4 comments about Shining Light, Music from Aquitanian Monasteries.

1. This disc is so beautiful, so full majesty and spirituality. It can quiet the stress and bring sweet comfort. The Sequentia singers so clean-sounding. Their voices have never sounded so pure, like the running of the streams. The chasms of the earth and the sea would be moved to the sounds.



2. 'shining light' performed by Sequentia, the Ensemble for medieval music, is an excellent collection, running for over 70 minutes, of fragments of instrumental music and vocal music in Latin from monasteries in and around the southwestern French city of Limoges.
   
   While this may not rate five stars as an academic piece, it is certainly worth the ranking as music easy on the ears, combining instrumental, male, and female choral music.
   
   I wlll let the scholars fight it out. I simply find it an excellent collection of early music performances.



3. "Shining Light" will lift your spirits during the gloomy winter months, and is a great alternative to over-played commercialized Christmas music. This is a wonderful collection of ancient music that provides a soothing and meditative experience.



4. Along with their other Christmas CD called Aquitania, Shining Light is also full-packed with medieval Latin Christmas songs with another generous 73 minutes of play. This is simply the follow-up of the other Sequentia's Christmas CD. Both CDs are accompanied by sung texts and english translations. At Amazon's price, do yourself a favor and get both at once. These are ideal Christmas gifts for you and those you love.
   
   - Maurice Canada

5 comments about American Idol: The Great Holiday Classics.

1. Aside from Clay Aiken's spectacular vocals for "The First Noel," Clay Aiken and Kimberley Locke's "Silver Bells," and the ensemble's "O Come, All Ye Faithful," the other songs are merely mediocre. Tamyra Gray's "Silent Night" would've have been much more beautiful if she hadn't lisped on "Christ the Savior is born". As I've said, the rest were merely mediocre and become tiring after listening to the CD a few times. They could've done much better.
   
   I recommend Clay Aiken's Christmas CD much more over this CD, unless you really love some of the singers on this CD.



2. There is just something about a Christmas song; it puts me in a good mood, no matter where I am. Sure, I have heard better versions of some of these songs, but it's still nice to listen to. My personal favorites on this album are Tamyra Gray's Silent Night (it's very soulful) and the extra disc with Kelly Clarkson's versions of O Holy Night and My Grown-Up Christmas List is just amazing. Another good one is the Group on O Come All Ye Faithful, and Ruben and Tamyra's Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. Clay Aiken's The First Noel is OK, although a little on the boring side. Over all, it's a pretty good Holiday album, I would recommend it. :)



3. This was a great CD for any fan of American Idol. I still play it every season for Christmas and then some. Great CD, nice Christmas music



4. I GOT BORED WITH THIS AL THOUGH GOOD , TIRED OF THE SONGS



5. My favorite Christmas CD. Wish other American Idol winning groups would produce a Christmas CD.

3 comments about Christmas Choral Classics.

1. Twenty one favorite Christmas Carols and songs performed by the world renown Crouch End Festival Chorus (conductor - David Temple) and The city of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra (conductor Paul Bateman) for an unforgettable Holiday Season for the entire family.

   Two of the most respected musical institutions bring together arrangements and orchestrations by Paul Bateman and Jeremy Marchant ~ harmonized by Charles Wood, David Wilcocks and Simon Fricker with brilliant editing ~ featuring Dolby Surround Sound and HDCD mastering for the connoisseurs listening pleasure.

   Entire album is a stand out with "HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS", a Martin & Blaine tune that Judy Garland sang in "Meet Me in St. Louis", has become an every year classic ~ "GAUDETE", a traditional carol blends eternal happiness, keeping with the season ~ "DING DONG MERRILY ON HIGH", listen as the chorus receive a wonderful workout and they love it ~ "MARY'S BOY CHILD", the big Harry Belafonte hit that always reminds us why we celebrate Christmas ~ "HAPPY XMAS (WAR IS OVER)", the Lennon/Ono tune will tell you like it is ~ but my favorite and highlight is track eleven "WALKING IN THE AIR (from The Snowman), composed for an animated short film, of a boy and his Snowman friend who suddenly comes to life, they travel through the air like magic to the North Pole, meeting Santa and all his friends as they make Christmas all over the world possible, beautiful cue and very haunting mesmerizing theme.

   Hats off to James Fitzpatrick (producer), Reynold da silva (album concept), Paul Bateman and Rickie Clark (assoc. producers) and Silva America for making every Christmas special with this incredible album...gotta love it!

   Total Time: 61:17 on 21 Tracks ~ Silva America 6026 ~ (10/10/2000)




2. This is a great traditional Christmas music CD. I played it over and over and never tired of it.



3. This recording is a fine combination of a very enthusiastic and well trained choir with an equally enthusiastic and technically proficient Symphonic Orchestra. If you are looking for something better than the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, this is it.

No comments about Grampa's Silly Scaries.

5 comments about Handel - Messiah / Röschmann, Gritton, Fink , C. Daniels, N. Davies; McCreesh.

1. I bought this CD in 1998, almost 10 years ago. I have never enjoyed it from beginning to finish. It lacks severely in the ability to pull you right through: the tempi are wayward, varies uncomfortably, and leaves you wondering why an oratorio called Messiah should have rhythms so wayward and diverse without any emotional link.
   I wouldn't comment on individual pieces: they also vary in standard of performances.
   As a whole, it fails sadly to convince listeners that it IS the Messiah that Haendel would want it to be.



2. This can often be too clinical of a version. Overrall, it is excellent: the soloists are especially wonderful, as is the choir. I've been enjoying this version for quite some time, and it is as fresh and slick as you could want. But it lacks the humanity and warmth of even Marriner's double decca set. So while I am giving it four worthy stars, be sure it isn't the only one you get.



3. Maestro McCreesh's 1996 effort is a strong contender among the PI (period instrument) crowd. The orchestra doesn't screech, the chorus has weight, decent diction and color and the soloists have fine voices particularly the sopranos and the contralto.
   McCreesh appears to see the Messiah as drama or perhaps as opera. For example, contralto Bernarda Fink's desire for us feel her pain in "He was despised..." is over the top and distracting. The apparent intent of the players to strive for effect and to shade every word robs the performance of genuine sincerity-this is a work of spiritual expression after all. Nevertheless I enjoyed the performance for what it was and the interpretative approach will appeal to many.



4. People's preferences about Handel's Messiah are typically built on whether or not they enjoy the version being put forth. Paul McCreesh's performance, from the end of the last century, is the Foundling Hopsital performing version Handel may have known in his day. It substitutes certain women's voices -- and a countertenor in other recordings -- for certain arias a bass sings in traditional performances such as those led by Marriner and Colin Davis.
   
   I think this is a five-star performance for fans of the authenticity movement even though I have a few quibbles -- the tenor overinterprets my favorite aria, "Comfort Ye, Comfort Ye My People", and one of the sopranoes, I don't know which one, has an uncontrollabe vibrato in "He Shall Feed His Flock". In addition, the "Hallelujah" chorus hardly bursts forth from a big band orchestra to tumultuous singing by a 200-member choir; that's what you get in an authentic reading using a choir of 45 or less.
   
   These few quibbles aside, I think this is an outstanding performance that gets a big boost from the passion and somewhat eccentric leadership of Paul McCreesh, whose Mozart C Minor Mass, released last year, had all the same qualities as this performance of Messiah. McCreesh clearly is not a pasty-faced authenticist trying to minimize everything or deliver the goods in as chaste an aural environment as possible, something I often find tangbile in Gardiner's readings of great vocal scores.
   
   On the contrary, McCreesh leads the combined forces as if this is indeed a passion. He uses speeds both slower (Glory to God in the Highest) and faster than the norm (Surely He Hath Born Our Griefs) to express his vision. This is in keeping with the practice I've known among choral directors that have told the singers to be louder and quieter than the score markings recommend. This leads to an end product that, while not extreme, transcends the ordinary.
   
   Anyone looking for an ordinary performance won't like this one. While traditionalists may not enjoy the goings on and long for the days of Beecham, no argument can be made this is a poorly performed or badly sung version. Quite the contrary; the singing is as spectacular as I've ever heard in Messiah. For an example, listen to exposition of Handelian counterpoint in "Lift Up Your Gates".
   
   Fans of the version you sang in high school won't like the tempi selected throughout this performance, either. Still, McCreesh and his singers are outstanding throughout and everything is delivered in a wonderfully clear recording that lacks resonance and aura. I don't think this is because it was miked closely; I think it is the relative purtiy of approach one gets from a relatively small band and choir.
   
   DG has reissued this in super audio sound; I haven't heard that one. I'd say the stereo is very good in terms of clarity and delivery. You can understand everything everyone sings and it's delivered in crystal clear acoustics. The recording, in stereo, is not warm and friedly, however, and hall ambience does not exist. Yet the signing is the important thing and that's done better here than in other period performances I've heard led by Parrott and Pinnock. I don't know if this is the best period recording available of Messiah but it's a good one nonetheless.



5. It's hard to have one favorite for a work with so many diverse challenges and rewards; it's far too big for any one performance. But though I have a dozen or so recordings, this is the Messiah I've had the highest joys-to-frustrations ratio with for the last few years.
   
   Perhaps its strongest point, to my ears, is the technical assurance of the soloists, at no cost to their musicality. The thing that has jarred me most often from my enjoyment of this work is soloists just not quite hitting notes or articulating them cleanly, even with baroque specialists in other well regarded period performances, such as Hogwood and Pinnock. ("I shall shake" may as well be "I shall slide" in most recordings.) I agree with a previous reviewer who observes that McCreesh benefits from the maturity of period performance practices, which made great advances even in the decade leading up to this recording. The soloists here do amazingly well.
   
   As another reviewer pointed out, the chorus is "top-heavy," i.e. biased toward the sopranos, who sound appropriately angelic. I would have been happy to hear more strength and depth in the bass. It may be in part a technical artifact of the recording, or it could be an artistic choice. (Maybe we need to import some Russian basses! But could they sing Handel?) Like the soloists, the chorus is astonishingly technically secure, very musical, and never sounds like it's panting.
   
   The orchestra's playing is very well shaped, exceptionally crisp and nimble but expressively modulated. Indeed, that applies to the singing as well, each note and line lovingly contoured. My only real reservation on the instrumental side, which I notice again at each listening, is that the horn on "The Trumpet Shall Sound" seems too pastoral, too relaxed, too smooth, too legato, rather than sharing the appropriately urgent forcefulness of the vocal soloist. Beautiful but not quite fitting, for my view of what the piece is about.
   
   I enjoy the bracing rhythmic spring of many of the pieces, not breathless or over-punched but appropriately lively. On the other extreme, I understand the complaint I see here about the very slow "He Was Despised," but I find it highly effective. It draws me into the words in a way more typically delivered performances don't, without seeming overly mannered to me. The singing is beautiful. (There are reasons to think the piece was originally intended to be a showpiece for a favorite soloist who had very public reasons to identify with the lyrics.)
   
   Similarly, though I see the cause, I disagree with the reviewer who finds "Comfort Ye" over-interpreted. Again, it works very well for me. I see less cause for the same reviewer's feeling that the soprano singing "He Shall Feed His Flock" has an "uncontrollable" vibrato. To me it sounds tight and finely controlled, beautiful. Some have complained of the contralto's vibrato, which is more pronounced (as in "O Thou that Tellest Good Tidings"), but I think the complaints are overblown. Ms. Fink manages it pretty well. Whether it's "authentic" is a matter of some controversy but of relatively little weight in comparison to other points, I think, such as how well she hits the notes and fits the overall style, which she does very well. She does seem a bit underpowered to me, but only a bit.
   
   This performance leans slightly towards the theatrical, operatic side of the work, which McCreesh calls attention to in his notes. That doesn't make it less devotional, only less staid. I can't say I think every piece hits the sweet spot as to tempo and style. Some do strike me as too light, in particular, though never without some benefits from it. Even with the expressiveness throughout, and great feeling in some parts, I still occasionally long for a fuller measure of passion or forcefulness. I'm not sure there is a single sweet spot for many of the pieces, though, and I'm glad to hear and enjoy the choices made here as well as in other performances that bring out other sides of this great music.

No comments about Almost a Full Moon.

1 comments about Crazy Frog Presents Crazy Hits: Crazy Christmas Edition.

1. My two year old daughter loves Crazy Frog and this was her favourite CD over Xmas. Note that there is duplication with the first Crazy Frog CD released, but worthwhile getting for the Xmas songs.

5 comments about The Regis Philbin Christmas Album.

1. It was very enjoyable and exactly what I was looking for. Amazon is a great place to shop for hard to find stuff. Most music stores did not have this, so I was thrilled to find it here.



2. AccuHolidays Please take this off!
   Regis has to be one of the worst vocalists I have ever heard in my life who has produced a for sale recording.



3. I enjoyed this album very much. Regis does a good job in his own style and sounds great! It is not your typical collection of Christmas Carols, but the songs are definitely of the season. Delivery of each song is definitely Regis and an honest rendition of each song depicting his own heart and as he sees it.



4. Ok.. hang it up. I had to listen to your freaking promo during your show a few years ago every day. You suck!



5. Many years ago, Rhino records had the Golden Throats: The Great Celebrity Sing Off collection of actors and entertainers who try to sing (such major examples include william Shatner The Transformed Man, Leonard Nimoy Mr. Spock's Music from Outer Space, and Sebastian Cabot Sebastian Cabot, Actor/Bob Dylan, Poet) ...well this album should join the heap
   
   I love Regis the talk show host. I love Pasword and Millionare games shows. However when it comes to sing these standard Christmas Carols, MR " I Am Only One Man" should stay as a talk show host. He may do a night club act, but this does not translate to this CD
   
   These twelve Christmas carol seems a waste of CD space (Sorry Rege!) .He does get a little help from his family and friends, but it dont really help much. He has his wife Joy in an offkeyed 'Baby its Cold Outside'. He has Donald "You're Fired " Trump on Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer" (you know Rudy was not fired!) and Steve Tyrell on ;Marshallow World'. So where is Kathie or Kelly when you need them Big Daddy?
   
   Regis does like most actor who try to be singers. He speaks the words like a poem. It is nice that he speaks in his Regis style. His voice as a non singer isnt bad, just its not singing
   
   Well Uncle Rege (he seems to be everyone UNCLE), lets not do a CD of your favorite Irish tunes, OKAY?
   
   Bennet Pomerantz AUDIOWORLD

5 comments about Handel - Messiah / M. Marshall · Quirke · Robbin · Brett · Rolfe Johnson · Hale · The Monteverdi Choir · The English Baroque Soloists · Gardiner.

1. This recording of this wonderful work has many virtues. It is a small ensemble with skilled singers and a very gifted conductor. Remember this is contrapuntal music with many simultaneous lines - not just a melody with harmony.
   
   Gardiner lets us hear everything and it is wonderful. He also makes everything we here a choice. It is all on purpose. That doesn't mean deliberate or frozen. Heavens no! This piece is alive and every note is going somewhere for a reason. There are surprising interpretations as well. Sharp stacattos, dramatic pauses, strong contrasts. If we take just "Worthy is the Lamb" and the final "Amen" fugue as a case, we note that he comes in strong on the first statement of "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain!". But on the second repeat, it is more of a marvellous contemplation. And the Amen begins very soft as if the chorus is part of the beatific vision and builds. After the first orchestral interlude the chorus comes in strong, but the tempo never picks up. It is rather slow throughout. That allows for a more massive feeling as things seem to mount to the infinite. It may not be my personal preference, but I certainly admire and respect Gardiner for showing me another approach and convincing me of its power and worth.
   
   While this version lets the music carry the drama rather than letting the singers emote as if this were a romantic era opera, there is plenty of emotion and range in this recording. The ornamentation is tastefully done and does add to the expessivenes of the work. "The Trumpet Shall Sound" sounds terrific. Sometimes the natural trumpet can be played out of tune, but Crispian Steele-Perkins nails it. The "Hallelujia Chorus" is actually sung rather than roared and that is nice change. Don't get me wrong, there is plenty of energy and power, but it is full volume all the way through. And every word can be understood.
   
   Just imagine if we had heard it this clearly from our childhood and we could have avoided all those misunderstanding of what was being sung!
   
   This is a recording I am very happy to own and it is music making I am grateful to be able to hear again and again. This is wonderful stuff!



2. I have had this recording since the LP days and it has stood the test of time.



3. Having sung and played this piece since my elementary school years, I was on the verge of a major case of "Messiah burn-out". There are only so many mediocre and frankly horrible performances of this work one can stand before this insidious malady wrecks one's enjoyment of this over-exposed work of genius.
   
   When I first heard Gardiner's recording in the late 80's, I was instantly cured and have weathered many more lousy performances since with no waning of my enthusiasm for this work (I can't say the same for Orff's Carmina Burana and Beethoven's 9th). I even shelled out the extra dollars for the unneccesary three CDs (it's nice to know it can now be purchased on a two CD version).
   
   Quite frankly, the choral singing cannot be bettered. The excitement that Gardiner's forces convey with their clean, crisp and often breath-taking performance make this recording a first choice.
   
   Since this recording was released, there have been a number of outstanding period performances that have been added to the catalog. They have much to offer too. I, for one, will always revert to this version, though, in homage to its role in restoring my enthusiasm for the piece.



4. With this and other period recordings we have swung as far as possible from the mamoth Messiah performances associated with English choral festivals. The chrous and instrumentalists here are stipped to the bare essentials, and maybe further than that. I very much favor a professional chorus like the Monteverdi Choir, and its' gratifying that Gardiner doesn't ask them to sing without vibrato, although the strings in the orchestra definitely do, giving that "white" zingy sound that may grate on your ears (it does onmine).
   
   But I am not here to gripe about period recordings, just to say that Pinnok, Higginbottom, McCresh, and others give us a more robust, exciting Messiah than Gardiner. He bleaches out all expressive accents and dramatic phrasing. At times the accompaniments are so mincing and bland as to be wimpish, erasing Handel's enormous exuberance. A Messiah without fervor makes no sense to me, but clearly others reviewers love this one.
   
   From a musical standpoint, the best thing this set has going for it are the soloists. Margaret Marshall, Anthony Rolf-Johnson, and Robert Hale are the standouts, and each can hold his or her own against all comers. For their participation I offer gratitude, but Gardiner's conducting leaves me cold--not a nice way to feel at Christmas.



5. Some believe Handel's "Messiah" is best performed by massive choirs accompanied by gigantic orchestras playing modern instruments. I do not. Those performances, whatever their overpowering grandiosity, end up being ponderous and remote. They simply lack the immediacy, intimacy, and direct emotive power of this smaller ensemble accompanied by period instruments.
   
   Gardiner's recording of the "Messiah" is, far and away, my favorite. It is clear and crisp. The tempo and instrumentation are lively. The vocals are close, personal, and genuinely moving.
   
   This is what the "Messiah" should be. The layers of pomposity afflicting so many grandiose recordings have been stripped away, leaving an immediate sound and starkly human story with which the listener connects directly.
   
   The soloists all are wonderful. I suppose that some modern ears, unaccustomed to the sound of a counter-tenor, may find Charles Brett's voice a little off-putting at first. I have grown to love it.
   
   But I particularly like the use of the boy soprano, Saul Quirke, who tells us of "shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night" when "lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them and the glory of the Lord shone round about them and they were sore afraid."
   
   Sore afraid indeed! No other recording of this passage that I have heard so effectively communicates the terror these shepherds must have felt. I connect with them as human beings, and I share their relief as Saul Quirke's clear, innocent, unaffected voice reassures them: "Fear not; for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be unto all people. For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." The boy soprano then accomplishes a perfect segue: "And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heav'nly host, praising God, and saying . . . ."
   
   "Glory to God in the highest," the chorus comes in, "and peace on earth, good will towards men." With this recording, I can I feel I'm there with the shepherds, in the cold of night, sharing their amazement and wonder. Thanks to the small size of the choir, perhaps, it feels as though the angelic host is directly addressing me, a human mortal.
   
   Truly, no other performance of the "Messiah" puts me there, smack dab in the middle of the action, like this one does. My other recordings of the "Messiah" gather dust. This one gets played again and again - always fresh, vibrant, and moving.
   
   Eric Alan Isaacson

5 comments about It Snows in Heaven Too.

1. Annie Haslam was in the 70's the singer of the folk-prog band Renaissance. She was then one of the very few women to sing on the prog scene, and so brought a breath of fresh air in the progressive music thanks to her beautiful voice. 'It snows in heaven too' is a collection of Christmas carols. Annie Haslam being inspired by Joan Baez, she probably was influenced by the Christmas album Joan released in the sixties. On this record, Annie's voice is fresh, clear as the springwater. She is only accompanied by piano or harp, and drums on 'the little drummer boy'. The arrangements are good, and vocals are as good as in the Renaissance days. Annie's interpretations of Christmas carols are very delightful, and you have to take an ear to them if you haven't still listened to them.



2. Annie Haslam, most famous as the voice of the folk-prog group Renaissance, hasn't lost a bit off her voice. If anything, she is singing better now than she was in the 1970s.
   The collection is mostly standards: a mix of religious carols and secular "holiday" tunes with one original composition, the title song.
   I can't comment on the improvement of the remastered version over the original, but I can say that the remastered version sounds very good.
   Perhaps the best tune is her rendition of "Away in a Manger," sung with little or no instrumental accompaniment. Some of the instrumental arrangements border on the cheesy, in my opinion, but the jazzy piano on some of the selections sounds very good.
   Haslam hits all the high notes -- and there are some high ones. In an age of pop music dominated by caterwaulers, breathy reciters and no-talent groaners, hearing someone who can actually carry a tune to the highest heights is quite a treat.
   My one quibble is that she slides into some of her notes when I think it would sound better if she just moved from note to note.



3. Annie Haslam has the most beautiful voice, and this is an excellent CD!



4. For the past few years, Annie has done concerts of Christmas carols at local churches and that's what this CD is. The title song is an original while the rest of the songs are fairly faithful interpretations of holiday classics both religious and secular. No real surprises here but you're not buying this to be surprised- this is a fine Christmas CD.



5. I absolutely love Christmas music - authentic Christmas music. I can listen to Carols from Trinity all day long. However, Christmas is a time for marketing mischief as one hack after another slaps something together in hopes of making a few easy sheckles. Examples abound. Here are just a few Christmas CDs I won't be buying. Christmas At The Rehab - Britney Spears. I'm Dreaming Of A Desperate Christmas - The Cast Of Desperate Housewives Perform Holiday Favorites. A Christmas Carol read by Borat.
   
   The good news is, It Snows In Heaven Too shines out; its appeal is universal. This is the kind of CD you will return to year after year, and enjoy every time. The blend of secular with religious is nicely done; there are many standards as well as a couple of surprises. The arrangements are spare - thank goodness - no goopy strings, cloying choirs, ham-fisted extras. The emphasis is always squarely where it belongs, on Ms. Haslam's extraordinary voice.
   
   Ms. Haslam gives a Christmas concert every year in beautiful Bucks County, PA, near where I live. I was fortunate enough to attend one of them and I am pleased to report it was a deeply moving, spiritual event. Not only is Ms. Haslam an extraordinary performer, she is also an extraordinary human being who brings out the best in others. That, dear friends, is what great Christmas music can do, it can appeal to the spirit and cause one to forget the commercialism.
   
   It is said that Haslam has a 5-octave range. I'm not certain if this is technically accurate, if true, it would make her a very rare bird indeed. I will say that she possesses an exquisite voice, and her high notes are sweet as candy. But what I notice most about her singing is the gorgeous diction. Today, her English accent is almost gone, but she caresses each word as though she were on the boards at the Old Vic. Haslam sings with the utmost care, precision, and clarity - absolutely enchanting considering today incomprehensibility is fashionable if not de rigueur. In an age of mediocrity, and a season of wretched excess, treat yourself to the real thing. This is Christmas as it should be.