Santa, laughing, spreads his wings

PARADISE LOST

The grand parade of lifeless packaging? Far from it, as this much-delayed blockbuster reissue of one of prog’s most fascinating and frustrating albums finally proves.

Amarok prove they’re more than worthy of their ...

After the success of their Space Ritual tour, Hawkwind were keen to explore new possibilities for their music. The result was the eclectic but much-loved Hall Of The Mountain Grill , now released as a nine-disc box set including three live shows from 1974. Prog looks back on the making of a classic.

Radiant Dawn Works by Hildegard of Bingen, Tallis, James MacMillan, Owain Park et al Matilda Lloyd (trumpet); The Gesualdo Six/Owain Park Hyperion CDA 68465 69:35 mins This is an ingenious and moving

Zaytoun Songs by JS Bach, Monteverdi, Purcell and Sayed Darwish et al Haitham Haidar (tenor), Sylvain Bergeron (archlute), Abdul-Wahab Kayyali (oud) et al Athene ATH 23027 51:44 mins In medieval Spain