Johann Samuel Welter is the only name on the cover of this release. But he’s not the only composer features. The early music ensemble Ecco la Musica presents a varied program of music from 17th Century Germany. Five of Welter’s choral cantatas are interspersed with instrumental works, by some of Welter’s older contemporaries. Welter’s considered […]
choral music
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Margaret Bonds – The Ballad of the Brown King
Margaret Bonds is considered one of America’s most important 20th Century composers of color. And yet, because most of her work remains unpublished, little of it gets recorded. Which is why I was so excited to get this release. Malcolm J. Merriweather, the conductor of the Dessoff Choirs in New York City, has become a […]
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Ockeghem Songs Blue Heron’s latest and greatest
There are two things I can count on: blue-chip stocks, and Blue Heron recordings. The former retain their value year after year. The latter produces top-flight recordings. This new release is no exception. It’s the first installment of a new series, traversing the songs of 15th Century composer Johannes Ockeghem. Ockeghem was one of the […]
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Christoph Graupner: Passion Cantatas III maintain series quality
CPO’s ambitious cycle of Christoph Graupner cantatas continues. Graupner wrote over 1,200 cantatas. This series is limited to the ten he wrote for Lent in 1741. The first of the three cantatas included in this release is the first of the Lenten cycle. Kommt, Seelen, sied in Andacht stille (Come, ye souls, be silent in worship) sets […]
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Leopold Kozeluch Masonic music well-crafted
Leopold Kozeluch’s career somewhat paralleled Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s – as did his music. Both were pianists. Like Mozart, Kozeluch wrote many symphonies (30) and piano concertos (22). He succeeded Mozart as the Hofmusik Compositor of the Viennese court. And Kozeluch, like Mozart, was a Freemason and wrote music for the Order. Kozeluch’s contribution was a […]
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Telemann Inauguration Cantatas interesting sidelights
This release features three cantatas, Georg Philipp Telemann. All were written to mark special occasions. Two were in Hamburg, where Telemann served from 1721 to 1767. One was for the neighboring town of Altona, which didn’t have a resident composer. Altona’s 1744 cantata Geschlagene Pauken, auf was inauguration music for a new school. The music is somewhat […]
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Jozef Zeidler and Antoni Habel – Polish Classicists
Jozef Zeidler (1744-1806) and Antoni Habel (1760-1831) are major figures in the history of Polish classical music. And yet they’re almost ciphers. Almost nothing is known of Zeidler’s life or career. He wrote in the style of Mozart and Haydn, earning him the nickname “the Polish Mozart.” Zeidler’s Mass in D major does have a […]
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Michel-Richard de Lalande Grands Motets Evoke Grandeur
Michel-Richard de Lalande was a contemporary of Jean-Baptiste Lully and François Couperin. Like them, he served at the court of Louis XIV. Lalande’s strength was composing grand motets; elegant, extravagant, grand music suited for the Royal Chapel at Versailles. This release presents three examples. All three require a large orchestra (for the Baroque period, that […]
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Graupner Passion Cantatas II Maintain High Standard
In 1741 Christoph Graupner produced ten Passion Cantatas — one for each Sunday of Lent. Volume 1 featured three of those cantatas; Volume 2 has three more, each uniquely shaped by the text Graupner sets. Das Leiden Jesu von seinen Freunden, GWV 1122/41 (Friend, why are you here) was for the Third Sunday of Lent. […]