Venus

Written at the request of Louis XIV in honour of his sisterin- law, Henrietta of England, Le Ballet royal de la naissance de Vénus was performed in 1665 with Henrietta herself as the goddess of love and youth. In twelve entrées, this grandiose spectacle, combining dancing, music and poetry, served the power of the king, while attesting to the magnificence of his court. Musically very inventive, it shows the culmination of the ballet genre, on which Lully was to draw in creating the tragédie en musique. To complete the programme, excerpts from Les Amours déguisés (Armida’s famous lament “Ah! Rinaldo, e dove sei?”), Psyché, Le Bourgeois gentil homme and Le Carnaval - from the latter, a piece recycled from Les Noces de village, a burlesque aria sung by the boastful village schoolmaster Barbacola, a basso buffo role that Lully wrote for himself.

John Blow described Venus and Adonis as a masque, but for all intents and purposes, it's an opera, as fully as Dido and Aeneas is, and it should make anyone who considers the Purcell the first English opera think again. The two works have much in common in their dramatic structure, subject matter, length, and level of musical expressiveness. Based on the quality of Blow's work, it's surprising that the piece isn't frequently programmed on a double bill with Dido and Aeneas…

Frontiers Music Srl is pleased to present "Venus 5", the self-titled debut album from the new international metal group Venus 5! The group is composed of five amazing singers hailing from different European territories. In alphabetical order, they are: Herma (also of SNB, another Frontiers recording artist), Karmen Klinc, Jelena Milovanovic, Tezzi Persson (also of Infinite & Divine, another Frontiers recording artist), and Erina Seitllari. Each vocalist is an outstanding vocal talent, while at the same time representing a unique visual portraying a character created for Venus 5. You will simply have to experience them with your ears and eyes to believe it…

The brilliant musician, composer, and guitar virtuoso Eric Johnson comes shining through with a record breathing with aura of romance, sweeping melodicisms, and breathtaking mystical quality. Venus Isle, released by Capitol records gave a genuine and much deserved positive boost to the popularity and image of Johnson. This is certainly is most enduring and captivating work since his grammy nominated gem, Cliffs of Dover. The songs are stringed together perfectly and spontaneously glide in and out of other, and the album as a whole sizzles with musical quality throughout…