Following close on the heels of the mighty F major Quartet (featured in the first volume of this series along with Op. 59, No. 3), Beethoven’s Quartet in E minor, Op. 59 No. 2 could not be more different. Where the F major Quartet pursues its course with a leisurely breadth, the cries of the opening chords of the E minor and the whispers that follow confront a void. The real release comes only in the slow movement, which was clearly a significant piece for the composer, judging by his instruction ‘this piece is to be played with great feeling’. The battle of E minor and E major continues in the scherzo: its fractured waltz comes out into the light of the trio with one of the Russian themes Beethoven promised Count Rasumovsky he would insert into each of the quartets.

Returning to the Montpellier Codex for this programme of motets and chansons from 13th-century France, Anonymous 4 explores two dominant themes of the period: love and longing for the earthly/earthy Marion and the heavenly/virginal Marie. The Montpellier Codex, from which Anonymous 4 draw all these motets, was collected in Paris around the year 1300 and is the richest single source of 13th-century French polyphony. With a repertory spanning the entire 13th century, it contains polyphonic works in all the major forms of its era: organum, conductus, hocket and, primarily, motet (315 motets in all).

I cannot think of a more aptly titled record than this one by Tiffany Austin. Everything sounds so right. About it and it is all because of the music on it. Not simply the songs, but the manner in which they have been sung. There is passion here. It bursts forth from the first bars of “Stardust”. Many have sung this song. But I doubt that I have been so affected by Tiffany Austin’s version. It has that aching intensity, that sweet-sorrowful aura that swirls around it as if it were a halo—very much one made from the stems of a rose, but not all thorns; a flower her and a flower there. This is what makes the song so special. You don’t simply hear the lyrics, you also hear the back-history of the song. No one has ever done that for me before, but now Tiffany Austin…

The cultured piano style of Kenny Barron has graced many albums in the last half century. He is an easy swinger, deeply admired for his nonpareil musicianship and innate sensitivity to the needs of his musical companions of the moment. Born in 1943 he was gigging with Philly Joe Jones at sixteen and soon playing in a band with his tenor saxophonist brother Bill. In 1962 he was hired by Dizzy Gillespie and the five year stint he had with Dizzy established him firmly on the jazz scene throughout the world. This celebration of Kenny's fifty years on that scene is marked by this program of highlights from his Candid recordings in a variety of settings…

"Infernus", the sixth full-length album from Florida-based extreme metallers HATE ETERNAL, can be streamed in its entirety using the SoundCloud widget below. Due on August 24 via Season Of Mist, the CD was recorded at HATE ETERNAL founder and principal member Erik Rutan's (guitar, vocals) Mana Recording Studio (CANNIBAL CORPSE, MOUNTAIN GOATS, GOATWHORE) in St. Petersburg, Florida. The cover artwork was created by renowned artist Eliran Kantor, who has previously worked with TESTAMENT, ICED EARTH and SODOM, among many others.

Dimension 5 is one of the first Goa Trance groups ever and released lots of highly acclaimed vinyls and CDs. The group saw its existence in 1989, and around 1994 they released their first early Goa Trance vinyls, which they described as “space techno”. Back then the group existed out of 4 members: Charlie Clarke, Graham Franklin, Kerry Palmer and Nick Wenham. They started their own label, Intastella Records, in 1996 to have total musical freedom. This resulted in the making of their first full album: “Transdimensional” in 1997. This piece of art is extremely wanted but unfortunately it was never decently distributed, because of that this CD became a true Goa Trance legend…