Harmonie & Turcherie: around the year 1800, Western music was experiencing a merging of two phenomena. On one hand was the success of a particular ensemble of wind instruments, boosted by the foundation of the royal and imperial Harmonie by Emperor Joseph himself in Vienna in 1782, the core of its repertoire being arrangements of famous opera arias; on the other, the fashion for orientalism, reflected in different expressions of the arts: painting, sculpture, architecture and music.

Bellini's "Norma" is a classic of the bel canto tradition, combining lavish vocal splendor with a story of great passion and nobility. The title character in "Norma" is a role with emotions ranging from haughty to desperately passionate to vengeful and defiant. Italian soprano Fiorenza Cedolins is one of the most thrilling Normas of the younger operatic generation. Along with a distinguished supporting cast, including Sonia Ganassi as Adalgisa and Vincenzo La Scola as Pollione, this psychologically staged production by Francisco Negrin, conducted by Giuliano Carella, makes the belcanto tradition vivid and exciting.

This groundbreaking performance seems as if it is happening in real time. At its best, and seemingly counter-intuitively, opera is at its most effective when we don’t notice that the characters are singing: such is the case here. If you know this opera, then the third of the men’s trios in scene 1 (“Una bella serenata”) will seem very fast; hearing it with fresh ears, Jacobs’ breakneck tempo seems utterly natural—these guys have been worked up into a fun/competitive frenzy and can’t wait to get started on what they think will be a grand adventure. Similarly, the little quintet before the men depart (“Di scrivermi…”) is so slow that you feel the melodrama; if they are going to play, they are going to play thoroughly, making each word and situation count.

This album is one of David Sanborn's better early recordings. Although the record is perhaps best known for the altoist's version of Paul Simon's "I Do It For Your Love," Sanborn's playing on some of the other cuts (most notably "Mamacita" and "7th Avenue") finds him really stretching within the R&B/crossover genre. Only "Smile" (which has some mundane vocalizing) is a minus, and it is more than compensated for by Sanborn's passionate improvising elsewhere.

Close-Up is very much a collaboration between altoist David Sanborn and Marcus Miller, who serves as producer, bassist and frequently the lead keyboardist. With the exception of Randy Newman's "Same Girl" and "You Are Everything," all of the music was written or co-composed by Sanborn and Miller. Some selections utilize such additional players as guitarist Hiram Bullock, keyboardist Ricky Peterson and drummer Vinnie Colaiuta. In general, the music fits the formula well, offering Sanborn's emotional sax backed by then-modern electronics and funky rhythms.

Tony Mills releases his latest solo album, Beyond the Law, with a clear understanding that it is to be his final written work as an artist, after a career as a major recording artist since being signed to RCA Music in 1985. Beyond the Law is a hard edged and hooky rock album with an angle on prohibition and the gangland mobs of the 1930's to the westside youth culture of the 1960's and a theme portrayed by his vocals and his preferred musicians in current times. Co-written with Tommy Denander (Alice Cooper), Peter Newdeck (Midnite City) and Patrick McKenna, (Shy) the album is a hard 44 minute blast of Mills final vocal performances, before hanging up his microphone after 40 years as a rock singer.

As a rule, David Sanborn's Elektra output of the '90s had integrity. Whether he was being exploratory and introspective on Another Hand or taking a more commercial, R&B-minded approach on Inside, Sanborn avoided recording outright schlock during that decade. Make no mistake: Inside is far from straight-ahead acoustic jazz.

The next to last of the Bee Gee's "old-style" albums is one of their most fully realized works, with pleasing and memorable songs from beginning to end, and for a change this time, it's the single ("Run to Me"), rather than the surrounding tracks, that suffers from predictability…

As one of the world's cello stars, Truls Mørk is sure to garner extravagant praise for this CD of Schumann's Concerto in A minor, Bloch's Schelomo, and Bruch's Kol Nidrei, all three essential vehicles for any cello virtuoso. However, there are two weaknesses in his playing that need addressing. First, and most noticeable, Mørk is too loose in his tempi and rhythms, almost to the point of amorphousness. His licentious rubato is most alarming in Schumann's Concerto, which really needs a rigorously shaped solo to hold the piece together; and even though Schelomo is patently more rhapsodic and Kol Nidrei more freely lyrical, Mørk pushes his freedom too far, almost as if his love for producing a gorgeous sound makes him forget the bar lines.