The Action are one of the great "lost" bands of mid-'60s England. Though they filled mod clubs with happy patrons and managed to score George Martin as a benefactor, they only released a handful of unsuccessful singles during their brief existence. Most of their music remained in the vaults for years, only to be discovered later and celebrated. After years of reissues that only told part of the band's story, Grapefruit's 2018 Shadows and Reflections: The Complete Recordings 1964-1968 collects everything: their five officially released singles, BBC sessions, their legendary demos from 1967, backing tracks, alternate takes, different mixes, and songs they recorded just before the band broke up in 1968…
Kotebel's self-released debut, Structures, contained promises – but the production (synthesizer only with programmed tracks) held the music back. This second offering, released by the giant prog rock label Musea, is much more satisfying. Although still very much keyboard oriented, Mysticae Visiones is better programmed (the drums have considerably improved) and features other instrumentalists. The presence of guitarist César Garcia and flutist Omar Acosta provides a lush '70s progressive rock atmosphere not unlike Maneige circa Ni Vent Ni Nouvelle or the instrumental albums of Banco del Mutuo Soccorso. Cellist Francisco Ochando and singer Carolina Prieto add more occasional touches. The music of Carlos Plaza (the man behind the moniker Kotebel) remains romantic, symphonic, highly melodious.
Violinist Rachel Barton Pine and harpsichordist Jory Vinikour, critically acclaimed artists of interntional renown- and also close friends-record together for the first time on this album of J.S. Bach's complete sonatas for violin and harpsichord. The artists approach these works as Bach intended: as trio sonatas with equally important roles for the violin and the harpsichord's treble and bass lines. In addition to the six Sonatas, the album offers the remarkable and ravishingly poetic Cantabile, BWV 1019a, a free-standing work that Bach originally conceived as a movement of the Sonata, BWV 1019. Cedille's audiophile engineering and the intimate acoustics of Evanston, Illinois' Nichols Hall allow the complex trio textures to blossom with detail. In all, the album sets a new standard for a body of work that Bach's son, CPE, considered among his father's finest compositions. Rachel Barton Pine is a Billboard chart-topping artist.
A World Premiere recording of Zelenka's complete Psalmi Varii Separatim Scripti. They come from the fourth and last cycle of Psalm settings Zelenka made during his years in Dresden. Detailed notes on them and their texts in English come with the disc.