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t must have been at the turn of the new century when I had a conversation with Jürgen Budday in the cloister of the Maulbronn monastery and talked of how superb the church was as a performing space and how its atmosphere might be put to use. By expanding the dimensions of the performance and incorporating the audience into the tension, the euphoria of the concert, without a single instrument – with the pure power of those human gifts that we receive from our Creator at the moment of birth. But you know, of the many demands that a project like this makes of those involved, I want to single out just one – the human factor, plain and simple.
When a group of people work together, it takes time to develop a certain intimacy, to acquire experience of working as a team – simply to establish respect and friendship. For, after more than ten productions, we have come to know “our Chamber Choir” very well, to realize what high demands the choir director and the singers make of themselves. All of them have worked hard for this live recording, on the concept as well as the music, just to capture the moment, to give you pleasure – and this over and above the daily demands of their private and professional lives. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who participated and leave it to the director to explain the content and concept of the programme in the section that follows.

Josef-Stefan Kindler, Publisher

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n this collection entitled “Der Mensch lebt und bestehet” (Man lives and exists), the Maulbronn Chamber Choir presents compositions that are interconnected in themselves and in content, in that they regard birth as more than just a joyful event. It is an act of creation, in which the divine and the human find each other and which implies earthly finiteness, but at the same time transcends this and leads back to its divine beginnings. This is how the prophetic words of the Old Testament are taken up, words that are substantiated in the annunciation to Mary of the incarnation of Christ (“Angelus Domini – Ave Maria”) and that lead into the events of Christmas (“Gloria” and “O magnum mysterium”). Yet at the same time, their central theme is the union of man with divine reality by means of reformation and contemplation (the “unio mystica”). Each life has a goal that transcends earthly finiteness, leading to what Reger calls that “hellen, schönen, lichten Tag, an dem er/sie selig werden mag" (that bright, beautiful, clear day when he or she blessed be).
In the “Ave Maria” by Franz Biebl (1906-2001), we find the current text of the Ave Maria surrounded by recitations in unison, in which the Angel of the Lord announces the coming birth of Jesus to Mary (cf. the Magnificat), culminating in the words of the Gospel according to St. John: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” The motet is divided into two 3 and 4-part choirs. The sound has a romantic sonority with some surprising harmonic twists.
“A Hymn to the Virgin” by Benjamin Britten (1913-1976), a composition for two choirs, is presented in a very similar vein. The text dates from about 1300 and praises Mary as a lovely, radiant, adorable maiden carrying the Son of God in her womb. Britten has set it to music that is basically archaic in mood and melody. The first choir sings the text in English and the second interpolates and comments on it in Latin.
One might well ask oneself with some astonishment what a composer could find so appealing about setting a family tree to music. In his motet “Which was the son of”, the minimalist composer Arvo Pärt (born 1935) succeeds most impressively in transposing the 77 (!!) names that comprise the family tree in Luke 3, 23-38. After a short introduction, he enumerates the names: very softly at first and in unison. Gradually, the movement grows in intensity, both in the number of voices and in its dynamics. Tonally, the composition reaches its climax in the middle section, when Luke enumerates the great progenitors, Jacob, Isaac and Abraham. An opulent five-voice male choir is followed by a homophonic choral movement with eight mixed voices, symbolising the significance and greatness of these men. This is imitated in the subsequent movement, which is lighter and shifts the emphasis of the composition from the harmonic to the motoric, before the final phrase traces the entire family tree back to God in another glorious burst of sound. Throughout the entire composition, Pärt only uses harmonies that range between E minor and G major, with just the final “Amen” switching to a light E major.
The motet “O magnum mysterium” is the work of Morten Lauridsen (born 1943), an American composer of Danish origin. It speaks of the wonder of the birth of Jesus. Here, too, the “unio mystica“ is the theme of this composition, the union with the Divine through redemption and ecstatic contemplation.
Jan Sandström (born 1954) dedicates his “Gloria” to “la Casa de la Madre y el Niño” in Bogotá. The idea behind the composition came to Sandström in a dream, which he describes as follows: “In a church on a mountain high above Bogotá, a children’s choir sings the Gloria over and over again, during which first one child, then another and another steps forward to interject “Gloria in excelsis.” Sandström has incorporated this pattern of fast switches from choir to a single chorister into his composition – vibrant rhythm, detailed and delightful harmony combined with a sound that envelopes the listener from all sides, making listening a real experience.
“Ich bin das Brot des Lebens” (“I am the bread of life”), composed in 2001 by Wolfram Buchenberg (born 1962), is an eight-part motet that lives mainly from the confrontation between male and female voices. It is composed mainly to the text of Psalm 1 and verse 35 of the sixth chapter of John, and describes Christ the person as the basis and, indeed, the prerequisite for human existence. The piece begins in a very meditative vein and in part with tone clusters based on the five scales of D – E - F sharp - G sharp – A. Then the words of Christ ring out from the male choir – “I am the bread of life” – as if they come from another sphere, and in bold harmony. In the middle section, a short motif is given a rhythmic and melodic improvisation by the middle female voices, with each of the singers drifting apart in individual tempos. The composition then merges into an eight-part homophonic portrayal of the text and ends as it began.
The programme turns to the themes of transience and eternity with 3 Motets from Opus 138 by Max Reger (1873-1916). The choral compositions are homophonic and have a clarity about them that is otherwise only found in old A-cappella artistic renderings. This is seen in the way each voice is kept melodically independent as well as in the economy of chromatic notation. The movements have great tonal and expressive density and a wide range of expression. „Der Mensch lebt und bestehet nur eine kleine Zeit" (text: Matthias Claudius) is a motet written for two choirs - and it turned out to be of fateful relevance for Reger himself. At 11 p.m. on 10 May, 1916, he left the café where he had met up with the Thomaskantor, Karl Straube. The next morning, Reger was found dead at home in his bed. Open on the table were the galley proofs for the motet “Der Mensch lebt und bestehet nur eine kleine Zeit”.
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809-1847) composed the 16-part “Hora est ” for four choirs in 1828 for the Singakademie in Berlin. The text is based on an antiphone and a Responsory from the Divine Office for the period of Advent. “It is time to rouse ourselves from sleep.” The piece opens in G minor with a male choir, followed by the lighter sound of higher voices singing the declamatory “Ecce apparebit” in D major as a contrast. The fugato that follows this is reminiscent of the final fugue in the Gloria from the Bach Mass in B minor (“Cum sancto spiritu”). What makes this composition particularly charming is the division between women’s choir, men’s choir and mixed choral groupings, all culminating in the exuberant and overwhelming sound of a 16-voice choir.
This programme is exceptional in that it includes choral works written for more than one choir. The effect of these compositions is heightened appreciably by positioning the various performers in different areas of the church, and they were, in fact, originally composed with this in mind. In the Biebl and Britten motets, we therefore experience a separate smaller choir singing far up in the gallery of the monastery church. Even the soloists in Sandström’s “Gloria” enhance the effect of the performing space by being positioned opposite the choir. The Reger motets also develop a unique sound of their own, due to mixed groupings of voices being placed extremely far apart throughout the entire area. In the Maulbronn Monastery church, the conditions are ideal for these innovate concepts of sound.

Jürgen Budday

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he Piano Sonata No. 12 in F major by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, K. 332/300k, was written at the same time as the Piano Sonata, K. 330, and Piano Sonata, K. 331 ("Alla turca"), Mozart numbering them as a set from one to three. They were once believed to have been written in the late 1770s in Paris, but it is now thought more likely that they date from 1783, by which time Mozart had moved to Vienna. Some believe that Mozart wrote this and the other sonatas during a summer 1783 visit to Salzburg made for the purpose of introducing his wife, Constanze to his father, Leopold. All three sonatas were published in Vienna in 1784... [From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia]

The Piano Sonata No. 16 in A minor D. 845 (Op. 42) by Franz Schubert is a sonata for solo piano, composed in May 1825. The first movement was featured in the 2016 film "The Age of Shadows". The first movement is in sonata form though with ambiguity over the material in the development and the beginning of the recapitulation. The second movement is in C major (relative key to A minor) variation form, with somewhat frequent forays into the parallel minor, C minor. The third movement is a scherzo in compound ternary form, where the main scherzo is essentially in sonata form. The main scherzo opens in A minor and soon switches to the second theme in C major without a transition. The development goes through F minor, A-flat major and A-flat minor, finally arriving on an imperfect cadence in A minor. After the development comes the opening theme in A minor, soon followed by the second theme in A major (also in which the main scherzo ends). The calmer and slower trio section is in F major, the submediant major to A minor (also the subdominant of the relative key to A minor). No extra coda is present after the recapitulated main scherzo. The fourth movement, in A minor, begins with a melancholic but light melody. This movement is in sonata rondo form with foreshortened recapitulation. The secondary subject in the exposition goes from E minor to E major, while that in the recapitulation goes from A minor to A major. This movement finally closes in A minor... [From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia]

Carnaval, Op. 9, is a work by Robert Schumann for piano solo, written in 1834-1835, and subtitled "Scènes mignonnes sur quatre notes" (Little Scenes on Four Notes). It consists of 21 short pieces representing masked revelers at Carnival, a festival before Lent. Schumann gives musical expression to himself, his friends and colleagues, and characters from improvised Italian comedy (commedia dell'arte). He dedicated the work to the violinist Karol Lipinski. Carnaval had its origin in a set of variations on a "Sehnsuchtswalzer" by Franz Schubert, whose music Schumann had only discovered in 1827. The catalyst for writing the variations may have been a work for piano and orchestra by Schumann's close friend Ludwig Schuncke, a set of variations on the same Schubert theme. Schumann felt that Schuncke's heroic treatment was an inappropriate reflection of the tender nature of the Schubert piece, so he set out to approach his variations in a more intimate way, and worked on them in 1833 and 1834. The work was never completed, however, and Schuncke died in December 1834, but Schumann did re-use the opening 24 measures for the opening of Carnaval. Pianist Andreas Boyde has since reconstructed the original set of variations from Schumann's manuscript (published by Hofmeister Musikverlag), premiered this reconstruction in New York and recorded it for Athene Records... [From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia]

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xcept for specialists, very little is known about the musical aspects of colonial Latin America. Following the arrival of conquerors and colonizers, an extremely important cultural symbiosis slowly begins to take shape. This process extends all the way to the end of the 18th century and, in some regions, it lasts up to the early 19th century along with the wars of independence.
This period witness the development of a large and rich heritage in architecture, painting, sculpture, and literature. The Cuzco paintings or the works of Aleijadinho in Brazil, suffice to recognize important peculitarities. A similar process takes place with the music. Just as the University of Salamanca was the model for New World institutions of higher learning, the Music Chapel of Seville Cathedral became the paradigm for those to be established in the key cities of viceroyalities overseas. They received important musicians, printed music or manuscript copies, instruments and theoretical writings. Nearly the entire corpus of this music can be found in ecclesiastical repositories and are associated with the church and its celebrations. However, few examples of profane works remain.
Several researchers have devoted themselves to explore these centuries. At the same time they have started a search for documents of the period: data written down by priests in church-books, listings of church expenditures which includes singers and interpreters, instruments acquired an celebrations in which they took part. Their study and analysis, as well as the chronicles of priests and travellers, teach us about the norms that ruled music in American Chapels, their composers and the bulk of their repertoire. In Mexico. Lima, Sucre or Cuzco, the Chapel Master guided his "schola", controlling its daily practices while, at the same time, composing new works for successive festivities. We should recall that most choral singers, singing and dancing choir boys and interpreters as well as composers were indigenous, and in Brazil, mulattos.
The repertoire included a variety of sources: books printed in and regularly received from Europe, the works of resident maestros, often of great value, and later on, works of native composers formed in Latin America. We can identify three key musical periods. The first period in Mexico, with "a capella" polyphony which recalls Spanish Renaissance. there we can find Liturgical works and Christmas carols, as well as toys, melodies and pitaresque ballads.

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he Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, K. 467, was completed on 9 March 1785 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, four weeks after the completion of the previous D minor concerto, K. 466. The second movement was featured in the 1967 Swedish film "Elvira Madigan". As a result, the piece has become widely known as the "Elvira Madigan concerto". Neil Diamond's 1972 song "Song Sung Blue" was based on a theme from the andante movement of the concerto. [From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia]

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he Piano Concerto No. 26 in D major, K. 537, was written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and completed on 24 February 1788. It is generally known as the "Coronation" concerto. The traditional name associated with this work is not Mozart's own, nor was the work written on the occasion for which posterity has named it. Mozart remarked in a letter to his wife in April 1789 that he had just performed this concerto at court. But the nickname "Coronation" is derived from his playing of the work at the time of the coronation of Leopold II as Holy Roman Emperor in October 1790 in Frankfurt am Main. At the same concert, Mozart also played the Piano Concerto No. 19, K. 459. We know this because when Johann André of Offenbach published the first editions of both concertos in 1794, he identified them on their title pages as being performed on the occasion of Leopold's coronation. Alan Tyson in his introduction to Dover Publications' facsimile of the autograph score (which today is at the Pierpont Morgan Library in New York) comments that "Although K. 459 has at times been called a 'Coronation' concerto, this title has nearly always been applied to K. 537". [From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia]

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he sweeping impulsivity and musical gauge of their interpretations have led these "three divine sons" (Süddeutsche Zeitung) to where they are today. Undoubtedly, Trio Fontenay is currently the most renowned German piano trio. A fast-paced career developed in the mid-1980s, during the course of which the "young, wild ones" were continual guests at Europe's larger festivals. In 1986 they had their American debut. Since then, one or two large annual tours take them through the USA and Canada, within the scope of which the trio regularly performs in major metropolitan cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Montreal and Toronto. The ensemble's comprehensive repertoire is a cross-section of all piano trio literature, and with its interpretations impressed with intensity and faithfulness, Trio Fontenay has always aroused great acclamation from both its public and critics alike. For their complete recording of the Beethoven Trios, Trio Fontenay was award the annual prize by Deutsche Schallplattenkritik, as well as the French "Diapason d'Or". In Paris, the trio was appointed Châtelet Theatre's resident trio.
In this recording they play Piano Trio No. 1, op 35 by the Spanish pianist and composer Joaquin Turina from the year 1926 - a piece previously unrecorded by the Trio. Together with Manuel de Falla, Turina is held as the most outstanding representative of the modern Spanish school, which was motivated by French Impressionism, but in its melody, however, is attached to the folk music of Andalusia.
The second part of the concert includes Piano Trio in E-flat Major, op. 70 No. 2 by Ludwig van Beethoven. Carl Czerny, composer and student of Beethoven, says of this work, "this trio is no less great or original than its successor (Trio D-major, op 70 No. 1), but it is of a very different, less serious character." The trio in e-flat major was composed during the summer of 1808 immediately after the Sixth Symphony, and applies foreseen traits to Romanticism. Beethoven expands his realm of expression here in two somewhat converse directions: both in a seemingly romantically tonal colourfulness, and towards the inclusion of classic style elements by means of a stricter introduction.
Michael Mücke plays a violin from Gaspare Lorenzini (Piacenza 1780); Jens Peter Maintz plays a Violoncello from Vincenzo Rugeri (1696).

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his live recording is part of a cycle of oratorios and masses, performed in the basilica of Maulbronn Abbey under the direction of Jürgen Budday. The series combines authentically performed oratorios and masses with the optimal acoustics and atmosphere of this unique monastic church. This ideal location demands the transparency of playing and the interpretive unveiling of the rhetoric intimations of the composition, which is especially aided by the historically informed performance. The music is exclusively performed on reconstructed historical instruments, which are tuned to the pitch customary in the composer's lifetimes (this performance is tuned in a' = 415 Hz).

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n July 1738 Handel began to compose the monumental and heroic story of Saul. The libretto had been put together by Charles Jennens, a very wealthy literary dilettante with many pretensions, but some talent. He played to Handel's strengths, and gave the composer many dramatic opportunities in the libretto. Handel had a difficult time finishing this oratorio, interrupting it to compose the opera Imeneo.
The story of David and Saul has always been a popular one, and on the English stage it is represented by a magnificent operatic scena by Henry Purcell. The tragedy of Saul is stark, and concerns his derangement, his moral failings, and his heroism. The drama is given a spiritual and magical element with the Witch of Endor and the ghost of Samuel as intermediaries into the next world. The dramatic chorus, again used as a chorus might be used in a classic Greek tragedy, moves the drama along, creates the moods, and influences the action. It is a chorus of Saul's people, who are heavily involved in his fate, and in the results of his actions. Handel composed for bass voice, tenor, and countertenor, and refrained from introducing into the score a virtuosic castrato as was common in his day. The somberness of the story required natural male voices whose depth adds to the gravity and weight of the outcome. The tragedy of Saul is filled with high drama, and although the chorus again proves the flexibility of the oratorio form, the characterizations and solo music are filled with passion, and vigor.
The first part opens with the first scene in the Israelitish camp, where the people join in a song of Triumph over Goliath and the Philistines. It is made up of a chorus ("How excellent Thy Name, O Lord!"), which is a stirring tribute of praise; an aria ("An Infant raised by Thy Command"), describing the meeting of David and Goliath; a trio, in which the giant is pictured as the "monster atheist," striding along to the vigorous and expressive music; and three closing choruses ("The Youth inspired by Thee"), ("How excellent Thy Name"), and a jubilant ("Hallelujah"), ending in plain but massive harmony.
The second scene is in Saul's tent. Two bars of recitative prelude an aria by Michal, Saul's daughter, who reveals her love for David ("O god-like Youth!"). Abner presents David to Saul, and a dialogue ensues between them, in which the conqueror announces his origin, and Saul pleads with him to remain, offering the hand of his daughter Merab as an inducement. David, whose part is sung by a contralto, replies in a beautiful aria, in which he attributes his success to the help of the Lord alone. In the next four numbers the friendship of Jonathan and David is cemented, which is followed by a three-verse hymn ("While yet Thy Tide of Blood runs high") of a stately character, sung by the High Priest. In a few bars of recitative Saul betroths his daughter Merab to David; but the girl replies in a vigorous aria ("My Soul rejects the Thought with Scorn"), in which she declares her intention of frustrating the scheme to unite a plebeian with the royal line. It is followed by a plaintive but vigorous aria ("See with what a scornful Air"), sung by Michal, who again gives expression to her love for David.
The next scene is entitled "Before an Israelitish City," and is prefaced with a short symphony of a jubilant character. A brief recitative introduces the maidens of the land singing and dancing in praise of the victor, leading up to one of Handel's finest choruses ("Welcome, welcome, mighty King") -- a fresh, a vigorous semi-chorus accompanied by the carillons, in which Saul's jealousy is aroused by the superiority of prowess attributed to David. It is followed by a furious aria ("With Rage I shall burst, his Praises to hear"). Jonathan laments the imprudence of the women in making comparisons, and Michal suggests to David that it is an old malady which may be assuaged by music, and in an aria ("Fell Rage and black Despair") expresses her belief that the monarch can be cured by David's persuasive lyre."
The next scene is in the King's house. David sings an aria ("O Lord whose Mercies numberless"), followed by a harp solo; but in vain. Jonathan is in despair, and Saul, in an aria ("A Serpent in my Bosom warmed"), gives vent to his fury and hurls his javelin at David. The latter escapes; and in furious recitative Saul charges his son to destroy him. The next number is an aria of Merab ("Capricious Man, in Humor lost"), lamenting Saul's temper; and Jonathan follows with a dramatic recitative and aria, in which he refuses to obey his father's behest. The High Priest appeals to Heaven ("O Lord, whose Providence") to protect David, and the first part closes with a powerful chorus ("Preserve him for the Glory of Thy Name").
The second part is laid in the place, and opens with a powerfully descriptive chorus ("Envy, eldest-born of Hell!"). In the noble song ("But sooner Jordan's Stream, I swear") Jonathan assures David he will never injure him. In a colloquy between them David is informed that Saul has bestowed the hand of the haughty Merab on Adriel, and Jonathan pleads the cause of the lovely Michal. Saul approaches, and David retires. Saul inquires of Jonathan whether he has obeyed his commands, and in a simple sweet, and flowing melody ("Sin not, O King, against the Youth") he seems to overcome the wrath of the monarch, who dissembles and welcomes David, bidding him to repel to the insults of the Philistines, and offering him his daughter Michal as a proof of his sincerity. In the second scene Michal declares her love for David, and they join in a raptorous duet ("O fairest of ten thousand fair"), which is followed by a chorus in simple harmony ("Is there a Man who all his Ways"). A long symphony follows, preparing the way for the attempt on David's Life. After an agitated duet with Michal ("At Persecution I can laugh"), David makes his escape just as Doeg, the messenger, enters with instructions to bring David to the King's chamber. He is shown the image in David's bed, which he says will only enrage the King still more. Michal sings an exultant aria ("No, let the Guilty tremble"), and even Merab, won over by David's qualities, pleads for him in a beautiful aria ("Author of Peace"). Another symphony intervenes, preluding the celebration of the feast of the new moon in the place, to which David has been invited. Jonathan again interposes with an effort to save David's life, whereupon Saul, in a fresh outburst of indignation, hurls his javelin at his son, and the chorus bursts out in horror ("Oh, fatal Consequence of Rage!").
The third part opens with the intensely dramatic scene with the Witch of Endor, the interview being preluded by the powerful recitative ("Wretch that I am!"). The second scene is laid in the Witch's abode, where the incantation is practised that brings up the apparition of Samuel. This scene closes with an elegy foreboding the coming tragedy. The third scene opens with the interview between David and the Amalekite who brings the tidings of the death of Saul and Jonathan. It is followed by that magnificent dirge, the "Dead March," whose simply yet solemn and majestic strains are familiar to every one. The trumpets and trombones with their sonorous pomp and the wailing oboes and clarinets make an instrumental pageant which is the very apotheosis of grief. The effect of the march is all the more remarkable when it is considered that, in contradistinction to all other dirges, it is written in the major key. The chorus ("Mourn, Israel, mourn thy Beauty lost"), and the three arias of lament sung by David, which follow, are all characterized by feelings of the deepest gloom. A short chorus ("Eagles were not so swift as they") follows, and then David gives voice to his lament over Jonathan in an aria of exquisite tenderness ("In sweetest Harmony they lived"), at the close of which he joins with the chorus in an obligato of sorrowful grandeur ("Oh, fatal Day, how long the Mighty Lie!"). In an exultant strain Abner bids the "men of Judah weep no more," and the animated martial chorus ("Gird on thy Sword, thou Man of Might") closes this great dramatic oratorio.

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fter releasing the concertos for piano and orchestra in G major KV 453 and A major KV 488 (CD-No: KuK 77) and the piano concertos in C major KV 467 and D major KV 537 (CD-No: KuK 86), we now present a live recording of two more piano concertos by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, composed during his period as a freelance artist in Vienna. Freed from the chains of the archbishop, the most definitive instrumental works originated during this period from 1782 up to his death in 1791.
Mozart composed the concerto in D major KV 451 in the early part of 1784. The premiere occurred at the Burgtheater Vienna on 1st April, 1784. Among other things, the work is characterized by a comparatively large orchestra, especially in the first movement - certainly the largest he ever used in a solo concerto. Mozart dated his piano concerto in D minor KV 466, 10th February, 1785. His father, Leopold, who was staying in Vienna at the time, reported after the premiere: "The concerto was incomparable... the orchestration splendid". The concerto KV 466 quickly advanced to being one of Mozart's most played concertos; the young Beethoven performed and wrote cadences for it, as did Clara Schumann.
Here we have a recording by the pianist, Cristina Marton. A young and sensitive artist, born in 1974 in Temeswar in Romania, she has been decorated with numerous honours in international competitions, such as the Clara Schumann Competition, Düsseldorf; the Mozart Competition, Salzburg; and the Martha Argerich Competition, Buenos Aires. During her career, she has enthusiastically worked with such artists as András Schiff, Radu Lupu and Alfred Brendel.

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he varied repertoire of the Wuerttemberg Chamber Orchestra Heilbronn, documented by more than 500 recorded works, and numerous international tours with such important soloists as Anne-Sophie Mutter, Maurice André, Heinz Holliger, Gidon Kremer, Alfred Brendel, Hilary Hahn and Thomas Quasthoff, bear witness to the high standing of this ensemble and underlines its role as an ambassador for the cultural life of Baden-Wuerttemberg. Furthering the development of young performers is also an essential component of its artistic work.
Ruben Gazarian, the successor to the orchestra‘s founder, Jörg Faerber, can look back on a successful career as a violinist, concert-master and conductor with numerous orchestras and chamber orchestras in Eastern Europe and Germany. Directly before starting his work in Heilbronn, he received, in Frankfurt, the international "Sir George Solti" conductor prize.

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endelssohn's Elijah, one of the most important oratorios of the nineteenth century, premiered in Birmingham in 1846 and was emphatically celebrated both by the public and the press. According to a contemporary review, Mendelssohn turned music "into a grand sacred service". Elijah is a biblical figure, and consequently the libretto is composed entirely from biblical texts. The oratorio lacks a continuous plot. Rather, important excerpts from the life of the prophet are strung together like snapshots, some of which are highly dramatic.
The prophet's ascension into heaven concludes a series of powerful, dramatic and pathetic circumstances, effectively depicted by Mendelssohn music. The oratorio ends both with a somewhat mystical reference to the Messiah as the figure who truly consummates faith and the divine work, as well as a vision of divine grandeur.
Despite the lack of a continuous plot, Mendelssohn manages to create gripping, dramatic episodes. One example is the scene in which Baal's priests are derided by Elijah and become extremely irritated; their abandonment is made evident in an ingenious way: "O Baal, hear us!" - intermission - Baal does not reply! Then in total, moving contrast is Elijah' prayer "Lord God of Abraham" or the soprano aria "Listen Israel". This alternation of dramatic and lyrical sections defines the work. The chorus plays a special, important role. It sustains the action over long segments, taking the part of the people or of Baal's priests; elsewhere, it slips into the role of the community of the faithful ("Blessed is he who fears the Lord" or "He who persists until the end") and comments on the events.
Mendelssohn, with the help of the minister Julius Schubring, essentially took the entire text from 1 Kings 17-19 and 2 Kings 1-2. Mendelssohn wrote Schubring on 2 November 1838, with regard to the character Elijah: "For Elijah I had in mind a proper prophet through and through, of the sort we could use again today: strong, zealous, as well as angry, furious and grim, in opposition to the rabble of the court and of the people, in opposition to nearly the whole world, and yet borne as if by angels' wings." Seen in this way, the prophet Elijah, and hence Mendelssohn's oratorio, is once again extremely relevant for us today.

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lijah opens in dramatic fashion, not with the customary overture but with Elijah proclaiming the curse, much as the prophet himself abruptly appeared to Ahab. Mendelssohn in fact planned to omit the overture altogether since it interfered with the developing story line, but was later persuaded by Bartholomew to add one, placing it, however, after Elijah's introduction. This performance returns to Mendelssohn's original concept and the overture has been discarded. The people plead for rain ("Help, Lord" and "Lord, bow Thine ear") while Obadiah urges them to repent. An angel sends Elijah to the widow of Zarephath ("Elijah, get thee hence.") Elijah's duet with the widow ("What have I to do with thee") provides the first great dramatic moment, when Elijah prays to the Lord three times that her son might be restored to life. The magnificent chorus "Blessed are the men who fear Him" is one of Schubring's interpolations into the story, but provides Mendelssohn with an opportunity for some wonderfully evocative writing, such as the ascending triads to the text "through darkness riseth light."
Elijah returns to face Ahab ("As God the Lord of Sabaoth") and places his challenge to the priests of Baal. The priests invoke Baal ("Baal, we cry to thee") while Elijah mocks them ("Call him louder"). This is the dramatic high point of the oratorio, with Elijah's calm contrasting with the increasingly frenetic music of the chorus. Their invocation ends with a fortissimo "Hear and answer!" which is followed by dead silence, surely one of the most dramatic and effective moments in oratorio. By contrast, Elijah then invokes the Lord with music of great nobility and simplicity ("Draw near, all ye people.") There is a brief interpolation by a quartet ("Cast thy burden upon the Lord") before the fire comes down from heaven ("O Thou, who makest thine angels spirits.") Obadiah pleads with Elijah to send rain ("O man of God, help thy people.") Three times Elijah prays to the Lord for rain ("Thou hast overthrown thine enemies") and sends a young boy to the top of a hill to look out over the sea for rain. At the third time the rain comes, and the people join in an exuberant hymn of praise ("Thanks be to God.").
Part II of Elijah begins with hymns of reassurance ("Hear ye, Israel!" and "Be not afraid"), but Elijah is soon embroiled in controversy again. He confronts Ahab, taking him to task for his idolatry ("The Lord hath exalted thee") while Jezebel stirs up the people against Elijah ("Woe to him.") Obadiah advises him to flee ("Man of God") and Elijah, alone in the desert, is in despair ("It is enough.") Angels come and comfort him ("Lift thine eyes" and "He watching over Israel") and Elijah makes his way to Mount Horeb to await the Lord. Here Mendelssohn again uses some vividly descriptive music depicting the fury of the wind, the earthquake and the fire, contrasting that with the simplicity to which he sets the text "and in that still voice, onward came the Lord." There follows another hymn of praise ("Holy is God the Lord") and a choral recitative ("Go, return upon thy way") as Elijah is sent back to Israel refreshed in spirit ("For the mountains shall depart.") Elijah is taken up to heaven in a whirlwind ("Then did Elijah") followed by Schubring's final interpolation, an invitation to come to the Lord ("O come, everyone that thirsteth") and the final choral hymn of praise ("And then shall your light break forth"), ending the oratorio with a majestic fugue.
Those familiar with Elijah may have detected another omission, the solo aria "O rest in the Lord." While it has become one of the most popular pieces in Elijah, Mendelssohn was originally inclined to cut it from the score. The melody bore a resemblance to a popular ballad and Mendelssohn did not really like it. It "is a song to which I have always had an objection," he wrote. "I shall leave it out altogether (I think) ... (I) believe it an improvement if it is left out." As it happened, Mendelssohn was persuaded by Bartholomew to leave it in, but in this performance the composer's original intention is being respected.

The Vienna piano concertos between 1782 and 1786 are seen as the most eminent instrumental compositions of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart´s life work. He created a new musical form through the use of comprehensive musical ideas in reference of the themes, the originality and the equality of the interaction between soloist and orchestra. That is an extraordinary achievement of Mozart particularly in this part of his life - maybe as a result of his failed opera plans before - in view of the many concerts he played as one of the most asked pianists of Vienna and the multitude of students he taught during this period. It is documented, for example, that Mozart performed in the genesis year of the g major concerto (1784) at least 23 concerts during a period of 46 days. He also composed 6 piano-concertos and taught a stately quantity of students during the same year... Therefore these two works are carried by love of life cause of this outer success - profound but life-affirmatively, sometimes melancholic, yes even tragic, however by no means resigning.

Exactly these disputes with the intellectual density and psychological dimension of Mozart´s works make Christoph Soldan´s interpretations uniquely. Soldan studied with Prof. Eliza Hansen as well as Christoph Eschenbach at the Hamburg music university and attained his international success through a concert tour with Leonard Bernstein in the summer 1989. Since than he performs concerts as soloist of various renowned orchestras in Europe, the USA, Mexico and Japan. In addition to technical perfection, it is his concentration on the depth of the interpretation and the atmospheric transparency, which makes Soldan´s concerts very valuable.

Christoph Soldan combines a long-standing cooperation with the Polish conductor Pawel Przytocki. Przytocki works since 1999 as a constant guest conductor of the radio symphony orchestra Krakau and perfomed with the Budapest Concert Orchestra, the Orchestra Sinfonica de Xalapa in Mexico, the Real Philharmonia de Galicia in Spain and the Cappella Istropolitana.

The Capella Istropolitana with his transparent string sound in accordance with the historical performance practice is virtually predestined for these concerti. This orchestra is seen as one of the most prestigious ensembles for historical music and look back to more than 70 cd-productions - two these releases were honored with platinum.

A concert-recording from September 14th, 2001 at the Maulbronn monastery church by A.O. Grimminger and J.S. Kindler in cooperation with Jürgen Budday.

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magine you are living in 19th century Italy, you're 22 years old and studying music at the Conservatory in Lucca. In just a few weeks you will submit your first big musical composition to the Conservatory's Board of Directors: your final year project for your degree, the highlight of your young life... As I see it, Giacomo Puccini's "Messa di Gloria" represents a high point in his creative work - because can you really say this is "only" one of his early works? True, you sense the brilliance, the rapture and, indeed, a little of the lack of respect typical of youth - but in actual fact, this composition is simply too beautiful for a mass back in those days. It reflects the young artist's total passion and dedication. Unlike many people who see the "Gloria" as the climax of this composition, I personally feel that the real climax is the "Agnus Dei". And the fact that it reappears later - and almost unchanged - in the opera "Manon Lescaut" is surely no coincidence.

Josef-Stefan Kindler

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lthough music scholars have been aware of the "Messa di Gloria" by Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) for a considerable time, the piece only began to appear in concert programmes relatively recently. The score was in fact not published until 1951. Since then the work has been known generally as the "Messa di Gloria". It was first performed on July 12th,1880 at the Festival of San Paolino, the patron saint of bells, who is particularly revered in this part of Tuscany. This public performance brought the young composer general recognition. Puccini incorporated two other pieces of church music into the score of the Messa - a motet and a Credo that he had composed for the same festival in 1878. The entire composition had originally been conceived as a large choral work, but the final version is for two solo voices, a four-part choir and a large orchestra.
The Messa is thus the first comprehensive work by Puccini to follow the solid musical traditions of his family and deliberately use the "modern" methods of expression in vogue at the time. Puccini used his expertise in festive choral music and in adhering to the strictest conventions of counterpoint, and combined it with his own personal concept of a style for church and an innate feeling for melody that was present in him from the start. There is also a certain style to the sound that foreshadows the extraordinary mastery of orchestration apparent in his late works. Puccini was particularly fond of this early composition, proof that he attached particular importance to it. Echoes of the "Messa" reappear later in Puccini's operas, particularly in "Edgar" and "Manon Lescaut". In fact, the "Madrigale" in Act 2 of Manon contains almost the entire "Agnus Dei", with only very few structural changes. Bearing all this in mind, it is no wonder that Puccini's Messa is so highly appreciated today.

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part from the title of the concert programme, Grand Duos pour deux Guitares, what's exceedingly attractive is the fact that a contemporary of Joseph Haydn adapted his string quartets for probably one of the most popular stringed instruments of our time – a version that was surely preformed during the composer's lifetime. In such, from the perspective of zeitgeist and its conjunct societal etiquette, the comprehension of both artists' musical conceptualisation must have converged rather closely. The awe-inspiring joy of playing and charming-elegant wit of the performance at the Maulbronn Monastery's Laymen Refectory show how modern chamber music can be interpreted – to the pleasure of the audience. An almost courtly atmosphere permeated the duo's concert. But let us allow the artists some quotes themselves, out of the performance, so to speak:
"Perhaps a few words about the guitars we play, because they're not the modern concert guitars that are so well known. They are replicas of instruments that were played during the classic era in Vienna, built by a certain Mr Staufer. François de Fossa, who adapted these works of Haydn's, played this type of instrument. But, we had them re-built. After all, they played on new guitars back then, so why should we have to give concerts with old ones?"
The guitarist and composer François de Fossa (1775-1849) adapted these four Divertimentos for String Quartet from Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) as "Grand Duos for Two Guitars". De Fossa is still handled as a hot tip by today's guitarists. Only gradually is his work, including numerous adaptations and original compositions for solo guitars and guitar ensembles, being dug out of the archives and made accessible to the public.

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his live recording is part of a cycle of oratorios and masses, performed in the basilica of Maulbronn Abbey under the direction of Jürgen Budday. The series combines authentically performed oratorios and masses with the optimal acoustics and atmosphere of this unique monastic church. This ideal location demands the transparency of playing and the interpretive unveiling of the rhetoric intimations of the composition, which is especially aided by the historically informed performance. The music is exclusively performed on reconstructed historical instruments, which are tuned to the pitch customary in the composer's lifetimes (this performance is tuned in a' = 415 Hz).
The two four-voice choirs are placed separately, allowing the listener to experience the complexity of the choir parts with more transparency making the unique stereophony of this work more concrete.

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n the summer months of 1748 Handel composed the two oratorios Solomon and Susanna for the ensuing season. He started on Solomon on 5th May 1748 and terminated the score on 13th June 1748 with the devotion S.(Soli) D.(Deo) G.(Gloria). The work is considered a link to Handel's later oratorios. His earlier oratorios are coloured with political affairs and allusions, as in his famous oratorio Judas Maccabaeus, inspired by the Scottish rebellion of 1745. Solomon depicts a wise and god-fearing ruler, with Solomon's court presenting the image of an ideal society. The central theme of the libretto has its origin in narratives from the Old Testament: the Book of Kings (1st Kings 1-11) and the Chronicles (2nd Chr. 1-9), among others. Despite this, one ascribes this oratorio not only aspects of the Judeo-Christian tradition, but also a pantheistic world view, in which God is to be found in all aspects of life. The different qualities of King Solomon are demonstrated and celebrated in the various acts of the oratorio. It is often suggested that Handel wished to extol the golden age of England and its ruler, George II who had granted him English nationality. Handel praised the glory of England and its monarchs with this oratorio by equating them with Israel and King Solomon. He used a, for that time, very large orchestra and was able to use the unparalleled expressive possibilities in his depiction of "pomp and circumstance". The oratorio is not distinguished with a dramatic plot, but rather contains juxtaposed pictures and scenes. The ensuing static impression that emerges is balanced by the richness of colour in the individual tableaus. The different scenes and events allow Handel to use his whole palette of compositoric expression. Differentiated instrumentation, large choral pieces, soloistic elements and sensitive musical character studies demonstrate Handels great artistic ability. With two choirs and seven eight-voice choir parts he exhausts all at that time existing composition possibilities. By casting Solomon with a countertenor he uses opera's tradition of elevating heroes abounding with nearly supernatural strength and wisdom into the superhuman by using feminine voices.
In the first act, Solomon appears as a God-fearing King, celebrating the finishing of the temple in Jerusalem with his people, following which we see the love to his wife, his generosity, his gentleness and fidelity. Powerful, jubilant choirs bear witness to the court's splendour and glory. The passage in the text "till distant nations catch the song" from the choirs' With pious heart is composed very vividly by Handel. The numerous fugal entries mirror the different nations that spread God's message. The act ends with the royal couple's retreat into the bedchamber accompanied by a soft background choir. Nightingales (flutes) and warm breezes (deep rustling of the violins and violas) enhance the twilight atmosphere.
In the second act, the famous story of Solomon's wise judgment is told. A servant brings the petition of two dissenting women who are seeking the King's judgment. It is revealed that both women have given birth to a son. It is asserted that one of the sons died in the night and the mother swapped her dead son with the other woman's child. Both now claim to be the true mother and denote the other a liar. In this difficult situation, Solomon uses a clever ruse. He proclaims the child should be cut in two and each woman should be given one half. While one of the women consents, the other woman desperately asks him to spare her innocent child. She would rather let the other woman have him than to see him die. Thus Solomon recognizes in her sorrow and despair the true love of a mother and returns the child to her. The musical high points in this act are primarily the portrayals of the main figures, with distinctive motifs being assigned to each individual. Hard, syncopated rhythms characterize the envy, the inner turbulence and the wickedness of the childless woman, whereas the other woman, seeing her child in great danger, is accompanied by dotted figures in the bass line, which form the basic atmosphere of gnawing fear. Dissonant suspensions and modulations increase this fearful tension, until the difficult decision "take him all" leads to a resolution in major with a simultaneous, descending, mournful bass line. The characters join Solomon to form a musically masterful trio. Handel is able to elaborate and illuminate their characteristics in an unparalleled way.
With the arrival of the Queen of Sheba, the final act of the oratorio demonstrates Solomon's "foreign policy" ability. Choir pieces expressing the most diverse human emotions are performed for her entertainment, allowing Handel to demonstrate his full range of composing skills. Possibly Handel deliberately wished to incorporate the four tempers in these chorals for the Queen of Sheba: sanguine Music, spread thy voice around, choleric Shake the dome, melancholic Draw the tear from hopeless love and phlegmatic Thus rolling surges rise... and all is calm again. In the choral Shake the dome, the two choirs confront each other like two armies in battle and are further roused by the extreme dotted rhythms of the strings. The audience experiences the choirs from the standpoint of the Queen of Sheba and is thus drawn into the happenings in a way analogous to the Greek dramas. The Queen of Sheba shows herself to be impressed with the choirs' tonal versatility and Solomon's court. The following choral, Praise the Lord with harp and tongue, exalting not only God but also and above all Solomon, is one of Handel's most magnificent works for two choirs and is thus sometimes used as the final chorale. Here, however, there follows the farewells of the two rulers and the oratorio finishes with the moral essence, "The name of the wicked shall quickly be past; but the fame of the just shall eternally last".

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he rich and emotional music of the Russian Orthodox Church is seldom heard in the Western world, making this treasure an even greater enhancement to the spectrum of the Edition. No western and few Russian ensembles can communicate the Orthodox liturgy as convincingly as the legitimate successors to Serge Jaroff's legendary Don Cossacks Choir. Rarely to be found on a west European release, the compositions especially selected for the liturgically conceived Musica Sacra reveal a surprising new insight into the high art of sacred Russian music and tradition.

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his live recording is part of a cycle of oratorios and masses, performed in the basilica of Maulbronn Abbey under the direction of Jürgen Budday. The series combines authentically performed oratorios and masses with the optimal acoustics and atmosphere of this unique monastic church. This ideal location demands the transparency of playing and the interpretive unveiling of the rhetoric intimations of the composition, which is especially aided by the historically informed performance. The music is exclusively performed on reconstructed historical instruments, which are tuned to the pitch customary in the composer's lifetimes (this performance is tuned in a' = 415 Hz).

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his oratorio in three acts, based on a libretto written by Thomas Morell, was composed in 1746. The oratorio was devised as a compliment to the victorious Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland upon his return from the Battle of Culloden (16 April 1746). The first performance took place on 1 April 1747 at Covent Garden, and Judas Maccabaeus became one of Handel's most popular oratorios. Morell's libretto is based on the deuterocanonical or apocryphal book 1 Maccabees (2-8), with motives added from the Antiquitates Judaicae by Flavius Josephus. The events depicted in the oratorio are from the period 170-160 BC when Judea was ruled by the Seleucid Empire which undertook to destroy the Jewish religion. Being ordered to worship Zeus, many Jews obeyed under the threat of persecution; however, some did not. One who defied was the elderly priest Mattathias who killed a fellow Jew who was about to offer a pagan sacrifice. After tearing down a pagan altar, Mattathias retreated to the hills and gathered others who were willing to fight for their faith. Handel's music depicts the changing moods of the Jewish people as their fortunes vary from dejection to jubilation.
ACT 1: The people mourn the death of their leader Mattathias, but his son Simon tries to restore their faith and calls them to arms (Arm, arm, ye brave). Simon's brother, Judas Maccabaeus, assumes the role of leader and inspires the people with thoughts of liberty and victory through the power of Jehovah.
ACT 2: The people have been victorious, but Judas is concerned that vanity will cause the people to claim victory for themselves. When news arrives that the Seleucid commander Gorgias is preparing to enact revenge, the people's joyous mood gives way to wailing and dejection (Ah! wretched Israel!). Again Judas rallies the people (Sound an alarm) and insists that the pagan altars must be destroyed and that false religions must be resisted.
ACT 3: Victory has finally been achieved for the Jewish people (See, the Conqu’ring Hero Comes!). News arrives that Rome is willing to form an alliance with Judas against the Seleucid empire. The people rejoice that peace has at last come to their country (O lovely peace).

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Works:
J. S. Bach, Fantasia super: “Komm, heiliger Geist, Herre Gott” BWV 651
Gottfried August Homilius, Choralbearbeitungen
"Komm, heiliger Geist" & "O heilger Geist, kehr bei uns ein"
Anonymus: Concerto ex Dis-Dur Cornu concertato (Musik des Dresdner Hofes)
Bernhard Krol: Missa muta: V Miniaturen OP.55
Camille Saint-Saëns: Morceau de Concert OP.94
Robert Schumann: Fuge I (langsam) aus VI Fugen über b-a-c-h OP.60
Stanley Weiner: Bremen Suite OP.162

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his live recording is part of a cycle of oratorios and masses, performed in the basilica of Maulbronn Abbey under the direction of Jürgen Budday. The series combines authentically performed oratorios and masses with the optimal acoustics and atmosphere of this unique monastic church. This ideal location demands the transparency of playing and the interpretive unveiling of the rhetoric intimations of the composition, which is especially aided by the historically informed performance. The music is exclusively performed on reconstructed historical instruments, which are tuned to the pitch customary in the composer's lifetimes (this performance is tuned in a' = 415 Hz).

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he oratorio, Belshazzar, devotes itself to the story of the Babylonian king, Belshazzar, as presented in the biblical story from the book of Daniel. Belshazzar commits sacrilege against the God of the Israelites, upon which a ghostly hand inscribes the mysterious text, the Menetekel, upon the wall of the court, predicting the downfall of the kingdom and the death of Belshazzar at the hands of the Persians. The prophecy is fulfilled that very same night.
There are three versions of Belshazzar, dated 1745, 1751 and 1758. Handel composed the first between 23rd August and 23rd October, 1744. The exact dates are known from the correspondence Handel had with his librettist, Charles Jennens. Jennens had already penned the libretti to Saul and the Messiah. He was an enlightened theologian who didn't shy away from embellishing the biblical story to enhance the libretto's dramatic development. The debut performance took place on 27th March 1745 in the King's Theatre, Haymarket in London. But the work attracted few listeners, with even fewer being enthusiastic. A possible reason for this failure was the political message, from Handel unintended but nevertheless inferable, contained in the libretto. It could be seen as a manifesto against the ruling king of the time, George II, who, as a member of the House of Hanover, was not seen as the rightful monarch by many of the British. So it was that the conquering of the throne by Cyrus was seen as an allegory of a similar conquest in England by a member of the House of Stewart. Belshazzar was discontinued after only three performances and only years later, in 1751, after revisions from Handel, was it resumed. In addition to minor improvements, the changes included new arias, whereby others were cut and the role of Cyrus was song by a countertenor instead of a mezzo-soprano. It was far more successful than the original, and it is this second version (slightly shortened) that was used for this recording. It starts with the second scene of the première.
Charles Jennens created an unbelievably dramatic libretto. He embroidered the biblical story of the Babylonian king, Balshazzar, with historical sources he found in Heredotus and Xenophon. In the oratorio, for example, the key figure of Nitocris is taken from Herodotus's histories apodexis. The oratorio has, even for Handel, extraordinary colour and vitality. The responsibility for the high drama of the piece rests mostly with the choir, which musically represents the three peoples. Babylon, the capital of Assyria, in the year 538 BC, is the scene of the action. The Euphrates flows through the city. It was diverted during the building of the city walls and a lake on the west side of the city was formed. The armies of Media and Persia, under the leadership of King Cyrus, are encamped before the walls.
The first act starts before the gates of Babylon. From the walls, the Babylonians mock Cyrus and his fatuous plans to take the city. Gobrias, a Babylonian who has defected to Cyrus after his son was murdered by Balshazzar, confirms the sturdiness of the city's fortifications. Cyrus consoles him and relates his dream where he has seen the Euphrates dried up. He then devises a plan whereby the river would be diverted to the lake outside the walls, allowing them to penetrate the city using the waterless riverbed. Gobrias supports the idea to venture the plan on the day of the feast to Sesach, when the Babylonians pay homage to their god of wine, Sesach, and it is their religious duty to become intoxicated. Cyrus rouses his army and prays to God for support. The ensuing chorale takes up this plea to God from the Persians. In Babylon, the prophet Daniel predicts, for the imprisoned people of the Jews, the impending downfall of the city and proclaims Cyrus their God-sent liberator. The Jewish people sing a joyful chorale about their imminent deliverance. The chorale's first solemn, homophonic section expresses their hope of rescue.
In the fourth scene, Belshazzar opens the festival in honour of Sesach. The people revel and imbibe excessively. Nitocris pleads with her son to put a stop to the celebrations, but he orders the sacred chalice of the Jews to be brought from the temple to be used as a wine goblet. Nitocris and the Jews warn him of the consequences of this sacrilege. The Jewish people react with the announcement that Belshazzar will shortly feel the wrath of God for his actions. In this three-sectioned chorale, the emotions develop by slow degrees: at first, sadness and hurt, then, in the second and third sections respectively, the suppressed and finally the released anger can be perceived. Especially moving is the demand for remorse that the Jewish people express. It goes singly through all the voices, builds up and finally flows into a homophonic sounding realisation that the waiting apparently will be in vain. The chromatically descending line "and every step he takes on his devoted head precipitates the thunder down" symbolises this hope gradually being transformed into anger.
The second act starts with the Persians excitedly observing the diversion of the waters. "See from his post Euphrates flies…" with the soprano theme (coloratura) reflecting the flowing of the waters and the joyful excitement radiating out amongst the Persians as they watch the spectacle. This further prompts them to partake in a bizarre role-play, in which they contrive a dialogue between the incensed Babylonians (female choir) and the emboldened Persians (male choir). Then Cyrus gives the order to cross the riverbed and capture the city. The Persians intone a belligerent chorale.
The feasting of the Babylonians is at its highpoint. Belshazzar is arrogantly blaspheming Jehova and, just as he is about to take the chalice to his mouth, there occurs what the Jews had warned him would happen. A ghostly hand inscribes on the wall the incomprehensible words "mene, mene, tekel, upharsin". Here, Handel realizes a musical treatment that is possibly is not close to any other operatic convention. The violins ascend unaccompanied in a chromatic line adagio e staccato, ma piano. Belshazzar is struck dumb with horror, solely able to utter an appalled sigh. The people of Babylon cry for help while Belshazzar still points fearfully at the mysterious script. Nobody can decipher the writings, and, at the suggestion of Nitocris, the prophet Daniel is summoned. He translates, from Handel composed as a suspenseful recitative accompagnato, the following: mene, it is the will of the God you dishonoured that the days of your reign be numbered; tekel, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting; upharsin, your kingdom will be divided and be given to the Medes and Persians. Nitocris beseeches Belshazzar to plead with Jehova for forgiveness, but he does not allow himself to be swayed, even now. Cyrus and Gobrias infiltrate the city and lay the foundation for the dethroning of Belshazzar.
The third act opens with Nitocris in her chambers receiving news of the conquest of the city. The Jews are joyfully celebrating and thank Jehova for his mercy. Convinced of his strength, the brazen Belshazzar confronts the invaders. He falls in battle, the orchestra executing a military march. Nitocris submits to the new ruler, Cyrus, who promises the Babylonians freedom also. He grants this to Nitocris as well, and even entreats her to accept him as son in Balshazzars stead. Daniel predicts for Cyrus that he will become the deliverer of the people of Israel and will rebuild the city and temple of Jerusalem. This, Cyrus commends to do.

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aa da-da-da dam... Smile, accuse me of being euphoric, but even after listening to so many concerts, this particular recording is one of the most moving moments that I have ever been privileged to witness at the Maulbronn Monastery. A breathless, tangible thrill from the first touch of the bow to the very last note. What really makes this recording dramatic is the way the composers complement each other perfectly. These compositions by Schubert and Janácek are some of the most beautiful in the entire quartet literature, and the ambience of the Maulbronn Monastery lends a rare prosaic expressiveness to this interpretation. The sheer class of the Amati String Quartet is shown in the way the recording captures not just the artistic perfection of their performance, but the atmosphere of the hall as well - indeed, the artists become totally carried away and create a work of art so moving that it literally - and audibly- takes the audience's breath away.

Josef-Stefan Kindler

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er Tod und das Mädchen ("Death and the Maiden") by Franz Schubert gives us dramatic, passionate elation paired with an alarmingly serene wisdom. It was composed during Schubert's late phase (1826-28), which also includes such works as the song-cycle Winterreise ("A Winter's Journey"). Schubert's dance of death, based on the poem by Matthius Claudius poem, inspires few clear moments of comfort and confidence, and then only in a major key variation and in the Trio. There is nothing programmatic about it, even though the listener is granted considerable insight into Schubert's frame of mind in his later years.

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ntimate Letters by Leos Janácek, the Moravian composer, is one of the most unconventional pieces of chamber music written in the early 20th century. It is consistently free of centuries-old composition techniques and the classical forms of the string quartet. The work speaks to us in the language of our century and also has a personal slant to it: it is impulsively turbulent and, at the same time, lyrically transfigured. It was inspired by the composer's subjective experience of a love relationship and imparts a deep world of emotions that can never be expressed in words...

"Roses, carnations, quills and a piece of sealing wax ...
and am not even at home just now,
but somewhere else as usual,
quite different and strange ...
those 'espaces imaginaires' "
Frédéric Chopin, Nohant 1845

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ndrei Gavrilov is one of the most prestigious piano soloists of the contemporary concert stage. Audience response to his performances is remarkable, the reviews ecstatic – and such has been the case since 1974, when, as an 18-year-old, he jumped in at the last minute for Svjatoslav Richter, who had been taken ill. His career since then can only be described as exemplary, with appearances at large festivals, performances with famous directors and many accredited prizes and awards as its high points. In recognition of his contribution to society, he was honoured in 1995 by the Board of International Research of American Biographical Institute (ABI) and received their Man of the Year commemorative medal in addition to the Gold Record of Achievement and World Lifetime Achievement awards. In 1998, the Philips Music Group included Andrei Gavrilov in their exquisite Great Pianists of the 20th Century collection.
The paths that led Andrei Gavrilov to Frédéric Chopin are as easy to trace as those that led him to Johann Sebastian Bach, whose Goldberg Variations are among Gavrilov's most favourite piano interpretations. That Beethoven, Mozart and, above all, Bach were, in turn, all role models for Frédéric Chopin is common knowledge. Subtlety of expression, a lyrical rendering, highly nuanced dynamics and the internalized tempo rubato are all characteristic of Gavrilov's piano. The harmonic and tonal reminiscences in Chopin — the legacy of Slavic folk music — make for yet another moment of animated interpretation. At the same time, the clarity of expression and intensity of feeling join forces and become mutually inspiring.
Gavrilov's performance begins with Chopin's later work, the Piano Sonata No. 2 avec un marche funèbre in B flat minor, Op. 35. Chopin patron Robert Schumann once remarked that this particular piece was more of a mood than a sonata because it bound most of Chopin's “unruly children' together: an animated rhythmic theme at the start, moving into a demonic scherzo that is followed by the celebrated Marche Funèbre (which the composer had published earlier) and then a mysterious Finale Presto. Yet, despite all the contradictions evident in composition and interpretation alike — from passionate and demonic to melancholic or to an elegant and formal restraint — the overall structure of this piano sonata is logical in its elements of melody, harmony and theme, while its interpretation by Gavrilov is simply intoxicating. An early ballad in G minor, Op. 23. from 1831, Chopin's first, is followed by his last, Op. 52 in F minor and written in 1843, six years before the composer's death. This has a concentrated lyricism that is typically Slavic. Originally dedicated to Baroness Rothschild and based on the tale of The Three Budry Brothers, it constituted a new music genre at the time and was introduced to instrumental music by Chopin himself. The piece draws its charm from arabesque ornamentations and certain variations and developments of these. Contrapuntal aspects, a predilection for blurred intermediate tones and the mysterious themes sit well with the brilliant clarity of Gavrilov's piano.
This is an impressive performance from a great virtuoso of the piano, held in the Lay Refectory of the medieval Maulbronn Monastery. It is followed by five of Chopin's concert etudes, “classical forms' that concentrate particularly on the technical aspects of compositions for the piano; in this particular rendering, virtuosity and expression complement each other superbly. The latter two qualities are instantly recognizable as hallmarks of Andrei Gavrilov's art and they round off this virtuoso performance. At the same time, this particular recording is impressive because artist, audience and sound engineer are, so to speak, all in the same boat: the tangible concentration on playing the instrument, the breathlessness of those listening and the precision of the recording technique all merge into a dynamic filigree of sound.

Dr. Ulfert Goeman
Frankfurt am Main, June 2000

Tracklist

Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor Opus 35:
01. I.: Grave - Doppio Movimento (6:21)
02. II.: Scherzo (5:53)
03. III.: Marche Funebre (8:02)
04. IV.: Finale Presto (1:32)
05. Ballade No.1 in G minor Opus 23
06. Ballade No. 4 in F minor Opus 52
07. Etude No. 5 in G-flat major Opus 10
08. Etude No. 9 in F minor Opus 10
09. Etude No. 12 in C minor Opus 10
10. Etude No. 4 in C-sharp minor Opus 10
11. Etude No. 3 in E major Opus 10

T

he tradition of horary prayers (particularly Complet) is still cultivated for certain occasions today at the Evangelical Seminary, supporter of the cloister concerts and the Maulbronn Chamber Choir. It therefore stands to reason that the liturgical form of the horary prayers be transfused to a musical, clerical programme. Of course, it is not possible to feature the complete horary prayer texts as choir compositions. In such, the programme’s concept is based on the adoption of integral liturgy components from every horary prayer by textually identical or paraphrased choir compositions. Each horary prayer contains an hourly text, a psalm prayer, and a canticle from the New Testament. Thus, Zacharia’s Benedictus or the Te Deum is the designated canticle in the morning prayer; the vesper includes the Magnificat (Maria’s canticle), and the canticle in Complet is Simeon’s canticle (Nunc dimittis).
The programme implies particular suspense by posing 19th century compositions vis-à-vis stylistically contrary 20th century compositions and monophonic orthodox cantos. Whereby Arvo Pärt has limited himself to few harmonies in Magnificat and is very frugal with musical sources (minimal music) while assuming a vertically definitive harmonic and sensitive tone altogether, a strict contrapuntal linearity dominates Rolf Schweizer’s composition, which is primarily disposed to the consequent perfection of every individual voice, and in such, is subordinate to the vertical, harmonic aspect. Rolf Schweizer is of particular rigour in the imitative-rhythmic area in his composition “O lux mentium”, but keeps the piece in tonal balance with the rather homophonic insertions (“O Lux”).
The composition “Hear my prayer, O Lord” by the contemporary Swedish composer Sven David Sandström is a different type completely, and is based on a piece by the English composer Henry Purcell of the baroque era. Sandström adopts Purcell’s composition literally and in the middle of the piece, transports it very sensitively to his own modern tonal prose. Sandström is concerned with a very expressive interpretation of the text “Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry". After an initial reserved, lamenting tone, the piece gradually mounts until it ultimately climaxes in an outmost dramatic, existentially affected outcry in which the praying man calls out his desperation (soprano to C’’). Fierce dissonances and extreme dynamic make his emotional condition clear, but after a while, the piece is gradually restored and finally ends with the most delicate pianissimo and a pure C-major triad (bass to low C). The praying man gradually calms down and surrenders to the Lord’s guidance with hope and trust.

Jürgen Budday

O

lux mentium
Motette, composed by Rolf Schweizer in 1998
Premiere 1998 of the Maulbronn Chamber Choir
O Licht der Gedanken, Gott, vertreibe von mir die Nacht der Torheit und gib mir den Tag der Weisheit. Gehe auf, Sonne der Wahrheit und der Gerechtigkeit, aus der tiefsten Tiefe deines Wesens, die alles Verstehen übersteigt. Erscheine im Himmel meiner Seele, auf Erden meinem Herzen. Vertilge also die körperlichen Gedanken und die Hirngespinste meiner Gedanken. Pflanze einen Spross deiner Erkenntnis in dem Innersten meines Geistes. Giesse deinen Heiligen Geist aus über dem Wasser meiner Hässlichkeit, damit ich zu dir gewandt und in Einklang mit deinem Sohn dich sehe und alles unter dir durch dich. O du reinste Wahrheit, schaue dich in mir, erkenne dich in mir. Durch mich selbst sehe ich nichts als Eitles, Schwankendes und Hinfälliges, sehe ich nichts als falsche und körperliche Vorstellungen. Durch mich bin ich nichts als Tod und dunkler, unvollkommener Abgrund. In dir bin ich, soweit ich bin. In dir lebe ich, soweit ich lebe. In dir erkenne ich, soweit ich erkenne, denn du bist die höchste Einsicht, die höchste Wesenheit, das höchste Leben. Vater, Sohn und Heiliger Geist, dreifache Einheit, einfache Dreiheit in sich, dem unendlichen Gott, ein Gott ohne Ende von Ewigkeit zu Ewigkeit. Amen