Respighi: Lauda per la Natività del Signore

In 1930 Ottorino Respighi composed his Lauda per la Nativit del ­Signore, the only sacred choral work among his entire opus. In this hymn of praise to the miracle of Christmas, majestic sounding choral passages alternate with the soloistic roles of Maria, the Angel and the shepherd, accompanied by the sound of pastoral instruments. The music is varied, containing stylistic elements ranging from the late romantic to neo baroque, as well as echoes of Gregorian chant. In this recording by the Rundfunkchor Berlin, under the direction of Nicolas Fink and Maris Sirmais, Respighi’s composition is presented together with beautiful Christmas pieces by Poulenc, Sandström, Kaminskyand Raphael. Like Respighi, in their compositions they employed various techniques and harmonies from previous musical eras.

Octo toni ecclesiastici per Organo

Puccini: Canti per voce e pianoforte

The present collection of 16 smaller vocal compositions is doubly a novelty: On the one hand, among these are three works presented here which were either lost for more than a century [Dios y Patria], or they were never published in their definitive form [Salve Regina and Ad una morta!]. On the other hand, they appear here in the first critical edition of these vocal works ever published; through the consistent consultation of the original sources numerous false readings which had been handed down over the years could be corrected.

Peyer: Preambuli e Fughe per Organo Teil I

Peyer: Preambuli e Fughe per Organo Teil II

Quintetti d'archi e Partite per due liuti [FBO]

” … a very beautiful, very refined ensemble playing, a rhythmically pointed, structurally clear, very expressive recording.“

C. P. E. Bach: Concerti per il Cembalo

“Between the energetic tutti and the soft passages an exciting range is revealed without having to sacrifice a cultivated sound and tonal beauty. Rather, the string ensemble is unified, without sounding stiff, and in the slow movements … it is capable of playing in soft, if restrained song.”

La Grandezza della Musica Imperiale : Composizioni per orchestra

Johann Josef Fux, who was highly respected and the longtime Music Director of the Viennese Imperial Court, is gradually being rediscovered. This recording presents little-known works from Fux's instrumental opus. The focus of this recording are the stylized baroque dances: movements of the suite in which all the virtuoso possibilities of solo and tutti playing in the manner of Italian gusto are relished and explored. An especial charm lies in the pictorial-programmatic works, as in the bird call imitations in the Ouverture in d Minor, or the serenade-like concerto entitled "gentleness and bitterness of the night" music full of surprises and contrasts.

6 Sonate per Violino e Cembalo BWV 1014-1019 : Johannsen

These important works within Bach’s chamber music opus are played by C. Busch and K. Johannsen on period instruments in an extraordinarily lively and finely differentiated style. The slow movements are rendered in an intimate, almost contemplative manner. In doing without the basso continuo Bach divided the three voices of a traditional trio sonata between two instruments by making the harpsichord an equal partner with the violin.

Cleofide -Dramma per musica von Johann Adolf Hasse : Untersuchung der Entstehungsgeschichte

Johann Adolf Hasse [1699 1783] is considered the most successful composer from the middle third of the 18th century. He spent the most important and longest portion of his professional musical career as Music Director at the Dresden Court of Friedrich August II. The fact that Hasse was offered this prestigious position was due to the success of his opera Cleofide, which was performed in Dresden in September 1731 still during the reign of August the Strong with his wife, Faustina [née Bordoni], singing the female lead. In connection with the first edition of Cleofide [Johann Adolf Hasse, Werke, Vol. I/1, Stuttgart, 2008] the editor, Zenon Mojzysz, undertook extensiveresearch of the cultural-historical environment surrounding this opera. With reference to numerous original sources, in the present volume the circumstances which led to the composer’s appointment at the Dresden Court and to the performance there of Cleofide will be brought to light.

Composizioni per pianoforte : Edizione Nazionale delle Opere di Giacomo Puccini, II/2.2

Messa : Op. 20

Amilcare Ponchielli (1834–1886) is known nowadays mainly as an opera composer and the composition teacher of Giacomo Puccini and Pietro Mascagni. He scored his greatest success in 1876 at La Scala Milan with the opera La Gioconda, a work which is still in the repertoire of the major opera houses. Ponchielli’s sacred works were composed in his later years, when he was maestro di cappella at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore in Bergamo. There his Mass in A flat op. 20 (also known as "Messa per la notte di natale") was premiered on Christmas Day 1882. The Mass is captivating because of its flowing, singable melodies, rich harmonies, and warm tonal colors. The important role given tothe chorus, with which the three male soloists interact closely, is striking. The first music edition of the Messa is a real discovery for choirs with good male voices: the second tenor part can largely be sung by the baritones.