Christophorus

Jordi Savall & Hesperion XXI - Christophorus Columbus (2006) {2CD+Book Set Alia Vox AVSA 9850}
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© 2006 Alia Vox | AVSA 9850
Classical / Renaissance / World Music / Sacred & Religious

This remarkable release, comprising two CDs and a book of 270 pages with information in Spanish, English, German, Italian, Catalan, Arabic, and Hebrew, is a veritable history lesson in music, poetry, and literature about Spain, as well as Christopher Columbus and his voyages and times. The title of the set, Lost Paradises, refers to the cessation of the period during which all three traditions - Jewish, Muslim and Christian - worked together to create greatness. The music, pre-baroque and sounding very exotic indeed, is exquisitely performed, sometimes by itself and sometimes in conjunction with the reading of a text. The Moorish and Sephardic music is particularly colorful, but the more familiar, "early" music is just as ravishing. With repertoire both sacred and profane, featuring dances and dirges, Savall, in his notes, is attempting to make us pay heed to the past so that we may form our futures: This isn't as pedantic as it sounds, but it is certainly more than an afternoon of great music listening. What a stunning gift this would make - either to yourself or others.

Norbert Rodenkirchen - Hameln Anno 1284 (2012) {Christophorus CHR 77359}
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© 2012 Christophorus / note 1 music | CHR 77359
Classical / Early Music / Medieval / 13th century / Medieval Flute

I recently heard Norbert Rodenkirchen perform at Tanglewood in the Berkshires, and the memorable and beautiful music presented led me to hunt down this most recent of his recordings. The technical quality of the recording is first rate, and the melodies are wonderful. Mr. Rodenkirchen's performance is central, and the wooden transverse flutes he plays produce a clear and haunting tone. Listening, one can actually imagine such music enticing the children to follow the musician! Lutes, psaltery, drums and viols gently accompany the flute on several pieces, but always in a gentle and complementary fashion that does not detract from the central focus on the flute.

Kaiser Maximilian I. - Lieder, Chansons, Tänze - Per-Sonat, Sabine Lutzenberger (2019) {Christophorus CHR 77438}
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© 2019 Christophorus | CHR 77438
Classical / Renaissance / Period Instruments

The 500th anniversary of the death of Emperor Maximilian I this year is the occasion for several exhibitions and also for the programme of the ensemble Per-Sonat's new release. Maximilian, who was crowned Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire in 1508, was a great patron of the arts in addition to his warlike activities. Here the music was in his special interest and he brought the most important musicians of his time to his court: Heinrich Isaac, Josquin des Pres, Paul Hofhaimer and Johannes Ockeghem. The artistic sacred music for Emperor Maximilian has already been widely published. The ensemble Per-Sonat, directed by Sabine Lutzenberger, consists exclusively of leading heads of the early music scene and now turns to secular music at Maximilian's court: the songs, chansons and dances that document the emperor's love of music in a new way.

Johann Samuel Welter - Gott sey uns gnädig, Choralkantaten - ecco la musica (2019) {Christophorus CHR 77440}
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© 2019 Christophorus | CHR 77440
Classical / Baroque / Sacred / Period Instruments

True treasures of unknown music can still be discovered: One of these is the composer Johann Samuel Welter, who was born in 1650 near Schwäbisch Hall (Württemberg) and, apart from a few years as an apprentice in Nuremberg, always remained faithful to his homeland. In the free imperial city of Schwäbisch Hall a free reformatoryspirit prevailed and Welter worked there for 45 years as organist at the main church of St. Michael until his death in 1720. He was certainly offered positions in Berlin, Frankfurt or Augsburg and is said to have composed over 400 works but unfortunately only just under a dozen vocal works have survived.

Per-Sonat - Bis an der Weld ihr Ende: Deutsche Lieder der Reformationszeit (2017) {Christophorus CHR 77410}
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© 2017 Christophorus / Note 1 Music | CHR 77410
Classical / Renaissance / Early Music / Vocal Music / Chamber Music / Sacred

Martin Luther, the great German Reformer, has had not only a lasting theological effect; he also had a big influence on the musical development of his time. He demanded the use of the German language for hymns sung at church services, and thereby created the basis for the early “German Lied”. Sabine Lutzenberger, a fine early music expert, and her Per-Sonat ensemble present a broad overview of sacred and secular songs from this era. Soprano Sabine Lutzenberger has been a member of the “Ensemble for Early Music Augsburg) for years, and is a pioneer of medieval singing. She founded Per-Sonat in 2008, and has performed in most of the well-known festivals of Early Music in Europe and beyond. Her repertoire spans the 9th to 17th centuries, with an additional focus on contemporary music.

Hildegard von Bingen - Celestial Stairs - Ensemble für frühe Musik Augsburg (1997) {Christophorus CHR77205}
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© 1997 Christophorus | CHR 7720
Classical / Medieval

I have a lot of Hildegard in my collection this cd would have to be the most satisfying offering on the market. It combines a mixture of female and male voices and instrumentals, all executed with artistic ingenuity and subtlety. Forget Sequentia, Synfonie, Oxford Camerata….the Ensemble fur fruhe musick augsburg knows how to interpret Hildegard the best. Their earlier foray "Hildegard und Ihre Zeit" was only a taste of what was to come. You can't go wrong in buying this cd.' Highly recommended.

Per-Sonat, Sabine Lutzenberger - Invisible: Chants of the Cistercian Nuns (2018) {Christophorus CHR 77430}
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© 2018 Christophorus | CHR 7743
Classical / Medieval / Early Music / Sacred

The Cistercian order was born at the end of the 11th Century around the new monastery of Cîteaux and developed by Bernard of Clairvaux in the following years. Their aim was to return to the basics of the austere Benedictine rule, as opposed to the less stricter developments that had taken place around Cluny. These ideas quickly spread around Europe, producing great architecture and great liturgical music, devoid of embellishments and flourishments then considered unnecessary. Sabine Lutzenberger and her ensemble PERSONAT present the sounds of Cistercian monasteries all around Europe.

Georg Forsters fünfteilige Edition der ,Frischen Teutschen Liedlein' ist die wohl bedeutendste von Liedern in deutscher Sprache aus Sammlung der Hochrenaissance. Da mutet es schon seltsam an, dass bisher nur ganz wenige Einzelsätze aus dieser umfassenden Sammlung auf CD veröffentlicht wurden - eine CD, die sich ausschließlich dieser Sammlung widmet, liegt hier überhaupt zum ersten Mal vor.