Jan Albert van Eyken studied at the Leipzig Conservatory from 1845 to 1846 and became organist at the Remonstrants Church in Amsterdam in 1848, at the Zuiderkerk in Rotterdam from 1853 and at the Reformed Church in Elberfeld from April 1854. Among his admirers was Robert Schumann. Schumann later wrote to Joseph Joachim: "He plays quite splendidly; in Rotterdam I heard him play fugues by Bach, also BACH fugues [by Schumann], the first and the last, on an organ worthy of him." Not far from Van Eyken's later place of work in Elberfeld was the headquarters of the organ-building firm of Richard Ibach (Oberbarmen), which built the magnificent organ for Bergen op Zoom four years before Van Eyken's death: a great early Romantic instrument on which Ute Gremmel-Geuchen brings out the best in the three great organ sonatas and other works by the composer.

The new organ system in Mainz Cathedral, inaugurated in August 2022, is internationally unparalleled in terms of its conception, construction, innovation, quality of craftsmanship and tonal nobility: an absolute centenary project of organ building for the thousand-year-old Mainz Cathedral! The present programme, some of which was produced as a live SACD (stereo and 5.1 surround), was assembled on the basis of the works performed at the inaugural concerts. At its centre is the nearly 30-minute organ sonata in C minor "Der 94. Psalm" by the Liszt pupil Julius Reubke. Cathedral organist Daniel Beckmann, a decisive contributor to the concept of the new instrument, brilliantly demonstrates the new possibilities of this fascinating cathedral organ.

The Antwerp cathedral organist Peter Van de Velde gathers almost exclusively world premiere recordings on this new album.

Daniel Roth, widely acclaimed as one of the leading French organ virtuosos, has held several prestigious positions as both performer and teacher.

Not only a thrill for Froberger enthusiasts, the newly discovered “Kortkamp” manuscript also gives musicologists an answer to the century old enigma of Froberger’s programmatic works.; This recording includes a 48 page booklet containing information about the composer, new insights on his works, and numerous illustrations.; This recording is taken on a Claude Labreche 1780 harpsichord from the Wurttembergisches Landesmuseum Stuttgart.

During his lifetime Pietro Gnocchi (1689-1775) was known especially for his often eccentrically-titled sacred works that he wrote in his position as Kapellmeister at the Cathedral of Brescia. During his work as a music teacher at the local orphanage "Orfanelle della Pietà" he also wrote some remarkable instrumental concertos. This album focuses on these concertos and sonatas. The Main-Barockorchester Frankfurt (Main Baroque Orchestra Frankfurt), headed by Martin Jopp, dedicates this album to these forgotten pearls of the Venetian style. The Main-Barockorchester Frankfurt has been inspiring and enchanting audiences for nearly twenty years. The unmistakable joy of performing characterizes the ensemble, as they harness Baroque music, which excites the mind and strokes the soul.

Four centuries after his birth, Johann Jacob Froberger (1616-1667) is still able to reach listeners with his moving compositions. Powerhouse composers like Bach and Mozart studied Froberger’s works, and his influence in the world of Western music cannot be overlooked. This release is the eighth installment in the Froberger series, and includes the toccatas performed on harpsichord, as well as two Elevation toccatas and an organ toccata. Motets are also performed in their world premiere recordings.

This is the third volume of the Froberger Edition, and completes the set. Containing the complete Libro Quarto and the suites XV and XVII, this album showcases these mature works. For this recording, harpsichordist Bob van Asperen performs on a historic French harpsichord of an unknown maker, dating around 1700. The works were recorded in the incredible acoustics of the “sala nobile” of the Villa Medici, Rome. This release includes a 48 page booklet in which Bob van Asperen comments on works recently ascribed to Froberger.

With this new release, AEOLUS continues its successful collaboration with the organist Elke Völker. Playing the great Aristide Cavaillé-Coll organ (1857/1889) of the basilica of Bonsecours, the artist now devotes herself to a few early works of César Franck. This is a largely neglected repertoire, which originated even before today's well-known Franck organ works. In addition to the outstanding interpreter, the choice of the previously rarely recorded instrument and the AEOLUS recording technology have made this recording a must for connoisseurs and lovers of late-romantic organ music. Elke Volker is a German organist, church musician, and musicologist who studied at the universities of Mannheim, Mainz, and Heidelberg. From 1996-2008 she served as Choir Organist and Cathedral Music Associate at the UNESCO Heritage St. Mary’s Imperial Cathedral of Speyer. In 2009 she was nominated as Interim Music Director and Cathedral Organist. She is also the founder and Artistic Director of the “Internationaler Orgelherbst Deidesheim” and the Russian “International Organ Festival Philharmony Perm.”

There have been rare CD recordings exclusively dedicated to the organ works by Flor Peeters in recent years. Therefore, our new SACD-release with Peter Van de Velde playing the symphonic Schyven Organ (1891) of Antwerp Cathedral, is dedicated to the grand organ works of this main protagonist of the Belgian organ tradition in the 20th Century. The symphonic Pierre Schyven organ is an ideal instrument for Flor Peeters's large scale works. During his lifetime the composer even premiered some of his works on this organ. Peter Van de Velde, the titular organist of the Antwerp cathedral, choose a wise program across the entire compositional works by Flor Peeters, starting with the early Symphonic Fantasy op.13 and ending with the paraphrase of Salve Regina op.123. Between the monumental works he inserts some of the beautiful Chorale preludes from op.68 to complement the program in an excellent manner.

Almost nothing is known about François Dufaut (ca.1604 - ca.1672): we neither know when and where he was born nor do we know the time and place of his demise. Over the centuries, his reputation as a lutenist, who has also composed and developed an independent style, has been maintained. André Henrich sets out to search for this mysterious figure in music history. André Henrich was born in Oberwesel/Germany. In 2000 he graduated from the Musikhochschule in Cologne, where he had studied with Konrad Junghänel. He now performs internationally as a soloist and continuo player on the lute, the theorbo and the baroque guitar. He currently teaches lute and theorbo at the conservatory of Saint-Maur-des-Fosses.

This duo is a secret trio: while soprano Amaryllis Dieltiens and continuo player Bart Naessens are celebrating their 10th anniversary of "Capriolo di Gioia", there is a third, unmistakable protagonist: the sonorous claviorganum (combination of harpsichord and organ) played by Markus Harder-V�lkmann, a very convincing representative of this rare instrument group. Dieltiens and Naessens show that the impressive keyboard instrument can be used in a variety of ways in the continuo to present colorful and powerful Italian music of the 17th and 18th centuries. Johann David Heinichen's great cantata "L�, dove in grembo al colle" may also be counted as Italian music, as it was written in Italian style during his stay in Italy. Amaryllis Dieltien's soprano is the perfect completion; here she shines theatrically as well as lyrically.

The restoration of the Pierre Schyven organ in the Cathedral of Our Lady in Antwerp took three years until it was completed in February 2018. Now AEOLUS releases the first recording with the newly renovated instrument. Peter Van de Velde plays works by the Flemish composer Joseph Callaerts (1830-1901), the first organist on the organ, who was inaugurated in 1891. Peter Van de Velde started his organ studies by himself at the age of nine. At the age of twelve he became organist at the local church in the little Flemish village of Doel. He received his first musical tuition at the Antwerp Academy of Fine Arts. He was awarded first prize for music notation and concluded his organ studies at the Academy with highest honors. He went on to pursue his studies at the Royal Antwerp Conservatory of Music where he won several first prizes in addition to other comparable awards. In 1996, as last pupil of Stanislas Deriemaeker, his studies at the Conservatory earned him a Masters degree. During the course of his studies, and also thereafter, he followed various master classes for the organ with emphasis on the art of improvisation and performance technique.

A "seventeenth-century Art of Fugue" -- The seventh volume of the Froberger Edition on Aeolus is perhaps the craziest: a roller-coaster ride through the world of the fugue, performed with virtuosity and the spirit of adventure. Bob van Asperen plays himself here into an absolute frenzy! Froberger's Capriccios show a composer who not only perfectly mastered his métier, but drove his art forward to new heights. Not without reason, the accompanying text (written by the performer) points out many connections to the works of J. S. Bach. With Bob van Asperen, the Edition features an exceptional interpreter who performs these works just as passionately as knowledgeably. Eighteen multi-part Capriccios are to be heard, also including a recently discovered work. As in all the other volumes of the Edition, an important historical instrument is employed: here it is the large Arp Schnitger organ of the Ludgerikirche in Norden (Eastern Friesland, Germany), which with its numerous stops allows the wealth of polyphony to resound.

The Rosary Sonatas not only deal with mysteries, they are themselves a mystery. With this violin cycle made up of fifteen sonatas and a solo passacaglia, Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber created one of the most interesting works in the entire violin repertoire. Even today, the work is not completely decrypted in terms of its significance in assignment of the sonatas to the sacred Christian mysteries. The composer carries the scordatura technique to the extreme. This technique utilizes the tuning of the violin’s four strings to intervals other than the usual, and in this way demands constant concentration from the performer. For French violinist Helene Schmitt, the Rosary Sonatas are not merely a violinistic extreme sport. For her, this work is a musical act of faith. In this performance, a sonic cosmos opens up within the sonatas, singing, speaking, whispering, and even roaring from hardly audible sound to pure heavy metal. The listener will not cease to be astonished. Helene Schmitt’s full devotion to this music is apparent. Her continuo group, which is made up of internationally known performers, provides just the right support and timbres.