Farinelli & Light Orchestral Songs

1. Farinelli, operetta Sangen har vinger (The song has wings)
Composed by Emil Reesen
with Aksel Schioetz
Conducted by Emil Reesen

2. Farinelli, operetta Den som har livets mildhed søgt (He who has pursued life's gentleness)
Composed by Emil Reesen
with Aksel Schioetz
Conducted by Emil Reesen

3. Farinelli, operetta Livets glæder (The pleasures of life)
Composed by Emil Reesen
with Aksel Schioetz
Conducted by Emil Reesen

4. Farinelli, operetta Der er en sang (There is a song)
Composed by Emil Reesen
with Aksel Schioetz
Conducted by Emil Reesen

5. A Sailor's Life
Composed by English Traditional
with Aksel Schioetz

6. Rosvald og Rosa (old sailors' tune)
Composed by Traditional
with Aksel Schioetz

7. Trees, for voice & piano (or orchestra)
Composed by Oscar Rasbach
with Aksel Schioetz

8. Night and Day
Composed by Cole Porter
with Aksel Schioetz

9. Tonerna (Visions), for voice & piano
Composed by Carl Sjoberg
with Aksel Schioetz

10. I de lyse nætter (In the twilight nights)
Composed by Mogens Schraeder
with Aksel Schioetz

11. Work(s) Flag in Storm
Composed by Emil Reesen
with Aksel Schioetz

12. The Song about Home (Sangen om Hjemmet)
Composed by Dan Folke
with Aksel Schioetz

13. Mor Danmark, for voice & piano
Composed by Knudage Riisager
Performed by Sune Waldimir's Orchestra with Aksel Schioetz
Conducted by Sune Waldimir

14. The 24 hours (De 24 timer), jazz oratorio Geography
Composed by Bernhard Christensen
with Aksel Schioetz

15. The School Upside Down (Skolen på ho'det), jazz oratorio A meeting on the playground
Composed by Bernhard Christensen
with Aksel Schioetz , Grete Kordt
Conducted by Mogens Woldike

16. Film-cuttings (Filmssstrimler)
Composed by Kai Normann Andersen
with Aksel Schioetz

17. Land of Happiness (Lykkeland), waltz-serenade
Composed by Jacob Gade
with Aksel Schioetz

18. The Sun's Lullaby (Solens vuggesang), serenade
Composed by Carlo Thomsen
with Aksel Schioetz

19. While I still have you, mum (Mens jeg har dig endu, lille mor)
Composed by Egon Ankerstjerne
with Aksel Schioetz

20. Play your own gipsy song (Spil din egen zigeunersang), tango
Composed by Egon Ankerstjerne
with Aksel Schioetz

21. The good old days (Som et eventyr fra gamle dage)
Composed by Egon Ankerstjerne
with Aksel Schioetz

22. O skønne Venezia, tango
Composed by Egon Ankerstjerne
with Aksel Schioetz

Farinelli & Light Orchestral Songs,Kai Normann Andersen,Egon Ankerstjerne,Bernhard Christensen,Dan Folke,Jacob Gade,Cole Porter,Oscar Rasbach,Emil Reesen,Knudage Riisager,Mogens Schraeder,Carl Leopold Sjoberg,Carlo Thomsen,Traditional,English Traditional,Emil Reesen,Mogens Woldike,Sune Waldimir,Sune Waldimir's Orchestra,Grete Kordt,Aksel Schiøtz,Danacord Records,Art Song (General),Classical,Miscellaneous,Miscellaneous Music,Opera,Opera / Operetta / Oratorio,Solo Voice(s) and Orchestra,Vocal,Vocal Music

Arias for Farinelli
Average customer rating:

Beautiful technique, coupled with Baroque sensitivity...

very interesting work!

Pleasant music & competent, if unexciting, renditions

Finally these arias sung in a way that can move the heart!

The most satisfying CD purchase I think I've ever made

Arias for Farinelli

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

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Similar Items:

Moreschi - The Last Castrato

Farinelli

Bel Canto Arias; Vivica Genaux

Farinelli

Vivica Genaux - Handel/Hasse: Opera Arias

ASIN: B0000646XA
Release Date: 2002-09-10

Tracks:

Orfeo (Nicola Antonio Porpora): "Dall'amor piy sventurato"
Idaspe (Riccardo Broschi): "Ombra fedele anch'io"
Idaspe: "Qual guerriero in campo armato"
Adriano in Siria (Geminiano Giacomelli): "Mancare Dio mi sento"
Concerto a 4 in C minor (Baldassare Galuppi): Grave
Allegro
Andante
Polifemo (Nicola Antonio Porpora): "Oh volesser gli Dei... Dolci freschi aurette"
Artaserse (Johann Adolf Hasse [added aria]): "Or la nube procellosa"
Artaserse: "Per questo dolce amplesso"
Merope (Geminiano Giacomelli): "Quell'usignolo"

Amazon.com

"Farinelli" was the stage name for the greatest castrato--and arguably the greatest singer--of his era, the 1720s and '30s (he inspired the film of the same name ). His range was enormous--three octaves, by some reports--with a deep, resonant chest voice that was perfectly wedded to strong, sweet high notes. His breath control seemed superhuman, his ability to execute florid runs at high speeds astounded the audience, and he could leap from one octave to another as naturally and easily as most people could speak.

On this CD, the fine countertenor-conductor-musicologist Rene Jacobs leads a historically correct band in eight (almost forgotten) virtuoso arias Farinelli was famous for, and the Alaskan mezzo-soprano Vivica Genaux sings them stupendously. Her voice is warm and rich, and her ability to keep rhythmically and tonally accurate while carrying out almost impossible, dozens-of-notes-per-minute roulades will take your breath away. She's just as impressive in the gentler, long-breathed arias. If you've ever admired Marilyn Horne, Cecilia Bartoli, Joan Sutherland, and other bel canto superstars, this disc is perfect for you. Thrilling! --Robert Levine

Customer Reviews:

Beautiful technique, coupled with Baroque sensitivity..........2005-11-05

Being a counter tenor myself, I am often quite critical and picky with my Baroque recordings... counter tenors are never quite good enough for my tastes, and women are never quite androgynous enough for my tastes either. What can I say? I'm never satisfied... until now. Vivica Genaux has made such a beautiful recording, and such a moving tribute to one of history's greatest musical celebrities. Her tone is pure and androgynous enough to conjure our imaginations' best thoughts of what the great castrati may have sounded like, and yet there is still a warmth and spin in her voice. The coloratura is stunning... just as agile and articulated as Bartoli, but without the awkward and tense stoppage between notes. Genaux sings this music both as if she had worked on it since birth and yet as if it were second nature! Fabulous... this album is shaping up to be my very favourite baroque recording!

very interesting work!.......2005-08-21

Vivica Genaux is really great and Rene Jacobs too!!!!
Some compositions by Riccardo Broschi (Farinelli's Brother) are not that great, but the general philosophy of work, and the interpretation of Vivica are amazing.
Great recording to have if you like real Baroque stuff!

Pleasant music & competent, if unexciting, renditions.......2003-10-22

Vindication for countertenor haters? - made possible by a former countertenor!
I won't use CAPITAL LETTERS to make any point about this recording but I will say this much first. Countertenors sang in oratorios and in sacred music. Frequently Handel borrowed music from opera to be sung by countertenors in these works. Look at the role of David in Handel's 'Saul' - written for an excellent countertenor.

British singers (countertenors, basses, sopranos, contraltos, and tenors) were not trained to sing opera in Handel's time. Handel almost always used Italians - castrati or Italian women, if a castrato fell ill.

Countertenors then were not trained to sing Italian opera. But this is not the case any more and many countertenors sing this music very well and very convincingly. End of rave.

So what's this disc like? It is okay and the music is nice. Vivica Genaux has a voice that is quite nice and she has a flexible instrument. However, she uses too much vibrato and does not blend well with period instruments. Overall, this is a fairly ordinary recording of an undoubtedly talented modern mezzo, but it isn't anything out of the ordinary. The timbre of Genaux is decidedly female and she sounds a lot like other mezzos I've heard. Its a nice recording but it isn't amazing or anything like that!

I'll stick with David Daniels, Andreas Scholl, Daniel Taylor, Lawrence Zazzo & co.

Finally these arias sung in a way that can move the heart!.......2003-06-20

I was quite excited to hear this CD when I saw it. I have listened to a number of "Farinelli Arias" disks, and to tell the truth really saw no merit in the music at all, at least how it was performed. However, I have studied this music for decades, and having many fine transcriptions of Farinelli's embellishments, I have always wondered what these arias would sound like when sung well. It was a revelation.

I would suggest that everyone who listens to this CD begin by reading the very long, but very informative, explanations of the Castrato voice, and of Farinelli himself. There is a wealth of information, including how voices were trained, and what voices were used to trade off when a castrato soprano was not available. COUNTERTENORS were NEVER used. They existed, but they simply didn't have the sound that compared. The usual choice for composers was a FEMALE CONTRALTO with a good upper range. This upper range was not like we think of high notes today. In fact, no singer until the end of the 1880's had high notes like we are used to today. Their upper notes were very penetrating, but not super loud. The strength of the voice was its chest and lower notes. Most Castrati sang well, even to very strong powerful notes over an octave below middle C, and were still called "sopranos."

Looking at the scores of these pieces, you will not find one high note written there, and those that do venture above the staff are very quickly sung. However, most all of the pieces venture below the staff, and often start a phrase as low as the A below middle C. If one looks at Farinelli's own embellishments, one hardly ever sees him venturing above a high A and then very quickly. In his youth he may have had a High F but he never would have used it the way we expect singers like Joan Sutherland to sing it.

So, if we can just get over a few things we have been conditioned to think (which are completely wrong) that the countertenor voice has any resemblance to the Castrato (which it doesn't; composers of the period have proven through their choices a contralto or dark mezzo represented far more accurately the castrato voice), that voices sang with no vibrato (they did, and it gave warmth to the music, that is why eventually string players learned to use a vibrato, we have used instrumental technique, which were decades behind vocal technique, to decide how vocalist sang, organs as early as 11 hundred were built with a "la Voce" stop, which actually played two notes back and forth to immitate a vibrato, so obviously the voice did vibrate), and that the castrato has some super human capacity for volume (their breathing and focus training was unique to them, and often not taught to other singers of their day; women worse corsets and so their breathing was shallow, but what they were trained to do is commonly done today for most singers, so their volume would have compared to our more modern sound, only their high notes would not have been anywhere as loud as we are used to hearing).

If we are willing to learn from facts, then we will be ready to listen to this performance. What we hear is a wonderful singer doing a wonderful job with music that is very difficult to sing. It would have been nicer if her voice was more powerful in the lower reaches, for much of the music is quite low. Most of her embellishments are authentic to the times, but only one piece actually uses all the embellishments that were used by Farinelli himself, and that is the last piece, "Quelle'Usignolo." This disk was a really refreshing experience. It was wonderful to finally hear the words when the vocal line was lower, rather than the nasal twang the countertenors often bring to it, and nice to hear upper notes that actually came forth easily. It was nice to hear warmth to a voice singing this music, rather than something akin to scratching ones fingernails down the blackboard. It was nice to hear some "presence" some "personality" in the music, which more often than not it never has. As Vivica Genaux's voice grows and darkens, if she never loses her wonderful agility, then she truly will give this music the life it desperately needs to take it out of the frozen museum piece prison it has been relegated to in the more "authentic recordings" we are often subjected to.

The most satisfying CD purchase I think I've ever made.......2003-02-04

While people informed in music history and historical performance debate the merrits of whether the voice is authentic, or whether its qualities are the match of legends like Marilyn Horne, the fact remains for me that I have never been so satisfied with a baroque music CD purchase. The quality of the music is incredible, all these composers were contemporaries and even rivals of Handel, yet lost to history as vocal composers until recently. The players and conductor bring life to the scores with sensitive, imaginitive, and highly sophisticated playing. I enjoyed every aspect of the recording, including the instrumental tracks. They are lively and interesting, yet also historically informed, and have a rightness to the sound that is lacking in a lot of the less enthusiastic recorded performances.

The singer, Genaux, possesses a voice surprisingly similar in timbres to the electronically blended sound on the Farinelli soundtrack. While a little grainy or edgy in parts of her range, it has the burnished warm sounds that float and are easy throughout much of the very difficult tessitura. These is a terrific activity or direction in all the coloratura that is never rushed or pushed in tempo, but keeps moving forward and gives shapes to the very long florid lines. The long stretches of the cantabile arias are wrapped in velvet and have several heart-stopping moments.

It is not hard to understand why these arias were the purview of one of the greatest singers of a bygone age, what is hard to understand is why this music has been missing from the repertoire for so long. Also, when considering the voice of the castrato, it is important to remember that they were boy sopranos originally, whose mutilation maintained their pre-pubecent vocal condition of "falsetto". However, the real facility of their voices came from very long years of incredibly rigorous vocal and musical training, castrati often were already a part of the conservatorios before their mutilation. This training cultivates the head voice in ways that only few of the modern day countertenors have achieved. It is wrong to think that the sound is vastly different from countertenors, and that the clarity of the female voice is the only comparison.

Tracks:

Son Qual Nave Ch'agitata: Air De Arbace
Alto Giove: Air D'Acio
Se Al Labbro Mio Non Credi: Instrumental
Ombra Fedele Anch'io: Air De Dario
Artaserse: Ouverture
Lascia Ch'io Pianga: Air De Almirena
Cara Sposa: Air De Rinaldo
Rinaldo: Ouverture
Generoso Risuegliati O Core: Air De Poro
Salve Regina
Alto Giove: Instrumental

Customer Reviews:

An Interesting Performance.......2007-06-14

This performance electronically blends the voices of a soprano and a counter tenor in an attempt to create a voice that might be like that of the famous castrato Farinelli, reputedly to have had a voice of great power and range. Technically it is successful, you certainly would not know it was a composite voice unless you were told. And musically, too, it is quite satisfying. But I must question if it were realy necessary, listen to Mezzo Soprano Vivica Genaux's CD, Arias for Farinelli, her performance is dazzling, with far more expression and fire than you get with the composite, a far more satisfying performance. Please try to hear it.

Just beautiful.......2004-06-24

I really don't know much of opera, but everytime when I listen to this album, i get goosebums. It's just so beautiful. Try it in your car with full volume. it will blow your mind away.

The Fame Of Farinelli.......2004-05-15

This album features music and operatic arias from the film Farinelli. The movie was a highly dramatized and untrue account of the life of Farinelli, the stage name of Carlo Broschi, the greatest castrato singer of all time. The castrati were castrated before puberty so as to preserve their soprano range and maintain awesome lung power of the male voice. In the film, Stefano Dionisi lip synched but the voices that were used were a combination in synthesizer of the tenor Derek Lee Regin and the soprano Ewa Mallas Godlewska. Their voices, though distinctly male and female, sounded very alike and director Gerard Corbiau decided to creatively edit their voices. The music is sublime. These obscure and rare Baroque classics are not performed today, not even in Europe. So many of the libretti have been lost in time and even with the libretti and music available, the castrati voice can never again be heard and much of the Baroque type of singing is difficult for most singers to undertake. Nowadays, the singers that come close to castrati are highly developed falsetto-singing countertenors or mezzo-sopranos with coloratura like Cecilia Bartoli or Vivica Genoux. On this album, we hear unique and rare composers, like Farinelli's brother Riccardo Broschi, and his operas. The aria "Son Qual Nave Agitata" and the more impressive "Ombra Fidele" are exquisite, full of lyrical grandeur and coloratura gymnastics. The rest are arias from long forgotten operas and even religious works for the Roman Catholic Church, like Palestrina, who thought the castrati voice was the closest thing to God. It's a great album to have if you are a fan of Farinelli and the msuic of his day.

The Fame Of Farinelli.......2004-05-15

This album contains music from the 1995 foreign film Farinelli. The film dealt with the life of Carlo Broschi, otherwise known by his stage name Farinelli. He was the great castrato singer who dazzled audiences with his amazing bravura and vocal virtuosity. He was supposedly able to hold a long note in a single minute. In the movie the actor Stefano Dionisi was lip-synching to the creative synthesized combination of tenor Derek Lee Ragin and soprano Ewa Mallas Godlewska. This blending of male and female voices is what the castrati voice must have been like.

The album is chalk-full of rare Baroque treasures. Although the music of Handel was prominent in the film, there is nothing by Handel here which is suprising because Handel wrote mostly for castrati voice. The composer Riccardo Broschi, Farinelli's brother, wrote many operas and specific arias for his voice alone. Here, we get the sublime lyrical aria "Son Qual Nave Agitata" from the opera Idaspe and the more impressive "Ombra Fedele Anchio" which is full of hair-raising coloratura gymnastics. The beauty and rarity of these arias alone is worth getting the album. The instrumental music, perfectly Baroque in structure, includes the Overture to Artaserses. The other vocal music even has a spiritually uplifting work by Palestrina who wrote vocal music in religious contexts for the Roman Catholic Church and who believed the castrati voice was the most divinely inspired voice and closest to God. This album is worth getting if you are a fan of the movie, a fan of the Baroque period and a fan of Farinelli in particular.

Music From The Movie Farnielli: Otherwordly Arias.......2004-05-14

This album contains music and operatic arias used in the film Farinelli, about the dramatic life of the famous castrato opera legend of the Baroque period. The creative editing and synthesizing blended the voices of the male tenor Derek Lee Ragin and the female soprano Ewa Mallas Godlewska. This combination of male and female, which sounds like the singing voice of a hermaphrodite, is probably what the voice of Farinelli sounded like. It was an absolute fetish in Baroque Italy of the 1600's. Castrati were the highest paid singers, enjoyed the fame equal to today's legends of rock (and that included groupies) and lived in luxury in the courts of European royalty. Farinelli was the most famous and the greatest of these singers. His voice was like nothing on earth. The male part of his voice enabled him to hold his breath for long periods of times in awesome displays of lung powers, usually demonstrated in the legato phrasing and long, sustained notes. His female voice was the real fire, though, especially impressing audiences with the roulades and high-flying coloratura acrobatics.

Tracks:

Son Qual Nave Ch'agitata: Air de Arbace [Artaserse]
Alto Giove: Air d'Acio [Polifemo]
Se Al Labbro Mio Non Credi (Instrumental)
Ombra Fedele Anch'io: Air de Dario [Idaspe]
Artaserse (Ouverture)
Lascia Ch'io Pianga: Air de Almirena [Rinaldo]
Cara Sposa: Air de Rinaldo
Rinaldo (Ouverture)
Generoso Risuegliati O Core: Air de Poro [Cleofide]
Salve Regina
Work(s): Alto Giove (Instrumental)

Average customer rating:

PAINFUL
Very rewarding and interesting
Wonderful Manzotti
not worthy of the name "Farinelli"
The art of Angelo Manzotti

Angelo Manzotti - Arie di Farinelli
Johann Adolf Hasse , Riccardo Broschi , Geminiano Giacomelli , Carlo Broschi , Angelo Manzotti , Maria Pia Jacoboni , and I Solisti di Roma
Manufacturer: Bongiovanni
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Angelo Manzotti - Vivaldi Opera Aria (Arie d'opera)
Moreschi - The Last Castrato
Vivaldi: Soprano Cantatas
Vivaldi: Virtuoso Cantatas
Arias for Farinelli

ASIN: B0000044BT
Release Date: 1995-12-12

Tracks:

Merope: Quell'usignolo che innamorato canta
Merope: Sposa non mi conosci
Artaserse: Son qual nave
Artaserse: Se al labbro mio
Di costanza il core armato
Che chiedi? Che brami?

Customer Reviews:

PAINFUL.......2006-09-20

Countertenors like Brian Asawa, David Daniels and Andreas Scholl are thrilling, talented performers. They also wisely stay away from material that is not suitable for their voices.

The arias on this disc are too difficult and too high for Angelo Manzotti to perform. I'm sure with the right music he'd be able to make wonderful, musical sounds. As it is, his voice sounds strained, his diction is cloudy, and his intonation is unstable. The struggles also cause him interpretive problems; he is unable to communicate a convincing sense of drama, and all of the numbers are performed with a sameness that, if it weren't so painful to hear, would make for rather dull listening.

The accompanying strings are barely adequate.

I recommend Vivica Geneaux's recording of almost the same material. Five stars to her, one to him.

Very rewarding and interesting.......2003-08-01

These arias are quite nice, and some are even exciting, but somehow I was left wondering when the "fireworks" were going to happen. These arias were sung by Farinelli, but excepting Quell'usignuolo" none of them were the ones he was supposed to sing all the time, nor ones that he was noted for. One thing about Farinelli is we have a record of how he embellished these pieces. We know the different variations he did depending on how he felt. We also know that his variations were difficult in music that was already fairly challenging. Though "Son qual nave" is sung in this recording, one doesn't hear the embellishments of Farinelli, which are easily found. This is sad, for his embellishments really are possible to sing, Dame Joan or Marilyn Horne could have mastered them with ease, and I suspect Manzotti could have sung them, as they lie completely in the middle voice for the most part. They make the piece more interesting. However, one must put this aside and judge this recording based on what we have to hear. Manzotti actually does a fine job with these arias. No, he doesn't embellish as much as was probably the custom of the day, but his coloratura is well done (that is if you ignore his trills, or lack thereof). He has the range to cover the arias effectively and with limited strain (though I don't really enjoy his sound when he has jumps to the upper register for very short notes). I really wish someone would record "Qual Guerriero in Camp amato." Some really incredible singing is required for this aria. It won't be found in this recording.

Some people have raved over the recording saying it is simply wonderful, others are not impressed at all. I think it is one of taste. I am not a countertenor fan at all. I don't think they sound a thing like a castrato, nor do they do justice to the music of that time for their ranges are too limited to cover everything that was done. The diction is wanting for the most part, and the expression is lacking. The tone is too "white." By this I don't mean lacking vibrato, but simply without the fire of a real person, or personality behind it. It is soul-less.

No matter how exceptionally beautiful as singer sings, if there is no life, no emotion, no truth communicated they have not succeeded completely. They may dazzle with their skills, but they leave us cold. Even the great Farinelli learned this lesson. Early in his career he overly embellished, and astonished listeners, but soon learned he never touched the heart. He rethought his presentation and became the great person he was. Well, we have a singer who does sing beautifully, and with much skill that amazes (and should amaze us). Yet, he leaves us cold at times. There is no feeling, no expression, no communication of a thought, no meaning to his words. Bel Canto is not just beautiful singing, it is communicating through music; embellishments are not just for show, but to express meaning. I didn't feel that, and I guess that is why I was left cold.

I rated the recording a 5 star because of the achievement, which is truly wonderful. It is worthy of that rating, even though I was not completely satisfied with it in other ways. Manzotti is a skilled singer, and one that has much to offer. If he now would learn to communicate feelings with his notes, we truly will be rewarded by the things he has to share. I still put him at the tops of the list of countertenors (even though he doesn't call himself that, he is a sopranist). With the crowd of them out there now days, that is really something to be proud of.

Wonderful Manzotti.......2003-02-03

In this CD Angelo Manzotti shows his really uncommon vocal skills. It's an impressive and unusal singing: you love him or you hate him...... In any case I believe it's the closest we can get nowadays to the lost kind of castrato voice.
The only thing I didn't really like is the accompanying orchestra..... if this recording would have been done with ensembles such as Europa Galante, Giardino Armonico or Akademie fur alte Musik Berlin, it would have been one of the most impressive CDs ever produced! Anyway, this early CD along with his latest ones such Handel's "Evil Arias" and Campra Motets is a must for anyone interested in XVIII century vocal music.

not worthy of the name "Farinelli".......2000-01-13

These are some of the most difficult arias written in the Baroque era, but the singing here fails to do justice to the brilliant music. If you're interested in how glorious Farinelli's singing was, try Cecilia Bartoli's "Vivaldi Album" and the original soundtrack of the movie "Farinelli." Of course, the REAL Farinelli must have been much greater, but those two CD's are the closest things we can get.

The art of Angelo Manzotti.......1999-12-11

Angelo Manzotti is absolutely superb on this CD. He blends almost superhuman vocal prowess with a wonderfull taste in ornamantation and a beautiful sensitivity. I highly recommend this CD.

Karl Ditters von Dittersdorf: Requiem; Offertorium; Litaniae Lauretanae

Average customer rating:

Obviously Rococo

Karl Ditters von Dittersdorf: Requiem; Offertorium; Litaniae Lauretanae

Manufacturer: Ars Musici
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Requiems | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000002K1C
Release Date: 1996-04-16

Tracks:

Requiem in c: Requiem Aeternam
Requiem in c: Te Decet Hymnus
Requiem in c: Requiem (Da Capo)
Requiem in c: Kyrie
Requiem in c: Des Irae
Requiem in c: Domine Jesu Christe
Requiem in c: Sanctus
Requiem in c: Benedictus
Requiem in c: Agnus Dei
Requiem in c: Requiem
Offertorium Zu Ehren Des Heiligen Johann Von Nepomuk: Rezitativ & Arie: Eja Amoene/Et Flammae
Offertorium Zu Ehren Des Heiligen Johann Von Nepomuk: Chor: Vos Ergo
Lauretanische Litanei: Kyrie
Lauretanische Litanei: Sancta Maria
Lauretanische Litanei: Rosa Mystica
Lauretanische Litanei: Salus Infirmorum
Lauretanische Litanei: Regina Anelorum
Lauretanische Litanei: Agnus Dei

Customer Reviews:

Obviously Rococo.......2007-03-13

Karl Ditters von Dittersdorf (1739 - 1799): Sacred Music. Requiem in C Minor; Offertory in Honor of Saint John of Nepomuk; Lauretanian Litany in D Major. Performed by Hanna Farinelli, soprano; Birgit Calm, alto; Heiner Hopfner, tenor; Nikolaus Hillebrand, bass; The Regensburger Domspatzen (Boys' Choir of Regensburg Cathedral); Consortium Musicum Munich; directed by Georg Ratzinger. Recorded in July 1986 at the Niedermünster Church in Regensburg, Bavaria (Germany) by the Bayerische Rundfunk (Radio Bavaria). First issued in 1987 and re-released in 1996 by Freiburger Musik Forum on its Ars Musici label AM 1158-2. Total time: 62'42".

For those who may have been attracted to this page by the name Ratzinger, I should perhaps immediately point out that the musical director of this CD is the elder brother of the current Pope Benedict (Joseph Ratzinger). Georg Ratzinger was musical director at the Roman Catholic cathedral in Regensburg for some 30 years until his retirement in 1994 and was, until recently, probably better known than his younger brother, at least in Germany. Georg Ratzinger's particular service to music appears to have been in the brilliant leadership given to the "Regensburger Domspatzen", certainly the oldest existing boys' choir anywhere in the world (it was founded over 1000 years ago!) and still today one of the top three boys' choirs in the German-speaking lands.

The Dittersdorf CD presented here by Ars Musici represents a seemingly quite complicated piece of collaboration between various musicologists interested in restoring the reputation of the composer Karl Ditters [von Dittersdorf being a later title added at the behest of the Austrian Emperor]. Dittersdorf was one of the most popular composers in the Austrian Empire during the second half of the 18th century. His stage works were performed in Vienna and rivalled or even excelled those of Mozart with regard to their popularity. Dittersdorf spent most of his life in rural Silesia (today part of Poland), but he also made frequent visits to his birthplace, Vienna, where he was a close associate of both Haydn and Mozart, with whom he occasionally played in a string quartet (together with Johann Baptist Vanhal, another almost-forgotten composer from this period). Although Dittersdorf appears to have concentrated mainly on writing symphonies (a number of which have been recently performed and published by the Naxos label in its series on the 18th Century Symphony), he also wrote sacred music as part of his duties as "kapellmeister" to the Prince Bishop of Breslau. These pieces have only survived in manuscript part copies kept until today in Silesian libraries, and the artists involved here deserve great praise for their diligence in finding these out and restoring them. Although Dittersdorf's music today sounds obviously "rococo", occasionally reminding one of Haydn and definitely lacking the genius of Mozart in his unfinished Requiem, the pieces collected here are well worth the hearing, their combination of choral splendor, solo arias and a festive orchestral accompaniment including trumpets, trombones and drums providing not only "spiritual entertainment" but also giving evidence of the high musical standard to be found even in somewhat remote parts of Europe during the Revolutionary period.

The performance by the Regensburg team is excellent. The booklet, unfortunately, does not give very many details; I suspect that the Munich Consortium musicum may have been playing on modern instruments, but their playing is so stylish that the question of periodicity never really intrudes itself. I have never come across any of the soloists anywhere else, but they seem to me to do all that could be expected of them, with only Hanna Farinelli occasionally raising an eyebrow, her pronunciation not always being a hundred percent clear and her timbre needing a little getting used to (although that may be because, as a dyed-in-the-wool early music fan I had mental images of her famous early 18th century castrato namesake). The Regensburger Domspatzen appear to have consisted of at least 24 boys, whom the engineers have kept as a block in the background - despite the emphasis on their participation on the cover, it is mostly the soloists to whose one attention is directed.

All in all, a worthy recording, giving a good impression of both Dittersdorf and of some of Bavaria's leading musicians.

Average customer rating:

Christmas Organ Music

Manufacturer: MD&G Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Preludes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

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

General Christmas | Holiday | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music

General Christmas | Holiday Music | Special Features | Music
ASIN: B000AOESRW
Release Date: 2005-11-22

Tracks:

Paraphase Sur Un Choeur De Judas Macchabee De Handel Op. 90
Offertorie Sur Des Noels Op. 39, 6
Offertorie Sur Deux Noels Op. 19
Pastorale
Variations On
Pastorale
Es Ist Ein Ros Entsprungen Op. 122, 8
Weihnachten Op. 145, 3
Offertorie Sur Des Noels
Variations Sur Un Noel Bourguignon
Carillon-Sortie

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FARINELLI, IL CASTRATO
Christophe Rousset
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B000JJLYWU

Product Description

Songs: Son qual nave ch'agitata / R. Broschi * Alto Giove / N. Porpora * Se al labbro mio non credi / R. Broschi * Ombra fedele anch'io / R. Broschi * Artaserse / J.A. Hasse * Lascia ch'io pianga / G.F. Haendel * Cara sposa / G.F. Haendel * Rinaldo / G.F. Haendel * Generoso risuegliati o core / J.A. Hasse * Salve regina / G.B. Pergolesi * Alto Giove / N. Porpora

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Aksel Schiøtz Sings Nielsen

Manufacturer: Pearl
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Scandinavian Languages | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000000WP8
Release Date: 1994-11-29

Tracks:

Underlige aftenlufte
Skjaldens sang - into - Jeg baere med smil
Sang bag ploven, Op.10 - 4
Vi sletterne sonner
Jaegersang
I aften
Sommersang, Op.10 - 3
Gron er barens hoek - intro. - Farvel, min
Magdelones dansescene
Den danske sang
Havets sang
'Moderen' Op.41: Skjaldens vise
Den milde dag, Op.42
Hymne til Danmark
Jens Vehmand, Op.21-3
Farinello: Sangen har vinger
Farinelli: Den som har
Farinelli: Der er en sang
Farinelli: Livets glaeder
Lille Konval
Jeg ved ej
Dengang jeg var
Der var en svend

Average customer rating:

Opinioni
Makes it possible to re-live the days of the castrati

Che Chiedi Che Brami/&
Farinelli , Giacomelli , and Hasse
Manufacturer: Erasmus
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0000005JH
Release Date: 1997-05-27

Tracks:

Merope: Quell'Usignolo
Merope: Sposa Non Mi Conosci
Artaserse: Se Al Labro Mio Non Credi
Artaserse: Son Qual Nave
Che Chiedi, Che Brami

Customer Reviews:

Opinioni.......1999-08-12

As for those glorious days of the greatest exponents of opera and the true art of "virtuosisma" or the vocalita of opera seria, the castrati, the musical peices on this recording allow us a glimpse at the great music of the past,the great music that was designed for the sheer pleasure of the audience in full emotion and expressivity, and for the vocal acrobatics of the singers rendered unassailable by their extraordinary level of training, know hidden unfortunately or rather non-existent. As for the voice on the CD, it cannot be further away from the true brilliance that endowed the castrati so greatly, or from the seemingly limitless range of the castrato register. Manzotti's voice is strident, held rigid, and inflexible.

Makes it possible to re-live the days of the castrati.......1998-09-22

Manzotti is not only a true soprano (like Aris Cristoffelis), but he has a warmer timbre and has obviously studied the vocal art of the castrati intensively. Anyone who has longed for the possibility to hear that vanished voice will find his dreams realised here; Manzotti has the range, the art of ornamentation and the dramatic power of a Caffarelli or a Farinelli. He is also, at least on this recording, very well accompanied, and his musical choices are interesting. He makes it very clear why male sopranos held sway on the operatic stage for nearly two centuries. I hope he will continue to make recordings (hopefully the role of Händel's Serse in a complete recording), and that he will teach his art to others.

Incidentally, for European surfers - I have found it impossible to buy Manzotti's discs in Belgium. I recommend taking advantage of Amazon!

Track Listings: