The first "Cinema Choral Classics" album, despite its share of flaws, is an outstanding achievement, surpassed only by the plethora of their two-CD compilations that often provide a more substantial amount of music for the price. One of the greatest assets of Silva products such as this one is the immense knowledge of film music carried by its producers, leading to compilations that intelligently balance popular scores with obscure ones, all the while choosing representatives from across the different ages of film music. Near the outset of the album are two source cues of great fame that often appear in (or inspire) original scores. Both Carl Orff's "O Fortuna" (the ultimate source for trailer music nowadays) and Samuel Barber's "Agnus Dei" are perhaps over-exposed, especially the latter in the years after Platoon, but they exist to help sell copies of the product. The Maurice Jarre and Ennio Morricone cues, from Jesus of Nazareth and The Mission respectively, provide the product with elegance and beauty, using the size of the ensemble to accentuate the harmony of the two scores. The remaining cues on the album better represent the lightning on its cover. The performance of "Never Surrender" from Jerry Goldsmith's First Knight is the surprising highlight of the album, thanks to an ambitious performance that exceeds the quality of the original. Also eclipsing the original recording in depth is the well-arranged suite from Alan Silvestri's The Abyss. Failing to muster the same energy is Miklos Rozsa'a King of Kings and, surprisingly, Basil Poledouris' Conan the Barbarian, which suffers from a suspect mix balance between chorus and orchestra.

The suite from Barry's The Lion in Winter (first, second, and last tracks of the score) is on par with Prague's usual superior performances of the composer's work. Vangelis' Conquest of Paradise is performed here without the dominant synthesizers that overwhelm its theme in the original, relying on varied percussion that may sound a bit strange to collectors of the composer. The finale to Mario Nascimbene's The Vikings features the famous three-note Vikings theme but, compared to the other selections, seems out of place. A very long suite from Goldsmith's The Omen follows, and will be a major attraction to film score collectors. Its relentless chants are well executed and are surrounded by a fair amount of Goldsmith's non-choral score. Finally, the beautiful "Non Nobis Domine" theme from the climax of Doyle's Henry V is offered without some of the overbearing zeal that other ensembles have handled it with, and its victorious tone is a very fitting end to the CD. Overall, this is a very satisfying compilation; the second "Cinema Choral Classics" album would provide a wider variety of lesser known selections, especially from the Golden Age, but it also caters to fans of Patrick Doyle, Danny Elfman, and Basil Poledouris (with multiple selections representing each). The sound quality is resounding, and will alone be worth the price of the album for some listeners. These products are an important cross-over concept to help bridge the gap between casual mainstream listeners and dedicated score collectors, and its quality is strong enough to attract repeat listens for the latter crowd.  ****   @Amazon.com: CD or Download