The Specialist

As a specialist of Baroque and classical eras, the albums Neville Marriner dedicated to modern music are quite rare among his discography, making them all the more interesting! This 1978 recording highlights two Genevan composers, the greatest Swiss figures of their generation. Ernest Bloch (famous for his hit for cello and orchestra Schelomo) composed a beautiful and lively neo-classical Concerto grosso for piano and strings, as for Frank Martin, one of his most celebrated compositions is the Petite Symphonie concertante and its unusual distribution – a double string orchestra accompanied by a piano, a harp and a harpsichord. Featuring Osian Ellis, Francis Grier, Philip Ledger, and Simon Preston.

The fourth volume in the Future Sound of Jazz series is an experimental fusion of Jazz and Trip-Hop that perfect for a late night chillout session and creates a fantastic atmosphere.

Come Go With Me: The Stax Collection presents all of The Staple Singers’ studio albums released on the iconic Stax label, spanning 1968-1974. The final, seventh disc offers rarities, non-album singles, and several live recordings from the legendary 1972 Wattstax music festival. Housed in a slipcase, the collection also includes a deluxe booklet with archival photos and new liner notes from American music specialist and curator Levon Williams (formerly of the Stax Museum and the National Museum of African American Music), and folklorist, ethnomusicologist and writer Dr. Langston Wilkins.

Although vintage British psychedelia is viewed by many these days as an Alice In Wonderland-style enchanted garden full of beatific flower children innocently gathering flowers or chasing butterflies, there was always a more visceral element to the scene. Pointedly free of such fripperies as scarlet tunic-wearing gnomes, phenomenal cats and talismanic bicycles, the power trio format that was popularised by the likes of Cream and the Jimi Hendrix Experience spawned a host of imitators. As the Sixties drew to a close and pop evolved slowly but inexorably into rock, psychedelia gave way to a sound that was harder, leaner, heavier, louder.

During Joseph Haydn’s lifetime, concertos for solo instruments and ensemble were generally written for a particular musician. In the case of Haydn’s violoncello Concerto in D major Hob.VII:2, this person was Anton Kraft, first cello in the Esterházy ensemble and later one of Vienna’s greatest virtuosi. This composition for a particular occasion has become a masterpiece for the ages; an autograph score by the composer survives, dating from 1783. The services of Haydn specialist Sonja Gerlach have been obtained for this edition of the concerto with piano accompaniment. She enriches the Urtext edition with a detailed preface that also examines the execution of the ornaments and the cadenzas.

Various Artists - The Ace Story, Volume 2 (2010) {Ace Records CDCHD 1281 rec 1956-1964}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 249 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 135 Mb
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© 1956-64, 2010 Ace Records | CDCHD 1281
Rhythm & Blues / Rock & Roll / Early R&B / Soul / Funk / New Orleans R&B / Blues

To clear up a couple possible points of confusion about this 2010 release: although it came out on the British Ace label, it's actually a compilation of material that came out on the American Ace label between the mid-'50s and mid-'60s (with the exception of a couple cuts that didn't appear until the early '70s). Also, it's not identical to the 12-track LP titled The Ace Story, Vol. 2 that came out in the '70s. This edition adds 12 bonus tracks, making it a more comprehensive sampler of the label's rock and R&B.

Philip Brunelle and the Orchestra of the Royal Swedish Academy's little anthology of symphonic music from the royal Swedish court between about 1753 (Uttini's symphony) and 1822 (Haeffner's overture). The works range from imports (Uttini was the director of an Italian opera company in Stockholm) to the accomplishments of native sons like Pehr Frigel. With the exception of Uttini, who was born a generation before the others, the composers all belonged to the same generation, yet their styles vary widely, from the gallant Gluck-admirer Uttini through the stormy Grenser to the lyrico-dramatic Haeffner.

For the first time it is possible to present the orchestra music os Beethoven to the listening public of today in a form which he would recognise. For the Hanover Band is an orchestra of 29 specialist performers on late 18th-century instruments, a classical orchestra modelled in size and type on the Burgtheater orchestra in theVienna of 1800.