Cet enregistrement, comme les mémorables Fées du Rhin d'Offenbach, chef-d'oeuvre de l'édition 2002 où Friedemann Layer était déjà au pupitre, fait partie de la série consacrée aux oeuvres "redécouvertes", si l'on peut dire, par René Koering à travers le Festival de Radio France-Montpellier dont on saluera au passage la programmation courageuse et originale.

Steve Reich is the self-renewer of his one-time minimalist peers, able to revitalise his output just at the point when accusations of resting on laurels start to surface. By 1980, he had seemingly exhausted the possibilities of eight years of harmony-based writing, and aural wallpaper felt worryingly close. Tehilim changed all that: with its grounding in Hebrew cantilation and complex though always dancing rhythmic surround, this was Reich at his absolute best. The four Psalm texts–never so literal as to be settings–form a half-hour vocal "symphony", in impact though emphatically not in conception.

Sophie Milman exudes confidence on her second solo effort, though she draws material from a much wider range of music styles for this session. The singer is still a fine interpreter of standards and show tunes, offering a flirtatious "People Will Say We're in Love" as a solid opener and an imaginative setting of "Matchmaker, Matchmaker" that showcases harmonica player Gregoire Maret and pianist Paul Shrofel. The addition of a droning opening vamp in "Fever" updates Peggy Lee's hit while keeping its hypnotic flavor intact. Arranger Cameron Wallis is added on tenor sax for Milman's torchy interpretation of "Make Someone Happy," while he wrote the bossa nova "Reste (Stay)" in which she negotiates the multilingual lyrics flawlessly.

It would have been groundbreaking enough for the Israeli Ofra Haza to have performed an album of Yemeni Jewish songs. But when she and producer Bezalel Aloni added synthesizers, drum machines, and a generous helping of dance beats, they ended up creating one of the seminal records of world music–one of the very first ethno-techno releases whose reverberations extended into dance clubs around the globe, most especially with "Galbi." While its contemporary sound might make it seem shallow, there really is a lot of depth here, the lyrics coming from the poetry of 16th-century rabbi Shalom Shabazi. Along with fellow spirits like Dissidenten, Haza helped pave the way for Transglobal Underground, Natacha Atlas, and Banco de Gaia.

The third in the Glass’ trilogy of operas about men who changed the world in which they lived through the power of their ideas, “Akhnaten”‘s subject is religion. The Pharaoh Akhnaten was the first monotheist in recorded story, and his substitution of a one-god religion for the multi-god worship in use when he came to power was responsible for his violent overthrow. The opera describes the rise, reign, and fall of Akhnaten in a series of tableaus. Libretto (Egyptian, Arcadian, Hebrew, and language of the audience) by the composer in association with Shalom Goldman, Robert Israel and Richard Riddell. Vocal text drawn from original sources by Shalom Goldman.

SOMM Recordings is delighted to announce Hush!, the second release by the extraordinary voices (BBC Radio 3) of female quintet Papagena following their internationally acclaimed, Amazon classical chart-topping debut, The Darkest Midnight (SOMMCD 0189). Hush! unearths a treasure trove of songs largely neglected on disc to deliver a stunning follow-up to The Darkest Midnight. Where it hymned the cold, harsh glamour of sun-starved winter, Hush! playful, poignant, poetic and primed with the expectation of joy celebrates the warmth and light of love.

Israel presents a very interesting and varied progressive rock scene specially during the 70's and 80's and a remarkable classic rock and folk variety of very talented artists (including Matti Caspi, Yehudith Ravitz, Arik Einstein, etc). One of the major exponents of these musical tendencies (yes, all of them +jazz) is Shem-Tov Levi with his characteristic flute and skilled piano playing accompanied by his very competent singing. Prog-wise Levi is one of the epicenters of the Israeli branch being part of projects such as Ktzat Acheret, Tzlil Mechuvan, The Family Album (with Schlomo Gronich) and in 1976 decided to form a new group: Sheshet. For this he teamed with one of the most beautiful voices in music (specifically israeli folk and pop), Yehudith Ravitz…