My Dearest Friend

The Devil's Wall (Czech: Čertova stěna) is a comic-romantic opera in three acts, with music by Bedřich Smetana and libretto by Eliška Krásnohorská, in their third operatic collaboration. The subtext of the plot is a Czech legend of a sheer rockface that overlooks the Vltava river, near the old monastery of Vyšši Brod, where the Devil was said to have halted the building of the monastery by damming the Vltava, which then rose and flooded the site.

The Devil's Wall (Czech: Čertova stěna) is a comic-romantic opera in three acts, with music by Bedřich Smetana and libretto by Eliška Krásnohorská, in their third operatic collaboration. The subtext of the plot is a Czech legend of a sheer rockface that overlooks the Vltava river, near the old monastery of Vyšši Brod, where the Devil was said to have halted the building of the monastery by damming the Vltava, which then rose and flooded the site.

The 7th recording of Guy Bélanger’s eventful career showcases the composer, band leader and harp master at the top of his game. The album includes 10 superb instrumental Folk and Blues compositions and two songs, one of which sung by Quebec favourite Luce Dufault. Virtuoso guitar player Preston Reed (Scotland) and cello master Eric Longsworth also contribute. Guy Bélanger has received many awards for his songwriting, the latest the André Gagnon Award from the Spacq last September.

.. more than a craftsman of the blues, the friend Bélanger is a man of heart. This musician is all that is most authentic … In the pure tradition of harmonicists who do not need special effects to make themselves understood! Journal of Mtl Christophe Rodriguez

From Ipanema Beach to Corcovado mountain, the natural beauty of Rio de Janeiro is self-evident. It’s almost as if the postcard itself was invented to honor this coastal city, with its lagoons, forests, and tropical climate. But the same could also be said for the album, as this city has birthed musical styles such as bossa nova, samba and choro. Indeed, elements of these musical styles can be traced to Africa, but there is no mistaking that Rio’s artistic identity is partly defined by these rich genres.

The Will to Live was produced by Titus Andronicus singer-songwriter Patrick Stickles and Canadian icon Howard Bilerman (Arcade Fire, Leonard Cohen, The Whole Nine Yards) at the latter’s Hotel 2 Tango recording studio in Montreal. Drawing on maximalist rock epics from Who’s Next to Hysteria, Bilerman and Stickles have crafted the richest, densest, and hardest hitting sound for Titus Andronicus yet. All at once, the record matches the sprawl and scope of the band’s most celebrated work, while also honing their ambitious attack to greater effect than ever before. “It may strike some as ironic we had to go to Canada to record our equivalent to Born in the USA,” quips Stickles, “but the pursuit of Ultimate Rock knows no borders.”