KuK-Art.com

***** Wonderful beyond words

Utterly, utterly divine. The most beautiful and serene choral singing I have heard in many years. Moving beyond words with voices soaring to perfection offset by basso profoundo deeps. Sheer pleasure. A real experience. Strongly recommended.

'R. M. Lane' on Amazon.uk

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Awarded by Qobuz with the HI-RES AUDIO

March 2012

A spirited rediscovery of true expression that's centuries old

This album is part of a series recorded live at the medieval-era Maulbronn Monastery in southern Germany, but it explores the music of a very different region: the Hamburger Ratsmusik, doubtless a strange name to Anglophone ears, is the Music of the Hamburg City Council, a concert series with a tradition a half a millennium long. It petered out and was then revived.
This concert, conceptualized by gambist and ensemble leader Simone Eckert, collects a group of pieces from the 18th century, all connected by the single theme of time (die Zeit)... The combination of pieces is largely unlike anything that's been put on disc before, and many of them are unknown. The program combines simple, strophic settings like Johann Schop's "O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort" (O Eternity, You Thunder-Word), from the mid-17th century, with Telemann's simple moralistic cantatas, more involved Bachian pieces, and instrumental works of several kinds.
Soprano Dorothee Mields does an exceptional job of communicating the sober but appealing mood of the music, so different from the operatic ideals that informed even much of the output of Bach, and the backing musicians keep everything lively even as the emotion level is low-key; the two Telemann trio sonatas included are nicely differentiated by accompaniment, with one featuring a theorbo continuo.
The whole program breathes and feels like a spirited rediscovery of true expression that's centuries old, and the sound from the monastery is well suited to this music. Recommended, partly in hopes that the album will stimulate further exploration of the repertory from Hamburg, an immensely influential city in its day.

James Manheim, All Music Guide USA

Qobuz Hi-Res Audio

Awarded by Qobuz with the "Hi-Res Audio" March 2012.

Qobuz

An extraordinary sense of choral blend...

Their quality pianissimos and sustained ritards are among the most pleasing and best in the business
The Maulbronners have an extraordinary sense of choral blend, and just the right balance between the parts, too. Their quality pianissimos and sustained ritards are among the most pleasing and best in the business.

D. Hugh Rosenbaum on Amazon.uk

Elegant baroque music...

The celebrated Wolfgang Bauer Consort performs elegant baroque music à la Cour Royale by, among others, Johann Sebastaian Bach, in this triumphant concert recording made at the convent church in Maulbronn. The distinguished soloists are Wolfgang Bauer (trumpet), Ingo Goritzki (oboe), Sebastian Hamann (violin) and Heidrun Laukemann (flute).

New Classics UK

*****This is incredible! There are no tracks that I want to skip

This is incredible! I enjoy baroque music but am in no way a classical music buff. I had never known of Telemann until I happened upon this by chance. I heard an excerpt that totally caught my attention when I was flipping through car radio stations. It was so fetching that I immediately had to search the web to find out about Telemann & this CD. Luckily I found it. It is so tasteful. The 35 short concertos flow so well together & provide enough variety to keep it engaging using instrumentation original to the baroque era. None of it is irritating. There are no tracks that I want to skip. The lead trumpet, violin, etc. are clean , light , skillful. This CD is so beautifully done, and it has a positive effect on the soul. Highly Recommend.

TealBlue02 'TealBlue' (Mason Dixon Line, MD/DE) on Amazon

Great music by a brilliant composer played by a superb ensemble

'Bachanalia' on eMusic.com

The striking ambience of this particular recording was truly eye-opening...

This fine disc is yet another in the stunning series of CDs produced by the enterprising Josef-Stefan Kindler and Andreas Otto Grimminger and recorded in the sublime acoustic of the UNESCO World Heritage site of the Maulbronn monastery near Heilbronn in Germany. Telemann has become quite well served on record of late but this eclectically mixed concert is a joy just to sit back and relax with the sounds of trumpet, string instruments and clarinets competing for attention. I have recently had the opportunity to listen to several CDs from the Concentus Musicus Wien in numerous Telemann works but the striking ambience of this particular recording was truly eye-opening. Each soloist led by the able virtuoso Wolfgang Bauer brings the works to life in an uncanny sense of historically informed music making. This is a joyful disc which deserves the widest possible currency.

Gerald Fenech on Classical Net

HI-RES AUDIO

Awarded by Qobuz with the HI-RES AUDIO

March 2012

HI-RES AUDIO

Awarded by Qobuz with the HI-RES AUDIO

March 2012

A fine compilation

This fine compilation of show stopping organ works is done full justice by the imposing Bad Homburg Church Organ played with relish and gusto by Ulrike Northoff. Starting off with Bach, appropriately enough, she gives a titanic interpretation of the 'Great' Fantasia and Fugue, BWV 542. The rarely heard Sonata by Bach's son Carl Philipp Emanuel also comes across quite nicely as does an interesting discovery by Christian Rinck, a rather obscure name whose Concerto for organ (originally for flute) certainly warrants some attention. We finally conclude with some Mendelssohn, his fourth sonata which comes across very well played indeed. K&K's presentation is quite excellent with expansive notes and some very striking photographs. The sound is very vivid and immediate although some boom is also detected due to the large, cavernous acoustic.

Gerald Fenech on Classical Net

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Awarded by Qobuz with the HI-RES AUDIO

March 2012

***** Live and exciting...

Here is another great cd from Paris Washboard... It was recorded live in June 2012 and the audience factor makes this group even more exciting. Rarely heard treats such as Fats Wallers' composition "Dancing At The Waldorf" and Duke Ellingtons' "Frolic Sam" are played with excellent execution. Old favorites such as "Keepin' Out Of Mischief" and "Dinah" are also on this cd.

'Jack' on Amazon.com (Verified Purchase of the Audio CD)

Bravo!

A viewer on YouTube and Google+

HI-RES AUDIO

Awarded by Qobuz with the HI-RES AUDIO

March 2012

Recommended by the Downbeat Magazine in the 'Holiday Gift Guide 2019'

The German, Belgian and Dutch members of the New Orleans Jazz Band of Cologne find their passion in New Orleans traditional jazz. "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" (K&K Verlagsanstalt 134; 66:52) maintains the level of energy necessary to keep nostalgia away on this live album. A round-robin of decent solos is the order of the day.

A rich and warm voice in a splendidly recorded and produced release

Sarah Wegener enthralls listeners with the richness and warmth of her voice and approaches every role in a chamber musical way. She regularly works with Kent Nagano, Philippe Herreweghe, Thomas Hengelbrock, Heinz Holliger, Michael Hofstetter and Frieder Bernius. She studied with Professor Jaeger-Bohm in Stuttgart and took part in master classes with Dame Gwyneth Jones and Renee Morloc.
Here, Sarah performs with the Ensemble Il Capriccio arias and cantatas from the baroque era, thematically enhanced with modern compositions. The release documents a concert at the church of the German UNESCO World Heritage Site Maulbronn Monastery in Germany 2015, splendidly recorded and produced by Andreas Otto Grimminger and Josef-Stefan Kindler for their series "Maulbronn Monastery Edition".

Presto Classical, November 2016

***** Exquisite piece, used for HRH's Harry and Meghan Wedding!

"Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne, HWV 74" was used as processional for HRH's Harry and Meghan Wedding!
I fell in love with this aria when Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan used it as the processional for their wedding. After researching it, the context of the lyrics actually fits quite well with the Song of Solomon scripture reading of earthly wonder of love and Bishop Curry's animated homily concerning love's redemptive power toward heavenly peace on earth! In Handel's / Queen Anne's era of "the divine right of kings" (queen, in this case), this piece credits her Majesty with bringing about said "heavenly peace on earth", going into some detail in so doing, speaking of the lion lying down with the lamb, etc. I haven't heard if the "Ode" was chosen with this knowledge, or if it is a most remarkable irony. The planning for their wedding being spectacular as it was, I suspect it is the former. Whatever the case, while haunting, it is a most beautiful piece of classical music and I'm so grateful to Harry and Meghan for bringing it back to public attention in this way!

Customer Review on Amazon.com, Juni 17, 2018

An extraordinary reading that rises to the moment

The severe sound environment of the Maulbronn Abbey, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the German state of Baden-Württemberg that dates to the twelfth century, has given rise to a series of recordings covering varying aspects of music from the Western concert tradition. That sound environment is put to intelligent use in this string quartet recital, which pairs well-worn pieces but gives them unusually intense interpretations that are heightened by the hard resonance of the sound. Sample the very beginning of the Schubert "String Quartet in D minor, D. 810" "Death and the Maiden", to get yourself into the disc; the opening chords might be described as slashing. Move on to the second-movement variation set built on the song that gives the quartet its name; where many quartets let a sort of debilitated gloom hang over much of the movement, everything here is a life-and-death struggle. The stronger of the two performances on the disc is that of Janácek's 1928 "String Quartet No. 2," subtitled "Intimate Letters," a hypersubjective work whose emotional content could have been drawn straight from one of Sigmund Freud's contemporaneous psychotherapy sessions. The work is as dissonant as almost any other of its period that does not completely reject tonality, but the dissonance is used in the service of untrammelled expression. The letters evoked are those between the composer and his married mistress. Yet the Amati Quartet's performance, ringing around the monastery walls, brings to mind, to use John le Carré's memorable simile, thoughts that are like birds stuck in a greenhouse. It's an extraordinary reading that rises to the moment offered by a specific performance space, and the disc as a whole, while not for those who like the emotional temperature of their classical music kept to medium, is decisively recommended to those wanting to try out the Maulbronn series.

James Manheim, All Music Guide

I enjoyed it tremendously

It took me completely unawares when the dramatic opening bars of "Death and the Maiden" gripped me by the throat and threatened immediate life-extinction; I felt as if I were living the story myself, and though no maiden, I could certainly relate to her death-obsessed plight. This version is almost orchestral in feeling. While it is true that there is a huge amount of reverb in this space - well, it is a monastery - this only partially accounts for the destructive vehemence that the Amati gives this work. They see and saw their way as if it were the world's last concert, or the devil himself was in the audience. I enjoyed it tremendously...

Steven E. Ritter, FANFARE Magazine

Another thumbs up for this extremely enterprising German label

The enterprising German label K&K has made a name for themselves by issuing critically acclaimed recordings of oratorios and other sacred works in the haunting location of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Maulbronn Monastery. This CD features two string quartets by masters in the genre, Franz Schubert and Leoš Janácek played by the legendary Amati Quartet, one of the finest ensembles currently recording. Both works come across quite beautifully in the sumptuous acoustic and as expected, the Amati play with their exemplary brilliance especially in the "Intimate Letters" which is certainly very hard to bring off. This is another thumbs up for this extremely enterprising German label.

Gerald Fenech on Classical Net

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Awarded by Qobuz with the HI-RES AUDIO

March 2012

HI-RES AUDIO

Awarded by Qobuz with the HI-RES AUDIO

March 2012

The Rastatt Favorite Palace in Germany

This concert took place in the "Sala Terrena" (Garden Hall) of Rastatt Favorite Palace (Schloss Favorite Rastatt) in Germany. The Palace is the oldest German "porcelain palace" and the only one to survive almost unchanged to this day. The palace and the garden are one of 60 historic monuments in the Germany's Southwest. The "State Organisation for Palaces and Gardens of Baden-Württemberg" (in German: "Staatliche Schlösser und Gärten Baden-Württemberg") makes accessible, communicate, develops and preserves these state-owned historic monuments with the aim of preserving the authenticity of the cultural heritage, filling them with life and preserving them for future generations. Detailed information about these unique "Soundscapes" can be found at: www.schloesser-und-gaerten.de

***** A memorable mash-up

A musical revolution occurred in about 1720, with the "style galant" replacing the more learned and complicated music in vogue before then. K&K Verlagsanstalt, which specializes in audiophile recordings made in historic churches and palaces, has put together a winning project here, with the venerable Quantz Collegium (established in 1936) performing highly appealing music from the Garden Hall of the Rastatt Favorite Palace in Baden-Württemberg. Recorded at two live concerts, we have here four concertos for viola or flute, or both, by Graupner, Telemann and FWH Benda, all written in the accessible, tuneful new style. Mention should be made of Josef-Stefan Kindler's superb photos in the CD notes, which I at first took for paintings in the Rococo style of Tiepolo. They capture both the spirit of the original music and venue and that of the Quantz Collegium and K&K's Historically Informed reconstructions.
"Every current of fashion or of worldview", says Walter Benjamin in The Arcades Project, "derives its force from what is forgotten." Three centuries on, the stripping down of J. S. Bach's erudite polyphonic puzzles can seem, according to one's sensibilities or mood, either a vital breath of fresh air or a savage dumbing down for the kind of mindless 18th century twits personified by Hugh Laurie's Prince George in Blackadder's Third Series. Luckily we can still take pleasure in the simple joys of melody and a direct and honest, if sometimes guileless, clarity. This music is well-crafted, but the strongest movements, those in Telemann's Viola Concerto especially, can seem very much self-aware. It won't be long before the streamlining process leads to a new round of mannerist complexities.
Though one won't find the final degree of authentic style from the Quantz Collegium, including the three soloists, flutist Jochen Baier and violists Agata Zieba and Killian Ziegler, there is much to admire in these performances. The admirably spare technology and truly galant way of playing combined with the elaborate costumes and the rococo porcelain excesses of the venue make for a memorable mash-up.

Dean Frey on several-instruments.blogspot.com, on Arkiv Music and on Amazon

Atmospheric, emotional and moving

In this recording of a Maulbronn Monastery choir concert, the Don Cossacks Soloists Wanja Hlibka sing works from the Russian Orthodox tradition by Maximowitsch (Wir verbeugen uns vor Deinem Kreuz), M. Lovorsky, Pjotr Iljitsch Tschaikowsky (In der Kirche), Alexandre Gretschaninow (Credo), Kastalsky, Fatejev, Dimitrij Bortnjanskij (Tedeum Laudamus) and the Kiev Melodies. The compositions carefully selected for the liturgically conceived Musica Sacra reveal surprising new insights into the high art of sacred Russian music and tradition. The outstanding a cappella ensemble performing here was founded in 1991 by Wanja Hlibka and George Tymczenko, who were both formerly soloists in the acclaimed Don Cossacks Choir until its disbandment in 1979. The Don Cossacks Soloists perform live and without amplification, even in such large venues as the Musikhalle in Hamburg, the Messehalle in Frankfurt or the Gewandhaus in Leipzig. The rich and emotional music of the Russian Orthodox Church is not often heard in the Western world, making this atmospheric and moving CD a wonderful to the beautifully produced Maulbronn Edition.

new-classics.co.uk

***** A superb collection of excellent recordings

I recommend it!

A customer at Barnes & Noble

Outstanding!

The German Magazine 'Neue Chorzeit'

Comments on YouTube

"Beautiful interpretation" (Gabriel Moinet)
"A fantastic work, so great and so independent form Bach. Handel and Bach equal giants of the baroque." (shnimmuc)
"Wonderful! Viele Danke." (Kat Morgan)
"Very Beautiful Voice" (Teddy Smith)

***** One of the best German choirs...

The Maulbronner Kammerchor, conducted by Juergen Budday, can serve as a model example of the best that there is in the German style of this art: roundly shaped clear phrases, deliberately designed shadings of dynamics, precise articulation an a homogeneous balance of well-cultured voices. These caracteristics are symptomatic, regardless of whether they are singing a motet or a modern psalm, light in presentation but studded with thoroughly rehearsed effects...

A customer on Amazon.com

Commissioned by the angels to bring this music to earth…

Sacred and secular songs from Armenia performed by eight young women (they look to be in their 20s) who sing as though commissioned by the angels to bring this music to earth. Their sound is reverberant and then some, but they come by the echoes honestly. This was recorded in concert at Maulbronn, an 850-year-old Romanesque monastery in southern Germany where constricted sonics are not a way of life. You won't have any trouble distinguishing the modal chants offered to the glory of God from the images of moonlight, wedding dresses, and houses by the sea evoked in the secular offerings. It's beautiful Music!

© 2019 American Record Guide

Featured on Spotify

This release is/was featured on Spotify's weekly list of 50 notable classical new releases, Nov. 9 till Nov. 16, 2018

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