Nikolaus Bruhns

Nikolaus Bruhns, to whom we owe the finest cantatas written before Bach, sadly had little opportunity to practise his art. He died prematurely at the age of 32.

2010 marks the 40 anniversary of Collegium Vocale Ghent: founded by Philippe Herreweghe at a time when the Baroque revival was still an affair for specialists, the Belgian choir has been at the very heart of the rediscovery of Bach’s sacred music. Abundantly illustrated and elegantly presented, these nine CD-books offer you the entire collection of Bach/Herreweghe recordings.

“Forty years after its foundation it’s all too easy to take the excellence and consistency of Collegium Vocale Ghent for granted: back in 1970 there wasn’t any such ensemble in mainland Europe. Philippe Herreweghe, a psychiatry student, founded CVG to put his ideas into practice…CVG became part of the first complete Bach cantata project for Telefunken, Herreweghe, at hospital in the day, conducting his choir in the evening sessions… Presentation is exemplary: top quality at mid price, and a birthday gift that really will keep on giving.” Andrew McGregor, BBC Music Magazine, June 2010

German baroque cantatas performed by Geneva-based early music ensemble Gli Angeli Genève under the baton of Stephan MacLeod. Gli Angeli Genève specialises in 17th and 18th century chamber music. The Bruhns and Telemann cantatas are rarely heard or recorded.

Booklet includes full texts which are also available in PDF format by inserting the CD into a PC or Mac

Pierre Bardon performs on the historical organs of the Basilique du Couvent Royal de Saint-Maximin.

The era of the North German Baroque is a remarkable time in many respects. It continued the tradition kindled by Heinrich Schütz and brought it to full blossoming, while at the same time paving the way for the art of Johann Sebastian Bach and Georg Philipp Telemann. Both facets can be heard on the present recording: on the one hand, the influence of the free compositional style which superseded the strict contrapuntal technique of Palestrina’s music, that had taken flight in the realms of Florentine opera and from there found its way into church music and to Germany through the mediation of Heinrich Schütz; and the music of Georg Philipp Telemann, represented here by his cantata ‘Nach Finsternis und Todesschatten’ on the other.

The vocal works by Franz Tunder, Dietrich Buxtehude, Nicolaus Bruhns, Christoph Bernhard, and Georg Philipp Telemann which are recorded here, however, not only stand in close relation to the tradition from which they arose as well as to the musical aesthetics which they themselves developed, but also show manifold links amongst each other – especially through their composers and contexts. These vocal works are complemented by organ pieces by Georg Böhm and Dietrich Buxtehude, performed by Hauke Ramm, church music director and organist at St Wilhadi Stade, at his church’s high Baroque Bielfeldt organ. This is one of the largest instruments of its kind in North Germany, and was constructed by Erasmus Bielfeldt between 1731 and 1736.

The present recording with Gotthold Schwarz and the Sächsisches Barockorchester also takes into account the specific historical performance contexts of the North German Baroque. Such considerations are underlined by the use of appropriate instruments: the soloists of the Sächsisches Barockorchester play on period instruments.

Organist Peter Kofler performs the works of JS Bach, Bruhns, CPE Bach, Mendelssohn, Dupre and Widor on this recording played on the organ of the Jesuitenkirche St Michael zu Munich.

This collection of recordings by the incomparible Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau features lesser known repertoire. The recordings were made in the fifties for the Süddeutscher Rundfunk radio station in Stuttgart.