Radare 2

The performances are nothing less than superb: they bring back the memories of the great series of recordings made with Pinnock and Hogwood from the 1970's and 80's, and it can be easily seen why the Academy has been the recipient of much praise and awards. These performers have reached a level of performance that clearly places them amongst the top rankings to be found anywhere. But the recordings, too, made by Harmonia Mundi, are also superb. The sonics are excellent, with large dynamic range, imperceptible noise levels, and fantastic balance of the various pieces.

The flautist Michel Blavet was among the foremost European instrumentalists of his time. His second set of compositions, Sonates mêlées de pièces pour la flûte traversière avec la basse (1732), offers us sonatas in four alternating slow and fast movements, built on the Italian model. But in order to bring out the French style, Blavet inserts character pieces - portraits of sorts, most often in rondo form, eitther bearing the name of an actual or fictitious person or a title evoking a quality. As with Blavet in his time, no doubt, Claire Guimond renders all the grace and agility of these fine works

The second in the series covering all of the Rolling Stones' classic 45s in CD format, SINGLES 1965-1967 starts at the exact point where the Stones became more than just a better-than-average bunch of English boys declaring fealty to Chicago blues, "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction." Ending 11 discs (and numerous B-sides) later with the hazy "In Another Land"/"The Lantern" (the second single from the consistently underrated THEIR SATANIC MAJESTIES REQUEST), this set presents the period where the Stones truly earned their status as the World's Greatest Rock Band…