Dies Irae-The Essential Choral Collection

Giuseppe Verdi (Composer), Ludwig van Beethoven (Composer), George Frederick Handel (Composer), Richard [Classical] Wagner (Composer), Pietro Mascagni (Composer), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Composer), Gabriel Faure (Composer), Antonio Vivaldi (Composer), Charles Gounod (Composer), Gustav Holst (Composer), Giacomo Puccini (Composer), Carl Orff (Composer), Claudio Monteverdi (Composer), Edvard Grieg (Composer), Johann Sebastian Bach (Composer), Alexander Borodin (Composer), Edward Elgar (Composer), Giuseppe Sinopoli (Conductor), Rafael Kubelik (Conductor), Seiji Ozawa (Conductor) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Conductor: Giuseppe Sinopoli, Rafael Kubelik, Seiji Ozawa
• Composer: Giuseppe Verdi, Ludwig van Beethoven, George Frederick Handel, Richard [Classical] Wagner, Pietro Mascagni, et al.
• Audio CD (September 16, 1997)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Deutsche Grammophon
• ASIN: B0000041NV
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #196,120 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #35 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Divas > Sutherland, Joan
  • #76 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Vocal Non-Opera > Choruses
  • #81 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Featured Performers, A-Z > Q to T

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not that bad... at first, March 25, 2005

By 

Joanne Kloepfer "Kloepfer" (New Orleans, LA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dies Irae-The Essential Choral Collection (Audio CD)

There's plenty of free samples to this CD, and I agree that this is a great collection of music. Chances are you won't find a collection of songs, all of them with angelic choirs, as great as this. When I got it I was quite happy with it, but when I heard the same songs done with different conductors I thought to myself: 'Hey, why doesn't it sound like my CD?' It's the quality that I don't like. For example, Dias Irae is a great song, and it sounds pretty good on the CD, but compare it to another version and this one is slower, the chorus is off key, and it doesn't have that intense emotion. Same thing with O Fortuna, it's a great song, but the chorus is just terrible on this CD, the instruments are lacking in emotion: percussion doesn't add that extra 'oomph' to the bass drum, the cymbals don't have enough emphasis, the chorus sounds like they're about to go asleep, and the dynamics between fortissimo and pianissimo have little effort.

I'd recomend this if you have little cash to blow on a lot of good songs, otherwise you might want to search for a bunch of seperate CDs with the same songs.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Greatest Choral Masterpieces, October 1, 2005

By 

Rudy Avila "Saint Seiya" (Lennox, Ca United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dies Irae-The Essential Choral Collection (Audio CD)

This collection is outstanding, featuring the best choral works from operas and oratorios in classical repertoire. It begins with the fiery and intense Dies Irae from Verdi's Requiem. This piece is sublimely performed by the Berlin forces. It's followed by the anthem-like Va Pensiero from Verdi's early opera Nabucco, as conducted by Sinopoli and sounds maravelous. A brief excerpt from Beethoven's Ninth "The Ode to Joy" is a treat. The Coronation Anthem from Zadok The Priest by Handel is well-executed and powerful. The famous Bridal March (better known as "Here Comes The Bride") from Wagner's opera Lohengrin is sumptuous. A lot of this music is grandiose, and all the famous grand choruse from the grand operas like Aida (The Triumphal March scene) and the Inquistion Scene from Don Carlo. What is missing however, and I would have enjoyed, is the wondrous Finale to Wagner's Die Meistersanger which features a great chorus in praise of art. My favorite piece on here is the little known Mass of Saint Cecilia by Charles Gounod. It is absolutely gorgeous and epic sounding. The underrated but great conductor Igor Markevitch conducts. The famous O Fortuna from Orff's Carmina Burana is also on here, not to mention Handel's "Hallelujah" chorus from Messiah and other pieces from Judas Maccabeus. This is a great collection of chorus masterpieces that any fan would appreciate or if you are studying to sing in chorues yourself.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gread Idea, Great Performance, March 2, 2003

By 

Avid Reader (Franklin, Tn) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dies Irae-The Essential Choral Collection (Audio CD)

This CD should move people in a way that few other recordings can. The one word to describe many of the works is "exalted". This is not music for dinner parties but instead should be heard in solitary contemplation of all the great artists and their efforts in creating such an inspiring recording.