Thomas Kocht

The Decca Record Company stretches back to the late 1920's, and built a reputation at the forefront of audio reproduction. Today, Decca is a label of great diversity, home to many of the world's most distinguished artists, and with appeal to both specialist and mainstream audiences. The Decca Music Group also incorporates the Philips label. These labels are the home of an array of the greatest musicians, which include Juan Diego Florez, Andrea Bocelli, Renee Fleming, Cecilia Bartoli and Luciano Pavarotti.

A stunning 60 track journey through the masterpieces of classical musical. Lead by the incredible voices of Andrea Bocelli, Katherine Jenkins, Alfie Boe and Luciano Pavarotti, this beautiful album features the most beloved and recognisable pieces of the genre, from the greatest composers and orchestras. Talking of old-school, whilst UMOD is very clearly a reaction to the market today and preparing for the market of tomorrow, it also houses the traditional compilation curation business on which UMTV was built over 16 years ago, and which is still doing rather nicely. Celebrating the beauty of classical music in all its forms, there's something for every mood and everybody, with The Ultimate Classical Collection!

At number one was Beethoven’s triumphant Choral Symphony, featuring the ‘Ode to Joy’, closely followed by Bizet’s opera The Pearl Fishers, with its famous duet ‘Au fond du temple saint’, and in third place Handel’s beloved oratorio Messiah. This highlights from The Classic 100: Voice, including the complete top ten as well as selections from throughout the countdown. From the divine choral works of Bach to the passionate operas of Mozart, Verdi and Puccini, and from the majestic grandeur of Handel’s Zadok the Priest to the pure serenity of Tallis’ Spem in Alium, this is the ultimate celebration of the musical instrument with which we are all born: the human voice.