Various Artists - Le Plaintif - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Gibbons, Monteverdi and Willaert represent the high watermark of madrigal writing in England, Italy and the Netherlands respectively. Their subtle marriage of music and text has produced enduring miniature masterpieces of love lost and found and pastoral humour. And there are no shortage of distinguished contemporaries in those countries. But Spain, the home of golden-age polyphony, also had a lively tradition of madrigal composition, too little of which is known beyond native shores. This fine new recording should address that shortcoming. In fact Spain already had a flourishing culture of secular songs in the form of villancicos when Italian composers arrived at royal courts and chapels during the 16th century and bringing with them their own traditions of popular music. Mateo Flecha 'The Younger' was a Catalan, Carmelite monk who showed himself adaptable to this Italian influence in his own book of madrigals, eventually published in Venice and excerpted here. Joan Brudieu (1520-1591) was a Frenchman also living in Catalonia who published madrigals in Spanish and Catalan (both languages represented in this collection). Even less familiar is the name of Pedro Valenzuela - his dates are lost to us - but he uses a sophisticated harmonic vocabulary with acute sensitivity to text in a trio of Italian-texted madrigals. He had emigrated to Italy as a singer at St Mark's in Venice, and he was followed by Sebastián Raval, while Stefano Limido travelled in the other direction. Thus as a whole the collection illustrates a stimulating cross-fertilisation of Spanish and Italian styles in consort music. The performances are both polished and authoritative, attentive to original sources and grounded in a thorough understanding of madrigalian style. Founded by it's director José Duce Chenoll in 2010, the Amystis ensemble already has an impressive catalogue of recordings to it's nam

This features a collection of works for flute and piano written by a group of contrasting French composers during the exciting Belle Époque period, which occurred between the end of the 19th and the first half of the 20th century. 'Chant dans la nuit' is the outcome of a ten-year project which has involved flautist Filippo Mazzoli and pianist Nathalie Dang in intense, pioneering research conducted within the music section of the Paris Bibliothéque Nationale. Quite a number of these works are recorded here for the first time, including Fontbonne's Chasse aux papillons Op. 30, Louis Masson's Trois pièces, Xavier Leroux's Le Nil, Moret's Nuit de langueur, nuit de mensonge, Coedès-Mongin's Suite Op. 5, Lefort's Sur l'Eau, and Guilmant's Romance sans paroles Op. 85. To quote Filippo Mazzoli, these are 'evocative titles, like the music they feature. They are positive sensations that precisely reflect the years in which they were composed [and they express] the desire for wellbeing, and the desire to always be proactive and positive.' Several musical associations flourished in the French capital between 1871 and 1939. They enthusiastically supported the dissemination of new works and promoted the presentation of original, unpublished ones, encouraged by musicians such as Saint-Saëns, Bussine, Duparc and Castillon. The works on this programme are dedicated to the great French flautists who were active in these music societies, not least in the Société de Musique de Chambre pour Instruments à Vent and the Société moderne pour Instruments à Vent. The entire programme is in the Belle Époque style and comprises a variety of the period's main genres the morceau de salon, the fantasia on operatic themes, the song without words, and the melodies or album pages. Album Tracks 1. Chant Dans la Nuit Op.14 2. Nocturne 3. Chasse Aux Papillons Op.30 4. Deux Esquisses 5. Vi

Welcome to Volume 8 of the Mr Bongo Record Club series, our in-house curated compilations that give us a chance to share some of our favourite tracks, hard-fought finds, and unsung gems. These are tracks that have been inspiring us at home, in the office, while DJing, and on the dancefloor. In the cross-genre spirit of the series, for Volume 8 we have selected music from the worlds of soul, boogie, disco-reggae, jazz-funk, and Latin, with a hefty chunk of beloved Brazilian music. Pulling these compilations together is always a highlight of our year, and eight volumes in, we feel this is one of our strongest to date.The album's journey begins with a heartfelt epic by As Ganhadeiras de Itapuã, from the Bahian town of Itapuã. It's an area of Brazil that holds a special place in David 'Mr Bongo' Buttle's heart, and where he first met our dear friend, Luciano Rodrigues Dos Santos, to whose memory this compilation is dedicated to. Staying in Northern Brazil, next up is a contemporary dancefloor gem by Ubunto, a DJ and producer from Salvador, which also features As Ganhadeiras de Itapuã. The raw, dusty, punchy sounds of zabumba drummer Castanheiro and the furious guitar-heavy dancer by Tyaraju & Dutra are just two more examples of the Brazilian beauties included on the compilation.There is also a heavy dose of soul music on this volume. The Canadian-gospel sounds of Trevor Dandy, a modern-soul rarity by Wil Collins & Willpower (which has been on our list for years), and a soul-stepper masterpiece by Tommy McGee, are just a handful of the highlights. Not stopping there, we are incredibly proud to present an exclusive rework of The Sylvers Wish That I Could Talk To You' by the legendary Kenny Dope. Kenny has excelled himself with this one, fattening up the drums while bringing more drama to the horns and strings. The song now feels more contemporary yet still stays true to it'