Hofkapelle

Nach dem Tod des Dresdner Konzertmeisters Johann Georg Pisendel 1755 ließ Kurfürstin Maria Josepha dessen musikalischen Nachlass aufkaufen. In der Dresdner Hofkirche, in einem großen Schrank mit der Nummer II, wurde der musikalische Schatz aus eigenen und fremden Kompositionen eingelagert und hat sich über die Jahrhunderte hinweg erhalten. Nur ein geringer Teil dieses Repertoires ist allerdings bislang gesichtet, geschweige denn eingespielt worden, so dass die Batzdorfer Hofkapelle mit einigen Weltersteinspielungen aufwarten kann.

The Sächsisches Vocalensemble under Matthias Jung has now recorded its second selection of Christmas gems for cpo from one of the most important collections of Lutheran church music, the St. Augustin School in Grimma, Saxony. The focus: festive, magnificent church cantatas (most of them including Christmas trumpet splendor) by composers from Central Germany who were famous musicians and held prominent posts during the years before and after 1700. To name only a few: Johann Schelle, Philipp Heinrich Erlebach, and Johann Rosenmüller, as well as composers such as Christian Liebe or Gottfried Vogel who are no longer remembered today but whose music brings wonder to modern listeners.

The Messiah by Gottfried August Homilius (1714-1785) was performed by the Sächsisches Vocalensemble and the Batzdorfer Hofkapelle under the conductor Matthias Jung at St Anne’s Church in Dresden on the occasion of the three-hundredth anniversary of the composer’s birth on 5 June 2014, and is now being released on CD by cpo. Homilius is regarded as one of the most significant church composers during the transition between the baroque and classical eras.

The outstanding young countertenor Valer Barna-Sabadus has chosen works by a composer who was highly esteemed in his lifetime, but slipped into oblivion. The artist writes “My aim is to give new life to these works… one that places the individuality of the musical works in the forefront.”

Under the direction of Keno Weber, the Quilisma Jugendchor Springe presents the first complete recording of Gabriel Fauré’s (1845–1924) sacred works. After completing his academic education in 1865, Fauré was primarily active as a church musician and worked at the parish church „La Madeleine“ in Paris from 1877 to 1905. Almost all of his sacred works were written during this time, including his well-known Requiem. The voices of the young singers of the Quilisma Jugendchor provide insight into how the music may have sounded in the 19th century, performed by the boys’ choir at „La Madeleine“ under the direction of the composer himself.

Throughout his life, the oboe played a key role in the music of Georg Friedrich Handel. For no other instrument did he compose such passionate, dramatic and virtuosic music. On this disc, the Batzdorfer Hofkapelle presents a selection of Handel's most beautiful works featuring the oboe. Xenia Löffler, member of the Akademe für Alte Musik Berlin, is the soloist. Vocal parts in the arias with oboe are sung by the young coloratura soprano Marie Friederike Schöder, a shooting star of the baroque music scene.

For this release, Raimund Nolte and the Batzdorfer Hofkapelle have tackled a repertoire which makes extensive demands on the singer. In the two cantatas Nell’africane selve and Cuopre tal volta il cielo there are breathtaking leaps and bizarre changes of register.

Giovanni Alberto Ristori was the son of the Italian actor Tomaso Ristori and came to the Saxon court in Dresden when his father found employment there as the director of the Italian acting company. Giovanni Ristori was regarded as a talented composer, pianist, and organist, and obtained the post of compositeur with the Italian court acting company in 1717. He later received the posts of chamber organist in 1733, church composer in 1746, and the Dresden court’s assistant chapel master under Johann Adolph Hasse in 1750.

The conventional wisdom about Venetian Antonio Lotti, composer of the a cappella masterwork "Crucifixus," is that as a card-carrying member of the stil antico he represented a conservative viewpoint akin to that of his later contemporary Leonardo Leo – the fewer instruments the better, the closer to the polyphonic language of Palestrina the better. Moreover, if the "Crucifixus" was the only work of Lotti that someone became acquainted with, then he/she could not be blamed for believing this was so, although he/she might note the distinct Baroque harmonic coloring of the piece as being rather unlike that of Palestrina. Here is a challenge for you – CPO's Antonio Lotti: Vesper Psalms performed by the Sächsisches Vocalensemble and Batzdorfer Hofkapelle under Matthias Jung.