Maria Jimenez

It is indeed a pleasure to listen to Juan Diego Florez a young singer from Peru. It is like now that we no longer have Pavaroti, we can enjoy this new, and vibrant tenor voice. I purchased his new CD in Spanish, but he already have beautiful music for opera. Highly recommended for music lovers.

I first saw Juan Diego Florez at the New York Metropolitan Opera performing the role of Count Almaviva in Rossini's "Barber of Seville". His powerful voice was very elegant and clean. He is a master of Bel Canto operas and arias; one of a kind.

Saying that, it is always risky for a tenor to leave the classical stage and attempt to record popular folk music because the reaction of the public is always varied. When Placido Domingo recorded "100 years of Mariachi" many liked it, but not everyone.

With "Sentimiento Latino" Juan Diego does a tremendous singing job. First of all, the music selection is a great tribute to Hispanic music inspired from the classic boleros, rancheras, tangos, etc. From "Ella" by Jose Alfredo Jimenez, "El dia que me quieras" by Carlos Gardel, "Granada" by Agustin Lara, and "Alma Llanera" by Pedro Elias Gutierrez, among others, this CD offers a fantastic repertoire.

From his native Peru he included "La Flor de la Canela" and "Fina Estampa"

When he reaches "Jurame" by Maria Grever he confirms his greatness as a tenor easily reaching high notes and always full of that "Sentimiento Latino".

Finishing with "Mexico Lindo y Querido", it could be hard to compare to Jorge Negrete but he does a superb job. The orchestra and mariachi arrangements are top class. This CD could easily become one of your favorites.

I STRONGLY RECOMMEND THIS ARTIST TO ANYONE WHO TRULY LOVES A LYRIC TENOR AT HIS BEST--MR FLOREZ WILL BE AS GREAT ONE DAY AS PAVAROTTI AND THAT HAS BEEN TOLD BY PAVAROTTI HIMSELF ON A RECENT DOCUMENTARY PRIOR TO HIS DEATH...JUAN FLOREZ IS NOT ONLY GREAT IN OPERA BUT FROM HIS NATIVE LIMA, PERU, SINGS HIS MOST FAVOURITE SONGS WITH SUCH PASSION THAT IT IS HARD, WHEN YOU DISCOVER SUCH A VOICE, NOT TO BE A FAN FOR ALL OF HIS FUTURE ACHIEVEMENTS...I JUST LOVED THIS DVD AS I LOVED BOTH HIS OPERAS AND OTHER DVD'S TO HIS CREDIT...SOPHIE

When I learnt about this CD I could not avoid to think of those infamous Placido Domingo's recordings singing tangos and boleros with a melodramatic tenor voice. However Juan Diego Florez's CD is a fresh approach to LatinAmerican music with the beauty of his young voice but without a trace of operatic affectation (in spite of the fact that he is a great opera singer).
I have to admit that I did not particularly liked the orchestral arrangements nor the idea behind great tenors singing popular music. However it is important to remember that JDF first approach to the art of singing was in his mother's live music pub in Lima. Once in a while he used to work as a replacement singer in the pub and, as he recalled about those days: "It was a tremendous experience for me, since most of those who were regulars at the pub were of a certain age, so I had to be ready to sing anything from huaynos to Elvis Presley music and, in my mind, that served me a great deal because, in the final analysis, any music that is well structured - whether it is jazz, opera, or pop - is good music".
Being a Venezuelan myself I felt a bit upset with the modern approach to Alma Llanera which is the main aria from a "zarzuela" composed in the mid fourties that became Venezuelan second anthem. However he sings it in an impecable way. I liked him in "El dia que me quieras". He is not Gardel though but, thanks God, he is not Placido Domingo either (PD also sings this song in his late 70's tango recording).

Finally I would like to say few words about the comments of this Nicolas guy from Argentina. It is obvious he did not like the CD but I wonder why he has to use insults like "imbecil" , "clown" and "stupid" refering to this great peruvian singer? I do not paid any respect to such comments but I think that Amazon should have a "report abuse" policy for these situations. I just wonder if Mr. Nicolas has listened JDF singing Donizetti or Rossini's operas? Nobody who has had the pleasure of listening this young tenor singing coloratura arias would have the nerve of referring to him in the terms this guy from Argentina does.

Juan Diego is a great tenor. However, this folkloric music is not the same with an orchestra instead of the original instruments.

Goodness only knows what the other volumes in this ORGAN HISTORY series are like, but if they are all as impressive and enterprising as this one, they will give Naxos serious competition in the budget-CD stakes. Arturo Sacchetti's playing is next to flawless. The only slight fault with any of it is the unduly slow tempo with which he starts Antonio de Cabezon's CABALLERO variations (easily the most often played piece by this composer, who died in 1566); and even that mild complaint can soon be forgotten amid the delightful choice of stops with which he emphasizes the cantus firmus each time it comes back.

Some splendid music has turned up here, a little of it probably known to students of baroque organ literature - who could well have noticed the names of Francisco Correa de Arauxo (1576?-1654) and Juan Cabanilles (1644-1712) in other contexts - yet much of it utterly obscure. Who in the world, for instance, was Joaquin de Oxinagas (1719-1789)? Whoever he was (the pretentiously written booklet note is unforthcoming), he must have been a formidably talented polyphonist, with - as the booklet points out in one of its few intelligible statements - a Germanic rigor at his command.

Three of the last four tracks disappoint, because of their intrinsic content rather than because of the player. Someone called M.H. Eslava y Elizondo (1807-1878) treats the magnificent plainsong melody AVE MARIS STELLA to a stuffy and shop-worn meditation; it seems to last far longer than the 5'54" timing given on the jewel-box; his contemporaries in France, Belgium and Germany were writing much finer music than this. Compare this effort to the organ compositions of Saint-Saens, Liszt, Franck, Mendelssohn, or Brahms, and it becomes embarrassing. The INTERLUDE by Jesus Guridi (1886-1961) is at best slightly attractive; the TIENTO by Ernesto Halffter (1905-1989, though this CD describes him as being still alive) sounds interminable, rather like an undergraduate's attempt at mimicking Messiaen. Augusto de Oliveira Machado (1845-1924), apparently director of the Lisbon Conservatoire in his later life, contributes a PRELUDE neatly written but too short to give listeners much idea of him.

In engineering terms, the disc is superb. No record company is reproducing organ tone more faithfully, or more vividly, than this label manages to do. If you find the contents list appealing, why hesitate?

Maria Jimenez es un fenomeno de la naturaleza, cantando a Sabina está insuperable. Un disco imprescindible.

She sings with a soul and passion I hadn't heard in years. Her vocal hue goes from sultry seduction and despair to the most abject and total denial. Couple this with the lyrical richness of Joaquin Sabina and a top notch group of musicians and what you have is an extremely musically rich product. The guitar playing on this production is simply incredible. The three ladies in the chorus complement Maria's sultriness exquisitely.

Que viva el coño de Maria

Wow! This the best CD coming from Spain in the last 20 years!!

This woman can sing and make you feel. The guitars are great too.

Como algo jamas antes escuchado
en la historia de la musica son
las obras de Don Esteban Salas,
grabadas aqui en primera grabacion
mundial. Tan buen compositor muestran
estas obras que era Don Esteban, que
sus obras comparables con las de los
Italianos Paisello, y Pergolesi.
Salas poseia su propio estilo, muy diferente
a los de sus contemporaneos en las
catedrales de Lima, y Puebla.
Musica hermosa, y conmovedora por un
gran musico.

The first time I listened to this piece tears were flowing from my eyes. It is a beautiful collection of music.