Jose Van Dam is one of the most respected singers of the French repertoire of the second half of the twentieth century. With very few recordings available of the entire Duparc repertoire, especially for lower-mid voiced males, this recording is a must-have! Definitely far better than the Souzay recordings! If you're looking for other vocalists who are worth listening too I'd suggest Susan Graham or Paul Groves for their interpretations of the Duparc repertoire.

J. M. Barclay @ Amazon.com

Artension is built around the talents of Ukrainian keyboardist Vitalij Kuprij and Swiss guitarist Roger Staffelbach. "Forces Of Nature" is Artension's follow up to the internationally acclaimed "Phoenix Rising", and once again showcases the musical virtuosity of founders John West, Kuprij and guitarist Staffelbach.

Pride of Lions is back with their sophomore effort 'The Destiny Stone'. Jim Peterik is an excellent songwriter and he proves it even more this time around. Survivor fans should love this one, since their influence impacts strongly on the music.

‘The Chronicles of Khiliasmos’ is Gorath’s 6th full-length album and unfortunately it is also their last release. But what a release this album is! Gorath is a black metal band originating from Belgium. But not your average kind of black metal outfit though, no, these guys give black metal a whole new meaning and therefore another post-x genre can be given to this band: post-black metal, or call it progressive black metal. Gorath creates a huge sound full of doom and atmosphere, whilst a huge amount of heavy riffing sludge seep into the mix. ‘The Chronicles of Khiliasmos’ consists of 3 tracks, but it will take you on a long journey as the complete album lasts for just under a good 40 minutes.

Formed in 1996 by MICK, ZEPHIROS & MORTEÜS, DESTINITY have always played a meticulous and utterly impressive agressive / melodic extreme metal since over Sixteen years to be actually one of the principal french metal acts ! Mutating their sound through the years from a black metal starting point in 1996 to symphonic black metal, and now more of a melodic death/thrash style, French quintet Destinity I’m sure have been met with their share of detractors for these shifts. On album #8 Resolve in Crimson, it appears that the band focus on a lot of similar qualities that should get more mainstream appeal, but could cost them long-term with their older fans.The riffing has a thrash-like intensity along with the necessary harmony breaks you expect from At The Gates or Soilwork on material such as “Reap My Scars” and “A Scent of Scorn.” Meanwhile drummer Morteus provides some droning keyboard parts, some of which enter on an obvious, slower death number like “Only Way” where vocalist Mick employs two different types of Swedish-inspired grunts and screams to capture the split personality effect of the track.

Haydn conducted the first performance in 1768. This 5 star plus production was staged at the Congress Palace, Lugano in 1982. However as a dvd I give it 4 stars as no? subtitles. German subtitles show in the menu but I am unable to raise them. Any help???. The fine Libretto in Italian is by Carlo Goldoni. The acting is superb, the body language great. In fact one of the best is an extra apprentice who has no lines at all. The singing is excellent throughout and Griletta (Antonella Manotti) has a very fine voice and technique. The staging is one of the finest I have ever seen.

By Mrs. E. A. Ruiterman

Shih’s (b. 1950) music seeks to express intense psychological states, often beginning in despair or distress, but offering at least some hope of progress toward light and redemption. The substantial orchestral pieces, Crossing the River and Separation, consist of organically evolving soundscapes, punctuated by tolling or thundering percussion effects, with, as one commentator has written ‘almost complete abandonment of melody and measure’ and indeed a considerable degree of license afforded to the performers in matters of pitch and ensemble. Harsh dissonances, clusters and extended techniques abound, and the results are undeniably impressive, especially the massed textures of Separation, with its organ clusters and 1960s-Penderecki sonorism.

The first-ever release on ECM of music by the doyen of French contemporary composition Henri Dutilleux (born 1916) features a comprehensive overview of his highly original piano pieces from his early period (around 1948) to the late eighties. They are played by American pianist Robert Levin, a personal friend of Dutilleux's, who gives performances of gripping energy and serene clarity.

Album released in Spain first CD in a series of 10 released as promotion for the magazine Panorama, which offered a collection of songs that saw top 100 in the period 1963-1973. It offers a total of 12 popular hits of the time (1963-73) in which groups and performers are internationally recognized then, as Archies, Righteous Brothers, The Mamas & The Papas, The Ventures, Petula Clark, Paul Anka, Ray Adamo or Charles among others.