Dufay

Aerosmith - In New York (2010)
NTSC DVD5 | 85 mins | 720x480 | 29.97 fps | MPEG-2 @ 6600 kbps | AC-3 @ 192 kbps | 4.19 GB
Genre: Hard Rock | Language: English | Sub: Included

Aerosmith is an American hard rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many subsequent rock artists. The band was formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1970. Guitarist Joe Perry and bassist Tom Hamilton, originally in a band together called the Jam Band, met up with singer Steven Tyler, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarist Ray Tabano, and formed Aerosmith. In 1971, Tabano was replaced by Brad Whitford, and the band began developing a following in Boston.

December 2013 will mark the 50th anniversary of Paul Hindemith's death, but this is not the only reason for the SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart to turn Hindemith's choral works. His works continue to impress with diverse expressions and moods that utilize a variety of different compositional techniques and musical forms.

Johannes Ockeghem was an absolute master of counterpoint who, for more than 40 years at the end of the 15th century, ruled over Franco-Flemish polyphony under three French kings, Charles VII, Louis XI and Charles VIII. His works – which are still all too rarely performed – continue to fascinate to this day. The Missa prolationum, together with the Missa cuiusvis toni, is a tour de force of writing, reaching levels of complexity that can impress even the most experienced performers. Although its Latin title would seem to suggest a sacred theme, this work does not strictly speaking belong to the liturgical domain and is not based on a pre-existing melodic motif, taken from motet or Gregorian chant.

If Ockeghem's Missa L'Homme Armé was the earliest such to be composed, then perhaps it is not easy to understand why Dufay, Busnois, Caron and others may have been inspired to create their own mass using the tune as the cantus firmus. Ockeghem's work seems under-ambitious by comparison, almost simplistic - the cantus firmus remains easily recognisable, retaining the original rhythm, not stretched out to unfathomable lengths, nor excessively ornamented and buried under immense counterpoint - it's as though he wanted the tune to come to the fore. In the light of this, it seems odd in a way that the ensemble The Sound and the Fury have chosen to retain the L'Homme Armé lyrics in the tenor part at certain points of this performance, a practice not to my purist taste.

Classical Discovery offers an ideal package, providing an overview of classical music and its history in an entertaining and easy-to-understand form. In a lavishly presented cloth-bound book, accompanied by 12 CDs with over 900 minutes of playing time, Classical Discovery tells the story of the classics in word, music, and images from its earliest days until modern times. With Classical Discovery, anyone can gain entry to the world of classical music, whether for the first time or to gain new insights and perspectives.

Out of all Aerosmith's live albums released over the years (Live Bootleg, Classics Live! Vol. 2, etc.), 1986's Classics Live! is the least effective. The main reason it doesn't meet the high standards of their other in-concert releases is simple – the band had little input in deciding the song selections and performances – plus, it was released by their then-former label, Columbia, to cash in on the newly re-formed band's reunion tour…