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CARL ORFF
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Orff: Carmina Burana Norma Burrowes, Louis Devos, John Shirley-Quirk / Brighton Festival Chorus, Southend Boy's Choir, Royal Philharmonic orchestra, Antal Dorati [ Decca Ovation / CD - released 6/Dec/1999 ] Carmina Burana is one of those pieces that almost always goes well. In fact, you have to work at giving a bad performance. Dorati's reading is one that makes a good case for Orff's masterpiece, even if it doesn't aspire to the heights of Eugen... |
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Shirley Collins
Archangel Hill [ Domino / CD - released 26/May/2023 ] One of the most important voices in British folk music Shirley Collins returns with Archangel Hill, her third album for Domino. It showcases another peerless collection of songs chosen by Collins, some from traditional sources but others from... |
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FRANZ WAXMAN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Waxman: The Spirit Of St.Louis / Ruth - re-recorded soundtracks Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Lawrence Foster, with George Shirley (speaker) [ Capriccio / CD ] Two Symphonic poems for narrator and orchestra by James Forsyth |
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FREDERICK DELIUS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Delius: A Mass for Life / Songs of Sunset / Songs of Sunset / An Arabesque Dame Janet Baker, John Shirley Quirk, Heather Harper, Helen Watts / Royal Liverpool Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Charles Groves, etc [ EMI Classics / 2 CD Box Set - released 28/Mar/2011 ] "Groves is very good indeed and richly enjoyable" MusicWeb |
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JOHN TAVENER
Akhmatova Requiem Elise Ross (soprano) Phyllis Bryn-Julson (soprano) & John Shirley-Quirk (bass-baritone) / BBC Symphony Orchestra, Gennady Rozhdestvensky / Nash Ensemb [ NMC / CD - released 1/Nov/2014 ] John Tavener first came to public attention in 1968 with the premiere of his oratorio The Whale at the inaugural concert of the London Sinfonietta; The Beatles subsequently recorded this piece on their Apple label. Akhmatova Requiem will be... |
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J. S. BACH
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Bach: Cantata No.147 / Chorales & Choral Preludes for Advent and Christmas / Motets Elly Ameling, Janet Baker, Ian Partridge, John Shirley-Quirk, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. King's College Choir, Cambridge. David Willcocks [ EMI Gemini / 2 CD - released 12/Nov/2004 ] Original recordings from 1968 & 1972 |
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FREDERICK DELIUS
Delius: Requiem / Idyll / A Song before Sunrise / Songs of Farewell Heather Harper (soprano) John Shirley-Quirk (baritone) / Royal Choral Society / Royal Philharmonic / Meredith Davies / Sir Malcolm Sargent [ EMI British Composers / CD - released 1/Nov/2006 ] "This disc deserves a warm welcome from enthusiasts for Delius." (Amazon.com) |
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SIR EDWARD ELGAR
Elgar: The Light Of Life, Op. 29 Judith Howarth, Linda Finnie, Arthur Davies, John Shirley-Quirk / London Symphony Chorus & Orchestra, Richard Hickox/ [ Chandos / CD - released 2/Feb/1993 ] "In the glorious orchestral 'Meditation' Hickox's conducting demonstrates a noble flexibility, sensitivity to dynamic nuance and feeling for climax. Equally the engineering, sumptuous yet detailed, comes close to the ideal." Gramophone |
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J. S. BACH
Bach: Cantatas BWV170, BWV82. BWV159, BWV56, BWV211, BWV212 Janet Baker, Robert Tear, John Shirley-Quirk, Julia Varady, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau / Academy of St. Martin of the Fields, Neville Marriner [ Decca Australian Eloquence / 2 CD - released 18/Mar/2020 ] PENGUIN ROSETTE AWARD: Cantatas BWV 170, 82, 159 |
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BENJAMIN BRITTEN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Britten: The Canticles / A Birthday Hansel Peter Pears, John Hahessy, James Bowman, John Shirley-Quirk, with Bary Tuckwell (horn), Osian Ellis (harp) & Benjamin Britten (piano) [ Decca / London / CD - released 21/Oct/1990 ] Written at intervals between 1947 and 1974 Britten's five Canticles are miniature cantatas sharing a spiritual intensity that derives from Britten's own religious belief. |
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Julie Andrews, Shirley Bassey, Tony Bennett, Jane Benson (2), Yul Brynner, Nat King Cole, Perry Como, Lorna Dallas, Doris Day, etc
Richard Rodgers - With A Song In My Heart [3 CD set] [ Reader's Digest / 3 CD Box Set - released 17/Jun/2013 ] Reader's Digest have the rights to the vast Sony (CBS) and RCA catalogues. This set contains classic recordings of musical standards by top artists of the 1960s. |
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FREDERICK DELIUS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Delius: A Village Romeo and Juliet (complete opera recorded in 1971) Robert Tear, Elizabeth Harwood, John Shirley-Quirk, Benjamin Luxon / Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, John Alldis Choir, Meredith Davies [ EMI / 2 CD - released 1/Feb/2002 ] "Elizabeth Harwood and Robert Tear are both excellent as Vreli and Sali, winningly characterful and clearly focused...[Shirley-Quirk] is firm and forthright with an apt hint of the sinister" Penguin Guide, 2010 edition *** |
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LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Beethoven: Symphonies No. 9 'Choral' Sheila Armstrong, Anna Reynolds, Robert Tear, John Shirley-Quirk / London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Carlo Maria Giulini [ EMI Classics La voix de son maitre / CD - released 1/Oct/2003 ] "The expansive phrasing and ripe orchestral sonorites Giulini favors always are anchored by strong rhythmic underpinning and careful attention to accents and note values " ClassicsToday |
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Shirley Bassey
Shirley Bassey - All The Best [ EMI Gold / 2 CD - released 25/Feb/2013 ] Shirley Bassey is a singer, often regarded in the 'diva' sense, due to her strong and masterful prowess in her vocal talents, continuing into her latter years. She is perhaps best known as having done the vocals on three James Bond films. |
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Shirley Scott
Four Classic Albums (Great Scott / Like Cozy / Hip Soul / Happy Talk) [ Avid / 2 CD - released 17/Nov/2014 ] |
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GIUSEPPE VERDI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Verdi: Macbeth (Complete Opera with libretto) Shirley Verrett, Piero Cappuccilli, Placido Domingo / Milan La Scala Chorus; Milan La Scala Orchestra / Claudio Abbado [ Deutsche Grammophon Originals / 2 CD Box Set - released 5/May/2000 ] 1001 Classical recordings you must hear before you die (1801-1850) - "scrupulously prepared, executed and recorded." (Gramophone) |
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ROGERS & HAMMERSTEIN
Oklahoma! - Original Soundtrack Gordon MacRae, Gloria Grahame, Shirley Jones [ Pickwick Records / CD - released 30/Aug/2008 ] The very first musical play to be written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, 'Oklahoma!' opened in New York in 1943 and would go on to run for an unprecedented 2,212 performances... |
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DONIZETTI
Anna Bolena (Complete opera) [Recorded in 1973] Beverly Sills, Paul Plishka, Shirley Verrett, Robert Lloyd, Stuart Burrows, Patricia Kern, Robert Tear / Symphony Orchestra / Julius Rudel [ Brilliant Classics / 3 CD Box Set - released 1/Apr/2009 ] "(Sill's) voice is crystal clear and has considerable warmth...Her incisiveness with words comes as no surprise, her technical accomplishment likewise. There is often a disarming simplicity and youthfulness in her singing." (MusicWeb May 2009) |
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FRANCESCO CANOVA DA MILANO
Lute Music-Fantasias Ricercars And Duets Christian Wilson (Solo Lute) / Shirley Rumsey (Lute Duettist) [ Naxos Early Music / CD - released 22/Dec/2007 ] "This record is especially valubale since it contains fabulous biographic notes by Christopher Wilson... Wilson is at his best. His playing is lively, and he brings out the polyphonic structure and shapes the form with great ease and flexibility. The... |
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Dame Shirley Bassey
I Owe It All To You [ Decca / CD - released 25/Jun/2007 ] Deluxe Edition with expanded booklet featuring archive material and highlights from Dame Shirley Bassey's incredible career. |
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VINTAGE CHILDREN'S FAVOURITES
Vintage Children's Favourites [Includes 'Sparky's Magic Piano' & 'Tubby The Tuba'] Danny kaye, Shirley Temple, Arthur Askey, Sidney Torch, Alma Cogan, Vera Lynn, Rosemary Clooney, etc [ Nimbus Retrospective / 2 CD - released 20/May/2010 ] 48 Original mono recordings (1926 - 1959) |
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HAROLD MELTZER
Meltzer: Brion / Sindbad / Exiles Elizabeth Farnum (soprano) / Gregory Hesselink (cello) / John Shirley-Quirk (narrator) / Cygnus Ensemble / The Peabody Trio / Sequitur / James Baker [ Naxos American Classics / CD - released 6/Dec/2010 ] "[Brion] is a haunting, quirky and continually inventive chamber work for a small ensemble including guitar and mandolin. It receives an elegant, colorful performance on a splendid recording of four fascinating chamber and vocal works by Mr.... |
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Berlioz, H
Roméo et Juliette Fassbaender, Gedda, Shirley-Quirk, ORF-Chor; ORF-Symphonieorchester, Gardelli [ ORFEO / 2 CD - released 11/May/1987 ] |
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GLUCK
Alceste (complete opera recorded in stereo in 1981) Philip Gelling, Maldwyn Davies, Janet Baker, John Shirley-Quirk / The Royal Opera Chorus & Orchestra / Sir Charles Mackerras [ Royal Opera House / 2 CD - released 10/Apr/2008 ] "A great evening at Covent Garden rescued for posterity." (Gramophone on a previous release) |
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HANDEL
Judas MacCabeus (recorded in 1971) Heather Harper, Helen Watts, Alexander Young, John Shirley-Quirk / Wandsworth School Boys Choir / English Chamber Orchestra / Johannes Somary [ ALTO / 2 CD - released 1/Jun/2009 ] "The solo singing is excellent with Alexander Young a ringing tenor, and Helen Watts singing the opening aria in Act III exquisitely. Very good recording... the effect is wholly natural - and a sense of commitment throughout from all departments." -... |
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BENJAMIN BRITTEN
Britten: War Requiem / Sinfonia da Requiem / Ballad of Heroes Heather Harper (soprano) John Shirley-Quirk (bass) Martyn Hill (tenor) / London Symphony Orchestra / Richard Hickox [ Chandos Classics / 2 CD - released 10/May/2004 ] "Heather Harper has at last recorded the 'role' she created-indeed it is her farewell to her many admirers as she has now retired. I heard her sing it in St Paul's not long ago and thought then that her peculiar accents, her inevitable shaping of so... |
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HAVERGAL BRIAN
Symphony no 1 in D minor "The Gothic" Hpnor Sheppard (soprano) Shirley Minty (contralto) Ronald Dowd (tenor) / BBC Symphony Orchestra & Choral Society, etc / Sir Adrian Boult [ Testament / 2 CD - released 10/Dec/2009 ] "Long available in a pirated recording of the broadcast, this live performance of the mighty Gothic has at last 'gone legit'." BBC Music Magazine, February 2010 *** |
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HANDEL
Judas Maccabaeus (Complete oratorio) (Special price) Janet Baker / John Shirley-Quirk / Felicity Palmer / English Chamber Orchestra, Charles Mackerras [ DG Archiv / 3 CD - released 13/Apr/2006 ] "The orchestral group and continuo sound splendidly crisp. Ryland Davies and John Shirley-Quirk are most stylish, while both Felicity Palmer and Janet Baker crown the whole set with glorious singing...the recording quality is outstanding." (***... |
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CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI
Monteverdi: Vespro Della Beata Vergine 1610 [Vespers] / Motetes [with works by Gabrieli] Jill Gormez, James Bowman, John Shirley-Quirk, Philip Langridge, Michael Rippon / Monteverdi Choir & Orchestra, John Eliot Gardiner [ Double Decca / 2 CD - released 1/Jan/2001 ] "Gardiner's purposeful approach is stirringly dramatic, boldly eventful and full of ideas" Gramophone |
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IGOR STRAVINSKY
Stravinsky: The Rake's Progress (complete opera recorded in 1993) John Cheek, Jon Garrison, Jeffrey Johnson, Shirley Love, Melvin Lowery, Jane West, Wendy White, Arthur Woodley / Robert Craft [ Naxos / 2 CD - released 1/Jun/2009 ] "That we have such a direct link to Stravinsky's living thoughts and intentions in Robert Craft and such a powerful performance makes this recording as much a 'must have' as the composer's own." (MusicWeb July 2009) |
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VAUGHAN WILLIAMS / IRELAND / STANFORD / WARLOCK / PURCELL / etc
English Song: John Shirley-Quirk John Shirley-Quirk (bass-baritone) with Martin Isepp (harpsichord and piano), Ambrose Gauntlett, etc [ Heritage / 2 CD - released 1/May/2015 ] "Shirley-Quirk gives us a lovely cross-section of native song...and [his] immaculate diction makes texts unnecessary." (Gramophone Re-issue of the Month - February 2015) |
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HANDEL
4 Coronation Anthems / Foundling Hospital Anthem / Utrecht te Deum / Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne HWV74 Judith Nelson, Shirley Minty, James Bowman, David Thomas / Choir Of Winchester Cathedral, The Brandenburg Consort, David Hill [ Double Decca / 2 CD - released 1/Nov/2012 ] "the choir sing most beautifully throughout and of the soloists, John Elwes is particularly sensitive to Handel's setting of charitable texts." (Gramophone on the Foundling Hospital Anthem) |
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HARRY BURLEIGH / WILLIAM Levi DAWSON / FLORENCE PRICE / WILLIAM Grant STILL
DVOŘÁK'S PROPHECY - Film 3: The Souls of Black Folk and the Vexed Fate of Black Classical Music Kevin Deas, Arthur Fagan, James Jeter, Roderick Cox, Joseph Horowitz, Michael Morgan, George Shirley [ Naxos DVD / DVD - released 3/Dec/2021 ] If George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess embodies a glorious (and controversial) fulfilment of Dvořák's prophecy, there also exists a buried lineage of exceptional compositions by Black composers following in Dvořák's wake. |
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BARBER / DONIZETTI / BRITTEN / MOZART / VERDI
The Inaugural Season: Extraordinary Met Performances From 1966-67 Leontyne Price, Justino Díaz, Jess Thomas, Joan Sutherland, Richard Tucker, Renata Scotto, George Shirley, Leonie Rysanek, Christa Ludwig, and many mo [ Metropolitan Opera / 22 CD Box Set - released 1/Mar/2017 ] On September 16, 1966, the new Metropolitan Opera House opened in Lincoln Center with the world premiere of Barber's Antony and Cleopatra, with Leontyne Price and Justino Díaz in the title roles. That first season in the Met's new home not only... |
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MOZART / SPOHR / SCHUBERT / WEILL / LIGETI / SCHOENBERG / etc
Vienna - From Mozart to Schoenberg London Sinfonietta, David Atherton, with Aurele Nicolet (flute), Heinz Holliger (oboe), Anthony Pay (Clarinet), John Shirley-Quirk (baritone), etc [ Decca Austrailian Eloquence / 13 CD Box Set - released 7/Feb/2025 ] "David Atherton and his admirable singers and players deal with the music most sympathetically… The playing has all the artistry one expects from members of the Sinfonietta." Gramophone, June 1980 (Schubert: Sacred Works) |
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GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Don Carlo (Complete Opera recorded in 1970) Placido Domingo, Montserrat Caballe, Shirley Verrett, Ryland Davies / Royal Opera, Carlo Maria Giulini [ Warner Classics Home of Opera / 3 CD Box Set - released 1/Feb/2016 ] "Under Giulini's commanding and searching direction, the huge canvas is held together with unerring control" (Gramophone) |
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Shirley Bassey
As I Love You (1956 - 58) [ Jasmine / 2 CD - released 1/Sep/2009 ] |
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Shirley Horn
You Won't Forget Me [ Polydor / CD ] |
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BLISS / BRITTEN / HOLST
English Choral Music Shirley Minty (mezzo) Martyn Hill (tenor) Holst Singers / Hilary Wetton [ Hyperion Helios / CD - released 16/Sep/2001 ] ***** Five Stars BBC Music Magazine (Jan 2002)- "Never tentative or imprecise, the voices blend beautifully. The upper voices in particular shine with a luminous quality, and are wonderfully fast and flexible." |
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Shirley Rumsey
Music Of Spanish Renaissance [ Naxos / CD ] |