Anima Mea

Luca Marenzio - Il Pastor Fido - La Pedrina, Francesco Saverio Pedrini (2018) {Claves CD50-1814}
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© 2018 Claves Records | CD 50-1814
Classical / Late Renaissance / Madrigals

‘Il Pastor Fido’ is a long poem by Battista Guarini – seven thousand lines worth – he lived from 1538 until 1612 and the poem was probably written c.1583 and presented at the court of Alfonso d’Este in 1585 in a dramatic form. It is labelled as a Pastoral-Comedy and describes the pains and joys of its characters and its overall sensual appeal was clearly suitable for the wedding celebrations, for which it was produced. The whole work “unleashed (to quote the booklet essay by Giuseppe Gerbino) one of the last controversies of poetic theory and moral philosophy of the late Renaissance.”

Filipe de Magalhães was perhaps the most celebrated Portuguese composer of his day. Idiomatic performances from Cupertinos—‘true ambassadors of Portuguese polyphony’—will go a long way towards justifying that reputation to a modern audience.

One of the twentieth century’s best-loved choral works, Duruflé’s Requiem—a magical synthesis of the old (plainsong) and the new (a harmonic language appropriate to its time and place)—continues to cast its potent spell over performers and listeners alike. This new recording from Stephen Layton and his Trinity forces fully deserves to be regarded as ‘definitive’.

From Schütz to Bräutigam by way of Schumann, Reger, Mauersberger, Poulenc and Werner – this recording by the Chamber Choir of the Freiburg University of Music under the direction of Morten Schuldt-Jensen takes the listener through the entire history of the motet. All of these compositions have one thing in common: their uniquely personal expressive force. The Drei Paulusmotetten by Fritz Werner, a contemporary of Poulenc, appear for the first time on HIGHRESAUDIO. These brilliant motets reflect the period and events of the time of their creation. The works by Werner and Mauersberger, for instance, were composed during the horrors of the Second World War.

Fifty years after his death, Poulenc is one of the most frequently performed French composers of the twentieth century all over the world. His choral output offers a nuanced portrait of a musician who, at bottom, fell in love with the texts he set, whether they were sacred (CD 1) or secular (CD 2). ʻA singer, as fashioned by Francis, presents us with words raised to the height of severity or charm by Poulenc’s musical intelligence’, wrote Jean Cocteau. An admirable compliment to an oeuvre as capable of expressing faith (Motets pour un temps de pénitence) as resistance.

The first part of the Heinrich Schütz Complete Recording with the Dresdner Kammerchor under Hans-Christoph Rademann has set new artistic and editorial standards. Now the second of three box sets is being released. It encompasses Volumes 9 to 14 of the Complete Recording, including the St John Passion. This work, representative of the high standard of the whole series, was awarded the German Record Critics’ Award in 2016. Once again, top performers such as Hille Perl, Lee Santana, Dorothee Mields, Harry van der Kamp, and many others join the ensemble.

Leslie Howard's recordings of Liszt s complete piano music, on 99 CDs, is one of the monumental achievements in the history of recorded music. Remarkable as much for its musicological research and scholarly rigour as for Howard's Herculean piano playing, this survey remains invaluable to serious lovers of Liszt. Every known note of Liszt's piano music has been recorded and is included here: Leslie Howard's 57 original volumes plus the further 3 supplements. GUINNESS WORLD RECORD for the world s largest recording series by a solo artist.