In France, during the reign of Louis XIV, the religious service known as Tenebrae was one of the most distinctive ceremonies in the liturgical year. Gradually, in the course of the office, the candles were extinguished, recalling the darkness that covered the earth when Jesus died on the cross.

We are only just beginning to rediscover the works of Louis Spohr (1784-1859), who was not only a composer, but also a virtuoso violinist, possibly the greatest conductor of his time, and a renowned teacher – a man who played a leading role in musical life in Germany in the nineteenth century. His works – almost three hundred, covering many genres – bear the mark of Viennese Classicism, but his harmonic research announces the advent of the Romantic period.

Acclaimed pianist Boris Berezovsky, joined here by the Orchestre Philharmonique de l'Oural led by Dmitri Liss, revel in Johannes Brahms' exhilarating second piano concerto - a sweeping epic combining Classical nobility and Romantic fire. With the same joy and virtuosity, Berezovsky's performances of the Variations on a Theme of Paganini and the Hungarian Dances prove once again that Brahms was one of the last great masters of the Romantic piano.

Spring is on its way and so is Piano Day!
This year we've put together ‘Intervals’, a collection of stripped down / intimate tracks with a minimalist bent to go along with the breezy season to come…

With this new effort, Eric Bibb gives a personal vision of today’s world in his own poetic and contemporary way. Born and raised in New York, Bibb has traveled the planet extensively. He describes the people of this earth at length here, conjuring their conflicts and hardships, as well as their compassion, tolerance and empathy. “Jericho Road” was produced by Glen Scott, a young Englishman originally from Jamaica endowed with outstanding talent and creativity. Scott’s lavish musical arrangements and attention to sound make this new recording an exceptionally fine production. Eric gives a whole new meaning to the blues of the 21st Century, proving that the genre remains as lively and relevant as ever. Jericho Road is an event in itself, and a superlative album.

"This album is instantly recognizable as a Foo Fighters record," Dave Grohl said in a statement, "but there's something deeper and more musical to it. I think that these cities and these people influenced us to stretch out and explore new territory, without losing our 'sound.'" In the teaser below (which shows Grohl getting a new tattoo) you can hear the frontman again screaming, “All Rise!” But this time, he’s backed by a full band. Sonic Highways was co-produced by the band with Butch Vig (Nirvana's Nevermind).

Debut albums often serve as fine introductions to the work of fledgling artists with potential for greater things, but that wasn't the case with Gregory Porter's Water (Motéma, 2010). Porter's debut, which was nominated for a Grammy Award, presented a vocal soul-jazz juggernaut that seemingly materialized out of thin air as a fully matured musical entity. His early experiences working in small San Diego clubs and singing in Off-Broadway and Broadway productions in New York helped Porter to establish himself as a vocal talent who doesn't merely sing songs but, rather, inhabits different personae delivering messages through music.

Thought You Knew is the second album from Snowpoet, the London based band led by Jazz FM Vocalist of the Year (2016) Lauren Kinsella and composer and multi-instrumentalist Chris Hyson. Born out of a deep musical friendship and mutual understanding, Snowpoet’s acclaimed eponymous debut released in 2016 won rave reviews and a devoted audience with its compelling sound, drawing comparisons with Bjork.

Originally conceived as a technological and spiritual jazz suite for drums, Distant Early Warning is a series of solo performances for kit and sampler recorded live in a single day. "For a long time I've been feeling there's a central part of my musical voice that didn't have an outlet," Pike says. "So this album is definitely a product of inner necessity."

Leon‘s Creation hail from San Fransisco, they released this album on the small Studio 10 label. I think some people have a misconception that this is a funk record, I would classify it more as psychedelic soul ala Sly and the Family Stone. This is a fantastic record that has simply slipped through the cracks. Why this hasn’t been reissued yet is beyond me. Definitely one worth seeking out in my opinion.

Written twenty years apart, these gems of chamber music by Johannes Brahms present two captivating faces of a complicated romantic composer. Mezzo-soprano Andrea Hill sings the intimate and poignantly nostalgic Zwei Gesänge for mezzo, viola and piano and the Modigliani Quartet is joined by pianist Jean-Frédéric Neuburger in the crowd-pleasing Piano Quintet, a work of almost symphonic texture and intensity.

Since 1987, the year he founded Le Concert Spirituel, Hervé Niquet has been a major figure in musical life, but he is also an actor in a class of his own. Major because it is thanks to his love of French music, the grands motets, large forms, and works both known and less known, that we have discovered or rediscovered treasures by Campra, Boismortier, Charpentier, Lully, Handel, Striggio, Offenbach, Grétry… Major because he is respected and loved by a great number of singers and stage directors with whom he has collaborated… And in a class of his own because he has an uncommon (or even unique, in the current musical landscape!) capacity for sharing his music directly with the audience.

A provocative yet logical juxtaposition of two musical worlds apparently remote from one another: one of the key works of the 20th-century avant-garde, combined with the greatest popular successes of Romantic Vienna…

Don Luis: a Spaniard at the court of Louis XIII… Luis de Briceño’s arrival in France was marked by a wave of enthusiasm. The Spaniard was at the heart of a polemic that questioned the supremacy of the lute, an instrument cherished by French music lovers of the beginning of the 17th century. Our rekindled interest lies not in this controversy but in the beauty of Briceño’s compositions and the freedom they offer the musicians who play them.

The great, but still neglected composer, Max Reger was an unconditional admirer of J. S. Bach. His works for unaccompanied violin are inspired by the sonatas and partitas of his illustrious model. Here they strike up a dialogue as if between two mirror images, right down their respective chaconnes. A fascinating comparison! Sayaka performs on the 1729 Elman Stradivarius…