Van Der Graaf Generator is an English eclectic progressive rock band with front man Peter Hammill from 'the classic period' that has proven be one of the most important bands of the progressive genre. An eye-opening trip to San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury during the summer of 1967 inspired British-born drummer Chris Judge Smith to compose a list of possible names for the rock group he wished to form. Upon his return to Manchester University, he began performing with singer/songwriter Peter Hammill and keyboardist Nick Peame; employing one of the names from Judge Smith's list, the band dubbed itself Van der Graaf Generator (after a machine that creates static electricity), eventually earning an intense cult following as one of the era's preeminent art rock groups…
The Freiburger Barockorchester, directed from Gottfried von der Goltz’s violin, released a brand new recording of Telemann’s rare Passion, entitled Seliges Erwägen (Contemplative Meditations). More than just setting to music the story of the passion of Christ, such as Bach did, we hear in this score a succession of meditations. If we know little about its genesis, it is acknowledged that the success of this work was considerable, even more than that of his Passion after Brockes or his oratorio The Death of Jesus. The clear diction and the transparency of the voices in the chorals perfectly convey the dramatic expression, typical of these sacred works.
The large-scale Het Sweelinck Monument project, with Harry van der Kamp as its driving force, and with individual issues on Glossa over the last 6 years in book-CD format for the Netherlands and as multiple-CD sets for the international market, embraces the complete vocal and instrumental music output of Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck.