Plk C'est Mort

Without question these Frenchmen were one of the very first RIO bands to burst upon the scene. Their Communist message was as important and probably more so than the music they created.
How would like an hour to fool around, forget yourself and be guided by a myriad of humoristic sounds? You are bound to get entertained with this release. Its eclectic nature and funny parts, sounds and some noises will guarantee ~33 minutes of comic relief from your everyday life troubles. All in all, this is a wacky release which explores the amusing side of music and is also an experimental composition that goes for a stroll all around the block for musical ideas and structures while bringing in their own luggage.

Gerviev and the Vienna Philharmonic give a splendid performance of Symphonie fantastique. The Death of Cleopatra is a dramatic "lyric scene" written in 1819 describing "an Egyptian queen who has been bitten by a poisonous snake and is dying a painful death in an agony of remorse." Mezzo-soprano Olga Borodina, now at the peak of her career, is magnificent in this performance, a very appropriate coupling for the symphony. The Vienna Philharmonic is at its best and this recording, from live performances in May 2003 in Vienna's Musikverein is superb sonically, more natural in sound than the same conductor and orchestra's recording of Pictures at an Exhibition recorded in April 2000 (see REVIEW). Text/translation are provided for Cléopåtre.

The French cantata had a brief, but vibrant life during the first three decades of the 18th century. Beginning with Morin's first book in 1706, there followed dozens of books of cantatas by a number of French composers. Clerambault, Boismortier, Rameau and Monteclair all published cantatas during this period. Monteclair may by relatively unknown, but he was a composer of undoubted talent if judged by the works on this recording…If you like the French baroque, do yourself a favor and try to buy this recording. It is a high point in the art of the cantata, and in the musicianship of William Christie and his colleagues.

Sombres Forêts is back with its third album, who sees the band take on a more atmospheric and introspective approach. By incorporating some Miserere Luminis ADN into his solo project, Annatar offers an album that is rich in atmosphere and textures, where dissonant and droning guitars go side-to-side with the acoustic parts and tortured vocals that have become the group’s trademarks over the years. A journey to dark and stormy lands!

Recorded live at Alzette Kulturfabrik, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg in February 2006.

Humeur lunaire, poésie, légéreté et simplicité, tels pourraient être les adjectifs qui viennent en tête immédiatement quand on sort de l'écoute de cet excellent résumé de la carrière de l'un des plus brillant et authentique chanteur français contemporain. Qui de Souchon ou de son éternel acolyte Voulzy a fait quoi, qui a le plus de talent ? à ces questions aucune réponse n'est possible tant les 2 représentent une symbiose artistique unique et parfaite.