classical music: Philip Baker

classical music: Philip Baker

classical music:

Philip Baker

Essential Baroque

Decca, 2002

High-quality, marvelously varied intro to baroque music
I am buying this as the perfect gift for Russian and Chinese scientist friends. They have knowledge of classical music but perhaps not much about baroque music, which achieved special popularity in the U.S. during the 1970's and 1980's. Russians seem to have more ...

Britten Conducts Britten: Operas 2

Benjamin Britten, Charles Mackerras, ...

Decca, 2005

Britten's lesser operas?
Of course it's all a matter of taste. I find most of Britten's operas first class with no exception. 'Gloriana' is an under-recorded jewel, full of melody and emotion. 'Turn of the Screw' a masterpiece of claustrophobic sense. 'Rape of Lucretia' full of chamber ...

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Original London Cast

Sony, 2005

altogether a fine cast album
CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG, the cheerfully-mindless musical by the Sherman Brothers, was mounted for the West End stage in 2002, opened at the London Palladium and enjoyed a run of nearly three and-a-half years (the subsequent Broadway production fared less well). The ...

Adagio: A Windham Hill Collection

Patrick O'Hearn, Michael Manring, ...

RCA, 2003

Good Contemporary Arrangements!
I am a lover of classical music from my earliest days. I play the piano and have played in high school bands and briefly a college ensemble as a bassonist. Just a two Christmases ago I discovered Windhill's Christmas collection and fell in love with the different ...

Sacred Classics - Messiah, Ave Maria, Pie Jesu, Zadok the Priest, L'enfance du Christ

George Frideric Handel, Johann Sebastian Bach, ...

EMI Classics, 2003

A wonderful and varied compilation of Sacred Choral Works
This is a 2 CD set and is one of my favorites. While this CD contains several pieces that the general public probably hears often (Handel's Messiah, Bach's Jesu Bleibet mein freund) it also contains some not well known pieces. Of particular quality is the recording ...

Prayer: A Windham Hill Collection

Michael Manring, Philip Baker, ...

RCA, 2003

Music for Meditation
This is a delightful collection of music appropriate to meditative prayer. It is often my prayer companion, and I like the style and performance found on this CD. I highly recommend it to people who enjoy deeper reflection with a wordless musical background.

Handel: Coronation Anthems; Dixit Dominus

Gerald Finley, John Shirley-Quirk, ...

EMI Classics, 2005

a voice teacher and early music fan
CHORAL CHARISMA FROM KING'S COLLEGE SINGERS. If you are fond of the English tradition of choral singing which means the use of boy sopranos and countertenors as opposed to female sopranos and altos, this album is for you. I personally like the clear ringing quality ...

The Very Best of Janet Baker

Johannes Brahms, Benjamin Britten, ...

EMI Classics, 2002

A Rare & Glorious Singer
This is a pretty good cross-section of Dame Janet's output from the prime of her career. There are few if any singers like her around today. There are many mezzos who can sing beautifully, with great articulation and finesse, but they lack the moral and musical ...

Girl Crazy (1990 Studio Cast)

George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, ...

Nonesuch, 1990

A Musical Not To Miss
As with so many Broadway shows, the story behind Girl Crazy is concerned with the quest for love and romance built into a thin story. The setting of Girl Crazy in Arizona provided a more exotic locale for 1930's America. What makes Girl Crazy so memorable are the ...

Hodie / Fantasia on Christmas Carols

John Shirley-Quirk, Ralph Vaughan Williams, ...

EMI Classics, 2000

An old friend
It is always a wonderful thing to find a beloved recording transfered to CD. My old LP is still on my shelves and has been there since 1973, though the recording dates from 1965. It is a fine performance of an unjustly neglected Christmas work. Vaughan Williams was 81 ...

A Patriotic Salute to the Military Family

Fred Newell, Eddie Bedford, ...

Altissimo Records, 2001

Irony indeed
Some other reviewers have chastised and complained yet they fail to notice that proceeds from this album go to Military Families, and that it is endorsed by the National Military Family Association. I find it hard to believe that the NMFA would associate with and ...

Requiem/Pavane/Requiem

John Carol Case, Stephen Roberts [baritone], ...

EMI Classics, 2007

a voice teacher and early music fan
THE GRAMOPHONE PUBLICATION : 'The Faure recording is as near as can be to absolute perfection from start to finish...highest praise must go to David Willcocks for his inspiring and sensitive direction. Durufle expresses profundities with the most restrained and subtle ...

Dame Janet Baker Philips and Decca Recordings, 1961-1979 (Limited Edition)

Janet Baker, John Shirley-Quirk, ...

Philips, 2003

Essential Performances from a Great & Beloved Singer
For those of us who grew up on Janet Baker's recordings (and were lucky enough to hear her "live" as well), the sound of her voice and her singular artstic personality - British restraint coupled with fierce emotional and spiritual commitment - are indelibly imprinted ...

Harmony

Paul Tortelier, Karl Leister, ...

Virgin Records Us, 2000

Excellent compliation
Unlike some classical cds, this one contains full length selections, covering a wide range of composers from Bach to a couple of tastefully done popular selections. The recordings were full and expressive, the audio quality excellent. In a sense it is a varation on ...

Great Artists of the Century: 25 Launch Releases

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Jacqueline du Pré, ...

EMI Classics, 2004

A Wonderful Introduction
I'm fairly new into appreciating classical music, and this CD is a wonderful introduction for me. This CD by EMI Classics is a sampler of their mid-price series called "Great Artists of the Century." It celebrates their roster of artists from the 20th century and the ...