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Mstation Classical Reviews


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Mon, 29 Aug 2005

Arias, Hampson, Harnoncourt

Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert
Thomas Hampson
Concentus musicus Wein
Nikolas Harnoncourt
LP, Warners

I'm not normally a great fan of collections of little bits from other things. It always seems like dumbing down writ large. There is one quite good excuse though and that is for playing in automobiles. A full opera will almost never be got through in the normal course of daily drives so it makes sense to have an assortment. I remember this from my father who did just that, pootling around in a large Land Rover, swaddled in the smell of leather and cigar and dog, and occasionally breaking forth in great, thankfully short, bursts of operatic accompaniment.

There is a nice selection here with the overall mood being one of pleasing majesty rather than buffo running around. The notes are excellent and there is even a libretto.

I recommend it to your CD changer.

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