OPERA & VOCAL

Editor, Thomas May


OPERA & VOCAL ARTIST OF THE YEAR: PAUL McCREESH
It's no longer possible to shrug off the early-music movement as a playground for specialists and narrow-minded dogmatics. Nor would you want to when encountering the thrilling reconstructions of major musical events from the Renaissance and baroque that Paul McCreesh has made. A flood of U.S. releases this year further demonstrates the conductor's versatility and creative vision. Read more

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AMAZON.COM'S 100 BEST CDs OF 1999
Amazon.com's music staff receives thousands of music titles every year; simply digging through these stacks of CDs can be a difficult task-- selecting the very best titles is even more challenging. Yet, after rigorous internal debate and a closely monitored balloting procedure, editors were able to arrive with a list brimming with new, exciting music from across every musical genre. View the entire list

Classical titles on our 100 Best CDs of 1999 include:

Mozart: "Cosi fan tutte"
Veronique Gens, Werner Gura, et al.; Concerto Koln; Rene Jacobs, conductor
Mozart's "Cosi fan tutte" is one of the ultimate schools for lovers: tender, cynical, and ultimately quite deeply moving. This period-instrument version is one of the most exciting Mozart opera recordings in some time. Rene Jacobs offers a magnificently bracing interpretation that's like restoring a fresco to its original colors. It also includes a bonus interactive CD-ROM crowded with information about the opera and its cultural background. Read more

Our Price: $47.67 | You Save: $5.30 (10%)   


Messiaen: "Saint Francois d'Assise"
Jose Van Dam, Dawn Upshaw, et al.; Halle Orchestra, Arnold Schoenberg Choir; Kent Nagano, conductor
Olivier Messiaen lavished loving detail on his opera "St. Francis of Assisi," an enormous meditation on suffering and redemption that ignited this maverick composer's unique imagination. The four-hour opera includes the famous legend of preaching to the birds, in which the composer's own long-term fascination with the dazzling variety of bird music takes center stage. This spectacular live recording from Salzburg reveals the work as a profoundly moving summation of a lifetime of discovery. Read more

Our Price: $58.47 | You Save: $6.50 (10%)   


Schnittke: "Psalms of Repentance"
Of German-Jewish heritage, Alfred Schnittke converted to Catholicism yet drew upon Russian Orthodox musical traditions among many others for his collage-like "polystylism." This characteristic permeates Schnittke's religious works--such as the great "Choir Concerto"--but reaches a new level of severe, awe-inspiring beauty in the a cappella "Psalms of Repentance," given here in a superb recording by the Swedish Radio Choir. Schnittke weaves the old with the new in these ethereal settings of 12 psalms from Old Russian writings. Read more

Our Price: $15.49 | You Save: $2.48 (14%)   

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CUSTOMER FAVORITES: THIS YEAR'S BESTSELLERS AT AMAZON.COM
What were the hot selling titles at Amazon.com in 1999? Established veterans like Santana, Sting, Miles Davis, and Van Morrison mingle with fresh faces such as Charlotte Church, Macy Gray, and Lou Bega on Amazon.com's list of 1999 customer favorites. Meanwhile, artists such as Dave Matthews Band, Dixie Chicks, Sarah McLachlan, Andrea Bocelli, Backstreet Boys, Diana Krall, Alanis Morissette, Sarah Brightman, and the Parton-Harris-Ronstadt trio each placed multiple titles among our 100 top-selling albums of 1999. With all styles of music represented, our collection clearly illustrates the diverse tastes of Amazon.com music customers. View the entire list

Popular vocal selections from the list of customer favorites include:

"Voice of an Angel"
Charlotte Church
Charlotte Church's phenomenal debut album put her in the "Guinness Book of Records" as the youngest artist ever to have an album at No. 1 on the classical charts. The precocious Welsh singer has an appealing personality that sets her apart from many another crossover venture. There are sacred songs as well as Welsh folk songs and a truly indelible rendition of "Danny Boy." Read more

Our Price: $11.88 | You Save: $5.09 (30%)   


"Sacred Arias"
Andrea Bocelli
With the explosion of the Bocelli phenomenon in the last few years, interest in the beloved Italian tenor continues to multiply astronomically. He has now given us his most reflective album to date with "Sacred Arias," taking inspiration from his own religious faith and drawing on such perennial favorites as Schubert's "Ave Maria" and the transcendent "Ave Verum" of Mozart. Read more

Our Price: $13.99 | You Save: $4.98 (26%)   


"Eden"
Sarah Brightman
Although the success of 1997's "Time to Say Goodbye" still hasn't crested, Sarah Brightman's been especially good to her fans this year, exploring angelic highs in her "Eden." Brightman brings her fragile, Dresden china-like voice to a motley collection of songs, including the singer's own songwriting efforts on "In Paradisum." Read more

Our Price: $12.99 | You Save: $4.98 (28%)   

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