The music and poetry of Pietism offers a beauty that hardly any form of Lutheran religiosity can rival. It is rarely found more radiantly beautiful than in the great collection of hymns Troens rare Klenodie (The Rare Treasure of Faith) by the most important Danish representative of the Pietist movement, Hans Adolph Brorson (1694-1764). The melodies of the sacred Pietist songs are, in their strongly affective nature, in perfect accordance with the fervent and sensual mode of expression found in the texts. Selected from J.A. Freylinghausen's Geistreiches Gesangbuch and among J.S. Bach's contributions to Schemelli's Musicalisches Gesangbuch those melodies are to be heard here, along with related galant music for flute, harpsichord and guitar from the court of the Pietist Danish King Christian VI.

Brodsgaard: Galaxy

KOPPEL, Herman D.: Piano Quartet / 9 Variations / Piano Quin

Sunleif Rasmussen (b. 1961) is the undisputed pioneer of Faroese classical music, and this album features some of the Faroe Islands’ most talented performers, the New Music ensemble Aldubáran and violist Jákup Lützen. Recorded in Torshavn, the music they present here pivots on Rasmussen’s deft harboring of momentum and energy, his gift for transformative textures, and his closeness to the unique musical traditions and landscapes of the Islands themselves – one of the most beautiful, distinctive and nature-rich archipelagos on earth.

The Danish Piano Trio in their debut collection spotlighting trios by seminal Romantic era Danish composers Niels W. Gade, P.E. Lange-M�ller and Rued Langgaard.

The composer Karsten Fundal (b. 1966) is one of the few living composers who ranges over the whole spectrum of newly-composed orchestral music: film music, orchestral arrangements, experimental and decided concert hall music. His strong philosophical and systematic mind runs in parallel with a sensuous and intuitive musicality that investigates acoustic space, pulse and motion. On this recording, the classical avant-garde, minimalist and cross-over specialist ensemble Ekkozone explores Fundal's tonal and rhythmic universe in new compositions for saxophone, percussion and piano.

Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen has been one of the most striking composers from northern Europe over the past half century - a unique personality and a major figure in Danish musical life, even though he considered himself to be an outsider. In his early works, Gundmundsen-Holmgreen was inspired by figures such as Bartok and Stravinsky. He's considered extremely ambiguous and provocative.

Pade, E.M.: Aquarellen Uber Das Meer I-Xxi / 4 Illustrations

The research on the musical cultures of faraway countries left it's mark on Poul Rovsing Olsen's (1922-82) oeuvre. He aimed at clarity and substance, and by fusing elements from the Occidental and Oriental traditions he developed a personal musical idiom that was unusual in Danish music. Poul Rovsing Olsen himself said that it was his dream "to make music as direct as possible, to bring it closer to the listener". This album features his last composition 'A Dream in Violet' and four world premiere recordings of his music for voice and instruments, including 'The Planets,' based on a block book from the 15th century. Poul Rovsing Olsen was educated at the Royal Danish Academy of Music and subsequently in Paris where he studied under the highly regarded teacher Nadia Boulanger and the renowned composer Olivier Messiaen. Alongside his studies of classical music, Rovsing Olsen cultivated his passion for Oriental music and a great part of his life he dedicated to his professional work on ethnomusicology. His work in the music of distant countries also left it's mark on Rovsing Olsen's own music.

Weyse: The Key Masterpieces

ROSING-SCHOW: Granito y arco iris / Orbis / Equinoxe / Black

" Mixed Company is the world premiere recording of a remarkable cycle of works by Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen (b.1932) presented by London Sinfonietta, Theatre of Voices and conductor Paul Hillier. Composed around John Dowland’s iconic Lacrimae, these seven new pieces have all been tailored to the excellent “mixed company” of Danish and English vocal and instrumental performers gathered in Copenhagen to celebrate the Danish composer in 2012."

The Danish composer Mogens Christensen (b. 1955) is known for his exquisite sense of tone color and for his unusual inspirational sources, found in dreams, astrology and natural phenomena. The title work of this CD, Busy Bees and Birds, explores the fascinating sound world of a lively beehive juxtaposed with fabulating birdsong, while his cycle Nocturnal Birds invites the listener to share the experience of atmospheric nightly birdsong through all four seasons - and through a timeless kaleidoscope of acoustic and electronic sounds around recorder soloist Pernille Petersen.

Herman, Anders and Benjamin Koppel-three Danish composers, three generations and three different kinds of contemporary wind quintet-from Herman's musical cubism through Anders' more diverting style to Benjamin's modern fusion of classical, jazz and salsa. All the styles appeal to the playful and experimental Carion, who demonstrate their artistic scope on this debut album.

Includes work(s) by various composers. Soloists: Vicki Boeckman, Genie Johnsson, Pia Brinch Jensen, Karina Agerbo.