Classical Music

Classical Music

This new release features excerpts of an exemplary series of cantatas for small ensembles, sung by one of the most well-known specialists in historic performance, Barbara Schlick. The admired German soprano, Barbara Schlick, studied at the College of Music in Würzburg with Henriette Klink-Schneider and with Hilde Wesselmann in Essen, later with Gisela Rohmert and Rudolf Piernay. In 1966 Barbara Schlick joined Adolf Scherbaum’s Baroque ensemble as a soloist, and began to sing widely in Europe. In 1972 she toured North America as soloist with Paul Kuentz and his chamber orchestra. In subsequent years she established a strong international reputation as an interpreter of baroque and classic music, performing in nearly all of the important musical centres of Europe, Israel, Japan, Canada, America and Russia. Barbara Schlick's interpretations are comprehensively documented through radio, television, and recordings, among others Georg Philipp Telemann’s cantata Ino with Musica Antiqua Köln (Archiv Produktion), J.S. Bach's St John Passion (BWV 245), St Matthew Passion (BWV 244), B minor Mass (BWV 232) and Christmas Oratorio (BWV 248). Since 1997 Barbara Schlick has been professor at the College of Music in Cologne and guest instructor at the College of Music in Maastricht.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

One of the most important treasures of the Göttingen City Archives is a late medieval manuscript; it is the so-called Göttingen St. Johannis Missale. A missal contains the lectures assigned to the priest at the mass and all the songs assigned to the choir or the schola. Since the Göttingen city church, the Johanniskirche, is dedicated to John the Baptist, it was only natural to concentrate on the chants celebrated in his honor from the six masses included into the missal. All the lectures and other parts performed by the priest are substituted by instrumental music, played by the wind ensemble Aeolos on historical instruments. This is intended to clarify the dialogical principle that usually characterizes the celebration of the mass.

Even today the generation of Bach’s sons and their compositions still find too little recognition and reflection. In general, masters such as Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788) are looked upon as composers of the transitional period between the Baroque (Johann Sebastian Bach) and the Viennese Classic (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart), which has a connotation of something incidental, of something unimportant. Completely overlooked is the fact that it was exactly this generation (the composers of the early Vienna and Mannheim schools) which actually made possible the stylistic transition from the Baroque to the Classic with their works. Moreover, with the stylistic characteristics of the so-called Sturm und Drang period, they also brought forth some very independent developments. A musical language of the Empfindsamkeit (sentimentalism) developed, which was taken up and reshaped by the masters of the Viennese Classic. The following generation saw this, and indeed much clearer than we do today. Both Mozart and Haydn expressed their admiration of C.P.E. Bach, emphasizing how much they owed him. Today, the esteem for Bach’s son is above all reserved for his comprehensive compendium Versuch über die wahre Art das Clavier zu spielen (Essay on the True Manner of Playing the Clavier), which represents one of the most important sources for the performance practice of the music of the eighteenth century. On this release, Jörg-Hannes Hahn begins his exploration of all of the composer’s organ works.

The present release is a portrait of an underestimated Baroque composer who had great influence on the development of musical style in middle Germany up to J. S. Bach, Samuel Scheidt. The Basel Madrigalists are an ensemble of 16-24 trained singers, which was initiated by the singer and conductor Fritz Naf. Since 1978, they have achieved a comprehensive repertoire of songs ranging from the Renaissance period to modern times. The emphasis is laid on the reenactment of madrigals, songs and chansons from the 16th/17th century and on the performance of modern compositions. Moreover, the ensemble is very actively engaged in giving concerts of a diversified nature, performing at the most important festivals in Europe and the USA. The Ensemble Galliarda Basel was founded in 1974 by Marianne Luthi, purely as a Renaissance recorder consort at first, but nowadays also occasionally performing in combination with other instruments.

The present release is a nice and easy listening program featuring the beautiful sound of three trumpets, timpani and organ with a program music that is in some way connected to Hamburg. Pfeiffer-Trompeten-Consort (The Pfeiffer Trumpet Consort = PTC) was founded by the brothers Joachim, Martin, and Harald Pfeiffer in 1985. They were soon joined by Dale Marrs, who has decisively put his stamp on the musical style of the group. Mathias Muller, tympanist, joined in 1992. Through Peter Schumann, organist, the group's musical home has always been the Heiliggeistkirche (Church of the Holy Spirit) in Heidelberg, Germany. Most of the works performed by the Pfeiffer-Trompeten-Consort, famous, as well as less-well-known pieces, are presented in new, festive arrangements, most of which (with the exception of a few original compositions) have been revised and adapted by members of the ensemble. These arrangements are unique in their style. It is always easy to recognize the concern for combining Baroque trumpet artistry with modern playing techniques. In addition to the original trumpet parts, the Pfeiffer-Trompeten-Consort tries to include as many of the other instrumental parts as possible, and thus to consider the musical compositions in their entirety. The possibilities of modem trumpets combined with the splendid sound of the instruments transform familiar compositions into a new listening experience.

Immortal themes and melodies in charming arrangements for brass, organ and timpani. Recorded in great church acoustics to a new and breathtaking sound experience.