Orpheus Chamber Orchestra - Songs Include : Waves / Nor Spell Nor Charm / Orphee Serenade / Points Of Departure

Japanese only paper sleeve SHM pressing. SHM-CDs (Super High Material CD) can be played on any audio player and deliver unbelievably high-quality sound. You won't believe it's the same CD! Universal.

Casals crusaded for this music. When he first picked up a used copy of the score in a music store, Bach was not very popular with general audiences, and the cello suites were never played in public. If cellists knew them at all, they used them as finger exercises. After two decades of study, Casals finally gave his first public performances of the suites. For all we know, they may have been the world premieres. Casals thoroughly mastered the music, and by the time he made his recordings, in the 1930s, he gave mature, adept, and loving performances. If his style seems a bit on the romantic side for our 1990s conception of Bach, it is never offensively so. Every music lover should hear this set, with recorded sound that holds up remarkably well. At the same time, we can now realize that Casals sometimes works too hard to make a point, probably knowing that most of his listeners had never heard the music before. So we should also hear more recent recordings of these suites (especially Starker's on RCA) for a more inward, subtle version of the music, which is too great to be fully realized in any one performance. —Leslie Gerber

This is a Rounded and Polished Album that Is, above All, Loyal to Flaminco. Eight Tracks as Regards Both his Own Music and Music in General. Three Bulerias Blaze the Trail "Patio Custodio", "Volar" and "Que Venga El Alba". On the Last of These, De Lucia Reaches Back in Time to Rescue his Inner Voicec, Camaron De La Isla, and Plays Alongside the Third of the Holy Trinity, Tomatito.

Master flamenco/jazz guitarist, known for his summit meetings with John McLaughlin and Al DiMeola, shines in a purist acoustic setting. Chick Corea augments a crew of trad Spanish musicians on the title track. —Jeff Bateman

This was only the second recording for the Guitar Trio, coming a full 16 years after 1980's Friday Night in San Francisco, but it's a fitting sequel. Paco De Lucia, Al Di Meola, and John McLaughlin once again demonstrate extraordinary virtuosity, accelerated runs tumbling over one another until identities blur. Repeated listening, however, starts to focus on the subtle differences in nuance, especially in the compositions. Though DeLucia grew up in a tradition of Spanish flamenco guitar, Brazilian rhythmic touches often appear in his work, beginning with the opening "Estiba." The American Di Meola seems influenced by music of the Middle East ("Beyond the Mirage"), and the English McLaughlin has strong affinities with the music of Northern India, most apparent here in his "Letter from India." Ultimately, the impression of dazzling techniques gives way, revealing the group's deeper empathy. —Adam Rains