3 comments about Tarik O'Regan: Threshold of Night.

1. Music, performance, production, sound, innovation.
   
   This re-defines contemporary music and modern choral performance.
   
   Judging by this disc, 'Conspirare' is the finest choir working today and O'Regan the most individual composing voice.
   
   It's a perfect match. This is GRAMMY material - don't wait for the awards though!



2. 
   
   Not much to add to all the press already listed in the previous review. I think many people will come to the disc from O'Regan's previous effort, 'Scattered Rhymes': Scattered Rhymes.
   
   Anyway, this neatly follows on from that stellar recording with the kind of music I've never heard before. It's fast, it's rhythmic, it's dense and textured - all the nuances of a symphony orchestra somehow parsed through voices and string instruments. The performances are 10/10.
   
   Groundbreaking stuff!



3. "You absolutely should not hesitate to give this program a listen. The seven works...are not only significant and eminently worthy entries into the modern choral repertoire, but they also are accessible in the best sense of the word...the music immediately reveals itself and rewards careful, serious listening." "O'Regan's intentions and realization of the texts speak for themselves through artful, consistently engaging choral writing." "the performances are first rate--this choir has an established reputation for excellence and has taken to O'Regan's music as if it were created just for them (which some of it was!)...Don't miss this."
   Sound Quality: 10 / Performance: 10
   - David Vernier, CLASSICSTODAY.COM
   
   "This music for chorus and strings is of unearthly beauty."
   - Jeff Simon, THE BUFFALO NEWS
   
   "[O'Regan's] music is virtuosic, impulsively careening toward maximum drama in his treatment of texts by Edgar Allan Poe and Pablo Neruda, often with simultaneous ideas in opposing keys...but so skillfully written for the choral medium that singers don't come close to losing their bearings."
   
   - David Patrick Stearns, THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
   
   "Conspirare is one of America's leading vocal ensembles, and it's easy to hear why in these superb performances."
   - Robert Levett, INTERNATIONAL RECORD REVIEW
   
   "Mesmerizing and sublime, O'Regan's music layers voices with brilliant intricacy and he deftly combines airy melodies and subtle dissonances to a powerful effect. "
   - Jeanne Claire van Ryzin, AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN
   
   "Threshold of Grammy?...this is a recording worthy of attention. A single listen confirms...that this choir and composer are exquisitely matched. Conductor Craig Hella Johnson and his company of voices have the skill to voice all the colors in O'Regan's richly varied musical palette: the densely clustered voices that pull at one another in tense dissonance here and resolve in sumptuous harmonies there, the rhythms that rocket a song along or ease it into a blissful peace. Moreover, they have a feel for the material, for its drama and intensity and the deep spiritual dimension at its foundation. This is one meditation on mortality that's thrillingly alive."
   - Robert Faires, THE AUSTIN CHRONICLE

5 comments about Hildegard von Bingen: Canticles of Ecstasy.

1. My massage therapist played this during one of our sessions and I found it peaceful and relaxing.



2. Though I am not a believer, I am interested and moved by all sorts of music, including a lot of historical music. This recording was my first introduction to the amazing Hildegard von Bingen. The music she composed, to me, is best described as soul-stirring. While listening to it, I get the sensation that it has reached inside to my heart and grabbed hold. I suspect this has something to with harmonics, neurology, etc. and is beyond my level of understanding, but I can't deny the wonderful feeling of soul fulfillment it gives me. This was an excellent purchase.
   P.S. The feminist in me can't help but love that this was all composed by a woman nearly a millenium ago. Wow.



3. I didn't get a chance to read all the reviews posted for this album, so if someone already said this I apologize for the repetition. Are you aware that this is the de facto first opera ever written in Europe? Hildegard was a visionary in so many ways! Her music is very different and unique when compared to other operas. I highly recommend it.



4. One would have to listen to this music to understand the power it will hold over you. Ethereal and almost eery, yet full of power, grace and triumph, this will be a mainstay in your collection. The only thing resembling it that the mass public would be aware of is Gregorian Chant, although this is it's own beast and so much more. It's not expensive, buy it and see for yourself.



5. I had first heard this performance of St. Hildegard of Bingen's "Canticles of Ecstasy" on sound cassette and loved it.
   
   The music is sublime. The female voices are heavenly, without a hint of sentimentality.
   
   When you listen to "Canticles of Ecstasy" you will know how this medieval nun and composer felt about things.
   
   Caution. They could make a believer of you.

5 comments about Mozart Edition: Complete Works (170 CD Box Set).

1. I thoroughly enjoy these CDs. I tried collecting Mozart in portions over time, but his repertoire is just way too large to manage for amateurs like me. It is well worth buying the whole collection in one purchase.



2. I have the Philips set, which cost me just over Aussie Dollars 1000.00 Thank you for the reviews. I now feel that the price I paid for the Philips set was justified. No, I'm not a PhD in music - just a soild amateur. I do have the Briliant Bach set, and I'm very happy with that. Oh, yes - I've just ordered the Haydn. Maybe I'll post a review on that!



3. I have been looking for a set like this for a long time.
   
   So far the CDs I have listened to are of excellent quality.



4. I bought the complete set for my birthday. What a wonderful surprise ! Let's say I did not know much about Mozart's music except some few "classics" (the symphonies, the requiem, some piano concertos and sonatas, some serenades and the operas). I love every piece I have listened to until now. I have discovered beautiful music I would never have listened to if I had not bought the set ! For example, some piano music or the Church sonatas. Right now I'm listening to string quartets (vol. 5 - cd 8), they're simply charming ! I keep pressing the "previous" button of my remote control. The music is really well played : good tempi, good sound, beautiful voices. And the price is very very reasonable ! I think this set constitutes an admirable opportunity for anyone to discover or rediscover Mozart's music.



5. Very present and lively. I have been playing these CD's one after another and they are all enjoyable. What an incredible bargain.

3 comments about Norton Recorded Anthology of Western Music, Fifth Edition, Volume 2: Classic to Twentieth Century (6 CDs).

1. Excellent product..one of the standard anthologies available for studying Music History.
   
   One caveat, if you're using Hanning's Concise Grout as a companion text, be sure to match the correct edition of the anthology + recordings to the correct edition of the text.



2. The CDs in this set are not packaged in standard jewelboxes nor even in cheap sleeves, but are mounted directly atop a printed surface. As a result, when I purchased the set from my school bookstore, I found that several of the CDs had dried flecks of ink on the data side that made it impossible to play or rip certain tracks. Beware.



3. These CDs are great, i can appreciate them more however, through my music class.

3 comments about Children's Favorites.

1. This CD mostly delivered what was expected of it. The only critique I have is that some of the tempos could have been cleaner, and that it should be cross-referenced by the other composers besides J. S. Bach.



2. This is the most wonderful collection to have on 1 CD. Children from birth on up can benefit from this musical collage.
   Songs from the "Nutcracker" are familiar and comfortable for many children. What child wouldn't love "March of the Tin Soldiers?"
   Selections from Saint-Saens' "Carnival of the Animals" is a must in my creative movement library. Every child should be exposed to this music. Well,I believe every age should be.



3. With total playing time clocking in at 78:04 minutes of music, you'll be paying about 6-cents/minute, which is a better bargain than long distance phone calls, and often more rewarding!

   This disc is far superior than most other "Classics for Kids"-type recordings I've sampled for a number of reasons:

   1) This album was expertly engineered. The production quality on this disc is first-rate from start to finish with crisp, clear sound.

   2) The pieces were expertly picked. There is wonderful sonic variety here, spanning hundreds of years of wonderful melodies. There are orchestral pieces, harpsichord pieces, solo piano, and a piano concerto, capped off with Saint-Seans whimsical Carnival of the Animals. What kid (or adult) wouldn't love that?

   3) The performances are, without exeption, expert! The pieces were definately screened for quality as well as content. Many are simply a joy to behold. Walter Klein is a particular stand-out, almost giddily prancing through Schumann's pieces. Believe it or not, he sounds even more impressive when backed up by the always inspiring Minnesota Orchestra on Mozart's Piano Concerto #17.

   In short, this album is a great album even before you factor in the great price. You and your children are almost guaranteed to enjoy every 6-cents worth!

5 comments about Mendelssohn: 5 Symphonies; 7 Overtures.

1. I've waited for years to buy a complete set of Mendelssohn symphonies and having listened to a less-than-ideal rendition of the "Lobgesang" recently, I decided it was time. I'm either glad I waited or wish I'd bought this recording ages ago, though I doubt such a bargain was available then -- this is wonderful Mendelssohn and the inclusion of the overtures and the scherzo from the Octet op. 20 in the composer's own orchestration (written as an alternate scherzo for his first symphony) is an intriguing and delightful inclusion.
   
   Abbado seems to choose just the right tempi (perhaps a bit slower in places than, say, Gardiner and certainly slower than Toscanini) and he slightly slows the music or speeds it up at just the right places where such emphases are needed. As expected, the London Symphony's sound is beautifully rich and warm, but Mendelssohn's counterpoint such as the woodwind suspensions in the introduction of no. 2 and the tossing around of the counter themes in the fugal passages of no. 4's Saltarello are brought to the fore in ways I've never heard in other recordings or in live performances. I especially appreciate Abbado's approach to no. 5: He takes the composer at his word and conducts the musical representation of Protestantism's early struggle (and mystery and beauty exemplified in the Dresden Amen) by giving its first movement the powerful reading it deserves. Martin Luther would be proud.
   
   I must advocate a bit for the symphony no. 2. So often with symphonic/choral works (as opposed to expressly and primarily vocal works such as operas), performances and recordings feature second-rate performers and half-hearted renditions. It's a Catch-22 because such performances sustain the music's lack of popularity, as if the increased forces (and their financial obligation) dictate their musical worth. Mendelssohn's 2nd is another very fine work relegated to neglect for these same reasons and it's unfortunate that only in a complete symphonies compilation will its beauties be appreciated. However, Abbado and the LSO make a great case -- the singing is superlative both by the soloists and the chorale and one can hear THE ORGAN!
   
   I highly recommend this recording.



2. From the first entrances, the symphonies and overtures of Felix Mendelssohn come alive under the expert direction of Maestro Claudio Abbado. Sensitive phrasings and dynamics make the most of Mendelssohn's lyric melodic lines, helping to shape each work into a cohesive whole. The "Hymn of Praise" contains some rather extreme dynamic levels, in my opinion, but overall, it is a stunning collection, with excellent soloists and choir. I highly recommend the two-disc set to anyone fond of Mendelssohn's music!



3. Do note that the mp3 link from this site is not what it is supposed to be. It links to what could well be a very mediocre collection of overtures. BEWARE



4. By my calculations, this is the single best set of Mendelssohn symphonies out there today. Though better versions of the "Reformation," "Scottish," and "Italian" Symphonies exist in other disks, I still like the interpretations offered by Abbado and the LSO.
   
   For the "Reformation", and "Italian" Symphonies, I'd recommend John Eliot Gardiner and the Vienna Philharmonic's DG set.
   
   For the Scottish Symphony I'd go with Karajan's recording with the BPO (that CD also comes with the best "Hebrides Overture" recording available, and a pretty good "Italian Symphony" interpretation, too).
   
   All of the overtures in this set are performed very well, both in technical execution and musical interpretation. The Hebrides (a work far ahead of its time), in particular, is a fine recording. So is "Overture 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'." I really have grown fond of the "Ruy Blas" overture as well.
   
   Another reviewer complained that the interpretations in this set are "too Classical." I think they are correct in saying the set is Classically performed, but I think that works with Mendelssohn, as he was "the Romantic Mozart."
   
   
   
   Overall this is a great set, and a good way to become familiar with the music of Felix Mendelssohn, or build your Mendelssohn library.



5. Unlike many all-digital compilations offered by one orchestra and conductor, this collection of Mendelssohn favorites is outstanding in performance and interpretation throughout. Maestro Abbado shows a genuine affection for the composer and his genius by the sequence of selections on each disc, and I find no weak performances anywhere in this remarkable recording.
   
   Charlie Hastings
   Falls Church, VA

5 comments about 300 Years of Guitar Masterpieces.

1. This collection from the early years of Manuel Barrueco is one of the best values you'll find. It's 3 discs long and contains some of the best guitar playing I've ever heard. I've owned this set once before and had to buy it again because my original CDs were worn out from ware and tear. Highly recommended for anyone starting a serious classical guitar collection.



2. Brilliant, lively interpretations. Amazing tone. Crystal clear articulation of every note. Never boring. I own dozens of classical guitar CDs and have been a student of the instrument many years. I listen to these three CDs more than any others. These recordings (on CD 2) made me fall in love w Scarlatti, though I had heard his music played on guitar (very well) before.
   
   If you like classical guitar at all, just buy it - you will love it.



3. I'm a thoughtful and introspective person with a diverse background. Of all the old countries, Spain's diverse background appealed to me. This music reflects that appeal.



4. Not much else really to say about this. It is a collection of brilliant interpretations and the guitar has the most amazing sound I've ever heard on a recording. You will find yourself almost spiritually bound to share this recording with any classical guitar playing friends and aficionados.



5. I was browsing Amazon, shopping for gifts, and when I listened to the snippets of this, I couldn't resist ordering it for myself. It's a 3CD set of beautiful, varied music played by a brilliantly skilled and sensitive master. Barrueco has an extraordinary touch that seems perfect for each piece, from Bach to Paganini to Villa-Lobos. Anyone who likes classical guitar would treasure this set.

5 comments about Beethoven: Piano Sonatas.

1. In some places, the playing seems rushed and in others, it sounds uncoordinated. There are better versions of these sonatas out there.



2. This is an excellent recording of the three most well-known and well-loved piano sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven. As an aspiring Beethoven expert (I'm a college student and just recently began really discovering Beethoven), I wanted to hear a masterful, even "definitive" if you will, recording of these sonatas. I listened straight through the entire album, enjoying every minute of it. I smiled as I recognized a piece that I finally got to hear in its proper context, and the whole time I was in awe of Beethoven's work coming through Claudio Arrau. The Pathetique and Moonlight sonatas were especially wonderful to hear, since I've heard parts of them hundreds of times in other arrangements--from Trans-siberian Orchestra to Dance Dance Revolution and other music video games to Schroeder of the Peanuts gang at his piano. Nothing compared to hearing Claudio Arrau play the pieces as Beethoven intended: it was magical. Delightful, masterful, beautiful, fun, timeless...you will love Beethoven's three great piano sonatas.



3. What more can I say....
   I dont really know much about classical, and I wont pretend that I do, but to me, this is perfection!
   Excellent service to as item arrived in good time!



4. First of all I would like to say, I have to disagree with a reviewer that says Arrau plays "too slow" this I can handle although I consider his speed is fine... but mostly when he says something like "he gives a romantic touch to these sonatas that were dedicated to men".
   
   That is a huge blasphemy and here's why: Beethoven was a passionate man, I guess every Beethoven fan and student knows that, and if you still don't believe it just listen to his piano, violin and cello trios to see how much passion and romance there is involved. So it doesn't matter if he dedicated these sonatar (or any of his works) to a woman, a man or an alien, it is quite clear that whoever it was intended to, Beethoven would have probably execute it with passion and romance.
   
   The execution of the Appassionata sonata is the ultimate execution. I need more words from other universe to describe how you can easly breeze into the composer's mind and actually feel what he felt and thought when he composed this piece. The 3rd movement is to me the best around and the best I've heard (from dozens of dozens), especially the last two minutes when it's clear the composer went drive mad. With other performers you will see that in these two minutes (when the piece reachis its climax) they will normally slow down which obviously a clear mistake and not what Beethoven intended). The last two minutes are to be played with madness, more madness, anger, more anger and all the passion you can put into those 88 keys. You can't slow down the climax of the piece ! That's why it is called Appassionata ! Such a beautiful piece.
   
   The moonlight execution is the best I've heard too (with the exception of the 1st movement). Each one of the three movements take you to a mind state where you can feel how and what Beethoven felt about countess Giuletta Giucardi: love, joy and then hate, respectively. Just like the appasionata, the 3rd movement's performance is stunning. By the time you reach half of it, your mind will think you're listening to Beethoven.
   
   Patetique is a good execution. I haven't really heard a notable performance, probably due to the fact of being one of Beethoven's earlier -more Mozartian/classisist- works. Still it is very good, and the movement that impresses me the most is the second.
   
   Do your self a favor and get this CD. You will trash any other Beethoven Piano sonatas CD, and you will eventually look forward to buy the 32 piano sonata box set by Claudio Arrau -to listen to the man himself playing all his works-, which I proudly own and just like this disc, it is worth every single penny.



5. Claudio Arrau is not always an easy pianist to listen to. His playing is sometimes very irritating and at times can seem boring. Not everyone will agree with his Beethoven playing, and his playing in general, but many will be fascinated by his complex intellectuality. His Beethoven playing, particularly the sonatas, are some of his best and most interesting work. If anyone was to own one recording of Arrau's playing, I would surely suggest a Beethoven recording. His interpretations of these three popular sonatas are unorthodox but are given very passionate and interesting performances. Anyone studying or interested in these sonatas should listen to Arrau, the Appassionata especially is given an excellent performance.

   This CD is highly recommended, it's an excellent lesson in Arrau's Beethoven playing.

5 comments about Tabula Rasa.

1. I was told several weeks ago that I was to do a presentation in my Music Theory class about a twentieth century composer. Arvo Pärt immediately came to mind as probably my favorite composer and perfect for the project. As much as I loved Pärt when I wrote the last review for the very same release of Tabula Rasa, I simply did not know him as well as I know him now. Part of this comes from having listened to Tabula Rasa fairly often up until last week, and then what happened to me last week. What happened was I acquired about fifteen Arvo Pärt releases in one weekend, both from a box set that I purchased called The Silence of Being (I'll get to that later, after I find the time to sit down and comb through the five disks carefully and be able to make an assessment) and various other releases from my local library. I have been completely immersed in Pärt for the past week, and I feel that I owe it to him and this album to take another shot at the review with my added knowledge and understanding.
   
   The 1984 release Tabula Rasa is the most popular and essential example of Arvo Pärt's minimalist tintinnabuli style. Although this is by no means a definitive collection of all of his best pieces of the style, the four recordings here have remarkable cohesion, and the presence of any one piece plays off of the others and brings out its best. It's no surprise that this album is so popular with music fans who are not attuned to classical music. Pärt has a knack for classical structure, but his tintinnabuli style is both focused on melodicism as well as texture.
   
   Perhaps the most obvious examples of the active working of this contrast are the two versions of Fratres collected here. The first features a fiery, raw solo violin part that represents entire chords at once in violent precision playing from Gidon Kremer, who seems to have little trouble with the complex bowing. The second version of Fratres is played by twelve cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, and this recording of the piece is alternatively subdued and more safe sounding, but no matter how you slice it or dice it, Fratres is a soaring, thoughtful, and sometimes spiritual piece. And Pärt is definitely a spiritual composer, although not really a religious, or Christian composer. Although many of his later, particularly choral pieces might reflect a religious theme lyrically, the aural spirituality is universal and accessible to all.
   
   Sandwiched between these two recordings is the collection's shortest and arguably most memorable moment, Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten. After a bell sounds off the beginning of the piece, a full orchestra cascades down over the constant pedal point of the bell like water over a cliff, or possibly like souls descending into the deep, in polyphonic parts. The downward moving strings get stronger and stronger, and then compound the dense sea of sound at the bottom. Before the piece has a chance to burn out, it cuts out, and is concluded by the same bell that started it. The word "cantus" has surely become synonymous with this piece as it is a perfect example of what kind of emotion a cantus should evoke.
   
   The collection is rounded off with a full performance of one of Part's most famous pieces, the twenty five minute long Tabula Rasa. The piece consists of two parts, which although are not separated in any way like on many other recordings, have unique enough ideas and emotions to make the distinction obvious. The first movement, Ludus, is a sprawling expansion on a single theme that grows in complexity with each repetition. Although the piece sounds something like more traditional European fiddle music at times, the harmonies are sublimely universal. Pärt's experimental flair also comes through here on flourishes of prepared piano, which run rampant in the booming conclusion.
   
   The second movement, Silentium, works opposite to Ludus by constructing a loose, polyphonic texture that delicately floats upwards into the stratosphere of the stringed instruments' fingerboards on a melancholic chord progression which also seems to reach for the sky. There is little actual melody, but this is considered one of Pärt's finest tintinnabuli moments and is a frequent pick along with Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten for favorite music of patients dying of terminal cancer or AIDS. Somewhere near the middle of Silentium, it sounds almost as if some ambient soundscape is vaguely introduced into the background. It might be a production trick, or perhaps even a nonexistent illusion of atmosphere, but it almost seems as if the song is ascending an icy, snowy mountain, as the air between the strings gets thinner and thinner. The piece finally fades gently into nothingness, a final equilibrium, a blank slate.
   
   It is no surprise that this is Pärt's most popular release to date. The pieces here are slowly seeping into popular culture; Fratres was featured in last years Academy Award nominated There Will Be Blood, Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten was featured in Fahrenheit 9/11, and Tabula Rasa was used in War Photographer. But this popular exposure does not mean that Pärt is a modern classical sellout, nor does it mean that Tabula Rasa is any less of a quaint release than it really is. All of these pieces mesh stylistically and represent a time of great inspiration in Pärt's career, and the collection stands up as a collection of four (or five, if you count the two Tabula Rasa movements as seperate) utterly unforgettable works.



2. I found it impossible not to react on a variety of emotional levels to Part's music, especially Tabula Rasa. It almost demands feeling. It is also music whose complexities draw one continually to explore it. The more you listen, the more there is to find.



3. I first heard one of the songs playing in a Starbucks and had to ask them what it was... I couldn't hear it very well, but I knew I needed to hear more. After I got home and listened to the previews on Amazon, I was hooked.
   
   There is so much depth and sweetness to this music. It has literally brought me to tears. If you're looking for an album of chamber music that truely goes beyond the normal lulling sound and into the realm of true artistic expression, this is one to own. It is one of the prizes of my collection.



4. I'm not completely dug on classical and contemporanean music, ECM stuff included. Lygeti, Xenakis they make me sense, all along american minimalists like Reich or Cage. Electro-acustic is more ear-friendly for me (Ferrari, Parmegiani) but... All this speech just to say that thsi is one ECM record I own - the 1977's Tabula Rasa. The great Gidon Kramer (check out "Silence" from Nonesuch who has another version of tabula rasa) is here with all his magic, even the world-piano-star K. Jarrett plays piano, and everything makes sense. The music is so cold and complex, ethernal yet listenable for the common of mortals. Give a try, i did and i'm inloved with.



5. arguably, it was THIS music by THIS composer that Manfred Eicher's label, ECM, was meant for. If an album was released on ECM, no doubt it sounds lovely, but when purpose is paired so perfectly with sound, even ECM attains something angelic and beyond. Arvo Part's non-modulating approach to harmony, great care and attention with so few notes, and the reverent spirit that carries through his efforts encompasses a catalogue of works so great and beautiful I'm not sure any 20th century composer can remotely compare.
   
   This ECM disc is possibly the best of all. _Tabula Rasa_, first and foremost, is a masterpiece. A violin concerto of sorts, it flows through static haze and torrid whorls, with ghostly sounds of strings punctuated by the bell- and chime-like intonations on sounds of prepared piano. Divine and without momentum, this piece forever hovers between being and nothing. _Fratres_, performed in two versions here (for violin and piano, and for 12 cellos), features a chorale-like figure recurring over an ethereal drone. Radiant and simple, not a sound is out of place. the _Cantus_ is based on rich chords arranged in a variety of rhythmic patterns, so beautiful one kind of wishes it would last longer.
   
   this is an excellent introduction to one of the best composers of the 20th century. i would really encourage you to hear this.

5 comments about Let Yourself Go.

1. The first time I saw Kristin Chenoweth in a movie was the TV "Music Man". Just lately I listened to the "Wicked" soundtrack, and after that, I've been listening to Kristin's CDs whenever I can. This one is a jazzy, Broadway-type CD with fun, engaging songs. She's a different type of singer, and while not everyone might enjoy her voice, I really do. If you like Broadway, jazz, drama, romance, or just fun, catchy songs, this is a CD for you.



2. Once you have seen Kristen Chenoweth in action (check out YouTube) you know not only what an extremely talented musician she is, but also how fabulous she is at acting out and conveying each piece to an audience. She is the WHOLE package! This CD is a great sampling of her extreme talents!



3. I hope she continues doing seperate albums on the side besides her beoadway albums. She sings in so many different stlyes and her voice is so beautiful in each. She gives such heart to every peice she sings.



4. A few years back I caught Kristin Chenoweth's socko boffo performance on a Boston Pops special on PBS and was suitably wowed. I had heard nothing but good things about her prior, but since Broadway is not my main musical interest, I admit I hadn't felt compelled to rush to check her out. Then a friend whose main musical interest is in fact, musicals played me a few tracks of the WICKED cast album, on which both Chenoweth and co-star Idina Menzel excelled (and were swell--hmm, maybe I should take up hip hop). All of that made me eager to hear Chenoweth's solo recordings, to experience--as it were--her full palette.
   
   LET YOURSELF GO from 2001 is as good a sampling as you could hope for. A solid mix of peppy, witty showtunes and heartfelt ballads, all sung with what we critics and would-be critics like to call "genuine flair." She's got the stuff, and she knows how to use it.
   
   Of course, all popular music is, at least in part, selling an artist's personality. Chenowith's impressive vocal prowess would not necessarily guarantee stardom if she weren't so charming and, as John Lahr observes in his liner notes, so downright wholesome. Like Bernadette Peters and rock's Cyndi Lauper, she has a somewhat comic, Betty Boopesque speaking voice, but is capable of turning around and blowing an audience away with sheer vocal power.
   
   Employing all that natural charm and wit, Chenoweth can get away with vocalizing stunts that might seem way too show-offy on paper. Her take on "The Girl in 14G" has her alternating operatic trills with very convincing, very Ella-like scatting. In less hands, it might prove WAAAY too cute. But I defy any listener to listen to Chenoweth's triple-tracked vocal pyrotechnics and not be suitably impressed, if not fully enraptured. Ultimately, the song is about the sheer joy of singing, and Kristin Chenoweth's take on it conveys that joy. And if there's a little bit of showboating going on, well, it's done with warmth and humor and, anyway, the girl's ENTITLED.
   
   The album is beautifully orchestrated and very well sequenced. A light hearted number like the above mentioned "14G" is followed by the sensitively rendered Rodgers and Hart number "I'll Tell the Man On the Street," which proves that the young Barbra Streisand did not OWN that song after all.
   
   The inclusion of the Ogden Nash/Kurt Weill classic "Stranger Here Myself" did make me hungry for something even edgier, though. Yes, I could imagine Chenoweth doing BRECHT/Weill as well. In noting her wholesome appeal, John Lahr suggests that she is something of a throwback to an era of lighter, more innocent musical theater. I take the point, but I disagree that she would not be a good candidate for a Sondheim production. Lahr maintains that Chenoweth is not "desiccated" enough for Sondheim. But surely, he of all people would be appreciative of the benefits of casting against type. After all, the above cited Bernadette has been doing it for years. And even Cyndi made a her Broadway debut a year or so ago doing Brecht/Weill. I could well see the already versatile Ms Chenoweth getting a little, how you say, edgier?



5. Do I mean the best album or the best singer? You are correct if you said both! I saw Kristin Chenoweth on a PBS show "Broadway's Best at the Pops," (though it was not the first time I had heard her) and decided to check out the offerings here. This is a collection of the kind of music and performances I love. She has a great range, a precise pitch, and a great style that is at the same time true to the music and to herself. In an era when singers try to outdo each other re-interpreting the composer's original work, not usually with great success, she is a blessing!