Since it's foundation in 2005, the Vorarlberg baroque orchestra Concerto Stella Matutina has firmly established itself as one of Austria's leading original sound ensembles. The group is a regular guest at the Kulturbuhne Ambach, where this live recording was made in 2024. In addition to Beethoven's 2nd Symphony, three concert arias by Mozart for bass voice were performed, which, in contrast to the concert arias for soprano, are unfortunately heard far too rarely in concert. The aria Per questa bella mano KV 612 also surprises with a solo double bass.

The Vienna live recording from 1948 not only captures a performance of superlatives, but also a moment of historical and emotional significance. The war-torn city became the setting for an artistic statement of hope and renewal. Walter's conducting and the excellent performers make this performance a definitive interpretation of Mahler's vision.

How can one approach the interpretation, a reading and an analysis of a complex music that was not read in score in it's time? Printed in partbooks, written or handed down in folios in individual parts, everything must be thrown overboard when "reading", singing, listening, which at least in the past centuries has become traditional in the idea of "choral music", indeed in the reading of music in general. Flying blind, as it were - without exact knowledge of the course of the other voices - each singer once floated horizontally through the music. "beauty farm" embarks on an exploratory journey into this now alien world of Renaissance polyphony. The ensemble has recorded 19 motets by Nicolas Gombert according to new critical editions. Of course, some of them are world premiere recordings.

The heyday of the lyra viol began before 1600 in England and lasted nearly a century. 'Lyra way' is characterised by variant tunings and notation in lute-style tablature. Frequently used tunings were named, lyra way (d'-a-f-c-F-C) itself being the first. It dominated up to around 1620, along with a group of tunings named after composer and viol virtuoso Alfonso Ferrabosco II-e. g. Alfonso way (d'-a-e-A-E-AA) and Alfonso way in eights (d'-a-d-A-D-AA). These tunings extend the range of the viol down, with wider intervals than normal between the open strings. The lyra viol was at this time the usual solo instrument for professional and gentlemen amateur violists. Many of the gentlemen learnt to play during legal studies at the Inns of Court, where they also took part in masque productions. Although the repertoire survives mainly in manuscript, a handful of collections printed in London between 1600 and 1612 include music for lyra viol. Tracing broad links between the bass viol and the Jacobean stage-albeit with quite different roles in the public theatre and court masque environments-is easy enough. The viol is referenced in the plays for the public theatres-often metaphorically-and features in contemporary accounts of theatre visits. In the public theatres it provided song accompaniment and instrumental items as required, played by the actors themselves or by hired musicians. In open-air theatres the robust sound of the lyra viol carried better than the lute for accompanying songs and it was capable of substituting for a consort of viols in smaller scale productions. However, what was to be played at any given cue or to which tunes the song texts were sung is rarely clear. The surviving lyra viol repertoire is mostly in the common dance forms, context will suggest what is suitable: a stately pavane, vigorous galliard, airy almaine, or light-hearted coranto or toy. Well-known popular tunes were also harnessed to underscore the meaning of a scene. Song accompaniments would have been worked up on the spot and perhaps never written down-the new tunings enabled semi-improvised performance with easy chords. Leading viol players such as Ferrabosco, Robert Taylor, John Coprario and later William Lawes had posts at court and enjoyed theatrical connections-the friendship and collaborations between Ferrabosco and playwright Ben Jonson are well-documented. Others, such as Joseph Sherlye or William Corkine were London-based freelancers, and scarcely appear in official records. Those working at court contributed regularly to masque productions, but these used lavish ensembles, violin or wind bands for dancing, or lutes for song accompaniment. Here the intersection with the lyra viol is the large number of masque dances and songs which were arranged for home consumption by the gentlemen amateurs in whose lyra viol manuscript collections they survive. Composer/teachers such as Taylor served as intermediaries, making or copying arrangements for their pupils. The music on this album is drawn from two prints, Ferrabosco II's Lessons for 1. 2. and 3. Viols, 1609 and Corkine's The Second Book of Ayres, 1612, and four manuscript collections. The 'William Ballet Tablature' is one of the earliest lyra viol manuscripts, copied over two decades 1600-1620 by at least four anonymous contributors. The 'John Browne Bandora and Lyra Viol Book' dates from a little later. A landowner and music collector, Browne served as Clerk of the Parliaments for much of his long life. Country gentleman Sir Peter Leycester of Tabley Hall near Chester had presumably learned to play lyra viol during his time at Gray's Inn, he began work on his large manuscript collection Lessons for the Lyro=Viole in 1640. The 'Manchester Lyra Viol Book', an even more ambitious retrospective collection than Leycester's, was probably compiled in the 1650s. Despite it's late date it includes a good deal of Jacobean music in lyra way and Alfonso way tunings, it is the source of nearly half the pieces in this selection. Apart from grouping by tuning copyists did not trouble themselves much with ordering the pieces, and were often casual with titles and composers' names. This album has been compiled to highlight the theatrical connections, but it also reflects the eclectic nature of the sources-pieces with a clear link to court masques mingle with those which could easily have been heard in public theatres, and others arguably less likely to have been. Assembling a sequence of pieces into a suite was still left to the performers in the Jacobean period: here the final ordering and grouping aims to produce a satisfactory listening experience within each set and as a complete sequence.

In the 18th century, the term "clavier" was used to refer to almost all keyboard instruments. For this Bach recital, the Austrian harpsichordist Johannes Maria Bogner has taken precisely this into account and uses the harpsichord and the clavichord for his interpretations, whereby he performs the Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue BWV 903 here on both the harpsichord and the clavichord for direct comparison.

To compose a few lines upon the fifth anniversary of the late Wolfgang Gluxam's decease is a task at once light and solemn. Light, for though the inevitable gloom of his too-early passing doth weigh heavy, it is Hope that doth prevail-that sentiment of a positive onwardness, which Music itself may impart, but only when artists of due skill are at work. Wolfgang's talent was singular: through his playing, he could spin tales, rousing in his auditors a tension for "What next?"-a suspense he deftly stoked to fervor. No note was struck without it's precise place in the chaos of the score defined, each tone a pillar in the storm. Some may deem this method contrived, a sign of some cold design-yet I affirm him, in the noblest sense, a genius both calculating and questioning, ever striving for perfection, yet tempered (with a grain of salt) by self-doubt. Though such rigor left certain long-forged schemes-as his endeavor with Bach's Art of Fugue-unrealized, we, in this age of vulgar mass-production, find solace in his scant recordings. These relics, though few, leave us quietly content, brimming with gratitude and joy. For such artistry cannot be reckoned by arithmetic, nor conjured by artificial engines; it demandeth a feeling soul, one that breathes and bleeds. Herein lies the power of Wolfgang's works: they compel us to love. That we may likewise rejoice in the album Brook Street is thanks owed to his descendants, who, in their benevolence, hath permitted it's release-a boon to all who cherish his memory.

Italia Mia by Ensemble Micrologus is not merely a collection of pieces but a musical journey that invites listeners to explore the vivid and diverse soundscape of Italy's past. Through their dedicated performance, Micrologus offers a window into the past, allowing modern audiences to experience the beauty and complexity of early Italian music. This live-recording stands as a testament to the enduring appeal of these works and the ensemble's commitment to preserving and celebrating the rich tapestry of Italy's musical heritage.