The Bolognese composer Giuseppe A. V. Aldrovandini is little known today, not least because of his short life, but he was a prominent figure in his time. Aldrovandini's trio sonatas have a simple form, strongly rooted in the formal structure of the church sonata, and a certain naivety in the solutions of the development of the chosen themes. These delightful works, which are the instrumental counterpart of Aldrovandini's lyrical production, are recorded here as a world premiere. Lorenzo Colitto, who leads the ensemble, enjoys a worldwide reputation as one of the best performers of early and baroque music and cooperates here with leading soloists such as Lisa Kawata Ferguson, Marcello Scandelli, João Janeiro, Chiara Tiboni and Francesco Romano.

Among the thirteen oratorios by Giovanni Paolo Colonna, more than half are connected, by their origin or at least by tradition, to the court of Francesco II d’Este. Although in the early modern period the sacredness of monarchy was indisputable, we cannot take it for granted that an oratorio – unlike an opera, as was usually the case – was offered to a monarch in order to praise him unconditionally.

An unrivalled collection of lesser-known 20th-century piano concertos in both Romantic and modern styles, in definitive recordings by Dutch artists. This survey of Dutch piano concertos actually begins in 1886, with the A minor work by Carl Smulders (1863-1934). Smulders sidesteps convention by opening not with a grand gesture but a slow, expectant build-up, breaking the template for A minor piano concertos established first by Schumann and then Grieg. The piano writing itself has a lyrically Griegian flavour, however, which Ivo Janssen brings out in this 1994 recording.

Here you have a collection of great music by many of the finest singers ever to inhabit the world . Despite the album’s title, every song aboard is pure blues, but each and every one of the singers assembled here had the ability to turn even the cheesiest of ballads into something that dripped blues whenever they chose to heap up the required, highly personalised, emotion.

With two studio recordings under their belt (the 1972 Caricatures and the 1973 Le Cimetière des Arlequins), Ange struck artistic gold with Au-Delà du Délire. All the elements came together this time, producing France's best symphonic progressive rock album of the 1970s. Christian Decamps' medieval imagery (echoed in the music by occasional minstrel-type folk song structures) is assisted this time around by Biblical themes, something noticeable in the song titles. His voice is not the only center of attention anymore, as instrumental passages take more room and arrangements become more intricate. "Exode" actually takes off when the verse is over and the guitar and Mellotron start working on an instrumental crescendo.

Three Dog Night garnered three hits off of their 1974 release, Hard Labor, with material from John Hiatt, Allen Toussaint, and David Courtney/Leo Sayer. This time around they obtain their 21st and final Top 40 entry with a Dave Loggins song, "'Till the World Ends," and it is no "Pieces of April," the lovely composition from the same songwriter which landed in the Top 20 for the group two-and-a-half-years earlier. The problem with the song is the same dilemma faced by the album, Coming Down Your Way, the band seeking another genre to conquer while keeping their eye off of the precise and major Top 40 activity which was their bread and butter. Keyboard player for the Blues Image, Frank "Skip" Konte, joins Jimmy Greenspoon on the ivories with the Monkees/Barry Manilow bassist Dennis Belfield onboard as well.

In Concert was the most expansive live recording ever issued by Motown Records. What's more, it all works in terms of being an honest representation of this band - not that they compromised much in the studio, where their rendition of "Get Ready" ran 20 minutes, but playing to an audience was what they'd been about from the start, and everything here resonates with the joy of that process. And in addition to capturing the band in top form, the recording itself provided a beautifully vivid sound picture, every instrument and voice captured spot-on, all the more amazing considering the size of this band and the complexities of their sound - flutes, guitars (acoustic and electric), keyboards, saxes, percussion, and more are all here in close detail, but nothing more solid in the mix than John Persh's lead bass work in the middle section of the 23-and-a-half-minute "Get Ready"…

Lauded experimental death metal band Dååth has emerged from its 13-year hiatus with a new album, The Deceivers. Band founder/guitarist Eyal Levi has overseen an overhaul of the lineup, though importantly Dååth still features force-of-nature vocalist Sean Zatorsky, who has fronted the band since 2007. “Now Dååth is more orchestrated, more over the top. We have more melodies and they're beautiful,” Levi says. That’s what The Deceivers is: Monstrously heavy but beautifully orchestrated, blessed with melodies that will haunt anybody fortunate enough to hear it. The nine tracks were produced by Levi, with Andrew Wade doing vocal production, John Douglass engineering, Jens Bogren mixing, and Tony Lindgren mastering.