This album is made up of selected live and radio broadcasts with the Danish Radio Big Band and Swedish, British and Danish/American small groups during 1964-71. As the title indicates only ballads are included on the album, and, for the first time on a Ben Webster ballad album, there is no string-section accompaniment. Three of the ten numbers were previously unreleased before the original issue of this album. The art of ballad-playing was all-important to Ben Webster. He once said "Remember, there are only three tempi in jazz - slow, medium and slow!" While all the tunes are ballads, the wide variety and constellations give a wonderful, multi-faceted sound-picture of Ben Webster.

Naples '44 is an unflinching autobiographical account of a year in Naples after the armistice and Allied landings in Sorrento in 1943. Working as a British counterintelligence officer under the Allied occupation, Lewis documents the rich pageant of life in the city and it's surrounding areas. There is suffering and squalor: criminal gangs are on the rise, along with typhus and black market commerce, and the female population is forced into part-time prostitution, simply to obtain food. Corruption is rife as a Genovese crime family member makes his way into the US army administration, and local hospitals, short on supplies, buy equipment back from those who stole it. There is farce and humor too, witnessed in the Roman uncle paid handsomely to simply appear at funerals and lend an air of gravitas, and in Lewis's own experience of vetting proposed marriages between British soldiers and local women. Unsparing, penetrating and profoundly humane, Naples '44 is a moving portrait of the costs of war, and the resilience of a society under extreme stress.

For a period of seven years, Wilfred Thesiger canoed through the marshes at the confluence of Iraq's Tigris and Euphrates rivers, living among the native Madan tribes and their islands made of reeds. Now extinct, their ancient way of life is speculated to have existed for 5,000 years, going back to the days of ancient Sumer, and possessed a unique culture found nowhere else in the Middle East. Thesiger documents the tribes' conflicts, traditions, cuisine, relationships, justice systems and art, and reveals how they built their unique water-borne society, with it's beautiful canoes (taradas) and stately guest houses (mudhifs) - it is a remarkable familiarity gained through Thesiger's innate understanding of tribal ritual and etiquette, and the trust he earned through the use of a basic medical supply kit that he brought along with him. Poetic and immersing, The Marsh Arabs brings alive the sights, sounds and smells of the marshes, and a culture that has now vanished forever.

Written from the perspective of an unbeliever, Fear and Trembling explores the paradox of faith, the nature of Christianity and the complexity of human emotion. Kierkegaard examines the biblical story of Abraham, instructed to sacrifice his son Isaac, and forces us to consider Abraham's state of mind. What drove Abraham, and what made him carry out such an absurd and extreme request from God? Kierkegaard argues that Abraham's agreement to sacrifice Isaac, and his suspension of reason, elevated him to the highest level of faith. He explores more comprehensible alternatives, but in each one Abraham fails the test of faith, thus showing that true faith cannot be explained, understood, or made rational. His thesis is a compelling counterpoint to Hegel, who maintained that reason was the highest form of thought, and proved a significant source of inspiration to later existentialist philosophers such as Camus and Sartre.

For the Best of Tacet 2012, the label has chosen from their lengthy catalogue only the greatest and most famous composers performed by some of the finest ensembles in the world.. The tracks included here feature pieces by Elgar, Mozart, Dvorak, de Falla, Bach, Brahms, Beethoven, Vivaldi, Rossini, and more. All of these tracks have been taken from previous releases. Every one of the 'Best of Tacet' albums has been a stunning success. Ulrich Oesterle writes of Tacet recordings: "Unconventional ways of thinking and enormous skill produce sounds and musical results which are not only astonishing but also totally convincing. Tacet campaigns for quality. And Tacet stands for unusual artistic ideas, truly outstanding musical personalities and audiophile sounds. Tacet is successful and is now available all over the world."

For the Best of Tacet 2013, the label has chosen from their lengthy catalogue only the greatest and most famous composers performed by some of the finest ensembles in the world.. The tracks included here feature pieces by Vivaldi, Mussorgsky, Saint-Saens, Bartholdy, Chopin, Beethoven, Haydn, and more. All of these tracks have been taken from previous releases. Every one of the 'Best of Tacet' albums has been a stunning success. Ulrich Oesterle writes of Tacet recordings: "Unconventional ways of thinking and enormous skill produce sounds and musical results which are not only astonishing but also totally convincing. Tacet campaigns for quality. And Tacet stands for unusual artistic ideas, truly outstanding musical personalities and audiophile sounds. Tacet is successful and is now available all over the world."

James Rhodes has no formal academic musical education or dedicated mentoring. The title of the debut album “Razor Blades Little Pills and Big Pianos”, hints at the suffering that dogged Rhodes’s childhood and early adult life. Classical music became his solace and key to his survival. It was Bach, Beethoven and Chopin, not Faith Hope and Charity, that offered comfort. In 1993, mental health issues stopped him taking up a scholarship to the Guildhall. Suffering further setbacks due to health issues it was not until 2008, when Rhodes met his present manager, Denis Blais, that he was encouraged to record his first album. This enabled him to bare his soul and put many of the ghosts of the past to rest. With Blais, Rhodes also created a distinctive and unique approach to how the classical piano repertoire should be presented. Uncomfortable with the austere and traditional ‘white tie and tails’ recital they decided it was time for the performer to communicate directly with the audience. Rhodes was going to introduce his own programme notes and share what it takes to perform these works of art using fascinating anecdotes about the composers and his own life experience. Delivered in his unique trademark stand-up style he creates an immersive experience that has won him and classical music a dedicated new following. His new album, presented here, shows the same no-holds-barred approach to these time-honored classics.

First published in March 1722, 57 years after the event that struck more than 100, 000 people, A Journal of the Plague Year is a compelling portrait of life during London's horrific bubonic plague. Through the eyes of H.F. (speculated to be Defoe's uncle, Henry Foe, from whose journals the book was supposedly adapted) we witness great grief, depravity and despair: crazed sufferers roam the streets, unearthly screams resound across the city, death carts dump their grisly loads into mass graves, and quackery and skulduggery feed on fear. But there is kindness and courage too, as mutual support and caring are upheld through the worst of days. Defoe's Journal is considered one of the most accurate accounts of the plague, and includes many contemporary theories about the disease, along with rolls of the dead and a literary mapping of London, street by street, parish by parish. It is a fascinating and intimate account from one of the earliest proponents of the novel.

The Story of My Life is the explosive and exhilarating autobiography by the infamous libertine Giacomo Casanova. Intense and scandalous, Casanova's extraordinary adventures take the listener on an incredible voyage across 18th-century Europe - from France to Russia, Poland to Spain and Turkey to Germany, with Venice at their heart. He falls madly in love, has wild flings and delirious orgies, and encounters some of the most brilliant figures of his time, including Catherine the Great, Louis XV and Benjamin Franklin. He holds a verbal duel with Voltaire, a pistol duel with a Polish noble, and finds himself hauled before the court multiple times, including in London, where the judge in question turns out to be none other than Henry Fielding. His appetite for life is voracious; for him, a life lived close to the precipice is the only life worth living. The book is divided into six sections. Volume 3 contains the fifth and sixth sections: '5: In London and Moscow' and '6: Spanish Passions'.

The history of music is, in many ways, an assemblage of occasional compositions. Since the rise of art pour l'art in the nineteenth century, classical music purports to be abstract, but in the longer arc, compositions connect to specific occasions: a coronation, a requiem mass, a religious feast, a dinner party, a regal celebration. Such occasions and commissions present challenges-not least for the composer charged with responding to the myriad consequences of the world's first nuclear reaction. Does one focus on the (positive) reverberations in cancer treatment, power, and science? Does one focus on the (negative) reverberations in bombs, death, waste, and perpetual threats of war? In Plea for Peace, these consequences are inextricable. The clean perfect intervals that begin and end the work give rise to both expansionist leaps and cocooning retractions. The soloist's elegant, wordless vocalise weaves in and out of the string quartet's sustained harmonies in graceful counterpoint, drawing us closer to our common humanity. Simple harmonies slowly transform, becoming rich and complex at the insistent, dramatic climax: a wordless scream from the soul. As the music's opening glow returns, the voice seamlessly dovetailing with the strings, we return to the sonic space of meditation, reflecting on an absolute plea for lasting peace.

Murmuration describes the delicate sound of tens of thousands of wings created by migrating starlings as they congregate at dusk and form stupendous patterns in the sky. Richard Blackford writes in his performance notes: "The players should try to avoid accenting the first notes of each group. For the overlapping sections they should try to match each other dynamically as much as possible and thereby create a seamless texture." Richard Blackford has written extensively for the theatre, and his credits include The Laborers of Herakles, The Kaisers of Carnuntum, The Prince's Play, The Pig Organ, Follow My Leader, and others. Both of his critically acclaimed choral works- Mirror Of Perfection and Voices of Exile- were the subjects of television documentaries and have been frequently broadcast on Classic FM and BBC Radio 3.

Returned from Ireland after the death of his wife, Phineas Finn has a newfound ambition to rise through the ranks of English politics. But not long after regaining his seat in parliament, Phineas's luck begins to desert him. His reputation is tarnished after the press circulate rumors of an affair with Laura Kennedy, and his ambitions are frustrated by opposition from within the Party. Then, when his Party rival Mr. Bonteen is discovered dead, all fingers point towards Phineas, leading to his incarceration and humiliation at the dock... How will he redeem himself, and who will come to his aid? Phineas Redux is a gripping look at the political stage in Victorian England. It is perhaps the most personal of Trollope's Palliser series, being colored by the author's own experiences as a Liberal candidate between the time he wrote this and Phineas Finn.

Impoverished young aristocrat Eugène de Rastignac is determined to climb the social ladder and impress himself on Parisian high society. While staying at the Maison Vauquer, a boarding house in Paris's rue Neuve-Sainte-Geneviève, he encounters Jean-Joachim Goriot, a retired vermicelli maker who has spent his entire fortune supporting his two daughters. The boarders strike up a friendship and Goriot learns of Rastignac's feelings for his daughter Delphine. He begins to see Rastignac as the ideal son-in-law, and the perfect substitute for Delphine's domineering husband. But Rastignac has other opportunities too, as the notorious criminal Vautrin, 'The Death Dodger', offers to murder the brother of a wealthy woman, giving the ambitious young lawyer a clear path to her fortune... Profound and realistic, Father Goriot is a startling glimpse into the vanity and selfishness of 19th-century Paris. It is considered one of the finest works of Balzac's La Comédie Humaine.

Daisy Miller is a young American girl travelling Europe with her mother and younger brother. While in Vevey, Switzerland, she becomes acquainted with Frederick Winterbourne, an idle expatriate, of well-to-do Americans. Winterbourne, who observes and critiques young Daisy through their brief acquaintanceship, is infatuated with her irreverent behavior. Daisy flaunts society's rules and uncompromising standards; she is charming, spontaneous and unpretentious, and her audacity shocks the Europeans, who consider her an uncultivated flirt. The sophisticated Winterbourne remains smitten with Daisy, but his classical values stand in his way

Leonardo Garc�a Alarc�n writes: "The memories of my childhood in Argentina always bring me back to the singer-songwriter Joan Manuel Serrat, synonymous with shared family moments... Serrat's poetry and music around a barbecue in Argentina; "De vez en cuando la vida" made me cry as it has made millions of people cry in Latin America, Spain and elsewhere... Joan Manuel Serrat is part of our life, he is our Jacques Brel!... Or, if we project ourselves back to the sixteenth century, he is in a sense our little Camerata Fiorentina, that movement of Italian poets and musicians in Florence. Serrat has allowed the whole of Latin America and Spain to reappropriate the works of it's poets... He has also been synonymous with freedom and the struggle against dictatorial regimes. His song "Mediterraneo" is one of the emblematic pieces of his career. It is almost a hymn that has special resonance nowadays... I asked my good friend Quito Gato to arrange these songs for our ensemble, Cappella Mediterranea. The orchestration retains typical seventeenth-century instruments: recorders, cornett, violins, viola da gamba, cellos, lutes, harp, harpsichord, organ, with some percussion and a double bass. These period instruments allow us to travel back in time and compare Serrat's romances with the Ensaladas of Mateo Flecha (1481-1553), the polyphony of Guillaume Dufay, and a composition by Juan Cabanilles that recalls a Bach Passion. The Xacaras, a satirical genre from the Spanish Golden Age dialogues with Serrat's works, as does the M�sica callada of the Catalan composer Frederic Mompou, transcribed here for the harp."