Melos

A French manuscript from the 14th-Century said to be compiled in Avignon, the seat of the papacy during the time, the Ivrea Codex contains several styles of music from the time making it one of the most important surviving documents from the Medieval era. This recording features harmonious vocals backed by light instrumentation. The first-rate performance of Cantica Symphonia brings an element of the sublime and divine making this one of the best releases from the Early Music genre.

Cervello are another example of a seventies Italian prog band who only managed to release one album. They formed in Naples in 1972 and quickly appeared at a number of festivals including the Palermo Pop Festival. They had a connection with Osanna as Corrado Rustici (guitar and flute) was the brother of Danilo Rustici, their guitarist. As well as family ties Cervello also occupied similar musical territory to Osanna. A high standard of musicianship is present on "Melos" and they should appeal to fans that enjoy the wilder excesses of RPI, not only Osanna but the likes Il Balletto di Bronzo and Raccomandata con Ricevuta di Ritorno. They combine a fairly eclectic blend of musical styles ranging from acoustic folk, occasional avant moments to more bombastic instrumental workouts. The excellent guitar work of Rustici display's a John McLaughlin influence at times. Notable is the absence of keyboards, in their place sax and flute playing a more prominent role.

In 2014 Deutsche Grammophon celebrated the 20th anniversary of its flagship series, The Originals, with a limited edition collection featuring some of the labels greatest albums.
This second volume concludes the labels survey of its iconic series by presenting more legendary analogue albums. Including key recordings such as Beethovens Late Sonatas with Pollini, Berliozs Symphonie Fantastique with Markevitch, Brahmss Hungarian Dances with Karajan, Dvoraks New World with Fricsay, Chopin Preludes with Argerich…