Choral & Vocal Music

Choral & Vocal Music
CDs and Longplay Music Releases:
Choir- & Vocalmusic
Buddhist Shõmyõ & Gregorian ChantsBuddhist Shõmyõ & Gregorian Chants
Musica Sacra
Buddhist Shõmyõ & Gregorian Chants
Musica Sacra ~ A dialogue of two spiritual cultures
based on the musical repertoire of the Buddhist and the Christian tradition,
performed by the Ensemble Schola Gregoriana Pragensis
and "Gjosan-rjú Tendai Sómjó" (Buddhist Monks from Japan)
Conductors: Saikawa Buntai and David Eben
The live recording of a concert in the church of the German
UNESCO World Heritage Site Maulbronn Monastery
HD Recording · DDD · c. 73 Minutes
CD
EUR 22,00SpotifyDeezerNapsterYouTube MusicApple MusicNaxos Music LibraryAmazon.com MusicTidalAmazon.comiTunesQobuz HDPresto Music HDeClassical HDHD TracksE-Onkyo HDReview

***** Amazing - The best of YouTube video!

A listener on YouTube

Review

***** Beautiful

This is stunningly beautiful, particularly track 14. I liked it so much I plan to purchase a couple more for gifts.

Susan B. at Amazon.com

Review

***** Highly recommended

The Tendai monks and the Schola Gregoriana Pragensis ensemble have created a wonderful recording resulting from their mutual collaboration at concerts and liturgy in Prague in 2000 and on tour of Japan in 2005. These meditative encounters focus on interesting contrasts in the two musical languages and expressions, at the same time seeking common elements present in both traditions. Parallels can be found in the recitation of the sacred text or in the interpretation principle of alternating a soloist with a choir, which overlaps the boundaries of confession repertoires. Another striking feature is the tonality based on the pentatonic scale appearing both in shomyo singing and Gregorian chant. This unique collaboration has produced music of mesmerising beauty and intensity. Highly recommended.

New Classics UK

Review

Qobuz Hi-Res Audio

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

Qobuz

Review

***** Raises your spirits and nourishes your soul

Beautiful music. Raises my spirits and nourishes my soul.

Linda Hayes on Amazon.com

Review

I was very moved by these performances

Since chanting-monk CDs are all the rage nowadays, K&K Verlagsanstalt decided to issue this disc of a special concert given at the Maulbronn Monastery in 2008. This concert, sponsored by UNESCO, combined the music of Tendai Buddhist monks from Japan with the Schola Gregoriana Pragensis choir, founded in 1987 in what is now the Czech Republic. The aim was to have the religious chants and hymns of both religions complement each other and create a multi-religious ambience redoubled in effect by the atmosphere of the surroundings.
The experiment works very well indeed. Initially, the two choirs alternate their chants, the Westerners more formal in structure, the Easterners more fluid in theirs. It was interesting for me to hear Japanese monks as compared to Tibetans who are much more familiar here in the U.S. The Japanese monks all chant in a higher pitch, more in the tenor range, although some of their members are capable, as are Tibetans, of "chording" with the voice from time to time. As for Schola Gregoriana Pragensis, they are quite simply a beautiful-sounding group with great feeling in their singing.
As the concert progresses, both choirs begin combining their religious chants to fascinating effect. Despite the musical and cultural differences, everything blends surprisingly well.
This is an excellent recording in every respect and in its own way more universal than many such "chant" CDs out there. In the spirit of the music presented, I feel a little odd recommending the disc, but as you can probably tell I was very moved by these performances.

Lynn René Bayley, Fanfare Magazine

Gregorian Chants · Veri Solis RadiusGregorian Chants · Veri Solis Radius
Ensemble Vox Nostra
Veri Solis Radius
Musical networks in medieval Europe
Gregorian chants from the 12th & 13th century,
performed by the Vocal Ensemble Vox Nostra:
Amy Green · Susanne Wilsdorf · Ellen Hünigen
Werner Blau · Burkard Wehner (Musical Director)
A concert recording from the church
of Cistercian Abbey in Eusserthal (Germany)
HD Recording · DDD · c. 60 Minutes
CD
EUR 22,00SpotifyDeezerNapsterYouTube MusicApple MusicAmazon.com MusicNaxos Music LibraryTidalAmazon.comiTuneseClassical HDPresto Music HDQobuz HDReview

It is not possible to overstate the importance of this recording

The first word that comes to mind on listening to this CD is haunting. As a procession entering into the abbey church (St. Bernhard, Eusserthal, Rhineland-Palatinate) we initially hear a distant group of singers approaching, as they get louder and fill the space with their resplendent voices we settle into a transcendental journey across ancient medieval Europe. Each of the five singers on this recording is a scholar specialist (musicology, paleography, theology) in this repertoire. They include, Amy Green (USA), Susanne Wilsdorf, Ellen Hünigen, Werner Blau, Burkard Werner (Germany). They gave a concert in the abbey church on September 8, 2013. This CD is a snapshot recorded on site in direct 2-track stereo digital. The sound quality is quite simply amazing. A restored church from what was left of the original ruined abbey Kloster Eusserthal, is widely known in Europe as a great concert acoustic. An ongoing series of performances is presented annually in the former Cistercian monument, near Annweiler am Trifels.
Vox Nostra to quote their notes, "…favors a slow, flowing style of performance in an appropriately restrained tempo. The vocal sound which results is rich in overtones, and fills the entire space; it allows the archaic and pure intervals of this music to be fully appreciated, and ensures that the complex weaving of the voices is clearly audible." This writer would have to qualify their approach and the amazing results as revolutionary and without president or rival. I feel like I have heard medieval chant for the very first time it is so startling and overpowering.
The repertoire is varied and all taken from original manuscripts in Spain, Italy, Scotland, Germany, England and France. The recording ends as it began. The singers exit the abbey church and their voices trail off into the distance into silence. It is not possible to overstate the importance of this new recording on a label that is almost totally unknown here in North America. Insist on listening for yourself Vox Nostra's artistic triumph Veri Solis Radius.

© 2015 Timothy Eaton Memorial Church

J. S. Bach · About the Kingdom of GodJ. S. Bach · About the Kingdom of God
Johann Sebastian Bach
Vom Reiche Gottes
The WORLD PREMIERE RECORDING of the great cantata "Vom Reiche Gottes"
with arias, choruses & chants from 18 Bach Cantatas, compilated by Hans Grischkat,
performed according to the traditions of the time
by Heike Heilmann (Soprano), Franz Vitzthum (Altus, Countertenor),
Johannes Mayer (Tenor), Falko Hönisch (Bass),
Maulbronn Chamber Choir, Ensemble il Capriccio
Conductor: Jürgen Budday.
A concert recording from the church of the German
UNESCO World Heritage Site Maulbronn Monastery
HD Recording · DDD · Duration: c. 78 Minutes
CD
EUR 22,00SpotifyDeezerNapsterYouTube MusicApple MusicAmazon.com MusicNaxos Music LibraryTidalAmazon.comiTunesQobuz HDPresto Music HDeClassical HDHD TracksReview

***** A unique performance... This album is a treasure...

Electrifying live performance of mostly rarely performed J.S. Bach arias, choruses and chants, recorded on location at the 12th century Maulbronn monastery in Germany. The acoustics are beautiful, and the sound quality very convincing. Historical instruments were used for the performance, tuned to the exact pitch Bach would have been familiar with in his lietime. The result is intimate, moving and addictive. Of course it is a 'programme', with famous pieces followed by unusual tracks, but it provides an irresistible feeling of ensemble and wholesomeness.
The delicate Sinfonia opens the CD perfectly, operates magically on your brain and your senses to remove any feeling of oppression from what you cannot control of the outside world, and when the beautifully sung chorus of the same cantata follows, you know you are in for a treat that mixes adherence to the settings of the time and effective modern recording technology.
This album is not 'another Bach' album. It is unique, and it is a treasure.

"Edel" on Amazon.com (Verified purchase of the Audio CD)

Johannes Brahms · A German RequiemJohannes Brahms · A German Requiem
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897):
A German Requiem

Ein deutsches Requiem, Op. 45

The "London Version" (sung in German)
for 2 soloists, choir and four-hand piano,
arranged by the composer, performed by

Heidi Elisabeth Meier (Soprano), Josef Wagner (Baritone),
Piano Duo GrauSchumacher (Andreas Grau & Götz Schumacher),
Maulbronn Chamber Choir (Maulbronner Kammerchor)
Conductor: Jürgen Budday

A live recording from the German
UNESCO World Heritage Site Maulbronn Monastery

HD Recording · DDD · Duration: c. 70 Minutes


CD
EUR 22,00SpotifyDeezerNapsterYouTube MusicApple MusicAmazon.com MusicNaxos Music LibraryIdagioTidalAmazon.comiTunesQobuz HDeClassical HDPresto Music HDHD TracksE-Onkyo HDReview

A reference recording

Interpretation: ***** (5 out of 5)
Recording Quality: ***** (5 out of 5)
Status: Reference Recording

KULIMU - German Magazine for art, music and literature

Review

Magnificently performed and recorded...

Fine Reduction and Fine Performance
Brahms' own piano reduction of his Requiem. It works wonderfully in this format and this recording is magnificently performed and recorded. This will not replace the orchestra version (and certainly was not meant to) but it allows one to hear the work in a new way...

Bachjscpe on Amazon.com

Review

***** Certainly Five Stars!

Item getting today, 04/13/17. A very interesting interpretation of the famous Brahms German Requiem for piano duo, choir and soloists; the London version, in contrary to the later full orchestral, choir and soloists version. This chamber version makes this work more a delightful and receptable one during this Passion Time.

J. P. M. Smit on Amazon.com, April 13, 2017

Maulbronn Chamber Choir · Love & SorrowMaulbronn Chamber Choir · Love & Sorrow
Maulbronn Chamber Choir
Love & Sorrow
"Liebe & Leid"
An a-cappella-recording with works about love and sorrow
for 4- to 12-part mixed choir
by Robert L. de Pearsall (1795-1856), Robert Schumann (1810-1856),
Peter Cornelius (1824-1874), Sven David Sandström (*1942),
John Tavener (*1944), John Rutter (*1945), Branko Stark (*1954),
David Hill (*1957), Wolfram Buchenberg (*1962),
Jaakko Mäntyjärvi (*1963) & Eric Whitacre (*1970)
Conductor: Jürgen Budday
A recording from the German
UNESCO World Heritage Site Maulbronn Monastery
HD Recording · DDD · Duration: c. 75 Minutes
CD
EUR 22,00SpotifyDeezerNapsterYouTube MusicApple MusicAmazon.com MusicPrimephonicTidalAmazon.comiTunesQobuz HDPresto Classical HDeClassical HDHD TracksE-Onkyo HDReview

One of the best German choirs

The Maulbronner Kammerchor, conducted by Jurgen 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 Mendelssohn motet or a modern psalm setting, light in presentation but studded with thoroughly rehearsed effects.

The Jerusalem Post

Review

***** Excellent and highly recommended

This a-cappella-recording contains an interesting collection of historical and contemporary choral works, excellently interpreted by the highly honored Maulbronn Chamber Choir, under the direction of Jürgen Budday. This project is incredibly exciting, contains a lot of new sounds and is absolutely diversified. This release is an absolute recommendation for all lovers of choral music.

'MichaelJG' at Barnes & Noble

Review

What a juicy sound this choir makes at full throttle!

This Liebe & Leid program was recorded at Maulbronn Monastery in Germany, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a very resonant space. It's in those echoes, in fact, that the charm of the release resides. This is a pretty good choir, to be sure; and a joyful noise is made in varied repertoire stretching from Robert Lucas de Pearsall's sumptuous "Great God of Love", to Eric Whitacre's tingly "Nox Aurumque", to Jaako Mantyjarvi's absorbing account of a true-to-life maritime disaster that took place on the Baltic.
What's more exciting, though, than any technical nuance or interpretive wrinkle is the high-octane sound of the Maulbronn singers performing in their very own sacred space. That's the draw, pure and simple. Texts and translations are available and necessary because the reverb cancels out some of the diction. But what a juicy sound this choir makes at full throttle!

Philip Greenfield - American Record Guide, April 2015

Review

Featured on Spotify

This release is featured in the editorial playlist on Spotify​:
COMPOSER WEEKLY: SVEN-DAVID SANDSTRÖM

Spotify Editorial

Musica Sacra · Die ZeitMusica Sacra · Die Zeit
Musica Sacra
Die Zeit
'The period of time'
Songs, arias and instrumental music from the 17th and 18th century
by Johann Rist, Johann Schop (c. 1590-1667),
Nikolaus Adam Strungk (1640-1700),
Heinrich Scheidemann (c. 1595-1663),
Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767)
and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788)
Dorothee Mields (Soprano)
& Ensemble Hamburger Ratsmusik:
Simone Eckert (Viola da gamba & Diskant-Viola da Gamba),
Ulrich Wedemeier (Theorbo),
Michael Fuerst (Harpsichord)
A concert recording from the church of the German
UNESCO World Heritage Site Maulbronn Monastery
HD Recording · DDD · c. 60 Minutes
CD
EUR 22,00SpotifyDeezerGoogle PlayApple MusicAmazon MusicTidaliTunes MasteredFor...HD TrackseClassical HDPresto Classical HDPrime Phonic HDReview

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

Sarah Wegener & Ensemble il capriccio · Arias & CantatasSarah Wegener & Ensemble il capriccio · Arias & Cantatas
Sarah Wegener & Ensemble il capriccio:
Arias & Cantatas

Sarah Wegener (Soprano) and the ensemble il capriccio
performs according to the traditions of the time:

George Frideric Handel ~ Gloria (Cantata) · Overture (Rinaldo) · Furie terribili · Lascia ch'io pianga · Se pietà di me non senti · Da tempeste · Farewell ye limpid springs · Eternal source of light divine
Henry Purcell ~ When I am laid · O let me weep · Fantasy upon a Ground
Giovanni Battista Ferrandini ~ Se d'un Dio · Scottish Traditional ~ Auld Lang Syne et.al.

Concert Master: Friedemann Wezel

A live recording from the church of the German
UNESCO World Heritage Site Maulbronn Monastery

HD Recording · DDD · c. 76 Minutes

CD
EUR 22,00SpotifyDeezerNapsterAmazon.com MusicYouTube MusicApple MusicNaxos Music LibraryTidalAmazon.comiTunesQobuz HDeClassical HDPresto Music HDE-Onkyo HDReview

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

Review

***** 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

The Divine Liturgy · Don Cossack ChoirThe Divine Liturgy · Don Cossack Choir
Don Cossack Choir
The Divine Liturgy
An a-cappella-concert by the Don Cossacks Soloists Wanja Hlibka
with works from the Russian Missa by Maximowitsch, M. Lovorsky, Tschaikowsky, Alexandre Gretschaninow, Kastalsky, Fatejev, Dimitrij Bortnjanskij, the Kiev Melody et. al.
A concert recording from the church of the German
UNESCO World Heritage Site Maulbronn Monastery
HD Recording · DDD · c. 50 Minutes
CD
EUR 22,00SpotifyDeezerGoogle PlayApple MusicAmazon.com MusicTidalAmazon.comiTunes MasteredFor...Presto Classical HDeClassicalQobuz HDHD TracksReview

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

User login

courtesy of webmatter.de

Back
Zurück