Shine, Jessica Jung

Petr Eben drew upon the Old Testament and sacred texts from early church fathers for his powerful sacred vocal works. Latin was his preferred language for these settings, and he favoured Gregorian chant which he used as inspiration for his weaving polyphonic lines, complex rhythms and irregular patterning. This body of work, written in the teeth of party opposition in Czechoslovakia – born a Jew, Eben became a practising Catholic – is one of the most important by a Czech composer in the twentieth-century.

Domenico Sarri numbered among the composers who enjoyed great success with their operas in Naples during the early eighteenth century, but gained renown throughout the rest of Europe principally with their sacred music. This CD features two wonderful works presented by the Sächsisches Vocalensemble under Matthias Jung.

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.

Jessica Williams, although hardly a household name, is actually one of the finest jazz pianists of the 1990s and her Hep CD gives listeners ample proof. She does a brilliant imitation of Thelonious Monk on the first half of "Easter Parade" (before displaying her own strong musical personality), not only capturing Monk's unique chord patterns but his touch and his wit. Throughout the rest of her colorful solo set, Williams also hints at Art Tatum and Lennie Tristano and yet comes across as a true original. Her creative interpretations of such standards as "Taking a Chance on Love," "Like Someone in Love" and a medium-tempo "I Got It Bad" are quite memorable and full of more than their share of surprises including some funny quotes from other songs. The polyrhythms on "Bongo's Waltz" are worthy of Dave Brubeck, whose tender "I Didn't Know Till You Told Me" Williams also revives.

While Hasse’s early fame rested above all on his operas, in more recent times it is especially his sacred compositions that have enjoyed immense esteem. This CD features his Te Deum and other sacred works.

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.