If we go with Aristotle's definition of genius – as the ability to perceive and create metaphors – then composer Harrison Birtwistle is most certainly a titan of the mind, and Earth Dances may be his Olympus. Throughout his long career, Birtwistle has created almost as many metaphors as musical works; his titles, his schemes, the imaginary networks of means and ends which his art erects – these metaphor-webs yield an oeuvre in their own right. And in Earth Dances, Birtwistle's nearly forty-minute work for huge orchestra from 1986, these metaphors collect and converge, lie upon one another as a lifetime's accumulated strata. All Birtwistle's best allegories and tropes are here: the line, the labyrinth, the town and landscape, the globe's surface and the Deist machine, the music of a new mythology. It should therefore be no surprise that Earth Dances is one of Birtwistle's most demanding scores ……..
From Allmusic

The second son of Martín García de Anchieta and Urtayzaga de Loyola, who was a great-aunt of the future saint, Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus, members of a leading family in the Basque country, Juan de Anchieta was born in 1462 near Azpeitia in Guipúzcoa in the Iraurgui valley. Although there is no information about his formative years, it is possible that he served as a chorister in the chapel of Henry IV of Castile and perhaps studied at Salamanca University, where Diego de Fermoselle, an elder brother of Juan del Encina, taught. In 1489 he was appointed as a singer in the Court Chapel of Queen Isabella the Catholic, with a salary of 20,000 maravedís, increased in 1493 to 30,000 maravedís. In 1495 he was appointed maestro di capilla to the Prince Don Juan. After the death of the Prince in 1497 he returned to the service of the Queen, to be ……
From Naxos

The English passion for the oratorio is largely due to Handel, who was forced to find a new style of music with which to rekindle the interest of the public. For twenty years he had been presenting operas in London, but the last seasons had been increasingly unsuccessful as audiences took against attending staged works in Italian. The prior success of 'Esther' had launched 'oratorio' in London, and set Handel on a compositional path which was to prove his principal sphere of work for the rest of his life...

"Tubular Bells III" is the 18th album by Mike Oldfield, released in 1998. A sequel to Oldfield's 1973 "Tubular Bells" and his 1992 "Tubular Bells II" albums, it was released on the 25th anniversary of the first "Tubular Bells" album.
At the time of creating "Tubular Bells III" Oldfield had been living in Ibiza, and thus certain elements of the album reflect the moods of the island.

This riveting music documentary traces the history of piano legend Oscar Peterson, from his early days as Montreal's teenage boogie-woogie sensation through his meteoric rise to international celebrity. One highlight in the treasure trove of musical gems is the legendary Oscar Peterson Trio (bassist Ray Brown and guitarist Herb Ellis) who, after a twenty-year hiatus, reunited in order to 'prove that it still had the magic.' Over 45 minutes of classic and contemporary performances complemented by rare film footage and in-depth interviews with a cast of jazz legends, creates a chronicle spanning four decades of Oscar Peterson's unforgettable music.

This DVD captures the singer/songwriter in the element where fans love him the most: live on stage. The special concert includes 3 sets: an acoustic performance, a rare set with John Mayer Trio (Mayer, Steve Jordan, and Pino Palladino), as well as a set featuring Mayer's full band, all recorded during the night of December 8, 2007 at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles. The 22-song DVD features a one of a kind song list made up of the 3 distinct performances.