Search - George Frideric Handel, Antonio Vivaldi, Johann Sebastian Bach :: Great Baroque Arias, Part 1 / G. Fisher · Bowman · Ainsley · M. George · The King's Consort · King

Will delight beginners and connoisseurs alike.

quia-nihil-sum | Inverness,Scotland. | 10/01/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"To be honest I normally shun these kind of sampler discs like the plague,preferring whenever possible to go for complete works as a general rule.However,recently I was about to imminently depart on a foreign holiday,and I had promised a friend waiting for my at my ultimate destination that I would bring a recording of Handel's lovely aria ,"Waft her angels,through the skies" (from "Jeptha) for her to listen to (I try to promote and evangelise Handel's music wherever I go !).Unfortunately it wasn't in my collection at the time,so I raced down to my local record shop,and luckily for me this particular CD happened to be in stock at the time.It more than served my purpose in the end,because John Mark Ainsley's performance of "Waft her..." is as fine as I've heard in many a long year,and my friend was enraptured by it's beauty when she eventually got to hear it.Yet,so much else on this record came as an unlooked for and unexpected delightful surprise to me.Prior to this,I hadn't been aware of the work of the excellent soprano Gillian Fisher,and I was completely bowled over by her serenely,stunning reading of Bach's,"Sheep may safely graze".She brings a hypnotic,rapturous intensity to it that is absolutely captivating.She is no less fine in the famous lament from "Dido and Aeneas",and sets off some real vocal fireworks in ,"Let the bright Seraphim" with Crispian Steele-Perkins doing his usual sterling best on trumpet alongide her.However the highlight of this disc for me,and a wonderful discovery to boot must be the tender and tragic aria,"How willing my paternal love" from "Samson".The brilliant bass Michael George sings the part of the now blind Samson's father,and his final line of,"Whilst I have eyes he wants no light" is unbearably touching in itself,and takes on even deeper meaning and pathos when you consider that Handel himself was to go blind in his later years,and I'm quite sure that the awful irony of the exquisite music he composed here was not lost on him.So for this discovery and much else besides I owe Carlton Classics a huge debt of gratitude,and if my humble review of this lovely record can help to sell a few more copies through the good auspices of our friends at Amazon,then so much the better."

Great music, excellent vocals.

oferfr | 06/20/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Great Baroque Arias" is an excellent CD for lovers of music and vocals. The CD has great song variety - great as introduction to vocal music or music in general. Very enjoyable, varied CD for all music lovers. Can also be recommended as an introduction to classical music in general.All singers are good, especially Bowman who is one of my favourite artists. King's consort is very good.Highlights: - "Happy", fast songs like "O ruddier than the cherry" with duet between bass singer and high flute.- Slow, moving songs like Vivaldi's "Sol da te mio dolce amore". You'll appreciate Bowman's singing after hearing this one.Summary - if you need one CD for vocal music - that's the one, and a great choice as that.If you like this one - Purcell's "Hail, Bright Cecilia" with King, Bowman etc. is your next CD. Takes a few listenings to dicover, but it's a beautiful CD of vocal music."