Acclaimed as “a landmark for contemporary music”, James MacMillan’s interpretation of the 2,000-year old Passion narrative is one of his most significant works. His account draws inspiration from previous musical settings of the Crucifixion story, dating as far back as the fourth century, and offers a new reading for the twenty-first century.

Seattle Symphony and Naxos, the world’s leading independent classical music label, will release a new CD of works by Arthur Foote on May 26. The release features Gerard Schwarz and includes Foote’s Francesca da Rimini, Air and Gavotte, Suite in E major, and Four Character Pieces after the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. This recording was generously sponsored by Paul Leach and Susan Winokur.

Seattle Symphony and Naxos, the world’s leading independent classical music label, released a new CD of works by Bright Sheng. The release features Music Director Gerard Schwarz conducting Seattle Symphony in Benaroya Hall, which celebrates its Tenth Anniversary this season. The release includes Sheng’s Red Silk Dance, Tibetan Swing, The Phoenix with soprano Shana Blake Hill and H’un (Lacerations): In Memoriam 1966-1976.

“Jackpot: The Best Bette” album debuts at No. 6 in the U.K. with Midler’s career-spanning retrospective – plus a few that have never been heard.

Swedish label BIS has released the fourth CD in Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra’s acclaimed Beethoven symphonies cycle, an album that includes the genesis of Beethoven’s symphonic output as well as his nature-inspired Sixth (Pastoral) Symphony.

The SIU Alumni Association announces the release of a must-have CD of Saluki for all those who bleed maroon.

Columbia Records announces the release of "Taking Chances," the long-awaited new studio album from multi-platinum Grammy-winning musical artist Céline Dion. Columbia Records will release Taking Chances, the avidly-awaited new studio album from the multi-platinum-selling Grammy-winning musical artist Céline Dion, on Tuesday, November 13.

Joyce Castle, professor of voice at the University of Kansas, is featured on the new release “Flesh & Stone: Songs of Jake Heggie,” a recording of Heggie’s works that includes “Statuesque,” the song cycle commissioned by KU for Castle.

The Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra announced that a set of four CD recordings featuring the Orchestra and former Music Director Hans Vonk are already available. These are the first four of eight new discs featuring the late Maestro Vonk to be introduced this season. The remaining four will be released in the Spring of 2008.

Members of the public now may enjoy "Pulling Down the Clouds: Contemporary Native Writers Read Their Work at the National Museum of the American Indian," the first-ever CD anthology of 15 Native writers reading directly from their works.

CD-ROMs and DVDs and the hardware used to play these popular audio and video compact discs (CDs) have “enormous” potential as a new generation of portable, inexpensive instruments for home health monitoring and laboratory-based testing, scientists in Spain are reporting in the Oct. 15 issue of ACS’ Analytical Chemistry, a semi-monthly journal.

It is not every Devon town that can boast its own professional chamber orchestra and even fewer that can claim one with an international dimension. Barnstaple's Queen's Theatre has just this with Sinfonia Classica and the production of its debut CD demonstrates its international dimension.