Jordi Savall is painting Monteverdi in the colours of the Mediterranean. The Catalan maestro has entrusted the title role of this foundational work of Western music to a remarkable baritone: the magnificent Marc Mauillon embodies Orfeo, his resonant and ductile voice in perfect unison with the conductors musical vision. Here, a warm performance and rich sound reign supreme!
Billboard Chart-Topper Jazz Artist U-Nam is back with a brand new album “Surface Level”. U-Nam says: "I’m very excited about this new album and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it and recording it. The album has a mix of everything I love, Funk, Smooth Jazz, Soul and a little bit of new influences. I had the help of my usual team and friends on this album, plus some new faces: Shannon Kennedy (Sax,Flute), Dwayne “Smitty” Smith (Bass), Denis Benarrosh (Percussion), Ramon Yslas (Percussion), Fran Merante (Drums), JFly (Drums), Bill Steinway (Piano), Christian Martinez (Trumpet), Maria Grig (Violin & Alto), Raymond Gimenes (Strings Arrangement), Kim Chandler (vocals) & Tim Owens (Vocals), but as well my very good friend Bob Baldwin, and my new “Protégé” and Skytown Records new artist Valeriy Stepanov."
First things first: if you're seeing a picture of this disc on the site of an online retailer, be aware that it contains the Mass in C minor, K. 427, not the "Mass in C," promised by the cover, which would more likely be the "Coronation" Mass in C major, K. 337. It is always a shame when designers are given power of diktat over content editors. The so-called "Great" Mass in C minor is one of Mozart's most ambitious and most problematical works. There was no known immediate stimulus for its composition. Did Mozart begin writing it out of one of his rare religious impulses, on the occasion of his marriage to his bride Constanze? Out of his growing devotion to Freemasonry? Was it his first major exercise in applying the lessons in Bach-style counterpoint he had been receiving at the intellectual salons of the Baron van Swieten in Vienna? Or was it meant as a showpiece for singer Constanze with its killer soprano arias? It was all of these things and none of them, for Mozart never finished the mass.