Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Rheinberger's works for men's choir are among the best of this genre in the second half of the 19th century. The performance practiced by the Singphoniker creates an immediacy and purity of sound which renders not only the beauty of Rheinberger's songs but also makes the well-crafted detail of their musical setting clearly audible.

The “Nachtgedanken” (Nocturnal Thoughts) deal with the thoughts that – sometimes unbidden – take possession of our minds during the night, be they more or less beautiful, stimulating or frightening, funny or sad. Music alternates with the spoken word. In addition to her own writings, Elke Heidenreich reads texts by Erich Kästner, Ludwig Tieck, Marcel Proust and others. The musical contributions consist almost entirely of music composed or arranged for the Calmus Ensemble.

One of Andre Campra’s best known works, the Messe de Requiem was frequently performed during the 18th century at notable memorial services and funerals. This release pairs the Messe de Requiem with Campra’s De profundis, which displays the composer’s theatrical abilities. The ensemble performing these works, ensemble3, grew out of the Internationale Chorakademie im Dreilandereck, and is conducted here by Hans Michael Beuerle.

• The Hannover Girl’s Choir under the direction of Gudrun Schröpresents three masses for high voices. The two masses by Johann Michael Haydn (1737–1806) were written on the occasion of Holy Innocents’ Day. The CD is rounded out by the world premiere recording of the Missa in f Minor women’s choir by Hans Koessler (1853–1926), a composer who belonged stylistically to the “Rheinberger School”.

The Carus Classics series feature outstanding CD productions from Carus’ past library of recordings. Reger’s “Acht geistlichen Gesänge” (Eight Sacred Songs) are both a challenge and a joy for every choir who sings them. The Kammerchor Saarbrücken directed by Georg Grün has created a masterful interpretation of this cycle, setting it in the context of other late Romantic choral works by Hugo Wolf, Max Reger and Anton Webern.

Classical Music

Following two CDs devoted to Heinrich von Herzogenberg‘s secular choral music, this latest recording is devoted to his sacred music. +Beginning in 1879, Herzogenberg composed a total of five volumes of liturgical settings that are oriented entirely towards practical worship service use and are organized for various church occasions. +The ensemble cantissimo presents a selection from these settings, supplemented by their recording of the Four Motets, op. 103.

Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (1710-84) was one of the most outstanding, yet at the same time, most idiosyncratic composers of his time. His work reflects his ambitious attempt to assimilate his father's legacy and to develop it further to suit the taste of his own generation. This becomes apparent in his keyboard music - from the early works to the late sonatas and fantasias. The oldest Bach son delights US here with his appealing synthesis of highly complex baroque and sensitive gallant styles. L�on Berben's inspiring performances profoundly emphasize the significance of this music and continue the Carus series of works by Wilhelm Friedemann Bach.

Classical Music

Classical Music

With an opus of more than 200 compositions, Josef Gabriel Rheinberger made a significant contribution to church music in the second half of the 19th century. The "Musica sacra" series presents many exemplary works, available for the first time in a box set of 10 CDs. Renowned soloists and ensembles attest to these outstanding interpretations.

A High Point in the CPE Bach Anniversary Year: Frieder Bernius and the Kammerchor Stuttgart are marking the composer’s 300th anniversary with a recording of the oratorio "Die Israeliten in der Wüste" (The Israelites in the Wilderness). In 1768, right at the beginning of his long period as musical director of the Hamburg principal churches, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach composed this masterpiece. The new, sensitive musical language he used delighted contemporaries and colleagues alike. This recording contributes a fitting concluding note to the anniversary year.