Boccherini's guitar quintets are arrangements prepared from material originally used in a sysle of piano quintets, written in Madrid during the final years of the eighteenth century. Although Boccherini received support from then French ambassador Lucien Bonaparte, contemporary reports suggest that the years prior to his death in 1805 were spent in abject poverty. Nevertheless, he remained as musically productive as ever, and the works recorded here are typically fresh and inventive.

"To my loving countryman, Mr. John Forster the younger, merchant of Dublin, in Ireland." In thus dedicating the song 'From Silent Night' in his collection A Pilgrim's Solace (1612), John Dowland reveals his possible Irish origins. Was Dowland, often considered the first great English composer, actually Irish? He may have belonged to an old Irish family, the O'Dolans, who settled in Dublin in the middle of the 16th century.

Dowland is mainly known today for the expressiveness of his Ayres. In putting together this project, La Nef chose to concentrate on the more light-hearted side of Dowland. Working closely with American tenor Michael Slattery, La Nef strips some of Dowland's Ayres of their complex, contrapuntal accompaniments, giving them a simple, Celtic flavour.

Les Voix Baroques and Arion Orchestre Baroque combine their outstanding talents for this new recording of the St. John Passion. The recording was produced at the chapel of the Grand Séminaire in Montreal, following performances during the 2010 Bach Festival.

The St. John Passion follows the rules of an oratorio: the story essentially the last days of Christ's life is drawn from the Gospel according to John, and features commentary throughout in the form of choruses sung by the choir. In this work, Bach reaches an incomparable profundity of expressiveness not by rote association of musical motif with image, but by the beauty of his melodies, the feeling associated with various keys, and the richness of his harmonies.

"The test of a great recording is whether you find yourself temporarily unable to live without it." -- Alex Ross, The New Yorker

Eve Egoyan is a concert pianist who specializes in the performance of new works. Her intense focus, command of the instrument, insightful interpretations and unique programs welcome audiences into unknown territory, bridging the gap between them and contemporary composers. This album comprises world premiére recordings of 4 works by the late Canadian composer Ann Southam, who passed away in November 2010 at the age of 73.

"In the First and Third Symphonies, Davis' marvellous sense of style and the clear, bright recordings are well aligned. His extraordinarily keen sense of rhythm and texture - he shapes and projects the ostinato rhythms of the First Symphony and much of the Prince Igor music (enthusiastically sung) like a young Toscanini - distinguishes page upon page of the music [...in the slow movement of the Second] Davis treating the music with the kind of intelligence and musical sensibility one would hope to find in the performance of a slow movement by Vaughan Williams or Delius." -- Gramophone, Nov. 1977

Sir Andrew Davis was the Music Director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra from 1975 to 1988 and has been Conductor Laureate there since. He has been the Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Lyric Opera of Chicago since 2000. In 2010, he led the world premiére of his own new orchestration of Handel's Messiah with the TSO and he made his Canadian Opera Company debut with Ariadne auf Naxos in 2011.

Dmitri Hvorostovsky is one of the world's leading baritones who, from the start, bowled over his audiences with his cultivated voice, innate sense of musical line and natural legato. He was born and studied in Siberia. He has performed on all the major operatic stages and at all the important international festivals, and has also appeared as a celebrated recitalist in every corner of the globe. He has retained a strong musical and personal contact with Russia and tours its cities on an annual basis. He became the first opera singer to give a solo concert with orchestra and chorus on Red Square in Moscow.

For his first CD release on the Ondine label, Hvorostovsky has chosen art song repertoire of great intensity and emotion from his Russian home country: 26 featured romances by Sergei Rachmaninov including such popular songs as Spring Waters, Op. 14/11 and In the Silence of the Mysterious Night, Op. 4/3. Together with his longstanding duo partner, Estonian pianist Ivari Ilja, Hvorostovsky has frequently performed many of these songs to great critical acclaim.

"Mr. Hvorostovsky used the infinite shadings of his luxuriously dark and dusky voice to illuminate the yearning nuances of bitterness and regret. [...] his admirable range of expressive and dynamic shadings [was] aptly mirrored by Ivari Ilja, an exemplary accompanist." -- The New York Times

"We love Dmitri Hvorostovsky in this music not only because Russian is his native tongue - the melody rolls out like an exotic EKG of voluptuous vowels, consonants and tonal inflections - but also for his smooth line, luscious sound, and for an uninhibited emotional extravagance that would seem overblown in most repertoire." -- Elissa Poole, The Globe and Mail, January 28, 2012

An album of cool instrumentals that bridges classical, jazz and country, Time is a collaboration between Steve Howe, best known as guitarist with Yes, and producer Paul K. Joyce, who has worked widely scoring for television and film. Steve Howe first contacted Paul in 2007 after reading an interview with him and suggested they work together on an orchestral project. Steve combed through tunes he had been accumulating, including some he'd worked on with his friend Paul Sutin with whom he'd released two albums in 1995. Time includes several Howe originals, as well as tunes by Paul and Steve's son Virgil, plus unconventional realizations of works by Bach, Villa-Lobos and Vivaldi.

Kami Thompson is the youngest daughter of Richard and Linda Thompson and the sister of Teddy Thompson, all of whom enjoy critically acclaimed success as singer-songwriters. Her debut album, Love Lies, is a smoky-blue collection of self-penned songs and also includes a cover of George Harrison's Don't Bother Me, which she brilliantly makes her own.

Not only does the CD feature her father on guitar and her brother on voice and guitar, there are also contributions from some of her friends: Sean Lennon, Matt Johnson, Lucy Wainwright and Martha Wainwright, whose husband Brad Albetta produced alongside Ed Haber.

Tempo is the meeting of a renowned Brazilian pianist and singer, Tania Maria, and a legendary bass player. Renowned as one of the most famous Brazilian artists since the '70s, Tania Maria has based her art in playing Brazilian tunes with a very tasty blend of jazz. Her meeting with Eddie Gomez, one of the best jazz players ever - he spent a long time in the great Bill Evans Trio and others - is an amazing mix between Brazil and jazz.

Tania Maria is scatting with brio and playing her melodious piano part while Eddie Gomez is playing wonderful harmonic bass; he is improvising when she's soloing on piano on such beautiful melodies as Estate or A Chuva Caiu. This new record is a new step in the Brazil/jazz area and the successful meeting of two legends of American Modern Music.

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