Montreal, Canada – Analekta, an independent classical record company in Canada, is thrilled to announce Angèle Dubeau with La Pietà newest album Game Music. Her 36th album was devoted to film music and topped the Canadian charts for the last 9 months; this new recording features unrivalled performances of strong and striking works from some of the most popular video games in the world. Never before has the realm of video game music been imbued with such virtuosity and originality.

“I have never placed limits on my choice of repertoire, and for this project, I reached toward a unique world that was creative and vibrant in its originality,” explains Angèle Dubeau, the violinist and artistic director of La Pietà. “In my quest to discover the gems of video game music, I listened to many works written and revisited by composers of great talent. Above all, I wanted to avoid distorting them, and my intention has been to preserve the form that initially won over video game aficionados while at the same time breathing new life into them.”

As Angèle did previously when she picked film music, she assembled works that were powerful and evocative enough to have a life of their own. The album features, works associated with famous games such as Tetris, Final Fantasy, Halo 3, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell, Assassin’s Creed and Angry Birds, as well as others heard in Chrono Trigger, Heavy Rain and Secret of Mana. The album is available for digital download and can be purchased on CD starting October 23 in Canada and on October 30 in the US.

Additionally a free companion App has been released with trivia on video game music and clips from the album, it can be downloaded here.

Considered one of the most prominent violin virtuosos in Canada since she was 15, Angèle Dubeau has led a dazzling career in the great concert halls of the world. Her virtuosity and musicality have garnered many prizes over the years, and is one of the rare classical violinists in the world to have been awarded gold records. She has already sold over 500,000 albums in her career.

Driven by a constant desire to innovate, Angèle Dubeau founded La Pietà in 1997, an all-female string orchestra featuring some of Canada’s best musicians. From early on, the ensemble gained a solid reputation, playing Canada’s most prestigious venues and on television. The Los Angeles Times noted that “Dubeau is an exciting, dynamic fiddler…The performances were consistently robust and inquiring, taking nothing for granted…Dubeau’s well-drilled band played with agility, power, a nicely weighted sound and a fierce joy in the doing.”

To download the album on iTunes please go here.

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In ‘The Best Smart Phone Games of 2012′ we listed the first five of the best games to keep you entertained and occupied; this article continues that list. So far the list stands:

1. Angry Birds

2. Fruit Ninja

3. Draw Something

4. Words With Friends

5. Tap-Tap Revenge

In sixth place is the incredibly fun Temple Run. In the game the player is a character who is running from a mob of monsters. The character continuously runs and the player must swipe to the left, right, down, and up to make the character dodge obstacles and jump gaps. The player can collect coins for bonus points and speed/invincibility boosts, while the game gets progressively harder.

In seventh place is the simple, yet seriously addicting game, Flood-It. In Flood-It the player begins on the far left, top corner of a board of colored squares. The player then chooses colors of neighboring squares to expand his or her control of a board. The catch is that there are a limited number of moves before the game is over and the player has to start on a new board. The game is easy on the smallest board setting, but the medium and hard settings are nearly impossible and require a significant amount of strategy.

In eighth place is the Android original, Alchemy. Alchemy has players start with four basic elements: earth, air, fire, and water. The player then combines the elements to make new things. For example, if the player combines earth and water it makes swamp. The combinations are endless since the new creations can be added to other elements to make new things, and the combinations get stranger and stranger – which also means they get harder and harder. Eventually the player will be able to create anything from worms to aliens.

In ninth place is Tetris, the Nintendo classic. Just like the original, the player rearranges blocks to get rid of rows and stop them from filling up the screen. In the smart phone version the player taps the shapes to rotate them and fit them into place. Ultimately, this has been a favorite of many for years and it should be of no surprise that it made the list.

The last game to make our list of the top ten smart phone games is Bejeweled 2. Also a favorite of Facebook users, Bejeweled 2 has the player match up gems in a row to destroy them and bring in new gems. The player must race against a ticking clock to destroy as many as possible. This game is yet another classic that many people have been playing for years; now everyone can play it on their phones.

Ultimately, what smart phone users seem to like in their games are destructive, mindless games that will keep them entertained while they are sitting around waiting for a friend or while traveling. These games are not only the best for that but some of them, like Words With Friends or Draw Something, are also a great one to stay in touch with friends.

Imag Courtesy of    Fruit Ninja

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