Handel: Messiah (2009)
2h 39min | 2DVD | VIDEO_TS | NTSC 16:9 | PCM stereo / Dolby DTS 5.0 / DTS 5.0 | subtitles: en, fr, de, es, it | 10.55GB
DVDrip | 2 x AVI 1.08GB (1/4DVD) | XVID 1394/2130 kbps | 720 x 480 | MP3 VBR ~294kbps | subtitles: IDX/SUB file | 2.26GB
Stephen Cleobury - Choir of King's College, Cambridge - Academy of Ancient Music
Ailish Tynan (soprano) - Alice Coote (mezzo-soprano) - Allan Clayton (tenor) - Matthew Rose (bass)

This EMI recording is the third Messiah that Cleobury and the King's College Choir have done, made during the 2009 Easter at King's season of concerts. As a fan of King's I find this an extremely satisfying recording of the work, and Cleobury and the King's Choir are in fine form as they have always been.

Tchaikovsky - Nutcracker: The Story of Clara (1994)
Graeme Murphy (choreography) - The Australian Ballet - The State Orchestra of Victoria - Noel Smith (conductor)
Ballet | DVDrip | AVI | XviD 1559 kbps | 720 x 576 | 25 fps | MP3 183 kbps VBR | Subtitles: none | 1h 52min | 1400 MB

This is no ordinary Nutcracker; it is a quintessentially Australian reinterpretation created by the incomparable Graeme Murphy, who was for many years the driving spirit of the Sydney Dance Company. It is a reinterpretation that celebrates the history of ballet in Australia, and of the Australian Ballet itself with its links to the great Russian ballet tradition.

Ernest Bloch - Sacred Service - Avodath an hakodesh (1988)
Geoffrey Simon - London Symphony Orchestra - Zemel Choir - Louis Berkman (baritone)
Choral | EAC | FLAC+log+cue | cover+booklet | CHAN 8414 | 1CD | 205 MB

Ernest Bloch was born in Geneva in 1880 and died in Oregon in 1959. He was a man of varied interests as well as strong feelings and these qualities are reflected throughout his music. It is probably as a "Jewish composer" that he is best know, and although definitions of Jewish music tend to be complex, suffice to say that there is evidence to indicate his self-styled "Jewish works" contain genuine ethnic traits in both manner and matter. – booklet notes

Seascapes (1991)
Classical/Instrumental | EAC | FLAC+log+cue | front cover only | CHAN 6538 | 1CD | 289 MB

A collection of classical instrumental works, with a focus on the sea. Featuring traditional British composers such as Vaughan Williams and Britten, lesser known composers such as Arnold Bax and Frank Bridge also make an appearance. No 'sea collection' would be complete without Mendelssohn's Fingal's Cave. Foreign composers like Berlioz and Sibelius make an energetic and light contribution respectively, but the CD has an overtly English feel.

Elgar Favourites (1991)
Norman Del Mar - George Hurst - Bournemouth Sinfonietta
Classical/Instrumental | EAC | FLAC+log+cue | front cover | CHAN 6544 | 1CD | 310 MB

A collection of 20th century English composer Sir Edward Elgar's most popular works, including Chanson de Matin, Chanson de Nuit, Salut d'amour, Sospiri, and Sursum Corda.

Famous Hymns from Westminster Abbey (1999)
Martin Neary - Westminster Abbey Choir
Choral | EAC | FLAC+log+cue | full scans | Sony SBK61704 | 1CD | 335 MB

Upholding the high traditional of Anglican Cathedral Music, the Choir of the country's best known Abbey successfully sings some of the most well known hymns - hymns which form an integral part of our life's stories. Hymns from school, such as 'Who would true valour see', to typical wedding hymns, such as 'Love Divine' and also some funeral music, such as 'Abide with me' or the more modern, 'Make me a Channel of Your peace.' – A Customer

. . . over two hours of the world's most exciting classical music . . . - This 2cd set is different to other "best of classical" compilations, being a particularly good introduction to contemporary classical music, with many pieces drawn from the Romantic, Early 20th Century, and Contemporary periods.

Alphons Diepenbrock lived from 1862 to 1921 - exactly 300 years later than jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562-1621). Both composers spent the greater part of their lives in Amsterdam, Sweelinck as the last celebrated representative of the Netherlands school, Diepenbrock as the first north Netherlands composer since then whose music could be measured by international standards.

Modern audiences remain as enthusiastic about Haydn's Creation as his first audiences–who went wild in both London and Vienna–but we've lost our taste for his other masterpiece, The Seasons. For one thing, nobody considers James Thompson's famous poem great anymore; to modern tastes all this ecstatic nature paimting verges on the insipid, so it's fine to have it rendered in German (the words in English don't help a listener's appreciation).

John Rutter, a contemporary composer best known for his choral music, shows off his talent for orchestral music in "Distant Land," conducting the Royal Philharmonic. Rutter freely admits that most of the pieces on this CD had their roots in songs and choral music, and indeed the works here are distinguished mainly by their songlike melodies.

To celebrate the 800th anniversary of the University of Cambridge and to mark Handel's 250th anniversary of the composer's death a live concert of Handel's Messiah was held at King's College Chapel on April 5, 2009 (Palm Sunday). This concert was broad casted to over 85 movie theaters throughout Europe. The concert was performed by the Choir of King's College, soloists from the Royal Opera House and the Academy of Ancient Music, conducted by Stephen Cleobury

. . . "electrifying" . . .

This is a fresh, vibrant recording of a cross-section of Dowland's music, and will quickly dispel any myth of Dowland always being a composer of melancholy!
The singers use Elizabethan pronunciation (love=loov, come=coom), which can be quite revelatory. – Mark Ardrey-Graves

Les Miserables - 25th Anniversary Concert at the O2 Arena (2010)
Musical/Concert | DVDrip | AVI | XviD 1040 kbps | 720 x 576 | 25 fps | MP3 115 kbps VBR | Subtitles: en | 2h 50min | 1400 MB

Seen by over 57 million people worldwide in 42 countries and in 21 languages, Les Miserables is undisputedly one of the world’s most popular musicals. In celebration of 25 incredible years of the world’s longest running musical, Les Miserables marks this momentous occasion with a spectacular performance at The O2. With a host of over 500 actors and musicians, this star studded cast includes Alfie Boe as ‘Jean Valjean’, Nick Jonas as ‘Marius’, Norm Lewis as ‘Javert’, Lea Salonga as ‘Fantine’, Ramin Karimloo as ‘Enjolras’, etc., and the casts of the Original Production at the Queen’s Theatre, the New 25th Anniversary Production at the Barbican, London and members of the Original 1985 London cast.

Almost Angels (1962)
a.k.a. Born to Sing
VHS rip | AVI | XviD 1748 kbps | 720 x 480 | 29.970 fps | MP3 192 kbps CBR | 1h 34min | 1.31 GB
Genre: Family, Music, Comedy

It is an era when the worst thing a group of pre-teen boys can be caught doing is a pillow fight after hours with the verboten transistor radio playing jazz. The benevolent authority cares for their growing pains as he exacts perfection in execution of some of the world's most glorious choral music ever written. The "almost" qualification to the angelicly pure bell-like voices singing music of the ages is the normal mischieviousness of boys. Celebrates friendship, perseverance, encouragement, loyalty, leadership, kindness. And gives us a chance to enjoy the Vienna Choir Boys. – Marian Schwartz