A singing trio of brothers — Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, and Maurice Gibb. They were born on the Isle of Man to English parents, lived in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester, England, UK and during their childhood years moved to Brisbane, Australia, where they began their musical careers. Their worldwide success came when they returned to the UK and signed with producer Robert Stigwood.

By the closing months of 1981 Frank Zappa had already released five albums during that productive year. Three of these records were his instrumental guitar collections - Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar, Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar Some More, and The Return of the Son of Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar - initially sold via mail order but later released through CBS.

Smokie Originally formed in Yorkshire, England in 1966, Smokie hit the British pop charts several times during the late '70s with updated psychedelic pop, influenced by the band's stay on Mickie Most's Rak Records as well as the writers of most of the band's hit material, Rak's Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman. Vocalist Chris Norman, bassist

Alessandro Commellato Italian classical pianist from Padova.

The world of the female convents and monasteries is, for most people, a mysterious universe. Some are fascinated by it, others are slightly frightened, some others are strongly prejudiced against it. Few know it directly, and still fewer have a more than cursory experience of what it implies and means.
Influenced by novels or movies with little historical reliability and a penchant for the sensational, many people consider female monasteries as oppressive institutions, where girls were held captive, possibly against their will, and were deprived of the possibility of having a “normal” life. While of course there have been abuses in history – as happens with all other human realities – the general panorama is very different. Several scholars, including numerous musicologists, have explored this (seemingly) hidden and secluded world in the past decades, unveiling a reality which is practically at the other end of the received narrative.

The music on ‘Symphonies & Sundries’ contains the complete corpus of music for solo organ by Geoffrey Álvarez. This recordings concludes with his earliest work Transfiguration – a swirling dance full of youthfully vigorous serial counterpoint having been bought up on a rich diet of Messiaen and Ligeti as an organist at the City of London School, supplemented with side dishes of Schoenberg and Boulez served at the Proms… Whilst David Briggs, who commissioned the work, gave a very spirited performance in 1980 in Solihull, Tom Winpenny took up the baton during the pandemic when he had the opportunity to learn the piece in a quarantined Cathedral – the first step in his journey to master the complete works.

Although Alan Hovhaness (1911–2000) was born in Massachusetts and ended his days in Seattle, his music was profoundly coloured by his Armenian heritage, in particular through his fondness for the modal melos of the ancient Armenian church. His combination of modality and melisma, of hymn and dance, can often make him sound like an eastern cousin of Vaughan Williams. The organ is an ideal medium for his musical language, allowing it to range from timeless, questing prayer to gloriously full-bodied statements to stir the soul.

The third collaboration between mezzo-soprano Olivia Vermeulen and Jan Philip Schulze (piano / synthesizer), In Heaven, follows their earlier themed albums Dirty Minds and Hello Darkness, which were highly acclaimed and won an Edison Award and a German Record Critics' Award, among others. While the first two albums dealt with earthly themes such as eroticism and mortality, this program turns to the heavens. The concept is a cosmic odyssey combining art song, contemporary music, pop and psychedelic classics into a journey through utopian visions, distant planets and the eternal human fascination with space. Interspersed with NASA sound recordings, the album transports the listener between heaven and earth, fantasy and reality, intoxication and transcendence.

Studium an der Musikhochschule in Frankfurt / Main bei den Professoren Edgar Krapp(Orgel), Arnulf von Arnim und Joachim Volkmann(Klavier).

Der gebürtige Westfale Bonelli studierte Konzertfach Orgel bei Heribert Metzger am Mozarteum in Salzburg und an der Musikhochschule in Wien bei Peter Planyavsky. Studien in Cembalo bei Christian Rieger und Liselotte Brändle.

On the occasion of Fiori Musicali’s performance of their ‘Vivaldi’s Venice’ at Bilton Grange Chapel, I thought I’d have a chat with one of the main instrumentalists of the evening, Heidi Fardell. Heidi’s instrument is quite familiar for many of us. It’s often the first experience that we have playing music. ‘London’s Burning’ might give you a clue.

Soft Cell could have been nothing more than a one-hit wonder after their hit "Tainted Love," the Gloria Jones cover that would accompany them throughout their career. The duo revealed, however, that they had much more to offer on their 1981 debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which included the tracks "Bedsitter" and "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye." The three Soft Cell albums released in 1981 and 1984 all reached the Top 20 in the UK. Nevertheless, Marc Almond and David Ball decided to end the band amicably in 1984. The duo reformed in the early 2000s and released the album Cruelty Without Beauty two years later, which, due to lack of success, led to a second split in 2005. But in 2018, Soft Cell once again returned to the fold with a tour, followed by the album Happiness Not Included which saw them return to the UK Top 10 and, more importantly, to a critical success not seen since the 1980s.

Dolly Parton kicks off LP1 with the iconic ‘Jolene’, then over to John Denver’s platinum single ‘Take Me Home, Country Roads’. The journey continues with ‘70s chart smashes from Glen Campbell, The Bellamy Brothers, and #1s from Dr Hook and Kenny Rogers. Legendary U.S. hits from Linda Ronstadt, Debby Boone and Juice Newton open LP2, with the side also featuring huge hits from Anne Murray and Lynn Anderson before legendary artists, Johnny Cash with ‘Ring Of Fire’, Roy Orbison, and closing with Patsy Cline’s timeless ‘Crazy’. Flip the disc over and Side B is all about contemporary and pop-crossover Country.

Humble Pie A showcase for former Small Faces' frontman Steve Marriott and one-time Herd guitar virtuoso Peter Frampton, the hard rock outfit Humble Pie formed in Essex, England in 1969. Also featuring ex-Spooky Tooth bassist Greg Ridley along with drummer Jerry Shirley, the fledgling group spent the first several months of its existence locked away in Marriott's Essex cottage, maintaining a relentless practice schedule. Signed to the Immediate label, Humble Pie soon issued their debut single "Natural Born Boogie," which hit the British Top Ten and paved the way for the group's premiere LP, As Safe as Yesterday Is.After touring the U.S. in support of 1969's Town and Country, Humble Pie returned home only to discover that Immediate had declared bankruptcy.

Frank Vincent Zappa was of Italian origin, his grandfather having arrived in America from Partinico, Sicily. Frank Zappa grew to be one of the most accomplished composers of the rock idiom, his music combining an understanding and appreciation for such contemporary classical figures as Igor Stravinsky, Karlheinz Stockhausen, and Edgard Varèse. These influences, coupled with an affection for late '50s doo-wop, rock & roll, and skillful guitar-heavy rock, dominated pop in the '70s. However, Zappa was also a keen satirist, whose reserves of scorn and parody seemed bottomless, and whose wicked sense of humor and absurdity continued to delight his numerous fans – even when his lyrics crossed the broadest bounds of taste.