Vivaldi wrote Juditha Triumphans for the musically talented women of the Ospedale della Pieta, the Venetian orphanage with which he was associated on and off throughout most of his working life. The librettist, Giacomo Cassetti, described the work as a ''sacred military oratorio performed in times of war by the chorus of virgin singers, to be sung in the church of the Pieta''. The war was that into which Venice had entered against the Ottoman Empire and to which reference is made both in the body of the Latin text and in a ''Carmen Allegoricum'' which accompanied the text of the work's first performance.

Digital Primitives - Digital Primitives (2007) {Hopscotch HOP 39}
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© 2007 Hopscotch Records | HOP 39
Jazz / Improvised Music / Avant-Garde Jazz

What is this…? An absolutely new way in the approach of jazz! Free jazz piano-player and iconoclast Cooper-Moore does not play a note of piano on this album, but he plays "diddley bow, mouth bow, bango, voice", some pretty unusual instruments which nevertheless fit perfectly in the music on this album. This is free jazz with a high level of joy in the performance but also of fun in the music itself : rhythmic complexities, some hard blowing at times, and especially the incredible interplay on these short yet to-the-point pieces. Chad Taylor on drums is exceptionaly strong, but Tsahar on sax is stellar as well, even composed at moments, and it is indeed a rare occasion when you hear the Israeli sax-player hit a tune.

Judas Priest's 18th studio album, FIREPOWER began under inauspicious circumstances. First, guitarist Glenn Tipton, diagnosed with Parkinson's disease a decade ago, found it necessary to retire from the road; second, they lost out to Bon Jovi for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; and finally, former drummer Dave Holland passed on before this set's issue. But the sound of FIREPOWER remains unbowed. Its undiminished power and assaultive mayhem are somewhat tempered in its slower moments by slowly unfurling rage, loss, and menace. It was begun in 2016 by Rob Halford, Tipton, and new guitarist Richie Faulkner.

All aboard! The world’s favorite Pirate Metal Drinking Crew, ALESTORM, are taking you on a wild, wet ride across the seven seas on their new live-album, Live in Tilburg (out May 28, 2021 via Napalm Records)! Starting within the very first seconds of the energetic “Keelhauled”, it is crystal clear that ALESTORM are one of the most creative and unique live bands out there today - and judging by Tilburg’s incredible live audience of 3,000 fans, the band’s unmatched energy leaves no one standing still. Feast your eyes on ALESTORM’s exciting funfest of a live show experience - featuring everyone’s favorite giant blow-up rubber ducky and loads of alcohol - from the comfort of your own couch! Excellently produced and mixed by the renowned Lasse Lammert, who has already been involved in ALESTORM’s studio albums Curse Of The Crystal Coconut, No Grave But The Sea, Sunset On The Golden Age and many more, Live in Tilburg features an amazing mix of ALESTORM’s most beloved hits like “Mexico”, “Alestorm”, “Hangover”, “The Sunk’n Norwegian” and of course, “Fucked With An Anchor”.

Witness the triumphant return of Impaled Nazarene!! After seven years, new studio album Eight Headed Serpent (their 13rd) is finally unleashed upon this pathetic world full of wimps, posers, turn the other cheekers and generally ignorant glue-sniffers with their cancel culture and virtue-signalling. Hitting you like the 666-megaton nuclear bomb, Eight Headed Serpent shows no mercy to anybody! From the toxic testosterone opener of Goat Of Mendes till the last dying cries of flat earthers on Foucault Pendulum, Eight Headed Serpent takes no prisoners. This deadly sonic attack was recorded and mixed at Revolver studio in Finland by Asko Ahonen. Mastered by Mika Jussila at Finnvox studio. Cover artwork created by long time collaborator Ritual from Nucleart Design.

After nearly 10 years since their last studio release, Night Ranger returned with their first album of the '90s, FEEDING OFF THE MOJO. While many longtime fans were happy to see the band back in business, some were upset that the album only featured two original members–guitarist Brad Gillis, and drummer/singer Kelly Keagy (bassist/singer Jack Blades, guitarist Jeff Watson, and keyboardist Alan Fitzgerald were all absent)…

Christoph Korn - Ich Spreche Diesen Text (2016) {Edition Wandelweiser EWR1606}
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© 2016 Edition Wandelweiser Records | EWR 1606
Classical / Modern Classical / Post Modern / Avant-Garde

Two conceptual compositions from Christoph Korn: the first, "Ich Spreche Diesen" (I appeal to this) where spoken word is placed in a loop and then slowly erased by custom software using aleatory procedures; then "Stille" (Silent), a Cage inspired work. The file sizes are not a mistake, as ridiculous as they may seem. Track 1 has many stretches of silence and track 2 is basically pure digital silence the whole way through. FLAC is not constant bit rate encoding so these files sizes are possible with very quiet / silent tracks that are still quite long.

The Maya Beiser / Steven Schick Project - Caught by the Sky with Wire (2000) {OODiscs oo67}
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© 2000 OODiscs | oo67
Classical / Modern Classical / Sound Art / Chamber Music / Cello / Percussion

This talented multi-instrumentalist duo play originally commissioned works influenced by several world music styles. Gada Vina African is a charming and melodious piece for marimba, shaker, a plucked string, and a violin. Nick Didkovsky's suite, Caught by the Sky with Wire, opens with The Dance, featuring angular rhythms and an emotive violin solo with sighs and shakes. Hugging Himself for Days and Never Getting An Answer is a mournful, low string solo played rubato. Those With the Longest Shadows is a brief interlude for a gamelan instrument.

Josquin des Prez - Music in the Sistine Chapel around 1490 - Cut Circle (2012) {2CD Set, Musique en Wallonie MEW 1265-1266}
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© 2012 Musique En Wallonie ‎| MEW 1265-1266
Classical / Reneissance / Sacred / Mass

Аeatures sacred music by Renaissance composers living and working in Rome. Offers new interpretations of music by Josquin des Prez, including his famous Missa L’homme armé super voces musicales. Presents premiere recordings of works by Marbrianus de Orto, Gaspar van Weerbeke, and other scandalously understudied late fifteenth-century singer-composers employed in the newly built chapel of Pope Sixtus IV. In a space that overlooked frescoes by Botticelli and Perugino, they gathered around enormous choirbooks to sing one another’s masses, motets, and hymns. Cut Circle’s recording aims to capture the soundscape of the Sistine Chapel as Josquin knew it.

Brian Charette - Square One (2014) {Posi-Tone PR8120}
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© 2014 Posi-Tone Records | PR8120
Jazz / Soul Jazz / Contemporary Jazz / Hammond Organ

Organist Brian Charette steps strongly back onto the scene with his first record for Posi-Tone, "Square One." With guitarist Yotam Silberstein and drummer Mark Ferber, Charette succeeds in offering listeners a fresh take on the art of the organ trio. While the session is definitely straight ahead and features some hard swinging highlights, the music is also elegantly lyrical and brilliantly evocative of a more modern jazz sensibility. With an amazing combination of talents, some brilliant performances, and an evocative program of music, including several amazing new original compositions, Brian Charette's latest record "Square One" is sure to bring bright moments to jazz fans everywhere.