Aria

Anthony Pleeth (Performer), Martin Loveday (Performer, Conductor), Paul Schwartz (Composer, Conductor), Paul Schwartz (Conductor), Helen Tunstall (Performer, Conductor), Scott Wendholt (Performer, Conductor), Sam Newsome (Performer, Conductor), Boguslav Kostecki (Performer, Conductor), Gavyn Wright (Performer, Conductor), Linda Watson-Brown (Performer), Michelle Ivey (Performer), Rebecca Luker (Performer), Sharon Bryant (Performer), Aria (Artist)

Product Details

• Performer: Anthony Pleeth, Martin Loveday, Helen Tunstall, Scott Wendholt, Sam Newsome, et al.
• Conductor: Martin Loveday, Paul Schwartz, Paul Schwartz, Helen Tunstall, Scott Wendholt, et al.
• Composer: Paul Schwartz
• Audio CD (October 14, 1997)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Astor Place Records
• ASIN: B000005EGR
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #33,312 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  #1 in	Music > Indie Music > Opera & Vocal
  #42 in	Music > Indie Music > Classical

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The second album is better, January 3, 2000

By	"spellvexit" (Oregon) - See all my reviews

I probably would have given this album a higher score had I not heard Aria 2 first. This first Aria album seems like a bit of a jam session compared to the second: all sorts of genres are explored. Aeneas and Dido started out well, but then it got a little "groovy." One song (I can't remember which) was cheapened by an R&B laquer. As a result of the experimentation, the album at times seems to focus more on the novelty of combining genres than actually making an effort at a cohesive atmospheric focus. It's still an impressive synthesis, but if you want a more skillful (and moving) composition, get Aria 2 instead.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Breathtakingly beautiful, January 28, 2003

By	Erica Anderson (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I recently got into Paul Schwartz's music in the past few months, beginning with "State of Grace". I absolutely loved that album, not to mention the concept of fusing classical and pop music together. The results simply takes my breath away. I moved on to "Earthbound", Paul's latest album which is another winner in my book. I didn't realize up until recently that I had already heard Paul Schwartz's work as a composer with his album "Aria". I kinda put that cd aside and allowed for other music to take hold of me in recent months. So I dug around in my massive cd collection and found my copy of "Aria" which I had purchased used at my favorite cd store. As I am listening to "Aria" for the first time in months, I immediately recognize Paul's work on this particular album. I can't really pinpoint my finger on Paul's sound but I definitely hear it here. On "Aria", the music is more classical with operatic vocals than what I'm used to hearing on "State of Grace" and "Earthbound" which are heavily influenced by pop music as well as classical music. The vocals are provided by Rebecca Luker and Michelle Ivey as opposed to Lisbeth Scott like on "State of Grace" and "Earthbound". And of course, Paul's choice in vocalists is impeccable. Both Rebecca and Michelle have absolutely stunning vocals. Musically, "Aria" is not my favorite Paul Schwartz album but it is still very good nonetheless. I jus prefer "State of Grace" and "Earthbound". I however enjoyed "Secret Tear", "Willow" and "Habenara" a lot. I am definitely a fan of Paul Schwartz's music and look forward to hearing more from him.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous combination of opera and dance..., July 18, 2000

By	"d-moonshadow" (MA, United States) - See all my reviews

With Rebecca Luker's well-rounded operatic voice and beats that make you want to dance, Aria delivers a fine debut. The eight tracks here range from ballad-esque to songs with more of a groove to them, but each features haunting female vocals and beautiful synthesizer instrumentation and drum programming. This combination of the organic with the synthetic is yet another appealing aspect of this CD, as well as traditional mixed with modern. This is a CD to pick up and to give permanent residence in your player.