man willing to marry before her 'orange-flower' wilts (wink, wink).

Despite the light tone of most of this music, there are several moments of high drama. `Lorsque je n'etais que enfant' is an aria from Messager's `Fortunio' where the heroine, berating herself for toying with her boyfriend, reminisces of her purer and more innocent childhood. Graham is back in her usual trouser-role territory for the heroic `Etre adore' from Hahn's `Mozart', where the composer effuses over Paris and willingly sacrifices his soul to be adored by its people. There is also sweet nostalgia and regret, such as in 'Je regrette mon Pressigny', 'Vois-tu, je m'en veux' and 'C'est pas Paris, c'est sa banlieu'.

Actually, the only track that I don't like is 'Si vous saviez' from Honneger's 'Les Aventures du Roi Pausole', which ironically enough is Graham's favorite. The aria, where the wife of a polygamous potentate begs her husband to sleep with her more than once a year, is meant to be sensuous but just drags. I suspect this his Honneger's fault, not Graham's.

The French-Canadian Yves Abel is an ideal conductor for this repertory. He has a strong affinity not only for French opera but also for comedy and light music in general; the latter two qualities were very evident at a Metropolitan Opera `Il Barbiere de Siviglia' this year. I also remember a fine performance of `La Grande-Duchesse de Gerolstein' he conducted with his company L'Opera Francais de New York and Stephanie Blythe. Under his baton the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra plays just like a French ensemble.

The documentation has full texts and translation of all the material and a fine essay on the works and the composers by Patrick O'Connor. Unfortunately, there is no biographical information for either Graham or Abel. Also, some people might have problems reading the white type on purple background for the translations (the type for the essay is the normal white-on-black), although I did not. As usual, my complaint about many modern CDs, especially those produced by Erato, applies here - there is less than an hour of music on a medium that can hold almost 80 minutes. I think it is unlikely that Graham and Abel couldn't find more good music in this vein, or even that they ran out of recording time. And speaking of Erato, I think it is a crime that that parent company Warner Classics dismissed not only Graham but many other fine operatic artists like Jose Cura, Daniel Barenboim, and Barbara Frittoli. At least the man now in charge of Warner regrets Graham's dismissal and is negotiating a new contract with her.

I am glad that so many star singers today are championing French rarities - not only Graham but also Roberto Alagna and Vesselina Kasarova, among others. I would recommend this not only to lovers of opera and operetta but also to fans of more 'popular' French music like Edith Piaf's and Jacques Brel's, or even to admirers of the American musical. It doesn't matter by which road you come to it - this material is delightful and the presentation is flawless. Most importantly, it is clear that everybody involved with the making of this disc had a great time, and anyone who listens to it will as well.

REYNALDO AND SOME LIGHT STUFF.......2002-08-02

SUSAN GRAHAM had me an addict of her voice with her marvelous songs of REYNALDO HAHN,a treasure that i cherish.This FRENCH OPERETTA ARIAS is still a good cd,but lighter and fluffier.Not surprizingly, i consider the HAHN arias the highlight of this record.It seems to me that SUSAN has real affinities with the composer of CIBOULETTE and O MON BEL INCONNU.O MON BEL INCONNU and ETRE ADORÉ are wonderfully sung and are worth the price of the cd.I did not completely enjoy the first 4 numbers,although i should say that they are correctly done.Maybe i simply can't accept the fact that SUSAN can sing humourous stuff.Well that's my problem isn't it?I have the original version of J'AI DEUX AMANTS sung by YVONNE PRINTEMPS and the comparaison gives advantage to SUSAN.

C'est magnifique!!.......2002-06-29

Graham has never been better in this disc of delightful French operetta arias. A must for fans of the artist. And I dare you to get that opening track out of your head!!

Average customer rating:

Ain't Misbehavin' (1995 London Cast)
Fats Waller , and Ray Shell
Manufacturer: First Night Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000026YP8
Release Date: 2003-06-17

Tracks:

Ain't Misbehavin'
Honeysuckle Rose - Ray Shell
Squeeze Me - Company
Handful of Keys - Company
I've Got a Feeling I'm Falling - Company
How Ya, Baby? - Company
Jitterbug Waltz
Ladies Who Sing With the Band/Yacht Club Swing - Dawn Hope, , Ray Shell
Cash for Your Trash - Ray Shell
Off-Time
Joint Is Jumpin'
Spreadin' the Rhythm Around/Loungin' at the Waldorf - Debbie Bishop, , , Dawn Hope, , Ray Shell, Company
Viper's Drag - Company
Mean to Me
Your Feet's Too Big - Ray Shell
Keepin' Out of Mischief Now - Dawn Hope
Find Out What They Like - Debbie Bishop, Ray Shell
Fat and Greasy - Ray Shell
Black and Blue
Finale: I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter/Two ... - Debbie Bishop, , , Dawn Hope, , , Ray Shell, Company

Average customer rating:

Moravian songs, via Janacek, Godar, Bittova and Skampa
Skampa Quartet is great - the singer... yikes

Janácek: Moravian Folk Poetry in Songs
Leos Janacek , Iva Bittová , ¿kampa Quartet , Vladimír Godár , and Skampa Quartet
Manufacturer: Supraphon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Cikory

ASIN: B00061X9YC
Release Date: 2005-03-01

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.

Average customer rating:

With the Wind in their sails
Good Letter
It's been years. . .
It's been years. . .
Chi-Lites are the Gold of Chicago

A Letter to Myself
The Chi-Lites
Manufacturer: Diablo Records UK
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | R&B | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B00000JCNQ
Release Date: 2001-06-26

Tracks:

A Letter To Myself
Too Late To Turn Back Now
Just Two Teenage Kids (Still In Love)
Sally
Someone Else's Arms
We Need Order
Love Comes In All Sizes
My Heart Just Keeps On Breaking
You Smiled The Same Old Way

Album Description

Reissue & CD debut of the hit soul group's 1973 album for the Brunswick label. Includes the top 40 title cut.

Album Details

Remastered Reissue of their 1973 Release, on CD for the First Time. Includes 'Someone Else's Arms','Love Comes in all Sizes', and 'Too Late to Turn Back Now'.

Customer Reviews:

With the Wind in their sails.......2003-04-12

With "A Letter To Myself" Eugene Record lead vocalist and main songwriter slowly steered the group away from strict r&B into country,"My Heart Just keeps on Breakin" Deeper into social protest, "We Need Order" "We're caught up, in a knowledge of war,
something must of us have never seen. But how sweet it would be,
to wake in the morning, and find it was all a dream."
The LP came out in the Summer of 1973; The war in Vietnam officially ended in the fall of 1975.
This was the last Album of all new meterial for the Chi-lites
on the Brunnswwick label subsequent albums featured previosly
released tracks until the labels demise in 1976. The idea of
"A Letter To Myself"was itself a throwback to the classic
olddie "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter"
not in substance, but the same thought, of writing a letter
that was never intended to be received.
This review is based on the original LP.

Good Letter.......2000-12-22

Chicago's Chi-Lites could easily just between smooth love songs and socially conscious ones. 1973's A Letter To Myself has long been out of print and it makes its debut on cd in this import. The album contains that slow jams like "My Heart Just Keeps On Breaking", "You Smiled The Same Old Way" and "Someone Else's Arms" and the ones that make you think like "We Need Order" and the superb title track. They are probably best known for their two big hits "Oh Girl" and "Have You Seen Her", but check out this great album and soak in one of the Windy City's top soul groups.

It's been years. . ........2000-02-11

since I heard this album. I have been waiting and waiting for it to be released on cd. The title track and Sally are my favorites.

It's been years. . ........2000-02-11

since I heard this album. I have been waiting and waiting for it to be released on cd. The title track and Sally are my favorites.

Chi-Lites are the Gold of Chicago.......2000-02-04

Oh man! This is like one of the best CD's I own! I have been a Chi-Lites fan for ages, and I haven't heard anything so rich before! I listen to it everyday, and know all the words by heart. It's up there in my top 5 Cd collection and always will be.

Average customer rating:

Heartbreakers Vol.4

ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B000F6P9N2

Product Description

1.rock and roll lullaby.2.reflection of my life.3.one road.4.a letter to myself.5.angel of the morning.6.won't somebody dance with me.7.i just can't help believin.8.love is a many splendored thing.9. peace.10.somthing's burning.11.red sails in the sunset(live).12.needles and pins.13.ruby tuesday.14.smile a little smile for me.15.back in the road.16.love is all around.17.welcome home.18.speak to the sky.19.you said it(live).20.oxygen

Average customer rating:

Greatest Hits Volume 2
The Ink Spots
Manufacturer: BLUE MOON
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Easy Listening | Pop | Styles | Music

Traditional Vocal Pop | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

General | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000M4MBMY

Product Description

TRACKS: 1. I DON'T WANT TO SET THE WORLD ON FIRE 2. IT'S A SIN TO TELL A LIE 3. I'M CONFESSIN' 4. THERE GOES MY HEART 5. MARIE 6. LOVE IS STRANGE 7. STREET OF DREAMS 8. LITTLE WHITE LIES 9. YOU ALWAYS HURT THE ONE YOU LOVE 10. I'M GONNA SIT RIGHT DOWN & WRITE MYSELF A LETTER 11. BOW WOW WOW 12. WITH MY EYES WIDE OPEN I'M DREAMING 13. I'LL GET BY 14. SWEET SUE, JUST YOU 15. HE'S GOT THE WHOLE WORLD IN HIS HANDS 16. I'LL BE SEEING YOU 17. TO MAKE A MISTAKE IS HUMAN 18. MY BLUE HEAVEN

R&B Music:

R&B Music

r&b music

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