The music of the 17th century is deeply influenced by fearless innovation and bubbling creativity, characterized by experimentation with form that only with the subsequent generation of composers develops into fixed conventions and a higher degree of conformity. Here, a glimpse of the richness represented by the music from the Baltic region in the latter half of the 17th century is presented by bass-baritone Jakob Bloch Jespersen and Concerto Copenhagen under the direction of Lars Ulrik Mortensen.

The incidental music to König Stephan, Op. 117, must be among Beethoven's least often performed works, with only the overture making regular appearances on concert programs. The music was written for a play marking the opening of a theater in what is now Budapest; it was a festive event that drew from Beethoven no profound response. However, aficionados of the transition to Beethoven's late style will be glad to have this recording, one of just a few available. Compared with, say, the incidental music to Egmont, Op. 84, the music is striking in its simplicity, and there are a few hints, notably in the first part of the "Geistlicher Marsch," of the mystical musical language to come.

Under the single name, Alfonso, lie two composers, father and son. The strongest bond between them must have been composing; there was precious little else, since Ferrabosco the Elder fled England precipitously in the year his son and namesake was born. As viol players they had some influence on developments in their adoptive land. They are well known to viol players today, and what is presented here, with father and son in alternation, is of far more than academic interest.

Angst der Hellen und Friede der Seelen ("Fear of Hell and Peace of the Soul") is a collection of sixteen settings of Psalm 116 in German, "Das ist mir lieb" (Psalms 116), commissioned by the Jena merchant Burckhard Grossmann in 1616 and eventually published in 1623. The composers are Heinrich Schütz, then in alphabetical order Michael Altenburg, Christoph Demantius, Nicolaus Erich, Andreas Finold, Melchior Franck, Abraham Gensreff, Johannes Groh, Johann Krause, Christian Michael, Daniel Michael, Rogier Michael, Tobias Michael, Michael Praetorius, Johann Hermann Schein and Caspar Trost.

When we turn to live recordings, we enter another world, one in which the performances have, on the whole, a greater consistency of thought and execution. That applies in spades to the famous Bayreuth set of 1966. Karl Böhm's swift, incandescent, very theatrical interpretation isn't to everyone's liking. Yet, for all the fast speeds, the charge of superficiality is misplaced. Böhm's direct, cogently thought through reading, in which tempo relationships, inner figures (as one might expect from a Mozart and Strauss specialist), and instrumental detail are all carefully exposed and related to each other, offers rich rewards. Expressive intensity is here married ideally to a transparency of texture.

A 2019 addition to the popular Tour Box series, originally created for concert venue sales on King Crimson’s 2019 European tour. As with previous releases in the series, the full variety of King Crimson’s music is presented over 2 CDs with extracts from rehearsals, new live recordings, elements from studio recordings, full tracks, alternate takes and finished recordings from 1969-2018.

Less a homage than an interpretation, less a rereading than a resurrection, Deadjazz gives new life to the music of the Grateful Dead, the legendary group of the psychedelic era. Drawing inspiration from a cult repertoire, played by musicians who have had an unwavering bond with the Belmondo brothers for decades, this collective project is an immersion in a crucial moment in the history of music: when jazz became electric to the rhythms of rock and rock freed itself from the constraints of the song format through improvisation.

We are thankful to be here today celebrating the Grateful Dead's most lauded studio masterpiece with a 50th ANNIVERSARY DELUXE EDITION. Available on October 30th, the three-CD set will feature the original album with newly remastered audio, plus one of the most requested archival recordings in the Dead's vault - the unreleased concert recorded on February 18, 1971 at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY. On stage that night, the Dead debuted a whole new batch of songs, five in all: “Wharf Rat,” “Playing In The Band,” “Bertha,” “Greatest Story Ever Told” and “Loser.”

Roxy Music release an expanded edition of their ground-breaking debut album to mark its 45th anniversary. The Super Deluxe Edition includes rare and previously unavailable material never-heard-before outside of Roxy’s inner circle. Audio includes the original album, BBC Sessions & In Concert performance, 1971 demo tape and ‘In-Session’ performances. Package also includes a 136 page hard-cover book including unseen photographers and memorabilia.
Falling halfway between musical primitivism and art rock ambition, Roxy Music's eponymous debut remains a startling redefinition of rock's boundaries. Simultaneously embracing kitschy glamour and avant-pop, Roxy Music shimmers with seductive style and pulsates with disturbing synthetic textures…

Bury Tomorrow have long been a jewel in the crown of British heavy music. Their last offering, The Seventh Sun, marked a turning point for the Southampton crew, almost a reset after a rocky period, and the beginning of an exciting new chapter. This rejuvenation can be felt on their brutal eighth studio album, Will You Haunt Me, With That Same Patience. It marks a brooding evolution, with the band taking a pitch-black dive into emotional collapse and catharsis, and possibly their their most captivating record yet.
Their sound has become even more expansive, for one thing. Opener To Dream, To Forget produces an eerie vibe, as a fast-paced drum’n’bass-ish beat slowly marches in before erupting into a gargantuan riff, and a song chomping at the bit…

The populist Dizzy Gillespie gets full rein in this lively, happy collection of tunes exploring rhythms and idioms from the Caribbean. Gillespie is in an ebullient mood, even offering some sly lead calypso vocals on three numbers (perhaps his lighthearted presidential "campaign" of 1964 contributed to the high spirits; the sessions began a day after Election Day). Much of the material comes from Dizzy's band on the session - which includes the formidable James Moody on tenor and flute, Kenny Barron on piano, and percussionist Kansas Fields - and there are some genuine calypsos by Joe Willoughby to round out the package. The cut with the biggest quota of fun is "Barbados Carnival," with guitarist Chris White doubling as a calypso singer, and the lengthy "Trinidad, Goodbye" offers the largest amount of straight-ahead playing.