Charles Gounod Georges Precirctre Nouvel Orchestre Philharmonique - Gounod St Cecilia Mass Hendricks Dale Lafont Pretre (8 tracks) +Album Reviews

Glorious, passionate, & inspiring!

Wite Nite | Fairhope, Alabama | 11/13/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is church music as God must have intended! Lush, powerful, and uninhibited praise! The credo in particular is awesome. A must have for anyone who appreciates choral music. The recording is excellent."

Fantasic - melodic, and emotional

Wite Nite | 06/15/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I heard this piece as a kid and was lucky to find it here on Amazone. Wow, it's a wonderful recording - you can listen to it as a liturgical piece or simply as great music. The voices are clear and rich, the cadence is brisk and lush. You'll love it!"

Fine music, deep religious music, excelent performance!

Dr. Armando R. Trigueiros | 9760 Praia da Vitória, Azores Portugal | 11/22/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When I was a teenager I heard for the first time the Sanctus of this Gounod Mass in a radio broadcast. I was so found of it, that a never forgot the melody of the Sanctus for many years, till I purchase in a local CD's store, this EMI disc. Imediatly I thaught that it should be a great perfomance for the conductor was Goerges Prête, and Barbara Hendricks the soprano soloist. I had recently view Barbara Handricks singing the Rückert Lieder and the Fourth Symphony , both by Mahler in Lisbon with the Gulbenkian Foundation Orchestra. I was astonished with her voice and singing. When I playd the dis in my equipment I became acquented for the first time with the entire mass. For years I was looking for this disc (here in Azores is very dificult to buy classical CD's)! Finally I had the recording. The mass is a wonder, rich in melody and expression, luminous spirituality and... and the magnificent Sanctus! The perfomace is quite discret and soft, but full of religious feeling. Barbara Handricks is obviously superb and the tenor Laurence Dale very fine and delicate in the Sanctus. The choral singing is first class. Goerge Prête is again a very expressive conductor, serious, without enfatuation, precisely acording to the spirit of the music. I knew, afterwords, other versions of the Gounod' Cecilia Mass, but I never find any as good as this one. A must for all lovers of choral and religous music."

Heaven on earth but a 45min CD

Ytzan | Athens, GR | 02/23/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"No question this performance of Gounod's 'St Cecilia Mass' is excellent. Even if you have never heard the piece before you are immediately overwhelmed by the great singing and the good support provided by the orchestra. The three soloists are the great plus of this recording with Barbara Hendricks singing heavenly. The only dissapointment is the short timing of the CD that goes a bit over 45 min. Other than that the CD is recommended to the fullest extent."

A voice teacher and early music fan

George Peabody | Planet Earth | 02/18/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"'A THING OF BEAUTY IS A JOY FOREVER'

Charles Gounod (1818-1893), composer of the opera "Faust", almost became a priest,instead of a composer, but he was dissuaded by his many friends not to do so. Nevertheless, his 5 years of preparation fo the priesthood contributed to his musical career, for during that time he studied the works of Schumann and Berlioz, and acquired an excellent knowledge of orchstration.

Saint-Saens wrote that the ultimate fame of Charles Gounod would rest above all on his religious music, 'The Saint Cecelia Mass', 'Redemption' and 'Mors et Vita'. This prediction has yet to be fullfilled, for more listeners focus on his many operas. And yet, his youthful works have nothing of the secular in them. Gounod found no pleasure in any music Rome had to offer him, except for the singing of Palestrina by the Sistine Chapel Choir.

He undertook the 'St. Ceclia Mass' in 1855, and it was firt performed on Nov. 22, 1855. In writing this mass he took certain liberties with the liturgy, and he was above all concerned with rendering it's spirit in a manner that did honor to the patron saint of music. He wrote concerning it: "There is only one difficulty... It is to match in music the demands of this incomparable and inexhaustible subject: the Mass!...in music!...by a paltry man!..May God take pity on me!" When it was first performed, Saint-Saens wrote:"The appearance of the Saint Cecelia Mass caused a sort of stupor. This simplicity, this grandeur, this serene light which rose upon the musical world like a dawn troubled people greatly: one felt the approach of genius..."

I can certainly relate to Saint-Saen's comment, for I feel the same way when I hear this ethereal and exquisitely beautiful music, performed very well indeed by the Choirs of Radio France and the New Philharmonic Orchestra of Radio France all held together by Georges Pretre.

The sololists were flawless in their renditions; I have always liked the full rich voice of Barbara Hendricks, but all did Gounod justice. While I still enjoy his operas a great deal, nothing quite equals hearing the marvelous and inspiring 'Sanctus' from this Mass.

At the end, the priest in him triumphed over the pagan, and the erstwhile bachelor, aged 75,blind and paralyzed, composed as his last piece a 'Requiem'. He died shortly thereafter."

Search - Charles Gounod, Georges Prêtre, Nouvel Orchestre Philharmonique :: Gounod - St. Cecilia Mass / Hendricks, Dale, Lafont, Pretre

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