Der Golem

Johann Sebastian Bach appears to have had a lifelong interest in chamber music. He was the son of a musician and the father of a large family: playing together was part of everyday life for the Bach family.

The Ensemble Hofkapelle München under the direction of expert Rüdiger Lotter presents the first excellent and historically informed recording of the opera "Der Stein der Weisen oder: die Zauberinsel". The opera is regarded as the forerunner of W. A. Mozart's celebrated masterpiece "The Magic Flute", with a libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder, who would later also write the libretto for "The Magic Flute".

For once, a recitative is the focus of a cantata. In BWV 47, the opening chorus, two arias, and the final chorale are grouped around the central statement "Mankind is dirt, stench, earth and ashes," which can hardly be surpassed in clarity. It takes a soloist with a powerful voice and experience of life to get the message across credibly!

They are relicts of a bygone era: the traditional marches of the former Prussian and Austrian regiments, and yet a large number of these works can still be found in the standard repertoire of the German Bundeswehr, for example. This "classical stock" of pieces of music goes back to the time of Frederick the Great, Ludwig van Beethoven contributed his York March, and legendary military bandmasters such as Johann Gottlieb Piefke or Carl Teike wrote classics such as "Prussia's Gloria" or the "Königgrätzer Marsch". A selection of the 25 best-known Prussian and Austrian traditional marches can be heard on this new album in their original instrumentation. A piece of music history all about "music with history".

Naples was in the mid-18th century the third largest European city and one of the greatest centres of political, commercial and cultural influence. The conservatoires there were founded by religious orders and were originally intended as charitable institutions for the accommodation and education of orphans, but soon became real centres of musical education and performance; many leading composers were pupils and teachers there and so contributed to the founding of the Neapolitan School.

The Big Band of the Bundeswehr, led by band leader Timor Oliver Chadik, is one of the most unusual show and entertainment orchestras in Germany. The musicians from North Rhine-Westphalia present themselves both as a modern-sounding calling card for the Federal Republic of Germany and as top-class musical ambassadors. Uniformity has no place in the music of the Bundeswehr Big Band. All instrumentalists are hand-picked, first-class soloists in their fields and graduates of the most renowned art academies for modern light music.

The Hague-based saxophonist Tom van der Zaal has won several prestigious awards such as the Prinses Christina Concours and shared the stage with international names such as Roy Hargrove, Gary Bartz, Vincent Herring, Willie Jones III, Greg Hutchinson and many others.In addition, in 2019, he released his debut album "Introducing Tom van der Zaal - Time Will Tell", which features renowned New York guitarist Peter Bernstein.

Paul Lay and his trio - Dré Pallemaerts and Clemens Van der Feen - revisit some of the most beautiful compositions of the legendary Bill Evans (Blue in Green, The Two Lonely People), as well as great jazz standards of which Bill Evans was the reference interpreter, such as Alice in Wonderland.

Best known for his work with the well-known Viennese Dixieland clarinetist Fatty George and trumpeter Oscar Klein, Dutch pianist Hans van der Sys exemplified the best of European traditional jazz playing. An outing in trio, "It’s Rag Time" highlights van der Sys’ rag, and honky-tonk playing and compositional skill.