Marking 400 years since Orlando Gibbons's death, harpsichordist Friederike Chylek presents a programme of English keyboard music from Orlando Gibbons, William Byrd, and John Bull. The recital shows how Byrd's vocal-inspired counterpoint, Bull's virtuosic keyboard style, and Gibbons's synthesis of both contributed to the development of English keyboard music. This recording presents Gibbons not simply as the 'end of an era,' but as a composer who brought together the ideas of his predecessors while exploring new possibilities for the keyboard. An accessible introduction for listeners discovering English keyboard music and a solid overview for those familiar with the repertoire.

John Dowland's Songs and Ayres are among the most important song collections of the European Renaissance. They combine a distinctive musical language with an extraordinary poetic expressiveness: intimate love songs, profound melancholy, subtle humor and moments of unexpected lightness unfold into a richly varied panorama of human emotion. 400 years after Dowland's death, the Lautten Compagney Berlin turns to this unique universe in a carefully curated selection drawn from his five songbooks presented on their new album Behold a wonder here. Iconic works such as Flow my tears, Come again, Time stands still and the title piece Behold a wonder here are placed alongside less frequently heard songs, revealing the remarkable breadth and depth of Dowland's art. The richly colored ensemble - vocal consort, Renaissance lute, theorbo, Renaissance guitar, cittern, orpharion, viol consort as well as organ and harpsichord - creates a multi-layered sonic world in which every nuance of the music becomes audible. With their distinctive sense of timbre, clarity of text and stylistic precision, the Lautten Compagney Berlin brings these masterpieces to life with freshness, elegance and expressive power. Behold a wonder here presents John Dowland as a composer of timeless modernity, whose songs continue to move listeners through their emotional depth, melodic beauty and immediate expressive force. This recording reveals the richness of the English Renaissance in all it's colors.

Kronborg is Denmark's most famous castle - the 'Elsinore' of Shakespeare - and within it's walls, sweet music. Kings Christian III, Frederik II and Christian IV harvested the bounty of Europe's musical wealth and crowned their lavish courts with song. In this majestic 8-CD set by Bo Holten and Musica Ficta are lute songs by Dowland, motets of Schutz, and world-premiere recordings of works by Palestrina, de Wert and Vecchi. These are no longer only echoes of a prosperous age, but now Denmark's golden musical past, regained anew. During its residency at Kronborg in 2021–2024, Musica Ficta presented this repertoire in a concert series in the castle’s Ballroom; the recordings gathered here were made separately, in dedicated sessions. Musica Ficta focused on works from the castle’s heyday, when there was a prosperous musical life there. This release marks a comprehensive celebration of 100 years of Danish musical life at Kronborg, Copenhagen and beyond, featuring music by: Heinrich Schütz (1585–1672) · John Dowland (1563–1626) · Hans Nielsen (c. 1580–1626) · Truid Aagesen (fl. 1593–1625) · Mogens Pedersøn (c. 1583–1623) · Hans Brachrogge (c. 1590–c. 1638) · Luca Marenzio (1553–1599) · John Bennet (c. 1575–1614) · Thomas Weelkes (1576–1623) · John Wilbye (1574–1638) · Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562–1621) · Johann Grabbe (1585–1655) · Mattheus le Maistre (c. 1505–1577) · Pierre Sandrin (c. 1490–after 1561) · Giaches de Wert (1535–1596) · Josquin Baston (c. 1515–c. 1576) · Jan Tollius (c. 1550–c. 1620) · Gregorius Trehou (c. 1540–1619) · Jacques Arcadelt (1507–1568) · Melchior Borchgrevinck (c. 1570–1632) · Nicolas Gistou (d. 1609) · Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643) · Leone Leoni (c. 1560–1627) · Agostino Agresta (fl. 1600–1617) · Girolamo Casati (c. 1590–after 1657) · Simone Molinaro (c. 1570–1636) · Marsilio Santini (fl. c. 1600) · Curtio Valcampi (fl. 1600–1610) · Ruggiero Giovannelli (c. 1560–1625) · Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525–1594) · Giovanni Gabrieli (c. 1554–1612) · Antonio Mortaro (c. 1575–c. 1620) · Giovanni Croce (1557–1609) · Orazio Vecchi (1550–1605) · Leonhard Lechner (c. 1553–1606) · Guillaume Costeley (c. 1530–1606) · Vincenzo Ruffo (c. 1508–1587) · Gregor Lange (c. 1540–1587) · Arnold de Fine (c. 1530–1586) · Jørgen Presten (d. 1553) · Severin Tham (fl. c. 1540–1560) · Andreas Meier (fl. 1559)

What music do angels play in a Baroque manor house? At Gut Hohen Luckow, Renaissance trombonist and composer Ercole Nisini set out to answer precisely that question. Inspired by the musical putti of the Ulmer Salon, the emblems of the Knights' Hall, and the allegories of the seasons, he created a cycle of new works: contemporary music for a place dating from 1709. GENUIN now presents the world premiere recordings of these compositions, performed by an ensemble of internationally acclaimed early-music specialists. Through the distinctive combination of tenor, Renaissance trombone, theorbo, harp, organ, and historical percussion, love emblems, images of the seasons, and angelic dances spring to life in sound-a musical fantasia inspired by a place, it's images, and it's stories.

Flores de Musica pera o instrumento de tecla & harpa is the only known work of Portuguese composer Manuel Rodrigues Coelho. Printed in Lisbon in 1620 and boasting more than five hundred pages, Coelho's Flores de Musica is one of the largest music works printed in the seventeenth century. Celebrating the 400th anniversary of it's original publication, a new edition in three volumes has been published with the research being used to inform this major new recording series. Organist and curator of the new edition Joao Vaz is joined by Capella Patriarchal and Cornetas & Sacabuxas de Lisboa to lend their artistry to this final chapter in an ambitious recording project.

Transcriptions for two harpsichords of works by Gdansk composers and Kapellmeisters, spanning the mature Renaissance through the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The album's title evokes the vogue for monumental polychoral compositions that once enriched the daily life of Gdansk's patrician society. Through bold reconstructions and the virtuosic artistry of two harpsichordists affiliated with the Stanislaw Moniuszko Academy of Music in Gdansk, the works of these ambitious masters of old Gdansk are given a new voice - radiant with a splendour worthy of the gilded interiors of Artus Court.

This four-disc set brings together the complete Offertories of Palestrina, the supreme master of Renaissance sacred polyphony. Each disc is devoted to works for different seasons of the liturgical year and a range of solemn occasions. Conceived for the adornment of the liturgy at the foremost church of Rome, these compositions have retained their place at the heart of the Christian musical tradition, admired across the centuries for their devotional purpose and their incomparable artistic perfection. In this distinguished recording, Schola Cantorum Gedanensis-one of Poland's most esteemed vocal ensembles, with nearly half a century of artistic achievement-turns to this sublime repertoire with characteristic insight and poise. Laureate of six Fryderyk Awards and two Golden Orpheus distinctions, the choir, under the direction of Jan Lukaszewski, offers an interpretation of luminous clarity, tonal refinement, and contemplative depth, revealing anew the spiritual radiance of these timeless works.

The CD delves into the technique known as diminution, which flourished for several decades toward the end of the 16th century, primarily in Italy. As Peter Söderberg explains in the liner notes: "Diminution consists of subdividing the long note values of a vocal model into short ones in a solo instrumental part, laying the foundation for virtuosic ornamentation. Diminutions on a solo instrument were often performed in conjunction with the vocal piece, performed by an ensemble of singers or instrumentalists (colla parte). But the vocal model-usually a chanson, madrigal, or motet-could also be adapted for a solo instrument that allowed for polyphonic playing, usually a keyboard instrument or, as in this recording, a lute."

Rediscover the music of brilliant Italian keyboard virtuosos whose works are rarely heard today. Songs, toccatas, ricercars, fugues, and dances come together in a richly woven program that captures the excitement of an era when instrumental music was just beginning to find it's own voice. Rooted in the expressive world of vocal madrigals yet pushing toward new independence, this repertoire reflects a moment of bold musical innovation. With charisma and imagination, Corina Marti brings these works to life, inviting listeners into intimate, personal moments at the keyboard-moments of reflection and creative freedom once enjoyed by court musicians behind the walls of Renaissance palaces.

SOMM RECORDINGS celebrates the 400th anniversary of two Renaissance masters of the First Golden Age of English Song: John Dowland (1563-1626) and John Danyel (1564-1626). This recital for tenor and lute takes it's name from Dowland's song, Time Stands Still. The recording features British tenor Kieran White, who was a chorister at Wells Cathedral and held a Kohn Foundation Scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music. The Guardian has praised White's "pure, luminous tenor" and Opera Magazine his "extraordinary emotional clarity." He performs with long-time collaborator and friend, the Swiss-French lutenist Cédric Meyer, who holds two Master of Arts degrees and a postgraduate certificate with a specialisation in early music. Meyer plays here on his personally handcrafted eight-course Renaissance lute, based on an extant Italian lute from 1592. Lute songs, or "ayres," combine music and poetry to create songs that are filled with love, melancholy, and despair. John Dowland is acknowledged as the premier secular lute song composer of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, with a special affinity for melancholy. It was a distinction he relished, even punning on his own name in the lute solo Semper Dowland, semper dolens - Always Dowland, always doleful. Dowland's status as a god of early music enthusiasts is matched by his astute business sense. To prevent unscrupulous printers from distributing his work in pirated editions, Dowland preserved his music by publishing it himself. The lute songs on this recording come from The First Booke of Songes or Ayres, published in 1597; The Second Booke, 1600; The Third and Last Booke, 1603; and A Musicall Banquet, published by Dowland's son Robert in 1610. The texts are predominantly by anonymous authors. Unlike his enterprising publication of lute songs, Dowland never printed a definitive collection of his solo lute music. The four lute solos recorded here come from varying sources, with the result that not all can be definitively attributed. Nevertheless, the solo instrumental pieces offer a taste of the highly refined art of lute playing at the turn of the 17th century. Dowland's superstar reputation is diametrically opposed to that of his exact contemporary, John Danyel, whose vocal music survives in a single, slender volume, First Booke of Songes or Ayres-twenty-one songs for the lute, viol, and voice-published in 1606. Danyel seems to have come from a wealthy family. He graduated from Oxford, served as a tutor and court musician, and his privacy could well have been by choice. Yet these few pieces that have survived illustrate the uniquely sensitive mind of a skilful composer. Despite being less prolific and remaining comparatively obscure, noted early music specialists consider every one of Danyel's extant works a masterpiece.

The silver Renaissance trombone and the ostentatious claviorganum were once glittering status symbols for Renaissance popes and Baroque princes. Duo GlossArte bring these treasures to life with a colourful journey of timbres around the Mediterranean that celebrates virtuosity as well as heartfelt emotion. The bright, lyrical and contoured sound of the silver trombone is perfectly suited to virtuosic passages, from Renaissance ornamentation to Baroque stylus fantasticus. The expressive richness that Spanish historical trombone virtuoso, Juan Gonzalez Martinez explores finds an imaginative and charismatic counterpart in the Swiss-born organ and harpsichord specialist Lea Suter.

The oratorios of Giacomo Carissimi (1605-1674) are seminal works in the early history of a genre that combines sacred narrative, theatrical expression, and musical virtuosity to create a new, dramatic form. Of the mostly Old Testament stories to which Carissimi's oratorios refer, the vivid tale of Jonah stands out. During his divine mission at sea, the biblical hero is caught in a storm and swallowed by a whale. Carissimi shapes this material into a fast-paced plot with emotionally powerful solo recitatives, interspersed with a complex array of choral passages-including a striking double chorus depicting the storm. Who better to interpret Carissimi's expressive music than Giovanni Antonini, one of the foremost conductors on the period-instrument scene? The performance also features the historically informed performance ensemble Il Giardino Armonico, with instrumentation specially adapted to the Bavarian Radio Chorus and the unique tonal qualities of the oratorio. It's artistic director Giovanni Antonini has worked with the Bavarian Radio Chorus for many years, with critically acclaimed concerts featuring works ranging from the early Baroque period to the First Viennese School-and he also finds the perfect sound for Carissimi's music. With choral music by Claudio Monteverdi and Orlando di Lasso, this album also traces the development of dramatic vocal music in the transition from the late Renaissance motet to the more emotionally expressive interpretations of the early Baroque period. The famous Lamento d'Arianna is the only surviving piece from the lost opera Ariadne by Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643), who reworked this lament into an equally expressive madrigal in 1610. Excerpts from the two legendary and mysterious cycles Prophetiae Sibyllarum and Lagrime di San Pietro by the Wittelsbach court composer Orlando di Lasso (1532-1594) conclude the album, allowing us to experience masterpieces of the motet style, to which the Bavarian Radio Chorus regularly devotes itself in historically informed performances. With it's powerful double-choir storm scene, the oratorio Jonah is a highlight of high Baroque choral music. Carissimi's oratorios are key milestones in the development of the genre. Featuring the renowned early music ensemble Il Giardino Armonico, led by Giovanni Antonini, with whom the BR Chorus has already performed programmes to high acclaim, this release also includes the madrigal version of the legendary Lamento d'Arianna by Claudio Monteverdi, the master of early Baroque opera. Also including excerpts from two important cycles of works by the Munich Renaissance master composer Orlando di Lasso, this dynamic live recording captures performances in Munich's Prinzregententheater.

New York-based early music ensemble Concordian Dawn presents Veni Redemptor Gentium, a joyful and introspective musical celebration of the Christmas season centred around songs spanning the thirteenth through the fifteenth centuries. The album includes beautiful and rarely heard repertoire from the medieval holidays alongside seasonal and traditional jewels, plus two world-premiere recordings of works by Australian-born composer David Yardley, whose music has been described as “transcendent medieval-inspired music for modern times.” The resplendent sound world of Veni Redemptor Gentium offers moments of peace, reflection, and enjoyment throughout the holiday season and beyond.

Passing Fancy: Beauty in a Moment of Chaos, the AVIE debut by leading New York City early music ensemble Sonnambula, traverses music by several Renaissance composers who were forced to conceal their identities for social, religious or ethnic reasons. Yet their music transcended the disorder surrounding them, flourishing in the intersection of beliefs and styles. Disruption and displacement wasn't uncommon in 16th-and 17th-centuries Europe. During the Reformation, creative individuals, including composers, were often forced to conceal their identities - for reasons social, religious, ethnic, racial or otherwise. Yet despite - or perhaps due to - the disorder, musical styles and forms flourished, earning the era it's Renaissance designation and thus creating "Beauty in a Moment of Chaos". Sonnambula, an ensemble of New York City-based early music luminaries, bestow beauty on their AVIE debut, traversing an aural intersection of beliefs with northern and southern European styles. Here is the beauty of William Byrd and Richard Dering, two Catholics composing in Protestant England; of Leonora Duarte, a Portuguese-Jewish woman forced to live as a converso ("New Christian"), in Antwerp, and Parisian Elisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre, whose lost works have re-emerged with a vengeance in our own time; of the Bolognese Alfonso Ferrabosco the elder who emigrated to England, and Salomone Rossi who unusually set Hebrew texts to Western-style polyphony from his relatively tolerant position in the court of Mantua. The release of Passing Fancy: Beauty in a Moment of Chaos coincides with Sonnambula's taking up residency at New York City's newly-renovated premiere museum, The Frick Collection.

Chromatics is a word derived from the Greek noun meaning color. During the Renaissance, new music was composed in the Western world, opening up a palette of (timbral) colors for the first time. Before the Renaissance, music (in Gregorian chant) existed only to convey the word, not to make an appearance itself; this changed completely after the 15th century. Music, like painting, exploded into new forms and colors, and the era of the modern age was ushered in. Strange harmonies, mysterious voices - tones of passion and desire, of terror and fear, of the confusion of the sublime or of divine apparition... This is the world of musical colors that opened up in the age of the Chromatic Renaissance, giving rise to a music that is daring, adventurous and timelessly modern.

Anna Pikulska takes us on an exciting journey into Cabanilles' sound world on the lovingly restored Bartholome Sanchez organ. With it's rich sounds from 50 stops on two divided manuals, this 18th century Aragonese Baroque instrument in Carinena (Aragon) testifies to the high standard of organ building at that time with some 800 Gothic pipes dating back to the year 1482.

To mark the 400th anniversary of Orlando Gibbons's death, organist and harpsichordist Stephen Farr presents a stunning tribute to one of England's greatest composers of the early seventeenth century. Gibbons, who served at the Chapel Royal and Westminster Abbey, was celebrated for his virtuosity and innovation, bridging the Renaissance and Baroque eras. This album explores the full breadth of his keyboard oeuvre, from intricate fantasias and evocative pavans to lively dances and variation sets. The album includes the Fantasia for Double Organ, showcasing Gibbons's mastery of contrapuntal invention, and the poignant Pavan and Galliard Lord Salisbury, composed in honour of the composer's noble patron. Farr's insightful interpretations reveal the expressive depth and technical brilliance of Gibbons's music. A compelling homage, this recording underscores Gibbons's lasting influence on English keyboard music.

Genius innovator - inspiring past and present! Claudio Monteverdi lived in Italy during a very turbulent time and was one of the great designers of the new style in music. As a young man he learned the ancient laws of composing, especially from Marcantonio Ingegneri. Under his inspiration he wrote his first book of madrigals. We can follow his life closely through the final 9 books of madrigals. Each book is a new moment in his development as a composer. Ultimately, he gets his dream job in Venice as maestro di cappella, but he writes operas and other musical spectacles for other courts, including Mantua, Milan, Turin and Parma. He enjoyed the recognition that finally came for that little boy from insignificant Cremona. The book consists of 9 chapters, one per madrigal book and has 128 pages in total. Looking from Monteverdi's perspective, and also from the perspective of the performer, the contemporary enthusiast. Mesmerized by the beautiful courtly poetry, but also intrigued by the innovator Monteverdi who is always looking for other ways to express emotion in music in a special way. Each chapter focuses on one characteristic madrigal. The book comes with a CD so you can listen to all the wonderful works.

For the first time in modern history, the colour and beauty of music written by Joannis de Lublin in the 16th century comes to life. Sophisticated multi-channel technology creates a spectacular sound image: the church space stretches out around the listener and the music unfolds with impressive transparency and striking naturalness.

Cappella Amsterdam and it's celebrated chief conductor Daniel Reuss present an integral recording of Lassus' Penitential Psalms. Building on their exquisite recording of Schnittke's Psalms of Repentance, this release explores new dimensions in the theme of penitence and marks a significant return to Renaissance repertoire following their celebrated PENTATONE debut album In Umbra Mortis. The album pairs Lassus' austere and introspective music with images from the richly-illustrated original score, one of the most visually beautiful manuscripts ever created. Under Daniel Reuss' artistic direction of over thirty years, the choir has garnered numerous accolades, including an Edison Klassiek Award for In Umbra Mortis (2021). This album was followed by David Lang: the writings (2022), Schnittke: Psalms of Repentance (2023) and Tales of song and sadness (2024), a tribute to those two giants of Dutch music culture, conductor Frans Bruggen and composer Louis Andriessen.

William Byrd's work stands out above all for the variety of genres and structural principles. This is particularly evident in his unique keyboard music. The influence that Byrd also had on the continental development of piano music remains remarkable. To commemorate the quadricentenary of Byrd's death, this album presents a special collection of the works of Byrd as well as two of his close contemporaries, by his long-time mentor Thomas Tallis (c. 1505-1585) and the younger Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625).

With William Byrd, Friederike Chylek follows up on her last albums Byrd –Keyboard works (OC1724) From Byrd To Byrd (OC1704) and Time stands still (OC1864). Friederike Chylek plays on an organ by Johann Christoph Leu, Klosterkirche Rheinau, 1715 and on a harpsichord by Boccalari, Napoli 1699, restored by Matthias Griewisch, 2019.