Frieder Bernius

Extraordinarily well-written, prodigiously inventive, and relentlessly exciting–these aren’t terms normally used to describe 18th-century Masses, but then there is nothing “normal” about this late work by Czech composer Jan Dismas Zelenka. Simply put, if you aren’t acquainted with Zelenka (or if you’ve experienced a previous aversion to Masses), when you hear this piece-a substantial and powerful conception, from the first note of the Kyrie to the final chord of the Dona nobis pacem-you will wonder why this composer does not enjoy much greater esteem and popularity with performers, particularly alongside J.S. Bach (his contemporary) and Mozart.

There can be no doubt - the Missa in C minor KV 427 by W.A.Mozart is a fascinating work. Simply calling it a "mass" is inaccurate; indeed, there is hardly more than a musical torso full of enigmas and problems - and brimming with magnificent music.

These miniatures are exquisitely shaped, with a directness of delivery and coherence of phrasing that cannot fail to charm.

The Easter Oratorio of J.S. Bach has been paired here with one of the most vibrant compositions by his son Carl Philipp Emanuel: This recording includes the first, sacred part of C.P. E. Bach’s Dankhymne der Freundschaft (1785), a work which was forgotten for more than two hundred years. Once again Frieder Bernius gives these two works a stellar performance.

Johann Wenzeslaus Kalliwoda, born in Bohemia, was one of the few composers whose symphonies got traction in Germany in the years after Beethoven's death. His Symphony No. 1 in F sharp minor has received occasional performances down through the years, and conductors and scholars have begun to unearth his other six symphonic works. Even Schubert wondered what there was left to accomplish in the symphonic genre after Beethoven. He eventually figured it out, and Kalliwoda, in his Symphony No. 5 in B minor, Op. 106, seems to be thinking along some of the same lines as Schubert in his Symphony No. 8 in B minor, the "Unfinished."

Bach's Mass in B minor is one of his greatest and most ambitious works of all. She has occupied the composer for more than two decades, from the Sanctus (1724) to the Missa from 1733 to the supplementary Ordinarium theorems of the last years of life. Thus, the work in its rich variety of arias, duets and concertante and fugal choirs forms an essence of his profound skills and personal style. The "greatest musical work of all time and people" (as enthusiastic as the first editor Hans Georg Nägeli 1818) and one of the most demanding choral-symphonic works of all lies in a high-profile, based on principles of historical performance practice recording with Frieder Bernius, the Stuttgart Chamber Choir and the Baroque orchestra Stuttgart before.