D&s Vol. 33

One of Bach's more magnificent extended choruses graces the cantata BWV 12, and another less substantial but no less impressive one dominates BWV 38. These works represent some of Bach's most profoundly affecting and musically sophisticated textual and emotional representations, the former an ideal evocation of "weeping and wailing" with its unmistakably vivid chromatic descending bass-line, lurching rhythm, and agonized melody (which Bach later re-used in his B minor Mass). The pungent, reedy sound of the oboe adds perfect color and character to the whole cantata, and of course, Bach's ingenious writing, especially the obbligato parts, lifts all three of these cantatas beyond the functional to the highest artistic and spiritual level.

In the words of the Wall Street Journal: "Jane Chapman is one of Britain's most distinguished classical harpsichordists, with a repertoire that stretches from early music to contemporary avant-garde. Her work is rapidly bringing the harpsichord into the 21st century and establishing her reputation as a rule-breaker."

30 years after his death, DG commemorates the quintessential “Kapellmeister” with a 42-CD set of Complete Deutsche Grammophon Orchestral Recordings by Eugen Jochum (1902-1987), presented in original jackets.
In addition to the complete symphonic cycles of Bruckner (the first ever complete recorded cycle), Beethoven and Brahms, this set offers the entire Jochum orchestral recordings for DG for the first time. Several recordings appear on CD for the first time, including recordings of Weber, Mozart and Beethoven.

Continuation of an extensive live retrospective from the archives of Anyone's Daughter. The CD offers songs from all creative periods of the band which, apart from one coincidence (an early version of 'Anyone's Daughter'), were not included on the first volume due to lack of space, for instance four tracks which cannot be found on any studio album: 'Schwärzer als die Nacht', a German language cover version of UK's classic 'In The Dead of Night', the instrumentals 'Stampede' and 'Pegasus', as well as an alternative version of 'Land's End', already included on the regular 'Live' album.

Moins médiatique que les autres chanteurs de son époque, Henri Tachan n'en est pas moins un fin lettré qui, comme Léo Ferré et tant d'autres, flirte avec Verlaine, Rimbaud et Baudelaire. Son goût musical pour Beethoven ou Schubert se ressent dans les sonorités de ses musiques comme dans la chanson Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert et Rossini.

The Lovely Mood Music label's Coffee Bar Lounge series of collections invariably and effortlessly creates a cozy atmosphere for relaxation. It is recommended both for minutes of a coffee break or a summer picnic, and as background music for creative personalities in their good undertakings.

Masaaki Suzuki was an organist before he was a conductor, and his recordings of Bach's organ works have made a delightful coda to his magisterial survey of Bach cantatas with his Bach Collegium Japan. This selection, the second in a series appearing on the BIS label, gives a good idea of the gems available. You get a good mix of pieces, including a pair of Bach's Vivaldi transcriptions. Fans of Suzuki's cantata series will be pleased to note the similarities in his style between his conducting and his organ playing: there's a certain precise yet deliberate and lush quality common to both. And he has a real co-star here: the organ of the Kobe Shoin Women's University Chapel, built in 1983 by French maker Marc Garnier. The realizations of Bach's transcriptions of Vivaldi concertos fare especially well here, with a panoply of subtle colors in the organ. Sample the first movement of the Concerto in D minor, BWV 596, with its mellow yet transcendently mysterious tones in the string ripieni. BIS backs Suzuki up with marvelously clear engineering in the small Japanese chapel, and all in all, this is a Bach organ recording that stands out from the crowd. Highly recommended.

Recorded at Delta Studio in Canterbury (date unspecified) and released in 2007 on the fusion/prog label Moonjune, Numero d'Vol is an inspired improv session between famous Soft Machine bassist Hugh Hopper, avant-garde jazz sax player Simon Picard, jazz keyboardist Steve Franklin, and drummer – and This Heat mastermind – Charles Hayward. The album's title is French for "Flight Number" and, yes, inspiration flies high in this music.

L'Infonie were born as a Québécois versatile rock commune in 1967 around the initiator Raôul Duguay and the musical chief Walter Boudreau, just along the Québécois "multidisciplinary" music scene in those days. Quite in the vein of late-60s concentrated music essence, mixed with pop, jazz, and classic, they recorded their first creation "Vol. 3" (currently released as an eponymous one) at André Perry Studio and released in 1969. Amazingly, their soundscape had been altered moment by moment - obvious jazz rock / fusion movement and a talented American musician Terry Riley could exert pretty influence upon their second work "Vol. 33 (Mantra)", featuring a sole suite "Mantra" based upon Terry's landmark piece "In C". Finally L'Infonie breathed new life into Québécois progressive rock world with their third double-album "Vol. 333" released in 1972…