Justin Ramondo

Violinist Théotime Langlois de Swarte and harpsichordist Justin Taylor, two of the most promising virtuosos of the new generation and founder members of the ensemble Le Consort, now present a duo album that pays tribute to a great eighteenth-century dynasty of musicians, the violinists and composers of the Francoeur family.

Tuba virtuoso Justin Benavidez is heard in three new tuba concertos, two recent solos, and stunning transcriptions of works by Gustav Mahler and Claude Debussy. Benavidez is currently Professor of Tuba and Euphonium at Florida State University and performs as principal tuba of the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra. In the summer he is on the faculty at the Round Top Music Festival in Texas. With his playing noted for it's "tremendous virtuosity and stylistic versatility," Benavidez has performed in venues throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. He has been featured numerous times on APM's Performance Today radio program. His debut solo album, Emblems, won Silver Medals in the Classical Album and Instrumental Solo Album categories of the Global Music Awards. The International Tuba Euphonium Association Journal described it as "an impressive and highly entertaining record" on which Benavidez "shreds with enthusiasm, exuberance, and precision."

Justin Hayward's Night Flight was never too impressive in its original LP release – the pressing was noisy and the sound was just different enough from his prior records to be off-putting. The quarter century since its release has allowed the recording to age well; additionally, the 2004 remastered edition finally shows off the finer points of producer Jeff Wayne's approach to serious advantage – the music comes off as lean and spacious, and Hayward's singing displays the power and richness in this reissue to carry the album properly. Additionally, one of the two bonus tracks, a live version of "Forever Autumn" from a concert at San Juan Capistrano, extends the value of the CD considerably, as a previously unreleased version of the song that started Hayward's professional relationship with Wayne and led to the recording of the original LP (in addition to being one of the prettiest songs with which Hayward has ever been associated).

In 1727, having just become a naturalised British subject, Handel was commissioned to write a set of anthems for the coronation of George II. Since he could hardly have expected ever to see a more majestic occasion, the composer took full advantage of it to put on a musical firework display of unprecedented splendour. The RIAS Kammerchor and the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin give thrilling accounts of these flamboyant works – some of which are still used today at each new coronation!