Since the late '80s, Irish singer/composer Enya has become the most unlikely of international stars, delivering lush, Celtic-driven pseudo-classical odes in her signature Wall of Sound vocal style, rarely granting interviews, never touring, and generally taking as much time as she wishes between albums. Bucking odds and industry trends, her popularity has remained steadfast, allowing her to become the best-selling Irish solo artist of all time. Following 2008's snowbound And Winter Came, her silence stretched to eight years – the longest of her career – before the mists once again parted to reveal her eighth album, the evocatively titled Dark Sky Island.

The only album of this amazing Swedish band was released in 1973 on Harvest label and consisted truly powerful collection of largely instrumental and improvised heavy progressive music, characterized by catchy and adventurous melodies, massive, powerful and fluid guitar playing, very solid and inventive drumming, fine keyboards phrases and nice sax and flute passages. lt’s worth noting that of the five tracks, only two lasted less than 7 minutes. In sharp contrast to rather ugly and slightly disgusting cover the Panta Rei’s music was very matured and truly excellent. lt’s an album which can't be missed! This CD was carefully remastered from the original, analogue source and now sounds great!

Canadian singer/composer/harpist Loreena McKennitt's lush Celtic-infused balladry and worldbeat sensibilities lend themselves well to holiday music, a genre she toyed with in 1995 on her Winter Garden: Five Songs for the Season EP. Released in 2008, A Midwinter Night's Dream takes those five songs (newly remastered) "Coventry Carol," "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen," "Good King Wenceslas," "Snow," and "Seeds of Love," and adds eight new songs (all of which were recorded at Peter Gabriel's Real World recording studio) including "The Holly and the Ivy," "In the Bleak Midwinter," "Breton Carol," and "Emmanuel." The songs are immaculately produced as always, and McKennitt's predilection for Eastern mysticism and unique instrumentation keeps them from falling into the usual seasonal clichés.

Six long years have passed since Pierre-Yves Macé's last album on John Zorn's prestigious Composer Series.

Dominic Miller has been called “a great, serene storyteller” by Peter Ruedi in the Swiss weekly Weltwoche, and Vagabond, the guitarist’s third recording for ECM, might prove his most poetic tale to date, as he creates striking melancholy textures fronting a quartet with Ziv Ravitz on drums, long-time associate Nicolas Fiszman on bass and pianist Jacob Karlzon.

Maurice Ravel completed his String Quartet in F major in early April 1903 at the age of 28. It was premiered in Paris in March the following year. The work follows a four-movement classical structure: the opening movement, in sonata form, presents two themes that occur again later in the work; a playful scherzo second movement is followed by a lyrical slow movement. The finale reintroduces themes from the earlier movements and ends the work vigorously.

Claude Debussy completed his String Quartet in G minor, Op. 10 (L.91), in 1893 when he was 31 years old. It is Debussy's only string quartet.

Elysion present their long-awaited new studio album "Bring Our Your Dead" and herald a new era for the band! The album is strongly influenced by current affairs and shows the diverse musical facets of the band and the courage to experiment with a heavier sound and alternative dynamics.

Dexter Gordon's second recording for Blue Note is a solidly swinging affair, yet constantly full of surprises. It's not unexpected that Gordon's tenor at this time (1961) was one of the most enjoyable in mainstream jazz, but his transition from the cool California scene to the hotter music environs of New York City had energized his sound and attitude. A first-time pairing with bassist Paul Chambers has something to do with this, but it also inspires pianist Kenny Drew to a great extent, while drummer Philly Joe Jones is his reliable, energetic self, and always works well with Gordon. Where Gordon's fluent melodic sense is perfectly demonstrated during the simple-as-pie groove waltz "Soul Sister," the steady, steamy bopper "I Want More," and the familiar Charlie Chaplin evergreen "Smile," his sense of expanding the specific line upon soloing is truly remarkable…

François-René Duchâble is a French pianist. He studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, and at the age of 13 won the institution's first prize in piano. Three years later, he placed 11th at the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition in Brussels, and in 1973 he won the Prix de la Fondation Sacha Schneider. At that time, Duchâble caught the attention of Arthur Rubinstein, who encouraged him to pursue a solo career and helped him secure his first important engagements. Since then, Duchâble has had a successful concert career in Europe, the United States, Canada, and Japan.

The "grand zoological fantasy" called Le Carnaval des Animaux by Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) is only the best known of several devilishly witty pieces this composer indulged himself with from time to time. Most of them can be found on this irresistible album, including the perky and absolutely unique Trumpet Septet. Ross Pople and his London Festival Orchestra are the ideal performers for music of this freshness and vigor.

Hugo Alfvén (1872-1960) tends to be thought of as a ‘one-work wonder’, known only for his Swedish Rhapsody No.1, ‘Midsummer Vigil’. This disc, the fourth in Naxos’s series of Alfvén recordings, ought to change that. The Festival Overture is an exuberant curtain-raiser but the Fourth Symphony, composed in 1919, is a truly wonderful work. Its programme, hinted at in the subtitle ‘From the Outermost Skerries’, was described by the composer as ‘the tale of two young souls. The action takes place in the skerries, where sea rages among the rocks on gloomy, stormy nights, by moonlight and sunshine…the moods of nature are no less symbols for the human heart.’

Burnt Weeny Sandwich is the first of two albums by the Mothers of Invention that Frank Zappa released in 1970, after he had disbanded the original lineup. While Weasels Ripped My Flesh focuses on complex material and improvised stage madness, this collection of studio and live recordings summarizes the leader's various interests and influences at the time. It opens and closes on '50s pop covers, "WPLJ" and "Valarie." "Aybe Sea" is a Zappafied sea shanty, while "Igor's Boogie" is named after composer Igor Stravinsky, the closest thing to a hero Zappa ever worshipped. But the best material is represented by "Holiday in Berlin," a theme that would become central to the music of 200 Motels, and "The Little House I Used to Live In," including a virtuoso piano solo by Ian Underwood…