This has to be one of the most unusual albums of choral music I’ve listened to. The concept is solid — sacred music by 20th Century Czech composers. What’s unusual is the relationship between the composers. The Czech Philharmonic Choir of Brno performs two works by Bohuslav Martinu. Rounding out the album are works by […]
choral music
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Vasks – Laudate Dominum “strengthens faith, love, and soul”
This is the third release by the Latvian Radio Choir of Peteris Vasks’s music. The choir has long collaborated with the composer. And what a fruitful partnership. Several of his works they premiered appear in this release. The music of Latvian-born Peteris Vasks shares some qualities with that of other regional composers, such as Arvo […]
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Wesser-Renaissance Bremen Ideally Suited to Johann Rosenmüller
In the 1650s “The Amphion of his Century” was an up-and-coming musician in Leipzig. He was poised to take over as the cantor of St. Thomas’ in 1653 (a position J.S. Bach would hold years later). Suddenly everything changed. A scandal forced Johann Rosenmüller to leave in haste. While it was a setback for his […]
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Schütz – Kleine geistliche Konzerte II; Little Masterpieces
Schütz published his second volume of “little spiritual concerts” in 1639, three years after the first. It’s a remarkable collection of sacred works, full of inventiveness and variety. Schütz spent some time in Venice studying with Giovanni Gabrielli. There are some indications he also studied with — or at least studied the music of — […]
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Heinrich Schütz Schwanengesang – Flawlessly Performed
Schütz’s massive setting of Psalm 119 (SWV 482-492) was completed a year before his death. Because of that, it’s known as his Schwanengesang or Swan Song. (There’s some evidence that Schütz himself referred to this work this way). Schütz set the text for two SATB choirs and organ. It might seem that such constrained resources […]
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Blue Heron complete outstanding Peterhouse Partbooks series
In the 1540s Thomas Bull compiled partbooks for the Canterbury Cathedral Choir. They were only in use for a few years, as Edward II dissolved professional choirs. The books were stored in Peterhouse College and all but forgotten. Blue Heron has brought this music back to life, with scholarly research and committed performances. This is the fifth […]
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Heinrich Schütz: Becker-Spalter – Artistry on Every Page
In 1602 theologian Cornelius Becker wrote a German metrical psalter. Der Psalter Davids Gesangweis was published without melodies. The collection proved popular, and Becker set all 150 psalms for the 1628 edition. Psalmen Davids: Hiebevorn in Deutsche Reimen gebracht durch was reprinted in 1640 and revised and expanded in 1661. Several early Lutheran composers set Becker’s […]
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Fresh Performances Enliven Praetorius Choral Concerts
Would the Protestant Reformation have been as successful without the genius of Michael Praetorius? Fortunately, we’ll never know. Praetorius adopted the Lutheran principles of simplicity and clarity into his music. The result was an impressive — and impressively varied — the body of sacred music that’s still found in hymnals today. This release features settings […]
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Heinrich Schütz Symphoniae Sacrae I – Models of Clarity
Heinrich Schütz published three volumes of his Symphoniae Sacrae. Hans-Christoph Rademann and Carus continue their traversal of Schütz’s catalog with Symphoniae Sacre I. This 1629 collection of works reflects Schütz’s time in Venice. While there, he studied with Giovanni Gabrielli and Claudio Monteverdi. The influences of both are apparent in these settings of the Songs […]