Twilight Goddess

Sleep is a common enough subject in art song, and Come to Me in My Dreams, a recital by mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly and pianist Joseph Middleton, isn't the only one. It may well, however, be the best. There are numerous attractions, starting with Connolly's voice, seeming to catch the mixture of clarity and seductiveness in the sleep phenomenon. Connolly touches on some little-known numbers, including a gem by the still rarely heard Muriel Herbert right at the beginning (sample the unaccompanied opening, and you'll be hooked for the duration). The music is all British, mostly from between the world wars, and all more or less similar in tone, although there's some splendid poetry involved.

Midnattsol are back and bigger than ever, now fronted by the awe-inspiring vocal team of Carmen Elise Espenæs and sister Liv Kristine Espenæs (Leaves’ Eyes, Theatre of Tragedy), authoring an entirely new book of stories on The Aftermath, which arrives May 25, 2018, through Napalm Records…

Quintessence (1970). Lead by Australian-born violinist and flutist Rothfield (aka Raja Ram), keyboardist Phil Jones (Shiva Shankar) and Shambu Babaji on bass, this North-London group had very strong spiritual Indian classical music influences. Their first two albums, In Blissfull Company and their eponymous second album (they had much success riding on the popular sudden passion provoked by the Beatles) are filled with Indian Sacred Chants and Psalms, but also much more accessible jazz-filled rock tracks full of delightful moments. The 2004 CD reissue on Repertoire adds a live version of "Jesus, Buddha, Moses, Gauranga" (originally released on the first pressing of the 1970 Island compilation Bumpers) as a bonus track…