Marcel Frèderic

On this recording Marcel Loeffler pays tribute to the legendary St-Germain des-Prés of the post-war years, when jazz and chanson together belonged in heaven. The material you can hear in this album is the best, with the great melodies of Brassens, Aznavour, Gainsbourg and Trenet brought alive by a famous accordionist whose light, powerful swing has earned him a reputation as a peerless musician. A genuine breath of fresh spring air that combines warm music and joie de vivre.

This disc is part of a remarkable series on France's Alpha label, pairing mostly Baroque repertories with detailed presentations of visual artworks that are either contemporary with the music or otherwise somehow related to it. You can get a good education in art of the seventeenth century just by buying these discs as they appear. Look at the dramatically lit detail from a 1663 painting by Lubin Baugin on the cover of the disc (the entire painting, along with other details, is reproduced inside).

This bargain box contains recordings made between 1988 and 1999 accompanied by extensive introductory material. Alongside five CDs devoted exclusively to Telemann, and almost every work for recorder that he composed, are one of music for French horn and another of music for the rarer instruments of the baroque flute family. Works by composers contemporary with the Hamburg Kapellmeister have also been included in this new selection of re-releases from the Ricercar back catalogue.

A unique collector's edition is a "climbing on the history of music" for 20 centuries from ancient times (Greece) to the present day. "History of Music", the 20-disc collection. Starting with the ancient music, music of the Middle Ages continued, Renaissance and Baroque music and ending the era of romanticism and modernity.

An extraordinary enterprise … As an experience of the sounds and styles of French organ culture this boxed set, it seems to me, is indispensable … the body of music is mostly, here, not created but simply made alive by the apt choice of instruments … it is a resource to which to return with delight.