Sébastien de Brossard, an enthusiastic collector of music, pedagogue and author of the first dictionary of music, was also a very talented composer. This champion of Italian music and great connoisseur of the music of Carissimi probably took the Roman master as the model for his two oratorios. Leandro, a dramatic work in Italian, is a miniature masterpiece and one of the earliest cantatas by a French composer.

There's nothing meek or morbid about Telemann's 'Jesu' in this passion oratorio. This is a confident muscular Jesu, closer to the Saxon Heliand than to the Man of Sorrows depicted on the CD cover; the first aria proclaims Him a hero: "Du Held… du kannst und willst mein Schutzgott sein." (You Hero… you can and will be my Protector-God.) Before that, the Siegfriedesque cantabile for horn that opens the composition sounds not so much like a lament as a call to don one's spiritual armor, and throughout the whole text Jesu is portrayed as indomitable amid the torment and agony of his followers. Specifically, He is the Lion of Judah, the model of Christian fortitude against all enemies.

Born within a couple of years of each other, Gottfried Silbermann and Johann Sebastian Bach were acquainted, and we know that Silbermann in 1736 invited the composer to inaugurate the new organ that he had built in Dresden’s Frauenkirche. That instrument was destroyed during the bombing of Dresden in 1945, but some thirty of Silbermann’s organs are still extant. From robust pedal stops providing a sturdy bass fundament to silvery flute stops, his instruments were famous for their distinctive&&& sound and contemporary sources often made use of a play on the name of their maker as they praised their ‘Silberklang’.

To commemorate the 25th anniversary of Mark’s debut solo release Golden Heart in 1996, a new box set, Mark Knopfler - The Studio Albums 1996-2007, will be released on 1st October Worldwide, and 10th December in the US.
Gathering his first five post-Dire Straits solo albums (not counting film scores), and a bonus disc of B-sides titled The Gravy Train, this collection is as sleepy and nonchalant as an old friend’s affable shrug. Knopfler does what he does, blending folk, blues, country and rock into a tension-free take on Americana that’s faintly personal but more about delivering a carpet atmosphere of reflective rumination.
The audio of each album has been newly remastered by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios in London.

The Chick Corea Elektric Band (1986). Nine years after the breakup of the final version of Return to Forever, Chick Corea ended a long period of freelance projects by forming his Elektrik Band. This set, the group's initial release, finds Corea meeting up for the first time with the great bassist John Patitucci and drummer Dave Weckl; half of the selections also have either Carlos Rios or Scott Henderson on guitar. Due to the high musicianship, the personalities of the players, and Corea's colorful compositions, the Elektrik Band quickly became one of the top fusion groups of the late '80s…

Tom Waits has said: "I like a beautiful song that tells you terrible things. We all like bad news out of a pretty mouth." When it comes to the material on Blood Money, I don't know if I can call Waits' mouth pretty, but he certainly offers plenty of bad news in a very attractive, compelling way. Released simultaneously with Alice, a recording of songs written in 1990, Blood Money is a set of 13 songs written by Waits and Kathleen Brennan in collaboration with dramatist Robert Wilson. The project was a loose adaptation of the play Woyzeck, originally written by German poet Georg Buchner in 1837. The play was inspired by the true story of a German soldier who was driven mad by bizarre army medical experiments and infidelity, which led him to murder his lover - cheery stuff, to be sure. Thematically, this work - with its references to German cabarets and nostalgia - echoes Waits' other Wilson collaborative project, Black Rider…

This Box Set features 5 discs celebrating 5 legendary progressive rock labels! Part of the successful EMI Global Prog Rocks! Campaign, highlighting the work of some of the World's greatest artists associated with the genre. Featuring classic Prog riches from Harvest, Charisma, Virgin, Liberty / UA and newer, more cutting edge progressive rock from the enterprising Inside Out label. This compilation serves as the ideal introduction to the wide variety of bands and musical styles on these labels and offers a broad insight into the delights of progressive music! Syd Barrett, Electric Light Orchestra, Barclay James Harvest, Van Der Graaf Generator, The Nice, Peter Hammill, Gong, Hatfield And The North, Tangerine Dream, Steve Hillage, Daevid Allen, Hawkwind, Pain Of Salvation, Riverside and many more.

Stratosfear, the last Tangerine Dream album by the great Baumann/Franke/Froese threesome, shows the group's desire to advance past their stellar recent material and stake out a new musical direction while others were still attempting to come to grips with Phaedra and Rubycon. The album accomplishes its mission with the addition of guitar (six- and 12-string), grand piano, harpsichord, and mouth organ to the usual battery of moogs, Mellotrons, and e-pianos. The organic instruments take more of a textural role, embellishing the effects instead of working their own melodic conventions. Stratosfear is also the beginning of a more evocative approach for Tangerine Dream. Check the faraway harmonica sounds and assortment of synth-bubbles on "3 AM at the Border of the Marsh From Okefenokee" or the somber chords and choral presence of "The Big Sleep in Search of Hades"…

Introducing an ambitious debut release, Warner Classics brings you a teriffic album with Baritone Huw Montague Wendell who flexes his extensive variety of talent and style! 'Contempation' stretches across three centuries, a journey into the transformation of musical dramas of opera, operetta, lied and Broadway musicals. Joining the stage is Canadian soprano Elisabeth Boudreault in which she and Huw perform a duet from Mozart's Die Zauberflöte.

The Lautten Compagney is one of the most renowned and creative baroque instrument ensembles in Germany. Their concerts, under the artistic direction of Wolfgang Katschner, have fascinated audiences for three decades. With their infectious joy in performing and their innovative concepts, these ‘early musicians’ effortlessly translate the musical language of the Baroque to the present. Whether it’s as a solo chamber ensemble or an opera orchestra, the ensemble is continually crossing boundaries and seeking out encounters with new sounds and other art forms.

Così, an opera without words is a delightful arrangement of Mozart’s famous opera, Così fan tutte for wind quintet. Originally conceived and performed by Montréal’s Pentaèdre for the 2006 Festival de Lanaudière, this version preserves the opera’s melodic lines, touching sincerity and great beauty while challenging the listener with a new way of perceiving Mozart’s music. Pentaèdre’s international reach continues to grow, with 40 concerts in Europe, The United Kingdom and Russia during the current season alone.