Aryan Peste Noire

Known for its daring and youthful performances, the ensemble Les Barocudas makes its ATMA Classique recording debut with La Peste, a musical journey that explores the theme of the plague. The members of the Montreal-based trio, Marie Nadeau-Tremblay (violin), Ryan Gallagher (viola da gamba), and Nathan Mondry (harpsichord), have compiled a program in which each piece corresponds with an episode or aspect of this 17th century pandemic. All of the composers selected for this album Schmelzer, Castello, Fontana, Pandolfi, Rossi, Farina were violinists, and all of them were affected by the plague, in some cases, fatally.

Marking 50 years since the death of French composer Francis Poulenc, star soprano Patricia Petibon is the soloist in new recordings of his most rapturously beautiful sacred works; “Gloria” and “Stabat Mater”. Conductor Paavo Järvi also makes his DG recording debut, conducting the Orchestre de Paris and their renowned choir.

After Aphrodite's Child, Vangelis and Socrates during the Seventies, Greece is once again waking up to Progressive rock. The leading band of this new generation, La Tulipe Noire is a classically composed quintet. This talented line-up performs a refined and quiet progressive rock that develops baroque and solemn melodies. Singer IMA's clear and pure vocals can remind of that of Virginia Astley. Kostas Savvides's guitar sounds like David Gilmour's whereas Alix's keyboards weave quiet layers that marvellously complete precious and melancholic themes…

Music from Le Grand Blond avec une Chaussure Noire (The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe) and Le Retour du Grand Blond (The Return of the Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe) composed by Vladimir Cosma.

Guitarist Eivind Aarset, one of the most exciting, individual and creative voices from the Norwegian jazz underground, saw "Electronique Noir", his first release as a leader, hailed as "One of the best post Miles electric jazz albums" by none other than the The New York Times as well as America's leading jazz magazine Jazz Times and the UK's Jazzwise. Now Light Extracts, his much anticipated follow up album, is set to establish Eivind as one of the key voices in European Nu-Jazz. Once again his music is a here-and-now reflection of the latest, most exciting sounds to be found in jazz, mixing improvisation with rhythms from European club culture, exploring the potential of a music so new it has not yet set any frontiers or rules and the only limits are the limits of the imagination.