Ageing And 100

The international success of Faust after its premiere in 1859 completely overshadowed all of Gounod’s subsequent operas. He had known Goethe’s masterpiece for two decades and brought to the text his gifts for memorable melody and rich orchestration. Added to this, the plot of Faust’s ageing and the heroine Marguerite’s redemption, offered the opportunity for the most spectacular stage effects. Heard here in its 1864 London version with an additional air and without spoken dialogue or ballet, Faust represents 19th-century French opera at its peak.

Cosmograf is a progressive rock project lead by Robin Armstrong, a multi instrumentalist musician from Hampshire. This is his/their third album, and focuses upon the theme of ageing and personal experiences when growing up. This latest release includes contributions from a number of special guests from the progressive rock world including Bob Dalton (It Bites), Steve Thorne, Lee Abraham (Lee Abraham Band), Simon Rogers and Steve Dunn (Also Eden) and Luke Machin (The Tangent). The album is a really magnificent, albeit at times quite a quirky, slice of quintessentially English progressive music that is rooted in 70s classic rock along but also featuring some particularly contemporary elements.