Wings of The Rising Sun

This California-based guitarist was actually born in Germany. His inspiration and style are similar to that of another German immigrant, Deuter, who co-produced and performed on Govi's debut album Sky High. Like Deuter, Govi spent a number of years living and studying in India, where he added sitar to his vocabulary of acoustic and electric guitars, mandola, and cello.Govi's music gained in popularity in the 1990s, with the expansion of peoples awareness of world music and a renewed passion for flamenco, spawning new age hit albums like Andalusian Nights and Passion and Grace. His music is a gentle, melodious combination of influences from around the world.

Despite its brevity, Purcell's Dido and Aeneas holds many charms for audience and performers alike, so it's no wonder that there has recently been something of a boomlet in recordings and reissues (certainly, it doesn't hurt that this mini-sized opera fits easily on one disc). This particular traversal is helmed by the rising young French conductor and harpsichordist Emmanuelle Haïm, whose snap and vigor in this repertoire is immensely appealing. Another real pleasure is getting to know the stylish Concert d'Astrée, whose poise and elegance is a welcome addition to the roster of Baroque ensembles.

Kitaro's universally acknowledged as the founding architect of new age music. The Grammy and Golden Globe Award-Winning Kitaro has achieved global acclaim over a more than three decade long career with a signature sound and a pioneering fusion of cultures, techniques and spheres of consciousness that are truly his own.

Known both for his solo hits in the '80s as well as his hits with the band Smokie in the '70s, Chris Norman is a British soft rock singer with an international following whose career spans several decades. A few years after the success of his 1978 Suzi Quatro duet, "Stumblin' In," he parted ways with Smokie and found solo success with his second album, 1986's Some Hearts Are Diamonds. In the decades that followed, Norman proved himself to be surprisingly prolific, delivering a new studio album every two or three years and maintaining a large fan base in Germany, where his chart success continued into the 2000s. Following a 2004 resurgence and Top Ten German hit with "Amazing," he continued releasing new material as well as career-spanning collections like Definitive Collection: Smokie And Solo Years.