Christophorus

The brief heyday of the Anhaltinische Hof in Zerbst (Saxony-Anhalt) coincided with the work of its court Kapellmeister Johann Friedrich Fasch. The benevolent and prudent Prince Johann August von Anhalt-Zerbst (1677-1742) expanded his court orchestra and engaged outstanding musicians for this purpose.

Philipp Heinrich Erlebach (1657-1714) is one of those composers who was forgotten by history. Originally from East Frisia, he arrived at the court of Rudolstadt in Thuringia at the age of 24 to serve as music director, remaining there for the rest of his life: the lustre of the court faded and the collection of over 2500 works by himself and others, amassed by Erlebach during the course of his life, was destroyed by fire. Thus this once significant composer 'from the Province' faded from memory.

The 17th century composer Johann Georg Künstel is one of the forgotten persons in history. He lived at Franconia in South East Germany where he is mentioned as a schoolmaster and court organist. But his inclusion in Johann Gottfried Walthers Musicalisches Lexicon of 1732 provides clues about his significance. The St Mark Passion can be considered to be his most significant work; records show that it was frequently performed in Coburg even after the composers death.

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 PER-SONAT presents the sounds of Cistercian monasteries all around Europe.

The composer Andreas Hofer (1628/29-1684) is probably hardly known even by music connoisseurs! Yet he was Cathedral and Court Kapellmeister in Salzburg at a time when the prince-archbishopric was considered one of the most important centers of Western music. Hofer was in charge of all the music of the prince-archbishopric, both in the great Baroque cathedral and at court, and he brought the most accomplished musicians to Salzburg: among them none other than Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber as Vice-Kapellmeister and Georg Muffat as cathedral organist! This program presents seven psalm concertos by Hofer for one or two solo voices, strings and basso continuo. They are composed in the style of Monteverdi's seconda prattica, virtuosic and bursting with melodic ideas. In contrast, the collection of Psalmi brevi and his Missa Valete, for five voices and strings, show Hofer's great skill in vocal polyphony. Performers are the vocal ensemble Capella Spirensis of the Dommusik Speyer and the orchestra L'arpa festante conducted by the Domkapellmeister Markus Melchiori.

In the early summer of 1630, Venice was struck by the plague in a devastating way: It raged for 18 months and killed almost 50,000 people, more than a third of the population at the time! Doge Nicolò Cantarini vowed to build a large church for the deliverance from the plague, and even though he was unable to experience it himself, this vow was carried out. With the Santa Maria della Salute, one of the most magnificent churches in the city was built. Since the year of liberation in 1631, the festival in honor of 'Saint Mary of Health' has been celebrated every year in November. The ensemble ecco la musica has set out to find out what the music of the first Festa della Salute in 1631 might have sounded like, combining what already existed with what was new at the time and commemorating the composers who died. With the end of the epidemic, there was also a musical change, from the wind-dominated polychoral music of Gabrieli, to the style of the seconda prattica of Monteverdi and his successors with solo singers and virtuoso string accompaniment.