The "French Suites" were devised as a technically less challenging preliminary level in learning the organ, situated between the studies of "Inventions and Sinfonias" and the "English Suites", the so called 'large' suites, and "Partitas". Bach's composing a remarkable number of pieces with a didictic purpose for the piano can be considered as an attempt to further his reputation as a teacher. Caspar Frantz combines his recording of the French Suites with two less known suites which demonstrate, that discoveries are still possible even in such a well-known ouevre like Bach's.

Studio 150 is the seventh album by British artist Paul Weller. It comprises covers of songs by a variety of artists, and showcases Weller's myriad musical influences. It was named after the small Amsterdam studio in which it was recorded. It entered the charts at #2.

The smooth-jazz acoustic-guitar star gets his R&B groove on throughout many tracks on this beautifully recorded disc, and not just on the obvious tunes like the sneaky Isley Brothers cover, "Who's That Lady" (with Kirk Whalum cooking on sax), and the old Temptations number, "Just My Imagination," but also on the very funky "Turn It Out," with sax man Euge Groove, and the Latin-tinged "Bueno Funk," with Steve Cole on the horn.

In the present recordings of Beethoven's Symphonies Nos. 1 in C and 3 in E-flat ("Eroica") with the Royal Flemish Philharmonic, Philippe Herreweghe shows himself completely in command of all the resources of a large symphony orchestra. And he shows us something else. He knows his Beethoven. Hopefully much more is to come from this fruitful synergy of musical forces. Very highly recommended! The performances are superb.

The album range from pop standards like Kurt Weill’s "Mack the Kinife" and Nat Cole’s "Straighten Up and Fly Right" to soul classics like Rev. Al Green’s "Love and Happiness" and Marvin Gaye’s "Sexual Healing". Speaking of "sex", Alexander lays down the funk on an extended "soul/yard meeting" of James Brown’s "Sex Machine". Speaking of special guests, in addition to the younger Cole, another famous son, John Pizzarelli, takes his turn at the mike for a Jamaican-tinged zephyr through Johnny Mercer’s "Summer Wind", and Kevin Mahogany does the honors for the Ray Charles classic "Hallelujah I Love Her So". That is not to say that this is strictly a standards and soul album, however. In tribute to his early cowboy heroes, Alexander opens the set with Cole Porter’s jaunty "Don’t Fence Me In", and in honor to the country he is now proud to call home, he closes with a triumphant build into "Battle Hymn of the Republic".

It's been 17 years since Ladysmith Black Mambazo's gorgeous vocal harmonies poured the foundation for Paul Simon's landmark 1986 album Graceland, an album that catapulted the South African a cappella gospel group into the international consciousness and led to worldwide stardom, a Grammy, film soundtracks, and candy commercials. Fans of the group's intricately arranged vocal landscapes will be pleased to know that all that ensuing attention hasn't diluted the group's appeal. Raise Your Spirit Higher, is as strong as anything the group has recorded in its now 30-year career. Ladysmith has always defined itself by merging Christian gospel music with a native South African musical tradition called isicathamiya, which was developed by mine workers who sang to entertain themselves after their grueling work.

This release in Pentatone’s Remastered Classics series reveals a remastered recording by the Quartetto Italiano, originally recorded by Philips in January 1976. On this album, the Quartetto Italiano performs Franz Schubert’s String Quartet No. 10 D87, which comes from his middle period as well as his String Quartet No. 13 D804, also referred to as "Rosamunde" from the late period, a great masterpiece and one of the most outstanding quartets of the entire string quartet repertoire.

This is the fourth Ray Conniff SACD released by Dutton Vocalion. The hybrid SACD featuring both the stereo and quadraphonic mixes. Remastered from the original analogue tapes by Michael J. Dutton.

Adelmo Fornaciari, more commonly known by his stage name Zucchero Fornaciari or simply Zucchero, is an Italian rock singer and Order of Merit of the Italian Republic. His music is largely inspired by gospel, soul and rock music, and alternates between ballads and more rhythmic boogie-like pieces. Zucchero's voice is gritty and textured, but he sings with a great sensitivity and lyricism, and these same qualities are mirrored in his songwriting. By blending blues, pop, and adult contemporary, Zucchero's music can be quite affecting. He is credited as the "father of Italian blues", introducing blues to the big stage in Italy. Zucchero is one of the few European blues artists who still enjoy great international success.

Kevin Mahogany's decision to cover Motown hits in a jazz setting stems from his desire to not only increase the audience for jazz, but to add new material to the music's repertoire, in addition to the established standards. The results are ear-opening, particularly for those who never seriously listened to the likes of Marvin Gaye or Smokey Robinson.

This disc is a compilation of two legendary organ recordings that were issued on LP in 1974. It reminds us once again that a first-class organ, a brilliant organist and state-of-the-art sound recording produce a musical result that remains as satisfying today as it seemed at the time. The disc also shows how convincingly a "modern" organ can perform both sonorous classical music as well as mysterious impressionism of later French music. One only needs to put the disc in the player to be transported to the Matteus Church in Stockholm or the Vanga Church with its cathedral-like atmosphere.

Moloko were an Anglo-Irish electronica/trip-hop duo from Sheffield, England consisting of Róisín Murphy from Arklow, Ireland and Mark Brydon, from Sunderland, England. Statues is their fourth and final studio album, released on 3 March 2003 by Echo Records.

Returning to the music of Hildegard of Bingen, the 12th-century German abbess and mystic, Anonymous 4 explores the theme of the Pentecostal power of the "Fiery Spirit". Hildegard's intensely emotional chants and visions (including the monumental hymn O ignee spiritus and some of her finest antiphons) are presented here framed by hymns and sequences that she and her convent sisters would have heard and sung every day.

Sita Maria Vermeulen, known by the mononym Sita, is a Dutch pop singer. She rose to fame in the early 2000s as part of pop group K-otic. After the band disbanded, she had a brief solo career before turning to television, where she was featured primarily on children's television and was a candidate on the Dutch Dancing With The Stars. Since 2009, she has been hosting the Dutch Disney Channel.

Artist Sina Vodjani (known through his recordings for the Buddha Bar, among other productions) travelled for many weeks through his native country of Iran, following in the tracks of the Persian prophet Zarathustra - often under the most adverse of conditions. He met up with priests and local musicians in Iran and captured the audio and visual impressions using microphones, video equipment and camera.