For this release, Simone Eckert takes a stripped-down approach to Telemann. Granted, Telemann’s sacred music sounds glorious with a large chorus and supporting orchestra. But the reality was different. Most German courts had modest resources, with only a few singers and a handful of instruments. The cantatas recorded here could all be considered chamber works […]
Dorothee Mields
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Psalmen & Friedensmusiken ends Heinrich Schutz series on a strong note
The Carus traversal of Heinrich Schutz works ends with a collection of commissioned works. For the most part, the music on this 2 CD set marks important occasions in the Dresden court. Some were commissioned for birthdays, others for treaty signings, and so on. Schutz studied in Venice with Giovanni Gabrielli (and perhaps with Claudio […]
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Heinrich Schütz Madrigale & Hochzeitsmusiken Bring Element of Fun
Carus continues their traversal of Heinrich Schutz’s music with a collection of secular compositions. Schutz was primarily known for his sacred compositions, which influenced generations of Protestant composers (especially in Germany). This release features secular madrigals and wedding music that show a different aspect of Schutz. Schutz studied in Venice as a young man. The works in […]
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Exceptional performances of Graupner cantatas
This release features three cantatas and two overtures by Christoph Graupner. Graupner was a contemporary of Bach, Handel, and Telemann, and their near-equal in talent. He spent most of his career at the court of Hesse-Darmstadt, composing over 1,400 works. The three cantatas on this release are early works, written between 1714 and 1725. Graupner […]
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Heinrich Schütz Symphoniae Sacrae II Beautifully Performed
This release features the second of three volumes of Schütz’s Symphoniae Sacrae. Schütz published his first volume in Venice in 1629. Volume II was completed 18 years later in Dresden, where Schütz was a major musical figure. Like the first volume, these works show some influence of Monteverdi and Gabrieli. But that influence seems much […]
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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 […]