Ardour Teebs

Ethos‘ 1976 prog album ‘Ardour‘ is an audacious, cosmic journey filled with layered synth-fronts, 12-string dreamscapes, and a solid Rickenbacker rhythm section that echoes Starcastle while evoking the finest of Genesis and Yes without being a direct imitation. Released in the twilight years of the prog era, it‘s an irresistibly charming record, blending razor-cut progressive artistry with naively fantastical concepts, a delight for any prog fan willing to dive into its cosmos of soundtrack-like melodies and whimsical lyrics.

This Album is The Best Ever American Propgressive Music, challenged only by its follow up album "Open Up" and sadly last offering from Wil Sharpe and Friends. ironically, This is filled with quite The English Inspiration side of Prog, formed by all of the usual suspects. But the main Sound here is King Crimsonesque, Some Camel, and a wacky Gentle Giant approach, especially with The Spirit Of Music and its quite funny sound scapes, courtesy of Mini Moog. The opening of this album has possibly the finest Mini Moog solo I've heard ever in my life. The use of both Pitch and Modulation is Superb. Even gives Jan Hammer a run for the money. L.Duncan Hammond was sorely missed on Open Up LP, But Michael Poncek did keep up the strength of the Keys on his own quite well.

Here is an excellent example of the US Progressive rock scene of the Seventies: having both technique and excellence, imagination & talent. They seemed to be influenced by a variety of styles. Their sound was a little folky at times, poppy at others, even a little jazzy at times, loosely in the shadow of Kansas, Yes, Genesis, early King Crimson and others, with lots of vocals everywhere.

In the words of a survey of nineteenth-century Italian opera, published by the Corriere della sera to mark the turning of the century, Mascagni was "condemned to a masterpiece": after the triumph of Cavalleria rusticana nothing less would do. He lived for another 55 years, and although some of his 14 subsequent operas were immensely successful for a while (he claimed that Iris was better received than Cavalleria, and there was a near-riot of enthusiasm at the premiere of Il piccolo Marat) none was judged by the critics to be the awaited 'masterpiece', and nearly all had fallen from the repertory by the end of his life.

Our second October release from Westminster Abbey tells the story of the religious and political turmoil that engulfed England in the sixteenth century, and from which composers of liturgical music could find no escape. They were forced to follow the changing edicts about permitted texts as the pendulum of power oscillated between traditional and reformed religion. Interestingly, this period saw the greatest flowering of church music in England’s history; some of the most magnificent works of the age are recorded here.