Initially conceived as a moral and artistic response to human suffering, violinist Edna Michell's Compassion also became a touching tribute to her mentor and source of inspiration, Yehudi Menuhin, on his death in 1999. The 15 compositions commissioned by Michell for the project revolve around the themes of suffering and charity in fairly abstract or suggestive ways, with few programmatic, religious, or political points made beyond the allusive titles. As a practical matter for curious listeners, this CD is a comprehensive sampler of contemporary musical trends, and the leading lights of two generations of composers are generously represented in the CD's 80 minutes. Established figures such as Karel Husa, Lukas Foss, György Kurtág, Hans Werner Henze, Wolfgang Rihm, Philip Glass, John Tavener, Steve Reich, and Iannis Xenakis share the program with rising composers Shulamit Ran, Chen Yi, Yinam Leef, Betty Olivero, Poul Ruders, and Somei Satoh.

By no means a bad album, Walker's major-label debut just wasn't quite as terrific as what directly preceded it. The studio atmosphere seems a bit slicker than before, and the songs are in several cases considerably longer than they need to be (generally in the five- to seven-minute range). A reworking of Howlin' Wolf's "Shake for Me" is the only familiar entry.

"In 1976-77 I had written my trilogy, Hubert Greenery Peck, Moments, and Egg Soup, the latter of which comprised ‘A Hypothetical Simulation’ followed by ‘Those and The Eggs.’ Egg Soup originally had lyrics and singing. These songs gradually became finished with the genius of fellow band member James Strain adding his undeniable, unbelievable musical dexterity to the mix. Moving forward close to 46 years later is the brand new ‘The Strainge Case of Steve’ project, an album which is the consummation of all that’s been learned, well trodden, and procured through the years. And James with his mellifluous original songs adding spice and variety, the genius cornerstone of the new Reporters sound! Enjoy!” - Steve Kretzmer

A tribute to Italian Baroque, Antonio Caldara and his Gloria a 8 voci, transcribed, performed and recorded for the first time ever, a masterpiece of pompous Venetian sacredness to which the wonderful Lauda by Ottorino Respighi was wanted to be juxtaposed. Two centuries later, the Bolognese composer gives a perfect example of rewriting together medieval, Renaissance and Baroque music. A way to reaffirm the strong bond between Baroque and the 20th century, always a source of great inspiration.

The 12 Ensemble present 'Death and the Maiden', a powerful and personal journey through an evolving musical landscape that highlights the unique voice and vision of London's pioneering un-conducted string orchestra. With their own arrangement of Schubert's iconic string quartet at its heart, the record features a brand new commission from newly-appointed ROH composer in residence Oliver Leith, alongside a poignant work by Tavener and a tribute to the ensemble's time in Iceland with a heart-felt arrangement of a song by Sigur Rós.

Ditrich Stöeffken (c.1600-1673), war ein deutscher Gambist und Komponist. Über seine frühen Lebensjahre existieren keine Quellen. Durch die Auswirkungen des Dreißigjährigen Krieges, der zur Verkleinerung oder Schließung vieler Hofkapellen führte, war er gezwungen, an verschiedenen europäischen Höfen Anstellungen zu suchen. 1622 spielte er unter der Leitung William Brades in einem Gambenconsort am dänischen Königshof Christians IV. Wahrscheinlich zog er mit Brade zusammen an den herzoglichen Hof Friedrichs III. Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorf.

Listen as Niklas Willén teases the skittish polka (No. 6) from Alfvén's 'The Prodigal Son' ballet suite, or steers his players through the vehement fugue that rounds out his Symphony No. 2, and you'll appreciate why this release commands unreserved praise. Ireland's NSO gives superlative performances, worthy alternatives to Neeme Jarvi's coolly efficient Royal Stockholm Philharmonic accounts on BIS. These works come to life in Willén's hands. For example, he infuses the third section (a festive march) of the ballet music with the requisite proud swagger, while the national dances that follow are engagingly characterised.

The Real Folk Blues series on Chess wasn't really folk, but titled that way, perhaps to gain the attention of young white listeners who had started to get turned on to the blues during the 1960s folk revival. And the Howlin' Wolf volumes in the series were not particularly more folk-oriented than his other Chess recordings, but more or less arbitrary selections of tracks that he'd done from the mid-'50s to the mid-'60s. It's thus also arbitrary to do a two-fer reissue of his The Real Folk Blues and More Real Folk Blues, combined here onto a single disc. That doesn't mean, though, that this isn't very good and sometimes great electric blues music. The Real Folk Blues, with tracks from 1956 to 1965, is by far the more modern of the pair in arrangements, and has a good share of classics: "Killing Floor," "Sittin' on Top of the World," "Built for Comfort," "Tail Dragger," and "Three Hundred Pounds of Joy".

Truth be told, Target Earth was a make or break studio album for prog metal veterans Voivod. The band's last studio offering, 2009's INFINI, was assembled from the hard drive guitar parts of deceased guitarist (and chief songwriter) Denis "Piggy" D'Amour's. The live Warriors of Ice was the first to showcase new guitarist Daniel "Chewy" Mongrain; he did a fantastic job learning and playing Piggy's very difficult, angular parts. Writing and recording a new album that would live up to Voivod's reputation for innovation would seem to be a daunting task; but if it was, you'd never know it from hearing Target Earth. This is extreme, gnarly, experimental Voivod at their level best; the music is difficult, dramatic, and intense. The "blower bass" of Jean-Yves "Blacky" Theriault introduces the title track that opens the set…

Following two releases for Poppy Records in the early '70s, as well as a third recording that never saw the light of day, Chris Smither finally returned in 1984 with It Ain't Easy. Armed simply with guitar and voice, Smither delivers a dozen tunes (14 on the CD reissue) that embody the best tradition of blues and folk. Whether it's his originals, a standard like "Glory of Love," or material by the likes of Randy Newman, Chuck Berry, Mississippi John Hurt, and Howlin' Wolf, Smither infuses every track with the same timeless quality. Though he may, on occasion, choose rather standard folk, blues, and rock & roll fare ("Green Rocky Road," "Sittin' on Top of the World," "Maybelline") Smither never treats the songs as if they were museum pieces. In his hands, they're given a life and vitality they probably haven't seen in years. His masterful guitar work and dark, resonant baritone are ideally suited to the songs on It Ain't Easy. Like Mississippi John Hurt or Reverend Gary Davis, his playing is that perfect combination of simplicity and sophistication, discovering and filling harmonic voids without ever overstating or wasting a single note. There's not a false moment on the entire record. Highly recommended. (AMG)

This 2004 survey of modern settings of the medieval sequence Stabat Mater Dolorosa is part of conductor Marcello Viotti's project to record the little-known but worthy sacred works of the twentieth century, in conjunction with the Munich Radio Orchestra and the Bavarian Radio Chorus for their concert series Paradisi gloria. The four works by Francis Poulenc, Karol Szymanowski, Krzysztof Penderecki, and Wolfgang Rihm are dramatically different in conception and musical content, and may be regarded more as reflections of personal faith than as practical works for ecclesiastical purposes.

Tinderbox is the most musically up-tempo of all Siouxsie and the Banshees' albums and the most stylistically consistent one since The Scream and Join Hands. Most of the selections here feature urgently rocking drumming, drivingly aggressive yet fully textured guitar playing, and masterful, gutsy singing. The songs here are intense and unfold slowly, some starting off less vigorously but becoming hard rockers further along. There is of course a fine line between consistency and lack of contrast, but this album stays firmly on the side of the former; in fact, there's a certain satisfying feel to the musically uniform wall of sound here. The arrangements are less complex than in immediately preceding albums, but there are still plenty of subtle, effective production touches to be found throughout, most notably in the song "Cannons." "Cities in the Dust," a dance-pop number with a bell-like synthesizer opening section, stretches the above-mentioned boundaries the most, though typically bleak lyrics keep this selection from any sense of vacuity. This excellent release is well worth purchasing.

On Jonathan Butler's N2K Encoded Music debut, Do You Love Me, he continues his jack-of-two-trades approach, balancing R&B-based vocal tunes with easy, acoustic guitar-based instrumentals. While it's a friendly enough listen, Butler here doesn't display a powerful enough mastery of either format. His guttural, heartfelt vocal style – reminiscent of Jon Secada – can make even the most Lionel Richie-esque lyric seem deeper than it is (even a new song with a title like "The Way You Look Tonight"), but few of the adult-oriented vocal tunes here are as memorable or hooky as his best-known hit, "Sarah Sarah." "Do You Love Me?," for instance, should be a deep, emotional moment, but comes off as a pleasant, easily dismissed conversation. Fortunately, "You Don't Belong to Me" has more lyrical bite, nicely underscored with a percussive guitar line underneath his angry tone. Butler should put more of that pointed energy into his play-it-safe instrumentals, which generally gallop along smoothly without building much steam. The best one can do with this sort of album is like Butler a lot.

In the spring of 2021, Ring van Möbius was approached by performer and choreographer Harald Beharie to write the music for his next solo performance. This honorable task started a collaborative process involving various artists with different artistic expressions, culminating in January 2022 with the premiere of “Batty Bwoy” in Dansens Hus in Oslo, Norway. The project was soon nominated for the Norwegian Critics Association Prize 2022.
“This album, however, is not the actual soundtrack for the finalized commissioned work itself, rather a reflection of the early visions; spontaneous reactions and a starting point for further collaboration” according to the band, “Being an independent body of work based on our early initial musical ideas, this can be referred to as loosely inspired by, but not limited to, the original concept by Harald Beharie”…

In 1998, Blue Note released several CDs of previously unavailable (at least domestically) material from its prime years under the title of Standards. Some are not up to the level of the label's best output, but this outing is a definite exception. Guitarist Grant Green is heard in prime form in a sparse trio with bassist Wilbur Ware and drummer Al Harewood. Six of the eight performances were previously available in Japan as an LP but never before in the U.S. Because Green rarely ever played chords, sticking to single-note lines, hearing him in this setting is similar to hearing a tenor in a pianoless trio. Highlights include "Love Walked In," "I'll Remember April," "All the Things You Are," and two versions of "If I Had You."