By William Stone
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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
Good selection of pieces, uniformly flat performances,
It's a great cross-sampling of (mostly) Romantic-era choral pieces, the choral singing is as usual impeccable, and it's a great group of soloists. As these excerpts are from some of my very favorite pieces of music, I kept wondering why I wasn't more enthusiastic about this compilation. Part of the problem is hearing the music in excerpts (a movement here, an aria there) is pretty frustrating. Entering smack in the middle of the last movement of Mahler 8, it can take you a while to get your musical bearings. I'm also not wild about most of the interpretations, many of which struck me as kind of flat and uninspired (the Verdi Requiem and the Mahler 8 stick out in my mind). Suffice to say I didn't learn anything new about any of the pieces on the album, and in every case there is a recording of the work I like much better. (Except the Cavalleria rusticana excerpt, which I really liked, go figure.) Bottom line: if you're not familiar with these works, and want a good (and very well-performed) cross-section of Romantic choral pieces, give it a listen. But then do yourself a favor and buy complete and more inspired versions of the pieces you really like.  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you?
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
I may be musically challanged but....,
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6 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
Standard Shaw,
By A Customer
Like all of Shaw's recordings, this one is once again up to standards. A great assortment of selections from the religous works of many artists.
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