Analog Algorithm Christoph

The three works by Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky that Christoph Eschenbach and the Philadelphia Orchestra perform on this Ondine twofer are usually found as filler pieces on other albums, often coupled with one or another of the symphonies or concertos, so this combination is a bit out of the ordinary. The fantasy overture Romeo and Juliet and the symphonic fantasy Francesca da Rimini are often paired and work fairly well together because of the similarity of their stormy Romantic music and tragic subjects, even though Romeo and Juliet is plainly the superior piece of the two. But the Serenade for strings is possibly Tchaikovsky's most Classically balanced work, and it stands in stark contrast to the other selections for its cool beauty and elegance.

When Deutsche Harmonia Mundi released this disc of lieder by Schumann, Schubert, and Mendelssohn in 1994, it was considered a part of the historically informed performance practice movement because it featured performers closely associated with the movement. Prior to this release, tenor Christoph Prégardien was best known for his work with Gustav Leonhardt and Philippe Herreweghe, while fortepianist Andreas Staier made his mark playing continuo with Musica Antiqua Köln. Listening to the disc a decade later, however, the performances sound less like a memento of their time than like still vital artistic achievements.

Handel's Utrecht Te Deum HWV 278 was already enthusiastically received at its first performance in 1713 in St. Paul's in London. To celebrate peace after twelve years of Spanish War of Succession, Handel composed a captivating Te Deum and Jubilate. A British national composer was born!

The Mass in B Minor, Bach’s last completed vocal work as well as the climax of his creativity, reveals the overwhelming wealth of his compositional skills. In the history of music it ranks highly, as the “Montblanc of church music” (Franz Liszt) – composed during Bach’s time as cantor at the St. Thomas Church in Leipzig. Performed in this important composer’s domain, the Mass in B Minor casted a spell over its listeners as the crowning glory of the Leipzig Bach Festival in 2013: Under the direction of Bach’s successor Georg Christoph Biller, the St. Thomas Boys Choir and an outstanding soloist quintet perform with the prestigious Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, playing on authentic period instruments.

The name 'Chandos anthems' is most frequently associated with Handel, but he was not the first, nor the last, composer in the extravagant household of James Brydges, the Duke of Chandos from 1719. Working concurrently with Handel at Cannons was the Berlin native, Johann Christoph Pepusch?nearly 20 years Handel's senior?who took over as Director of Music by early 1719 whereupon he adopted a distinctly Venetian approach to sacred music, in the manner of Lotti and Vivaldi.

Scheins 1623 in Leipzig gedruckte Sammlung Israelsbrünnlein ist eine kompositorische Gipfelleistung, nicht nur innerhalb des Schaffens des seit 1616 in Leipzig als Thomaskantor wirkenden Komponisten, sondern darüber hinaus auch der deutschen Musik der ersten Hälfte des 17. Jahrhunderts. Unter den 26 "auf Italian-Madrigalische Manir" geschriebenen Motetten finden sich 23 auf alttestamentarische Texte (Psalmen, die Mose-Bücher, das Hohelied und andere Bücher des Alten Testaments) komponierte, was der Sammlung den Namen gab. Hans-Christoph Rademann und der Dresdner Kammerchor legen hier eine Referenzeinspielung der kompletten Sammlung vor.