Young Champion Retsu September 2013 (nâ° 9)

The survival the Leiden Choirbooks from the iconoclastic fury in 1566 seems to indicate that the manuscripts were carefully kept somewhere under lock and key in the church. Today, these choirbooks provide unique and extremely valuable proof of the rich musical life of 16th century Holland. Even though musical practice flourished greatly in Dutch churches in 16th century, extremely little evidence of this has survived in Dutch archives and libraries. Of the countless music manuscripts that were used by singers of the liturgical hours as well as others, only a fraction of these have survived the ravages of time.

The triumphant release of Mission in autumn 2012 drew rave reviews and was followed up in September 2013 with Steffani’s Stabat Mater, alongside his greatest sacred works for chorus, orchestra and soloists, and a further disc of dances and overtures with the celebrated I Barrochisti conducted by Diego Fasolis. On the Stabat Mater, Bartoli leads an array of internationally celebrated singers including countertenor Franco Fagioli, the bass Salvo Vitale and the two young German tenors Daniel Behle and Julian Prégardien. The final album of the collection is Danze & Ouvertures’, contains 43 great tracks of enchanting early-baroque music.

Jordi Savall - 25 Years La Capella Reial De Catalunya (2013) {4CD Set Alia Vox AVSA9897}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 1.18 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 603 Mb
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© 2013 Alia Vox | AVSA 9897
Classical / Renaissance / Vocal Music / Orchestral / Chamber Music

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Capella Reial de Catalunya, the choir he founded in 1988, Jordo Savall has gathered four examples of their work, rich in Catalan heritage, luxuriously presented in a box and all published originally on the Astree label. In 1987, after 13 years of intense research, concerts and recordings with the ensemble Hespèrion XX, the decision to send our children to school in Catalonia led to us spending more time there and gave us the opportunity to contact and select various Romance language-speaking singers from Catalonia, Spain and other countries. Convinced of the defining influence that a country’s cultural roots and traditions inevitably have on the expression of its musical language, Montserrat Figueras and I founded La Capella Reial with the aim of creating one of the first vocal ensembles devoted exclusively to the performance of Golden Age music according to historical principles and consisting exclusively of Hispanic and Latin voices.

Mostly Other People Do The Killing - Red Hot (2013) {Hot Cup 125}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 290 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 124 Mb
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© 2013 Moppa Music / Hot Cup Records | HC 125
Jazz / Post-Bop / Avant-Garde Jazz

I've been too busy enjoying the music of Mostly Other People Do the Killing (MOPTDK) to realize how controversial they've become. If you doubt their ability to rile the jazz world, all you have to do is post one of their videos on your Facebook page and wait for the ensuing kerfuffle to begin. The core band is comprised of four virtuoso instrumentalists, free-spirits who think nothing of hopping from honest-to-god punk rock, to free improv, to hard bop, to Americana, and back; sometimes in the space of a single track. Many of their original compositions, written by bassist Moppa Elliott, have the outward appearance of overlooked post-bop and bebop gems from the mid-1950s and early 60s.

Jérôme Lejeune continues his History of Music series with this boxed set devoted to the Renaissance. The next volume in the series after Flemish Polyphony (RIC 102), this set explores the music of the 16th century from Josquin Desprez to Roland de Lassus. After all of the various turnings that music took during the Middle Ages, the music of the Renaissance seems to be a first step towards a common European musical style. Josquin Desprez’s example was followed by every composer in every part of Europe and in every musical genre, including the Mass setting, the motet and all of the various new types of solo song. Instrumental music was also to develop considerably from the beginning of the 16th century onwards.

Vernon Burch - When I Get Back Home (1977) {2013 Remastered & Expanded Reissue - Big Break Records CDBBR 0242}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 312 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 109 Mb
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© 1977, 2013 Columbia / Sony Music / Big Break Records / Cherry Red | CDBBR 0242
R&B / Soul

One of the coolest, grooviest albums ever from Vernon Burch – an overlooked 70s soul genius who worked with countless others in the decade, and cut a handful of gems on his own! The set may well be Vernon's best, as it's got this really wonderful approach that mixes funky elements, jazzy vibes, and lots of other warm touches – more than enough to put the record in the same great space as 70s classics by artists like Leon Ware or Ronnie McNeir! Vernon's vocals are wonderful – soaring, but laidback too – and the arrangements have some great jazzy touches on keyboards and guitar, almost in a way that echoes the best modes of Stevie Wonder. A definite gem from the rare groove generation.

On 100 X Vive la France there are 100 tracks that perfectly reflect the feeling of 50 years of French music. From veterans such as Charles Trenet, Henri Salvador, Yves Montand and Catherine Sauvage to more recent artists such as In-Grid, Renaud and others. The tracks are arranged chronologically on the CDs and are thus a nice overview of half a century French music.