From.jesus.to.christ.2e

Helmuth Rilling is an excellent conductor and interpreter of Bach's sacred music. Recorded from 1969 to 1985, over a longer period of time than most other sets, there is a lot of change throughout the series. Rilling's recordings are more dense and lush than others, and his tempi are often slower than HIP recordings - no "original instruments" for Rilling. But he creates such a detailed sound-world that any fan of these works should want to hear Rilling's versions to compare with others. This said, Rilling often uses a technique that I find a bit disturbing. He'll have one instrument or group of instruments sequestered to one track, and others on the other track, giving a sound similar to that of early Beatles' stereo mixes, where vocals were on one track and instruments on the other.

Recorded for Calliope between 1975 and 1991, André Isoir’s version of the complete organ works of Johann Sebastian Bach was an exceptional undertaking that received unanimous acclaim from press and public alike. La Dolce Volta here reissues this set, unavailable since 2008, on 15 CDs at a highly attractive price. These interpretations which have achieved legendary status for their magical touch and ornamentation, their supremely elegant and inward sculpting of phrases, are now enhanced by stylish new presentation (remastered sound, luxury packaging, recent interview with the artist, full details of the instruments).

Merle Haggard - The Land Of Many Churches (1971) {BGO Records BGOCD1015 rel 2011}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 422 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 165 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 31 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1971, 2011 Capitol Records / BGO Records | BGOCD1015
Country Gospel / Country / Religious / Gospel / Traditional Country

Released in 1971, The Land of Many Churches is similar to other Merle Haggard tribute albums released in the same era, including Same Train, Different Time and I Love Dixie Blues. To his credit, Haggard had a greater need to shine light on the music that influenced him, more so than the need to release material that guaranteed a surefire hit. These 24 tracks include gospel chestnuts "Precious Memories," "Turn Your Radio On," "Amazing Grace," and a great version of the Hank Williams composition "I Saw the Light." Recorded live at the Nashville Union Rescue Mission and several rural churches across the country, Haggard is joined by guests Bonnie Owens and the Carter Family. Highly recommended to traditional country fans.

According to the obituary written by his son Carl Philip Emmanuel and his former pupil Johann Friedrich Agricola, Johann Sebastian Bach composed five Passions, including “one for two choirs” (the St Matthew Passion). However, only two of them have survived in their entirety. A third one, the St Mark Passion, has given rise to various reconstructions, and the last two, if they at all existed, are irretrievably lost. Of the two Passions that have come down to us, the St John Passion was the first to be composed; Bach had it performed for the first time in the St Nicholas Church less than a year after taking up his post in Leipzig, on 7 April 1724 (he had taken the liberty of announcing it to the St Thomas Church, which earned him a reprimand; he got away with a somewhat ironic letter of apology).

The most ambitious work by 20th-century French master Olivier Messiaen, Saint Francis is also his most all-embracing. He spent nearly a decade creating the opera, which not only encapsulates the composer's abiding Catholic faith but draws on a lifetime of musical discovery and brings together the elements of Messiaen's far-ranging, rich vocabulary: birdsong and nature as a source for music, Eastern modes, complex rhythms derived from ancient Greek poetry and Hindu talas, plainsong, and percussive gamelan-like sonorities, to list a few of the most salient. Messiaen chose Francis for operatic representation as the saint "most like Christ" and wrote his own libretto, using the gentle poetry of the Fioretti.

This is concept album that tells the story about the adventures of Merlin the Wizard. The album is an Italian production but the lyrics are all in English. Italian multi-instrumentalist and composer FABIO ZUFFANTI is a well know name for those with a keen interest in Italian progressive rock. After starting out as a musician in 1994, he's worked with and been a member of a score of bands: Aries, Finisterre, Höstsonaten, laZona, Maschera Di Cera, Quadraphonic, Rohmer and R.u.g.h.e….

Johann Sebastian Bach’s St John Passion is, along with the St Matthew Passion, without doubt one of the most important works he ever composed. It established a new tradition for Good Friday vespers in Leipzig, and with sublime skill Bach managed to retain a spirit of church worship while creating an almost operatic narrative that movingly depicts Christ’s trial, death, and ultimate apotheosis. Bach’s numerous revisions always demand a certain amount of scholarly decision-making, and this recording of the St John Passion uses the final 1749 version that not only draws on and reinforces the best of Bach’s original concept, but incorporates the additional movements of the 1725 version.