From the mid-1790s to the early 1820s Johann Simon Mayr wrote just under 70 operas, a good number of which went on to triumph across Europe. Set in the Spanish city of Zamora, and described as a comico-heroic melodrama, Amor non ha ritegno ('Love Knows No Bounds') was admired for it's exquisite music, exemplifying the early Romantic style that was evolving circa 1800. This is an opera filled with bizarre happenings and a range of seria and buffa characters, from the sublimely inconsolable heroine, Donna Luigia, to her ridiculous suitors, proving as hugely entertaining today as it did over two centuries ago.

One of the most important composers of opera and sacred music between Mozart and Rossini, and Donizetti' teacher, Johann Simon Mayr also composed several major oratorios, including David and the Marriage of Tobias. Like Haydn' more famous Il Rito.

Classical Music

Classical Music

The Bavarian-born composer Simon Mayr spent his compositional life in Italy, spreading the influence of Viennese classicism whilst himself being influenced by prevailing Italian models. His cantata Arianna in Nasso (Ariadne on Naxos) was written for the leading soprano Isabella Colbran, who was later to marry Rossini. Her virtuosity inspired Mayr, and his cantata is a stirring example of vivid nature writing, refined pathos, and joyous celebration. Franz Hauk and the Simon Mayr Chorus and Ensemble are the world's leading Mayr exponents and their recordings have received the highest critical acclaim.

Johann Simon Mayr became one of the most popular opera composers in Europe in the period preceding Rossini, but his younger career in the last decades of the 18th century was largely as a church musician, dividing his time between his native Bergamo and Venice. Often taking the form of small-scale religious operas, his Venetian solo motets were tailor-made for the singers of the day, with notable results, as can be heard in the soaring expressiveness of 'Exsurge, anima,' the cavatina-style melodies of 'O Deus, quot me circumdant,' and the contrasting atmospheres of fear, dread and serenity in 'Qual colpa eterno Dio.' Franz Hauk is the world's leading expert and exponent of the music of Johann Simon Mayr, and his numerous new editions and recordings of operatic and other vocal works by this composer is internationally recognized as highly significant: "Naxos's project of recording the major works of Simon Mayr is an extremely important event, introducing to most of us a composer of genuine individuality and importance." (Fanfare on the cantata Arianna in Nasso) All of the soloists here have a close association with Franz Hauk's Simon Mayr project, and each have successful performing and recording careers.

The current renaissance in conjunction with the works of Giovanni Simone Mayr is not surprising, but is certainly necessary. With Demetrio, he left to posterity a masterpiece that belongs on the great stages of the world. Mayr's late work is a mixture of romantic anticipation, stylistic reminiscences of Mozart and Haydn, bel canto elements and a touch of Rossini, all worked into a unique form. Of particular note is Mayr's melodic inventiveness. Here OehmsClassics presents a live performace of Demetrio recorded at the Moutier Festival (Switzerland) in June 2011.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Based, like Beethoven' opera Fidelio, on the original French libretto by Jean-Nicolas Bouilly, Mayr' opera L'amor coniugale won considerable success at it's first performance in Padua in 1805.

Mayr's opera buffa Amore non soffre opposizioni was first performed in Venice in 1810 and owes something to the increasingly popular genre of the "sentimental drama". Conforming to Neapolitan practice in having no recitatives, it reflects precisely those qualities that aroused such enthusiasm for his music in Mayr's contemporaries: beautiful, expressive melodies, a natural vocal style, stimulating harmonies, and sophisticated instrumentation. The restoration of Mayr's music in modern performance has been largely due to the critically acclaimed conductor on this recording, Franz Hauk.

Composed when Napoleon's armies were striding across Europe, Simon Mayr's highly charged opera I Cherusci is set in ancient Germania in the time of Christ's birth, it's narrative focusing on the perils of the captured slave girl Tusnelda who has been chosen for a sacrificial ritual. The universal themes of Freedom and patriotism in this pioneering tale of familial bonds, romance, jealousy and desperate misadventure would later attract the likes of Beethoven and Verdi. This world premiere recording of I Cherusci uses period instruments, presenting it as it would have been heard in 1808. The Simon Mayr Chorus was founded in 2003. The repertoire of the choir includes works from the 16th to the 20th century. A special emphasis is laid on authentic historical performance and on the promotion of music by Simon Mayr at the highest cultural level. Concerto de Bassus is an international ensemble engaging young musicians in historical performances of music from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. Many members of the ensemble are outstanding students or graduates of the Hochschule fur Musik und Theater, with wind instruments constructed on historical principles. The ensemble takes it's name from the fundamental element of Baroque music: the Bassus.

Mayr's Telemaco was a product of turbulent political times in the Republic of Venice, which had been occupied by Napoleon's troops in late 1796. Military elements, with incorporated marches, feature strongly in a score that brought to contemporary Venetian theatre many of the innovative elements that were in vogue on the operatic stages of Paris. Taking classical Greek mythological material, Mayr fashioned an opera full of colour, interweaving instrumental interludes and dances into his arias, cavatinas and choruses, and crafting his own very personal vision of the nwe Italian opera seria.

It is only in the last few years, largely as a result of the pioneering performances of the Simon Mayr Chorus and Ensemble conducted by Franz Hauk, that Mayr has come to be valued as one of the most significant composers of operatic and sacred music of his time. Il sagrifizio di Jefte (The Sacrifice of Jephtha), first performed in 1795, is a dramatic oratorio with a wealth of variety in both the vocal and instrumental writing, which foreshadows the operas to come.

Bavarian-born Simon Mayr spent much of his life in Italy where he promoted Viennese classical composition but also absorbed much from his studies in Bergamo and Venice. Though he was one of the most admired operatic composers of his day - he taught Donizetti, who revered him - he was particularly noted for his sacred oratorios. His characteristically vibrant musical palette marks Jacob's Flight from Laban, with important writing for Wind instruments, operatically-based arias and confidently-handled ensembles and choruses. Franz Hauk is Mayr's leading interpreter and acclaimed for his many recordings. 'The music, performances, and recording are all first rate; unconditionally recommended.'

Franz Hauk and the Simon Mayr Chorus and Ensemble have spearheaded the revival of themusic of Johann Simon Mayr who was born in Bavaria but lived in Italy. In the latestinstalment of their critically acclaimed recordings they turn to Il sogno di Partenope, anallegorical staged cantata composed to mark the rebuilding of the Teatro San Carlo in Naplesfollowing a fire in February 1816. Mayr’s significance as an intermediary between the operaseria of the late eighteenth-century and the melodrama of the early-nineteenth is reflected inthis important work, a unique kind of ‘cantata opera’ of which only the second act survives.

Restored by Mayr expert Frans Hauk from two extant manuscript versions and heard here in its world premiere recording, Simon Mayr’s Stabat mater in F minor was singled out by a contemporary biographer “for its marvelous effect” and “heavenly beauty.” Mayr himself frequently returned to this work, recycling one of its movements in his great Requiem. The song-like Ave maris stella builds on a hymn that dates back to the 8th century. Born in Neuburg an der Donau in 1955, Franz Hauk studied church and school music, with piano and organ, at the Munich Musikhochschule and in Salzburg. In 1988 he took his doctorate with a thesis on church music in Munich and at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Since 1982 he has served as organist at Ingolstadt Minster, and since 1995 also as choirmaster. He has given concerts in Europe and the United States and made a number of recordings. Since October 2002 he has taught in the historical performance and church music department of the Hochschule fur Musik und Theater, Munich. He founded the Simon Mayr Chorus in 2003.

Mayr's Masses were in demand across Europe, and their composition is rooted in the Italian tradition of the messa concertata which demands division into separate vocal numbers. The Mass in E minor has long been recognized as an outstanding example of Mayr's late style, with it's polyphonic mastery and dialogues between singers and concertante solo instruments being exceptionally convincing. The Mass in F minor evokes both joy and deep melancholy, though accompanied, as always, by Mayr's notable gift for melodic beauty. Conductor Franz Hauk has been responsible for re-establishing the music of Johann Simon Mayr, one of the most significant operatic and vocal composers residing in Italy before the rise of Rossini. This latest album is another in the series of ground-breaking world premiere recordings of Mayr's music by the same forces under Hauk.

Franz Hauk has spearheaded the rediscovery of Johann Simon Mayr work’s during the last two decades. This latest premiere recording presents the substantial Messa solenne in D minor which sets the full ordinary. The Simon Mayr Chorus and Concerto de Bassus are joined by a team of stellar soloists.

Johann Simon Mayr was among the most successful Italian opera composers prior to Rossini, and while he was long remembered as Donizetti’s teacher his excellent music is now gaining the recognition it deserves.

L’accademia di musica is a single-act farsa or comedy, its narrative a variation on the familiar situation of an elderly rich man trying to seduce and marry his young maid and the complications and intrigues that ensue, including ‘play within a play’ and a concert held as part of the opera. With its vaudeville finale and metaphorical touches, this opera simultaneously recalls 18th-century traditions and anticipates Rossini.

German-born Simon Mayr received his musical training in Italy (he's also properly known by his Italian name Giovanni Simone Mayr), and that's where he spent his career writing both operas and sacred vocal music at the cathedral of Santa Maria Maggiore in Bergamo. One thing's clear about this composer/teacher/choir master: he knew his Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven, and if you like their sacred and theatrical music, you'll enjoy this program featuring two delightful cantatas. L'Armonia, an extended (45-minute) near-opera with three scenes, characters, choruses, virtuoso arias, and well-developed recitatives, was presented on the occasion of a state visit to Bergamo in 1825 by the Emperor Franz I and his entourage. It contains all the conventions of the day to satisfy and impress an imperial audience--the references to classical poets and mythology, symbolic associations to the emperor's benevolence and wisdom (not to mention a surprise tribute to the Empress), grand choruses and florid arias glorifying the defense of the nation's and its people's ideals in battle, and textual quotations espousing the goals of harmony and peace.

But rather than being tedious and predictable, Mayr treats us to some very appealing, expertly crafted music that handily combines some dramatic and very demanding Mozartian opera-style arias--beautifully sung by all three soloists--with choruses right out of the church works of Mozart and Haydn. The pacing is swift and conductor Franz Hauk keeps his forces tightly together most of the time--some ragged instrumental ensemble and choral intonation slips are only occasionally noticeable. Mayr also cleverly uses a harp at opportune moments to add color and for symbolic reference to the Bards, which are among the cantata's "characters".

And speaking of references, if you know Beethoven, you'll have fun picking out Mayr's nifty insertions of excerpts from some of the master's works in the Cantata for the Death of Beethoven. This 15-minute piece was basically cobbled together from original material and from existing works, and again, it's a very satisfying listen marked by strong vocal writing for the soloists and stylish orchestration. Once more I do have to mention the solo singers--soprano Talia Or, tenor Altin Piriù, and bass Nikolay Borchev--all first class and very solid in some very challenging music. They have a lot to do here, and they really carry the show. A pleasant surprise!

--David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com

Influential, popular and prolific in his day, Bavarian born Simon Mayr left his mark in providing a bridge between Northern classicism and the bel canto of Italy, his adopted country of residence. The oratorio Samuele deals with the calling of Samuel as a prophet, and was written in 1821 for the consecration of Pietro Mola as Bishop of Bergamo. Mayr set his oratorio to the Poesia of one of his pupils, Bartolomeo Merelli, the collaboration resulting in a fascinating work which combines theology with dramatic innovation such as the use of ‘melodrama’ or spoken text.

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Simon Mayr was born in Bavaria but made his name in Italy. Although familiar with the Venetian two-part and Neapolitan three-part operatic overture traditions, he forged a style which at first mirrored the models of his Viennese contemporaries, then broadened out into large-scale and often virtuosic sinfonias filled with unexpected modulations and intervals and beautiful instrumental solots. Spanning a period of 25 years, the works on this recording include Raul de Crequi with its striking fugal opening, the dramatic Ercole in Lidia with its solo part for harp and Gli Americani which recalls Mozart and Beethoven.