Emanuel Maess

Based on concerts presented in Spain and France countertenors Philippe Jaroussky and Max Emanuel Cencic have joined with William Christie and the Les Arts Florissants to produce this CD of duets written for countertenors.

Stringently self-critical, Brahms frequently revised his works; unfortunately, he destroyed most early versions, shutting off any glimpse into his working methods. (The B-major Piano Trio's first version survives, having been published long before he re-wrote it.) The works recorded here are among the exceptions; clearly, Brahms held them in unusually high regard. Both are better known in their later incarnations, and not without reason: the orchestral Haydn Variations glow and sparkle with a myriad colors, and the Sonata (originally a string quintet, quickly discarded) naturally gained expressive depth and breadth along with contrast of sound and texture when transformed into the famous Piano Quintet. But the music is great, and so is this performance: full of sweep, grandeur, warmth, fire, inwardness, romanticism without excess, flexibility without distortion, and ardor without sentimentality.

It was only when Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach was appointed Musikdirektor in Hamburg that he started to compose a large amount of religious music. This, of course, was part of his job, but the fact that he had applied for this job is an indication that he didn't see any problem in writing music for the church and for specific occasions. It has taken a long time before the religious repertoire of Emanuel has been taken seriously, and it still doesn't belong to the core of religious music performed by today's choirs and orchestras.