Ave Maria

The reason that I bought this record was that as I was walking around in a record store I suddenly heard a heavenly voice, singing a wonderful song. It was so capturing that I had to go ask the staff for the CD. I must say I was deeply surprised when I found out it was a Naxos recording, since their song-CD's sometimes tend to be not so good. But this one is a real bargain.

The song was "Bist du bei mir" by Bach (Stötzel), and the singer was the totally unknown Ingrid Kertesi. This was almost a year ago, but I still think I get a new glimpse of heaven every time that I listen to her. The beauty of her voice makes you forget that her pronunciation is extremely bad (as with Sutherland in her prime). Kertesi sings a few more songs on this CD, and they're all lovely.

Many of the classic christmas & sacred songs are included on this CD, we find three 'Ave Maria' here. Most of the songs are nicely sung, except for some Mozartpieces. The other singers are not in the same class as Kertesi, but mostly OK.

This is a extremely nice compilation for christmas or any other time when it's dark outside. Ingrid Kertesi alone makes this CD worth the price.

Ingrid Kertesi really does have the voice of an angel. As an ex-choirboy, I have an inherent preference for the pure tones of a boy treble, rather than the mature vibrato warbling of most sopranos. But I bought this disc because the review by Mr. JB from Karlskrona, Sweden (June 18, 2000) grabbed my attention. He is 100 percent right: I defy you to listen to Ingrid Kertesi's version of J.S. Bach's "Bist du bei mir" ("Thou Art So Near") and not have the same ecstatic reaction he did. The same applies to that most hackneyed of works, the "Ave Maria" that Charles Gounod added atop Bach's C-major Prelude from the "48 Preludes and Fugues" ("The Well-Tempered Klavier"). Kertesi's exquisite version makes this old warhorse sound fresh and new again. It's sure either to make the hair on the back of your neck stand up or have you falling to the floor in sheer ecstasy. OK, forgive the hyperbole, but listen to the sample online and you'll get the point. The rest of the disc has humdrum versions of some very familiar pieces by Handel, Mozart and Schubert. But it's truly worth having for Kertesi's incomparable contribution.

I bought this CD for one track--Schubert's Ave Maria. I have searched through hundreds of Ave Maria albums for the perfect Ave Maria and, though this version is not perfect, it is the closest I have heard to perfection. Ingrid Kertesi's voice bathes you in the song's rich, warm, red sea of love that is so restorative, you can't help but feel pure and whole after one listening--though, I guarantee you won't be able to listen just once.

I only wish Naxos had chosen to record it with a piano instead of a full orchestra--Naxos's budget orchestras have a budget sound, and besides, this song has an intimacy that resonates best with a simple dialogue between a soprano and a piano. How many music directors have gone wrong by using a soprano and an orchestra, a tenor and an orchestra, or a tenor and a piano. No, no, no! Schubert's Ave Maria = Soprano and Piano, and it better be a damn good soprano, or don't bother recording at all. Really.

I didn't care about any of the other tracks on the CD--and about half are throw-aways. But the Ombra mai fu, the Lascia ch'io pianga, the Mozart masses, and the Donizetti and Gounod Aves (also sung by Kertesi) are all first rate.

Bottom line: the bad tracks are bad, but the beautiful tracks are ecstatic and full of heart and passion. Do your soul a favor and listen.