Magnum

Two for the Show is a double-live album by American progressive rock band Kansas, released in 1978. The album was reissued in remastered format on CD in 2008. Recorded over the course of the band's three previous tours in 1977 and 1978, it was Kansas' first live album.

In a new release of music for Advent and Christmas, multiple Grammy award-winning mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli sings with the pope’s Sistine Chapel Choir.

The members of Kansas still aren't finished commemorating the 40th anniversary of their landmark Leftoverture LP, but they've already lined up a new live album to celebrate the milestone with fans.

Generally speaking, the live album occupies one of two roles in an artist’s larger body of work: it either documents an artist at the very top of their game, or it shamelessly fleeces fans with repackaged hits when the well of new ideas has run dry. Leftoverture Live & Beyond clearly plays the former role, and stands as Kansas’ best live album since Two for the Show. Like that classic album, Leftoverture Live & Beyond focuses on the band’s two most popular studio albums, Point of Know Return and Leftoverture, with a nice selection of other fan favorites and deep cuts to round out the setlist. This is 19 tracks and nearly 2 hours of a band in their prime, playing scorching takes of complex rock music with a seemingly tireless energy.

The Renaissance Men are back with their latest release on Navona Records: A VERY RENMEN CHRISTMAS: LIVE! The album, which features lush choral arrangements of traditional hymns and holiday classics, captures the festive spirit of the RenMen’s annual Christmas galas for listeners everywhere.Following on the heels of their 2019 release, RENMEN LAMENTS, this newest collection offers timeless seasonal chamber music arranged for tenor, baritone, and bass voices. The album opens with soloist Corey Dalton Hart intoning the verse of Some Children See Him; the sparkling clarity of each rounded note is soon multiplied by the rest of the choir, elevating the performance to spiritual heights.This is followed by Cantate Domino, an invigorating setting of Psalm 96. With its aggressive rhythmic action and sensitive dynamics, the Latin text is presented as an arresting and captivating musical piece. Riu Chiu is a traditional Spanish song, and the RenMen bring it to life with passionate energy against the chattering rhythm of a tambourine.

The Choir of the of St. Andrew and St. Paul Church presents Lux, (Latin for light) a collection of sacred songs associated with the Nativity. Selections include some well-known carols such as O Come, All Ye Faithful and Once in Royal David’s City in arrangements by Sir David Willcocks, as well as pieces by such British composers as Herbert Howells (A Spotless Rose) and Will Todd (My Lord Has Come), and by American composers Morten Lauridsen (O Magnum Mysterium) and Eric Withacre (Lux aurumque), among others.

Just as great painters like Rembrandt or Monet chose light as the real subject of their painting, composers from the Renaissance to the present day have appropriated this impalpable and so essential material. Placing it at the center of their musical language, the composers of this program paint very lively, very contrasting landscapes in sound. Their harmonic paths, the thickness of the polyphonies and the brilliance of the voices create what could be called sonic light, of an incredible variety.

ATMA Classique, Ensemble ArtChoral and Mécénat Musica are proud to present Art choral, vol. 6: Moderne with Ensemble ArtChoral under the direction of Matthias Maute. Volume 6 surveys modern choral repertoire from 20th and 21st century composers, including Canadian Andrew Balfour (Præter rerum seriem), Americans Samuel Barber (Agnus Dei), Aaron Copland (Help Us, O Lord), and Morten Lauridsen (O magnum mysterium), and English composer Edward Elgar, among others. The album features outstanding works in the modern choral repertoire, some of which have become a reference point for any choir open to contemporary music.