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 […]
choral music
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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. […]
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Martinu and Martin together in The Secret Mass
There’s only one letter difference between the names Martin and Martinu. Their music isn’t as closely related, but they do share some similarities. Swiss Frank Martin and Czech Bohuslav Martinu were both born in 1890 and were musical contemporaries. The Danish National Vocal Ensemble performs mostly a capella works by these two men, highlighting both […]
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Ola Gjeilo – Sunrise Mass a Beautiful Start for Any Day
Ola Gjeilo has a gift for writing choral music of exceeding beauty. And while “Sunrise Mass” showcases Gjeilo’s music, works by other composers are wisely interspersed for variety. The end result is a choral album that is first-rate in every regard — the choice of material, the cohesiveness of the program, the quality of the […]
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Giovanni Ristori Missa in C major to be taken seriously
A commenter took me to task for my recent review of Jan Dismas Zelenka’s Missa Omnium Sanctorum. “The point of a mass setting is not to be “fun” and Zelenka would probably abhor that characterization of this work… Anyway, it was his friend [Giovanni Alberto] Ristori who was responsible for the “fun” masses in Dresden.” […]