Celtic Twilight is a compilation for those who like bagpipe singing, quiet and quiet flute sound, measuring guitar voice, playing the violin … Or rhythmic drums combat, sound of pipes, sonorous bagpipe voice and flute and guitar sound … All this there is in Celtic music. For those who are in the heart of a peaceful music that inspires calm or vice versa, music calling for battle or in a frenzied dance.

Although J.S. Bach's orchestral music has been transcribed for guitar ensemble before, notably selected Brandenburg Concertos by the De Falla Trio and the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, this is the first recording of the four suites for orchestra that I have heard in a setting of this type; it is not a source of material that readily springs to mind for such treatment and certainly purists would decry such practices.

Jordi Savall & Hespèrion XX - Henry Purcell - Fantasias for the Viols 1680 (2002) {Naive-Astree ES 9922 rec 1994}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 277 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 125 Mb
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© 1994, 2002 Astrée / Naïve | ES 9922
Classical / Baroque / Chamber Music / Viol

Intellectually concentrated, emotionally intense, technically difficult, and spiritually sublime, Henry Purcell's Fantasias for the Viols are exactly the sort of music that Jordi Savall was born to play and play superbly. And with his group Hesperion XX, they play them as superbly Savall does. The depth of tone of the instruments, the brilliance of the technique, the rigor of the interpretations, the soulfulness of the understanding, and the transcendence of compassion are nonpareil and the performances achieve a level unmatched by any other.

This disc, well recorded in 1979, contains the 3 Romances written for the oboe and piano plus other titles, all of which can be found in other instrumentations. The playing of all of these works, all of which are gentle in concept, is sublime and well suited to Holliger's smooth style of oboe playing. The Evening Song is a gentle piece transcribed for oboe and piano by Joachim. The Adagio and Allegro will be familiar to several in its version for horn and piano.

Manolo Caracol - Antología del Cante (2000) {2CD Set Novoson-Disqueria CDNS 695/696}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 399 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 203 Mb
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© 2000 Novoson / Disqueria | CDNS 695/696
Flamenco / Copla / World / Latin / Western European Traditions

Manolo Caracol (born Manuel Ortega Juarez) was one of the greatest vocalists in the history of flamenco music. His many recordings and film appearances made him one of Spain's top artists of the mid-20th century. An extremely passionate singer, he attracted attention at a very young age. Affectionately known as Nino de Caracol, he acquired a solid reputation for his singing at local fiestas. At the age of 13, he placed first in a singing contest, the Lorca Cante Jondo competition, in Granada. Although the Spanish Civil War prevented him from performing at public fiestas and theaters, he continued to appear at private functions.

Piero Cotto (from Asti, Piedmont) begun his musical career in the early 60's with the Henghel Gualdi Orchestra, then as a solo artist. He lived for many years in Greece, where he had a huge success with the album Forgiveness. When he came back to Italy, he formed the group Piero e i Cottonfields with musicians from his home town (except Russo from Turin and Scarpellini from Bologna), that had their debut with a successful appearance at the Disco per l'Estate TV contest in 1972 with their first single Due delfini bianchi. In the same year they released their one and only album, with the long title "Il Viaggio, La Donna, Un'altra Vita", housed in a beautiful gatefold cover. Despite some more pop-inspired tracks, the album is on a good musical level, halfway between early Delirium and Odissea, with very nice flute passages like in Cantico or the title track, and the powerful harsh voice of Piero Cotto (similar to Delirium's Ivano Fossati) in evidence.