Pipa master Gao Hong and guqin virtuoso Zhao Xiaoxia revisit some of China's best-known traditional pieces, such as Three Variations on the Plum Blossom and Yangguan Sandie, complementing them with improvisation and adaptation full of their own unique creative charm. Here, they masterfully combine the rich history of traditional culture with the avant-garde energy of contemporary art to create a work that is both a philosophical meditation and a spiritual journey.

Uniquely inspired by sixteen pristine, biodiverse isles belonging to the territory of her homeland Sri Lanka, Tanya Ekanayaka's sixteen contrastive and palpable compositions, or 'Piano Isles', comprising this album, embody two distinct forms of composition-performance. Eight works were composed between 2022 and 2024. The remaining eight Extempore Compositions involved simultaneous composition-recording, on a single day of the album recording session in April 2024, each as a whole, and each incorporating a distinct musical motif - a form of artistry never presented through any of Tanya Ekanayaka's previous work.

Tanya Ekanayaka presents a stunning array of 43 works for solo piano composed between 2021 and 2022, drawing inspiration from 40 languages ranging from rare and critically endangered languages spread across Earth’s six continents, home to permanent human habitation, to some of the most famous and unusual languages of South Asia. Mystical, vibrant, contemplative and poetic, the sutras and pianisms traverse a broad spectrum of moods and thought. Throughout, the prolific composer-pianist’s fearless musical authenticity glistens within the beautiful originality of this remarkable double album.

Iberi invite you to a supra feast full of gorgeous Georgian polyphonic singing! With sacred songs, historical ballads, lullabies, work songs and ‘table songs’ for feasting, they celebrate the age-old tradition of supra and its popular toasting themes. This traditional style of polyphonic singing is inscribed in UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Iberi have released an accompanying cookbook to provide the full Georgian experience – the holy trinity of food, wine and song! “They look like warriors and sing like angels!” (Nick Hobbs, Charmenco Music Agency)

A collection of anthems of (former) socialist countries. Some of them changed the anthem after the collapse of the Warsaw Pact with the result that they changed the political system.

La bossa nova est l'une des plus emblematiques des musiques populaires du XXe siecle. en plus d'avoir offert au grand repertoire quelques-uns de ses plus beaux fleurons elle a place la musique bresilienne sur le devant de la scene internationale. en parallele a son ouvrage, Alain Gerber selectionne 45 des oeuvres les plus emblematiques des debuts de la bossa nova entre Bresil et etats-Unis. Ant�nio Carlos Jobim, Jo�o Gilberto, Johnny Alf, Luiz Bonfa, Carlos Lyra et Baden Powell font echos a Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie, Dave Brubeck et Sonny Rollins. Patrick FReMEAUX Bossa nova is one of the most emblematic forms of popular music of the 20th century. In addition to having given the great universal songbook some of it's finest jewels, it has placed Brazilian music at the forefront of the international scene. In parallel with his book, Alain Gerber has selected 45 of the most emblematic songs from the early days of bossa nova. Ant�nio Carlos Jobim, Jo�o Gilberto, Johnny Alf, Luiz Bonfa, Carlos Lyra and Baden Powell are echoed by Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie, Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Patrick Fremeaux CD 1 - RIO DE JANEIRO : HEITOR VILLA-LOBOS : BACHIANA BRASILEIRA N� 5 - DICK FARNEY & LUCIO ALVES : TEREZA DA PRAIA - JOHNNY ALF : RAPAZ DE BEM - ANT�NIO CARLOS JOBIM & VINiCIUS DE MORAES : SE T�DOS F�SSEM IGUAIS A VOCe - LUIZ BONFA : LUZES DO RIO - JO�O GILBERTO : UM ABRAcO NO BONFa - ELIZETE CARDOSO : OUTRA VEZ - JO�O GILBERTO : CHEGA DE SAUDADE - DORIVAL CAYMMI : SAMBA DA MINHA TERRA - JO�O GILBERTO : SAMBA DA MINHA TERRA - TRIO CAMARA : MUITO A VONTADE - JO�O GILBERTO : HO-Ba-La-La - ELIZETE CARDOSO : SERENATA DE ADEUS - BADEN POWELL : SAMBA NOVO, Pt. 2 - BADEN POWELL : PARA NaO SOFRER - MAYSA (MATTARAZZO) : O BARQUINHO - SYLVIA TELLES : SE e TARDE ME PERDOA - JO�O GILBERTO : LOBO BOBO - SYLVIA TELLES : DISCUSS�O - JO�O GILBERTO : SAMBA DE UMA NOTA SO - JO�O GILBERTO : DESAFINADO - SYLVIA TELLES : CORCOVADO - CARLOS LYRA : COISA MAIS LINDA - CARLOS LYRA : MARIA NINGUeM - OS CARIOCAS : TUDO e BOSSA - SeRGIO RICARDO : MAXIMA CULPA - ANIBAL SARDINHA "GAROTO" : ALMA BRASILEIRA - OSCAR CASTRO-NEVES : AULA DE MATEMATICA. CD 2 - (QUELQUE CHOSE SUR L'AMeRIQUE DU NORD) : CURTIS FULLER : ONE NOTE SAMBA - DAVE BRUBECK : VENTO FRESCO - STAN GETZ & CHARLIE BYRD : e LUXO So - CAL TJADER : SE e TARDE ME PERDOA - SONNY ROLLINS : THE NIGHT HAS A THOUSAND EYES - DIZZY GILLESPIE : DESAFINADO - BOB BROOKMEYER : CHORA TUA TRISTEZA - STAN GETZ : BIM BOM - ZOOT SIMS : MARIA NINGUEM - QUINCY JONES : BLACK ORPHEUS - DAVE PIKE : PHILUMBA - COLEMAN HAWKINS : UM ABRAcO NO BONFa - IKE QUEBEC : FAVELA - LALO SCHIFRIN : RAPAZ DE BEM - CHARLIE ROUSE : VELHOS TEMPOS - GEORGE SHEARING : MANHA DE CARNAVAL - BUD SHANK : PENSATIVA. DIRECTION ARTISTIQUE : ALAIN GERBER

Apres ses debuts remarques dans le jazz, Alexandre Sacha Distel, neveu du celebre chef d'orchestre Ray Ventura, s'oriente vers la chanson. Son charme et sa voix seduisent rapidement le public. en 1958, son tube Scoubidou le propulse au sommet des charts. de 1959 a 1962, Distel enchaine les succes. Il remporte le Grand Prix de l'Academie Charles-Cros en 1959, chante avec Maurice Chevalier, compose pour le grand ecran et devient une ic�ne de la chanson francaise, alliant talent musical et elegance naturelle. Patrick FReMEAUX After a stunning debut as a jazz guitarist, Alexandre "Sacha" Distel, the nephew of famous French bandleader Ray Ventura, turned to the world of songs, where his voice and good looks quickly attracted a large audience. In 1958 he had an enormous hit with the song "Scoubidou" that catapulted him to the top of the charts. In 1959 he won the "Grand Prix de l'Academie Charles-Cros", and for the next three years he enjoyed one hit after another. He would sing with Maurice Chevalier and compose songs for films before becoming an icon in popular music with a unique combination of musical talent and natural elegance. Patrick FReMEAUX CD1 (1957-1959) : Sacha Distel CHANTE : TOUT BAS (SPEAK LOW) - CHEVEUX DANS LE VENT - QUAND J'Y PENSE - LA FIN D'UN ROMAN D'AMOUR - MA CHeRIE SI JOLIE (TAMMY) - MALADIE D'AMOUR - INSENSIBLEMENT - FASCINATION - ROSE D'OR - LE TOUR DU MONDE (AROUND THE WORLD) - QUAND TU VIENS CHEZ MOI... MON COEUR - QUELQUE CHOSE EN TOI - L'eTANG - TIENS ! TIENS ! TIENS ! - UN AMOUR COMME LE N�TRE - QUE RESTE-T-IL DE NOS AMOURS ? - PARLEZ-MOI D'AMOUR - SI PETITE O MON AMOUR - GARDE cA POUR TOI (CATCH A FALLING STAR) - LE MUR - La, PReS DE LA FENeTRE (IN THE WEE SMALL HOURS) - DORS MON AMOUR - BRIGITTE - a JAMAIS - BONJOUR CHeRIE. BANDE ORIGINALE DU FILM GIGI : C'EST LA BARBE (AVEC MAURICE CHEVALIER) - TOUT cA N'EST PAS POUR MOI - CEUX QUI INVENTeRENT LE CHAMPAGNE (AVEC MARIE FRANCE GIGI ET JANE MARKEN) - GIGI. CD2 (1959-1961) : Sacha Distel EN PERSONNE : SCOUBIDOU - POMMES ET POIRES - OH ! QUELLE NUIT (LONESOME ME) - QUAND ON S'EST CONNU - CE SERAIT DOMMAGE... (IMPATIENT LOVER) - OUI, OUI, OUI, OUI (GRAND PRIX DE LA CHANSON R.T.F. 1959) - DIS ! O DIS ! (EVERYBODY LOVES A LOVER) - ET QUE cA DURE - JE N'AVAIS PAS COMPRIS. COQ D'OR DE LA CHANSON 1959 : SOPHIE. Sacha Distel N�2 : MON BEAU CHAPEAU - La, PReS DE LA FENeTRE (IN THE WEE SMALL HOURS) - LES CeLIBATAIRES - OUAH ! OUAH ! OUAH ! OUAH ! - PERSONNALITeS - ELLE A LE... ELLE A LA... ELLE A LES... - DITES a L'ORCHESTRE (LA... LA... LA...) - MONSIEUR L'BARON - TOUT cA DEVAIT ARRIVER (EVERYTHING HAPPENS TO ME) - DR�LE DE ReVE (THE PREACHER) - ALLEZ ! VA ! (MY HEART IS AN OPEN BOOK). Sacha Distel N�3 : 20 MADAM' MADAM' - CALIN CALINETTE - LES CARIOCAS, ELLES SONT SI BELLES LES CARIOCAS - OUI, DEVANT DIEU (LA NOVIA) - LE BOOGIE DU BeBe (BABY SITTIN' BOOGIE) - ON DIT, ON DIT, ON DIT - cA C'EST DU POULET - a CAUSE DE TOI (I DON't KNOW WHY) - BYE BYE BABY (BYE BYE BLACKBIRD) - TROIS FOIS LA FRANCE. CD3 (1961-1962) : OUI ET NON - C'EST TOUT, C'EST TOUT (THAT'S ALL) - CATERINA - C'eTAIT PLUS FORT QUE TOUT (I CAN't STOP LOVING YOU) - J'AI UN RENDEZ-VOUS (I WANNA THANK YOU) - SANS TOI - QUE C'EST BON (WELCOME HOME TO MY HEART) - CHANSON SUR UNE SEULE NOTE (SAMBA DE UMA NOTA SO) - GUITARE ET COPAINS (A STEEL GUITAR AND A GLASS OF WINE) - DIS-MOI BARMAN - LES FILLES... MOI J'AIME cA - BON VENT MA JOLIE - PAILLASSE - RIEN DANS LA NUIT. SACHA BOSSA NOVA : ESO BESO - DESAFINADO - VIENS DANSER LA BOSSA NOVA (TING TOUNG) - LOIN DE TOI (RECADO). EVERYBODY LOVES THE LOVER : LET ME LOVE YOU - WHY DON't WE DO THIS MORE OFTEN - MY HEART STOOD STILL - ONCE IN EVERY LIFETIME - I'm IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE - SPEAK TO ME OF LOVE - THE LOVER - IT'S BEEN A LONG, LONG TIME - EVERYBODY LOVES A LOVER - YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME - I CAN't GIVE YOU ANYTHING BUT LOVE - ALMOST LIKE BEING IN LOVE. DIRECTION ARTISTIQUE : OLIVIER JULIEN

Noel Rosa creait la chanson populaire urbaine, le bahianais Dorival Caymmi imposait la magie afro-bresilienne et Vinicius de Moraes fut le poete par excellence de la bossa nova. Aux cotes de ces trois geants, l'anthologie ouvre aussi le spectre a la chanson romantique de Catulo da Paixao Cearense et de Candido das Neves ainsi qu'a quelques autres plumes de reference (comme Orestes Barbosa, Cartola, Ronaldo Boscoli, Humberto Teixeira...). Noirs, mulatres ou blancs, originaires de Rio de Janeiro ou du Nordeste, auteurs - compositeurs - interpretes comme Noel Rosa ou Caymmi ou seulement paroliers, ils epousent les evolutions stylistiques de la chanson populaire bresilienne sur un demisiecle et leur talent litteraire donne a leur versification un halo hautement poetique. Noel Rosa fathered popular urban songs. Dorival Caymmi breathed Afro-Brazilian magic into them, and Vinicius de Moraes was the poet par excellence of bossa nova. This collection also celebrates other in uential artists in Brazil, the likes of Catulo da Paixao Cearense, Candido das Neves, Orestes Barbosa, Cartola, Ronaldo Boscoli and Humberto Teixeira. Whether they were black, white or mulatto, from Rio de Janeiro or Nordeste, composer songwriters or lyricists, each of these artists contributed to the stylistic evolution of popular Brazilian songs for half a century. Their literary talents made their verse a thing of extraordinary poetry.

Avec Mes Soeurs, Stephanie prend le contrepied de son premier album : plus sombre, plus epure, plus urgent. Ce nouveau disque explore � la lumiere du crepuscule les themes chers � l'artiste : le desir, la fuite, l'�tre au monde. La voix s'y libere, fr�le parfois le parler, au coeur d'arrangements ciseles par Fred Pallem, � la maniere d'une Marie Lafor�t passee par Berlin-Est. Une matiere vive et sensuelle, o� l'elegance de l'orchestration revele la tension et l'energie des textes. Patrick FReMEAUX With Mes Soeurs, Stephanie takes the opposite tack to her first album: darker, more refined, more urgent. This new record explores, in the twilight, themes that the artist holds dear: desire, escape, being in the world. Her voice is liberated, sometimes verging on speech, at the heart of arrangements crafted by Fred Pallem, in the style of a Marie Lafor�t who has passed through East Berlin. It is lively and sensual material, where the elegance of the orchestration reveals the tension and energy of the lyrics. Patrick FReMEAUX AMOUR CHARNEL - MES SOEURS - IL N'Y A PAS D'AILLEURS - SOUVIENS-TOI - CHACUN POUR SOI (RADIO EDIT). eCRIT ET COMPOSe PAR Stephanie Acquette - ARRANGe ET ReALISe PAR FRED PALLEM

Embark on a captivating musical journey with Roby Lakatos as he delves into the soul-stirring rhythms of Tango. Teaming up with the renowned Gang Tango, the King of Gypsy violinists invites you to explore the rich traditions of Tango from across the globe. From timeless classics like Oblivion and La Cumparsita to undiscovered jewels such as Rookgordijnen and Vale Mousiki, this album is a veritable treasure chest for lovers of passionate music-making.

Manu Le Prince, bresilienne d'adoption et immense chanteuse de jazz, rend hommage a Johnny Alf, considere par certains comme le pere de la bossa nova et influence majeure de Jobim et Gilberto. Manu Le Prince qui a mis en lumiere les repertoires de monuments du jazz comme Cole Porter, Wayne Shorter, rend gr�ce ici a un artiste incontournable, injustement passe dans l'ombre. Elle a enregistre et produit cet album en 2013 a Rio, avec notamment Idriss Boudrioua, le saxophoniste et arrangeur de Johnny Alf sur trois decennies, et les plus grands musiciens bresiliens. La voix suave et jazzy de la chanteuse sublime le repertoire du compositeur carioca et rend justice a son oeuvre fondamentale. Her country of adoption is Brazil, and the immense jazz singer Manu Le Prince here pays homage to composer Johnny Alf, considered by some as the father of bossa nova and a major influence on Jobim and Gilberto. Manu has already dedicated recordings to the songs of jazz monuments like Cole Porter and Wayne Shorter; for this record she chose the unavoidable (and unfairly overlooked) songwriter Johnny Alf. She recorded and produced this tribute in 2013 in Rio, accompanied notably by Idriss Boudrioua, Alf's saxophonist and arranger for three decades, and some of Brazil's greatest musicians. Her suave, jazzy voice puts all her energy into the repertoire of the composer from Rio to finally do justice to his fundamental music.

Tetes de Chien, quintette a capella contemporain pour chansons traditionnelles, nous propose ce Petit tour du repertoire populaire et oral de nos campagnes, plein de drolerie, de poesie et de tendresse. Il mele chansons paysannes et recits de vie collectes aupres de nos aines. Produit par le collectif TO & MA (� Traditions orales et Musiques actuelles �) cet enregistrement est le troisieme album chez Fremeaux & Associes d'un groupe a l'alchimie si jubilatoire et singuliere dans notre paysage culturel. Les Tetes de Chien conjuguent avec un brio sans pareil, tradition et modernite, valorisation authentique du patrimoine immateriel et performance contemporaine. Augustin BONDOUX / Patrick FReMEAUX Tetes de Chien, a contemporary a cappella song quintet, brings us a new album that investigates French songs from the countryside in the popular, oral tradition. Filled with humour, poetry and tenderness, the repertoire mingles peasant songs with stories of people's lives collected from an elder generation. Produced by the TO & MA collective (it stands for "Oral Traditions & Contemporary Music"), Le Petit Tour is the third album released through Fremeaux from a group whose alchemy is singularly jubilant in our cultural landscape, and the material here shows the group's unrivalled brio in adding even more prestige to a timeless heritage with a contemporary performance. Augustin Bondoux /Patrick Fremeaux CHANTONS POUR BIEN PASSER LE TEMPS - LE BON MOULIN - DEDANS LA VILLE DE PLAISANTEMENT - RENAUD eVEILLE-TOI - LE CORDONNIER SUSPENDU - LE JOLI PETIT MOINE - LE CERF PRIS POUR UNE BICHE - LA FILLE QUI SE DeGUISE POUR SAUVER SON AMANT - LE BON ENDROIT - LE MESSAGE a LA DeLAISSeE - NOUS SOMMES CINQ COMPAGNONS - LES TROIS MAcONS CHEZ LA PICARDE - CAMARADE D'O� VIENS-TU ? - BUVONS MA COMMeRE - LE PAUVRE MAReCHAL - LA MeRE GODICHON - LA JEUNE BIQUE DE CENT ANS - UN PETIT TOUR a LA RIDeE. PRODUCTION : COLLECTIF TO & MA

La chanson doit donner l'impression d'�tre nee toute seule. Une chanson doit �tre intelligente sans qu'on s'en apercoive, sans qu'elle hurle : "je suis une chanson intelligente"... Le parolier ideal est pour moi Charles Trenet. Il fait descendre la chanson dans la rue sans qu'elle se casse la figure en se jetant du troisieme etage. Jean COCTEAU L'integrale Fremeaux & Associes de Charles Trenet realisee sous la direction de Daniel Nevers, puis de Vincent Lisita et Pascal Halbeher, reunit la totalite des enregistrements phonographiques originaux disponibles aupres des collectionneurs sensibilises � l'ambition museographique d'un catalogue raisonne de l'oeuvre enregistree du fou chantant. Aux enregistrements choisis et commercialises de l'epoque, le directeur artistique presente les alternates qui proposent d'autres versions des m�mes titres. Cette vocation d'exhaustivite historiographique dediee au patrimoine sonore phonographique s'accompagne (toujours chronologiquement) de documents radiophoniques, de publicites chantees afin d'eclairer la diversite de la production de l'artiste et de reveler retrospectivement les raisons de son appartenance � notre memoire collective. Patrick Fremeaux & Claude Colombini "A song must give you the impression it was born on it's own. A song has to be intelligent without you noticing it, without it having to shout, 'I am an intelligent song'. For me, Charles Trenet is the ideal songwriter. He brings the song down into the street without it falling flat on it's face after throwing itself off the third floor." Jean COCTEAU CD 1 : JULIETTE GReCO ET CHARLES TRENET : PReSENTATION DES SPECTACLES DE CHARLES TRENET ET D'eDITH PIAF � PARIS - CHARLES TRENET - ReCITAL 1961 - THe�TRE DE L'eTOILE - ORCH. DIR. GUY LUYPAERTS, CHOEURS DIR. RAYMOND SAINT-PAUL : POT POURRI : QU'EST DEVENUE LA MADELON ? - RIEN NE PEUT CHANGER MA JOIE - DIS-MOI, QUEL EST TON NOM ? - BONSOIR JOLIE MADAME - LE PIANO DE LA PLAGE - LA FOLLE COMPLAINTE - DANS LES PHARMACIES - BOUM - RIEN NE PEUT CHANGER MA JOIE - ORPHeE - LA JAVA DU DIABLE - LES VOIX DU CIEL - LE JARDIN EXTRAORDINAIRE - QU'EST DEVENUE LA MADELON ? - LA MER - y A D'LA JOIE ! - CLAUDE CHEVALIER ET SON MUSETTE - FLEURS DE MUSETTE : LES TROIS ROSES - CHARLES TRENET - ORCH. DIR. MICHEL LEGRAND : NUIT D'HIVER - CHARLES TRENET - ORCH. DIR. PIERRE SPIERS : LES PETITS REGRETS - LES SOLDATS - DANIELLE DARRIEUX - PRINTEMPS DE PARIS - ORCH. DIR. JO MOUTET : LES VOIX DU CIEL - CHARLES TRENET - ORCH. DIR. ANDRe POPP : KANGOUROU - LA P'TIT' DIDI - AU FIL DU TEMPS PERDU - LE PAUVRE ANTOINE - PIANISTE NON IDENTIFIe : TU REVERRAS L'�LE MAURICE (THIS IS YOU) - TOI QUI PASSAIS - RENe GLANEAU - WSPOMNIENIA Z PARYZ?A - ORCH. DIR. RYSZARDA DAMROSZA : LA MER. CD 2 : CHARLES TRENET : LA CHANSON EST UN ART MINEUR - CHARLES TRENET - ACC. PIANO FREDDY LIENHART : MA PHILOSOPHIE - KANGOUROU - CHARLES TRENET - ACC. PIANO FREDDY LIENHART : AU CLAIR DE LA LUNE - DEAN MARTIN - CHA CHA DE AMOR - ORCH. DIR. NELSON RIDDLE : I WISH YOU LOVE - LUCIENNE DELYLE - C'eTAIT LE BON TEMPS - ORCH. DIR. AIMe BARELLI : LA VALSE � TOUT LE MONDE - CHARLES TRENET - ORCH. DIR. CHRISTIAN CHEVALLIER : L'HORRIBLE TANGO (VERSION GOMINA) - JARDIN DU MOIS DE MAI - SI LOIN DE TON AMOUR - LUNDI AU LIT (LES BRUITS DE PARIS) - DUKE ELLINGTON - MIDNIGHT IN PARIS - ORCH. DIR. DUKE ELLINGTON : I WISH YOU LOVE - JANINE WOLF - LES TANGOS TERRIBLES ! - ORCH. DIR. DIDIER BOLAND : L'HORRIBLE TANGO - CHARLES TRENET - ACC. PIANO PAUL DE MARGERIE, PReS. GEORGES ULMER : AU FIL DU TEMPS PERDU - RETOUR � PARIS / HELLO PARIS - QUE RESTE-T-IL DE NOS AMOURS ? / HOW MUCH REMAINS OF ALL OUR LOVES ? - LE PIANO DE LA PLAGE - EN CE TEMPS-L� - CHARLES TRENET - ORCH. DIR. PIERRE SPIERS : DIS-MOI, QUEL EST TON NOM ? - CHARLES TRENET - ORCH. DIR. INCONNU : EN SEINE-ET-OISE - CATERINA VALENTE - ORCH. DIR. eTIENNE VERSCHUEREN : VOUS OUBLIEZ VOTRE CHEVAL - CATERINA VALENTE - GREAT CONTINENTAL HITS - ORCH. DIR. STANLEY BLACK : WHY DO YOU PASS ME BY ? - CHARLES TRENET - CHANSONS � LA UNE - ORCH. DIR. CHRISTIAN CHEVALLIER ET LES ANGELS : LE GRAND PARTAGE - JEUNESSE PLUMeE - ADIEU MES BEAUX RIVAGES - ANNIE-ANNA - COLETTE RENARD - ORCH. DIR. RAYMOND LEGRAND : LE GRAND PARTAGE - CHARLES TRENET - ORCH. DIR. INCONNU : SIMPLE ET LeGeRE - MARIE MARIE - L'INQUIET - CHARLES TRENET - ORCH. DIR. PIERRE SPIERS : JEUNESSE PLUMeE - LE GRAND PARTAGE - JE TWISTE. DIRECTION ARTISTIQUE : PASCAL HALBEHER ET VINCENT LISITA

Singer Sheila Dhar, a disciple of Ustad Fayyaz Ahmed Khan (a leading figure in Hindustani classical singing), through the ragas Bhairav and Kaushi Kanhra, traces the many facets of the Kirana gharana musical lineage with sobriety, fidelity, and depth. "Raga, the central concept in all Indian music, is a Sanskrit term which means passion, colour, and attachment, something which has the effect of colouring the hearts of people. The music is never 'prepared', but rather a live communication in which the listener contributes to the reality of each moment. The ideal of the singer is to share with the listener all phases of the creative process, much like an idea developed in extemporaneous speech. (.) In raga development the musician envisions a heightened state of being through the portraiture in the lines of the raga. The lines, colours, and feelings offered by the raga create a field of awareness in which the listener can share in the intended evocation. This live chemistry of participation is a vital factor in traditional performances." - Sheila Dhar

The diatonic button accordion, from the beginning of the 19th century, became hugely popular in traditional rituals, secular celebrations and love songs, bringing a new aesthetic to Masikoro music in the south-west of the Great Island. The Masikoro's appropriation of the instrument began with modifying it's scale to suit indigenous ears and music. This involved carving the reeds of the accordion to turn it into a "prepared accordion". As the instrument is very difficult to find in new condition, musicians play on old models inherited from their fathers, sometimes even their grandfathers. Repaired several times, they produce noises and clicks from the bellows that become elements of expression in the music. Often accompanied by singing, rattles and drums, the accordion now plays a major role in various traditional rituals such as possession sessions, ceremonies of exorcism, of circumcision and funerals. It also accompanies dancing and songs of nostalgia, and sometimes the end of market days.

Amorosa, a multicultural musical band based in Brussels, is driven by the voice of Stéphanie Scultore who sings about love in French and Portuguese, drawing us into her poetry between the warmth of Brazilian rhythms and the elegance of jazz harmonies. Amorosa's music is generous. Sometimes voluble, sometimes calm. At once intimate and universal, it draws its uniqueness and its modernity from the way it mixes genres, textures and registers while drawing on popular traditions.
Petit Soleil is an album full of love and humor. Stéphanie drew her inspiration from both the birth of her son and the death of her mother a few months later. The music is a tribute to those who are leaving and those who are coming: the people who live within us, the people who are dear to us and accompany us at every moment in a cycle that renews itself endlessly. Each song pays tribute to a place or a person and evokes something of the sky in the form of dialogue, contemplation, poem, prayer, reverie or legend, telling a story that is both intimate and collective, forming a patchwork of a great landscape.
The time of an album, a day or a lifetime, we sit down facing the sea and the sky to rediscover stories and listen to songs, to remember where we come from…

Bringing together works both well known and entirely new, this remarkable Paganini program is packed with world premiere recordings made from painstakingly reconstructed manuscripts and unpublished discoveries.

The most important of these is the Sonata a preghiera, performed here for the first time with its original orchestral accompaniment. Other fascinating compositions include the Sonata a Violino Scordato that requires re-tuning the violin, the miniatures Capriccio and Agitato casually handed out by Paganini as gifts, and the stunning Introduzione e variazioni sul tema ‘In cor più non mi sento’ which incorporates all of the most spectacular effects of the composer’s legendary violin technique.

Giacomo Orefice is best known as a late Romantic opera composer. His piano output mainly consists of evocative short pieces that draw inspiration from poetry and paintings, as well as landscapes, nature, and scenes from daily life. The childlike atmosphere of Ninnoli is followed by the delightful Valse des amoureuses, Orefice’s only piano piece published outside Italy. The Preludi del mare describe a day at the seaside from the first lights of dawn to the rising of the moon. These impressionist worlds are enhanced in the Quadri di Böcklin by a sound palette that expresses the symbolist painter’s moods of sorrow and solitude. The melancholy Cipressi, a piece of unknown origin, is now seen as Orefice’s musical epitaph.

These recordings, made between 1960 and 1987 by Jean Malaurie during many missions to the Far North, are intended to use their music to reveal the heart and spirit of the Inuit people, forged in a demanding environment. The Inuit live in one of the world's most vast areas. From Siberia -their homeland- to Greenland, they occupy some of the most desolate icy deserts on the planet. Inuit civilisation has adapted to it's terrible environment in one of the greatest challenges of courage and wisdom in human history. Through songs and drums (warrior choruses, throat singing, poignant melodies), the Inuit bear witness to their myths and legends, their identity, their hidden being and their strength in the midst of desolate spaces that would have driven the weakest characters to despair.

The voice of Ti Fr�re rises up, alone in the silence. A voice with an edge and a hiss, grinning and derisive, shouting, rasping and groaning, it threatens and then becomes very sweet and tender, and with it now come all the manifold voices of the Mauritian people: matrons and young girls begin to sway their hips, a magic wave running through their bodies, as their feet beat time and as the fire on the beach is smelt in the warmth of a night thronged with insects and spirits (.). -Jean-Marie Gustave Le Cl�zio. Wherever she came into contact with the outside world, Africa's influence was profound. Slaves left empty-handed with nothing but their memories, voices, bodies, and therefore their songs, rhythms and dances. And these traces grew, despite their new masters' prohibitions, into the unique musical expression of many a people throughout the world. This was how the s�ga, the music of exile, evolved into the traditional song and dance of the people of Mauritius and Rodrigues, and of other Indian Ocean islands too, like the Seychelles and R�union.

Using simple means -yodeling, musical bow, mouth harp, gong, drum and voice- the Adadi of Atauro share their sorrows and joys, both intimately and collectively. The Atauro island has around 10,000 inhabitants, divided into three ethno-linguistic groups, of which only the Adadi (around 2,000 people) have preserved a varied musical practice, despite the fact that it (and their language) is in serious danger of extinction. The music gives rhythm to the walks to the fields, and enhances the harvest of palm wine morning and evening. It often brings tears to the eyes, but softens sadness and intensifies joy at celebrations that include all age groups and genders. Despite an abrupt interruption in transmission in 1974 by Christian missionaries, certain forbidden ritual songs are still remembered.

The Pernambuco Quartet owes it's creation to luck, chance and passion, when four musicians emblematic of their culture came together around the rich traditions of the Pernambuco region - a unique alchemy of poetry, rhythms and music. Outside Brazil, the carnivals of Bahia and Rio are the best known, but the carnival of Recife (one of Brazil's oldest cities, founded in 1537), capital of the state of Pernambuco (Nordeste region), emanates a very special charm, characterised by a generous musical and artistic variety: frevo (carnival music and dance), maracatu (music, dance and procession against a backdrop of Afro-Brazilian worship), caboclinhos (dramatic music and dance linked to indigenous traditions), and so on. This first album by the Pernambuco Quartet is a magnificent journey through the music of Pernambuco, from the quays of Recife to the sert�o, from the city to the arid hinterland, carried by the voice of Antonio Marinho, the flute of Cesar Michiles, the guitar of Breno Lira, the percussion of Lucas dos Prazeres and their shared inspiration.

Rigodon Sauvage, with a repertoire (Southern Alps, Dauphine) drawn from folklorists' compilations and field recordings, has created an innovative style, giving a contemporary echo to a long musical history. The dominant image of the traditional music and dance of the Southern Alps and, more broadly, the Dauphine, commonly associates the music with the violin and the dance with the rigodon. This image is the culmination of a rich musical history that has been traced through archives, folklorists' works and fieldwork. This history, with it's mechanisms common to all the French provinces, has exacerbated certain salient features of popular musical practices, giving them an unprecedented representative value and place. These practices and the repertoires that have emerged have their own particularities -melodic-rhythmic forms, types of learning, functions, relationship to dance, etc.- These practices and repertoires are very different from "learned" music, even though they are geographically and sometimes culturally close.

The nyckelharpa, a bowed instrument, with keys, sympathetic and drone strings, dating from the 14th century at least, in songs and instrumental pieces (scored also for violin, viola and quinton d'amore) -a rich, remarkable timbre still at the heart of Sweden's musical tradition. The nyckelharpa (which resembles a violin with a keyboard of wooden keys), once widespread throughout northern Europe, has seen it's range shrink as music has evolved, surviving only where it has been able to adapt. In Sweden, from the early 20th century onwards, traditional musicians, who until then had been confined to playing solo in a small area around their homes, began to meet up at folk events, spurred on by the Romantic wave sweeping across Europe. They were then confronted with other practices, other tonalities and other repertoires. Even today, the nyckelharpa is still incredibly adaptable. Different research undertaken by instrument-makers and musicians are enlarging it's sound range, and opening it up to classical or contemporary repertoire, to jazz and ancient music.

This recording is a witness to the last passage of a rich musical heritage that fascinated figures such as Bela Bartok and Zoltan Kodaly: the last masters and the first disciples are reunited, who will be the reference for subsequent generations in a completely different social context. Numerous styles of dance and song - often accompanied by the recorder, bagpipes, reed, hurdy-gurdy, zither, tambura lute, violin, cymbalum, gardon viol (with struck strings) or spoons- form the basis of traditional Hungarian music: songs of the old style linked to weddings, traditional quests, winter and summer solstice bonfires...; and the new style nourished by contributions from Serbian, Swabian and Slovakian neighbouring cultures...; As for the Gypsies, dance and a cappella songs play a predominant role, in a style that is often spectacular and whose vocabulary, sometimes very bold, is that of everyday life, mixed with the most delicate poetry.