Joel Cohen

"A really nice selection of American patriotic music from the Revolution to the onset of the Civil War. The performances are excellent. It includes some of the best work, including his patriotic anthem Chester, by the outstanding New England choral composer William Billings."

French Renaissance chansons meet songs by Leonard Cohen: a great modern singer-songwriter, a "troubadour", passed away in 2016. This programme, is a tribute to his art, and provides a link to the French Renaissance chanson.

Leonard Cohen, who liked to call himself a 'chansonnier,' grew up in French‐speaking Montreal, Canada. He is appreciated both as a poet and for his sensitivity to combining words and music. This project connects Cohen musically and poetically with previous generations of songwriters. Orlando di Lasso's famous 16th century chanson Susanne un jour meets Cohen's Suzanne. Josquin des Prez's Adieu mes amours or courtly dances published by Pierre Attaingnant in Paris in 1529 combine with Cohen's songs and the eras converge. With knowledge of Renaissance musical practices, new diminutions on Cohen's music emerge, including original chordal accompaniments for viola da gamba or lute based on late 16th and 17th century models.

The Greatest Hits Volume III album includes hits from 1983 to 1997. Two previously unreleased studio tracks are included, "To Make You Feel My Love" and "Hey Girl", while the third new track, "Light as the Breeze", was originally recorded for a Leonard Cohen tribute album known as Tower of Song in 1995. All three tracks are newly recorded covers (a rare occurrence in his catalogue). Chronologically, Greatest Hits Volume III overlaps slightly with Volume II, as the first two tracks, "Keeping the Faith" and "An Innocent Man", first appeared on his album An Innocent Man.