Pursuing the ‘new practice’ introduced by Monteverdi, seventeenth- and eighteenth-century composers in the Italian tradition explored myriad human emotions. From Monteverdi to Handel and Vivaldi, Carlo Vistoli and Hugh Cutting vie with each other in virtuosity throughout a programme tailor-made for them by William Christie and Les Arts Florissants.

Hans Gál (1890–1987) wrote extensively for the viola, first as a major composer in the German-speaking world in the 1920s and ’30s, and then as a leading cultural figure in post-War Edinburgh, where he had taken refuge after the Nazis seized power in his native Austria. This second volume of his music for viola spans four decades, with four trios from before and after that dislocation, each with its own background, sound-world and personality, although they are unified by Gál’s gift for melody, counterpoint and poised, elegant chamber writing.

This recital by Jean-Francois Borras honours the fascinating history of the Opera de Monte-Carlo, the house that has performed more French repertoire than any other. Jean-Francois Borras, who received his initial training in the choir of the Monte-Carlo Cathedral and is an internationally-renowned ambassador of French vocal style, presents excerpts from works by Mascagni, Gunsbourg and Massenet that were composed for the Opera there. Raoul Gunsbourg was the director of the Opera de Monte Carlo (architect Charles Garnier) from 1893-1951 and the variety of his programming created the institution's exceptional renown. Borras sings arias from operas that he has performed on the stage of the Opera de Monte-Carlo, including Romeo et Juliette (Gounod), Manon, Herodiade, Werther (Massenet), Carmen (Bizet) and Les Contes d'Hoffmann (Offenbach), accompanied by the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo under Pierre Dumoussaud, a young French conductor and specialist in operatic repertoire who is rapidly building an international career.

FHR Remasters. Released as a 5CD box set and on all digital platforms: 27 June 2025. Booklet notes by Jonathan Summers.

Digitally re-mastered and expanded edition of this 1978 album from the underground New Wave Hippy outfit. Following their partnership with Daevid Allen and Gilli Smyth in Planet Gong, the group recorded this debut album for Charly Records, along with a three track EP which features as bonus tracks on this release. Embraced by DJ John Peel, the band found favor with both the emerging Punk audience as well as a more traditional Hippy and Underground following. Give And Take perfectly captures the mood of Britain in the late 1970's and is long overdue for reappraisal.

Disco Recharge is proud to bring you two cult albums on 1 CD from the heyday of US Disco. Tangerué was originally released in 1979 and produced by Bruce Weeden and Ed Stroman. Both were protégés of the disco legend Boris Midney. Recorded in Philadelphia for South Philly Records the album features all the hallmarks of 1979 disco - soaring strings, catchy melodies, cooing disco girls and a 4/4 beat which meant the album was an instant dance floor smash. Included on this Disco Recharge album is the 'Tangerué Medley' which was only previously available as a 12" single back in the day. The second album Strange Affair is a 1980 release which because of the 'death of disco' movement virtually disappeared off the radar. Produced again by Bruce Weeden but this time with Giuliano Salerni (of Ultimate fame) this is an absolute gem. Again recorded for South Philly Records it takes influences from Chic and Salsoul but adds it's own unique twist. As a bonus we have included the 12" version of 'Bad Connection'.

The Octet in F major, D. 803 was composed by Franz Schubert in March 1824. It was commissioned by the renowned clarinetist Ferdinand Troyer and came from the same period as two of Schubert's other major chamber works, the 'Rosamunde' and 'Death and the Maiden'.The Octet boasts the largest scale for any chamber work by Schubert. It is scored for a clarinet, bassoon, horn, two violins, viola, cello, and a double bass. This instrumentation is similar to that of the Beethoven Septet, differing only by the addition of a second violin.

‘The Time of Day’ provided Haydn with an inspiration to compose and his Symphony numbers 6, 7 & 8 collectively became known as The Day Trilogy. Celebrating their 30th anniversary, Sigiswald Kuijken and La Petite Bande are highly respected exponents of this repertoire and this recording is no exception to their consistently high standards. Carrying on with their ‘one instrument to a part’ policy, the recording is presented in a wonderfully light and airy way, allowing the music to shine through.

Depending on your count, The Sound of the Smiths is the third or fourth posthumous Smiths compilation – a number that may be a bit excessive considering the group's rather concise catalog, containing just four studio albums and singles rounded up on three singles compilations (and two of those covered the same essential territory, too). That's a lot of repetition but whether it's taken in either its single-disc or double-disc deluxe editions, The Sound of the Smiths is the best of these posthumous overviews. The single-disc – which is the first disc of the deluxe set – is the hits disc, containing every cut from the 18-track 1995 compilation Singles and expanding it with five cuts all dating from the mid-'80s: "Still Ill," "Nowhere Fast," "Barbarism Begins at Home," "The Headmaster Ritual," and "You Just Haven't Earned It Yet Baby."

Frédérick Haas possède une connaissance approfondie de la facture des instruments, et des secrets de leurs réglages. C’est cela qui lui permet ce dialogue si intime avec l’instrument. Car le clavecin de Haas est tout sauf métallique. Sous ses doigts d’une précision jamais répétitive, l’écriture ciselée et fort ornementée de D’Anglebert résonne avec l’amplitude de l’orchestre lullyste, tandis que le claveciniste nous submerge de couleur. Peut-on vraiment croire que l’intégralité du programme a été enregistré sur ce clavecin Henri Hemsch de 1751 tant l’artiste parvient à tirer de sonorités différentes de cet assemblage savant? A la manière d’un peintre, Haas sculpte chaque pièce comme un petit chef-d’œuvre.

On the CD Musicalischer Seelen-Frieden Dorothee Mields and the ensemble Hamburger Ratsmusik present several of the most beautiful solo cantatas of the baroque composer Johann Philipp Krieger. Krieger understood how to unite French and Italian elements of style in his music and thus as a composer he was an important role model for the generation in which Bach and Telemann were active. His altogether twenty sacred concertos from the collection "Musikalischer Seelen-Friede", the only edition of Krieger’s sacred music, which was printed in 1990 and 1996, are among the most important contributions to this important genre in his time.

2015 three CD collection of full-length, 12" and extended mixes by some of the '70s' finest booty-shaker makers. Includes grooves by Chic, The Trammps, George Benson, Sister Sledge, Chaka Khan, Kleeer, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Herbie Mann and many others.

Includes tracks by Patti Drew, Bobby Bryant, Groove Holmes, Candido, Bobby Womack, Les McCann, Norman Connos, Gerald Wilson and Lou Rawls.

Subtitled "A Voluptuous Journey Through '70s French Erotic Cinema", this compilation sounds precisely as you would imagine, and for some that'll be a very good thing, but those of you looking for something beyond the vintage euro-funk fromage-athon might be a tad disappointed. So many European B-movies and exploitation flicks from the 1970s have yielded unfeasibly brilliant soundtracks, and while there's nothing at all wrong with any of the material compiled here, there's seldom anything beyond the usual easy listening sample-baiting silliness to arouse your excitement. Having said that, when this compilation scores, it scores big: Piierre Bachelat's soundtrack for Histoires d'O is a psychedelic synth standout, while his visionary 'Motel Show' from Le Dernier Amant Romantique' is as good an Italo disco find as has surfaced in recent times. A special mention should be granted to one of the pieces lifted from the Emmanuelle 4 OST: the rather distressing 'Bach Anal', which has to be one of the most outstandingly insidious puns in the history of word play. In its own Moog-fuelled, breathy chanteuse-fronted way it does sound a bit like J. S. Bach though, which is to its credit I suppose.

We all need calm sometimes. Coping with the pace of life today the body is constantly required to produce high levels of adrenalin - for both good and bad reasons. The human body needs to re-balance itself in order to operate at its best levels - too much adrenalin with no re-balancing can actually do us harm. We call that harm stress. Stress can only be harnessed by bringing the natural balance back through relaxation.