Heaven Full of Stars

Contemporary sacred choral music has been central to the repertoire of Vasari Singers throughout its existence, and to mark its 40th anniversary it has selected a sequence of anthems, mostly with starbased themes, the vast majority of which are by living composers. The rich variety to be heard reflects the choir’s commitment to the genre, whether in the ecstasy of Ēriks Ešenvalds, the serenity of Jonathan Dove, the shimmering harmonies of Eric Whitacre, or the ethereal beauties of Paul Mealor.

The Yggdrasil is the world tree in Norse mythology, and our Yggdrasil musical project started as the idea of reaching out to composers from near and far, as if travelling along the branches of the tree, and it embraced the concept of gathering around the tree as a common theme.

In November 2023 we celebrated NOW’s 40th anniversary with a collection of 100 massive Pop hits – but with 40 years of hits to choose from we had to leave out so many fantastic tracks – so it’s time to continue that celebration with NOW That’s What I Call 40 Years - Part 2 – 100 more essential hit tracks across 5 CDs – again honouring the legacy with a stellar selection from the past four decades of NOW. Embark on a musical journey from 1983 right up to the present day, making at least one memorable stop in each year along the way. Opening with Duran Duran’s 1983 #1 ‘Is There Something I Should Know?’, which featured on the first NOW album along with ‘Temptation’ by Heaven 17. Unforgettable hits including ‘Here Comes The Rain Again’ by Eurythmics, and Synth-Pop smashes from Howard Jones with ‘What Is Love?’ and ‘Smalltown Boy’ by Bronski Beat are up next. ‘Two Tribes’ by Frankie Goes To Hollywood spent 9 weeks at #1 in 1984 and features ahead of covers including the #1 collaboration between UB40 and Chrissie Hynde, and Kim Wilde’s version of ‘You Keep Me Hangin’ On’ which hit #1 in the U.S. The production team Stock, Aitken and Waterman hit Pop gold in the late ‘80s and huge hits they produced for Bananarama and Hazell Dean are included. The first disc closes with 1989 classics from Fine Young Cannibals, and the first #1 from Simple Minds ‘Belfast Child’.

In November 2023 we celebrated NOW’s 40th anniversary with a collection of 100 massive Pop hits – but with 40 years of hits to choose from we had to leave out so many fantastic tracks – so it’s time to continue that celebration with NOW That’s What I Call 40 Years - Part 2 – 100 more essential hit tracks across 5 CDs – again honouring the legacy with a stellar selection from the past four decades of NOW. Embark on a musical journey from 1983 right up to the present day, making at least one memorable stop in each year along the way. Opening with Duran Duran’s 1983 #1 ‘Is There Something I Should Know?’, which featured on the first NOW album along with ‘Temptation’ by Heaven 17. Unforgettable hits including ‘Here Comes The Rain Again’ by Eurythmics, and Synth-Pop smashes from Howard Jones with ‘What Is Love?’ and ‘Smalltown Boy’ by Bronski Beat are up next. ‘Two Tribes’ by Frankie Goes To Hollywood spent 9 weeks at #1 in 1984 and features ahead of covers including the #1 collaboration between UB40 and Chrissie Hynde, and Kim Wilde’s version of ‘You Keep Me Hangin’ On’ which hit #1 in the U.S. The production team Stock, Aitken and Waterman hit Pop gold in the late ‘80s and huge hits they produced for Bananarama and Hazell Dean are included. The first disc closes with 1989 classics from Fine Young Cannibals, and the first #1 from Simple Minds ‘Belfast Child’.

In November 2023 we celebrated NOW’s 40th anniversary with a collection of 100 massive Pop hits – but with 40 years of hits to choose from we had to leave out so many fantastic tracks – so it’s time to continue that celebration with NOW That’s What I Call 40 Years - Part 2 – 100 more essential hit tracks across 5 CDs – again honouring the legacy with a stellar selection from the past four decades of NOW. Embark on a musical journey from 1983 right up to the present day, making at least one memorable stop in each year along the way. Opening with Duran Duran’s 1983 #1 ‘Is There Something I Should Know?’, which featured on the first NOW album along with ‘Temptation’ by Heaven 17. Unforgettable hits including ‘Here Comes The Rain Again’ by Eurythmics, and Synth-Pop smashes from Howard Jones with ‘What Is Love?’ and ‘Smalltown Boy’ by Bronski Beat are up next. ‘Two Tribes’ by Frankie Goes To Hollywood spent 9 weeks at #1 in 1984 and features ahead of covers including the #1 collaboration between UB40 and Chrissie Hynde, and Kim Wilde’s version of ‘You Keep Me Hangin’ On’ which hit #1 in the U.S. The production team Stock, Aitken and Waterman hit Pop gold in the late ‘80s and huge hits they produced for Bananarama and Hazell Dean are included. The first disc closes with 1989 classics from Fine Young Cannibals, and the first #1 from Simple Minds ‘Belfast Child’.

When you gaze upon the gorgeous artwork adorning the new Atlantean Kodex opus, does it remind you of another classic album cover? Look closely. If your metal mind went back through time to Bathory‘s Blood Fire Death, you win the Steel ov Approval. And it seems the similarity in art is anything but accidental. After impressing the metalverse with 2013s The White Goddess, the band took their sweet time crafting a followup, and the long-awaited The Course of Empire definitely dials up the Bathory-esque epic Viking side of Atlantean Kodex‘s mammoth heavy metal sound. Along with the band’s usual While Heaven Wept meets Manowar on Manilla Road take on oversized throwback metal, there’s a powerful Hammeheart influence under-girding the already titanic, soaring compositions, making for a heavier, darker sound. With over an hour of Homeric bombast and wanton excess to battle through, it takes a strong back and an iron will to weather this storm, so lash yourself to the mast, ignore the Siren’s song and let’s set sail to high adventure.

Acrobat already has on catalogue collections which present “America’s No. 1s of the ‘50s” (ACFCD7501), “America's No. 1s of the '40s” (ACSCD6005), “America’s R&B No. 1s of the ‘50s” (ACSCD6003), “America’s R&B No. 1s Of The '40s” (ACQCD7168), and “Country No. 1s of the '50s” (ACTRCD9034), and this release completes that set with presenting the “Country No. 1s of the ‘40s”.

This album is made of six numbers from the famous Town Hall concert of 1947, plus offerings from four others, which if not perhaps quite so famous are nevertheless all more than worthy of your attention.