Simply the Best Classical Anthems

Simply the Best Classical Anthems

Simply the Best Classical Anthems
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Composer: Giuseppe Verdi
Composer: Carl Orff
Composer: Gustav Holst
Composer: Richard [Classical] Wagner
Composer: Aaron Copland
Composer: Edward Elgar
Composer: Antonio Vivaldi
Composer: Marc-Antoine Charpentier
Composer: Benjamin Britten
Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach
Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Composer: Aram Khachaturian
Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Composer: George Frederick Handel
Composer: Giacomo Puccini
Composer: Richard [1] Strauss
Composer: Sergey Prokofiev
Composer: Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky
Composer: Edvard Grieg
Composer: Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Edition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2000-04-25
Music Label: Erato
Soundtracks:
Music CD 1
  1. Requiem: Dies Irae
  2. Carmina Burana: O Fortuna
  3. The Planets: Mars
  4. The Ride Of The Valkyries
  5. Chorus Of The Hebrew Slaves
  6. Fanfare For The Common Man
  7. Pomp And Circumstance March No. 1
  8. Aida: Grand March
  9. Summer - Four Seasons: Presto
  10. Te Deum: Prelude
  11. The Young Person's Guide To The Orchestra
  12. Toccata And Fugue In D Minor
  13. Symphony No. 5: First Movement
  14. Spartacus: Adagio
  15. Sabre Dance
  16. Symphony No. 40: First Movement
  17. Zadok The Priest
  18. Turandot: Nessun Dorma
Music CD 2
  1. Also Sprach Zarathoustra
  2. Romeo And Juliet: Dance Of The Knights
  3. Requiem: Dies Irae
  4. 1812 Overture
  5. Piano Concerto
  6. Spring - Four Seasons: Allegro
  7. Messiah: Hallelujah Chorus
  8. The Royal Fireworks: La Réjouissance From Music
  9. Flight Of The Bumble Bee
  10. Symphonie Fantastique: March To The Scaffold
  11. Carmen: Overture
  12. Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
  13. Jerusalem
  14. The Planets: Jupiter
  15. Symphony No 9, 'Ode To Joy'
  16. Swan Lake: Scene
  17. Enigma Variations: Nimrod
  18. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini [Variation 18]
  19. Pictures At An Exibitions: Promenade
  20. Symphony For Organ No 3: Finale, Symphony For Organ No 3

Music reviews of Simply the Best Classical Anthems

Music Review: Great Starting Point for Classical Music Novices
Rating: 4 Stars

"Simply the Best Classicial Anthems" is exactly what the title indicates. This is a collection of what the CD says are "36 of the most powerful classics on Earth". My review of this CD comes from someone who is a Classical Music Novice. I'm familiar with some of the composers, musical styles, musical periods, and some of the terminology that is key to understanding Classical Music. By no means am I an expert. I have basically popped in this two CD collection into my player and have enjoyed the sounds it produces. If you are in the same category as I am or maybe just wanting to be introduced to Classical Music - this is going to be a very good CD to have in your collection. For the more seasoned Classical Music fan, this could be either enjoyable or overkill.

The CD contains 36 songs composed by the legends of Classical Music Composers from the past. The bulk of the works come from Composers in the the 19th and 20th century, but there are works from the Romantic and Classical eras of the late 18th and early 19th century (such as Beethoven and Mozart). In general you will find most of the major names of Composers you would expect to find - names such as Tchiakovsky, Handel, Verdi, Strauss, Elgar, and Bach are all there. The only major composer who I would have expected to see on this CD that I don't see is Frederic Chopin. The composers of the late 20th century are not included on this collection - so you won't see Leonard Bernstein or John Williams on this set. While these Composers are excellent, I do think style of the tracks on this collection pre-date their style.

The recordings themselves are done by the great Orchestras around the world. For the most part, European Orchestras were used to deliver the tracks. There are a few exceptions: The Chicago Symphony Orchestra delivers "The Ride of the Valkyries"; The Toronto Symphony Orchestra delivers "Dance of the Knights"; and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra delivers Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture". Some of the European Orchestras that are well known include: BBC Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic, Bolshoi Symphony Orchestra, Choeur Philhamonique de Strasbourg, and more. Also included are performances by well known names in the Classical space such as Marie-Claire Alain (Bach's "Toccate and Fogue in D Minor" and Saint-Saens' "Symphony for Organ No 3"), Piero Toso (Vivaldi's "Allegro From Spring - Four Seasons"), and Placido Domingo appears on Puccini's "Nessun Dorma".

The 2 Disc collection contains a total of over 2 hours and 6 minutes of music. The selections that are included in the set will sound very familiar to you when you play them. You probably have both heard and seen the names of tracks such as: Oref's "O Fortuna"; Copland's "Fanfare for the Common Man"; Beethoven's "First Movement from Symphony Number 5" and "Ode To Joy"; Elgar's "Pomp and Circumstance", and Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture". Many of the other tracks will also sound familiar, but maybe not so much by name - such as Wagner's "The Ride of the Valkyries", Strauss' Also Sprach Zarathoustra"; Grieg's "Piano Concerto", and "Dies Irae" (versions included by Mozart and Verdi - you can compare the two and judge for yourself). As for the Discs themselves, I think most of the casual fans will like the selections on Disc Two better, but Disc One is still very good. On a sidebar, the Israel Philharmonic's version of "1812 Overture" is by far the best you will hear - particularly at the end, the booming drums create almost a 3 dimensional vision of fireworks being launched into the air.

There one big negative on this collection is some of the recording quality. The clarity of the recording is there, but some of the recording levels leave a lot to be desired. On some of the softer parts, it is barely audible without significantly turning up your volume. This is very evident on "O Fortuna" where you will hear almost dead silence during from the 30 second to 1:30 mark of the track unless you crank your volume up. Same with the first few seconds of Strauss' "Also Sprach Zarathoustra" and Tchiakovsky's "1812 Overture". When the volume is cranked up you will hear them - but then the other sections will be way too loud. I'm surprised with modern technology that this couldn't be addressed better.

The liner notes are pretty thin. You do get the Composers, Performers/Orchestras, and recording dates. There isn't any more details than that and you won't learn anymore insight on the tracks than this information. Despite some of the shortcomings of the liner notes and recording volume, I still think this is an excellent place to start and do recommend this CD if you are a novice to Classical Music and are looking for a great place to start listening to what the Classics have to offer.
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Description of Simply the Best Classical Anthems

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