Absolute Heaven: Essential Choral Masterpieces

This sampler, which appeared in 1997, features Robert Shaw, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and its associated choruses in selections from some of the choral-orchestral blockbusters they recorded for Telarc between 1979 and 1993, in consistently excellent sound. Shaw's unrivalled mastery of this repertory shines through in every selection on the disc, not least in the excerpts that frame the program: the final pages of the "Prologue in Heaven" from Boito's Mefistofele, and the towering conclusion of Mahler's Symphony No. 8, both magnificently done. Just one warning: after listening to this, you're likely to find yourself hurrying back to buy the recordings of the complete works. --Ted Libbey