The Eton Choirbook is a giant 500 year-old manuscript from Eton College Chapel and one of the greatest surviving glories of pre-Reformation England. This recording features the earliest polyphonic Passion by a named composer, two heartrending motets for five and six voices, two thrilling settings of the Magnificat, and an extraordinary canon in 13 parts, Jesus autem transiens. The ensemble TONUS PEREGRINUS has been widely acclaimed, not least for its “richly sung and very well recorded” programme of Orlando Gibbons, L’estrange, and Pitts (The Penguin Guide on 8.557681).

During the 16th and 17th centuries, English music was highly original and unique both in its form and its characteristic mood. The Anthems and Songs on this CD reveal some of the most touching pieces from this era. Under the artistic direction of Matthew White, Les Voix Baroques is an ensemble of vocal soloists that works in conjunction with prominent instrumentalists, ensembles and music directors to present vocal works from, and related to, the Renaissance and Baroque, in formats ranging from traditional concerts to fully staged operatic events.

Triple Forte, Canada’s elite piano trio, presents its first CD recording. With near-limitless ability, violinist Jasper Wood, cellist Yegor Dyachkov and pianist David Jalbert will delight listeners with their performances of music by Maurice Ravel, Charles Ives and Dmitri Shostakovich. Jasper Wood has been awarded both the coveted Sylva Gelber Prize (1996) and the prestigious Virginia Parker Award (2004) from the Canada Council for the Arts. Named Canadian “Artist of the Year” by the CBC in 2000, Yegor Dyachkov “is undoubtedly a cellist of great stature…he has it all” (La Presse, Montreal). A national and international prize winner, David Jalbert has won two Opus Awards and he was the 2007 laureate of the prestigious Virginia Parker Prize of the Canada Council for the Arts.

Lush harmonies, intricate arrangements and soaring melodies have been the foundation of musica intima’s recordings. Over the years, musica intima has relished performing and recording choral music from all time periods. They are especially known for championing contemporary Canadian music and finding little-known works that have now become popular choral gems. Coupled with a tradition of in-house arrangements by the members of the ensemble, the music on this CD represents the best and most popular recordings by musica intima over the last 20 years.

Denis Plante presents transcriptions for bandoneón and guitar of Astor Piazzolla’s seminal works. Plante’s concept is to enter completely into Piazzolla’s musical world – as if by chance, the listener had slipped into a Buenos Aires café and there he was, making his bellows dance. Plante offers a return to the very essence of tango: just his bandoneón and David Jacques’s guitar. Denis Plante is Canada’s foremost bandoneónist and a dominant presence in the world’s contemporary tango scene. His previous CD, Tango Boréal (ACD2 2661), won the 2012 Opus prize in the category of Disc of the Year, World Music.

Eatock is a composer, critic and musicologist. The six works recorded on this disc were composed over the last quarter-century, which he has spent living in Toronto. This is intimate music, a mixture of vocal and instrumental works scored for one to four musicians. The pieces reflect Eatock’s musical influences. Often, there is a historical aspect to his music with stylistic ideas from past eras incorporated into his works. And there are also literary influences: William Blake, Walt Whitman and Alfred Tennyson are all represented on this disc.

Five works by Lee and Eagle explore connections between the sound worlds of the chamber and electro acoustic music of our time, and the intimate approach to listening as was the musical practice of ancient China. Secret of the Seven Stars, the title piece on the CD, was premièred by Toronto’s New Music Concerts. The solo works on the disc feature the expressive virtuosity of German accordionist Hussong and Canadian flutist Aitken.

Boston Baroque is the first permanent Baroque orchestra established in North America and is widely regarded as “one of the world’s premier period-instrument bands” (Fanfare). The company performs orchestral, choral and operatic works from the Baroque and Classical eras (approximately 1610-1840), using instruments and performance techniques that reflect the era in which the works were composed. The three-time Grammy-nominated ensemble marks the beginning of its relationship with Linn with this recording of Haydn’s The Creation. Soloists Amanda Forsythe, Keith Jameson and Kevin Deas join the ensemble and conductor Martin Pearlman for the performance of Haydn’s crowning achievement.

Boston Baroque recorded The Creation during their October 2011 première performance. Of this concert, the Boston Globe raved: “… a performance full of dramatic contrasts, vibrant colors, and poetic feeling. The chorus…had so much energy and point, and its fugal lines were so clear, that the words hardly mattered. The orchestra sang here, danced there, and everywhere reveled in Haydn’s picturesque details. It all augured well for Boston Baroque’s upcoming recording of The Creation.”

Sogno Barocco – a baroque dream – is the 3rd recording of Swedish mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter on naïve. Dedicated to the first baroque Italian opera with its long recitativos and its powerful arias, this recording gathers together hits of baroque music such as Monteverdi’s Si dolce é ‘l tormento and pur ti miro, and discoveries such as Rossi’s Lamento of the Queen of Sweden. Works by Cavalli and Provenzale are also represented. Anne Sofie von Otter sings with acclaimed soprano Sandrine Piau on three of the included pieces. The Ensemble Cappella Mediterranea and Leonardo Garcia Alarcón are rising stars of the baroque world and provide an excellent accompaniment to the nuanced performance of von Otter.