James Levine presides brilliantly over the vast musical forces required for Verdi's epic portrait of the Spain of Phillip II, a world in which an individual's choices change the course of nations. Originally telecast in 1980, this famous production frames a superb union of symphonic grandeur and extraordinary vocal artistry within a beautiful setting that captured all the magnificence - and all the terror - of a tumultuous epoch.

The term sinfonietta is generally used to describe a work that is smaller in scale or lighter in approach than a standard symphony. It only came into common usage during the first half of the 20th century, which is when the three works included on this disc were in fact composed.

This CD presents three of the most well known and most performed concertos for oboe in the instrument’s repertoire. It is often said that the classical era is full of intrigue and mystery, and the history of music is no exception. However, time hides as much as it enlightens, and the ancient adage “Veritas filia Temporis” (Truth is the daughter of Time) often solves these riddles.

After their acclaimed recording of Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice, La Nuova Musica and David Bates expand their PENTATONE discography with Handel’s Unsung Heroes, in which the instrumentalists of Handel’s operas are put centre stage. Traditionally restricted to an “invisible” existence in the orchestra pit, La Nuova Musica’s obbligato instrumentalists – violinist Thomas Gould, oboist Leo Duarte and bassoonist Joe Qiu – are now in the limelight. They will stand as equal partners alongside a world-class line up of soloists – soprano Lucy Crowe, mezzo-soprano Christine Rice and countertenor Iestyn Davies – showing how Handel wrote music as virtuosic and lyrical for his unsung heroes as for their singing counterparts.

Digitally remastered two CD set containing the two solo albums - plus bonus tracks - recorded by the legendary Gladys Knight in the late '70s. Aside from two obscure '60s singles, Gladys' name had never appeared as a solo performer until 1978. From the early '60s, with family group Gladys Knight & The Pips, she attained international recognition over a period of seventeen years.

On the death of Anne of Brittany, her husband King Louis XII honoured her with exceptional funeral ceremonies lasting forty days, which sealed forever her image as Queen of France and Duchess of Brittany. As he prepared this programme centring on the Missa pro defunctis of Antoine de Févin, and read the exceptionally vivid narrative by the herald of Anne of Brittany (whom her subjects nicknamed simply ‘Bretaigne’!), Denis Raisin Dadre realised that beyond all this official mourning staged by the royal authority, there was also a silent sorrow, that of the Bretons who had lost their duchess and were also in the process of losing their duchy’s independence.

The work of Louis Vierne, organist at Notre-Dame de Paris and master of the symphonic instrument, is reflected here in all its rich variety: from the poetic Pièces en style libre – in previously unissued recordings appearing here for the very first time – to his final masterpiece, the monumental Sixth Symphony, via the virtuosic and world-famous Pièces de fantaisie. All are performed here on the little-recorded instrument of the Parisian church of Saint-François-Xavier by its organist Gaston Litaize, who studied with Vierne and went on to become a prolific composer himself. The recordings have been remastered in 24-bit/192kHz sound from the original tapes.

Digitally remastered two CD set containing a trio of big-selling albums by the Pop/Soul vocalist that all made the US Top 100 in 1977, 1979 and 1980. 26 tracks in all, including the huge hits 'Our Love', 'Stand By', and 'Someone That I Used to Love' plus many other favorites.

Pianist Andrew Rangell releases a new album that includes contemporary sonatas which brilliantly inhabit the style of Domenico Scarlatti, intimate selections by Stefan Wolpe, and Scriabin’s virtuosic Fifth Sonata. Finally, a warmly sonorous birthday gift by Jan Swafford.

The musical score for The Silence of the Lambs was composed by Howard Shore, who would also go on to collaborate with Demme on Philadelphia. Recorded in Munich during the latter half of the summer of 1990, the score was performed by the Munich Symphony Orchestra. "I tried to write in a way that goes right into the fabric of the movie," explained Shore on his approach. "I tried to make the music just fit in. When you watch the movie you are not aware of the music. You get your feelings from all elements simultaneously, lighting, cinematography, costumes, acting, music. Jonathan Demme was very specific about the music".

BUYSOUNDTRAX Records present HIGH ROAD TO CHINA, featuring music composed and conducted by John Barry for the 1983 action adventure film directed by Brian G. Hutton (SOL MADRID, WHERE EAGLES DARE, KELLY’S HEROES), based on a book by Jon Cleary, starring Tom Selleck, Bess Armstrong, Jack Weston, Wilford Brimley, Robert Morley, Cassandra Gava and the great Brian Blessed as the Suleman Khan.

At long last! World premiere release of oft-requested James Newton Howard score to Joel Schumacher's Falling Down. Dark, violent urban thriller stars Michael Douglas as tragic protagonist on rampage, heading inexorably towards final showdown with retiring cop Robert DuVall. As confrontations grow in intensity, Douglas becomes increasingly unhinged. Howard follows in tow, with initially sparse score growing increasingly dense, clustered as film progresses. Dark ideas, intense action all have their say. Highlights are many, including riveting chase cues, pulsating conflict music, but one standout motif deserves spotlight: Howard writes moving minor-key trumpet solo that plays just once during "not economically viable" scene ("Miracle Mile"), then disappears completely until conclusion ("Falling Down"), where composer now brings film and score together in brilliant, powerful fashion. Sensational writing! Also worthy of attention: haunting series of string chords shifting between minor, major, playing for estranged relationship between everyman Douglas and wife Barbara Hershey. Howard even quotes nursery rhyme "London Bridge", which subtly relates to cop Duvall's own wife Tuesday Weld, who needs the tune to help calm her troubled nerves. It is difficult to overstate dramatic complexities and thematic subtleties of this important music.

Following a rock/metal album recorded with his band ORBI [BIS-2297], Bram van Sambeek returns with his own idea of a dance album. For it he has selected four works by Johann Sebastian Bach that consist mainly of typical baroque dances – but just as van Sambeek’s metal album wasn’t made for headbanging, Bach’s dances weren’t meant for dancing, but rather to be listened to.

Intricacy, musicality, craftsmanship, and nuance are words that, back in 1989, were hardly ever used to describe death metal - a style so extreme, so ferocious, so intent on annoying parents at any cost that it seemed destined to self-destruct. But Dark Tranquillity and their expansive colleagues in Gothenburg, Sweden, refused to believe that death metal could not be musical, nuanced, and melodic, and that outlook continues to define them on Fiction. This rewarding CD was recorded in 2006 and released in 2007, the year that marked Dark Tranquillity's 18th anniversary. Perhaps 18 years isn't all that long compared to the Rolling Stones celebrating their 45th anniversary in 2007; nonetheless, 18 is an impressive number when one recalls all the naysayers who, in the late '80s, thought death metal would be long gone by the 21st century…

Germany's Die Singphoniker, here a vocal sextet, were partly inspired by the King's Singers from Britain, and they have explored a similarly wide-ranging repertoire, from Renaissance a cappella vocal music to contemporary classical and pop. The King's Singers, however, have rarely released albums of truly unusual repertory, except in the contemporary field; this kind of small-group singing usually relies either on some audience familiarity with what's being sung, or on the composition of music expressly for this medium. In this case, Die Singphoniker tackles a rarely represented repertory and emerges with decent results. The vast choral output of Orlando di Lasso (aka, Orlande de Lassus) remains largely unexplored, and this little album gives a clue as to the interesting things to be found. Lasso's hymns were mostly composed around 1580, when the composer was employed as kapellmeister by Wilhelm V, Duke of Bavaria.