Nat King Cole's flawless vocals combined with ever so sweet orchestrations and choral backings, provide a collection of standard Christmas carols, hymns and songs that gloriously captures the spirit of the season. Without fireworks, improvisations, catchy rhythms, or unusual variations, Cole sings songs full of love in his relaxed and unpretentious style. The orchestra and chorus under the direction of Ralph Carmichael are used to highlight Cole's vocal interpretations, instead of making their own statements, and the use of bells, bell lyre, flutes, and harp add depth to the background while adding emphasis to the lyrics. The title track, beautifully sung to an accompaniment of piano and strings, has always been Cole's biggest Christmas hit, it has remained a perinnial and is possibly his most widely heard record.

This brilliantly devised CD from Gerard McChrystal is a deeply personal album; at times mystical, the music is always beautiful and captivating. Indeed 'Aria' has similar qualities to Jan Gabarek's 'Officium' (which sold 1.4 million copies) and will appeal to this fan-base. Featuring soprano and alto saxophone with a colourful array of different ensemble accompaniments — string orchestra, choir, guitar, piano, solo, string quartet and electronics. Baroque music blends seamlessly with contemporary; Handel resolves into Michael Nyman, Debussy's Syrinx morphs into Ravel's Piece en forme de habanera. All the tracks lead to the next by key or by starting and ending on the same note. Other works include Philip Glass Façades, Faure Les Berceaux, Bozza Aria, as well as original works by Billy Cowie, Karen Tanaka, Andy Scott and Michael McGlynn (from the vocal group Anúna who featured in Riverdance). Accompanying Gerard on this album are some of the UK's finest classical musicians including the Smith Quartet and the No. 1 best-selling classical artist, guitarist Craig Ogden. Gerard McChrystal is a multi-award winning saxophonist who has performed as a soloist in over 30 countries with many of the World's leading orchestras and ensembles.

In all the busy excitement of the holiday season, it’s important to take a moment to breathe and be fully present. The compilation album Winter Calm features peaceful and contemplative classical music with a holiday theme. The album consists of a collection of tracks from contemporary classical musicians such as Peter Gregson, Sophie Kauer, Raphaël Feuillâtre, Michael A. Muller and more.

The brainchild of Kevin Dodson, a former architect of the cult progressive rock band Madrigal, The Madrigal Project seeks to breathe new life into the progressive rock genre with ambitious songwriting, high production values and a stellar lineup of all-star musicians. The debut album '11th Hour' features an impressive roster of guest musicians, each bringing their unique individual talents to the project. The music on ‘11th Hour’ is inspired by legends like Gentle Giant, Peter Hammill, Jethro Tull, Yes, Genesis, Peter Gabriel and combines progressive rock’s classic elements with modern sensibilities. Kevin Dodson’s songwriting, drumming, and vocals are central to the album’s dynamic and unique sound.

Giuseppe Giordani was an important Italian composer best known for his operas, oratorios, and sacred music. Among his greatest successes was his 1787 oratorio La distruzione di Gerusalemme, believed to be the first sacred drama presented in a theater. It drew enthusiastic praise from the local press and positive commentary from such notables as Goethe, who was present at the Naples premiere. Giordani was born into a well-to-do family in Naples on December 19, 1751. He exhibited musical talent early on and enrolled at the Santa Maria di Loreto Conservatory in Naples, where he studied under Antonio Sacchini, Fedele Fenaroli, and Gennaro Manna. The loss of his father in 1770 – when Giuseppe was 18 – apparently did not derail his education, for he would secure an important post, that of secondary maestro di cappella at the Tesoro di San Gennaro, in Naples, in 1774.

Since the earliest recordings of Biber’s Rosenkranz or Mystery Sonatas made during the 1960s, there has been ever-growing interest in these beautiful pieces and a wealth of recordings. In the dedication to his patron, Max Gandolph, Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg, Biber explained that the subject of each Sonata is a section from the Catholic devotion known as the Rosary. He arranged the 15 Sonatas, scored for violin and continuo, into equal groups of Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious Mysteries, and concluded the cycle with an unaccompanied Passacaglia which provokes a meditative coda to the 15 central events in Christian history. This piece and the opening sonata of the set are alone in not requiring scordatura – that is, retuning of the violin strings which enables composers to achieve unconventional sounds as well as facilitating some fingerings.

While this cannot be a first-choice recording of the Bach Overtures (Suites), it's certainly a worthy addition to any collector's Bach shelf. Citing numerous examples of recent research, including conductor Siegbert Rampe's own, along with articles by Dirst, Rifkin, and Wolff, Rampe and his excellent period-instrument ensemble Nova Stravaganza strive to show what may have been the original forms of these four famous works. That means we get to hear suites Nos. 3 and 4 without trumpets and timpani; suite No. 2 played in A minor instead of the usual B minor–and with a solo violin rather than flute; and suite No. 1 as "a simple septet"–two oboes, two solo violins, solo viola, bassoon, and harpsichord (reinforced "in accordance with period practice" by 16' violone).

Unanimously acclaimed by her peers, the music-loving public and the press, French pianist Catherine Collard (1947-1993) died far too soon. The memories of her concerts, master classes and generosity are still very much alive today. The recordings made for Erato and EMI gathered here bear witness to her exceptional talent.

Maurice Abravanel The state of Utah became a flourishing classical music scene thanks to the efforts of Maurice Abravanel, who served as music director of the Utah Symphony for 32 years starting in 1947. Although his peers might have looked at a posting in Utah as death in the boondocks, to Abravanel it was an opportunity to accomplish his dream of building up a permanent symphony orchestra of his own in a part of the world that was sorely lacking such a resource. Doing this meant turning down a lucrative contract with Radio City Music Hall, and even working without pay during the orchestra's most extreme periods of financial struggle.

None of the Band's previous work gave much of a clue about how they would sound when they released their first album in July 1968. As it was, Music from Big Pink came as a surprise. At first blush, the group seemed to affect the sound of a loose jam session, alternating emphasis on different instruments, while the lead and harmony vocals passed back and forth as if the singers were making up their blend on the spot. In retrospect, especially as the lyrics sank in, the arrangements seemed far more considered and crafted to support a group of songs that took family, faith, and rural life as their subjects and proceeded to imbue their values with uncertainty. Some songs took on the theme of declining institutions less clearly than others, but the points were made musically as much as lyrically…

Happily, it is not the responsibility of this review to address in detail the train wreck that was the 1979 film adaptation of the stage musical Hair. A complete misfire conceived by a screenwriter, Michael Weller, and a director, Czech expatriate Milos Forman, who did not seem to have the slightest familiarity with hippies, the '60s, America, or even Broadway, the movie was miscast with supposedly bankable young film stars of the day (Treat Williams, John Savage, Beverly d'Angelo), and the essentially plotless libretto of the stage version was replaced by a contrived Hollywood script in a textbook example of how not to do an adaptation.

This release is very interesting set of nostalgic sides from sessions in Art Blakey's name, with a big band he formed independently of the Jazz Messengers. Featuring Trane in an ensemble setting with Al Cohn (writer of most of the charts, according to Charles Waring's liner notes) Donald Byrd, Sahib Shihab and Bill Graham, the record has a slick but not superficial, swinging sound, bright and cheering. This package also features a second disk of alternate takes and one bonus track ("Oasis") making the set a nice catch.

Curtis Knight Zeus was a band led by Curtis Knight that was active from 1973–1974. Curtis Knight, born Mont Curtis McNear, was an American musician who is known for his association with Jimi Hendrix. Knight was a singer in the 1960s Harlem R&B music scene, usually fronting his own band, the Squires. In 1965, with Hendrix as guitarist, he recorded some singles and demos for record producer Ed Chalpin. Chalpin also signed Hendrix to a management contract, which Hendrix soon forgot about and left for England in 1966 to form the Jimi Hendrix Experience. After Hendrix became famous, Knight and Chalpin issued hundreds of albums of the recordings with Hendrix, resulting in years of legal action by both sides. During the 1970s, after Hendrix's demise, Knight moved to London, where he formed the group "Curtis Knight, Zeus", and toured throughout Europe, relying on his Hendrix connection for many years. Among the musicians enlisted was Fast Eddie Clarke, who later joined Motörhead.

Iconic and prolific composer and musical collaborator in the progressive rock universe, Neal Morse brings a new project to the genre with Neal Morse & The Resonance. Rather than an international alliance, like Transatlantic, The Resonance unites local musicians from the Nashville area.
The album consists of only five songs: but it's three short songs bookended by two prog opuses at over 20 minutes, Of course, in true Morse tradition, the two longer songs, Eternity In Your Eyes and No Hill For A Climber, are adventures in prog rock creativity and experimentation. Both are divided into parts with both instrumental and voice sections.
Of the shorter songs, Thief throws you a curve with its mild start, but then erupts with a heavier middle with some big drums and hard organ…

A relatively standard release from Clifton Chenier, the then reigning king of zydeco. The music bumps and grooves in all the ways it's supposed to. One of the songs dates the album a bit ("Zydeco Disco"), but aside from that one, the rest of the album is pretty much straightforward zydeco and blues. In spots it delves a little into jazz, but only in spots. In and of itself, delving into jazz wouldn't be such a bad thing, but this band's form of the genre tends to be a bit sloppy. When it comes to zydeco, there's no stopping them, but elsewhere they're more stoppable.