Essential Voices

[Richard]

Hello everybody!

I can't find any further information about this compilation album, but here's a review from The Star Online in Malaysia:-

Essential Voices

Artist:

[/b] VARIOUS ARTISTES
(Universal)

Reviewer: JO TIMBUONG



HERE’S a compilation that will definitely go down well with opera and Popera fans alike.

Essential Voices brings together the greatest voices on the planet from Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Charlotte Church and Luciano Pavarotti to Russell Watson. This compilation has two CDs with 15 songs each so you can listen to your heart’s content.

There’s a mix of opera, jazz and easy-listening favourites here so if you want to take a break from the powerful offerings such as Placido Domingo’s La Donna e Mobile, just hit the skip button and settle for Eva Cassidy’s rendition of Somewhere Over the Rainbow instead.

This collection also has covers with current singers trying hard to stay true to a song’s original form while keeping it fresh. British songstress Katherine Jenkins does Sarah Brightman’s Time to Say Goodbye and Hayley Westenra tries her hand at Joni Mitchell’s classic, Both Sides Now.

While there are many such efforts coming up these days, this is among the better ones. Even though the content is similar, it is the mix of styles that makes this a unique compilation.[/size][/quote]
Richard

[stevemacdonald]

... There’s a mix of opera, jazz and easy-listening favourites here...

Interesting strategy. It's a rare person who likes all three genres named above. Typically an opera lover will disdain easy listening selections as too fluffy, while a jazz aficionado will rarely at best make forays into Italian arias. Then there's the ironically hard-to-please easy-listening enthusiast who wants only the best of the blandest of crowd-pleasers.

This amalgamation will click mostly with the few-and-far-between eclectics for whom no one genre thoroughly satifies but all styles significantly entertain. That would probably include people like me.

[Richard]

Hello Steve and everybody!

Although I have no information, I have a strong feeling that this compilation is only available in the Far East, where some of the performers may not be well-known yet. Have you seen it in Hong Kong, Raymond?

Best Wishes from London,

Richard

[Raymond]

richnorri said:

Hello Steve and everybody!

Although I have no information, I have a strong feeling that this compilation is only available in the Far East, where some of the performers may not be well-known yet. Have you seen it in Hong Kong, Raymond?

Best Wishes from London,

Richard

Hello Richard,

Yes, you are right. I have just checked hmv.com.hk. It is available there. It is released in 8 Apr 2006. I may have come across it before, but I didn't notice Hayley's pic is on the cover, otherwise I will pick it up and have a look.
Tracklist is here:
www.hmv.com.hk/product/classical.asp?sku=640024
Disc 1
1 Patrizio Buanne - IL Mondo

2 Katherine Jenkins - Time To Say Goodbye

3 Sarah Brightman & Jose Carreras - Amigos Para Siempre

4 Linda Eder - Once Upon A Dream

5 Secret Garden - You Raise Me Up

6 Hayley Westenra - Both Sides Now

7 Russell Watson - Bridge Over Troubled Water

8 Luciano Pavarotti - O Sole Mio

9 Jose Carreras - Memoery

10 Vienna Boy's Choir - Scarborough Fair

11 Charlotte Church - Panis Angelicus

12 The Swingle Singers - Air For G String

13 The Singers Unlimited - When I Fall In Love

14 Laura Fygi - Quizas, Quizas, Quizas

15 Diana Krall - The Look Of Love


Disc 2
1 Nana Mouskouri - Try To Remember

2 Eva Cassidy - Over The Rainbow

3 Amici Forever - Senza Catene (Unchained Melody)

4 Sissel - Soria Maria

5 Alessandro Safina - Luna

6 Yanni - Aria

7 Paul Mauriat & His Orchestra - On Ne Vit Pas Sans Se Dire Adieu

8 Caterina Caselli - Buio In Paradiso

9 Lara Fabian - Adagio

10 Placido Domingo - La Donna E Mobile

11 English Baroque Soloists - Hallelujah

12 Kiri Te Kanawa - Ave Maria

13 Sarah Brightman & Seve Barton - All I Ask Of You

14 Agnes Baltsa - The Train Leaves At Eight

15 Anthony Way - Monk: Abide With Me


Raymond

[Richard]

Thanks for that, Raymond!

Actually there are a few performers there that I haven't heard of before! I do know Diana Krall is a very famous Canadian jazz singer, so this compilation really is an unusual mix of styles, and it's truly international.

Best Wishes,

Richard