J.c. Bach

Hundreds of years before the birth of Christ, a collection of love songs grew up. Under the title of the “Most beautiful of songs”, they found a home in the Old Testament-it was Martin Luther who first gave them the name of “Song of songs”-and since that time they have inspired and fascinated a vast number of theologians, mystics, philosophers, poets, painters, and, last but not least, composers. Particularly during the Baroque period, these poetic, sensual, vividly descriptive texts were set over and over again to music, and they inspired librettists to expand on the original texts.

Mozart’s Motet Exsultate, Jubilate was originally written in Milan in 1773 for the castrato Venanzio Rauzzini but is now frequently used as a showpiece work for the soprano voice. The motet is considered to be an excellent example of sacred music that is Baroque in structure and mood. Ruth Ziesak’s melting soprano voice sounds impressive throughout this exultant music especially in the brilliant concluding section which is spun elaborately around the single word Alleluia.

Masterpieces Played by Masters asserts the back cover of this reissue confidently. That gives the wrong idea of the flavor of this little disc of chamber music from the middle eighteenth century, originally recorded in 1978. The instruments are all either of the relevant period or copies of such, making this one of the earlier applications of historical-performance principles to pre-Classical music. The "Masters" part of the equation is justifiable enough; flutist Barthold Kuijken and the other players involved all had long careers in the Dutch heartland of the historical-performance movement, and, unlike so many other players trained primarily in the Baroque repertory, they take naturally to the light charm of the pieces played here.

This collection of music for Vespers by J S Bach’s youngest son includes Domine ad adjuvandum, Confitbor tibi Domine, Beatus vir, Laudate pueri Dominum and his setting of the Magnificat. Domine ad adjuvandum is a world premiere recording.

Johann Christian Bach - Salve Regina
Emma Kirkby / Markus Schäfer / L'Orfeo Barockorchester / Michi Gaigg
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 291 MB | Full Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Classic Produktionen Osnabrück # 999 718-2 | Country/Year: Germany 2001
Genre: Classical | Style: Early Classical Period, Sacred

…The orchestra, led by violinist Michi Gaigg, is a delight to hear, a finely tuned and ideally balanced ensemble whose playing gives real drive and support to the singers–and, in these world premiere recordings, makes a strong case for hearing a lot more from J.C. The sound is exemplary.

Mannheim school refers to both the orchestral techniques pioneered by the court orchestra of Mannheim in the latter half of the 18th century as well as the group of composers who wrote such music for the orchestra of Mannheim and others....

The prestige that the Royal Academy of Turin enjoyed among the British aristocracy was undoubtedly contributed to by the alliance that existed between the courts of Savoy and St. James from the end of the 17th century until the 19th century.

Olivier Vernet studied organ with Gaston Litaize at the Conservatoire National de Région in Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, where he earned his concert diploma with honors. At the Conservatoire National de Région in Rueil Malmaison, he studied with Marie-Claire Alain, and continued his studies at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris with Michel Chapuis. For 15 years Vernet played the organ at L'église Saint-Louis in Vichy, then in 2006 was named organist of the Cathedral of Monaco.