Customer Reviews

Rachmaninoff - Vocalise / Rachmaninoff, Moffo, Kissin, Galway, Tomita, Swenson, Asawa, Luboff Choir

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

On this CD you can find different arrangements as well as just different performances of this truly great Rachmaninov's work. Do not be suspicious about how it is really possible to withstand something 13 times in a row! You will be surprised and glad that you have this CD! This work not just allows different interpretation - it allows different moods and emotions. One of the tracks is the actual Rachmaninov's recording - where he conducts the Philadelphia Orchestra. Brian Asawa is absolutely marvelous on the 5th track. Spivakov, who I really like, probably takes a bit too fast tempo, but intonation and phrasing are so beautiful! Playing late romantic music is sometimes very challenging in a sense, that you have to show all the emotions but at the same time you can not take it too far, especially Russian music. This CD gives the outstanding example of balanced understanding of music core. Every performance is distinct and prominent.

I can also recommend to listen to Rachmaninov own performance of his preludes - among 5 different versions I have his one is the best.

This is clearly one of the greatest melodies of all time, and it certainly deserves the unusual distinction of being the subject of this CD. The different interpretations are fascinating. Listen for the subtle differences in orchestration--it's like getting a master class on that topic as well as on song interpretation. The only disappointment is that Clara Rockmore's haunting Theramin version with Nadia Reisenberg at the piano is not included.

Rachminoff clearly shows off his ingenious talent with the piece. A piece that has overwhelmed singers and listens with such passion that can easily be expressed with no words. This recording is one of the very best and it's great to relax to as well as use for a reference when singing this elegant masterpiece.

I think the Vocalise is a sequence of sounds that exists eternally in nature. Rachmaninoff, by the providence of God or at least some unearthly magic, managed to capture the sequence and bring it down to Earth. Though it is finite, lasting only a few minutes, when all is said and done, the Vocalise has neither beginning nor end. It is unbounded, as if it comes from silence and fades into silence. And, without a single word, it is profoundly expressive, a quiet tribute to the enormous power of sound.

The thirteen versions on the disc show just how universal a piece the Vocalise is, accomodating all manner of vocal styles and types as well as different manners of performance. Boredom is out of the question: the fascination grows as the disc progresses. The Vocalise will not excite you. If you like it, it will capture and hold your interest for all time. You may not be able to hum or whistle it, so elusive is the structure--but forget it you never will.

On a very practical level, this could be a great disc to play in your car to reduce the stress and tension which accompany driving.

This is clearly one of the greatest melodies of all time, and it certainly deserves the unusual distinction of being the subject of this CD. The different interpretations are fascinating. Listen for the subtle differences in orchestration--it's like getting a master class on that topic as well as on song interpretation. The only disappointment is that Clara Rockmore's haunting Theramin version with Nadia Reisenberg at the piano is not included.

This CD provides many artists the opportunity to present one of the most beautiful compositions ever written. They have all done their work well. What an enjoyable experience they have provided. I salute the genius who arranged for all these renditions to be included on a single CD. I would swear that the music on this CD will reduce your resting heartbeat.

Many versions of this wonderful piece, instrumental and vocal, and all are very well done.

I heard it on my radio and HAD to buy it. It is a mysterious mixture of sadness and longing - and yet - not depressing. It is the music of which I speak. This recording has clarity and presence. I felt the music

It's very interesting to hear this beautiful piece on too many versions and combinations of instruments, so we can compare them in a very easy way by playing only one cd.