Dies Irae-The Essential Choral Collection

Torgny Sporsen (Performer), Johann Sebastian Bach (Composer), Ludwig van Beethoven (Composer), Alexander Borodin (Composer), Edward Elgar (Composer), Gabriel Faure (Composer), Charles Gounod (Composer), Edvard Grieg (Composer), George Frederick Handel (Composer), Gustav Holst (Composer), Pietro Mascagni (Composer), Claudio Monteverdi (Composer), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Composer), Carl Orff (Composer), Giacomo Puccini (Composer), Giuseppe Verdi (Composer), Antonio Vivaldi (Composer), Richard [Classical] Wagner (Composer), Barry Wordsworth (Conductor), Carlo Maria Giulini (Conductor)

Product Details

• Performer: Torgny Sporsen
• Conductor: Barry Wordsworth, Carlo Maria Giulini
• Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, Alexander Borodin, Edward Elgar, Gabriel Faure, et al.
• Audio CD (September 16, 1997)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• 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.com Sales Rank: #125,563 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  #31 in	Music > Opera & Vocal > Divas > Sutherland, Joan
  #67 in	Music > Opera & Vocal > Vocal Non-Opera > Choruses
  #68 in	Music > Classical > Featured Composers, A-Z > ( O ) > Orff, Carl

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This certainly is a desirable compendium of some of the most famous large-scale choral pieces, primarily drawn from Deutsche Grammophon's catalog of operas and oratorios. Among the 30 selections on this two-disc set are choruses from Carmen, Lohengrin, Aida, Madame Butterfly, and Il Trovatore, as well as Messiah, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Bach's St. Matthew's Passion, and Verdi's Requiem. --David Vernier

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 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 (REAL NAME)

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.

5 of 5 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 (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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 (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

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.