A Big Sky Christmas

Stile Antico's 2015 release on Harmonia Mundi, A Wondrous Mystery, is a sublime collection of Renaissance choral music for Christmas, presented in a pleasant mix of familiar German carols and a mass, with tracks interspersed for the sake of variety. This makes sense in consideration of the group's broad audience, which may know such popular hymns as Michael Praetorius' Ein Kind geborn in Bethlehem and Es ist ein Ros entsprungen, or Johannes Eccard's Übers Gebirg Maria geht and Vom Himmel hoch, yet be somewhat at a loss with the motet and Missa Pastores quidnam vidistis by Jacobus Clemens non Papa, a composer beloved by early music specialists but not exactly a household name for lay listeners. However, the a cappella performances are consistently beautiful and soothing throughout, and the quietly joyous mood of the music fits the album's title perfectly. The 12-voice choir's blend is well-balanced and transparent, and the ambience of All Hallow's Church, Gospel Oak, London gives an ideal resonance for the group's small size and close miking.

4 early albums from the legendary jazz oracle & his band plus 18 bonus singles on this 4cd set. 1956's 'JAZZ BY SUN RA' contains some of Sun Ra's most complex, yet accessible efforts, 'SUPERSONIC JAZZ' (also 1956) lays the groundwork for the group's ambitious, expansive & free-wheeling arrangements of later years, 1958's 'JAZZ IN SILHOUETTE' is a prime example of Ra & company in a transitional phase, prior to their full-fledged explorations into the avant-garde & 'THE FUTURISTIC SOUND OF SUN RA' (1961) is boppish with a slightly exotic flavour.