Linn welcomes back lute virtuoso William Carter in a programme of works by another virtuoso, Esaias Reusner (1636-79), who worked and performed across Europe. Born in Silesia, he was considered to be one of the best lute players of his time and his influence was extensive. "Some may be drawn to the brilliance and noise of thunder and lightning, but ever since my youth, the soft and sweet sonorities of noble music has been my only pleasure", so writes Reusner in the preface of his major work, Delitiae testudinis.This collection, introspective in essence, is outstanding not just for its exceptional quality but because it contains the very first dance suites - for any instrument! - published in Europe. This sequence of dances (Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, Gigue) was a form used by virtually every Baroque composer who followed, including Bach and Haendel. Carter has recorded three of these suites and also pieces from later publications, some of which are premiere recordings.

Decca Classics is proud to present the new album from Riccardo Chailly and the Filarmonica Della Scala. Released on 20th May 2022, Musa Italiana celebrates the influence of the “Italian style” on three Austro-German composers: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Schubert and Felix Mendelssohn.

A real discovery from the curious ensemble La Floridiana: cantatas and instrumental works Pier Giuseppe Sandoni, all world premiere recordings and a surprise: what has been attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach so far is actually by - exactly: Sandoni

‘But what are we going to do with all these pleasures?’ A question sung tête-à-tête by the Princess and the Prince in Jacques Demy’s film Peau d’âne (Donkey Skin), and a more bothersome question for harpsichordists drawn to the age of Louis XV. What to do with all the pleasures that the composers of the time distributed so extravagantly, how to live today in this ‘kingdom of the pleasant’? The usual option is to stick to the most perfectionist of these masters (Couperin), the most ambitious (Rameau) or the most adventurous (Forqueray) in programmes focusing on one of them at time. But that means setting aside a whole swathe of the repertory, which Céline Frisch here restores to the limelight, following an original method. From Couperin’s Le Réveil-matin to Corrette’s Les Étoiles , she retraces a day at the court of Louis XV, making full use of the sound palette offered by an exceptional harpsichord, a replica by Andrea Restelli of an instrument by Goujon.

"Famed film composer" John Williams and star cellist Yo-Yo Ma are featured on this unique album, an expression of their decades-long collaboration and friendship.

In April 2019, the brass ensemble phil Blech Wien for the first time joined forces with Olivier Latry (titular organist Notre Dame, Paris) to form a new, unique body of sound under the baton of Anton Mittermayr. The concept for this extraordinary listening experience was worked on for over a year: the declared aim was not the usual juxtaposition, but the merging of the two sound worlds, realized through trombonist Mark Gaal's arrangements. After the great success of the first performance in the sold-out Kulturpalast Dresden with the new Eule organ, the concert was repeated a week later on April 25, 2019 in the great Musikvereinssaal in Vienna. Olivier Latry on the Rieger organ with its 6,138 pipes and the 17 musicians create atmosphere, beauty, as well as powerful sound normally associated with large orchestras.

A new instalment of the complete Geminiani Edition on Brilliant Classics: the Complete Harpsichord works.
Francesco Saverio Geminiani (1687-1762) was born in Lucca. He began his study at an early age with his father, but his most important lessons followed in his years with the great Roman Master, Arcangelo Corelli. Composition lessons with Alessandro Scarlatti helped inspire and solidify his craft. In 1714 Geminiani settled in London, where he quickly gained fame as an ensemble player, concert violinist, and teacher. Here he became friends with Handel and led the orchestra during many performances together. Geminiani enjoyed great success not only in London, but also in Ireland where he spent a considerable amount of time. In 1760 he settled in Dublin, dying there in somewhat impoverished circumstances in 1762.

The story of Canned Heat is one of imperishable music, of zeitgeist-capturing hit singles and albums and of glorious performances at epochal events like the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival and the 1969 Woodstock Festival and at legendary venues like San Francisco's Fillmore Auditorium.

Music of spiritual edification, music of mystical inspiration -almost an exercise in contemplation or adoration- that, following the words that the composer himself writes on the cover of the manuscript of the score, must be sung with the humblest devotion, wholeheartedly. (“humble Totius Cordis Devotione decantata”). In 1680 Buxtehude composes the cycle entitled Membra Jesu nostri, when Bach was not yet born. It was still almost 45 years before he wrote the first of two of his known passions, the St. John Passion. But with the composition of that music sheet, Buxtehude marks a before and after in the repertoire of music related to the Passion of Christ.

"The Passion music Johann David Heinichen wrote for the Dresden court is a document of cultural and confessional openness of the Saxon residence, and his two Italian oratorios heard here are surrogates of large-scale Passion music. ""Come? S'imbruna il ciel"" - composed in 1728 - is the latest of the sepolcri, his other Passion ""L'aride tempie ignude"" the first of the sepolcri to survive from Heinichen in Dresden. Both texts are by Stefano Pallavicino, who had been active at the Dresden court since 1719. In the first-mentioned Passion, the meditation on the Passion event recurs to the experience of the earthquake that, according to biblical accounts, occurred immediately after the death of Jesus. The description of the violent natural events gives Mary the Mother of God, John (Jesus' favorite disciple), and Mary Magdalene an opportunity to reflect on their relationship to the Crucified. Different aspects of affection and love are thematized. The meditation on the Passion event in the second-named Passion is designed as an allegorical play of death (Morte) and hope (Speranza), divine love (Amor divino) and penance (Poenitenza), and follows an easily comprehensible dramaturgy. The affinity to opera seria is evident in both passions not only in the arrangement of the pieces. The keys, gestures and instrumentation also correspond to the models familiar from baroque musical theater. Full of affect!

This recording of the BBC’s broadcast of the coronation service from Westminster Abbey was taken by means of a direct line to Abbey Road Studios in St John’s Wood, London.

Eric Neveux has composed original music for 60 feature films, as well as a variety of scores for TV movies and series. Recent score highlights include two installments of director Rachid Bouchareb’s American Trilogy; Just Like a Woman (starring Sienna Miller and Golshifteh Farahani), and Two Men in Town(2014), with Forest Whitaker and Harvey Keitel; and later, Bouchareb’s film Road to Istanbul in 2016 (the last two being official selections of the Berlin Film Festival). Eric’s passion for independent film is further illustrated by his work on titles such as La Vie Domestique by Isabelle Czajka, Standing Tall (La Tête Haute) by Emmanuelle Bercot, the Cannes Film Festival’s opening film in 2015, The Attack (2013), and The Insult (2017), by Ziad Doueiri which was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards.

Andy and Taylor were both learning and making music from a young age, educated and inspired by such wide-ranging influences as Puccini operas, John Williams film scores, and albums by Kraftwerk. Between the two, they play piano, guitar, bass, clarinet, flute, accordion, sax, harmonica, percussion, organ, kazoo, and cello. They fuse their classical education with a skill and savvy in electronics and manipulated sounds, to contribute distinct music to a diverse spectrum of film projects and capitalize on having two musical heads.

Album, Compilation, Numbered: Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment displays a variety of stylistic content of the material, that is, will be, and perhaps will be, just a discovery. NOW 82 features 16 major current hits from today's hottest artists including GAYLE's "abc (nicer)," Lil Nas X's "THAT'S WHAT I WANT," Taylor Swift's "Message In A Bottle (Taylor's Version) (From The Vault)," tracks from Post Malone, The Weeknd, Katy Perry, Doja Cat, Tate McRae, and more.

The fame and legacy of Maria Callas are nearly unsurpassed in the modern history of opera. Her fame has transcended the usual boundaries of classical music, and she has been the inspiration for several movies as well as the successful Broadway play "Master Class." Her extensive catalogue of recordings remains among the most coveted and controversial for both her fans and detractors. Though American by birth, Callas (born Maria Anne Sofia Cecilia Kalogeropoulos) was born of Greek parents, and at age 13 her mother took her back to Greece because of financial difficulties caused by the Great Depression.