Classic Kathleen Battle: A Portrait

Johann Sebastian Bach (Composer), Antonin Dvorak (Composer), Edward "Duke" Ellington (Composer), Gabriel Faure (Composer), George Frideric Handel (Composer), Gustav Mahler (Composer), Kathleen Battle (Performer), Christian McBride (Performer), James Carter (Performer), Ira Coleman (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Kathleen Battle, Christian McBride, James Carter, Ira Coleman
• Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach, Antonin Dvorak, Edward "Duke" Ellington, Gabriel Faure, George Frideric Handel, et al.
• Audio CD (April 2, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0000639A4
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #148,071 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Puccini: O Mio babbino caro (new recording)

2. Handel: Let the Bright Seraphim

3. Traditional Chilean: Dormi, Jesu

4. Traditional: Cancion de Cuna

5. Vangelis: Mythodea-Movement IX

6. Mozart: Laudate Dominum

7. Handel: Rejoice Greatly

8. Traditional Fix Me Jesus (new recording)

9. Faure: Pie Jesu

10. Traditional Catalan: El Noi de la Mare

11. Traditional Catalan: El Desembre Congelat

12. Ellington:L Prelude to a Kiss (new recording)

13. Handel: Eternal Source of Light Divine

14. Mozart: Alleluja

15. Traditional: Angels Watching Over Me (new recording)

16. Mahler: Sehr Behaglich (from Symphony No. 4

17. J.S. Bach: Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen

18. Dvorak: Going Home ("Largo" from New World Symphony)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This compilation of previous releases is clearly intended to include something for everybody and to offer an overview of Kathleen Battle's wide, varied repertoire. The result is a motley assortment of music sacred and profane, Baroque, classical and romantic, Spanish and American folksongs, and jazz. It is Battle's radiant, impeccably produced voice, which sheds a glow over every note she sings, and her effortless coloratura and serene expressiveness that provide the unifying, and most rewarding, element.

Four new recordings sound just as glorious as those she made years ago. One is the famous aria from Puccini's Gianni Schicchi performed with piano--a strange misfit among all the arias with orchestra. Wynton Marsalis plays Bach and Handel brilliantly, but sounds too loud and prominent. And despite some baroque ornamentation, he plays in a style so different from hers that the two hardly seem to be performing the same piece. The Orchestra of St. Luke's plays beautifully; an anonymous orchestra under Robert Sadin is competent but too matter-of-fact. A mournful, repetitive duet with Jessye Norman against a background of unearthly noises from Vangelis's Mythodea sounds like an angelic plea for mercy.

In the finale of Mahler's Fourth Symphony with the Vienna Philharmonic under Lorin Maazel, Battle captures just the right blend of childlike wonder and heavenly bliss. Of the jazz numbers, one by Duke Ellington is lovely, but Dvorák would have been quite surprised by the arrangement of the Largo from his "New World" Symphony. However, the tonality is right, and Battle sings the melody so beautifully that she almost redeems it. --Edith Eisler

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Inaccurately Titled Compilation Release, April 12, 2002

By 

M. Bish (Rochester, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Classic Kathleen Battle: A Portrait (Audio CD)

This album, despite the misleading title, is not at all representative of Kathleen Battle. Allow me to clarify: it is representative of her voice (as it is culled from a number of, mostly, studio releases) but not of her performance personality. Yes, Spanish folk songs and spirituals figured prominently in her recital literature but Sony has turned a blind eye on what many of us remember her for: the roles she assumed in the theater. She created unforgettable 'portraits' of Susanna, Zerbinetta, Sophie, Zdenka, Blondchen, several -inas (Pamina, Rosina, Zerlina, Adina) and other miscellany (Semele, the 'Celestial Voice', Oscar, etc.) that is not even hinted at on this release. Therein lies my problem. We all know that her voice is a wonderfully used sunlit instrument but this album, since it is so limited in scope, does not even begin to demonstrate how imaginatively she used her voice in the service of operatic composers. I am thinking particularly of her dazzling way with Baroque and bel canto embellishments: always tastefully deployed and proof of a great artist making these arias new again and very much her own. However, her voice is so beautiful in what they have selected that I've only detracted a single star from the overall rating. In truth, words cannot even begin to do justice to a voice that has to be roundly considered one of the most beautiful of the recorded era. Her immaculately wrought silvery tone does not seem out of place in any repertoire, even the one 'popular' tune ("Prelude to a Kiss") is delivered winningly. (To give you an idea of the song's nature, the Ellington standard is associated with vocal greats like Sarah Vaughan.) I was surprised to discover that this number was not overly inflected or fussy (a common complaint lobbed at opera singers who try to sing in the popular style) but I should not have been since her one legitimate crossover album (So Many Stars) was so wonderfully done. Also of note is her new recording of "O Mio Babbino Caro." Ms. Battle's voice has retained a freshness and security throughout but particularly in her upper range that is surprsing for an artist that has been on the world's stages for 30+ years (she had her professional debut with conductor Thomas Schippers in 1972). In fact, these two songs are worth the price of the disc, the other superb tracks notwithstanding. If you are wondering whether you should buy this album, my answer is a resounding yes!

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bravissima Diva!!!!, July 2, 2002

By 

"bravissimadiva" (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Classic Kathleen Battle: A Portrait (Audio CD)

I must comment on the preceeding review which has nothing to do with the calibur of this CD nor of the artist. And just a touch on that whole Brevard "incident", there were two performances one of which came off without a fault...but I too digress. This CD is a plethera of what endures Kathleen Battle to us all...her diversity. It is true that none of her signature operatic roles appear in this mini compilation but what is given more than accomodates. In 18 selections she covers Spirituals, Oratorio, Jazz, Afro-Cuban/Brazilian influenced melodies, cantata's and a symphony all with miraculous ease. It is also true that this is in many ways a best of...and chances are you'll already have most of these pieces, but Classic Kathleen Battle is Worth Buying simply for the four new selections and accompanying art of the set. The pictorial art included in this CD is worthy of gallery display! A standing testament of her vocal beauty and artist superlatives...this is a CD that you don't want to pass up!

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Praiseworthy, but a limited perspective, June 3, 2002

By 

Eric McCalla "reviewboy" (Denver, COLORADO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Classic Kathleen Battle: A Portrait (Audio CD)

CLASSIC KATHLEEN BATTLE: A PORTRAIT is limited in its perspective in the sense that this is a compilation of only SONY Classical recordings from their catalog. There are no Deutsche Grammophon or Angel/EMI performances represented here. A "portrait" of Miss Battle would have rightly included some of these wonderful and musical interpretations of Mozart, Schubert, Villa-Lobos, Gounod, and Bach among others. Of course paying the license fees from the other 2 labels wouldn't be cost-efficient from a record company's standpoint. How wonderful this would've been if they'd all cooperated on a box set of her recordings, which would show Miss Battle's superlative musicality in not only Italian and French, but also her great wit and charm in the English language (her Purcell and Dowland are not to be missed!)

In any case there are several magical performances to be found here:

Puccini's "O Mio Babbino Caro" w/piano; Dormi, Jesu; Cancion de Cuna, Fix Me Jesus, Ellington's "Prelude to a Kiss"; Angels Watching Over Me; and the enchanting song (the German title is too long for me to remember--it's from the Das Knaben Wunderhorn cycle) from Mahler's 4th Symphony.

For any Kathleen Battle fan, this is a nice selection of her works, but only a 2-dimensional portrait at best. Certainly not Miss Battle's fault, as she graces the listener with no less than FOUR new recordings on this album.

Once again her silvery tones and superb musicality are a wonderful gift to us!

Thank you, and Bravo many times over....