Bud Spencerterence Hill

Beginning in the early '90s, Sammy Shelor and Ronnie Bowman's version of the Lonesome River Band would become one of the most influential bluegrass groups of the decade. Best of the Sugar Hill Years captures the group's stint at the label between 1994 and 2000 with 16 selections. All of these selections feature vocalist/bassist Bowman and banjoist Shelor, who are joined by a number of regulars including Dan Tyminski, Don Rigsby, and Kenny Smith, and a number of guests, including Jerry Douglasand Stuart Duncan.

Released in 2001, There You'll Be: The Best of Faith Hill was a collection designed for international markets, intending to introduce the American superstar to the world. As such, it presents her as a pop star, including remixes of "Breathe" and "The Way You Love Me" (that are nevertheless also present in their original versions), as well as her biggest crossover hits from Breathe, Faith, and It Matters to Me.

It is my opinion that Jean Langlais has written some of the noblest, richest and most awe-inspiring sacred music there has ever been. He wrote more organ music than J. S. Bach, and most of it is as suitable for liturgical performance as sung music. His style is a powerful mixture of chant-like motifs (including actual quotations from Gregorian chant), organum, and bold dissonances that give way to pure, radiant tonality. He draws on a wide range of expressions too, from radiant and blazing to quiet and ecstatic. He was truly a craftsman of the highest calibre, and a credit to the distinguished musical heritage of his native France.

It was only recently established by bibliographical analysis that William Byrd’s three settings of the Ordinary of the Mass—in three, four and five parts—were almost certainly published in the early 1590s, coinciding with Byrd’s move from London to a Catholic enclave in Stondon Massey, Essex. The Mass for five voices, scored for treble (or soprano), alto, two tenors and bass, is thought to have been the last of the three to have been composed, probably in late 1594 or early 1595, and is, by any reckoning, a masterpiece. It is probable that Byrd composed his Latin liturgical music for use in the domestic chapels maintained, often at considerable personal risk, by recusant Catholic families. Here they would probably have been sung by a small group of singers, perhaps one to a part.

Here is a collection of familiar classical music adagios given new interpretations by Windham Hill artists. Although most of the tracks do have synthesizer harmonies and embellishments, there are some that do not. The Brahms Intermezzo contains its own intermezzo in the form of a jazz piano trio improvisation. Edgar Meyer on double bass and Mike Marshall on mandolin perform a nice, straightforward transcription of the Prelude in C sharp minor from Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, with no synthesized embellishments.

Victoria was the greatest Spanish composer of the late Renaissance. Compared with the prolific Palestrina the number of his works is not great; compared with Byrd, Victoria’s music is not so varied or wide ranging. Indeed, placed beside the enormous output of Lassus, Victoria’s achievement seems to be very restricted; there is none of the dazzling virtuosity and broad culture, none of the extraordinary diversity. Yet, in its narrow specialization in strictly liturgical or devotional function, Victoria’s music is not only the most perfectly suited to its purpose, but the most perfectly styled and fashioned of its kind, its emotional heart perfectly in accord with Roman Catholic liturgical ceremony in the Tridentine Rite. Even more than Palestrina’s, Victoria’s art is an expression of Catholicism as defined by the Council of Trent.

Brahms' only Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34, had a turbulent history before finally taking its rightful place as one of the composer's most sublime chamber works. The quintet began its life as a string quintet; pressure coming from Brahms' friends eventually saw the string quintet's score destroyed in place of a sonata for two pianos. Though Brahms was fond of this version, further suggestions found hard at work on a third and final change in instrumentation, which resulted in the work we know today. At only 31 years of age, the sophistication found in this score is nothing short of profound. Brahms varies the voicing to achieve a nearly symphonic sound on one end and a tenderly intimate chamber feeling on the other.

In a society defined by our greatest and worst moments, out of chaos comes Letters from a Black Widow – a definitive statement of perseverance and liberation from Grammy-winning singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Judith Hill. The album’s 12 songs masterfully reveal themes she’d explored only in therapy and nightmares. Stories of resistance, hard-won clarity and redemption are delivered through an unshakable soul, funk and blues foundation that resonates with a defiant, beautiful power.