Simply The Best Classical Anthems

クラシック音楽は、名映画の中でも数多く使用されました。そうした記憶に残る名曲の数々網羅された38曲が収録された2枚組です。
ワーナーミュージック・ジャパン

Strictly defined, an anthem is a choral piece or song of a sacred or patriotic character, yet only a handful of the selections on Warner's Simply the Best Classical Anthems can be described that way. Instead, this is a two-CD collection of short pieces and excerpts from large works that are famous for being exciting, grandiose, and loud, though with little connection to the album's stated purpose. To be sure, Handel's coronation anthem Zadok the Priest, Parry's Jerusalem, and Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 (when performed as Land of Hope and Glory) are beloved anthems, but most of this package consists of classical greatest hits that are merely rousing orchestral music or choral works that everybody recognizes. O Fortuna from Orff's Carmina Burana, Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries, the Toccata from Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor, the first movement of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, Khachaturian's Sabre Dance, Rimsky-Korsakov's Flight of the Bumblebee, Puccini's Nessun dorma!, and Mozart's Eine kleine Nachtmusik are just a few of the instantly recognizable pieces found on this album, and as a two-hour program of vigorous and stirring music, this twofer will mainly appeal to casual listeners looking for familiar classical melodies. The selections are drawn from previous releases on Erato, Teldec, and other affiliated labels, and the mix of ADD and DDD recordings makes the sound quality a bit variable.