This completes Leila Schayegh’s traversal of Jean-Marie Leclair concertos. This release completes the set of Op. 7 and Op. 10 violin concertos. LeClair was one of the premier violinists of the early 1700s. He’s credited with founding the French school of violin-playing. Bottom line: LeClair was a monster player — and he expected anyone performing […]
Baroque music
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Georg Philipp Telemann Sings of Love
This release is all about love. Rest assured, these three secular cantatas are but a fraction of those Telemann wrote. The program is well-planned. The three cantatas come from three different sources. They were written for different occasions and presented different views of love. Julia Kirchner and Georg Poplutz each perform a solo cantata, […]
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Baroque Cantatas from Central Germany II continues tradition
This has been a long time coming. Volume one of this series was released in 2015. Volume two finally arrives here in 2021. This installment focuses on the “transitional” German composers. They were of the generations between Heinrich Schutz and Johann Sebastian Bach. During this period the Lutheran church began to codify liturgical music practices. […]
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Tobias Zeutschner “Weihnachtshistorie” worth rediscovery
Two things I’m always on the lookout for. One, composers I’ve not heard of before. And two, classical Christmas music I’ve not heard before. So of COURSE I was excited to audition Weihnachtshistorie by Tobias Zeutschner. And I wasn’t disappointed. Zeutschner (1621-1675) was a Polish composer and poet, active mainly in Silesia. He was a […]
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Kölner Akademie continues excellent Telemann Christmas series
This volume features two Advent and two Christmas cantatas by Georg Philipp Telemann. The difference between these liturgical seasons has blurred over time. But in the 1700s there was a clear difference. Advent was the season anticipated the birth of Christ — hopeful, but waiting. Christmas marked the arrival of Christ, and the twelve days […]
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Newberry Consort’s lively Mexican Christmas
This is a live recording of a December concert given by the Newberry Consort. The program blends two strains of 17th Century Mexican music. One is the European-inspired sacred music of the church. The second is the folk-inspired music of the streets. This recording captures the raw energy and exquisite beauty of the performances. The […]
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Christoph Graupner Bassoon Cantatas – more than making do
When a composer is as prolific as Christoph Graupner, there are many ways to create a musical program. An album of bassoon cantatas may seem obscure. But with over 1,400 Graupner cantatas to choose from, there were plenty of choices. A virtuoso bassoonist, Johann Christian Klotsch.. was hired for the Darmstadt court in 1736. Graupner […]
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Michael Praetorius Christmas music given exceptional performances
Quick. Name a Michael Praetorius Christmas carol. OK, now name another besides “Lo, How a Rose Er Blooming.” There are several — as this release shows. Praetorius was a major contributor of music to the early Lutheran church. He published nine volumes of Musae Sioniae, collections of Lutheran chorales. And amongst this music were chorales […]
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Telemann Complete Violin Concertos Vol. 7 takes a side trip
In their liner notes, CPO assures us that this seventh volume of Telemann concertos is not the last. I suspect the program for this release prompted that hasty reassurance. One of the three concertos is by Telemann. The other two are doubtful — and one of those almost definitely not by Telemann. Usually, when a […]