As founder and director of Vienna's Philharmonic Chorus, Franz Schreker conducted world premieres of works by contemporary composers. It is surprising, therefore, that he wrote relatively few independent choral works. Most of these are recorded here for the first time: The Orpheus Vokalensemble, under Michael Alber, makes an essential contribution to this largely unknown side of Schreker with this survey of his choral music. The recording is rounded off with choral works by Schreker's teacher Robert Fuchs, his contemporary Walter Braunfels and choral arrangements of three Schreker songs by Clytus Gottwald.

Although vocal music accounts for only a small part of Luigi Boccherini’s works, his Stabat Mater G. 532 is one of the most exquisite settings of this sequence from the 13th century. The first version is recorded here; it is scored for soprano and string quartet and dates from 1781. It captivates the listener by the intimacy of Boccherini’s musical language which is particularly suited to the contemplative poetry depicting Mary’s anguish during her son’s crucifixion. One could wish for no better performer of this subtle sacred music than the incomparable Dorothee Mields; she is accompanied by the Salagon Quartet augmented by double bass. The recording is complemented by Mozart’s String Quartet in E flat major KV 428 and the Salve Regina by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy: composed in 1824, it is frequently considered one of the youthful composer’s best works.

The German National Youth Choir is a select national ensemble of highly talented and ambitious choir singers. Since its creation in 1999, the ensemble has given young musicians between the age of 16 and 27 the opportunity to work on demanding choral music at the highest artistic level as well as become acquainted with a wide range of repertoire. The project-related professional work attracts gifted young singers to come together in their free time for work phases at different locations six to eight weekends each year. The intensive work with the choir enables the ensemble to develop its own choral sound that is characterized by pure intonation, uniformity and a high sense of transparency. Through their collaboration with professional ensembles and their choir directors, as well as composers, music publishers, music archives and conservatoires, they are continuously expanding their horizons.

Children love to sing. Movement songs bring swing into their day, while lullabies bring them to rest. Songs tell stories, divide the days and years, and belong to festivals and holidays. Singing is also important to children developmentally- it promotes good breathing, movement, ear training, and language promotion. This new release features selected highlights from the LIEDERPROJEKT alongside captivating new numbers - with songs from the renaissance to traditional folk and children's songs, from art songs to pop songs. Many highlights of the vocal repertoire are included, creating a true treasury of song, with renowned singers including Jonas Kaufmann, Dorothee Mields, Christoph Pregardien, Anna Lucia Richter, Calmus Ensemble and many others. For every CD sold, 1 EUR will be donated to projects promoting singing with children

Vocal ensemble Athesinus Consort Berlin was founded in 1992 with a focus on Early Music. On this recording they perform the works of Leonhard Lechne, the most important composer of the German protestant music before Heinrich Schutz.

Classical Music

Exclusive Collection of Christmas Carols Many renowned German-speaking singers - amongst others, Jonas Kaufmann, Angelika Kirchschlager and Christoph Pregardien - and ensembles have recorded their Christmas carol exclusively for the song project. The recordings are presented in two lavishly equipped CD boxes with elaborate illustrated booklets.

Classical Music

This new release is a brilliant conclusion to the first Heinrich Schutz complete recording. With the "Psalms & Peace Music" Hans-Christoph Rademann and the Dresdner Kammerchor set the magnificent climax of this ten-year project. The works, most of which are almost unknown, unite particularly splendid polychoral pieces, which Schutz wrote between 1618 and 1648 for important political occasions or commemorative celebrations. Soloist and choir groups create a colorful sound experience in interplay with strings, trombones, cornets and viols. This is a truly worthy finale to this award-winning series. Hans-Christoph Rademann is one of the most sought after choral conductors and widely acknowledged specialists of choral sound in the world. His concerts and recordings are pioneering, and his interpretations have been highly acclaimed.

Classical Music

"Hallelujah. Gospels and Spirituals" transports us into the fascinating world of African American Folk Songs. The arrangements for mixed voice choir are extremely varied – sometimes rhythmic, sometimes solemn, but always emotional and exciting – in all their highs and lows. The Europäischer Kammerchor conducted by Michael Reif presents classics (Go down Moses, Kumbaya, Good news, Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen) as well as some discoveries from the beginnings of spirituals, in some new and some well-known arrangements. Matching the album, Carus-Verlag also publishes the choral collection Hallelujah, which includes many more settings of gospels and spirituals.

Familiar, but unfamiliar - known, but not well-known - this is the credo of the figure humaine kammerchor and it's founder and conductor Denis Rouger. On their first album "Kennst du das Land..." the artists present French as well as German solo songs in arrangements for choir. The songs by Gabriel Faur�, Hugo Wolf, Fanny Hensel, Claude Debussy, Clara Schumann and others can be experienced anew through the choral interpretations. The young chamber choir is accompanied by the pianists Julia Kammerlander and Katharina Schlenker. Founded in 2016, figure humaine kammerchor's main aim is to perform choral music with a high level of vocal development. The focus of their work is on French and German music of the 19th to 21st centuries.

Classical Music

As Mendelssohn's successor of the Berlin Cathedral, Nicoli composed the Mass in D major, a sacred work well worth discovering and an important contribution to 19th century church music. Consono presents several other choral works which with their varied scorings show the diversity of Nicolai's sacred compositions.

Classical Music