"L'infedeltà costante" - "Die beständige Untreue", mit diesem Titel haben Anna Bonitatibus und Alan Curtis ihre Haydn-CD umschrieben. Denn um "Untreue" in der einen oder anderen Art geht es bei all den diversen Arien aus Haydns zahlreichen Opern. Die italienische Mezzosopranistin Anna Bonitatibus hat sich Arien aus den Opern La fedeltà premiata, Orlando Palladino, La vera costanza, L'infedeltà delusa, La frascatana, L` isola disabitata und Arianna a Naxos ausgesucht, die Haydn zu Recht als Opernkomponisten "rehabilitieren": Musikalisch abwechslungsreiche, ausdrucksstarke Stücke, die mannigfaltige Facetten von der schlichten Melodie bis hin zu atemberaubenden Koloraturen aufweisen. Eine echte Entdeckung, welche die Sängerin Alan Curtis und sein Complesso Barocco beschwingt präsentieren.

Federico Guglielmo and his historical instruments ensemble Larte dellarco turn to sinfonias and sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti and to the same composers short intermezzo farce La Dirindina. The intermezzo was a type of entracte music inserted as comic relief between the acts of court dramas and operas during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. This particular farsetta involves the personal relations between a budding opera diva and her teacher; she is vain and reluctant to practice, and he is extremely jealous of her lover.

A much needed filling of a gap in the Brilliant Classics discography: the world famous Maria Vespers of Monteverdi! The Maria Vespers contain a collection of liturgical chants and psalms, for a wide variety of instruments, from the festive opening with trumpets to intimate arias for solo voice. In everything one hears the great dramatic genius of Monteverdi, the “first” opera composer in history. Excellent performance, on historical instruments, by conductor Diego Fasolis, and his “Barocchisti”, and a great line of vocal soloists, among whom are the well known Marco Beasley and Marinella Pennicchi.

Although all eight of the selections heard on this Verve release have been recorded on other occasions by pianist Bill Evans, these renditions hold their own. Teamed up with bassist Chuck Israels and drummer Larry Bunker (his regular trio of 1963-1965), Evans plays definitive versions of such songs as Johnny Carisi's "Israel," "How My Heart Sings," "Who Can I Turn To," and "If You Could See Me Now."

Faced with flagging sales on their first post-Fish release Season's End, progressive rockers Marillion paired themselves with pop producer Christopher Neil for 1991's Holidays in Eden. It wasn't exactly a move that paid either commercial or artistic dividends, as the results are so diluted and bland that one can only hope this was a desperate attempt to appease their label. There were several singles that charted in the U.K., but they could have been performed by anyone or, worse, in the case of the ringing guitars on "Cover My Eyes," it sounds as though they want to reinvent themselves as U2. It's a record that will surely disappoint fans of their more progressive work and, lacking a distinctive personality, hardly elicit excitement from newcomers.

The LateNightTales series is an easy gateway for those interested in finding where an artist's influences lie - with volumes that are curated by Jamiroquai, MGMT, Belle & Sebastian, and Lindstrøm, among many others - and Röyksopp's contribution showcases the Norwegian duo's love of analog synthesizer tones. The album's 19 tracks weave an icy, cinematic narrative as Torbjørn Brundtland and Svein Berge pick choice cuts from their record collections. Most of these songs are from the '70s and '80s, and are innocent and somber songs of the new wave, yacht rock, AM pop, and ambient variety. No surprise that they would select Vangelis' synth theme "Blade Runner Blues" from the Blade Runner soundtrack, or the chilling classical-themed vocoder piece "Odi et Amo" by Jóhann Jóhannsson, since so much of Röyksopp's music is carved from the same stone…

Heaven knows, the Scotsman born Donovan Leitch was ripe for ridicule, even when he was hitting the charts with regularity. He was the ultimate flower child, and his airier pronouncements made cynics want to tighten up those love beads around his neck. Listening to Troubadour, however, it's striking how versatile, melodic, and agreeable most of his material sounds decades after "Mellow Yellow" has faded into a jaundiced yellow. Clearly under the sway of Bob Dylan early on in his career, Donovan nevertheless was capable of directing his reverence into something as enchanting as "Catch the Wind." Amping up as the '60s progressed, he assembled a series of psychedelic-pop classics, including "Season of the Witch," the "Hey Jude"-like sing-along "Atlantis," and the uncharacteristically driving "Hurdy Gurdy Man" (the latter features three-quarters of what was to become Led Zeppelin providing stellar support). This two-disc anthology may be more Donovan than some desire, but the booklet, seven previously unreleased tracks, and expansive perspective it provides makes it a more-than-worthy overview for those who take their paisley folk-rock with a beatific smile.

Agricola was praised by his contemporaries for the bizarre turn of his inspiration, and his music likened to quicksilver. By the standards of the period this is a highly unusual turn of phrase, but remains spot-on. The Ferrara Ensemble anthology, the first ever devoted to the composer, focused on the secular music, both instrumental and vocal, precisely the area covered by Michael Posch and Ensemble Unicorn in this most satisfying disc. Where there's duplication (surprisingly little, in fact) the performances compare with those of the Ferrara Ensemble, although the style of singing is very different. The voices are more up front and less inflected, perhaps the better to match the high instruments with which they're sometimes doubled. But the tensile quality of Agricola's lines comes through none the less, as does the miraculous inventiveness and charm of his music. Further, much of what's new to the catalogue really is indispensible, for example Agricola's most famous song, Allez, regretz. Unicorn keeps its improvisations and excursions to a minimum, and the music is the better for it. It really is a must-have.