Robert Gates

Every year brings a slew of new and reissued versions of this most beloved of Handel's works. This one first saw daylight in 1966, but lest you think it's outdated, this refurbished classic remains a source of listening pleasure. Obviously, it cannot reflect the historically informed performance practices of today. But it is one of the pioneering precursors of contemporary style, with sustained forward momentum, dancing rhythms, and an orchestra slimmed down from the prevailing norms of the 1960s. The singing is fine, with special kudos to the high-flying soprano, Judith Raskin, along with Florence Kopleff, a true alto, and Richard Lewis, a premier Handelian of the period.

Robert Fripp - The Gates Of Paradise (1997) {DGM 9608}
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© 1997 Robert Fripp / Discipline Global Mobile | DGM 9608
Soundscapes / Electronic / Abstract / Experimental / Ambient / Electro-Acoustic / Experimental Ambient

Fripp continues his Soundscape series with this typically evocative piece. As with his other work of this period, the theme touches on devotional and spiritual matters, with Fripp painting challenging and solitary impressions with "Frippertronic" brushstrokes. The new age set will most likely balk at his more dissonant passages, but King Crimson fans and those with a taste for the unusual will delight in his ascetic excess.