March 5, 2014

The eight musicians who compose Newpoli take on a host of southern Italian folk songs on this project, playing traditional instruments. Recorded live at a Massachusetts church, Tempo Antico makes for lively listening, as evidenced on the 16th-century song “Catalina—Moresca Prima” and the delightful, flute-driven tarantella “Pizzicarella.” On the softer side, the 1930 ballad “Dicitencello Vuje” could melt the hardest heart in Naples, where the tune originates:

Read the main article on Kenyan Christians defending khat.

Khat use has rarely been studied clinically and “has largely escaped medical attention,” according to Farrah J. Mateen and Gregory D. Cascino, two doctors who wrote a 2010 study in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, the journal of the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.

Fresh off her successful solo debut at Carnegie Hall, soprano Natalie Mann tackles an ambitious project—the songs of Lori Laitman and Richard Pearson Thomas—with palpable confidence and a thrilling balance of vocal strength and sensitivity. Ably accompanied by pianist Jeffrey Panko, Mann has never sounded better, her round tone and emotional range sublime or thunderous as the material demands. Mann makes Emily Dickinson’s meditations on God (which Thomas quotes from “I Never Saw a Moor”) ring with dewdrop tenderness and poignancy. Highly recommended.

These 17 songs are inspired by the psalms, and the musical settings recall Michael W. Smith and Phil Keaggy. Equally appropriate for worship or solitary prayer, these acoustic tracks promise and deliver comfort: humble, unassuming, and stripped of any varnish, with Brux­voort Colligan’s gossamer tenor leading the way. Highlights include the title track, based on Psalm 87 and built on a round of voices singing sweet, intersecting melodies:

Though Andy Paley later enjoyed acclaim as a producer, the power-pop group he led with his brother Jonathan faded, as so many of them do. But this collection makes a joyful case for revisiting the Paleys’ catalog. The collection features the group’s entire output on Sire Records, including the bluesy, infectious “Hide and Seek” from the group’s first EP. Also included are 11 unreleased tracks, including “Baby, Let’s Stick Together,” recorded in 1978 with producer Phil Spector and the Wrecking Crew.