Beyond Chant

One of the towering figures of 20th century's music, Alabama-born pianist and organist Herman "Sun Ra" Blount (1914) became the cosmic musician par excellence. Despite dressing in extraterrestrial costumes (but inspired by the pharaohs of ancient Egypt) and despite living inside a self-crafted sci-fi mythology (he always maintained that he was from Saturn, and no biographer conclusively proved his birth date) and despite littering his music with lyrics inspired to a self-penned spiritual philosophy (he never engaged in sexual relationships apparently because he considered himself an angel), Sun Ra created one of the most original styles of music thanks to a chronic disrespect for both established dogmas and trendy movements.

Enigma - Classic Album Selection (2013) [5CD] {Virgin}
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© 2013 Virgin Music / EMI / Universal | 0600753459843
New Age / Electronic / Ethnic Fusion / Dance Pop

Part of Universal's Classic Album Selection series, this multi-part package from the aptly named Spanish ethno-fusion dance-pop provocateurs Enigma features five complete studio albums, including MCMXC a.D. (1990), The Cross of Changes (1993), Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi! (1996), Screen Behind the Mirror (1999), and Voyageur (2003).

Various Artists - From Ragtime To Swing (1898-1952) - La Grande Histoire Du Jazz Vol. 1 (2010) {Box 25CD - 25 of 100}
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© 2010 Le Chant du Monde | 574 1900.24
Jazz / Ragtime / Swing

Each box contains 25 slipcase CDs, a booklet (up to 186 pages) and an index. The booklets contain extensive notes (Eng/Fr) with recording dates and line-ups. 31 hours of music in each box, totalling 1677 tracks Each track has been restored and mastered from original sources. The only reason I can think of for there not yet being a review of these four boxed sets, is that those who own them are just too busy having one hell of a blast listening to them. Some people moan about the 50 year copyright law for audio recordings in Europe, but without it this highly entertaining, eye-opening and educational undertaking could never have taken place. These 100 discs (spread over four boxed sets of 25 discs) tell the story of jazz from 1898 to 1959.

Over a century of captivating French music for the flute, from Mélanie Bonis (1858-1937) to Élise Bertrand (b.2000), including a premiere on disc.

We all know that beneath the surface of music, beyond the joy or excitement or even heartache that this beautiful language of sound can stir within us, lies the often mysterious realm of music theory—a complex syntax of structural and instrumental resources that composers may draw on. No matter what kind of music we listen to—symphony or string quartet, saxophone solo or vocal ballad, hip hop or Gregorian chant—we feel the impact of that music and have done so all our lives, even though we may not know how such impact is achieved, or understand the fundamental processes of musical composition. But what if we did understand how certain musical effects were achieved? What if we could learn to follow the often-intimidating language of key signatures, pitch, mode, melody, meter, and other parts of musical structure used by composers? What if we could recognize these various components at work as we listened to our favorite music? What if we could "speak" the language of Western music?

A Fritz Kreisler recording can always be recognized by the violinist's beefy, baritonal sonority, inimitable portamento, and communicative warmth. Most of the repertoire here consists of the short, encore pieces that prevailed in the era of 78rpm records, many penned or arranged by Kreisler, who was always on the lookout for memorable tunes.

The world’s first ever truly complete collection of these works, curated in association with world authority on Tchaikovsky, Tchaikovsky Research, Tubingen. 10 CDs (over 11 hours) of music, which includes: 2 hours of premiere international recordings, such as Tchaikovsky’s earliest surviving work “Anastasie-valse” and some of his solo piano transcriptions of his orchestral works, including the Festival Coronation March and the 1812 Overture (complete). A piano transcription of the complete Nutcracker Ballet – The first recording on a major international label. Valentina’s most ambitious undertaking in the recording studio to date.