At the beginning of the 18th century Italian instrumental music reached France and began to make its decisive impact. Michele Mascitti was a protagonist of this remarkable change. The young violinist moved from Naples to Paris where he spent most of his long life and managed to publish nine collections of instrumental music between 1704 and 1738. The extraordinary success and popularity of Mascitti’s works allowed him to live for many years as a free-lance musician and to be applauded and admired in the artistic circles of the French capital. His music brings us back to the fashionable and refined atmospheres of the Parisian aristocratic salons and to the galanterie so beautifully illustrated in the paintings of the time.

Domenico Gabrielli, unrelated to the more famous Gabrielis (spelled with one "l"), was one of a group of composers specializing in oratorio in the city of Bologna in the second half of the seventeenth century. Though the oratorio tradition was nurtured by the church of Santa Maria di Galliera in that city, some of the music was apparently semi-secular; the work recorded here, S. Sigismondo re di Borgogna (St. Sigismund, King of Burgundy), though its protagonist was eventually canonized, has a blood-and-guts story involving armed conflict, decapitation, and the burial of an entire family in a well. Sigismund was a historical figure, who died in 524, and his story might have been (or might still be) suited to operatic treatment.

This is a superb set of 5 CDs, covering works for viols by four 17the century English composers: John Jenkins, William Lawes (on 2 CDs), Matthew Locke, and Henry Purcell. It is a pure bliss for Baroque, especially chamber music lovers. The works recorded vary: fantasy, suite, pavan, consort, etc., but all are superbly performed by Fretwork Ensemble for 6 viols, sometimes accompanied by organ, spinet, and archlute. The quality of the recording is excellent: a 2001 remastering of previous various recordings done between 1986 and 1996.

The new solo triumph of guitar icon Mark Tremonti (Creed, Alter Bridge)!
After three decades, 18 full-length albums, and thousands of shows, Mark Tremonti continues to relentlessly push himself as a guitarist, a vocalist, and a songwriter, above all. This unstoppable drive has underscored his catalog earmarked by a GRAMMY Award, cumulative streams in the billions, and total sales of 60 million units worldwide across his inexhaustible output with Creed, Alter Bridge, and solo band Tremonti.
Mark Tremonti levels up all around on his 19th overall LP and sixth Tremonti full-length, The End Will Show Us How, out January 10, 2025 via Napalm Records…

Les Boréades is an ambitious 10-year Rameau project with the Centre de musique baroque de Versailles. The cast of Sabine Devieilhe, Reinoud Van Mechelen, Tassis Christoyannis, Thomas Dolié, Gwendoline Blondeel, Benedikt Kristjánsson and Philippe Estèphe is joined by the Orfeo Orchestra and Purcell Choir, two ensembles founded by Vashegyi himself. Devieilhe made her Erato debut with a Rameau recital, this time she takes the central role of Alphise, Queen of Bactria, who must defy the traditions of her country if she is to marry the man she loves. The theme of freedom, ‘la liberté’, is important in the opera; conceived in 1763 to mark the end of the Seven Years’ War, it had to wait more than 200 years for its first full staging. When the performers on this recording appeared in a concert version of Les Boréades at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, Concert Classique declared that “Rameau’s genius shines through at every moment.”