Sometimes I Feel

In response to a previous question: Robeson's performance of Danny Boy (Londonderry Air) can be found on the Vanguard LP entitled "Robeson" (VRS-9037).

some of the greatest songs of the last century.......2000-05-05

In the 1940s, before rabid McCarthyism and racism had taken its toll on him, Robeson made these wonderful recordings of spirituals, classics and pop tunes. Accompanied by the solo piano of the incomparable Lawrence Brown, or by an orchestra, the songs ring out with pride, dignity, skill and unmatched integrity. The shameful treatment that Robeson was subject to from American authorities certainly seem grotesquely absurd to a modern listener. The wonderful version of "The House I Live In" included on this cd should forever kill off any suspicion that Robeson did not love his country deeply. This album ought to be heard by millions of people, world wide. Robeson's voice is nothing less than a glorious high point in 20th century music, and it's hard to think of any recording capturing it to greater advantage.

Average customer rating:

Nice Voice
a voice teacher and early music fan
Sumi Jo- coloratura supreme
Prayerful and beautiful
A spectalce of voice and vocalization

Sumi Jo - Prayers / James Conlon
Gioachino Rossini , Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , Richard Strauss , Giulio Caccini , Maurice Ravel , Gabriel Fauré , Anonymous , Franz Schubert , Charles Gounod , Gaetano Donizetti , Zbigniew Preisner , Leonard Bernstein , Johann Strauss II , Frederick Loewe , James Conlon , Sumi Jo , and Susan Graham
Manufacturer: Erato
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music

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Sumi Jo sings Mozart
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ASIN: B0000560N6
Release Date: 2001-03-20

Tracks:

Kaddisch
Laudate Dominum
Ave Maria
Amazing Grace
Breit' Uber Mein Haupt
L'assedio Di Corinto: L' Ora Fatal S'appressa... Guisto Ciel !
Pie Jesu
Der Vierjahrige Posten: Gott! hore Meine Stimme!
Sanctus
Maria Stuarda: Preghiera Di Maria
Lacrimosa
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue: Take Care Of This House - Sumi Jo/Phil Chor Koln/Susan Graham
Nun's Chor/Casanova: Laura's Song
Gigi: Say A Prayer For me Tonight
Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child

Amazon.com

This program seems designed primarily to display soprano Sumi Jo's fabulous singing and famous stylistic eclecticism. However, it also exhibits an admirable religious inclusiveness, encompassing expressions of faith from the Latin liturgy to Negro spirituals; there is even a Richard Strauss song that is essentially a paean to love. An incongruous note is struck by a nun's song from an operetta by Benatzky that is a corny Viennese waltz and by a soundtracklike arrangement of a 16th-century Ave Maria. Ranging from Mozart to Broadway, this musical mix is held together by Sumi Jo's ravishingly beautiful, pure, warm voice and the way she can color and inflect it, and by her mastery of every style (though not every language; her German in particular is unintelligible). Her intonation is impeccable, her breath control incredible. Jo's top notes soar triumphantly, and she can sustain them indefinitely, with enough power left to make a crescendo at the end. Highlights include Ravel's "Kaddisch," which sends shivers down the spine; arias from operas by Rossini and Donizetti; and arias from sacred works by Gounod and Fauré. Of two spirituals, the second one is simpler and more convincing. The accompanying forces are excellent; James Conlon doubles as pianist when not conducting. Susan Graham also makes an appearance in the moving invocation "Take Care of This House" from Bernstein's 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. --Edith Eisler

Customer Reviews:

Nice Voice.......2007-05-06

Sumi Jo has a beautiful voice but her renditions of Motherless Child and Amazing Grace were not impressive at all. The vibrato was too uncontrollable. The Ave Maria was so,so. I did not hear the richeness others have declared in their assesments. Don't get me wrong, the instrument is quite beautiful but only in some selected selections.

a voice teacher and early music fan.......2007-02-17

"Music and poetry emerge from man's desire to give thanks, to praise and to pray to his gods. One of the magical powers of the human voice is that it can fly, on the wings of songs (a la Mendelssohn) to heaven and appear to be in direct communication with God." Therefore, it is no surprise that prayer is omnipresent throughout the history of music. Sumi Jo has chosen an excellent representation of songs including most styles and periods which include : Baroque (Caccini)-Classical (Mozart)-Contemporary (Preisner)-Romantic Opera (Rossini,Donizetti)-German 'Singspiel'(Schubert)-Lieder (Richard Strauss)-French church music (Gounod ,Faure)-traditional music (spiritual)-Jewish melodies (Ravel)-Viennese operetta (Johann Strauss) and the American musical (Bernstein).

Sumi Jo, born in Korea,is a much sought after coloratura soprano, having triumphed on stage, and in recitals all over the world. Not being fond of coloraturas, I make an exception for her voice, because of its depth along with the very high register. She shows a great deal of sensitivity to all of her varied selections on this disc, and each delivery is a 'gem' unto itself.

I must personally comment on those works that I particularly enjoy. Hearing her sing Mozart's 'Laudate Dominum' was a real treat; it doesn't matter how often one hears that lovely piece, just like all of his music, it 'wears' well. The 'Pie Jesu' was absolutely stunning as Sumi Jo sang it, and it is a pleasure for me to hear the selection from "GIGI" by Lerner & Loewe; not being a great broadway fan, I have always liked that specific musical. I think because it was well-done when I saw it years and years ago.

This disc is abolutely totally enjoyable. There is something for all musical tastes, and the conductor/pianist James Conlon does a great job pulling it together!!!!!

Sumi Jo- coloratura supreme.......2006-04-09

One word: Lacrimosa. It haunts you and will stay with you long after you hear it. I actually forced several if my coworkers to listen to it many of which are not opera fans and even they could not argue the beauty of it. One of my coworkers was actual on the verge of tears by the end of the song.

The rest of the album is enchanting as well as breath taking. I am a harsh critic when it comes to singers so I do not give those compliments very often, nor am I easily moved by singers but Sumi Jo has certainly done that with this album.

My only complaint is that I would have liked to hear her take of "Ave Maria" by Schubert which, while recorded many times over, would complimented her voice perfectly due to it's simplicity. "Sing low sweet chariot" would have been another great one to hear but as far as spirtuals are concerned I was very happy with her acepella version of "Amazing Grace." I was never a huge fan of "Amazing Grace" since it's been done a thousand times over but she brought such seetness and emotion to it. Of course I am kind of biased becuase I offically hate the "belting" version of this song and that's how it's usually done. It's nice to hear a simple, straight forward version.

My last comment is that it's nice to hear Sumi Jo sing less operatic pieces considering most opera singers are rarely bold enough to sing anything other than classical pieces, excluding Renee Fleming of recent.

Prayerful and beautiful.......2005-11-14

It is a refreshing change to have a collection of arias on a CD with a title that actually bears some relevance to the contents. This is indeed a prayerful collection. That means, of course, that you have to be in the appropriately contemplative mood in order to appreciate it.

Another nice change is that the orchestral accompaniment enhances the singing rather than just tagging along as an afterthought, which often seems to be the case. It is fitting that James Conlon gets equal billing here. This is splendid singing to splendid music.

Sumi Jo is comfortable in any language and in a broad range of styles. I was uncertain how she would tackle songs like Amazing Grace and Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child. I need not have worried. In the latter she reveals a soulfulness that fits the lyrics perfectly.

The only track not worthy of this collection is Bernstein's Take Care of This House. I suppose, as it is a prayer, it was an obvious song to include, and Jo sings it very well, but it is just a very poor song. That still leaves 14 excellent tracks that, if you are a lover of good singing, you will want in your collection.

A spectalce of voice and vocalization.......2004-12-29

I bought this used from an Amazon.com dealer and it came with a cutout on the left side of the CD box. Can this specacular CD possibly have gone out of print by Christmas 2004? If so we have lost one of the benchmark recordings of this splendid artist.

Never is there a weak moment in this incredibly beautiful collection of classical bleeding chunks and spirituals. I don't think you'll confuse Sumi for your favorite spiritual singer in "Amazing Grace" and "Sometimes I feel like a motherless child" but she is magnificent singing the complete and incomplete tunes elsewhere on the CD by famous classical composers including Mozart, Richard Strauss, Rossini, Schubert and Donizetti, to name some of them.

She is in wonderful voice and fresh-faced for the Loewe-Lerner "Say a prayer for me tonight" and does an equally nice job with Susan Graham accompanying Leonard Bernstein's "Take care of this house" from "1600 Pennsylvania Avenue". I'm not much for this kind of music -- I bought this exclusively for her rendition of Mozart's "Laudate Dominum" -- but it adds a dimension to the concert that brings it into the realm of popular Broadway tunes.

This is a wonderful concert of familiar and not so familiar songs from a singer whose voice is eloquent, beautiful and rich, with significant range and span from PPP to FFF. Sumi Jo controls her voice well throughout the concert, giving everyone something to think about regardelss of musical preference. This might have been improved if she'd included a Beatles tune -- maybe "Elenor Rigby" or "Yesterday" -- accompanied by the orchestra and James Conlon's direction. But it stands with any similar collection by any singer as it is.

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One of Butterfield's better albums

Sometimes I Just Feel Like Smilin
Butterfield Blues Band
Manufacturer: Wounded Bird Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Blues | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B0000667QJ
Release Date: 2002-05-07

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Play On
1000 Ways
Pretty Woman
Little Piece Of Dying
Song For Lee
Trainman
Night Child
Drowned In My Own Tears
Blind Leading The Blind

Album Description

Full title - Sometimes I Just feel Like Smiling. The Butterfield Blues Band has been critically acclaimed as one the greatest electric blues bands ever! Lead by singer & harmonica player Paul Butterfield, their albums have stood the test of time as classics of the 60's & early 70's. Sometimes I Just Feel Like Smilin', was their fourth album, originally released in 1971. It features saxophonist David Sanborn. It was the last album the band recorded for Elektra Records. This album is making its worldwide CD debut! Wounded Bird Records. 2002.

Customer Reviews:

One of Butterfield's better albums.......2003-03-19

This was the last Butterfield Blues Band studio album. To me it is tied for third best with "Resurrection of Pigboy Crabshaw"--the band's "Butterfield Blues Band" and "East West" are their two greatest albums to me. However, this is a very enjoyable, excellent album, a big step up from "In My Own Dream" and "Keep On Movin'". Butterfield sings and plays harmonica very well. The compositions are strong. The group is really tight and together, with the horns integrated better with the rest of the group than on any other album. In terms of something you can enjoy on repeated listens, it is a very successful album. If only the group could have continued on from this point, who knows what continued heights they could have hit.

Amazing Grace (American Hymns & Spirituals)

Average customer rating:

Absolutely Amazing!!! ('specially for white folk)
Not Up to Shaw's Usual Standard
A Must CD for Choral Music Lovers
Soul-stirring
Soul-stirring

Amazing Grace (American Hymns & Spirituals)

Manufacturer: Telarc
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Texas Blues | Regional Blues | Blues | Styles | Music

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Sea Shanties
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ASIN: B000003CZ1
Release Date: 1993-09-28

Tracks:

To God Our Strength
Come Away To The Skies
Wondrous Love
God Is Seen
Hark, I Hear The Harps Eternal
Bright Caanan
Amazing Grace
His Voice As The Sound
I Will Arise
Saints Bound For Heaven
Ride On, King Jesus
Poor Mourner
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
Dere's No Hidin' Place
My God Is a Rock
Sometimes I Feel Like a Moanin' Dove
I Got Shoes
Soon One Mornin'
Same Train
Lord, If I Got My Ticket

Customer Reviews:

Absolutely Amazing!!! ('specially for white folk).......2004-03-27

This is an absolute must!!! I have never heard such passionate singing of spirituals from non-black choirs. Perhaps that is attributed to Shaw's minister roots. As usual, the sonority of Shaw's singers is second to none. This is a fun CD that all can enjoy...not just the choral buffs who know just how good Shaw and his choirs are!!!

Not Up to Shaw's Usual Standard.......2002-03-23

Maybe just personal taste. I don't find the arrangements and vocalizing as interesting and satisfying as "Sea Chanties" and "23 Glee Club Favorites", the latter setting a standard never equaled.

A Must CD for Choral Music Lovers.......2001-01-03

Amazing Grace is a very appropriate title for this recording. For those of you who love Sacred Harp , Southern Harmony and Spirituals, you will revel in the folk traditions of this album. Parker and Shaw arrangements, and sometimes just one or the other are so well done. The singers, of course, do an excellent job of making music under Shaw's direction. "Hark I Hear.." arr. by Parker is becoming a standard for choruses and this album will help you hear why. "If I've got my ticket" by Shaw is a wonderful exchange between solo and chorus. You will be playing this CD over and over once you hear it.

Soul-stirring.......2000-08-10

I have thoroughly enjoyed this CD. The thoughtful and meditative, "What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul" sends the listener awe-struck to the foot of the cross. The triumphant "Ride on King Jesus!" reminds the listener of final victory. I highly recommend this CD to anyone who appreciates musical and cultural heritage or for anyone who appreciates religious music.

Soul-stirring.......2000-08-10

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Velvet Brown, Tuba

Manufacturer: Crystal Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00000JQJG
Release Date: 1999-06-29

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Son: Defile - Velvet Brown/Roberto Arosio
Son: Ser - Velvet Brown/Roberto Arosio
Son: Final - Velvet Brown/Roberto Arosio
Salve Venre, Salve Marte - Velvet Brown
Acis And Galatea: As When The Dove - Velvet Brown
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Four Negro Spirituals: Deep River - David Garcia/Massimo Oldani/Emily Harris/Fabio Costa
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