Alia Vox's annual end-of-year/seasonal release - a deluxe, multi-CD/book edition - has become a major event in the classical world, and something very special for Jordi Savall's many fans. Savall, his family's ensemble, Hesperion XXI and his label, Alia Vox, stand as possibly the most famous and most highly regarded practitioners of traditional music in the world. Whilst nominally seen as "classical music", their appeal is much broader. Mare Nostrum (Latin for "Our Sea") was a Roman name for the Mediterranean Sea, an area that may be regarded as the greatest place of exchange and dialogue in the history of humankind. Of course, music is no exception. In this new lavishly illustrated CDbook, Jordi Savall invites us to explore the myth of the Mediterranean Sea as mother of people and cultures, from Morocco to Israel, from Spain to Lebanon. On this 2-SACD set, Savall takes us on a musical journey throughout 28 pieces and over 3 hours of music. It comes housed in a deluxe 460-page full-colour book telling the story in several languages. It's a truly beautiful and amazing document of sound and words.