If Music Be the Food of Love

On this CD:

1. Nó se emenderà jamás, cantata, HWV 140
Composed by George Frideric Handel
Performed by Neil Jenkins, Jan Zacek

2. Adelaide, song for voice & piano, Op. 46
Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performed by Neil Jenkins, Jan Zacek

3. Andenken, song for voice & piano, WoO 136
Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performed by Neil Jenkins, Jan Zacek

4. Die schöne Müllerin, song cycle, for voice & piano, D. 795 (Op. 25) No 1, Das Wandern
Composed by Franz Schubert
Performed by Neil Jenkins, Jan Zacek

5. Die Forelle ("In einem Bächlein helle"), song for voice & piano, D. 550 (Op. 32)
Composed by Franz Schubert
Performed by Neil Jenkins, Jan Zacek

6. Heidenröslein ("Sah ein Knab..."), song for voice & piano, D. 257 (Op. 3/3) No 3, Heidenröslein
Composed by Franz Schubert
Performed by Neil Jenkins, Jan Zacek

7. Ständchen ("Leise flehen meine Lieder"), song for voice & piano (Schwanengesang), D. 957/4 No 4, Ständchen
Composed by Franz Schubert
Performed by Neil Jenkins, Jan Zacek

8. Erlkönig ("Wer reitet so spät"), song for voice & piano, D. 328 (Op. 1)
Composed by Franz Schubert
Performed by Neil Jenkins, Jan Zacek

9. Canzonettas (3) for voice & piano or guitar, Op.29
Composed by Carl Maria von Weber
Performed by Neil Jenkins, Jan Zacek

10. Apicius Modulatus Artis Coquinariae Praecepta Modis Numerisque Instructa ad Cantum cum Cithara
Composed by Jan Novak
Performed by Neil Jenkins, Jan Zacek

11. Folksong Arrangements, Vol. VI "England", for soprano or tenor & guitar England for High voice and Guitar
Composed by Benjamin Britten
Performed by Neil Jenkins, Jan Zacek

Tracks:

Complete Odes And Welcome Songs Vol. 5: Welcome, Welcome Glorious Morn. Symphony And Opening Chorus
Complete Odes And Welcome Songs Vol. 3: Be Welcome Then, Great Sir
Complete Secular Solo Songs Vol.1: Oh, Fair Cedaria
The Choir Of The King's Consort: Hear My Prayer, O Lord
Great Baroque Arias: When I Am Laid In Earth ('Dido's Lament')
Complete Anthems And Services Vol.1: Let Mine Eyes Run Down With Tears (Part 1)
Complete Odes And Welcome Songs Vol.4: The Sparrow And The Gentle Dove
Complete Secular Solo Songs Vol.1: If Music Be The Food Of Love (First Setting)
Complete Anthems And Services Vol.5: Rejoice In The Lord Always ('The Bell Anthem')
Complete Anthems And Services Vol.3: Hosanna To The Highest
Complete Anthems And Services Vol.7: Thou Knowest, Lord, The Secrets Of Our Hearts
Mr. Henry Purcell's Most Admirable Composures: Fairest Isle, All Isles Excelling
Complete Odes And Welcome Songs Vol.6: Mark, How Readily Each Pliant String
Complete Odes And Welcome Songs Vol.8: Sound The Trumpet
Complete Secular Solo Songs Vol.3: She Loves And She Confesses Too
Complete Odes And Welcome Songs Vol.8: O How Blest Is The Isle
Complete Anthems And Services Vol.3: Remember Not, Lord, Our Offences
Complete Anthems And Services Vol. 11: An Evening Hymn
Complete Church Music Vol.2: Vouchsafe, O Lord, To Keep Us This Day
Complete Odes And Welcome Songs Vol.2: With Rapture Of Delight... Hail Bright Cecilia

Amazon.com essential recording

The "Essential" Purcell? Well, you could get a bunch of critics to argue about that for a few days, but in the meantime, here is a sampler of highlights from the King's Consort's three admirable Purcell series: the Complete Odes and Welcome Songs, Complete Anthems and Services, and Complete Secular Solo Songs. There are, of course, some of Purcell's most-performed pieces (which probably are "essential"): Dido's Lament from Dido and Aeneas, "Sound the trumpet" from Come, ye sons of Art, Rejoice in the Lord alway (the "Bell Anthem," named for the string figure at the opening that sounds like pealing bells), the gently patriotic "Fairest isle, all isles excelling" (sung by a miscast James Bowman), and a selection from the funeral music for Queen Mary. There are also some delightful surprises--particularly among the little-known secular songs and church music. The plaintive "O fair Cedaria" gets a lovely performance by Barbara Bonney (a singer not usually associated with Purcell); tenor Rogers Covey-Crump (possibly the ideal high tenor for Purcell) sings the enchanting "If music be the food of love"; the church anthems "Let mine eyes run down with tears" and "Remember not, O Lord, our offences" have some startling harmonies as daring as any Monteverdi ever wrote. If you're unfamiliar with Purcell, this reasonably priced disc is a good place to start exploring without a big initial investment. --Matthew Westphal

Customer Reviews:

Mad about Baroque.......2007-02-12

This is a terrific CD. The music is breathtaking. Just buy IT !!!!!

The beauty of the songs brings tears to my eyes.......2002-08-21

Absolutely beautiful baroque music! The arrangament, singing and instrumentation is superb. It is too bad that Henry Purcell is not as widely known as Bach, because he should be recognized equally well."The Sparrow and the Gentle dove" is alone worth the price of the album! I can not stop playing it!

Brilliant.......2001-10-31

Like in his renditions of Handel's oratorios, Robert King manages to bring a freshness and strenght to Purcell's music that I had seldom heard before. This CD also features some of the best performers of early music in the world. My favourite tracks are Oh, Fair Cedaria, sung by the multi-talented Barbara Bonney; Dido's Lament from Dido and Aeneas, sung by Gillian Fisher; She Loves and she Confesses too, sung by the wonderful Susan Gritton; and Welcome, Welcome Glorious Morn, sung by Rogers Covey-Crump. The only track I didn't find absolutely wonderful is Fairest Isle, sung here by James Bowman. Don't get me wrong, I generally love Mr Bowman, I think that his performance in Mr Purcell's Most Admirable Composures (also conducted by Robert King) makes it another essential Purcell recording; but I find that Fairest Isle was much better done elsewhere, particularly by Christopher Hogwood and Barbara Bonney.

These songs aren't only beautiful, they're also poignant, sweet and unpretentious. I think that it will be very clear to anyone who listens to this recording that Mr Purcell was one of the finest composers that ever lived.

Be Welcome then, great Sirs (and Mesdames)........2001-10-20

If anyone has benefitted from the reversion in the last three or so decades to period instruments and historical reconstruction, it is Henry Purcell. Before, he was merely great, the peerless word-setter in the English language, a virtuoso of boundless range, a professional composer whose offical commissions were always imbued with personality and invention. But period instrumentation has added to this a greater depth, an other-worldly texture of sound. With his intricate, multi-part vocal writing, his preference for low, rumbling instruments such as the bass viol and the strange and remarkable theorbo, as well as his often sombre and low-key subject matter and treatment, Purcell creates a round, glowing, humming sound as pregnantly full as dub reggae.

This has an extraordinary effect on the listener. Whereas Bach, with his mathematical abstractions, sounds universal and timeless, Purcell's music takes the listener back 300 years, back to different ways of thinking about, feeling about and addressing things we still think etc. about today - death, love, friendship. The emotion is timeless, but the music's beauty is alien, THEIRS, hence its preciousness.

A lot of intelligence has gone into the unity of this compilation, beginning with two Welcomes (to the dawn and to the listener, in this case a King), and ending with thoughts of evening, death and a Baroque 'Thank you for the music'. These are bright, fanfare-like works, but the predominant mood is slow, ruminative, quiet. The selection covers the wide range of Purcell's oeuvre, from opera and funeral marches to secular songs and odes, and includes his most famous vocal works - Dido's Lament from Dido and Aeneas, sung by Gillian Fisher, and never more evocative of pagan loss and death; the massive 'Bell Anthem', with its ingenious opening symphony and joyful antiphon; and a miraculously serene 'Evening Hymn', Dido's opposite, death indicating hope, the treble voice swirling over the heavy ground bass like the soul released from the inert body.

it might seem quixotic to choose highlights from an exemplary collection of highlights, but the entry of the strings washing over the serene repetition of 'Be Welcome then, great Sir' always makes my heart stop still, while the musical picture of 'Bold Honour', the 'noisy Nothing, stalking shade', blocking the poet's amorous intentions in 'She loves and confesses too', adds a chilling hint of life's transience to a bouyantly bawdy song.

Brilliant Purcell Disc .......2000-11-30

With this album director and Purcell expert Robert King provides the listener with an excellent introduction to the composer's vocal works. The pieces presented here were taken from Mr. King's recordings of 'The Complete Odes and Welcome Songs', 'The Complete Anthems and Services', 'The Complete Secular Solo Songs' and diverse anthology discs. King, his wonderful soloists and musicians do the brilliance of Purcell's music fully justice. Whether he was commissioned by royalty, the church or theatre, Purcell shone in all areas. This disc certainly demonstrates the variety and originality of his craft, not to speak of his uncanny ability of setting words to music.

An outstanding Purcell offering. With a beautiful perfomance by Barbara Bonney of 'Oh, fair Cedaria'. Susan Gritton is equally captivating in 'She loves and she confesses too'. Gillian Fisher's rendition of the famous 'Dido's Lament' is haunting and poignant. Further an intelligent and brilliant 'Hosanna to the highest' by Michael George. James Bowman and Michael Chance sparkle in the countertenor duet 'Sound the trumpet' (from 'Come Ye sons of Art away'). And I should not forget to mention the joyous, luminous performance of the beautiful 'Bell Anthem'. To name but a few favourites, only James Bowman's 'Fairest Isle' was a disappointment.

Those who are familiar with Purcell's music will get an excellent disc with some of his most beloved works. If you are new to Purcell, this is, as already said a great introduction. Which might be the incentive to further explorations of Purcell.

by stardustraven

Purcell: Songs & Airs / Argenta, North, Boothby, Nicholson, Toll

Average customer rating:

Nice Collection
PERFECT!
Great singing and excellent value for money
More than two hours of beautiful 17th century 'ayres'

Purcell: Songs & Airs / Argenta, North, Boothby, Nicholson, Toll
Henry Purcell , Nancy Argenta , and Nigel North
Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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

Purcell: The Fairy Queen
Essential Purcell
Purcell: Odes for St. Cecilia's Day - Music for Queen Mary / Taverner Consort
Gabrieli · Monteverdi · Vivaldi - Venetian Church Music / Taverner Consort, Choir & Players · Andrew Parrott
Bach: Cantatas

ASIN: B000059LOH
Release Date: 2001-06-05

Tracks:

O Solitude - Nancy Argenta/Nigel North
Ah! How Sweet It Is To Love - Nancy Argenta/Richard Boothby/Paul Nicholson
Not All My Torments - Nancy Argenta/Nigel North/Paul Nicholson
Stripp'd Of Their Green - Nancy Argenta/Nigel North/Richard Boothby/Paul Nicholson
Tell Me, Some Pitying Angel - Nancy Argenta/Nigel North/Richard Boothby/Paul Nicholson
If Music Be The Food Of Love - Nancy Argenta/Richard Boothby/Paul Nicholson
Hark! Hark! The Echoing Air - Nancy Argenta/Nigel North/Richard Boothby/Paul Nicholson
The Fatal Hour Comes On Apace - Nancy Argenta/Nigel North
Incassum, Lesbia - Nancy Argenta/Nigel North/Paul Nicholson
Sweeter Than Roses - Nancy Argenta/Nigel North/Richard Boothby
Cupid, The Slyest Rogue Alive - Nancy Argenta/Nigel North/Richard Boothby/Paul Nicholson
From Silent Shades - Nancy Argenta/Nigel North/Richard Boothby/Paul Nicholson
Dear Pretty Youth - Nancy Argenta/Nigel North/Richard Boothby
From Rosy Bow'rs - Nancy Argenta/Nigel North/Richard Boothby/Paul Nicholson
Now That The Sun Hath Veil'd His Light - Nancy Argenta/Paul Nicholson
Beneath A Poplar's Shadow - Nancy Argenta/Nigel North/Richard Boothby
I Attempt From Love's Sickness To Fly - Nancy Argenta/Paul Nicholson
Let Us Dance - Nancy Argenta/Nigel North/Richard Boothby/Paul Nicholson
Fairest Isle - Nancy Argenta/Nigel North
O Solitude - Nancy Argenta/Richard Boothby

Tracks:

Nymphs And Shepherds - Nancy Argenta/Nicholas Robinson/Fiona Huggett/Trevor Jones/Richard Boothby/Nigel North/John Toll
Amidst The Shades And Cool Refreshing Streams - Nancy Argenta/Nigel North
Love In Their Little Veins Inspires - Nancy Argenta/Rachel Becket/Marion Scott/Richard Boothby/Nigel North
Fly Swift, Ye Hours - Nancy Argenta/Richard Boothby/Nigel North/John Toll
They Tell Us That Your Mighty Powers - Nancy Argenta/Nicholas Robinson/Fiona Huggett/Trevor Jones/Richard Boothby/Nigel North/John Toll
The Plaint: O Let Me Weep - Nancy Argenta/Pauline Nobes/Richard Boothby/Nigel North/John Toll
In The Black, Dismal Dungeon Of Despair - Nancy Argenta/Nigel North/John Toll
See, Even Night Herself Is Here - Nancy Argenta/Nicholas Robinson/Fiona Huggett/Trevor Jones
Why Should Men Quarrel? - Nancy Argenta/Rachel Becket/Marion Scott/Richard Boothby/John Toll
Seek Not To Know - Nancy Argenta/Paul Goodwin/Sophia McKenna/Richard Boothby/Nigel North/John Toll
Retir'd From Mortals' Sight - Nancy Argenta/Nigel North
To Arms, Heoric Prince - Nancy Argenta/Mark Bennett/Richard Boothby/Nigel North/John Toll
O Lead Me To Some Peaceful Gloom - Nancy Argenta/Richard Boothby/Nigel North/John Toll
Halcyon Days - Nancy Argenta/Paul Goodwin/Pauline Nobes/Richard Boothby/Nigel North/John Toll
Bid The Virtues - Nancy Argenta/Paul Goodwin/Richard Boothby/Nigel North/John Toll
Lord, What Is Man? (A Divine Hymn) - Nancy Argenta/Richard Boothby/Nigel North/John Toll
Music For A While - Nancy Argenta/John Toll
If Music Be The Food Of Love (1st Setting) - Nancy Argenta/Richard Boothby/John Toll
Sawney Is A Bonny Lad (A Scotch Song) - Nancy Argenta/Nigel North
When I Have Often Heard Young Maids Complaining - Nancy Argenta/Nicholas Robinson/Fiona Huggett/Richard Boothby/Nigel North/John Toll
Ah! Cruel, Bloody Fate - Nancy Argenta/Nigel North/John Toll
Thy Hand, Belinda... When I Am Laid In Earth - Nancy Argenta/Nicholas Robinson/Fiona Huggett/Trevor Jones/Richard Boothby/Nigel North

Customer Reviews:

Nice Collection.......2007-03-05

I have many collections of Purcell's Music. This collection stands up to them at half the price. Solid buy.

PERFECT!.......2006-10-26

There is only a word with which I can describe this set of discs: perfect!
The only flaw there is, is not related to the singing or playing: no text enclosed.

Great singing and excellent value for money.......2004-09-19

This is probably one of the best anthologies of Purcell songs around, and not just because it's two-for-one pricing means it contains twice as much music (CD1:74'24" & CD2: 77'41")! Nancy Argenta has an irrepressible sense of style and crystal clear diction. But unlike Emma Kirby, whose vocal purity can become tiresome, these renditions radiate warmth. She is also, I have found, more consistently involving than any one of the singers in Hyperion's three disc survey of Complete Secular Songs (recently reissued as a single set). One marvels at how she judiciously balances restraint and emotional forthrightness. The accompaniments (archlute, viola da gamba, harpsichord, and organ) are well judged and blend with the voice, all helped by an excellently defined recording acoustic. This is an absolute winner at any price!

More than two hours of beautiful 17th century 'ayres'.......2001-08-02

Two CDs, totaling more than 150 minutes of sparsely-arranged (never more than 3-5 instruments at a time), sweetly-sung, 350 year old 'ayres' (a typically English form of secular music). Nancy Argenta's soprano voice is lovely, silvery indeed as her name implies. The instruments are a discreet but friendly accompaniment to her solo voice. Perhaps the instruments are a little too discreet -- there are times when I wish they were a touch more prominent. But that is a very, very minor complaint. A beautiful collection, and quite well worth the money.

Angels Hide Their Faces: Dawn Upshaw Sings Bach and Purcell

Average customer rating:

Beautiful, fervent Bach, but the Purcell songs are a bit prettified
Now that the Sun hath veil'd his light.....
Picky reviewers
hark ! how well the lady sings

Angels Hide Their Faces: Dawn Upshaw Sings Bach and Purcell

Manufacturer: Nonesuch
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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

Voices of Light
Forgotten Songs: Dawn Upshaw Sings Debussy
I Wish It So
Dawn Upshaw Sings Rodgers & Hart
Girl with Orange Lips

ASIN: B000059LXH
Release Date: 2001-03-27

Tracks:

Music For A While - Dawn Upshaw/Myron Lutzke/Arthur Haas
I Attempt From Love's Sickness To Fly - Dawn Upshaw/Myron Lutzke/Arthur Haas
Ah! How Sweet It Is To Love - Dawn Upshaw/Myron Lutzke/Arthur Haas
Lord, What Is Man - Dawn Upshaw/Myron Lutzke/Arthur Haas
Hark! How All Things - Dawn Upshaw/Myron Lutzke/Arthur Haas
Cantata BWV 199: Mein Herze Schwimmt Im Blut: Recitativo - Dawn Upshaw/Krista Bennion Feeney/Linda Quan/Lois Martin/Myron Lutzke/John Feeney/Peggy Pearson...
Cantata BWV 199: Mein Herze Schwimmt Im Blut: Aria - Dawn Upshaw/Krista Bennion Feeney/Linda Quan/Lois Martin/Myron Lutzke/John Feeney/Peggy Pearson...
Cantata BWV 199: Mein Herze Schwimmt Im Blut: Recitativo - Dawn Upshaw/Krista Bennion Feeney/Linda Quan/Lois Martin/Myron Lutzke/John Feeney/Peggy Pearson...
Cantata BWV 199: Mein Herze Schwimmt Im Blut: Aria - Dawn Upshaw/Krista Bennion Feeney/Linda Quan/Lois Martin/Myron Lutzke/John Feeney/Peggy Pearson...
Cantata BWV 199: Mein Herze Schwimmt Im Blut: Recitativo - Dawn Upshaw/Krista Bennion Feeney/Linda Quan/Lois Martin/Myron Lutzke/John Feeney/Peggy Pearson...
Cantata BWV 199: Mein Herze Schwimmt Im Blut: Chorale - Dawn Upshaw/Krista Bennion Feeney/Linda Quan/Lois Martin/Myron Lutzke/John Feeney/Peggy Pearson...
Cantata BWV 199: Mein Herze Schwimmt Im Blut: Recitativo - Dawn Upshaw/Krista Bennion Feeney/Linda Quan/Lois Martin/Myron Lutzke/John Feeney/Peggy Pearson...
Cantata BWV 199: Mein Herze Schwimmt Im Blut: Aria - Dawn Upshaw/Krista Bennion Feeney/Linda Quan/Lois Martin/Myron Lutzke/John Feeney/Peggy Pearson...
If Music Be The Food Of Love - Dawn Upshaw/Myron Lutzke/Arthur Haas
The Blessed Virgin's Expostulation - Dawn Upshaw/Myron Lutzke/Arthur Haas
An Evening Hymn - Dawn Upshaw/Myron Lutzke/Arthur Haas

Amazon.com

Soprano Dawn Upshaw's programs are always interesting, and this one's a beauty: one of Bach's most heartfelt cantatas flanked by songs and arias of Purcell. For the most part, she's in excellent voice, but with the tics that make some demur from enthusiasm: occasional swooping, thinning of the voice in the upper regions, lapses into a "Broadway" type of vocalism, and diction problems. The latter, oddly enough, are as present in Purcell's English as in Bach's German, as in the way Upshaw lands heavily on the r with a broad American accent rather than the lightly rolled r we're used to in performances of period English music. There's also some broad word-painting in the Bach, whose text, charting the soul's journey from sin to redemption, really needs no extra emoting. That said, Upshaw's fans will love this disc, and even those who prefer a different approach will enjoy it. Accompaniments are excellent: a continuo team in the Purcell, a small chamber group in the Bach. Outstanding sonics, too. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews:

Beautiful, fervent Bach, but the Purcell songs are a bit prettified.......2006-08-24

Amazon's reviewer seems to have zoned out on how Dawn Upshaw pronounces words, missing most of the musical value here. Her singing of the Bach cantata, 'Mein Herze schwimmt in Blut,' is very moving. She is deeply involved, and her voice extracts the deep reverence and religious passion that makes this music so great. I'm not as convinced by the Purcell songs, however. Upshaw has chosen some of the most famous, and set against great singers like Battle, Baker, and Ferrier, her rendiitons seem a little shallow and prettified. She's considerably more tuned in to Bach, which is good enough to make this a memorable CD, if not her very best. Things would be much improved if the conducting by the (totally uncredited) conductor weren't so limp.

Now that the Sun hath veil'd his light............2001-08-04

Some say angels are God's messangers. When angels communicate, surely they sound like Dawn Upshaw. Upshaw's beautiful soprano voice rises to the stars and floats back again as she sings the beautiful collection of arias and cantatas by Purcell and Bach contained in ANGELS HIDE THEIR FACES.

Shaw's interpretation of Purcell's 'How sweet it is to love' reminds me of the elation I first felt on realizing love exists. 'Lord what is a man' brings one back to earth with a lamentation about human frailty and the finiteness of human existence. "Rejoice, rejoice" sings the angel in 'Hark! How all things' with lyrics from 'The Fairy Queen' -- a text by E. Settle after Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream.'

Bach's cantatas fill the air as Upshaw sings arias in German (interpretations are provided in the text accompanying the CD). J.S. Bach's songs are clearly and beautifully articulated by Upshaw while in the backgound various wind and string instruments accompany her vocalizations. Many of Upshaw's vocalizations by Bach in German as well as the instrumentation (including viol consort) remind me of the arias from 'The Messiah' -- majestic albeit on a very human scale. For example, Aria #9 by Bach is comparable to "He shall lead his flock.." (although the latter was written for an alto voice).

The music in English by Purcell is a bit lighter. My favorite piece is 'An evening hymn' by Purcell which I would expect to hear near dusk in an English chapel. However, ANGELS HIDE THEIR FACES contains music you can play year round at any time of day.

Picky reviewers.......2001-05-31

I've got a degree in musicology ( and am fluent in German as well), and for a while after total immersion in graduate school, found my listening enjoyment frustrated by the same pickiness that hampers your reviewer. Fortunately, that passed, and I'm now able to simply appreciate Dawn Upshaw's performance of the music we hear all too seldom. I hope that others will be able to participate in Upshaw's interpretation of the poetry behind the music, to think about the theological role of angels (not just pretty faces and feathery wings), to love this wonderful recording. We are indeed blessed that technology allows us to experience such music, such an artist.

hark ! how well the lady sings.......2001-05-31

This is one of those little gems that becomes more appealing with each hearing. The Purcell pieces are sweet and lovely, but the Bach ! This Cantata is the glory of this CD. It's verses are of the deepest sorrow and repentance, woeful utterances for God's forgiveness, until the final aria, "How joyful is my heart since God is appeased". Dawn Upshaw's interpretation is beautiful. She captures the emotion, the longing, the spirituality and heart of the piece.

Tracks:

Chanson d'amour
Now Those Days Are Gone
La valse a mille temps (The Waltz In 1000-Time)
Con amores, la mia madre (With Loving, My Mother)
Who is Sylvia?
Chitarra d'amor (Guitar of Love)
I Get Along Without You Very Well
All I Ask Of You
Dein Herzlein mild (Your Gentle Heart)
My Romance
She's Like The Swallow
Quand tu dors pres de moi (When You Sleep Next To Me)
Love's Philosophy
Alice In Wonderland
Plaisir d'amour (The Pleasure Of Love)
If Music Be The Food Of Love
Le Papillon et la fleur (The Butterfly and the Flower)
Lydia
Phyllis Is My Only Joy
Wenn ich in deinen Augen seh' (When I Look Into Your Eyes)
Down With Love

Customer Reviews:

Interpretación Exquisita.......2001-12-28

Es dificil dejar de sentir admiración por este extraordinario ensamble vocal Inglés. Su capacidad interpetativa es amplísima y la forma en que sus voces se acoplan es inmaculada.En este disco interpretan arreglos de canciones de amor (y tambien de desamor) de diferentes épocas y compositores.TODO el disco es una mágnifica experiencia musical :el humor de "Chitarra d'amor",la belleza de "She's like the swallow" o el dulce desencanto de "Quand tu dors près de moi"; mencionando algunos ejemplos.
La unica objeción que tengo es que el no esten integrados todos los textos en el librillo del CD.
Yo recomendaría a cualquier amante de la música a escuchar este CD lo mas pronto posible.

You must buy this!.......2001-02-22

There's not much I can say about this album. It's perfect. Completely a cappella, it shows off everything that make the King's Singers one of the world's most masterful vocal ensembles. My two personal favorite tracks are "She's Like the Swallow" and "If Music Be the Food of Love." The solo on "She's Like the Swallow," a sad Canadian folksong, is very beautiful. Tracks such as "La valse a mille temps" and "Down With Love" add a certain amount of humor to the collection.I do not regret purchasing this album in any way. It represents some of the best work that the King's Singers have to offer. You must buy it.

Very, very, very (did I mention Very?) good!.......1999-10-22

A wonderful selection, beautifully performed! Some of these songs I have wanted to hear and own for so long!

An Silvia (Schubert) = Who is Sylvia: they sing a voice-only arrangement that is arguably an improvement of Schubert (okay, pax, you purists). As you may know, this is a setting by Schubert of a poem by Shakespeare. It is just marvellous.

In my estimation, this CD is worth getting for Sylvia alone.

Tracks:

Part I: Staircase: Overture
Part I: If Music Be The Food Of Love
Part I: Cebell
Part I: To Arms, To Arms, Heroic Prince
Part I: To Arms
Part I: Tell Me, Some Pitying Angel
Part I: Slow Air
Part II: We Come To Sing
Part II: Oh! Lead Me To Some Peaceful Gloom
Part II: O Solitude
Part II: Hark! Hark! The Echoing Air
Part II: Trumpet Tune
Part III: Sweeter Than Roses
Part III: Fairest Isle
Part III: She That Would Gain A Faithful Lover
Part III: Cupid, The Slyest Rogue Alive
Part III: I Attempt From Love's Sickness To Fly
Part III: Jig
Part IV: Music For A While
Part IV: The Fatal Hour Comes On Apace
Part IV: Hear, Mighty Love
Part IV: Plainte: O, Let Me Weep
Part IV: Chacony In G Minor

Amazon.com

The stars of this recording are Christopher Hogwood and the Academy of Ancient Music, entertaining us with rarely-heard instrumental pieces receiving their first modern performances with the endearing poignancy inherent in Purcell's music. McNair's gracile voice and accurate, easy-going coloratura capture the lyricism of Purcell's songs, but none of the subtext's vibrant passion. Emotional variety and vocal color are lacking when she repeatedly calls for Gabriel in "Tell Me, Some Pitying Angel." Still, McNair's light and pure soprano is enjoyable in small doses. When three or four plaintiff songs are programmed back to back, however, the monotony presents a fabulous opportunity to lull insomniacs back to sleep. --Barbara Eisner Bayer

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful Surprise.......2006-01-01

Normally I run in the opposite direction of any baroque music - thought I had heard it all and had enough, but I love Slyvia McNair and I wanted to hear more of her recordings. This recording was such a wonderful surprise, not only interms of McNair's performance but interms of the overall presentation (organization of the pieces) and the energy of the performances by the AAM. I have new-found appreciation of Purcell's music!

One of my favorite CDs.......2003-01-12

When I listened to this CD, I fell in love with Sylvia McNair's artistic and beautiful voice along with Henry Purcell's music. This CD offers a style of music that I love to listen to and sing with. There is a mixture of instrumental only and vocal pieces. When I listen to this CD I feel like I have been transported to the late 1600s. The title "The Echoing Air" appropriately describes the beauty of this music.

Sir Michael Tippett: Remember Your Lovers

Average customer rating:

Worth hearing

Sir Michael Tippett: Remember Your Lovers

Manufacturer: Signum UK
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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

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

Classical | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B000BCHJP6
Release Date: 2005-11-29

Customer Reviews:

Worth hearing.......2006-03-21

Sir Michael Tippett is not a composer one automatically associates with English song. This album of extraordinarily beautiful songs should go some way to remedying that. Tippett's World War 2 song cycle, The Heart's Assurance, deserves to be more widely known. The remainder of the album consists of the long, reflective Boyhood's End, and Benjamin Britten's Canticle I, a hymn by Pelham Humphrey, Tippett's settings of Shelley's Music and three Shakespeare texts, and his arrangements of some of Purcell's songs. These latter are spare, elegant settings and compare favourably with Britten's Purcell Realizations. They might even be better. Of course, the performers contribute to the beauty of this album. Both singer and pianist treat these works with repsect. Iain Burnside's accompaniment is sensitive, supportive and never overpowers the singer. John Mark Ainsley's slightly melancholy tone suits these songs admirably. He is not overtly emotional; the impact of these moving songs is greater, I think, because of his restraint. His phrasing is superb, and his diction excellent. You can hear the words without needing them in front of you. This album is already near the top of my favourites list.

Average customer rating:

Fairest voice for Fairest Isle
Exquisite taste
Miraculous
Splendid Music from a Splendid Singer
Crystalline delight!

Barbara Bonney - Fairest Isle
Barbara Bonney , Christopher Hogwood , and The Academy of Ancient Music
Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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The Radiant Voice of Barbara Bonney
Mozart: Lieder
Exultate, Jubilate
Songs by Robert & Clara Schumann
Mendelssohn: Lieder

ASIN: B000055XGE
Release Date: 2001-03-13

Tracks:

Come Again: Sweet Love Doth Now Invite
If My Complaints Could Passions Move
Away With These Self-loving Lads
Flow My Tears
Never Weather-beaten Saile
The Sypres Curten Of The Night
It Was A Lover And His Lasse
O Lord, How Vain Are All Frail Delights
Fantasy No.9
Though Amaryllis Dance In Green
If Music Be The Food Of Love
Abdelazer: Air
Abdelazer: Air
The Plaint: O, Let Me Weep
Fairest Isle
She Loves And She Confesses Too
They Hand, Belinda...When I Am Laid In Earth

Amazon.com

Away from the clamor of grand opera and soaring symphonies, Fairest Isle takes us into the quiet, intimate world of English Elizabethan song, and you could hope for no better guide than Barbara Bonney. Her clear, beautifully rounded voice is superbly controlled, making light of a masterful technique; if you want to hear art concealing art, look no further. This is intensely private music, in a program that cleverly sidesteps any risk of listener fatigue by starting with lute accompaniment (infinitely tender playing by Jacob Heringman), moving on to a viol quartet, then finally to the richer sound of the Academy of Ancient Music under Christopher Hogwood. Leavening the mix are three instrumental interludes. The title piece is a blithe, dancelike song. Better known are some of the classics of English song: Dowland's "Come again" and "Flow, my tears," Morley's "It was a lover and his lass," and Purcell's "If music be the food of love" and "When I am laid in earth," a heart-in-mouth performance that makes time stand still. --Keith Clarke

Customer Reviews:

Fairest voice for Fairest Isle.......2006-07-27

I adore Purcell's songs, and possess many fine recordings of them. I perform them myself and enjoy the experience each and every time. When I listen to a new recording of Purcell songs, then, my expectations are both high and informed.

Barbara Bonney is simply a delight. Her voice on this album is almost incandescent with beauty. She sings with elegant simplicity that contains a great deal of art (the hardest sort of simplicity in the world to convey!). Her tone is pure, limpid as a stream, as delicately and beautifully wielded as a prism irradiating a cavern with colour.

Her vocal colour needs no introduction. Ms Bonney is widely known as "The Radiant Voice", following on from one of her album titles - and it's extremely apposite. She is radiant indeed, and her technique is beautifully sure.

Only in one track was I disappointed - the last track on the CD. "Thy hand, Belinda" seemed to me to have been approached with a more consciously dramatic style in mind, and it results in a couple of vowel distortions and a not quite convincing performance. Yet the voice itself is consistently beautiful, and I have no hesitation in giving this a 5-star rating.

Beautiful. Listen to this while you're stuck in traffic, and you are certain to feel your tension melt away at the sheer loveliness of the singing...

Exquisite taste.......2006-01-02

Barbara Bonney is one of today's most underrated singers. Her voice is always clear, true, and thrilling. She is certainly capable of vocal fireworks, yet she has the artistry and respect for musical period to know when such displays are, and are not, appropriate. In "Fairest Isle", she demonstrates her hallmark excellent taste in approach and choice of material. Too often, these lovely, gentle songs are assigned as exercises for beginning singers, and are then quickly relegated to the dust bin when the singers turn professional and are only interested in the biggest, flashiest operatic parts they can find. Ms. Bonney doesn't fall in that trap. She certainly is capable of bright vocal fire, yet she is artist enough to know gentle understatement can resonate emotionally with the listener long after the flash has faded.I must also say something about Ms. Bonney's beautifully clear diction. Her English is always understandable and perfectly presented, as opposed to Renee Fleming's, which seems to get muddier and more mannered with each successive recording. "Fairest Isle" is highly recommended!

Miraculous.......2004-10-28

I have had this CD for about 3 years, and it instantly became one of my most treasured. I never tire of listening to it.

I am now listening to it yet again, and am constantly astounded at the utter beauty, refined simplicity, and just perfect taste of Bonney's voice.
Her diction, her natural way of singing and letting the emotions melt in her mouth, her articulation always brilliant, round, glowing, 3-dimensional, her timing and instinct perfect.

And the songs... a wonderful collection of love, philosophical, and devotional pieces. All beautiful and universal.

The instrumental accompaniments are graceful, colorful (each in their own hue), and a dignified match for Bonney's musical stature.

I particularly liked "Come Again", "Never Weather-beaten Saile", "Fairest Isle", Dido's lament, and "She loves me and she confesses too". But all tracks are very good.

I own a large collection of "classical" (I hate that word) and early music, as well as opera, lied, vocal, etc.
I am very particular about what I listen to.
This CD is still one of my most cherished... intimate and very refined.

You could say that Keats was right when he wrote "Truth is beauty, beauty truth..."
Bonney's rendition of these songs is beautiful because it is honest and true... and vice-versa.

ABSOLUTELY RECOMMENDED.

Splendid Music from a Splendid Singer.......2004-01-28

Like most classical music junkies I have my share of "early music" from the 15th and 16th centuries. When I saw that Hogwood and his terrific band from the Academy of Ancient Music were coming out with an Elizabethan selection I expected something interesting, a little exotic and a good listen. (Purcell fans will know what I'm getting at.) Wrong. What struck me is how completely accessible these songs are. All were composed and published and should not be considered "folk" music in a formal sense I suppose. But as performed by the extremely talented Ms. Bonney, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was listening to early Joan Baez singing something like "Tender Maidens." These songs aren't interesting - they're beautiful. This is a terrific alblum.

Crystalline delight!.......2003-08-16

Barbara Bonney has a voice of exquisite beauty. These lovely Elizabethan love songs fit her instrument to the tee! It is too bad that another listener had to give this CD only one star because he considers these 16th century art songs to be "long hair". They were and are nothing of the sort, they are merely very "old fashioned love songs". "Come Again Sweet Love..." is a wonderful sample of this music. I could listen to it day and night.

Average customer rating:

The Art of Arleen Augér

Manufacturer: Koch Int'l Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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American Soprano
Haydn - Arias & Cantatas / Auger · H&H · Hogwood
Arleen Auger - Handel · Bach Arias / The Mostly Mozart Orchestra · Gerard Schwarz

ASIN: B000001SHD
Release Date: 1994-05-25

Tracks:

Sonnets From The Portuguese: I Thought Once How Theocritus Had Sung
Sonnets From The Portuguese: My Letters!
Sonnets From The Portuguese: With The Same Heart, I Said, I'll Answer Thee
Sonnets From The Portuguese: If I Leave All For Thee
Sonnets From The Portuguese: Oh, Yes!
Sonnets From The Portuguese: How Do I Love Thee?
Three Songs: If Music Be The Food Of Love
Three Songs: Nymphs And Shepherds
Three Songs: Sweeter Than Roses
Five Songs: Widmung
Five Songs: Lied der Braut I
Five Songs: Lied der Braut II
Five Songs: Die Soldatenbraut
Five Songs: Der Nussbaum
Five Songs: Das Velichen
Dans un bois solitaire
Five Songs: Trennugsleid
Five Songs: Als Luise die briefe ungetrene liebhabers verbrannte
Five Songs: Abendempfindung

Average customer rating:

A vocal performance taken to perfection

In Darknesse Let Me Dwell

Manufacturer: Metronome
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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O Sweet Woods

ASIN: B000002K3X
Release Date: 1996-12-17

Customer Reviews:

A vocal performance taken to perfection.......1999-01-10

Paul Agnew is one of the few people whose voice is so beautiful that it's almost irrelevant what he sings! The most lousy song would sound memorable if Agnew sang it. Luckily, however, Dowland's songs are themselves beautiful, matching in calm expressiveness and clarity the calculated perfection of Agnew's vocal style. Don't overlook the other volume from the same series - "Flow my teares."

Average customer rating:

a voice teacher and early music fan
A marvelous interpretation!

Dowland: Lute Songs

Manufacturer: Harmonia Mundi Fr.
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Songs from the Labyrinth (Music by John Dowland)

ASIN: B0000AOVOL
Release Date: 2003-10-14

Customer Reviews:

a voice teacher and early music fan.......2006-10-29

John Dowland is valued today as the first English composer of solo songs, mostly because no one in England has exceeded his output; he may have been equalled by Purcell. However, his distinctive blend of poem, melody and harmony remains unsurpassed. In addition, by underplaying the role of the voice, the listener's attention is directed to the poem. This de-emphasis of the voice was favoured by Elizabethans who relished the new-minted language of Shakepeare's contemporaries. Dowland has his brighter side, but his music is preponderantly melancholy. "Lachrimae" became his signature tune. The accompanying group 'The Consort of Six' was a peculiarly English invention of the 1580's. Six different instruments-treble and bass viols, flute, lute, cittern and bandora; it was in fact the first orchestra. The titles of the instrumental pieces give us some idea of the wide range of society in which Dowland moved; very "upper class". John Dowland was typical of composers of that time in that he earned his living by playing, and he was very much sought after by both amateurs and professionals. Alfred Deller, the most legendary of countertenors issued the very essence of melancholy of the 17th century English songs. One has to mention that he was a primary influence in the development of the countertenor voice and as such was a performer who traveled all over the world showing to all that this voice was to be looked upon and accepted as an authentic and singular entity in itself, to which I totally agree. Therefore, he paved the way for an entire generation of singers such as James Bowman, Michael Chance, David Daniels, Gerard Lesne and Phillipe Jarousky to name only a few. This recording is a landmark in music; the singing is skilled; the accompaniment superb and the song selection significant.

A marvelous interpretation!.......2005-07-05

This is a superb CD set. Deller is amazing and the Lute Songs have deep feelings, that send us to immemorial ages... If you love old sacred music you must have this Set.

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