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Henryk Gorecki: Symphony 3 'Sorrowful Songs'
(more) »rank: 6638from: Nonesuch
: essential recording:This album, which catapulted Polish composer Henryk Gorecki to into the international spotlight, takes texts born in pain and turns them into statements of affirmation through the use of music that ebbs and flows in mystic minimalism. The clear voice of soprano Dawn Upshaw, singing the Polish texts, is a large part of the success of this particular recording, but the music, contemporary without either dissonance or movie-music mawkishness, clarifies and uplifts the words. This is a moving and essential element of the modern repertoire. --Sarah Bryan Miller
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Lauridsen: Lux Aeterna, etc. / Salamunovich, Los Angeles Master Chorale
(more) »rank: 2673by: M. Lauridsen
: :Modern choral music for amateur singers may be America's biggest musical underground. That's the only explanation of why Grammy-nominated composer Morten Lauridsen can claim that his works are some of the most often-performed new pieces in years, although few among the East Coast intelligentsia have ever heard of him. Like the similarly popular John Rutter, Lauridsen inhabits an extremely conservative style directed simply and single-mindedly at showing off the beauty of choral singing while it illustrates inspiring texts. Unlike many of his fellow neo-Romantic conservatives, Lauridsen displays a brand of conservatism that is completely convincing and sincere. His music also has range, from ...
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Dvorák: Symphony No. 9 'From the New World'; Slavonic Dances
(more) »rank: 3365from: Apex
: :Modern choral music for amateur singers may be America's biggest musical underground. That's the only explanation of why Grammy-nominated composer Morten Lauridsen can claim that his works are some of the most often-performed new pieces in years, although few among the East Coast intelligentsia have ever heard of him. Like the similarly popular John Rutter, Lauridsen inhabits an extremely conservative style directed simply and single-mindedly at showing off the beauty of choral singing while it illustrates inspiring texts. Unlike many of his fellow neo-Romantic conservatives, Lauridsen displays a brand of conservatism that is completely convincing and sincere. His music also has range, from ...
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Christmas with Mario Lanza
(more) »rank: 2315from: RCA
: :Modern choral music for amateur singers may be America's biggest musical underground. That's the only explanation of why Grammy-nominated composer Morten Lauridsen can claim that his works are some of the most often-performed new pieces in years, although few among the East Coast intelligentsia have ever heard of him. Like the similarly popular John Rutter, Lauridsen inhabits an extremely conservative style directed simply and single-mindedly at showing off the beauty of choral singing while it illustrates inspiring texts. Unlike many of his fellow neo-Romantic conservatives, Lauridsen displays a brand of conservatism that is completely convincing and sincere. His music also has range, from ...
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Mass
(more) »rank: 2855from: Sony
: :While critics at the 1971 premiere found the work derivative and even tasteless, audiences loved this ardent, resourceful, somewhat brazen, ultimately moving Theatre Piece for Singers, Players, and Dancers. Leonard Bernstein's affinity for his public and for the age in which he lived enabled him to successfully outfit his Mass with a stylish mix of contemporary and ancient modes--rock, jazz, electronic music, Gregorian chant--and place it in a context somewhere between Broadway and opera. Though it lacks the visual component of a live performance, the work holds up well on this Bernstein-led recording, the only complete version on disc. From the popular 'Simple ...
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Mozart - Requiem / Augér, Bartoli, Cole, Pape, Wiener Phil., Solti
(more) »rank: 3166from: Decca
: :While critics at the 1971 premiere found the work derivative and even tasteless, audiences loved this ardent, resourceful, somewhat brazen, ultimately moving Theatre Piece for Singers, Players, and Dancers. Leonard Bernstein's affinity for his public and for the age in which he lived enabled him to successfully outfit his Mass with a stylish mix of contemporary and ancient modes--rock, jazz, electronic music, Gregorian chant--and place it in a context somewhere between Broadway and opera. Though it lacks the visual component of a live performance, the work holds up well on this Bernstein-led recording, the only complete version on disc. From the popular 'Simple ...
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A Robert Shaw Christmas - Angels on High
(more) »rank: 2337from: Telarc
: :In this beautifully chosen program of mostly a cappella arrangements, Robert Shaw and the Robert Shaw Chamber Singers deliver the Christmas story in tones of gentle and moving splendor. The carols and sacred settings recorded here are all of an intimate sort, and the rapturous, gently expressive realizations Shaw and his singers give them prove unfailingly appealing. Particularly moving is the newest work on the disc, a setting of 'O magnum mysterium' by the American composer Morten Lauridsen. Franz Biebl's 'Ave Maria' is another gem, as is the arrangement by Healy Willan of the French carol 'What Is This Lovely Fragrance?' The offering ...
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Bach: Art of Fugue
(more) »rank: 821from: Deutsche Grammophon
:Album Description:Pierre-Laurent Aimard's debut on Deutsche Grammophon is the first recording of the mystical The Art of Fugue by a world-renowned pianist in 25 years. As a pre-eminent performer of modern music, Aimard brings a unique and exciting approach to his first ever Bach recording also serving as his first recording of Baroque repertoire. Given his links to many of the great contemporary composers, the high-profile Aimard is certain to generate much interest in the musical press with his first Bach recording. Aimard will perform The Art of Fugue in many musical venues around the world, in cities including New York, Paris, Vienna, ...
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Trio Mediaeval: Folk Songs
(more) »rank: 3285from: Ecm Records
:Album Description:Corresponding with Trio Mediaeval's tenth anniversary, their fourth ECM album is a powerful and compelling recording of Norwegian folk songs. Performed in concert over the years, these songs are always received ecstatically - this is the album that Trio Mediaeval's fans have been waiting for. The infectious melodies and haunting harmonies of this music will communicate across categories to a very broad listenership. Joining the trio on several selections is percussionist Birger Mistereggen, a specialist in the Norwegian folk drumming tradition. The inclusion of percussion not only widens the sonic spectrum of the group, but also adds a rhythmic element to these ...
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La Luna
(more) »rank: 4339by: Sarah Brightman
: : Sarah Brightman Photos More from Sarah Brightman Time to Say Goodbye Diva: The Singles Collection Eden Diva: The Video Collection Harem La Luna (Live in Concert) Amazon.com:Superstar crossover vocalist Sarah Brightman greets the new millennium with an even surer, bolder sense of her unique musical niche than that evident from 1999's Eden. Like Eden, La Luna is a concept album only in a vaguely free-associative sense. The selection of material here touches on images of the moon that reinforce its ambiguity as a force known to draw together 'the lunatic, the lover, and the poet' (Brightman's ...
