Il Divo - The Classic Christmas Album - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

There is a new artist on the East African/Kenyan music scene by the name of Papillon. He not only writes all of his own music- in several languages- but he designs and creates his own instruments. Papillon is among the first musicians in recent times to look at African musical instruments with an eye to redesign, combining and upgrading them for a new musical experience. Moyo means 'heart' in Swahili, and 'life' or 'spirit' in Mbeere- Papillon's mother tongue. The music on this album is inspired by the singing of birds in the morning, the roaring of lions and the cries of monkeys- it is Mother Nature speaking. With his soaring voice and haunting melodies, coupled with an abundance of African instruments, many of his own making, Papillon is a musical force to be reckoned with.

Max Kowalski, who lived and practiced law in Frankfurt am Main, was from 1913 till 1933 a well-known, much esteemed, and frequently performed composer. Kowalski was born in Poland (then Russia) on August 10th, 1882 and grew up in Germany, to which his parents emigrated when he was a year old. Kowalski's reputation rests on his production of more than two hundred art songs, which have been in the repertoire of many leading artists, including Heinrich Schlusnus, Maria Ivogün, Paul Bender, Joseph Schwarz, Alexander Kipnis, Karen Branzell, and Hans Hotter. The present CD is drawn from a recital sung in 2011 in Munich by the great Austrian baritone, Wolfgang Holzmair. It offers two song cycles and songs composed to texts by some of Germany's leading poets. The CD includes Kowalski's best-known cycle, his Pierrot Lunaire, which appeared the same year (1913) as Arnold Schoenberg's settings.

Arguably the highlight of their Eighties output, the third Subhumans album was recorded during Spring 1985, and released early the following year, a few months after the band had split. 'Worlds Apart' saw the band find a veritable sweet spot in their song-writing, spawning many of their best-loved tracks but every single track on the album remains an understated masterpiece.