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Canadian-Italian singer Emily D’Angelo announces her upcoming second solo DG album freezing, which features seventeen songs drawn from folk tradition, art song and beyond. The mezzo-soprano offers a personal take on music that spans five centuries, ranging from songs by John Dowland and Henry Purcell; Rebecca Clarke, Zoltán Kodály, W.C. Handy and Philip Glass; to recent works by Randy Newman, Jeanine Tesori, Cecilia Livingston, “Adrian Ira” Kramer and US band Ween.

Better known as founder and leader of the progressive Canadian band Sense, Stéphane Desbiens makes no compromises on "Shimmering Lights" (2006), offering us an exceptional and unconventional musical experience. Calling on its various influences, from blues, hard rock to jazz and classical music, this amazing guitarist makes no excuses as he proposes a very personal and alternative view of progressive rock music. Tomas Bodin (Flower Kings), Martin Orford (IQ) and Fred Schendel (Glass Hammer) have all contributed to this very special project…

There are melodies that accompany us for a lifetime. You twist and turn them, they can inspire, give hope or comfort. For Johann Sebastian Bach [1685-1750] it was a simple hymn: O head full of blood and wounds. He used this melody again and again, in various settings, in some of his greatest works such as the Christmas Oratorio or the St Matthew Passion. It runs through his life as a red thread, like this concept album: Ebenbild is a continuous narrative in which the boundaries between musical genres and between music and language are blurred.

Il pomo d’oro and Francesco Corti present Handel’s Apollo e Dafne and Armida abbandonata, together with two outstanding vocalists: soprano Kathryn Lewek (Armida & Dafne) and baritone John Chest (Apollo). Handel composed these two cantatas shortly after his Italian sojourn (1706-1709), and they demonstrate his acquaintance with and aptitude for Italian operatic music. Compared to opera, supporting roles are left out of these relatively compact cantatas, increasing the focus on the main characters, and heightening the expressive depth of their music. Il pomo d’oro performs these pieces with historically-informed ears, lively and colourful. The cantatas alternate with several delightful orchestral pieces by Handel, including several movements from his Almira Suite.

Canadian-Italian singer Emily D’Angelo announces her upcoming second solo DG album freezing, which features seventeen songs drawn from folk tradition, art song and beyond. The mezzo-soprano offers a personal take on music that spans five centuries, ranging from songs by John Dowland and Henry Purcell; Rebecca Clarke, Zoltán Kodály, W.C. Handy and Philip Glass; to recent works by Randy Newman, Jeanine Tesori, Cecilia Livingston, “Adrian Ira” Kramer and US band Ween.

Michael d'Abo first rose to prominence in British rock through his assumption of a most unenviable task, succeeding Paul Jones as lead singer in Manfred Mann – the group's own record label, EMI, was so persuaded of the unlikelihood that anyone could replace him, that they dropped the band from the roster. He proved up to the challenge, however, and across the four decades since, has remained a busy and well-known musical figure, in rock and in music in general.