Ars Antiqua Austria & Gunar Letzbor

Admittedly, the name Benedikt Anton Aufschnaiter initially sounds like that of an Austrian minor master – this composer has remained virtually unknown until now, even in specialist circles. But such is far from the case with Aufschnaiter: Gunar Letzbor, who has released an entire series of impressive excavations of Austrian sacred music during recent years with his ensemble Ars Austria Antiqua, even refers to him as the 'Catholic Bach'! Both composers – Bach and Aufschnaiter – cultivate a compositional style of masterly polyphony that must have been almost ananachronim in their day but their mastery was unsurpassed. The fact that each composer arrived at completely different results may have something to do with the difference between Catholic and Protestant culture.

The Habsburg Imperial Court was a melting pot of many different cultures in which the zest for living of southerners, the Slav melancholy, French formalism, Spanish courtliness and the original German-speaking Alpine cultural region intermingled. Together with his Ars Antiqua Austria ensemble, Gunar Letzbor occupied himself over a ten year period to produce this 10CD "Klang der Kulturen" box, a musical tour of the individual countries that formed the roots of and influences on the music of baroque Vienna, documenting them in live recordings, with each CD representing one country.

‘Priest-composer stabs alto castrato during Mass!’ Such fervent Catholicism is hardly imaginable nowadays. The present recording will remedy that: the Austian violinist Gunar Letzbor revives the strange work of murderer-composer Antonio Pandolfi Mealli with a full-blooded performance that succeeds in captivating us from beginning to end.' Eberhard Zummach, Concerto. Das Magazin für Alte Musik no. 214

A ubiquitous Viennese figure in the early 1700s, Francesco Conti was one of several gifted Italian Baroque composers who settled in foreign lands. If Caldara remains the most durable Italian figure in Vienna, Conti's star — on this evidence — deserves to be dusted down and given a second chance. These four cantatas from eight Cantate am istromenti probably date from the first decade of the century and feature the most delectable plethora of obbligato instruments imaginable.

Benedikt Anton Aufschnaiter (1665-1742) - Dulcis Fidium Harmonia Op. IV
Ars Antiqua Austria - Gunar Letzbor
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 380 MB | Full Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Arcana # A313 | Country/Year: Germany 2003, 2009
Genre: Classical | Style: Baroque

…Letzbor enthusiastically writes: 'As I first heard the music of this composer, i was at once filled with… Passion, joy, fear, despair, love, piety, tenderness, exuberance, insouciance.' Such emotions are evident in tills recording, and I am eager to hear some of Aufschnaiter's vast corpus of sacred vocal music.

The Viennese Court Kapellmeister Johann Joseph Fux (1660-1741) is regarded in music history as the forefather of modern counterpoint, and his instructional work ""Gradus ad parnassum"" continues to influence education in this subject to the present day. But the many compositions Fux wrote for the Viennese court are largely forgotten. If at all, one still knows of sacred compositions in which Fux followed this strict, academic style. On the other hand, the composer was able to free himself from this in his opera and in his ""Componimenti sacri"", which are operatic oratorios for Holy Week (during which no operas were allowed to be performed).

Gregor Werner (1695-1766) began directing the fortunes of the Esterházy court band, the Hofkapelle, on 10 May 1728. He was an industrious man. Forty Masses, three Requiems, three Te Deums, four Offertories, twelve Vespers, twelve Good Friday oratorios, approximately eighteen oratorios, a hundred and thirty-three antiphons and a multitude of instrumental pieces and minor works testify to his fertile creative spirit.

Franz Josef Aumann (1728-1797) was a free and innovative composer. His chamber music is really worth exploring as they provide a lively and interesting listening experience.

The Benedictine abbey at Lambach in Upper Austria was founded in 1056. Research undertaken since 2002 has revealed a treasure trove of musical works written by musicians associated with the abbey. Two such composers are featured on this disc, recorded in the historic building itself: Beniamin Ludwig Ramhaufski (c.1631-1694) and the Salzburgborn Joseph Balthasar Hochreither (1669-1731), who possibly studied with Biber.

Carlo Ambrogio Lonati, a flamboyant character from Italy’s violin scene, was born in Milan and moved to Rome at age 25, where he became known as the “hunchback of the Queen” Christina of Sweden. His stature predestined him as a singer for roles of gnomes and dwarves in Rome’s opera scene.