The Swordsman (1948) Joseph H. Lewis, Larry Parks, Ellen Drew, George Macready

Acclaimed mezzo-soprano Mary-Ellen Nesi presents thirteen arias most of them recorded here for the first time inspired by ten Greek female archetypes. George Petrou and the brilliant Armonia Atenea add fire to this exciting collection of 18th-century masterpieces. MDG listeners will be familiar with Mary-Ellen Nesi from several outstanding Handel recordings. In her most recent recital the acclaimed mezzo-soprano turns to dramatic roles from Baroque and classical operas.

A generous collection of Haydn Concertos, Overtures and Dances, this 2CD set offers the Philips recordings of the Cello Concertos and the Argo recordings of the remaining works. Although released in various reissues, the Marriner/Argo Haydn Concertos have never before been offered together and this collection offers a great opportunity to explore these recordings from 1966–69. Familiar works such as the E flat major Trumpet Concerto and the two Cello Concertos appear together with the little-known Organ Co’ncerto. Also on offer, are two sets of German Dances/Allemandes (both making their first appearance on CD) and a pair of Overtures, of which that for Acide e Galatea’ is a first-on-CD release.

Is there an early rock & roller who has a crazier reputation than the Killer, Jerry Lee Lewis? His exploits as a piano-thumping, egocentric wild man with an unquenchable thirst for living have become the fodder for numerous biographies, film documentaries, and a full-length Hollywood movie. Certainly few other artists came to the party with more ego and talent than he and lived to tell the tale. And certainly even fewer could successfully channel that energy into their music and prosper doing it as well as Jerry Lee. When he broke on the national scene in 1957 with his classic "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On," he was every parents' worst nightmare perfectly realized: a long, blonde-haired Southerner who played the piano and sang with uncontrolled fury and abandon, while simultaneously reveling in his own sexuality.

Although Ramsey Lewis' career with Chess stretched from the mid-'50s to the end of the 1960s, it was only in the mid-'60s that he made a significant dent in the pop market. Accordingly, this 18-track collection is not so much a representative sampling of his Chess output as it is a heavy dip into his most popular mid-'60s recordings. Although the tracks do span 1961-1967, all but four cuts were done in 1964-1966. Not that this is such a bad thing; this era was the time at which Lewis issued not just his most popular stuff, but also his best. It's a strong group of his best pop-jazz-R&B material, including all four of his Top 40 hits ("The 'In' Crowd," "A Hard Day's Night," "Hang on Sloopy," and "Wade in the Water")…