This latest release from Singer Pur features music by Ludwig Senfl. The vocal ensemble blends five male voices with a soprano. It gives Senfl’s music a brightness I’m not used to hearing — but I like very much. Ludwig Senfl studied with Heinrich Isaac and was active in the early 1500s. He was music director […]
choral music
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Clemencic Consort excite with Fux and Biber
René Clemencic died in March of this year. He was a major figure — and influence — in the world of early music. His first ensemble, the Musica Antiqua performed with period instruments in 1958. In 1968 he founded the Clemencic Consort. René Clemencic and his ensemble released over 100 recordings over the span of […]
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La Compagnia del Madrigale completes Gesualdo cycle
Carlo Gesualdo murdered his wife and her lover. That’s pretty much all most people know about this Renaissance composer — if anything. This release presents Gesualdo’s first book of madrigals. It was published around the time of the murders. There’s no question Gesualdo was a tortured soul. He abused both his first and second wives. […]
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Johann Heinichen Dresden Vespers hit a sweet spot
In 1720, Johann David Heinichen was rehearsing his latest opera in Dresden. The lead castrato pitched a fit. He tore up the music and hurled the pieces at Heinichen’s feet. That incident was all the excuse King Augustus the Strong needed. He dismissed his temperamental — and very expensive — singers. It effectively ended Italian […]
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Johann Mattheson “Joseph” — contemplative masterwork
Joseph Mattheson was a close friend of Georg Fredrich Handel. In part because the two shared an affinity for vocal writing. Mattheson was director of the Hamburg Cathedral. His operas were performed at the famed Oper am Gänsemarkt. Because of these connections, Mattheson had access to the best singers in the city. And that’s who […]
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Kölner Akademie’s Telemann Easter Cantatas Highly Recommended
Let’s be clear. This is a mere sampling of Georg Philipp Telemann’s output for Easter. After all, he composed Easter cantatas and oratorios for about sixty years. And often more than one for a specific date. This release focuses on works composed during the 1720s. Telemann was in his 30s, working in Frankfurt. He was the city’s […]
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Classical Interviews – Choral Evensong: Music of Heinrich Schütz, a Zephyrus service
WTJU’s Chelsea Holt spoke with Music Director Megan Sharp about Zephyrus’ upcoming service, Choral Evensong: Music of Heinrich Schütz. The service will take place at St. Paul’s Memorial Church at 7:30pm on Sunday, February 27. It will be free and open to the public. More from Zephyrus’ website: The evening prayer service is one of the […]
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Xiaogang Ye – Road to the Republic truly epic
Xiaogang Ye is an important composer both in China and in the world. He does more than just blend Chinese traditional music with Western classical forms. He’s also an innovator, pushing past the limits of tonality. But doing so in a way that sounds both natural and logical. This is the third release of Ye’s […]
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Marianna Martines Dixit Dominus has something to say
Musically, Marianna Martines was always in good company. She took keyboard lessons from Haydn. Metastasio — opera librettist and Poet Laureate of the Austrian Empire — was a close family friend. She played four-hand piano sonatas with Mozart. In her lifetime, she was highly regarded as a pianist, a singer, and a composer. This release […]