Classical Chillout

The only thing wrong with this compilation is the title: "Chillout" hardly seems the right word to describe such a well-balanced collection which, while it includes such relaxing music as Debussy's Clair de lune and Vaughan Williams' The Lark Ascending, also has pieces as wired as Steve Reich's exciting Nagoya Marimbas and Simon Jeffes' Perpetuum Mobile. All the performances are good and have been juxtaposed with some wit: a piece which celebrates nocturnal luminescence, Clair de lune, is followed by a work traditionally performed in darkness, Allegri's Miserere. The aria "Ebbenne andr? lontana" (used in the film Diva) in which a woman reveals that she is going to live on the freezing summit of a mountain, is followed by the slow movement of Vivaldi's "Winter". There are no notes, translations or blurbs, so if you want to find out more about a piece you'll have to pull out the encyclopaedia or get on the net. But that aside, this is a thoroughly enjoyable compilation. --Warwick Thompson