{"title":"Michael Praetorius","description":"\u003cp\u003e1571–1621. German composer. in the Early Baroque tradition.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGerman early Baroque composer known primarily for sacred vocal music and the dance collection Terpsichore. Frequently featured in church and choral settings, especially Christmas programs.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSignature works:\u003c\/em\u003e Musae Sioniae, Syntagma Musicum, Terpsichore, Es ist ein Ros entsprungen.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"winter-from-first-frost-to-carnival-festivity","title":"Winter – from First Frost to Carnival Festivity","description":"Winter - from First Frost to Carnival Festivity  A sparkling musical panorama of winter - harking back to the legendary Great Frost of 1708\/09. From the beginning of the season over Christmas to a festive carnival: songs, opera scenes, instrumental as well as traditional pieces from France, Germany, and Great Britain.    Music by Jean-Baptiste Lully, Marc-Antoine Charpentier, Michael Praetorius, William Byrd, among others.","brand":"Perfect Noise","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":45841219780842,"sku":"719279934205","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4456889-3456095.jpg?v=1786683875"},{"product_id":"joy-to-the-world-1","title":"Joy to the World","description":"Delos is thrilled to announce a new collaboration with GRAMMY® Award-winning vocal ensemble Chanticleer. Famed for it's \"accuracy of intonation, purity of blend, of color and swagger of style\" (Boston Globe), the group makes it's label debut with Joy to the World. This new Christmas collection blends tradition with innovation, combining Renaissance motets and fresh arrangements of classic carols with contemporary compositions, including two new commissions from Joanna Marsh. Showcasing the ensemble's extraordinary ability to move seamlessly and expertly between styles, Chanticleer's first Delos release conjures a wintertime world of magic, light, and wonder.","brand":"Delos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012456206570,"sku":"013491362328","price":20.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4454981-3445021.jpg?v=1786687040"},{"product_id":"praetorius-schutz-sacred-works-in-parallel-settings-761203550326","title":"Praetorius \u0026 Schutz: Sacred Works in Parallel Settings \/ Cordes, Weser-Renaissance","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn our series \"Music from Wolfenbüttel Castle,\" the sixth concert in the series featured and recorded parallel settings of sacred works by Michael Praetorius and Heinrich Schütz. One does not immediately think of counting the great Dresden composer Heinrich Schütz among the kapellmeisters at the Wolfenbüttel court, and yet he was officially engaged there as \"Capellmeister von Haus aus\" from 1655 until at least 1666. Michael Praetorius, however, had long since died around this time. By juxtaposing compositions with identical texts (so-called parallel settings) by Praetorius and Schütz, this album makes it possible to compare the styles of these two \"heroes of music history\". This is particularly appealing inasmuch as the stylistic upheaval at the beginning of the 17th century, which originated in Italy, falls into the creative period of both composers, and it is revealing to observe in what way the new developments influenced the oeuvre of both masters. At the same time, the works of both composers with identical texts are not exactly numerous, which is related to the fact that Praetorius turned to the arrangement of Protestant church hymns to a particularly strong degree, a genre that either interested Schütz little, or that his position at the Dresden court did not offer any occasion to serve.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"CPO","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012480356586,"sku":"761203550326","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4160729-2932499.jpg?v=1786683410"},{"product_id":"in-the-stillness","title":"In the stillness","description":"A sense of expectancy, along with images of stillness in nature, are recurrent in depictions of the story of Christmas. This collection of contemporary carols, alongside well-known favourites, seeks to draw the listener deeper into the remarkable story of the Christ Child.","brand":"Convivium Records","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012502737130,"sku":"726436300117","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4454974-3445220.jpg?v=1786684548"},{"product_id":"venite-gaudete-choral-music-for-christmas-ikon","title":"Venite, Gaudete! – Choral Music for Christmas \/ Ikon","description":"\u003cp\u003ePreviously released on The Gift of Music label. David Hill is widely respected as a choral conductor. This album features music for Advent, Christmas and Epiphany for mixed voice choirs, blending the old (O come, o come, Emmanuel; Coventry Carol) and the new (Eric Whitacre’s Lux aurumque), in a superb celebration of the festive season.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012506964202,"sku":"747313457571","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4253311-3143540.jpg?v=1786639466"},{"product_id":"vestiva-lux-musicae-london","title":"Vestiva \/ Lux Musicae London","description":"\u003cp\u003eVestiva: not only our red thread throughout the album, referring to one of our favourite madrigal hits Vesti va i colli, but also a metaphorical motto: “dressing up” the music with colours, diminutions, trilli, accenti … (as the hills, the colli, in the original madrigal text are dressed up with flowers) in the balancing act of pure fl exibility and absolute punctuality or momentum – creating spoken “words” with a minimal, reduced instrumentation and without actual sung text. Working in this minimal, fragile and intimate instrumental setting with lute, harp and recorders while trying to reach maximum expression is an absolute challenge and pure joy.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"First Hand Records","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012542648554,"sku":"5060216346137","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4293790-3141954.jpg?v=1786638682"},{"product_id":"j-s-bach-j-c-bach-praetorius-schutz-musikalische-exequien-suarez","title":"J.S. Bach, J.C. Bach, Praetorius \u0026 Schutz: Musikalische Exequien \/ Concentus König","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn this recording, you will find a dialogue between two of the most essential funerary musical works of the German Baroque.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn 2022, we celebrated Heinrich Schütz, a central figure of the album, on the 350th anniversary of his death. As a culmination of a series of projects around his person and work, this recording wants to serve as a tribute to an extraordinary musical legacy that found in Johann Sebastian Bach, its greatest supporter. The manifest bond between both composers here is seen in the way in which death is shaken and beaten for later, collected from within our soul, be restored and sublimated by two artistic personalities capable of transcending a rich amalgamation of religious, cultural, and musical aspects around the ars moriendi of his time. Schütz’s Musikalische Exequien and Bach’s Actus Tragicus stem from a creative attitude toward death that is very close to home one from the other. Thus, it is not by chance that with their listening, both works fill us with peace and the deep sense of rest with which they do it.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"IBS Classical","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012616278250,"sku":"8436597700641","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4282245-3144755.jpg?v=1786633210"},{"product_id":"news-of-great-joy-christmas-from-st-johns-college-oxford-1","title":"News of Great Joy - Christmas from St John's College, Oxford","description":"The Choir of St John's College,   Oxford, directed by David   Bannister, sings music   associated with Christmas,   together with youthful work by   Imogen Holst and Benjamin   Britten. Looking towards the   sixtieth anniversary of Elizabeth   Poston's Penguin Book of Carols   (1965), initially undertaken   with Ralph Vaughan Williams,   the recording presents music   associated with these two   composers and the works they   edited, alongside newer pieces   exemplifying and revivifying   the English carol tradition.","brand":"Resonus Classics","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012630040810,"sku":"5060262793855","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4368866-3232744.jpg?v=1786709390"},{"product_id":"a-baroque-christmas-at-sono-luminus-felipe-dominguez","title":"A Baroque Christmas at Sono Luminus \/ Dominguez","description":"\u003cp\u003eFrom the pipe organ at the Sono Luminus studio in Boyce, Virginia, we are pleased to present a fine selection of baroque organ music for the Christmas season. Felipe Dominguez (b. 1983) is a Chilean\/American organist, harpsichordist, clavichordist, and musicologist. A graduate of Brigham Young University (B.M. 2010, M.M. 2012), he studied organ and harpsichord with Douglas Bush and Don Cook. He has pursued further postgraduate organ instruction in Europe with Edoardo Belotti, Hans Davidsson, Harald Vogel, and Leon Berben. Mr. Dominguez has performed as a soloist and in ensembles in Chile, Argentina, the United States and Europe.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNun komm der Heiden Heiland (Oh, Come thou Savior of the Gentiles) is a German chorale normally sung during advent, and is a call for the Lord to come to Earth.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLo, How a Rose E’er Blooming is a well known and beloved traditional chorale on the original harmonization by Michael Praetorius.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe chorale Lobt Gott, ihr Christen, allzugleich, (Praise God, you Christians, All Together) is set in verse 1 with the melody in the soprano and counterpoint in the two lower voices, and in verse 2 with the melody in the pedal and two lines in imitation on top.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNoël cette Journée (Christmas day today) imitates the French musette with a sustained pedal note, a sweet melody and elegant ornaments, painting an image of the French countryside.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eZipoli’s Pastorale also centers on the image of countryside landscape, which was a popular Christmas theme at the time in the spirit of the biblical annunciation to the shepherds.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMichau qui causoit ce grand bruit is a traditional French Noël treated in a very common structure of variations with different character, the first with a royal feel and the second with a courtesan air.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA ricercar is an imitative form that uses a melody as its main source of material for development. In the case of the Ricercare on “Ave Maria Klare”, a hymn for the Virgin Mary is used as the main source material.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBuxtehude’s Fantasia on “Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern” (How brightly Shines the Morning Star) is one of his greatest masterpieces. He uses small phrases of the chorale melody to develop contrasting sections full of color, energy, and beauty, which also provide an opportunity to highlight the wonderful colors of the organ.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLouis-Claude Daquin wrote a large collection of Noëls and his own performances were legendary in 18th Century Paris. His Noël variations normally present the melody first, followed by variations, at times very virtuosic as it is in this case.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSelections from the Oratorio “The Messiah” by Handel have long been a staple of the Christmas repertoire. This version of the pifa transcribed for the organ is highly ornamented and with its triple meter and dance character intends to take the listener back to the annunciation to the shepherds.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBöhm’s setting of “From Heaven Above,” a popular Christmas chorale, sets the melody as a solo, largely unornamented so it is easy to recognize, against a contrapuntal backdrop.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVoluntary V, Op. 6, by John Stanley though not a Christmas piece has all the hallmarks of a royal entrance. It begins with a contrapuntal section similar to a string ensemble, followed by a virtuosic trumpet solo (Oboe 8’).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis second setting of “From Heaven Above,” by Pachelbel is much different than the previous one, the melody being in the pedal with a Principal 8’ against Koppel Flute 4‘ and Quint 1 1\/3‘ in the Swell that dance in counterpoint above the melody.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis 18th Century setting of a pastorale by Bernardo Pasquini is much more elaborated, making more use of counterpoint and varied harmonies throughout the piece. However, it stays true to the countryside character of pastorals.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn Sweet Rejoicing! (In Dulci Jubilo) Is a popular upbeat Christmas hymn. The first 16th Century version from the Fridolin Sichers Tablature is highly imitative, with phrases overlapping over each other very actively. The second version by J.S. Bach, written in his youth, is a highly ornamented version of the hymn that works in scales and arpeggios with a majestic end only as Bach can deliver.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eREVIEW\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat distinguishes this release (other than the fine playing and sound) is the inviting combination of a few absolute Christmas classics with a treasure trove of lesser-known but vibrantly lively period works. In the end we get a good listen to the newly installed Sono Luminus organ, which sounds just right. And then the program scores big to my ears with a wide-ranging, musically ravishing collection of Baroque gems for the season. Highly recommended.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e-- Gapplegate Classical Modern Music Review\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sono Luminus","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012661858538,"sku":"053479226020","price":8.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4144584-2911315.jpg?v=1786657303"},{"product_id":"fantaisie","title":"Fantaisie","description":"Following his first album of French lute music, Alban Tixier invites us to join him as he explores the byways of European music dating from the 13th to the 15th century.","brand":"Enphases","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012702884074,"sku":"3701174600276","price":20.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4442567-3418317_2246e342-9a4f-4011-9347-bf86ddaf8336.jpg?v=1786678746"},{"product_id":"love-divine-2021-st-olaf-christmas-festival","title":"Love Divine: 2021 St. Olaf Christmas Festival \/ St. Olaf College Orchestra and Choirs","description":"\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eFor countless people over several generations, the celebration of the Advent-Christmas-Epiphany season begins with the annual St. Olaf Christmas Festival, a century-old tradition of the college. The first festival was a musical program for the college community planned and directed by F. Melius Christiansen, founder of the St. Olaf Music Department. The festival continues as an outgrowth of Christian conviction and an expression of the rich musical heritage at St. Olaf, a college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The 2021 St. Olaf Christmas Festival features the St. Olaf Orchestra, St. Olaf Choir, St. Olaf Cantorei, St. Olaf Chapel Choir, Manitou Singers, and Viking Chorus, performing as both individual groups and as a massed ensemble. In 1981, Steven Amundson joined the St. Olaf College faculty and became conductor of the St. Olaf Orchestra, a position he has held for 40 years. 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Historical dances suddenly turn into tangos, while a tango shows itself in baroque dress -  a musical bridge spanning centuries and social conventions.","brand":"Perfect Noise","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012759605482,"sku":"0719279934120","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4357778-3236457.jpg?v=1786636318"},{"product_id":"danzas-from-taboo-to-triumph-vinyl","title":"Danzas - from Taboo to Triumph (vinyl)","description":"American Record Guide: The music is melodious and the playing and sound exemplary.","brand":"Perfect Noise","offers":[{"title":"Vinyl","offer_id":46012760391914,"sku":"719279934144","price":24.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4405025-3329299.jpg?v=1786824455"},{"product_id":"a-ceremony-of-carols-rees-choir-293574","title":"A Ceremony of Carols \/ Rees, Choir of the Queen's College Oxford","description":"\u003cp\u003eA glorious collection of Christmas music spanning over 900 years, centered around Britten's \u003cem\u003eA Ceremony of Carols\u003c\/em\u003e – a work seen as both a signal of Britten’s turn back towards English musical and cultural traditions and as a distinctly modern composition. Owen Rees and the Choir of The Queen's College, Oxford present this alongside works that alternate between the early 17th century – by that most prolific composer and arranger of Lutheran Christmas music, Michael Praetorius – and the present: music by Judith Weir (1984), David Blackwell (2011), Jonathan Dove (2000), Dobrinka Tabakova (2018), Toby Young (2017), and Cecilia McDowall (2007). At one point we interrupt the pattern of alternation to look back half a millennium further than Praetorius, with Hildegard of Bingen’s \u003cem\u003eO virga ac diadema\u003c\/em\u003e. ‘An undoubted jewel in Britain’s choral scene’ (BBC Music Magazine), the Choir of The Queen’s College Oxford is among the finest and most active university choirs in the UK. 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This two-and-a-half hour recital surveys a pan-European variety of styles, genres and techniques, and comprises 36 works, each by a different composer, many not recorded before on a modern piano. Daniel-Ben Pienaar has been critically acclaimed for his previous albums on Avie: “a gloriously multi-faceted opus maximus ... Amazing and very much worth hearing” –Der Spiegel(on Beethoven’s Complete Piano Sonatas, AV2320) “dizzying virtuosity ... fresh, spontaneous, original readings that shed new light on the keyboard player’s Bible” –BBC Music Magazine (on J. S. Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, AV2299)\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eREVIEWS\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Have you noticed the growing trend of pianists taking up 17th-century keyboard works on the modern concert grand? Perhaps it has to do with the desire to be rebellious, or to attain a certain level of intellectual caché. Yet pianists also have valid artistic reasons to explore this repertoire. First and foremost are the sheer musical rewards. Secondly, the freedom one has in regard to phrasing, tempo, and embellishment can be liberating and creatively stimulating. For this remarkable two-disc collection, Daniel-Ben Pienaar has chosen 36 17th-century keyboard works, each by a different composer. He brilliantly reveals how a piano’s dynamic scope, timbral diversity, and sustaining capabilities can vividly and meaningfully serve this repertoire.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e One noticeable example is in Tarquino Merula’s Capriccio cromatico, where the ascending legato chromatic lines and detaché counterline with repeated notes take on distinctive characters. The Weckmann D minor Canzon’s virtuosic repeated notes gain color and drama through pianistic inflection, and via Pienaar’s dapper fingerwork, of course. Terraced dynamics and half-tints of pedal evoke trumpets and winds in Gabrieli’s joyous Canzon quarta.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e What bracing trills and hair-trigger scale passages Pienaar delivers throughout Muffat’s Partita IV, while serving up a more unified and colorfully contrasted reading of Buxtehude’s large-scale “La Capricciosa” Variations than most period performers manage to do. And while Pienaar allows for pockets of space or “air” between the notes in Keril’s Passacaglia, he manages to shape the sounds and silences into long-lined entities. I encourage listeners to discover their own favorite works and magic moments across this intelligently programmed, splendidly engineered, and boundlessly satisfying release.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e – ClassicsToday.com (\u003cstrong\u003e10\/10\u003c\/strong\u003e; Jed Distler)\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhat makes it work is not just the dazzling precision and clarity of Pienaar’s finger technique (though that is certainly a vital factor), but the intelligence that has gone into his interpretations. 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His collection Musae Sioniae consists of altogether nine volumes and is virtually a complete edition of the Lutheran chorales in every setting imaginable. The Christmas hymns in Musae Sioniae, today just as popular as in that time, were of particular importance for Praetorius. He took greatest care in handling them and presented them often in many different settings. Most of the Christmas hymns selected for this album are also to be heard in different settings, from ornate bicinia and tricinia (in which only two or three of the same voices are used) to magnificent polychorals with two or three choirs, the choral texture so masterful that even the most complicated counterpoint is clearly audible.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"SWR","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012876751082,"sku":"747313910984","price":10.49,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3993648-2739792.jpg?v=1786693321"},{"product_id":"various-fiori-musicali-songs-and-dances-of-942790","title":"Fiori Musicali, Songs and Dances of the 16th and 17th centuries \/ Ensemble Mezzo","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis album includes a carefully curated selection of Renaissance and early Baroque gems. 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Advent is also a time of contrasts: the king of the world is a child, the savior of the world lies in a manger among animals. It is these tensions, contrasts and manifold states of mind that are at the heart of the new album of the Dresdner Kammerchor with music for Advent and Christmas by Michael Praetorius (1571-1621). 2021 is the year of the 450th anniversary of the birth and 400th anniversary of the death of Michael Praetorius. He was a composer, organist, court kapellmeister and scholar in the transitional period from Renaissance to Baroque. He is one of the most important musicians in Europe around 1600. The program provides a selection of the most beautiful Advent music to accompany not only the Advent and Christmas season with his masterpieces, but also to let the listener discover the music of Michael Praetorius.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Accentus Music","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012995109098,"sku":"4260234832266","price":27.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4012943-2764696_dd26e3b9-fdd3-458a-af44-26a4c095a40d.jpg?v=1786686309"},{"product_id":"100-christmas-classics-capriccio","title":"100 Christmas Classics","description":"\u003cp\u003eCertainly, the 'quietest time of year' is also the time when music is to be most frequently heard - not only in public, in shops or markets, but also in the countryside, where Christmas is the time when perhaps the most singing is done. The music author Marius Schneider once underlined this fact by writing:\"God hungers for songs.\" And thus the time which celebrates the symbolic birth of the Lord is a great time for music - even for people who may have no direct religious beliefs. With this 5CD-Set Capriccio presents in total 100 Classical Christmas titles, sung by most famous choruses and soloists. And draws a bow from the high classical Christmas Oratorio by Bach to more simple songs from the country side. And of course the most famous song can't be missed: \"Silent Night, Holy Night.\"\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Capriccio","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46013028335850,"sku":"845221073316","price":33.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3730837-2516134.jpg?v=1786695419"},{"product_id":"gramophone-shop-box-set-844982","title":"Gramophone Shop [Box Set]","description":"\u003cp\u003eMade between December 1948 and June 1950, these recordings enjoy an unusual history which is bound up with the burgeoning industry of classical music retail in the postwar era. Among the best stocked record stores in New York at that time was The Gramophone Shop on 42nd East Street, co-owned by William H. (Bill) Tyler and Joseph F. (Joe) Brogan, an Irish-American collector and dealer. Trying to rival or surpass the mail-order business of H. Royer Smith in Philadelphia, the shop issued (in 1929 and 1931) two fat paperback catalogues, The Gramophone Shop Encyclopedia of Recorded Music. Three further editions, from 1936, 1942, and 1948, remain standard reference works. The store also ran it's own mail-order business with the reputation as a specialist in rare and high-quality recordings from Europe. From that arm of the business naturally developed the store's own label, marketed as the Gramophone Shop Celebrities (GSC) series. This is the first time these recordings have been available on modern media.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Danacord","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46013091086570,"sku":"5709499893968","price":36.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3953827-2693368.jpg?v=1786709955"},{"product_id":"messe-de-noel","title":"MESSE DE NOEL","description":"Michael Praetorius was the most prolific German composer of his generation, making use of a beauty of sound and an abundance of instruments worthy of his contemporary Monteverdi. Here we have a festive Christmas Mass as might have been heard in a great Lutheran church in the North of Germany in around 1620. The congregation sang Lutheran Chorals which were part of the other music and which required the presence of the best performers in the city as a support to the children's and adult's choir creating an extraordinary musical communion. Spatialising this Christmas Morning Mass in the exceptional architecture of the Royal Chapel of Versailles, Paul McCreesh alternates these monumental pieces and the soloist's airs in a rich instrumental decoration, giving the work the popular and festive dimension of a brilliant fresco.","brand":"Château de Versailles Spectacles","offers":[{"title":"DVD","offer_id":46013095870698,"sku":"3770011431038","price":34.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3572563.jpg?v=1786704851"},{"product_id":"sachsische-weihnacht-ludwig-guttler-849803","title":"Sächsische Weihnacht \/ Ludwig Güttler","description":"For his new album, Ludwig Güttler has put together what he considers the most beautiful and contemplative Christmas songs. The great trumpet player reminisces about Christmas in his homeland, the Ore Mountains in Saxony, Germany. \"Christmas in the Ore Mountains is something very special. Due to the mining tradition, it is a celebration of light. If you imagine how a miner, centuries ago, got up early in the morning when it was still dark and attended the morning service, then went down the shaft and came home from work when it was already dark, then, like this worker, you develop a longing for the light. Today it is hard to understand, when we illuminate everything around us with electric light – and too often we overshoot the mark, if we think of the global problem of light pollution. I associate the Christmas of my childhood with a reality shining through with light and thoughts like: What do I give to whom? And even more: what do I get? When I was five, my grandmother gave me an accordion. A treasure, packed in a simple cardboard box. In terms of my being and continuing to practice on the instrument, its contents were the most lasting gift I ever received.\" Sächsische Weihnacht (\"Saxon Christmas\") contains 36 tracks and two encores, carefully collected from Güttler's concert program of recent years. It is all previously unreleased material by the great trumpeter, recorded together with his brass ensemble in various churches in Saxony, including the Frauenkirche in Dresden, the Marienkirche in Pirna and the church in Polditz.","brand":"Berlin Classics","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46013141287146,"sku":"885470016399","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3958937-2736296.jpg?v=1786710298"},{"product_id":"praetorius-ein-feste-burg-ist-unser-gott-948742","title":"Praetorius: Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott \/ Finke, La Protezione della Musica","description":"\u003cp\u003eFor the 400th anniversary of Praetorius' day of death, the ensemble put together a collection of vocal and organ compositions quite representative for his ouevre. The recording was made at St. Mary's Church in Lemgo, using a Scherer organ dating from 1613. Founded by Jeroen Finke in 2015, La Protezione della Musica has quickly developed into a recognized ensemble for historically informed performance practice. The focus of our work is primarily on the music of the early baroque. Our audience is enthusiastic about virtuosity, coupled with the joy of playing and the commitment to not only (re-) perform well-known works.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"arcantus Musikproduktion","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46013153738986,"sku":"4260412810277","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4007907-3141560.jpg?v=1786683181"},{"product_id":"a-belfast-christmas-954316","title":"A Belfast Christmas","description":"\u003cp\u003eChoral music has always played a significant and central role at Belfast Cathedral, since its consecration in 1904. This strong choral tradition continues to this day with the recently formed all-adult, fully professional vocal ensemble. This ‘new’ cathedral choir brings together some of the finest singers in Northern Ireland who lead the liturgy and worship of Belfast Cathedral and are featured here in their debut album for Resonus Classics. Featuring a varied program of seasonal carols from composers including Elizabeth Poston, John Rutter and Philip Ledger, this album celebrates Christmas from Northern Ireland’s national cathedral.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Resonus Classics","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46013157769450,"sku":"5060262793213","price":9.49,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4013109-2783422_45a2217f-3b09-4acd-8625-2a3a35cd4071.jpg?v=1786665287"},{"product_id":"codex-jacobides-cizmar-293637","title":"Codex Jacobides \/ Cizmar","description":"The lute, undoubtedly the most popular instrument of European townsfolk and aristocrats in the 16th and 17th centuries, was widely played in Prague during the reign of Emperor Rudolf II. A manuscript of lute tablatures known as the Codex Jacobides was in all likelihood written by a musically gifted student of the Prague University in the early 17th century. It features notations of period dances, intabulations of songs, and vocal polyphonic secular and sacred pieces; miniatures of German, English, French, Italian, Polish and Spanish provenience. Extremely intriguing are the intabulations of vocal villanelle by Jacob Regnart, who served as Kapellmeister at Rudolf II’s court in Prague. Originally set to German texts, these pieces had found their way from Prague Castle to the city beneath, where – furnished with Czech lyrics – they lived a life of their own. The Codex Jacobides also contains works by Michael Praetorius, John Dowland and Jean Planson. Jan Cižmár studied the lute in London and The Hague with true masters (J. Lindberg, N. North, J. Held, M. Fentross, C. Pluhar), and today he is a sought-after soloist and chamber musician, performing worldwide. On the album, eight string instruments of various sizes and tunings are heard in a number of combinations, occasionally accompanied by a flute or lute ensemble and voice. Affording a taste of the music performed in Prague under Rudolf II, the album is a true delicacy for connoisseurs and all music lovers alike. Lute music that during the reign of Rudolf II was played in Prague streets and taverns, as well as at the local university.","brand":"Supraphon","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46013161046250,"sku":"099925427825","price":31.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3820002-2574802.jpg?v=1786683501"},{"product_id":"surrounded-by-angels-ensemble-galilei-73305","title":"Surrounded by Angels \/ Ensemble Galilei","description":"\u003cp\u003eEnsemble Galilei showcases their astounding playing as well as arranging talents on this release, Surrounded by Angels. Each member of Ensemble Galilei is renowned in thier own field - two winners of the All-Ireland Senior Championship, two winners of teh U.S. National Scottish Fiddle Championship, a four-time winner of the U.S. National Scottish Harp Championship, a Fulbright Scholar - they bring uncontested talents to this release. This release is so rich, soulful and deep that it transcends the genres of Irish or Scottish or Early Music.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sono Luminus","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46013214261482,"sku":"053479221025","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3439742.jpg?v=1786648925"},{"product_id":"100-christmas-meditation-capriccio","title":"100 Christmas Meditation","description":"\u003cp\u003eFollowing the success of 100 Christmas Classics (Capriccio C7331) comes Christmas Meditation, featuring 100 choral and vocal works from across the centuries. The set encompasses sacred Renaissance treasures including Bach’s Christmas Oratorio and Bach\/Gounod’s Ave Maria, Handel’s Baroque masterpiece Messiah (‘He shall feed his flock’) and classic Christmas carols such as It Came Upon A Midnight Clear by Richard Storrs Willis and Franz Xaver Gruber’s Stille Nacht (‘Silent Night’). Featuring some of the most renowned choral institutions, Christmas Meditation offers listeners a classical Christmas to remember.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eREVIEWS:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eA rather sumptuous collection of seasonal choral works, instrumental pieces and carols. --BBC\u003cem\u003e Music \u003c\/em\u003eMagazine\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eAfter the success of the 5 CD box “100 Christmas classics” (Capriccio C7331), the new 5 CD box “Christmas Meditation” contains 100 choral and instrumental works from past centuries. It contains works from 43(!) composers, including excerpts from Bach's Christmas Oratorio, Bach\/Gounod's Ave Maria, Handel's Baroque masterpiece Messiah, and traditional and classical carols such as \"It Came Upon A Midnight Clear\" by American composer Richard Storrs Willis, and Franz Xaver Gruber's \"Silent Night”. With some of the most renowned choirs, “Christmas Meditation” offers you an unforgettable Christmas.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eIn addition to world-famous Christmas music, in this box you will also discover previously unknown but no less beautiful work by Bruch, Rheinberger, Carl Neuner, Wagenseil, Robert Fuchs, Johann Philipp Reichert or Johann von Herbeck. Cannot be missed!\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e--\u003cem\u003eStretto\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Capriccio","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46013358440682,"sku":"845221073712","price":33.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4005550-2748114.jpg?v=1786712875"},{"product_id":"love-enfolds-thee-round-tenet-vocal-artists-397246","title":"Love Enfolds Thee Round \/ Tenet Vocal Artists","description":"TENET Vocal Artists, NYC’s prëeminent early music ensemble, releases a Christmas disc of music spanning medieval to modern day repertoire. TENET’s pristine, one-on-a-part singing lends itself well to both well-known and rarely heard songs and carols featured in this recording. New compositions and fresh arrangements make \"Love Enfolds Thee Round\" a stand-out among holiday recordings, Each member of the ensemble is well featured, creating an intimate sound-world to celebrate the holiday season. Preëminent New York City-based early music ensemble TENET Vocal Artists has won acclaim for its innovative programming, virtuosic singing and command of repertoire that spans the Middle Ages to the present day. Highlights of recent seasons include performances of J.S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, St. John Passion, Christ-mas Oratorio and motets, Handel’s Messiah, a three-year cycle of Carlo Gesualdo’s Tenebrae Responsories, music by, for, and about 17th century Italian women, and programs exploring medieval repertoire. TENET's highly praised Green Mountain Project gave performances of Claudio Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 and other Vespers for a decade, culminating in a finale performance in Venice, Italy in January 2020. TENET Vocal Artists performs at Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Caramoor, Columbia University, Yale University, and numerous venues in and around New York. Further afield, TENET Vocal Artists has appeared at the Festival Casals de Puerto Rico, Berkshire Bach Festival, Connecticut Early Music Festival, Costa Rica International Music Festival, Montreal Baroque Festival, and at venues throughout the United States, Latin America and Europe.","brand":"Olde Focus Recordings","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46013459169514,"sku":"767223520028","price":10.49,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3867609-2647894.jpg?v=1786642357"},{"product_id":"holy-night-heilige-nacht-german-english-and-243952","title":"Holy Night, Heilige Nacht: German, English and American Christmas Carols","description":"\u003cp\u003eFrom chorales to folkloristic songs; classical lieder to large-scale oratorios, and embracing the secular and the sacred, the Christmas season vocal music has long been omnipresent within the musical traditions of the holiday season. Ensemble Vokalzeit presents a collection that highlights the multiplicity of traditions that are woven within this season of transformation and celebration.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Coviello","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46024145600746,"sku":"4039956915164","price":20.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3039196.jpg?v=1786720645"},{"product_id":"a-german-christmas-broekroelofs-hoving-margeretha-consort-189307","title":"A German Christmas \/ Broekroelofs, Hoving, Margeretha Consort","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe pieces on this album originate largely from the Christmette by Michael Praetorius. In addition, nativity hymns by a range of different composers from the same era have been compiled. In Lutheran style the compositions on this album include solo pieces, choir arrangements, double choral motets, instrumental pieces and of course the church organ repertoire. The listener can also hear pieces, which were not necessarily meant for Christmas, but fit the program very well. The function of some of the pieces is liturgical, like “Gloria,” “Our Father,” or the mighty Entrance-Prelude. Two other pieces are meditative moments about the name of Jesus. Many of the songs are well-known. However, the arrangements for soloists and\/or choir from Praetorius and his contemporaries are rarely performed. The Early Music ensemble Margaretha Consort was founded in 2009. The ensemble is based in the Netherlands, but the singers and instrumentalists are from all over Europe.Over the years a very skilled team has been created, where knowledge, musicality, and congeniality go hand in hand.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46025386066154,"sku":"730099139830","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3581531.jpg?v=1786728657"},{"product_id":"guitar-gala-night-amadeus-guitar-duo-duo-95726","title":"Guitar Gala Night \/ Amadeus Guitar Duo, Duo Gruber \u0026 Maklar","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe German-Canadian Amadeus Guitar Duo and South German Duo Gruber \u0026amp; Maklar have known each other for many years from encounters at guitar and music festivals. Their love of varied programming prompted them to devise a concert featuring works for one, two and four guitars. Guitar Gala Night brings together the most beautiful works for guitar solo, duo and quartet in the European and Latin guitar repertoire in a spirited evening of virtuosic, lyrical and expressive music. This attractive program joins an eminently collectable series of themed albums from the Amadeus Guitar Duo, which recently celebrated its 25th anniversary. Performing over 80 concerts annually both as a duo and now including repertoire with orchestra, as well as broadcasting both for radio and television, this is a duo with an extensive fan base that eagerly acquires each new release, ensuring a high volume of sales and an enduring popularity. Gruber \u0026amp; Maklar has performed throughout Europe and across the globe. Guitar Review wrote in 2000 that “their technique is spectacular, their musical understanding cannot be overstated, their ensemble with each other is outstanding and… they deserve to be recognized as one of the finest guitar duos in the world.”\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46025985196266,"sku":"747313359271","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3843950.jpg?v=1786702271"},{"product_id":"music-for-emperor-charles-v-capella-de-212169","title":"Music for Emperor Charles V \/ Capella de la Torre","description":"At the time of Emperor Charles V, music was heard around the clock, and was a vital part of day-to-day life. This album’s focus is on ceremonial wind music, performed at both secular and religious occasions in Spain. Ensemble  \u003cb\u003eCapella de la Torre\u003c\/b\u003e performs these historical works with vitality and color.","brand":"Coviello","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46027619074282,"sku":"4039956916024","price":20.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3310745.jpg?v=1786668870"},{"product_id":"dem-himmel-zu-ehren-pfeiffer-trompeten-consort-272549","title":"Dem Himmel zu Ehren \/ Pfeiffer Trompeten Consort","description":"\u003cp\u003eQuite 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.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cantate","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46027744051434,"sku":"4012476580524","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3707597-2490479.jpg?v=1786665694"},{"product_id":"a-german-spirit","title":"A German Spirit","description":"A German Spirit: 17th Century Music for Whitsun and Trinitatis","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46201823265002,"sku":"0730099148139","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4523812-3632060.jpg?v=1787311700"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/collections\/960px-Michael_Praetorius.jpg?v=1777642881","url":"https:\/\/arkivmusic.com\/collections\/michael-praetorius.oembed?page=2","provider":"ArkivMusic","version":"1.0","type":"link"}