Belle 1990

From the USA came Lift, an enthusiastic and talented progressive ensemble that released their debut album "Caverns of Your Brain" during the second half of the 70s, although their repertoire at the time was older ,as well as more abundant than the one finally container in the original release. What we have here is a combination of vibrating melodic symphonic prog (pre-Howe Yes, Flash), the energy of "Remember the Future"- era Nektar and the eerie ambiances of Floydian inspiration, generally for the softer parts of the material.

From the USA came Lift, an enthusiastic and talented progressive ensemble that released their debut album "Caverns of Your Brain" during the second half of the 70s, although their repertoire at the time was older ,as well as more abundant than the one finally container in the original release. What we have here is a combination of vibrating melodic symphonic prog (pre-Howe Yes, Flash), the energy of "Remember the Future"- era Nektar and the eerie ambiances of Floydian inspiration, generally for the softer parts of the material.

Trumpeter Kenny Wheeler and his sidemen on this quintet CD (guitarist John Abercrombie, pianist John Taylor, bassist Dave Holland and drummer Peter Erskine) had all worked together previously in different settings. Their familiarity with each other's playing came in handy for the frequently intuitive session which consists of explorations of six of Wheeler's complex but often-melodic originals (including "The Widow in the Window," "Hotel Le Hot" and the lengthy "Ana"). Kenny Wheeler's music occupies its own unique area between post bop and free jazz and virtually all of his recordings are recommended to adventurous listeners, including this one.

A Baroque West Side Story, Tancrède tells of the absolute but impossible love between two young people brought together by their passion but separated by their origins. We are in the time of the Crusades: Tancredi is the champion of the Frankish army, and Clorinda the passionaria of the Saracen troops. In the labyrinth of sentiments, sorcerer Isménor's magic wand confuses the issues, luring the two heroes into the enchanted forest to better prepare their downfall. With Tancrède, André Campra (1660-1744) established himself as one of the great opera composers between Lully and Rameau.

John Eliot Gardiner has proved himself a doughty champion of the later French Baroque, cultivating credible performing methods and unearthing undeservedly neglected repertoire. … "Les Boreades" recorded in 1982. Viewed by many as one of the greatest of Rameau's operas, the score is both dramatically effective and a riot of orchestral colour. Gardiner conducts with a real feeling for the way in which instrumental timbre underpins the drama, while in a strong cast Philip Langridge is both stylish and superbly theatrical as Abaris.

"Giulio Cesare" is the most famous and popular of Handel's many operas. In fact, for a long time it was the only one surviving in the repertoire, and brilliant productions of it in the 1960s were responsible for inciting interest in other Handel operas. Giulio Cesare contains perhaps a greater variety of beautiful arias and choruses than any other Handel opera, and has one of the best plots. This 1989 recording stars contralto Martine Dupuy, very famous in France but little known in the Western hemisphere. She made a sterling reputation in Baroque opera as well as the opere serie of Rossini, in which she has been adjudged incomparable.

The Anthology of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra is a recorded history of six decades of performances by the Concertgebouw Orchestra, taken from broadcasts contained in the archives of Dutch Radio and Radio Netherlands World Service. RCO Live has chosen not only legendary performances under chief conductors of the RCO but also concerts led by countless guest conductors of both greater and lesser renown. The sixth volume of the anthology features broadcasts from the 1990s, and presents a fascinating and colorful portrait of the orchestra s artistic development under various conductors during that period.