Berlitz Austria

The Ensemble Fiori Musicali Austria was founded by the Italian harpsichordist and pianist Marinka Brecelj in 2002 to perform Renaissance and Baroque music from Italy. Over the years, crossover elements of traditional Italian, Sephardic, Oriental or South American music have also enriched the spectrum, as can be impressively experienced on the album "Baroque Arabesque".

Amandus Ivanschiz was baptised Matthias Leopold Ivanschiz on 24 December 1727 in the Austrian city of Wiener Neustadt. As early as 1742, at the age of fifteen, Matthias decided to join the Pauline Order and took the name Amandus. On 25 December 1743 Amandus took his vows and was then sent to Maria Trost and Wiener Neustadt to study for the priesthood.

Best-selling Arcana title, a reference recording of a milestone of baroque violin literature.Recorded in the beautiful acoustics of the parish church of Hallstatt (Austria), where Gunar Letzbor was born, this personal and dramatic interpretation of Biber's most popular work, usually referred to today as the Mistery or Rosary sonatas, comes back after years of absence.Gunar Letzbor makes his journey through the mysteries or events in the life of the Virgin Mary using two different violins and accompanied by no fewer than six musicians playing kaleidoscopic combinations of harpsichord, organ, lute, archlute, two bass viols and double bass a big continuo group which enhances and intensifies the changing moods of the cycle.

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 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.