Although his name sounds very familiar to us by the valley named after him, little is known about the life and personality of Neander so far. Born in Bremen, he studies reformed theology in his hometown and experiences his personal awakening through the sermon of a newly appointed pastor. He himself becomes an early supporter and representative of Pietism – the reform movement among the Protestants who put piety and prayer into the center of religious practice. Repentance and self-observation are important as well as the idea of edification. His poorly paid job in Düsseldorf will have been less edifying; it was the frond service common at the time leading at least to a parish office. But in his free time Joachim Neander follows his vocation. He hikes through today‘s Neandertal and sings the praise of God and the beauty of creation. When the municipality looks for a new curate Neander is left out. But than a call from his hometown reaches him: Pastor Underyck – whose sermon once touched the young Neander – brings him back to Bremen in 1679 as a preacher who is particularly responsible for the services at five o’clock in the morning. One year later Joachim Neander dies thirty years old only, but he had succeeded in completing his booklet entitled “Belief and Love Exercise, Topped by simple-minded covenant-songs and psalms of thanksgiving“. It comprises 58 titles of which he arranged 43 himself and marked 17 with the note “own melody“. About half of the pieces can be heard on the album in alternating sequences of solo or duet vocals with and without lute accompaniment matching the intimate character of the music.

Reaching the heart of new music – this is what drives organist Wolfgang Kogert: “It is incredibly inspiring for me to know the people who created these compositions. As a result their music reaches me in a much more comprehensive way.” A great number of works have been premiered by Wolfgang Kogert and were dedicated to him trusting in his respectful approach, virtuosity and meticulousness. He spares no effort in visiting composers for joint rehearsals at their working place and in doing so he has gained a well-based overview of musicians from many countries, generations and styles over the past fifteen years. The internationally sought-after musician and teacher at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg has also observed that “music and composer often seem to form a unit – finding it’s expression in the whole personality, in the habitus, in the use of language and of course in the rehearsal work.”

For his album “Horizon” the Viennese-born organist of the traditional court chapel in his home-town has found a coherent series of pieces, a collection that has grown gradually. Without placing a work in the center these compositions created around the year 2000 are (in his view) successful examples of the diversity of today’s music and the tonal possibilities offered by the organ as an instrument. Wolfgang Kogert must find two criteria fulfilled when dealing with a composition: emotion and inspiration. “Does the piece evoke strong emotions in me at first glance and does it inspire me long term in the sense that this music won’t let me go?” With the exception of “Péan IV” by Jean-Pierre Leguay, all works are premiere recordings. In order to ensure the greatest possible authenticity, the performer worked in close artistic exchange with all composers throughout the entire process of creating the album.

This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.

Nobody has here a lasting place. This line from the spoken text of the Totentanz (Dance of Death) op. 12, No. 2 could serve as the motto for many of Distler’s sacred works. In particular, the motets of the “Geistli che Chormusik” (Sacred Choral Music) op. 12 deal pre dominantly with man’s transiency and his hope for salvation. Only three pieces, not included on the present re cording, deal with other themes. What significance does this all too familiar look at the here after, this “solicitation” for an escape from life have for us? Is this turning away from the world to be emulated, considering that it was set to music by someone who suffered badly from periodically recurring bouts of mental distress, by someone who was unable to deal with the political pressures in a time “in which God has apparently relinquished his power to the Evil One” (Distler), and in the end broke under the strain of this life? That it was not just a matter of inspiring hope in some thing unreachably distant can be seen in the text he wrote for his oratorio “Die Weltalter”: “The human being, in spite of all his faults, at the bottom of his heart still good and strong, summons the arms of the gods... Thus, humanity was saved once again from its imminent down fall through the mercy of the powers above, in that they granted mortals insight into the necessity of an unconditional reconciliation of human beings among them selves, between mankind and all living creatures, and above all between mankind and God.”

“I am extremely sensitive to language and have always forced myself to keep as close as possible to the text, despite all the difficulties this approach entails. People have often accused me of writing “syllable music" which means not placing several notes on one syllable. However, my inner sense of language prevents me from violating it and from giving it a rhythm different from the one it has when naturally spoken. Of course music always prolongs language somewhat, but I always try as far as possible to respect the text as it would be spoken.” (Frank Martin) One of the foremost Swiss composers of the twentieth century, Frank Martin began improvising on piano long before he began formal schooling. He studied piano, composition and harmony while attending Geneva University, and in 1926 went on to establish the Chamber Music Society of Geneva.

VoiceMix succeeds in merging their eight extraordinary voices with esprit, concentration and fun to create a unique sound. Colorful carpets of sound and gaudy vocal lines underline the music which ranges from classical to modern choral literature to spirituals and upbeat songs. Shaped by various influences, the ensemble meets in an organic octagon – it is this singing that has united them since childhood. Most of them were able to gather choir experience from an early age, as lead singers in the children‘s choir founded by Steffen Schreyer at Konstanz Minster. In the meantime they won several international and national choir competitions.

With Handel‘s Music to the Royal Fireworks, adapted for four trumpets, timpani and organ, the first recording of an unusually successful series started that has grown in the meantime to seven productions: festive trumpet sound with the Pfeiffer trumpet consort. 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.

Quite by chance Georg Philipp Telemann became godfather for the title of this album. In the year of his 250th anniversary, the Pfeiffer Trumpet Consort concentrated on the oeuvre of one of the most prolific composers of music history. A variety of his compositions are still unpublished until today, an incentive for us to perform works which have never before been heard in this way. Telemann was an outspoken friend of the trumpet, who used this instrument in many of his pieces- whether it be his spiritual and secular oratorios, cantatas, orchestral works, chamber music, or solo concerts. Another special attraction for the ensemble was the adaption of music of the English renaissance originally written for keyboard instruments, which we consider suitable to present here with trumpets, organ, and timpani in an all new sound. Splendid arrangements emerged, giving the listener the chance to discover the richness of this centuries-old music in a new and entertaining way. The Pfeiffer Trumpet Consort presents with this album a varied program with many unknown treasures, making an important contribution to the Telemann Year.