Ars Antiqua Austria & Gunar Letzbor

Following on from the highly expressive psalm settings, we now present the glorious antiphons of the master from Schärding am Inn: exquisite church music which Emperor Leopold I himself proclaimed as being definitive for the Catholic lands. Originally, the antiphon denoted a Gregorian chant that was sung by two parties opposite each other. Often a single performer was answered by a group of singers. The antiphon would later disengage from the psalm on which it was commenting. The antiphons set by Mayr represent a special form of the genre, so-called Marian antiphons, almost all of which are addressed to the Mother of God. Only In terras descendam is intended for Christmas. The antiphonal practice is still apparent in all antiphons in the alternation between singers and instrumentalists.

Gunar Letzbor writes: “Franz Josef Aumann was born in the Austrian town of Traismauer in 1728 and studied music in Vienna, where he came across many important musicians of his time. It has not yet been established why in 1753 he relocated to Sankt Florian.

Under the rule of the enlightened Emperor Joseph I, many composers from the north of Italy took up appointments in Vienna. Antonio Bononcini was one of the most progressive composers of his time. We present here three cantatas by Bononcini from 1706. They were most probably first presented in musical academies. His amorous chamber cantatas captivate through their intimate, timeless beauty. The sensual violins engage in an entertaining competition with the longing, dreamy lines of the alto voice. The cantatas recorded here all concern themselves with the sorrows and longings of love for a distant partner.

Alongside his success directing the ensemble Ars Antiqua Austria, Gunar Letzbor has not let up on demonstrating his talents as a violinist.

Alongside his success directing the ensemble Ars Antiqua Austria, Gunar Letzbor has not let up on demonstrating his talents as a violinist. After the recording of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas the 12 Fantasias by Georg Philipp Telemann present him again completely “a solo”. Telemann’s Fantasias for Solo Violin are reflections both of his full maturity as a composer and of being highly proficient violinist himself, with the exceptionally prolific and enormously busy composer publishing sets of fantasias for solo instruments – flute, viola da gamba as well as violin – without basso continuo in Hamburg in the 1730s. The 12 Fantasias recorded here are written for an unaccompanied instrument and manage to embrace both the long established style for polyphony in German violin music – with fugues and multi-part writing for the violin – and more modern trends – galanterien and Italian sonata and concerto influences. Gunar Letzbor plays a Sebastian Klotz violin from the eighteenth century.

Carlo Ambrogio Lonati, a flamboyant character from Italys 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 Romes opera scene. Corelli played for a few years in the orchestra directed by Lonati, its concertmaster.

Carlo Ambrogio Lonati, a flamboyant character in the Italian 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 at the Rome Opera.

Im Jahre 1661 konnte sich Europa so langsam von den Zerstörungen durch den 30jährigen Krieg erholen, auch im Osten des Kontinents versuchten die Fürstenhäuser ihre alte Pracht zu erneuern. In diesem Jahr bewarb sich Pavel Josef Vejvanovsky als Trompeter am Hofe des Fürstbischofs von Ölmütz, wo eine prachtvolle Residenz entstehen sollte, in der das musikalische Leben besonders gepflegt wurde. Gunar Letzbor stellt Auswahl der herausragendsten Werke für Trompete und Streicher des Komponisten auf CD zusammen. Heraus kam ein Kaleidoskop an majestätischer, festlicher, aber auch galanter Musik, die die Einzigartigkeit Vejvanovskys illustriert.