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List Price: £10.99
Our Price: £3.58
This slimline British Composers double-pack from EMI offers stunning value for money, cramming the contents of nearly three Vaughan Williams anthologies from the mid-1980s onto two extremely well-filled CDs--and all at mid-price, too. Performances and production values are consistently first-rate, and the pleasures come thick and fast. Under Richard Hickox's sympathetic and invigorating lead, the 1923 ballet score Old King Cole (still a considerable rarity) creates a delightful impression. There's an engaging contribution from the Sinfonia Chorus both here and in the lovely Five Mystical Songs (which finds baritone Stephen Roberts in rapt, if not perhaps always ideally steady voice). Elsewhere, the Northern Sinfonia's then leader, Bradley Creswick, excels in the bracing Concerto accademico (a title the composer later rejected in favour of the plainer Concerto for violin and strings in D minor) and ravishing The Lark Ascending, while the oboe concerto receives eminently stylish advocacy from soloist Roger Winfield. Not the least of this generous sets many attractions can be found in some of the shorter items such as the perky overture to the 1929 opera
 A cherishable collection, 2008-05-04
This double CD album, a mixture of Vaughan Williams's most popular and rarely-heard music, is a cherishable collection indeed for the excellent performances contained in it, the constant delight the music affords, and the fact that both discs are full to the brim with an embarrassment of riches.
Richard Hickox is a most gifted interpreter of RVW, and these performances see him - and the Northern Sinfonia - at their peak. The soloists in the concerti are also heard at their best - Bradley Creswick in the Concerto Accademico, and Roger Winfield in the Oboe Concerto.
The first disc has a most attractive mixture, much of it comparative rarities, starting with the orchestral version of the Serenade to Music, and includes the overture to the opera 'The Poisoned Kiss' (which Hickox has made a complete recording of), and the rarely-heard but nevertheless enchanting music to a ballet based on the story of Old King Cole (a highlight of this collection for me). Hickox's versions of 'The Running Set' and the Sea Songs marches go at a fair lick, and are very compulsive.
The second disc is mainly made up of better-known pieces, such as the two concerti mentioned above, the 'Greensleeves' Fantasia, the rapturous 'Lark Ascending', and the sublime 'Five Variants of Dives And Lazarus', which must rival the more famous 'Tallis' Fantasia (which is not included on this collection) for the composer's mastery of string writing. There are, too, smaller gems, such as the Welsh Hymn Tune Preludes, which include the delectable 'Rhosymedre'.
If there is a drawback to the collection, it is only very slight, and it is the choice of soloist for the Five Mystical Songs. I think there are other, better interpretations, such as those by John Shirley-Quirk and Thomas Allen. I find either of the latter-named soloists to be more at one with the mystery of these songs than Stephen Roberts, but that is only personal.
I gave this set to a friend who wanted an introduction to RVW's works, and she fell in love with it, and has been spurred with enthusiasm for his music ever since. I only wish I could give it more than five stars!
List Price: £5.99
Our Price: £3.22
A Worthy Successor to a Much Earlier Britten/Pears Recording, 2004-07-13
I have particular interest in the main piece on this CD, Britten's 'St. Nicolas' cantata, because a choir I sing in will be doing it later this year with our local professional chamber orchestra; interestingly, a previous performance of it by this group was so successful that a repeat has been requested. Britten, of course, wrote the work for amateur chorus and a professional tenor soloist, in this case his long-time lover, Peter Pears. Enough time has now passed that, although Pears/Britten recorded the work, it is appropriate and welcome that new forces give it a go. Philip Langridge, the tenor here, is actually a better-sounding singer than Pears, although no one would ever question Pears's musicianship. And I say that even as I am one of those who long since have found Pear's idiosyncratic voice to be more than acceptable. This performance was issued earlier (mid-1990s, I think) on the now-defunct Collins Classics label. Naxos apparently has obtained license to re-release a number of Collins Classics recordings of Britten's music; I've raved about earlier releases of 'Albert Herring' and 'The Turn of the Screw.' Steuart Bedford, the conductor on all these releases, is certainly the reigning Britten conductor, having succeeded Britten at the helm of the Aldeburgh Festival.'St. Nicolas' tells the story of an early church saint, Nicolas, the 4th-century Bishop of Myra, not 'jolly Saint Nick' but another fellow entirely. Not much is known about him so librettist Eric Crozier had leeway to invent much, drawing on the legends surrounding him. Among the interesting episodes is the charming (and weirdly grisly) story of 'Nicolas and the Pickled Boys.' Most moving is the penultimate episode, 'His Piety and Marvellous Works.' Most immediately appealing is the jaunty 'Birth of Nicolas.' Britten asked the congregation to join in at two points when the choir is singing straightforward arrangements of the hymns, 'All people that on earth do dwell' (the 'Old 100th' doxology tune) and, at the end, 'God moves in a mysterious way.' The choir is the magnificent Tallis Scholars, accompanied by the English Chamber Orchestra under Bedford. This is a fervent, lively, moving performance, marked by sometimes catchy, sometimes solemn and always expertly crafted choral/orchestral mix. There is little choose between it and Britten's earlier recording (except Naxos's exceptional price). The other two works are a very early work, the a cappella 'Christ's Nativity' (from 1931, when Britten was still at the Royal Conservatory) and 'Psalm 150,' an occasional piece written for Britten's old school, Lowestoft. The former is performed by the BBC Singers. The latter is a joyful work and fun to hear throughout it's four-minute length. It is sung by the New London Children's Choir accompanied by the London Schools Symphony Orchestra. TT=66:00 Scott Morrison
List Price: £6.99
Our Price: £3.45
Sublime, 2008-12-21
The 'Hodie' is sublime, The opening chorus - towering and exuberant - makes one's hair stand on end. The closing line of the first narration "he shall be called great" is thrilling. I can't find anything to fault in this glorious recording - take some time out and catch up with the real spirit of Christmas.
List Price: £18.99
Our Price: £3.92
Artist:
Tori Amos
Not the same old Christmas!, 2009-12-15
An interesting, different point of view on Christmas carols' tradition. The interview explains clearly the concept idea of the album, tracing back to the "pagan" origin of most of the chants.
An unusual selection of pieces, amazing arrangements, and beautiful new songs by Tori as "Pink and glitter", a real homage to the big bands' swing! Really grace...ful!
List Price: £6.99
Our Price: £2.03
Artist:
Disney Songs
 Disney's Princess Christmas Album, 2009-11-17
My draughter and I had a listen to the album the other day and it really got us in the mood for christmas.
List Price: £10.99
Our Price: £6.93
Artist:
Daniel Barenboim
Beautiful and Enchanting, 2006-03-29
This is a lovely double CD set. Mendelssohn solo piano music is beautiful and very escapist. Although I am a classical buff myself, I am buying a second copy to give to my fashionable electric guitar playing mate who wants to get into classical but doesn't know what he'd like. I reckon this stuff is hard to dislike and very accessible to classical newbes. I also have no complaints about Barenboim's performance/interpretation of these works.
List Price: £8.99
Our Price: £2.55
Artist:
Various Artists
Great Christmas Album for Children, 2010-01-21
This is my childrens all time fav Xmas CD. Jolly songs, good selection. Worth the money and the dvd is great as well.
List Price: £8.99
Our Price: £2.25
Artist:
The Moody Blues
DECEMBER MAGIC, 2009-02-07
The more times I played this music, the more I liked it and cosequently
I found that I had to keep playing it!
Just relax and listen to some new songs, some classics and some you liked by somebody else but have never bought.
I only play this at Chrisrmas time and it is purely wonderful.
my only complaint is how can the Moodies better this!
List Price: £17.99
Our Price: £8.63
Artist:
Jethro Tull
Fantastic alternative christmas album, 2010-01-01
This is an excellent album for those looking for an alternative to the endlessly repeated christmas pop music.
List Price: £5.99
Our Price: £1.65
The actress Prunella Scales is the narrator on this Naxos release which is unashamedly aimed at the children's Christmas market. Two seasonal works fill 64 minutes--Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite and Rimsky-Korsakov's Christmas Eve Suite. Scales is rather a plummy mother. Her elegant diction comes from a bygone dinner-party era. She sounds kind and warm but also somewhat distant as if she were the sort to employ a third party actually to bring the children up. One imagines her obedient junior audience demurely sitting in rows, not making a sound, restraining themselves even as the "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" twinkles magically from the speakers. Children may find this lap-forbidding. Nikolai Gogol wrote the story for Rimsky-Korsakov's opera Christmas Eve. A blacksmith fools the devil, obtains a pair of the Empress' slippers and wins the initially reluctant hand of the prettiest girl in town. Rimsky-Korsakov's music is more incidental to, and dependant on, the story than Tchaikovsky's, which may be performed without. Michael Halasz conducts the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra in the Tchaikovsky, Igor Golovschin the Moscow Symphony Orchestra in the Rimsky-Korsa...
A civilising experience, 2002-08-02
It's true that the narration style of Prunella Scales is cool and restrained, but that is entirely in keeping with the tone of her script. The music sparkles, and The Nutcracker is full of memorable tunes that children warm to. Can it hold up against all the competition for kids' attention at Christmas? I think it probably can.
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