Carpe Diem

Compilation album with a series of 12 songs for movies created by the French composer and conductor Maurice Jarre (Lyon, 1924-2009). The main Jarre recognition reached him for his film scores, of which a large part was for film director David Lean (4 tracks are collected here). Jarre won three Oscars for his music in the films 'Lawrence of Arabia' (1962), 'Doctor Zhivago' (1965) and 'A Passage to India' (1984), -the three included in this CD with the fourth 'The Daughter of Ryan'- and came to reap additional 8 Oscar nominations. A great compilation CD witj creations of one of the great composers of film history, located in the top 12 most awarded in Hollywood.

A leading vihuela specialist, the Argentinian virtuoso Ariel Abramovich has already devoted two albums to the favourite instrument of the Iberian Renaissance, the first on Arcana (Esteban Daça, El Parnasso, A316, 2002) and the second on Carpe Diem (Diego Pisador, Si me llaman, 2009). For this third instalment he is joined by one of the world’s most respected and innovative solo lutenists, Jacob Heringman, for a vihuela duo project which is the result of years of research and performing. While there is a significant number of publications for two lutes from the sixteenth century, only one of the seven collections for vihuela de mano includes duets, and it is precisely that collection that was the main source of inspiration for this project. The performers, both highly experienced with intabulations of sixteenth-century music, decided to recreate an ‘imaginary’ book of vihuela duets, following the taste and practice of the ancient masters, who through a notation system of ‘numbers’ used to arrange works by the composers they listened to and played. Cifras Imaginarias is the poetic name they have given to an imaginary music collection of vihuela duos of the kind that might have been published in the mid-sixteenth century.

A blend of Jade Warrior and King Crimson with hints of Änglagård, this French group treads everywhere from soothing melodiousness to sudden attacks of metal. Their music goes from free to hypnotic, wild, energetic and electric rock, but also pieces which sound like jazz-rock with a touch of Zeuhl or even melodious pop songs.
Their third effort, "Quarante Jours Sur Le Sinaï" ("Forty Days On The Sinai", 2002), is a conceptual work dealing with Ancient Egypt and old gods. The music is a mesmerizing melange of Mellotron and organ laden dark prog enmeshed with flute, searing guitar runs, Chapman Stick, dreamy female vocals as well as dramatic commanding male vocals (all vocals are in French). There are lots of guest artists contributing a wide palette of musical colors - harp, soprano sax, cello and etherial vocals…

The Tabaluga series was started back in 1983 when German rock musician Peter Maffay conceived a "rock fairy tale" about a little green dragon together with children's song performer Rolf Zuckowski and lyricist Gregor Rottschalk and recorded the concept album Tabaluga Oder die Reise Zur Vernunft.

Recorded at the Olympia in Paris, in 2003, En Toute Intimite is the third live album from Belgian-born pop vocalist Lara Fabian. Featuring piano-based acoustic arrangements of some of her biggest hits, it includes material from her 1994 breakthrough album Carpe Diem, her 1996 follow-up Pure, and 2001's Nue. Alongside collaborations with Maurane and Daniel Lavoie are several cover versions of French classics, including Charles Aznavour's "Comme Ils Disent" and Jacques Brel's "Voir un Ami Pleurer," and a previously unreleased English-language track, "Calling You."

Rosario Conte, Baroque music specialist and virtuoso instrumentalist, has here recorded compositions from Francesco Corbetta's instructional manual, "La Guitarre Royal", (1671) along with two pieces by his (probable) student, Robert de Visee. As guitarist and teacher in the courts of Louis XIV of France and Charles II of England, Corbetta almost single handedly popularized the 5 course Baroque guitar in both countries at a time when the lute was the dominant parlour instrument.