Bach,J.S. / Xiao-Mei - J.S. Bach: The French Suites, BWV 812-817 - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Rising-star period keyboardist Julian Perkins makes his solo Resonus Classics debut with a new recording of the French Suites by J.S. Bach. Seldom recorded on the clavichord, thought to be Bach's keyboard instrument of choice, the Suites' versatile, expressive, and lyrical qualities are expertly revealed by Perkins on this, the gentlest and most intimate of all keyboard instruments. Performing on two instruments by the maker Peter Bavington, the program is completed with two further suites one earlier partita by Johann Jakob Froberger, and one more contemporary suite by Georg Philipp Telemann, previously attributed to Bach himself.

It's time for a melodic hard rock injection! Silvera, from Denmark, is heavily inspired by classic hard/heavy rock music. A musical hybrid of American radio rock like Nickelback and Alter Bridge with a Scandinavian punch, not unlike fellow Danes Volbeat, their debut album, Edge Of The World is now here, following a brilliant trail of official singles.

Karen Casey is an artist who proves that the ancient and the modern make excellent bedfellows. One of the most influential and imitated vocalists in Irish or American folk music, her crystalline voice is as fragile as it is fierce. On SHIPS IN THE FOREST, her fifth solo album and debut on Compass Records, Casey's warm soprano ebbs and flows around ballads both timely and timeless. Produced by and featuring founding Capercallie member Donald Shaw, Casey surrounded herself with a wealth of special guests including Caoimhin Vallely (pipes), Kate Ellis (cello), Kris Drever (vocals), Martin O'Neill (bodhran), Niall Vallely (concertina) and Robbie Overson on guitar. The songs found on SHIPS IN THE FOREST range from fresh arrangements of tried and true folk standards (InchBlack is the Color of My True Love's HairInch and InchJohnny I hardly Knew YeInch) to InchThe Fiddle and the DrumInch, Joni Mitchell's 1969 anti-war madrigal.