Towards the end of each year the Savall/Figueras family label Alia Vox outdoes itself with lavish multi-disc and hardback book sets, telling unique ancient musical stories: Christopher Columbus, Don Quixote, the pilgrim Francis Xavier, the city of Jerusalem, and the Cathar sect have all provided inspiration for previous sets, all best-sellers. This year they give us theirfirst set with a DVD, and they explore the music and culture of Italy's infamous Borgia Dynasty(1238-1572.) The set follows their origins in Valencia, Spain, to their control over much ofrenaissance Italy, including making a Pope, a saint, and the infamous Lucrezia, a rumoured serial poisoner, and Cesare, whose plan to rule all of Italy collapsed in 1503. From the masterpieces of Islamic and Sephardic Spain to the glories of Venetian Gregorian chant and the crowning glories of Cristobal de Morales and Josquin des Prez, this set contains 3SACDs and a splendid "making of" DVD. Much of the music is rare and anonymous. As always with these sets, the glossy colour hardback book tells a fascinating story of the music and the history. At 400 pages, worth the price of admission alone!