David

Born near Ingolstadt in Bavaria, Simon Mayr spent the greater part of his career in Bergamo, a flourishing cultural and economic centre in the early nineteenth century. An important figure in the promotion of Viennese classicism in Italy, he combined, in his own style, the legacy of Vienna with the dramatic and melodic genius of Italy, and held a dominant position in Italian opera before the emergence of Rossini. His oratorio David in spelunca Engaddi (David in the Cave of Engedi), with a Latin text, was written in 1795 for the Ospedale dei Mendicanti in Venice, one of the four great charitable institutions there, known for the musical achievements of its members. The oratorio deals with the conflict between David and Saul, and the refusal of David to harm the Lord’s anointed, in spite of the opportunity offered him.

Classic late period Bowie television broadcasts. David Bowie's output from the late 1980's and 1990's has been reassessed in all the right quarters since the great man's tragic passing in 2016, and has rightfully now been awarded plaudits often denied the releases and concerts from this era at the time they took place. This triple disc set goes some way to contributing to this effort by bringing together broadcast recordings form 1990 and 1992. The first of these was recorded at Bowie's gig in Buenos Aires in August of 90, while the second is from Tin Machine's legendary tour of Japan in the early part of 92, with the show presented here being the group's performance at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo on 17th February. The set is completed with a disc of television appearances recorded between 1975 and 1995, which features some of Bowie's best ever live TV spots.