Meissen

Heinrich von Meissen genannt Frauenlob wurde in den berühmten Illustrationen der so genannten Manessischen Handschrift (um 1310) als legendärer König der Minnesänger dargestellt. Nach einem bewegten Leben als Berufsdichter an vielen Fürstenhöfen starb er 1318 in seinem letzten Refugium Mainz, wo er noch heute im Dom begraben liegt. Eine Chronik aus der Mitte des 14. Jahrhunderts erwähnt, dass Frauen ihn mit einer großen Totenklage wegen seiner Verdienste um den Preis des weiblichen Geschlechts zu Grabe getragen haben.

Much like the Moody Blues (and others), Stern-Combo Meissen (Stern means star, and Meissen is their home town) started out as a rock band in the early '60s. The usual lineup and style changes occurred, until they settled into symphonic prog. This didn't happen until 1977, when they released their self-titled debut. Stern-Combo Meissen became one of the bigger East German bands of the seventies. They relied heavily on keyboards (ala Emerson and Wakeman), and classical influences.
By the release of 1980's "Reise Zum Mittelpunkt Des Menschen." They had dropped the 'Combo' from the band's name. The next two albums saw them following a familiar pattern, and pursuing more pop oriented music. In fact, 1985's "Taufrisch" was completely out of the realm of prog.

The fourth volume of our complete recording of Bach's cantatas completes the series of secular cantatas from the composer's years in Leipzig. Seven works are involved here, spanning a period from 1725 to1742, the year of Bach's final secular cantata, BWV 212. Of Bach's occasional compositions, some fifty secular pieces have survived, yet these represent no more than a fraction of what must once have existed. Bach's secular cantatas cover a period of almost exactly three decades.

The Kreuzleich by Heinrich “Frauenlob” von Meissen is over 700 years old, making it one of the oldest surviving oratorios of the German cultural sphere. Known up to now only as a silent fragment of Meistersinger history, composer Karsten Gundermann, together with the multi-award-winning a cappella ensemble Octavians, brings it to life for our present time: Gundermann has revamped Frauenlob’s notated melodies and fragmentary manuscripts into a fascinating work for soloists, chamber choir, and orchestra, and the result is sensational! With their three countertenors and supported by the Akademische Orchestervereinigung Jena, the Octavians create a lively blend of age-old and new, of archaic sounds and orchestral colors sung and played at the highest level.

Ten years ago, the great tenor Peter Schreier took his stage farewell, Eighty years ago he was born in Meissen. He remains considered one of the greatest lyric tenors in the German-speaking world – with a repertoire ranging from the great Opera roles to oratorio and Lied. One of the gems of his discography is his recording of Schumann’s Lied cycles “Dichterliebe” and “Liederkreis” from 1991, accompanied by Christoph Eschenbach on the piano, now re-released for Schreier’s 80th birthday on 29 July, 2015.