Reviewed by Dave Massey

The twelve albums so far issued by Word in their Family Classics series are promoted as "An exciting new direction in Christian music," a claim which I find extremely dubious especially given the fact that Mozart, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and Strauss compositions are included. A case might have been made for their church music yet the record company have all but ignored it. A glimpse in any music dictionary will reveal that Mozart was a Freemason and that although, as the sleeve notes of disc four declare, Amadeus was well over the top in its portrayal of him, his life was far from a glowing example; Tchaikovsky was reputedly a homosexual and Beethoven was far more immersed in music than in spiritual things. The point of this gripe is not to denigrate Word records, but their marketing strategy, which does present these recordings as something that they are not. This is an easy listening compilation with wide appeal and which will undoubtedly generate healthy returns, but whether they represent an "exciting new (?!) direction in Christian music" is a purely subjective point of view. Many of the composers represented however, were deeply religious and their music is certainly inspirational and I for one welcome this collection if it brings these timeless works to a new audience. The first piece on The Best Of Vivaldi' is "The Four Seasons", performed by Musici Di Zagreb who give a polished performance which although does not bring with it the same depth of expression as the recent recording by Nigel Kennedy is well considered and sensitively performed. A criticism often leveled at Eastern European musicians is that they lack emotion - maybe it's just a Western cultural misintepretaton - but in this case I feel it holds true. Also included are the "Concerto For Bassoon In E Flat", and the "Concerto In B Flat", but where oh where are Vivaldi's sacred works? Not a sign of either of the well known and loved Glorias. Bassoonist John Miller and the St Mary's Chamber Players bring a delightful energy and Panache to the two concertos which with the contrast of the "Four Seasons" make this a well rounded disc and one which I would recommend to anyone.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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