The Officium defunctorum by Tomás Luis de Victoria, published in 1605, is one of the masterworks of the musical Renaissance, which still moves us with its austerity and expressive power. It was written in the style of a swansong for the funeral rites of the composers patroness, the empress Maria of Austria, sister of Philip II and widow of the emperor Maximilian II. For the first time in a recording, La Grande Chapelle and Schola Antiqua place the work in its liturgical context, restoring the two original days: the vigil for the dead and the mass which concludes with the rite of absolution.

The cantata, to some extent, is a development from the madrigal that appeared in Italy at the start of the seventeenth century. While the madrigal was refined and delicate, the cantata evolved because composers felt the need to introduce a dramatic narrative element into vocal chamber music and thusly the music took a lighter, wittier turn.
Scarlatti is considered as one if the initiators, and also one of the reformers of this genre, whose outlines he established. In his cantatas for a single solo voice and continuo, Scarlatti treats the latter as a true partner of the voice.

Dutch prog rock enthusiasts Hanlon‘s Razor used the last months for working on an album, being the debut of the project. Hanom‘s Razor, that is the brainchild of Dutch guitarist Louis de Roo and Frank Maarsen…

Recorded live at Roppongi PIT INN, Tokyo, Japan, April 21, 1986.
The Manhattan Jazz Quintet was an unusual group in that they very rarely performed as a unit in the United States (much less Manhattan) but were a major hit in Japan, both for their recordings and occasional tours. Comprised of leader-pianist David Matthews, trumpeter Lew Soloff, tenor-saxophonist George Young, bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Steve Gadd, the band (which emphasized straightahead hard bop swinging) first came together in 1983 at the suggestion of the King label and the top Japanese jazz magazine Swing Journal. To everyone's surprise, its first recording (simply called Manhattan Jazz Quintet) became such a big seller that it was awarded Swing Journal's annual 1984 Gold Disk Award as the #1 album in Japan…

Amarok is essentially a solo project from multi-instrumentalist Michał Wojtas. A few guest performers appear here: Marta Wojtas plays the wavedrum and also wrote the lyrics, Paweł Kowalski plays bass and drums, Sebastuan Wielą dek plays the duduk, Michał Ściwiarski plays the keys, and a few backing vocalists appear, as well. Michał also provides lead vocals, though Mariusz Duda of Riverside and Colin Bass of Camel guest on two tracks.
As you can tell, "Hunt" is a complex affair with an eclectic nature at its core. The overall style here is obviously reminiscent of dark Polish prog, like Riverside; but Michał himself describes the style as "space/progressive rock/ambient/folk/trip hop".

Flowers in the Dirt did earn good reviews but perhaps more important was its accompanying tour, McCartney's first full-fledged world tour in years. Given the tour's enthusiastic reception, McCartney could wait until 1993 to deliver the album's proper sequel, Off the Ground…

Quelle belle aventure pour ces trois musiciens qui se sont rencontrés au Conservatoire de Lyon en 2010 et qui reviennent tout juste d'une tournée en Inde pour sortir leur deuxième opus Khamsin. Comme pour Genesi en 2013, cet EYM Trio fait preuve d'une identité forte avec un parfait équilibre entre une rythmique imparable et un lyrisme enchanteur. Un album conçu comme un carnet de voyages, un journal de bord, une photographie des périples et des rencontres des dernières années.Le pianiste Elie Dufour, qui a composé la majorité des 10 thèmes, le bassiste Yann Phayphet et le polyrythmicien Marc Michel nous embarquent ici avec bonheur et subtilité dans leur jazz métisse où le swing navigue sur le Nil et danse au coeur des Carpates.