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. […]
choral music
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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 […]
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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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Rheinberger’s Der Stern von Bethlehem shines in reissue
Why isn’t “Der Stern von Bethlehem” a holiday staple, like that Handel joint? I have a theory. Joseph Rheinberger composed his cantata in 1890. During his lifetime it was one of his most-performed choral works. After his death in 1901, though, it lapsed into obscurity. Rheinberger’s style was influenced by the German greats: Brahms, Mendelssohn, […]