Celebrated tenor Mark Padmore joins the Britten Sinfonia in some of the most beautiful English music for voice and orchestra. The centrepiece is Britten's magical evocation of twilight and nightfall, the 'Serenade' (with Stephen Bell, horn). In Gerald Finzi's war-time cycle 'Dies natalis', the ecstatic mood reflects a child's wide-eyed wonder at the world. Britten's poignant 'Nocturne' completes the programme.

Midwinter Graces is the 11th solo studio album by singer-songwriter Tori Amos

Compiled By Pete Pan and Wabi with a gentle mix by Aes Dana. Just relax and let Celestial Dragon take you on a journey through the various styles of modern chillout mastery.

Along with Ougenweide, Parzival were one of the few German bands to follow in the steps of British groups like Gryphon and use medieval folklore as the basis for their refined progressive music. The music they created between them was an unusual combination of German folk, classical and medieval music with a rich instrumentation and rock-aesthetics. The nucleus of the group was the trio Lothar Siems, Walter Quintus and Thomas Oliver. Siems and Oliver had played together since 1965 in the Bremen group The Chamberlains, before joining the Quintus Ouartet. Their repertoire comprised increasingly folky styles. In 1971 they took the name Parzival and obtained a recording contract with Telefunken.

For 27 years, the members of Neurosis have demonstrated what metal can be and what it can aspire to: transcendent, cathartic, graceful, innovative. Like the best films, Neurosis' albums are thoughtful and sometimes sublime escapes, navigating pain and salvation through Steve Von Till and Scott Kelly's words, as well as a dense atmosphere of distortion and noise. In the past decade, more deliberately paced and folkloric passages have made their way into Neurosis' sound, too.Honor Found in Decay is the 10th album from the band, which was once based in the Bay Area and is now scattered across the U.S. The new record finds inventive ways to sound heavy: Elements will be familiar to fans of the band's last album (2007's Given to the Rising), but here the scope is blown wide open. The effect is akin to grasping the enormousness of the endless prairie in Terrence Malick's Days of Heaven, and "At the Well" captures it perfectly

The Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra performs this popular coupling of two major works for their latest Chandos recording. The two works complement one another as they both incorporate interplay and dialogue between two or more solo instruments.

Paul O'Brien - Walk Back Home
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 290 MB | Full Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Stockfisch Rec. # SFR 357.4064.2 | Country/Year: Germany 2009
Genre: Folk, Acoustic | Style: Singer/Songwriter

Gunther Pauler’s early Stockfisch SACDs were incredibly well-recorded stereo-only discs, and after some experimentation with a few surround releases, it appears with their latest batch of releases that Stockfisch has returned to that winning stereo-only approach. (…) Gunther Pauler is a remarkably good recording engineer, and he’s given us another gem with this new disc. (…) I’d waste no time getting this excellent album, it’s very highly recommended! Five stars!

Though Hot August Night is better known as the definitive Neil Diamond live album, Gold will have value for those who prefer the songsmith's pop-rock beginnings to the slick sophistication that made him a superstar.

Compilation album released in Spain, remastered reissue from the original launched in 1958 dedicated to French-born flamenco guitarist -although Catalan gypsy- Ricard Baliardo (Sète, 1921), aka "Manitas de Plata '. He started to become famous playing annually in the region of the Camargue (France), where he soon was recognized among his people as a man of 'silver hands'. Only agreed to play in public 10 years after the death of the famous guitarist, also gypsy, Django Reinhardt. His popularity soared after his performances at Carnegie Hall in New York, which later catapulted him to travel the world with his guitar and his people. Manitas de Plata, a man who is illiterate, did not need to learn anything but to move his hands on the guitar. 'Manitas' probably has sold over 100 million albums worldwide. He plays his music as he breathes, as living, naturally and simplicity, but with virtuosity. The universal language of music, threshed with his fingers, has allowed him to cross all borders and let admired -as happened to Picasso to hear- over the world.

Album released in Spain performed by Cuban musician and singer Reinaldo Creagh Verane (Santiago de Cuba, 1918). Reinaldo, an inveterate and quiet cigar smoker worked during his lifein many jobs (carpenter, baker, railroad employee) and was integrated into the musical group 'Estudiantina Invasora' before its ultimate success, once retired, joined the 'Vieja Trova Santiaguera' (1993-2002), a team of five retired musicians who wanted to continue playing Cuban music. Being in the group Reinaldo recorded this solo album dedicated to boleros. He has himself selected the songs performed with her mature voice and recovering arrangements felt that once made musicians like Dizzie Gillespie, Ketama, Juan Enrique Morente or Dog among others.

This disc features John Ogdon and the LPO under the anglophile American composer and conductor, Bernard Herrmann. The CD begins with the First Piano Concerto, which The Times music critic described as a work of "unique importance" after its first performance by the composer with the Queen’s Hall Orchestra and Beecham at the Festival of British Music in May 1915. This is indeed a seminal work and fully deserves to be in the repertoire. Although it is scored for fairly small orchestra it is at times lush, exotic and crushingly chromatic. Not least, it is forward-looking ……

Em Marshall @ musicweb-international.com