Hot Picks from Behind the Scenes

Though the recent snow made it look a lot like the holidays were upon us, the Autumn New Music brochure is hot off the press and ready to provide a guide to the wondrous selections to warm your ears and heart. Do visit your favourite local library post haste to pick up a copy before there are none left. When you have your hands on the fine little bright orange number you will see the seven sweet categories with all manner of exciting music over the twenty one pages. There are brand new music discs from Canadian Reggae fusion stars Bedouin Soundclash, with Jay Malinowski and company, and even a fantastic compilation called Reggae 2007. These are a couple of hot topics. Polaris music prize nominees and the winner are to be found within the pages too, along with Classical, Jazz and Popular Music selections like Paul Anka and The Band.

The vast assortment of music is a marvellous delight. Everyone can come in to borrow four CDs for three weeks. I have said it before and I will say it again, there really is something for everyone. The Music Librarian, who you will find out a bit more about in a moment, and I do concur that J.S. Bach's Alles mit Gott, performed by the Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists under the direction of John Eliot Gardiner to be an absolute aural treat. And for a new twist on an old favourite, Sting plays a lute and sings Dowland - this is my new discovery for the day and will keep me well pleased over the next while. Enough with the high brow, if you need a good Brit Pop fix like Maximo Park, Amy Winehouse, Snow Patrol, Bloc Party, The Streets, The Verve, The Charlatans UK or maybe even some more Maximo Park then we have the ticket to the British Isles without ever leaving the neighbourhood. At length I could go on, though a visit to Audio Visual will set you right and if you're not sure what you need then please ask us. Or if we happen not to have it, do write it into the Suggestion Book.

And now, behind the scenes, sometimes on Reference and always diligently minding and enhancing the collection, we have Farah Mohammed, our trusty Music Librarian for the last dozen years and she has a McGill Music education, fifteen years participating as a soprano in The Orpheus Singers and is an accomplished piano accompanist. She has a flair for finding selections in Classical, Jazz, Jewish, Opera, Popular and World Music genres. Periodically she presents musical gems during the Passion for Music series which she hosts and speaks specifically on a certain topic. She is the one to go to with obscure and unusual music questions and is more than happy to share her knowledge about the collection. There are over two thousand five hundred compact discs at the ready and on display so there is no reason to leave the library without at least one or three CDs, even if it is something you have never heard of, you may discover a stylish new favourite form of music.