A ha True North

Above the Arctic Circle, a-ha recorded their 1st collection of new songs since 2015’s Cast in Steel: True North is a letter from a-ha, and a poem from the far north of Norway. Accompanied by a film, the album combines the band’s visions and the talent of Norwegian orchestra Arctic Philharmonic to weave a narrative reminding us of our collective connection to the environment. This multimedia experience with a powerful narrative is unique for a-ha.

Since coming together in 1982, Norwegian pop trio a-ha have established a personal and artistic chemistry that can accommodate three strong personalities. There was a long hiatus after 1993's Memorial Beach and a formal reunion for 2000's Minor Earth Major Sky, followed by two more studio outings. They split again in 2010 to pursue solo careers, but reunited for 2015's Cast in Steel. In 2021, the documentary a-ha: The Movie toured global film festivals. The band's 11th studio album, True North, and its accompanying documentary film appear during their 40th anniversary year. The trio recorded and filmed over three weeks in a studio some 55 miles above the Arctic Circle in Bodø, with the Norwegian Arctic Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Anders Eljas. Filming was done by Stian Andersen. Half of these 12 tracks were composed by guitarist Pal Waaktaar-Savoy, with the other half by keyboardist Magne Furuholmen. Each man produced his own work.

Ha! compagnons takes the listener back to a time when the voice and the lute were the true companions in the quest for poetic and musical expression. In exploring this fruitful partnership, Canadian soprano Elodie Bouchard and American lutenist Anthony Harvey offer vivid and colourful interpretations of air de cour, ayres and monodies by 17th-century composers Giulio Caccini, Thomas Campion, Sigismondo d’India, Claudio Monteverdi and Etienne Moulinié.

The Columbia Years 1943–1952: The Complete Recordings is a 1993 box set album by the American singer Frank Sinatra. This twelve-disc set contains 285 songs Sinatra recorded during his nine-year career with Columbia Records.

Charming Hostess is a whirl of eerie harmony, hot rhythm and radical braininess. Our music explores the intersection of text and the sounding body– complex ideas expressed physically, based on voice and vocal percussion, handclaps and heartbeats, sex-breath and silence. We live where diasporas collide, incorporating piyyutim and Pygmy counterpoint, doo-wop and niggunim, work songs and Torah chanting. The texts speak of mysticism and sex; angels and demons; and the trials and joys of love and sex…

Charming Hostess is a whirl of eerie harmony, hot rhythm and radical braininess. Our music explores the intersection of text and the sounding body– complex ideas expressed physically, based on voice and vocal percussion, handclaps and heartbeats, sex-breath and silence. We live where diasporas collide, incorporating piyyutim and Pygmy counterpoint, doo-wop and niggunim, work songs and Torah chanting. The texts speak of mysticism and sex; angels and demons; and the trials and joys of love and sex…

This marks the final offering from Opera Rara's laudable restoration of BBC broadcasts from the 1970s and '80s of Verdi's first thoughts on specific operas, and it is quite up to the standard of the series. It differs only in being given without an audience, and was broadcast two years after the recording.