Vocal Combat

After October 6th collection of Andalusian music, here is another homage by Victoria de los Ángeles to her musical roots. Born in Barcelona, the soprano has a deep connection with Catalan vocal music, whose richness of which she gives a splendid overview, from traditional songs accompanied at the guitar by Renata Tarragó to modern cycles by Mompou, Toldrà and Rodrigo arranged and conducted by Antoni Ros-Marbà, a great figure of music in Catalonia.

With her debut full-length album, Wake UP!, Hazel English has traded the hazy, reverb drenched production styles prevalent in her earlier work for sounds synonymous with classic pop records from the late 60's. Production isn't the only dramatic change, however. A move from San Francisco to Los Angeles to explore a collaborative relationship with producer Justin Raisen (Sky Ferreira, Charli XCX, Angel Olsen) proved to bring a fine tuned sense of pop craftsmanship to the songs that would become Wake UP! On tracks like Shaking, Off My Mind, and Five and Dime, English's sharpened sense for songwriting are on full display with timeless pop hooks and addictive melodies. Wake UP!

Honegger’s Une Cantate de Noël is a Christmas number with a difference. His last work and one of his most popular compositions, it was written for the Basle Chamber Choir and Orchestra in 1953. The text of the cantata is derived from liturgical and popular texts— including Psalms and part of the Latin Gloria. A notable feature is the intertwining of traditional carols in French and German: appropriate for multilingual Switzerland and also perhaps symbolizing peace among nations seven years after the conclusion of World War II. Honegger scored the cantata for solo baritone, mixed chorus, children’s choir and an orchestra including organ. The combination of the different texts and forms creates a wonderfully uplifting effect.

Monteverdi - Madrigali Guerrieri Ed Amorosi - Concerto Vocale, René Jacobs (2002) {2CD Set Harmonia Mundi HMC 901736.37}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 701 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 369 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 87 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2001 Harmonia Mundi | HMC 901736.37
Classical / Baroque / Vocal Music

Monteverdi was seventy-one when he published his Eighth Book of madrigals. This collection, a monumental work of remarkable beauty, is a synthesis of all Monteverdi's experience in the realm of secular music. It is the culmination of a genre, the Italian madrigal, which here achieves a rare state of perfection. INDISPENSABLE!

MARIA CALLAS is regarded as one of the greatest divas of all time, whose recordings are standards by which all subsequent performances are judged. The 10-CDs of Live Recordings capture her on some of the greatest nights of her career and contain an interview by American Opera commentator Edward Downes. This recital performance are an invaluable addition to Callas s recorded legacy and show yet another side of this unique diva, whose vocal achievements stand unrivalled today and probably for all time. The eye-catching clamshell box are a collectors delight.

It is generally accepted that Victoria de Los Angeles possessed one of the most beautiful soprano voices of the 20th Century. Her musicality was supported by a vocal timbre suffused with the bright warmth of an Iberian summer. Her appearances in the concert hall and opera house, and her first recordings, drew the highest accolades from the musical establishment, critics and public. Her personality, excellent technique and dedicated approach would have secured her place as a great singer in any age.