Unknown Kingdom

1. Unknown Kingdom

2. Champs-Elysées Affair

3. Europa

4. Friends' Play

5. World of Ulro

6. Little Bloody Song

7. In Memory of Three Poets

8. Nathalie, Pascal and the Angel

Tracks:

D 891: An Silvia
Op. 107 No. 1: Herzeleid
Ophelia Lieder: Wie Erkenn' Ich Dein Treulieb?
Ophelia Lieder: Op. 67 No. 1: Wie Erkenn' Ich Mein Treulieb Vor Andern Nun?
Ophelia Lieder: Sein Leichenhemd Weiss Wie Schnee
Ophelia Lieder: Op. 67 No. 2: Guten Morgen, 'S Ist Sankt Valentinstag
Ophelia Lieder: Auf Morgen Ist Sankt Valentins Tag
Ophelia Lieder: Op. 67 No. 3: Sie Trugen Ihn Auf Der Bahre Bloss
Ophelia Lieder: Und Kommt Er Nicht Mehr Zuruck?
Op. 18 No. 2: La Mort D'Ophelie
La Mort D'Ophelie
Lady Macbeth - A Scena
Shakespeare's Kingdom
O Mistress Mine
Willow, Willow, Willow
Willow, Willow
Fancie
Fancy
Under The Greenwood Tree
Op. 22 No. 1: Take, O Take Those Lips Away
It Was A Lover And His Lass

Customer Reviews:

A Rich Tapestry of Shakespearean Song.......2006-11-26

This has long been one of my favorite thematic recital disks. Despite the mix of languages, composers, and musical eras, the program doesn't come off as a hodge podge. Shakespeare's humanity provides cohesion enough, abetted by thoughtful selections and faultless performances.

Sarah Walker is one of the most communicative singers around -- but her voice is hard to capture on disk: Felicity Lott and (believe it or not) Renée Fleming are other artists that the microphone doesn't seem to coddle. But this disk does full justice to Sarah Walker's warm and somewhat matronly sound. Her performances here are among my very favorite recordings of each song.

The program is half in German and French (all but the first on the subject of Ophelia), half in English. In several instances we get to hear settings of the same or similar text back to back. The contrasts are utterly fascinating, never smacking of academic tedium.

Mme Walker's "An Sylvia" is one of my top three interpretations of this delightful song, up there with Ameling on Philips and Ainsley on Hyperion. The heartbreaking Schumann setting "Herzeleid," is a minor masterpiece, a seldom heard song from late in the composer's career. It introduces the Ophelia sequence. Accompanist Graham Johnson ingeniously programmed the angular Ophelia-Lieder by Strauss between fragments of the same texts by Brahms that are more archaic in style. Berlioz's melting version of "La Mort d'Ophelia" (a translation of Gertrude's report) is followed by a rare setting of the same verses by Saint-Saens that is a more standard, third-person ballad account. It doesn't equal the immortal lament that Berlioz fashioned, but it's certainly of interest and gets a vivid performance here.

The Lady Macbeth scena, composed by one Joseph Horovitz, is another rarety, and deserving of its centerpiece position in this recital. It's a convincing example of modern declamatory style, the ideal mode of expression for this antiheroine. The recital concludes with a group by well-known English song composers: Elgar, Parry, Grainger, etc. Not a nit to pick here, every song is a gem. We get two haunting versions of "Willow, Willow" and two beguiling versions of "Fancy" (Britten and, of all people, Poulenc!). I especially loved Geofrey Bush's setting of "It was a Lover and His Lass" -- a rousing, syncopated send-off.

In short, this recital is utterly absorbing from beginning to end. I recommend it heartily.

Very good collection of Incidental Music written for Shakespeare.......2005-12-09

'Shakespeare's Kingdom' is NOT another collection of attempts to recreate what music actually played at the Globe Theatre may have actually sounded like. Rather, it is a collection of short musical pieces written largely by European composers to passages from Shakespeare's plays.

The most famous contributors are Shubert, Shumann, Brahms, Richard Strauss, Berlioz, Grainger, and Brittin. Obvious by its absence is any part of Mendelsohn's major musical works done for the performance of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. This is no great loss, as there are numerous good performances of this work.

I give this but four stars not because the works are not sufficiently stellar, but becuase this recording is more of a sampler which will do much to interest you in other works by these composers, but the works themselves do not really hang together very well one with the other. The pieces are written in both English and German and come from a wide variety of Shakespeare's tragedies and comedies.

This is a great Hyperion quality recording if you can find it cheap.

Move over Dame Judy Dench.......2002-05-28

If you love Shakespeare, and / or Brahms, Schubert, Schumann, Berlioz and R. Strauss, you need to have this superb album in your collection. Walker is the most gratifying performer in opera and lieder, for beauty of voice (ravishing, audible silk); technique (perfection), intelligence (never-failing); phrasing (absolutely unsurpassed); and interpretation -- Walker does not merely "sell" a song, or act convincingly, she etches her performance on your soul. Just listen to her interpretation of the excerpts from MacBeth, set to music by Joseph Horovitz: Walker is a candidate for best Lady MacBeth. One wonders what she would do with the part as straight drama. If that isn't enough, she caresses the Schumann and the Berlioz, nails the Brahms (no accompaniment -- totally exposed voice), and slinks away with the tango "Under the Greenwood Tree." And if you think this album is great, wait until you hear her Schubert; Blah, blah, blah; and Julius Caesar (there is no other Cornelia but Walker.)

hard work.......2002-05-24

I bought this CD for one reason only: Richard Strauss' Ophelia's songs. 3 songs out of the whole CD that are wonderful by themselves, and very rare to find. Sarah Walker has a very good voice that gives Ophelia's maddness a tragic and touching colour.

Allas!...
This is a theme CD, and as such, they thought more of the concept and less of the listeners. Ophelia's cycle is made of 3 songs. we were unlucky enough to have another version to that song cycle - by Brahms. For some bizzare reason, the producers of this CD decided to brake the cycles. you hear one song of Strauss, and then one of Brahms etc'.
That's outragious, and dumb.
Still, if you can program your stereo, it's worth the buy just for that magical cycle. Truely one of a kind.

For Lieder fans.......1999-11-24

Here are a handful of songs from many different composers, while all texts are selected from Shakespeare's work. Most of them are well enough, although some are very rare and not outstanding, not in a standard repertoire. For example, this CD contains as well the well-known "Was ist Sylvia" by Schubert as "Willow, Willow" by Grainger (a truely wonderful song). And the result is a many-different-style CD. Walker and Johnson's performace are pretty well.For me, "Sylvia" is the most convincing interpretion among all other versioons. Walker's tone are dark and tragic, fits almost the songs here(I like especially the Orphelia suite by Brahms and R.Strauss). It can be more shiny in some obscure songs. The recording is a bit hollow.

Average customer rating:

Russian Choral Music

Manufacturer: Melodiya
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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

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

Te Deum | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Classical | Box Sets | Stores | Music
ASIN: B000001HE7
Release Date: 1995-06-13

The Devil Rides Out: Music For Hammer Horror, Romance And Adventure (Film Score Anthology Re-recording)

Average customer rating:

The Devil Rides Out: Music For Hammer Horror, Romance And Adventure (Film Score Anthology Re-recording)

Manufacturer: Silva Screen
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Movie Scores | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000008132
Release Date: 1996-01-01

Tracks:

Vampire Rhapsody [From Kiss of the Vampire] - Westminster Philharmonic Orchestra & Choir
Ayesha-She Who Must Be Obeyed [From She Done Him Wrong] - Westminster Philharmonic Orchestra & Choir
Desert Quest and Bedouin Attack [From She Done Him Wrong] - Westminster Philharmonic Orchestra & Choir
In the Kingdom of She-Processional [From She Done Him Wrong] - Westminster Philharmonic Orchestra & Choir
In the Kingdom of She-The Cruelty of She [From She Done Him Wrong] - Westminster Philharmonic Orchestra & Choir
Eternal Flame and The Destruction of She [From She Done Him Wrong] - Westminster Philharmonic Orchestra & Choir
Christina [From Frankenstein Created Woman] - City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, The Prague Philharmonic Orchestra
Power of Evil [From the DeVil Rides Out] - City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, The Prague Philharmonic Orchestra
Invocation to the Devil/Dance Frenzy/Incarnation-The Goat of ... - City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, The Prague Philharmonic Orchestra
Awakening and Absolution [From the DeVil Rides Out] - City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, The Prague Philharmonic Orchestra
Love Theme [From the Scars of Dracula] - City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, The Prague Philharmonic Orchestra
Introduction and Death of the Monster [From the Quatermass Expirement] - Westminster Philharmonic Orchestra & Choir
Radiation and Requiem [From X-The Unknown] - Westminster Philharmonic Orchestra & Choir
Defeat of the Aliens [From Quatermass II] - Westminster Philharmonic Orchestra & Choir
Finale [From Quatermass II] - Westminster Philharmonic Orchestra & Choir