Emilie Rimbert

Named after the 1934 Ray Noble-penned standard made famous by Bing Crosby, The Very Thought of You is the sixth studio album from Canadian jazz vocalist Emilie-Claire Barlow. Released in 2007, it features silky-smooth renditions of Nat King Cole's "Almost Like Being in Love," Billie Holiday 's "What a Little Moonlight Can Do," and Mama Cass' "Dream a Little Dream of Me" alongside interpretations of hits from various musicals including Guys and Dolls, Oklahoma!, and Pennies from Heaven.

What is a Spark Bird? It's the bird that changes everything. It's the bird that inspires an ongoing curiosity and passion for these magical creatures. And in Emilie-Claire's case, the birds that helped changed the course of her life, and inspired her to put together this collection of songs.

In our successful Emilie Mayer edition, we now begin on Vol. 1 with three of her string quartets. While still a student of Carl Loewe, the composer turned to the most aesthetically demanding and respected genre of chamber music, the string quartet. In 1848, a critic of the Berliner Vossische Zeitung praised the "lovely cantilenas," the "deft arrangement," and "especially the noble and dignified style" of her string quartets. The quartets in G major, A major, and E minor were written by 1858 and were always favorably reviewed by the critics. However, borrowing from classical patterns, the strict motivic-thematic interpenetration of formal sections are only some aspects of Mayer's quartet style.