The Devine Vespers, a service of evening prayer in the Roman-Catholic Church, has provided both occasion and inspiration for some of the most sumptuous music ever composed. But not many churches in the seventeenth century could afford the lavish instrumental and vocal resources needed to play the likes of Monteverdi’s grandiose Vespro della Beata Vergine. For many of the smaller and more provincial churches, an acceptable compromise at evening service was the playing of smaller-scale sacred chamber music. This led in the seventeenth century to a tremendous outpouring of sacred music for small groups of singers and instrumentalists, as performed by The Gonzaga Band on this disc.

"On Cocoon Crash, their follow-up to their breakthrough second album Paradise in Me, K's Choice is determined to showcase their musical diversity. As a result, the album is a bit scattershot, since it runs the gamut from jangling folk-rock to roaring post-grunge. It's all tied together by Sarah Bettens' vocals, but she's more of a chameleon than a strong identity, fitting her talents to the song instead of bending them toward her demands. Consequently, the album can sound like a post-Lilith Fair alt-rock sampler, but it's enjoyable, simply because K's Choice's melodic skills have improved and they're capable of delivering good alt-rock songs, even if they are a little faceless. Even if the band fails to create a distinctive identity for themselves on Cocoon Crash, its craft signals enough of a leap forward to make it a successful third album. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi" (All Music Guide)

"Eternal Defiance", the new album from German melodic folk/death metallers SUIDAKRA, will be released on May 24 via AFM Records. The cover artwork was created by Kris Verwimp. Commented SUIDAKRA singer Arkadius Antonik: "As on the previous two releases, it will be a concept album again, created by [famous Belgian graphic artist] Kris Verwimp in cooperation with us. Our new concept includes a lot of new elements and suprises which will be reflected in the music as well."

Tomás Marco was born in Madrid in 1942. He studied violin and composition as a boy, continuing his musical training while also undertaking a degree in law. Marco has written six operas, a ballet, nine symphonies and choral and chamber music, as well as works in other genres. He currently devotes his time exclusively to composing and writing about music. In November 2002 he received the Spanish National Prize for his body of work, and in 2003 was awarded the Madrid Regional Council’s Music Prize.

Moszkowski is one of the many 19th century Romantic composers whose works have goine almost unnoticed for decades. He definitely deserves better. Paderewski once said that he was the best composer for the piano, after Chopin. Seta Tanyel does a very admirable job of bringing these little gems to life, and the piano and recording sound are very good. If you like Chopin, Schumann, and Brahms piano works, you will have no problems with this or any CD in this series.

Tim Staffell is an English rock musician, visual artist, model maker and designer. He was a member of Smile, a band which included guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor. Upon Staffell's departure, Smile were joined by Freddie Mercury and John Deacon to form the band Queen.

‘Beyond the Realms of Euphoria’, Galahad’s Eighth studio album, shows the band treading similar water to that of ‘Battle Scars’ which was released earlier in 2012 but with a few additional and unexpected twists and turns. As with ‘Battle Scars’, ‘Euphoria’ contains a plethora of different styles from rock and metal through to techno, ambient and dance sounds via occasional nods to traditional Prog! Throughout, the production is modern and pristine, incorporating powerful, direct guitar riffs, lush keyboard arrangements and occasional quieter passages of subtle beauty, melding together to create an often massively wide and epic sound.

Recorded, engineered and mixed by Karl Groom (Threshold) at Thin Ice studios. ‘Battle Scars’, Galahad’s seventh studio album, shows the band evolving from their well received and critically acclaimed 2007 album ‘Empires Never Last’. ‘Battle Scars’ contains a myriad of styles from rock and prog through to techno, ambient and dance sounds via classical arrangements. Throughout, the production is modern and pristine, incorporating powerful, direct guitar riffs, lush keyboard arrangements and occasional quieter passages of subtle beauty, melding together to create an often massively epic sound.

On Guided Tour, jazz’s most innovative and accomplished vibraphonist proves that The New Gary Burton Quartet—which he premiered last summer on his Mack Avenue debut, Common Ground—was no one-trick pony. Featuring the prodigal guitar genius Julian Lage as well as two veterans, bassist Scott Colley and drummer Antonio Sanchez, Guided Tour provides a road map to one of the most dynamic bands on the scene today.