Customer Reviews

Barbara Bonney - Fairest Isle

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is my first Bonney album and I purchased it on a whim. I have not been disappointed and have listening to it almost daily. I am only writing this review as I search for another of her albums. She has an angelic voice and maintains her diction for a set that demands clear diction. The album is nicely mixed and produced with simple instruments appropriately placed.

I find this album to have two clear parts. The first half feels light while the second half is more lamenting and dark. I think she allows a little more passion to seep through in the second half although the entire album is sung in her style.

Early music lovers should note there is nothing new here, these are "mainstream" early music pieces performed very well. But it is refreshing to hear them through Bonney's voice. A soprano with any training will recognize the first few songs in seconds. My wife and I pulled Kathleen Battle doing one of the same numbers and it sounded soooo heavy. It was clear these pieces were written for a light voice Like Bonney's.

This is a fine album to add to any collection.

I first heard Barbara Bonney's voice in Mahler 4 with Chailly. I loved her voice so much I bought her recording of Strauss songs and later St. Matthew's passion with Gardiner. Knowing how angelic she was on all those recordings, I could predict that "When I am laid in Earth" on this CD was going to be moving. With lush, period-instrument accompaniments and a clean, warm recording, this CD is a must-have for anyone who loves her instrument.

I have had this CD for about 3 years, and it instantly became one of my most treasured. I never tire of listening to it.

I am now listening to it yet again, and am constantly astounded at the utter beauty, refined simplicity, and just perfect taste of Bonney's voice.
Her diction, her natural way of singing and letting the emotions melt in her mouth, her articulation always brilliant, round, glowing, 3-dimensional, her timing and instinct perfect.

And the songs... a wonderful collection of love, philosophical, and devotional pieces. All beautiful and universal.

The instrumental accompaniments are graceful, colorful (each in their own hue), and a dignified match for Bonney's musical stature.

I particularly liked "Come Again", "Never Weather-beaten Saile", "Fairest Isle", Dido's lament, and "She loves me and she confesses too". But all tracks are very good.

I own a large collection of "classical" (I hate that word) and early music, as well as opera, lied, vocal, etc.
I am very particular about what I listen to.
This CD is still one of my most cherished... intimate and very refined.

You could say that Keats was right when he wrote "Truth is beauty, beauty truth..."
Bonney's rendition of these songs is beautiful because it is honest and true... and vice-versa.

ABSOLUTELY RECOMMENDED.

Like most classical music junkies I have my share of "early music" from the 15th and 16th centuries. When I saw that Hogwood and his terrific band from the Academy of Ancient Music were coming out with an Elizabethan selection I expected something interesting, a little exotic and a good listen. (Purcell fans will know what I'm getting at.) Wrong. What struck me is how completely accessible these songs are. All were composed and published and should not be considered "folk" music in a formal sense I suppose. But as performed by the extremely talented Ms. Bonney, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was listening to early Joan Baez singing something like "Tender Maidens." These songs aren't interesting - they're beautiful. This is a terrific alblum.

I do not give "five stars" for any discs other than bona fide masterpieces. This is not a masterpiece for the ages, but it is a glorious performance and uniformly entertaining.

As implied by the title, this disc contains a program of Brittish music, and to my knowledge it is Ms Bonney's first forray into this repetoire. The program is expertly constructed: the first 1/3 of the disc is with sparse lute accompaniment; the second 1/3 of the disc is with a viol ensemble; and the final 1/3 finds Ms Bonney supported by the Academy of Ancient Music (led by Christopher Hogwood). The disc, therefore, develops and transitions from the charming simplicity of the first songs to the ebullient full sound of the final songs. The program ironically concludes with an artistic high point and emotional "downer". THY HAND, BELINDA is sublimely rendered. Ms Bonney's sparkling soprano cascades over the destruction of Dido's tragic life like a sparrow floating over a battlefield. "Remember me but forget my fate" are not the most uplifting words to end a fabulous set, perhaps, but the gorgeous performance justifies the heavy heart.

I saw Ms Bonney perform in San Francisco last year (performing a program of Scandinavian music). I had enjoyed her recorded music for several years, but witnessing her performace resulted in a deepened appreciation for the woman, as well as the performer. She is gracious, she is "nice", and she is human. There is no pretention or ego about her. She eschews the annoying pomposity of the average "serious music" artist, which is a distinction that will keep me buying each new release.

Having heard most of these English chestnuts from great British exponents like Alfred Deller and Janet Baker, with occasional American interloping from Dawn Upshaw and Kathleen Battle, I expected Barbara Bonney to sing at the same exalted level. for me, she doesn't. The voice is as beautiful as it has ever been, and she bends over backwards not to sound modern and/or operatic (her accent remains mostly American, however). But the style throughout is bland and pallid. I accept the Amazon reviewer's comment that this is intimate music, but don't passions come out most in such moments? Not here, because everyone involved -- not just Bonney but the accompanying musicians -- treads on gossamer. What sounds soothing over two songs becomes annoying over fifteen.

Barbara Bonney has a voice of exquisite beauty. These lovely Elizabethan love songs fit her instrument to the tee! It is too bad that another listener had to give this CD only one star because he considers these 16th century art songs to be "long hair". They were and are nothing of the sort, they are merely very "old fashioned love songs". "Come Again Sweet Love..." is a wonderful sample of this music. I could listen to it day and night.

I adore Purcell's songs, and possess many fine recordings of them. I perform them myself and enjoy the experience each and every time. When I listen to a new recording of Purcell songs, then, my expectations are both high and informed.

Barbara Bonney is simply a delight. Her voice on this album is almost incandescent with beauty. She sings with elegant simplicity that contains a great deal of art (the hardest sort of simplicity in the world to convey!). Her tone is pure, limpid as a stream, as delicately and beautifully wielded as a prism irradiating a cavern with colour.

Her vocal colour needs no introduction. Ms Bonney is widely known as "The Radiant Voice", following on from one of her album titles - and it's extremely apposite. She is radiant indeed, and her technique is beautifully sure.

Only in one track was I disappointed - the last track on the CD. "Thy hand, Belinda" seemed to me to have been approached with a more consciously dramatic style in mind, and it results in a couple of vowel distortions and a not quite convincing performance. Yet the voice itself is consistently beautiful, and I have no hesitation in giving this a 5-star rating.

Beautiful. Listen to this while you're stuck in traffic, and you are certain to feel your tension melt away at the sheer loveliness of the singing...

The voice of Barbara Bonney, the Academy of Ancient Music with Christopher Hogwood and this early english music are a very fine combination. I heard a piece of this CD on the Dutch radio and was very glad to find this CD on Amazon.com. The time between my reservation in the USA and the arrival in the Netherlands was rather short. Only a few days. However this CD was used, the quality is very fine.
Now we can listen all the different pieces and we enjoy very much this early music. Especially in christmastime. I can recommend it: listen to this CD and you will have a peaceful moment in your day.

Amazing voice. Wonderful rendition. Great ensemble.

I simply cannot get enough of this album, and looking to get other recordings of Barbara Bonney...