Fiona Joy – Signature-Solo (2014)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192kHz / DSF Stereo DSD128/5.64MHz | Time – 00:40:34 minutes | 1,62 GB + 3,2 GB | Genre: Jazz, Modern Classical, New Age
Official Digital Download – Source: bluecoastrecords.com | © Blue Coast Records
Recorded and Mixed by Cookie Marenco and Jean Claude Reynaud at OTR Studios, Belmont, CA
The album, Signature – Solo, is Fiona Joy’s first solo piano album recorded live to analog tape and Blue Coast Records’ first native double DSD release.
Though her native country is Australia, Fiona Joy is known throughout the world for her melodic songs and lush arrangements. Some say she picks up where the acclaimed Windham Hill pianist, George Winston, left off.
One of her latest songs – “Grace” – was chosen to be remixed for Winds of Samsara, a collaborative album by renowned flautist Wouter Kellerman and artist/producer Ricky Kej, which recently achieved #1 on the Billboard charts in New Age and has been nominated for a Grammy.
Fiona Joy is no stranger to acoustic instrumental music. She has several award-winning albums produced by Will Ackerman, founder of Windham Hill. Ackerman says, “One of the brightest lights in the Contemporary Instrumental genre, Fiona Joy is poised to move into stardom.”
Title: Umphrey’s McGee – Live at the Riverside: Halloween Weekend 2013
Release Date: 2014
Genre: Rock, progressive rock, jam band, math rock, jazz fusion, funk rock
Artist: Brendan Bayliss – guitar, vocals; Joel Cummins – keyboards, vocals; Ryan Stasik – bass guitar; Andy Farag – percussion; Jake Cinninger – guitar, vocals; Kris Myers – drums, vocals
Production/Label: Tour Gigs
Duration: 02:44:26 + 02:41:20 + 02:23:43
Quality: Blu-ray
Container: BDMV
Video codec: MPEG-2
Audio codec: AC-3
Video: MPEG-2 17000 kbps / 1920*1080p / 23,976 fps / 16:9
Audio: English Dolby Digital 2.0 / 48 kHz / 384 (256) kbps
Size: 62.51 GB
• Live at the Riverside: Halloween Weekend 2013 includes three disks and over 7 hours of video from Umphrey’s McGee’s Halloween run in Milwaukee, WI. All three nights of music are included and priced as such that you are essentially getting one show for free. Some of the best Umphrey’s video footage out there–trust us, you want all three nights!
• Umphrey’s McGee packed Milwaukee’s historic Riverside Theater over Halloween weekend 2013. For the sixth year running, the band presented their signature Mash-Up Extravaganza– a unique blend of originals, covers and improv that only Umphrey’s can deliver. In keeping with the theme, the band donned multi-character costumes like “Batman and Robin Thicke” and “Silent Bob Seger,” as fans in attendance followed suit.
• After “Night On Bald Mountain” set the stage on All Hallows’ Eve, Umphrey’s got down to business with mash-up performances like “Don’t Fear The Doves, Snucka” and “Papa Can Change A Blurred Stone.” The encore performance of “Electric Avenue To Hell,” a blend of classic songs by AC/DC and Eddy Grant, raised the bar for the next two nights.
• Night two’s performance showcased the band’s untethered explosive energy. Look for Brendan & Jake playing guitar behind their heads; Saxophonist Kevin Sinclair’s sit-in for a jazz-inflected jam of “Ringo,” and “Wappy Sprayberry” as a massive improv vehicle. The third and final night featured a fresh mash-up, as Umphrey’s blended three of their own songs for the first time in “Push the Booth Deeper.” Highlights include Jake alongside Joel on keys for “Miami Virtue,” and a perfectly illuminated and energetic “Bridgeless” encore, drawing the weekend to a spectacular close (more…)
Сomposer: Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868)
Title: Guillaume Tell
Release Date: 2015
Recorded: August 2013, Teatro Rossini, Pesaro, Italy
Genre: Classical, Opera
Director: Graham Vick (Stage), Tiziano Mancini (Video)
Conductor: Michele Mariotti
Artist: Nicola Alaima (Tell), Marina Rebeka (Mathilde), Juan Diego Flórez (Arnaud), Amanda Forsythe (Jemmy), Veronia Sieoni (Hedwige), Simon Orfila (Walter Furst), Luca Tittoto (Gesler), Alessandro Luciano (Rodolphe), Wojtek Gierlach (Leuthold/Un chasseur), Celso Albelo (Ruodi); Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Comunale di Bologna
Production/Label: Decca
Duration: 04:06:56
Quality: Blu-ray
Container: BDMV
Video codec: AVC
Audio codec: DTS, PCM
Video: MPEG-4 AVC 17025 kbps / 1920*1080i / 29,970 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1
Audio#1: French DTS-HD MA 5.1 / 48 kHz / 4002 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Audio#2: French LPCM 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit
Subtitles: English, French, German, Korean
Size: 44.15 GB
“Grand, cinematic opera, in wide-screen and Surround Sound” – this is how Germany’s daily Die Welt sees Rossini’s “Guillaume Tell” (1829) from the Rossini Opera Festival Pesaro. The renowned Festival has produced an impressive staging of Rossini’s last opera, which is feared for its multitude of high notes by all tenors singing the role of Arnold – except, perhaps, the phenomenal Juan Diego Flórez, “in a class of his own” (Deutschlandradio), who interprets this role here.
The work is an early example of romantic French Grand Opera and with its lavish musical writing and patriotic themes, the work itself set new musical and dramaturgical standards anticipating the music of Bellini, Donizetti, Meyerbeer, Verdi and even Wagner. After a performance of the work, Wagner told Rossini: “You have written music for all times, and that is the best.” At the Rossini Festival in Pesaro – whose solid credentials include editions based on serious research and faithfulness to the original – it is given in its original French version, and includes, besides the many great choruses, the beautiful, but often omitted ballet music.
The William Tell story goes back to Switzerland in 1307. Tell leads the Resistance against the oppressive Austrian official Gessler. Young Arnold, meanwhile, is a Swiss patriot but loves the Austrian Princess Mathilde. When Tell refuses to obey Gessler, the Austrian forces him to shoot an apple off his son’s head. Tell succeeds, but is jailed. Arnold picks up the torch of rebellion in spite of his love for Mathilde…
British director Graham Vick interprets the conflict of the Habsburg oppressors and the oppressed Swiss as a class conflict, and the story of the Swiss hero becomes the drama of a community’s resistance against a political, economic and military power. It is a timeless take on class struggles captured in drastic and unforgettable images, such as the gigantic staircase that descends from the ceiling at the end, and that will show Tell’s son the way to a free future.
The singers in this “Guillaume Tell” are “cast outstandingly down into the tiniest supporting roles”, wrote Deutschlandradio. And, as Arnold, Juan Diego Flórez “masters his part with seemingly effortless perfection” (Austria’s leading daily Die Presse). Praise was also heaped upon the young conductor Michele Mariotti, who made the opera come to life with the orchestra of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna playing “with furor, grandeur and precision” (Deutschlandradio). (more…)
Ben Webster – The Soul Of Ben Webster (1960/2014)
DSF Stereo DSD64/2.82MHz| Time – 00:44:59 minutes | 1,78 GB | Genre: Jazz
Source: ISO SACD| © Verve Records, Analogue Productions
Recorded: July, 1958, New York City
Mastered by George Marino at Sterling Sound from the original master tapes to vinyl and PCM. The DSD was sourced from the PCM. George listened to all of the different A/D converters he had before he chose which to use, and he felt the George Massenburg GML 20 bit A/D produced the best and most synergistic sound for the project.
“I really think that the people who are willing to lay down their money for these reissues are going to get something really outstanding.” — George Marino, Sterling Sound engineer, commenting on Analogue Productions’ Verve 25-title reissue series.
A blowing session that matches the matchless jazz tenor sax master with fellow tenorist Harold Ashby in a program of loose originals.
Recorded in 1958 and released the following year on Verve, The Soul of Ben Webster is a superb example of swinging mainstream jazz and bop. Webster is in fine form throughout, as are his fellow musicians including trumpeter Art Farmer, bassist Milt Hinton, pianist Jimmy Jones, and others. –Matt Collar
Сomposer: Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868)
Artist: Prague Sinfonia Orchestra, Christian Benda
Title: Rossini – Complete Overtures Vol. 1 & 2
Genre: Classical
Label: © Naxos NBD0028, NBD0035
Release Date: 2013-14
Quality: High-Fidelity FLAC Stereo 96kHz/24bit
Source: Blu-ray Audio Vol. 1 & Vol. 2
Duration: 03:48:19
Recorded: Kulturní dům Barikádníků, Prague, Czech Republic, on 5th and 6th September, 2011 (Vol. 1 #1-8, 10-14; Vol. 2 #2-3, 8), and at Produkční dům Vzlet, Prague, on May 30th and 31st, 2012 (Vol. 1 #9, 15; Vol. 2 #1, 4-7, 9-15)
Rossini wrote some of music’s most masterful and lovable operas. His gift for comic and tragic forms was matched by a relish for characterisation, qualities that are always evident in his overtures. La gazza ladra (The Thieving Magpie) is perhaps the most famous, one of the world’s most popular concert openers. Guillaume Tell, with its overture in four movements, includes a scene for five solo cellos. La scala di seta (The Silken Ladder) opens with an overture of charm and élan, and Le siège de Corinthe is dramatic and colourful. All of Rossini’s overtures display sparkling themes, rich lyricism and theatrical excitement.
The enduring popularity of Rossini’s operas is a testament to their wit and inventiveness, every overture a superb portrait of each ensuing drama. Volume 2 includes rarities such as the lively student work, Grand’overtura ‘obbligata a contrabasso’, and Matilde of Shabran, set in medieval Spain, alongside perennial hits such as The Italian Girl in Algiers, La Cenerentola (Cinderella), and the farcical comedy of Il barbiere di Siviglia. Volume 1 of this two-disc edition of the complete overtures is available on NBD0028. (more…)
Title: Gioachino Rossini: Complete Overtures Vol.2
Year: 2011-2012
Genre: Classical
Conductor: Christian Benda
Artist: Prague Sinfonia Orhestra
Issued: United States | Naxos
Duration: 1:50:36
Size 10.26 GB
The enduring popularity of Rossini’s operas is a testament to their wit and inventiveness, every overture a superb portrait of each ensuing drama. Volume 2 includes rarities such as the lively student work, Grand’overtura ‘obbligata a contrabasso’, and Matilde of Shabran, set in medieval Spain, alongside perennial hits such as The Italian Girl in Algiers, La Cenerentola (Cinderella), and the farcical comedy of Il barbiere di Siviglia. Volume 1 of this two-disc edition of the complete overtures is available on NBD0028.
Recorded: Kulturní dům Barikádníků, Prague, Czech Republic, on 5th and 6th September, 2011 (tracks 2-3, 8), and at Produkční dům Vzlet, Prague, on 30th and 31st May, 2012 (tracks 1, 4-7, 9-15). (more…)
Gioachino Rossini: Complete Overtures Vol.1 (2011-2012/2013) [High Fidelity Pure Audio Blu-Ray Disc]
Genre: Classical
Year of publication: 2013
Duration: 1:57:46
Quality: Blu-ray Disc
Container: BDMV
Video codec: MPEG-2
Audio Codec: DTS-HD Master Audio | LPCM
Rossini wrote some of music’s most masterful and lovable operas. His gift for comic and tragic forms was matched by a relish for characterisation, qualities that are always evident in his overtures. La gazza ladra (The Thieving Magpie) is perhaps the most famous, one of the world’s most popular concert openers. Guillaume Tell, with its overture in four movements, includes a scene for five solo cellos. La scala di seta (The Silken Ladder) opens with an overture of charm and élan, and Le siège de Corinthe is dramatic and colourful. All of Rossini’s overtures display sparkling themes, rich lyricism and theatrical excitement.
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Сomposer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Title: Karajan Memorial Concert: Mozart – Requiem K. 626
Release Date: 2015
Genre: Classical, Choral
Director: Bob Coles
Conductor: Claudio Abbado
Artist: Karita Mattila (soprano), Sara Mingardo (contralto), Michael Schade (tenor), Bryn Terfel (bass baritone), Rachel Harnisch (soprano), Berliner Philharmoniker, Swedish Radio Choir
Production/Label: EuroArts
Duration: 01:02:21
Quality: Blu-ray
Container: BDMV
Video codec: AVC
Audio codec: PCM
Video: MPEG-4 AVC 23950 kbps / 1920*1080i / 29,970 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1
Audio: LPCM 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
Subtitles: English, German, French, Spanish, Latin
Size: 14.35 GB
On July 16, 1999, the tenth anniversary of the death of Herbert von Karajan, the Berliner Philharmoniker paid tribute to their late maestro in his home town of Salzburg. In a live shooting from the imposing Salzburg Cathedral, Claudio Abbado conducted an all- Mozart programme, honouring his predecessor both by the careful selection of the music and the singers. The Berliner Philharmoniker, conducted by Claudio Abbado, performed Mozart’s Requiem in D minor, KV 626, among other works. Soprano Rachel Harnisch appeared as the soloist on the two complementing arias Betrachte dies mein Herz und frage mich and Laudate Dominum Featuring soprano Karita Mattila, contralto Sara Mingardo, tenor Michael Schade and bass baritone Bryn Terfel as soloists of the Requiem. A performance that in every respect met Karajan’s own high artistic standards. Lovingly restored and carefully brought to HD, this unique performance of the Berliner Philharmoniker at Salzburg Cathedral is now finally available on Blu-ray Disc. (more…)
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Rick Wakeman – The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1973/2014)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96kHz | Time – 00:36:49 minutes | 750 MB | Genre: Rock
Source: DVD Audio | © A&M Records
Recorded: February – October 1972 at Morgan and Trident Studios, London, England.
Not only did this album help pave the way for progressive rock, but it also introduced the unbridled energy and overall effectiveness of the synthesizer as a bona fide instrument. Six Wives gave Wakeman his chance to break away from the other instrumental complexities that made up Yes and allowed him to prove what a driving force the keyboard could truly be, especially in full album form. More than just synthesized wandering, Wakeman astoundingly conjures up a separate musical persona by way of an instrumental ode to each of Henry VIII’s wives through his dazzling use of the Mellotron, Moog, and Hammond C-3 organ. For example, Wakeman’s fiery runs and fortissimo thwarting of the synthesizer throughout “Anne Boleyn” is a tribute to her feisty temper and valiant courage that she maintained while standing up to her husband. With “Jane Seymour,” on the other hand, Wakeman’s playing is somewhat subdued and gentle, which coincides with her legendary meekness and frailty, as well as her willingness to cater to Henry VIII. Wakeman’s masterful use of his synthesizers is instrumentally stunning, as is his talent of magically shaping the notes to represent behavioral idiosyncrasies of his characters. Yes bassist Chris Squire lends a hand on “Catherine of Aragon,” while guitarist Steve Howe and drummer Bill Bruford appear on a few tracks as well, as does former Strawbs member Dave Cousins, playing the electric banjo. The Six Wives of Henry VIII unleashes the unyielding power of the keyboard as a dominant instrument, but also displays Wakeman at the beginning of an extremely resplendent career as a solo musician. –Mike DeGagne
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Rick Wakeman – The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table (1975/2014)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96kHz | Time – 00:44:42 minutes | 946 MB | Genre: Rock
Source: DVD Audio | © A&M Records
Recorded: 16 October 1974 – 10 January 1975 at Morgan Studios, London, England.
Rick Wakeman’s third solo album is among his best, as he employs his vast array of keyboards to their full extent, musically describing the characters pertaining to the days of King Arthur’s reign. With orchestra and choir included, although a little less prevalent than on Journey, he musically addresses the importance and distinguishing characteristics of each figure through the use of multiple synthesizers and accompanying instruments. “Lady of the Lake” is given a mystical, enchanted feel, perpetrated by a more subtle use of piano and synthesizer, while the battle of “Sir Lancelot and the Black Knight” is made up of a barrage of feuding keyboard runs and staccato riffs, musically recounting the intensity of the duel. But it’s on “Merlin the Magician” where Wakeman truly shines, as the whimsy and peculiarity of this fabled figure is wonderfully conjured up through the frenzy of the synthesizer. As one of Wakeman’s most famous pieces, it is here that his astounding musicianship is laid out for all to hear, a marvelous bisque of keyboard artistry. The album’s entirety is a sensational execution of Wakeman’s adroitness, and with vocals from Ashley Holt and Gary Pickford Hopkins, it still stands along with Journey to the Center of the Earth and The Six Wives of Henry VIII as one of his most astute pieces. –Mike DeGagne
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Title: Nana Mizuki – Angel Blossom
Original title: 水 樹 奈 々 – Angel Blossom
Released: 2015
Genre: Jpop, Jpock
Issued: Japan, King Records
Duration: 00:24:58
Size: 6.22 GB
Blu-ray:
1. Angel Blossom (MUSIC VIDEO)
2. MAKING OF Angel Blossom
Technical Specs
Blu-ray
BD-25 Layer Disc
Video Resolution/Codec
1080p/AVC MPEG-4
Aspect Ratio(s)
2.35:1
Audio Formats
Japan LPCM 2.0 1536 Kbps (more…)
Title: Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 1-9
Year: 2014/2014
Genre: Classical
Conductor: Iván Fischer
Artist: Bernarda Fink (mezzo-soprano), Gerald Finley (bass), Myrtò Papatanasiu (soprano), Burkhard Fritz (tenor), Netherlands Radio Choir, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest)
Issued: United States | Naxos
Duration: 381: 55
Size: 101.51 GB
The Beethoven symphonies: all nine of them stunning masterworks, all nine performed countless times. Be that as it may, there are conductors who can recontextualise these symphonies in such a way that they sound completely new, as Iván Fischer proved in 2013 and 2014 in his Beethoven Series with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, spread out over two seasons. A veritable journey of discovery through a familiar landscape.
Recorded Live at Concertgebouw Amsterdam on 11 May 2013 (1, 2 & 5), 31 May 2013 (3 & 4), 9-10 January 2014 (6 & 7), 20-21 February 2014 (8 & 9). (more…)
• Randy Bachman returned to where it all started, Winnipeg, and recorded a show at the Pantages Playhouse Theatre where he chronologically played and told the origins of his most famous songs that he created with both the Guess Who and Bachman Turner Overdrive.
• What happens next is what they call in show biz ‘the magic.’ In fact, this is the how a story-teller’s evening should be done. Randy is personable and comes off as a musical historian as he walks the crowd through his song writing history. We are talking classic tunes that include Guess Who favorites such as “These Eyes,” “No Sugar Tonight,” “No Time” and “American Woman” to the BTO hits like “Let It Ride,” “You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet” and “Takin’ Care of Business.”
• Watching and listening to Bachman describe his life in rock and roll and how these songs -some created live on stage- came to be is mesmerizing. One feels like he is bellied up to the bar listening to a great storyteller. It is fascinating, yet comfortable… amazing, yet believable.
Tracklist:
1. Prairie Town
2. Shakin’ all Over
3. These Eyes
4. Laughing
5. No sugar Tonight
6. No Time
7. American Woman
8. Roll On Down The Highway
9. Let It Ride
10. You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet
11. Takin’Care Of Business
12. Hey You
Bonus Tracks:
– Undun
– Looking Out For #1 (more…)
BLU-RAY EDITION OF THE KATATONIA CONCERT FILM TAKEN FROM THE ‘UNPLUGGED & REWORKED’ SHOW AT LONDON’S UNION CHAPEL Formed in Sweden in 1991 by Anders Nyström & Jonas Renkse, Katatonia stand at the forefront of the dark progressive rock genre. In September 2013 Kscope released Dethroned & Uncrowned, a reworking of the band’s 2012 epic Dead End Kings (originally released on Kscope’s sister label Peaceville). Dethroned & Uncrowned allowed Katatonia the opportunity to explore a more progressive sound, creating new moods and textures while still staying truthful to the core of the original songs. Katatonia took Dethroned & Uncrowned on the road in Europe for the first time in May 2014 as ‘Unplugged & Reworked’. The band presented an intimate acoustic evening performing tracks from the album alongside atmospheric classics from their entire career, stripped and reworked. Each venue on the tour was carefully chosen for its unique atmosphere. Sanctitude is a concert film recorded at one of these prestigious venues, in the stunning candle-lit setting of London’s Union Chapel, where they were joined on guitar & vocals by The Pineapple Thief frontman and songwriter Bruce Soord. The 80 minute set features 17 songs across the albums The Great Cold Distance, Viva Emptiness, Brave Murder Day, Last Fair Deal Gone Down and of course, Dead End Kings / Dethroned & Uncrowned, including fan favourite ‘Teargas’. The show closes with the sublime ‘The One You Are Looking For Is Not Here’ and a special guest appearance by Norwegian vocalist Silje Wergeland of Dutch legends The Gathering. This Blu-ray edition features the full 1 hour 20 minute live concert of 17 tracks (Stereo 24/48 LPCM, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, DTS 24/96 5.1 Surround, 5.1 Surround 24/96 MLP lossless mixes) plus the ‘Beyond The Chapel’ documentary with over 60 minutes of additional footage including brand new interviews.
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Daryl Hall and John Oates are one of the most successful recording duos of all time with a string of hit singles and gold and platinum albums to their name including six US No.1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, all of which are included in this superb live show. Filmed at the Olympia Theatre in Dublin on 15th July 2014, this was the first time Daryl Hall and John Oates had played a live show in the city. They delivered a fantastic performance, packed with hits, to an audience who were clearly in the mood to party as only Dublin can!
Bonus Features
Interviews with Daryl Hall and John Oates.
Track Listing
1) Maneater
2) Out Of Touch
3) Say It Isn t So
4) Family Man
5) It s Uncanny
6) Back Together Again
7) Las Vegas Turnaround
8) She s Gone
9) Sara Smile
10) Do What You Want, Be What You Are
11) I Can t Go For That (No Can Do) 12) Rich Girl
13) You Make My Dreams
14) Kiss On My List
15) Private Eyes