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1.Romance of the Violin by: Claude Debussy, Fryderyk Chopin, Camille Saint-Saens, Franz Schubert, Vincenzo Bellini, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Christoph Willibald Gluck, Alexander Borodin, Antonin Dvorak, Claudio Monteverdi, Jules Massenet, Robert Schumann, Michael Stern, Craig Ogden, Gregory Knowles, John Constable, Jacob Heringman, Stephen Orton October 28, 2003
Average Rating: >>More Details		List Price: $18.97 Off The Bookshelf's Price: $13.99 You Save: $4.98 (26%) Prices subject to change. Used Price: $11.54
The sumptuous tone that characterises Joshua Bell's CD provides what promises to be a brilliant listening experience. But for me there is a very fine line between sensitivity and sentimentality and too often he slithers over into unlovely swoops and slurs. Lush lyricism or sloppy sentiment? I don't think I will be listening to this CD very often but I will buy his interpretation of Tchaikovsky's Violin concerto which is a wonderful test of sensitivity v. sentimentality and see whether he will let the great composer speak.

2.Discover Music of the Baroque Era from: Naxos March 22, 2005
Average Rating: >>More Details		Off The Bookshelf's Price: $9.99 Prices subject to change. Used Price: $6.71
I really love this collection of Baroque music! Back in the 1990s, when Naxos was a new company, there was a lot of talk about their recordings not being as good as those of some other music labels, but I believe that Naxos has much improved, and terrific collections like this are testimony to the fact. There's a very nice balance on these CDs in terms of style, types of performers, and in presenting pieces that span the entire Baroque era from about 1600 to 1750. The tempos also balance nicely, though perhaps there's a slight emphasis on slower pieces, so the overall effect on me of hearing this music is peacefulness and serenity, while the etherial choral works add to that sense. So much of the Baroque music that is performed often - mainly J.S. Bach, Handel, and Vivaldi - ... Read More

3.Dowland: Consort Music from: Naxos October 10, 1998
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The Rose Consort of Viols lacks the richness of tone of Fretwork and the incisiveness of rhythm of Phantasm, the two finest gamba ensembles on the block. There are some soft spots in their ensemble technique, to be heard especially in the lack of dance-step in their galliards and in the general 'sameness' of their interpretations of the sweetly sung songs included in this collection. Dowland has been both lauded and lambasted for his melancholy, which is just a little too evident for my taste on this disk. I'd like to hear his sprightly figures tossed off with more bravura. Fortunately the lutenist, Jacob Heringman, who supports most of the consort pieces has a fine forthright touch and keeps the momentum up when the gambas begin to sound introverted. On the whole, this is an adequate but not outstanding ... Read More

4.Shakespeare's Musick (Songs & Dances from Shakespeare's Plays) / Pickett, Musicians of the Globe by: John Dowland, William Byrd, John Wilson, Giles Farnaby, Robert Jones, Anonymous, Robert Johnson, Thomas Morley, Philip Pickett, Rachel Elliott, Meredith Hall, Musician of the Globe, Libby Crabtree, Jacob Heringman, Rosalind Waters, Gary Cooper, Roderick Williams, Joanne Lunn, William Shakespeare July 15, 1997
Average Rating: >>More Details		Used Price: $7.99
'Shakespeare's Musick' by Musicians of the Globe, lead by Philip Pickett is, like a similar recording, 'Songs and Dances from Shakespeare' by The Broadside Band' is a very nice recreation of what you would have heard at the Globe Theatre in London during or after the performances of Will Shakespeare's plays. I will also say that I believe it is just a bit better than the alternative recording if only for it's fewer 'Hey Nonnie Nonnies'. But, both recordings are not the best you can find of Renaissance music. Compared to excellent recordings of Renaissance dances and liturgical music, these seem to suffer from being out of context. These are well worth the listen, but they will probably not set your toes to tapping as you might to performances by, for example, the Renaissance specialist band Piffaro.

5.Romance Of The Violin (Live From New York In Concert) by: Joshua Bell February 08, 2005
Average Rating: >>More Details		Off The Bookshelf's Price: $18.98 Prices subject to change. Used Price: $8.08
I was delighted with this Dual Disc. Performances are excellent, both audio and video. Recording quality is very good. I must report some problems with CD side (cracks) on older CD player.

6.The Radiant Voice of Barbara Bonney by: Barbara Bonney July 24, 2001
Average Rating: >>More Details		List Price: $16.98 Off The Bookshelf's Price: $14.99 You Save: $1.99 (12%) Prices subject to change. Used Price: $8.32
This is my first CD of Ms. Bonney. I would say that Ms. Bonney is the greatest lyrical soprano of the late 20th century (she has retired last year from opera, I saw on the internet). I've yet to hear another contemporary singer to beat her in her Susanna aria 'Deh vieni non tardar', or her Pamina aria. Her Solveig's Song I took as a real vocal guide towards this song. Just listen to her 'ah' section and you will understand what I mean - such well nuanced musically line, such refined phrasing. Hard to beat. Her opening song of Dowland is again a great wonder. Such drama built into so simple a song! Together with her Bach cantata, it reflect her vast span of repertoire that falls nowhere short of greatness. Yes, I do not find her 'alleluia' from Exultate Jubilate 'very' exceptional, but ... Read More

7.On the Banks of the Seine-Music of the Trouovères from: Chandos June 17, 1997
Average Rating: >>More Details		Off The Bookshelf's Price: $18.98 Prices subject to change. Used Price: $11.90
I've only just listened to a few samples of this album, and I, too, strongly disagree with the poor review below. Vivien Ellis has a wonderfully sweet soprano. As for the men, well, classically trained singers hardly existed in the 12th and 13th Centuries (unless you sang in a monastery). That's what makes this album sound so authentic. Everyone sounds so REAL. 4 stars from me - good album, but not really outstanding. Still, I could fall in love with Vivien Ellis' voice pretty fast. Nice work!

8.The Art of the Lute Player from: Avie March 22, 2004
Average Rating: >>More Details		Off The Bookshelf's Price: $16.99 Prices subject to change. Used Price: $11.00
I've only just listened to a few samples of this album, and I, too, strongly disagree with the poor review below. Vivien Ellis has a wonderfully sweet soprano. As for the men, well, classically trained singers hardly existed in the 12th and 13th Centuries (unless you sang in a monastery). That's what makes this album sound so authentic. Everyone sounds so REAL. 4 stars from me - good album, but not really outstanding. Still, I could fall in love with Vivien Ellis' voice pretty fast. Nice work!

9.Ben Jonson's The Masque of Oberon (reconstruction) /Musicians of the Globe * Pickett by: Peter Holman July 15, 1997
Average Rating: >>More Details		Used Price: $84.90
The text of `The Masque of Oberon' is credited to the great Elizabethan dramatist, Ben Jonson with music written by many Renaissance composers, including the namesake of the great blues performer, Robert Johnson. On the one hand, this recording is not of a single work, but rather of a reconstruction of a work from a great many different pieces. There was a genuine `masque' with this title written by Ben Jonson, but almost everything but the bare bones text has been lost. To understand how much was lost, you must know that a Renaissance `masque' was a series of courtly dances. The most famous story about masques, of course, is Edgar Allen Poe's `Masque of the Red Death' which was not at all about a masked ball. As the notes to this recording explain, a masque was so highly scripted and choreographed ... Read More

10.The Siena Lute Book from: Avie July 20, 2004
Average Rating: >>More Details		Off The Bookshelf's Price: $17.98 Prices subject to change. Used Price: $20.99
The text of `The Masque of Oberon' is credited to the great Elizabethan dramatist, Ben Jonson with music written by many Renaissance composers, including the namesake of the great blues performer, Robert Johnson. On the one hand, this recording is not of a single work, but rather of a reconstruction of a work from a great many different pieces. There was a genuine `masque' with this title written by Ben Jonson, but almost everything but the bare bones text has been lost. To understand how much was lost, you must know that a Renaissance `masque' was a series of courtly dances. The most famous story about masques, of course, is Edgar Allen Poe's `Masque of the Red Death' which was not at all about a masked ball. As the notes to this recording explain, a masque was so highly scripted and choreographed ... Read More

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