Anima Mea

Ensemble Peregrina are delighted to present this collection of completely unknown yet outstanding pieces to the public. We hope that the charm of the Latin Song of Songs text together with the absolutely unique and elaborate musical settings we chose for this program will surprise and captivate you with its eternal beauty.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, groups that played period instruments started to appear. They were strongly associated with particular conductors, usually the musician who formed each ensemble, and generally were not full-time organizations. Typically, they gathered for a limited number of concerts and recordings a year, and their membership was variable. Half the people playing on one day's studio session as the London Classical Players might have been on stage the week before as part of the Academy of Ancient Music. In 1986, a group of the best of these freelance players sought increased security and the artistic benefits of performing regularly as a permanent orchestra, and formed the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. As most London orchestras, they organized themselves into a self-governing co-operative owned by the musicians. As a matter of policy, they decided against appointing anyone as its music director or permanent conductor. This meant they had to shine from the outset to attract the best interpreters to lead their performances.

Dietrich Buxtehude, Dietrich also spelled Dieterich, (born 1637, probably in Oldesloe, Holstein—died May 9, 1707, Lübeck), Danish or German organist and composer of church music, one of the most esteemed and influential composers of his time.
His exact place of birth is uncertain, and nothing is known of his early youth. It is usually assumed that he began his musical education with his father, who was organist at Helsingborg (c. 1638–41) and at Helsingør (Elsinore; c. 1642–71), both then part of Denmark. Buxtehude settled at Lübeck in 1688 as organist of St. Mary’s Church.

Die himlische Cantorey
Jan Kobow ist Mitbegründer des Solisten-Ensembles Die Himlische Cantorey, das mit Klangkörpern wie der Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, der Staatskapelle Berlin, der Wiener Akademie, der Capella Coloniensis, Echo du Danube, Hamburger Ratsmusik, Les Amis de Philippe, Concerto Melante (Berliner Philharmoniker) und immer wieder mit dem Knabenchor Hannover musiziert hat. Über zehn CD-Aufnahmen und zahlreiche Rundfunkmitschnitte haben diese Arbeit dokumentiert, eine davon erhielt einen Echo Klassik.Die neuste CD-Produktion der Himlischen Cantorey mit noch nicht eingespielten Magnifikat-Vertonungen von Johann Pachelbel erscheint demnächst bei cpo.

This recording imparts two large-ensemble and especially extensive Magnificat settings by the composer in C Major (PWV 1503) and B-flat Major (PWV 1514), and an Ingressus, the Deus in adjutorium in F Major (PWV 1407); this piece is also especially festive and Pachelbel composed it for the opening of a vesper service. Two sacred concertos for solo violin, solo voice and basso continuo (PWV 1222 in C Minor and PWV 1203 in A Minor) offer a striking contrast to these. They reveal a different, but no less impressive aspect of Pachelbel’s compositional artistry and have their own history of how they were handed down to us.

Die himlische Cantorey
Jan Kobow ist Mitbegründer des Solisten-Ensembles Die Himlische Cantorey, das mit Klangkörpern wie der Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, der Staatskapelle Berlin, der Wiener Akademie, der Capella Coloniensis, Echo du Danube, Hamburger Ratsmusik, Les Amis de Philippe, Concerto Melante (Berliner Philharmoniker) und immer wieder mit dem Knabenchor Hannover musiziert hat. Über zehn CD-Aufnahmen und zahlreiche Rundfunkmitschnitte haben diese Arbeit dokumentiert, eine davon erhielt einen Echo Klassik.Die neuste CD-Produktion der Himlischen Cantorey mit noch nicht eingespielten Magnifikat-Vertonungen von Johann Pachelbel erscheint demnächst bei cpo.

This recording imparts two large-ensemble and especially extensive Magnificat settings by the composer in C Major (PWV 1503) and B-flat Major (PWV 1514), and an Ingressus, the Deus in adjutorium in F Major (PWV 1407); this piece is also especially festive and Pachelbel composed it for the opening of a vesper service. Two sacred concertos for solo violin, solo voice and basso continuo (PWV 1222 in C Minor and PWV 1203 in A Minor) offer a striking contrast to these. They reveal a different, but no less impressive aspect of Pachelbel’s compositional artistry and have their own history of how they were handed down to us.

Brought up in the Roman Catholic faith, which he abandoned in 1917 following the death of his father, Poulenc returned to the Church in 1936 after the death of his close friend and fellow composer Pierre-Octave Ferroud. Together these events caused a spiritual crisis in Poulenc’s life which led to a series of important compositions for chorus. The powerful Mass in G major, dedicated to the memory of his father, is notable for its daring use of tonality, though the playfulness of Poulenc’s ‘Les Six’ period is not absent. In the Sept Chansons, set to surrealist texts, and in the two sets of Motets - both very personal and penitential - Poulenc generates a huge range of emotion.

Geoffroy Jourdain and Les Cris de Paris introduce us to a facet of Heinrich Schütz that is often overlooked: his works directly inspired by Italy, and more especially by Venice, where he worked closely with Giovanni Gabrieli. In this programme of music, sometimes deeply spiritual, sometimes with a strong secular influence, ranging from duets to large choral ensembles, we meet a rich and radiant composer with myriad colours in his palette. An enchanting disc!