Future Releases

At the end of 16th century London rose to become the most important North Sea port and, with the founding of the British East India Company in 1600, the metropolis on the Thames attained overseas importance. This London is also the marvellous world of Fancies, unique musical genres such as the Brownings and In nomines and the home of consort music – in such great demand that composers produced it incessantly for almost 120 years.

The musicians of Les Escapades roam through the genres in their variegated programme, presenting the famous masters of the English virginals – William Byrd, John Bull and Orlando Gibbons – as consort composers of rich imagination. Alfonso Ferrabosco, Richard Mico and John Jenkins are presented as fantasy specialists, completed by Tobias Hume and Christopher Simpson, who bring the soloistic possibilities of the viola da gamba into focus in a humorous and virtuosic manner.

Associate Conductor of The Sixteen, Eamonn Dougan, makes his full conducting debut on CORO in the first of an exciting new series exploring some of Poland’s greatest choral composers.

Bartłomiej Pękiel was one of the most eminent Polish composers of choral music of the 17th century. He served at the court in Warsaw from around 1633 and was assistant to Marco Scacchi at the Chapel Royal in Warsaw before becoming Kapellmeister himself from 1645-1655 - the first non-Italian to hold the post. He then moved to Wawel Cathedral in Krakow where he wrote for the Rorantist vocal ensemble.

Just 29 of his compositions survive today and on this new album by The Sixteen under the direction of Associate Conductor, Eamonn Dougan, we present 10 of his works for choir and orchestra including the Missa Concertata La Lombardesca resplendent with double choir, violins and sackbuts and the extraordinary and dramatic Audite mortales.

In this recording dedicated solely to his works, Pękiel shows himself to be a skilled craftsman, mastering the techniques taught by the Italian maestri, but also imbuing his works with his own particular harmonic colour in all the varied styles in which he writes.

Philidor served as a musician to King Louis XV of France from an early age and therefore became very thoroughly acquainted with the practical and theoretical sides of music at Versailles.

The title for these six quartets, L’art de la modulation refers to the bold harmony, which uses sudden shifts into remote and unexpected regions, but always makes its way back to the tonal centre.

Beethoven’s gifted pupil Ferdinand Ries was never entirely forgotten, but it is only in recent years that CPO and Hermann Max have dedicated themselves with great success to the rediscovery of this spirited late classicist and romanticist.

Ries’ oratorio Der Sieg des Glaubens (The Triumph of Faith), is heard here for the first time since 1829 where is was written in response to a commission for the Lower Rhine Music Festival in Aachen. The work develops a philosophical discourse dealing with the power of faith and the grace of God.

Around 1600 John Dowland was certainly one of Europe’s best-known and most influential composers. He spent various years of his life in France, Germany, Italy, and Denmark, and everywhere he went he became acquainted with local composers.

After the premiere of Oedipe à Colone at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig 1881, not much more was heard about Gouvy’s free adaptation of Sophocles tragedy. Joachim Fontaine examined the score under its layer of archival mould and spent many years reconstructing Gouvy’s work before its revival and recording here.

In 2012 the Kantorei Saarlouis and Grand Société Philharmonique were awarded the prestigious Grand Prix of the Académie du Disque in Paris for their premiere recording of Gouvy’s oratorio Iphigénie en Tauride (CPO 7775042).

Peterson-Berger is known to many Swedes as the turn of the century’s leading musical authority. Since it was not easy to have orchestral works performed toward the end of the nineteenth century, the genre of the violin sonata enjoyed extraordinary popularity around 1900 in Sweden.

Peterson-Berger uses Swedish folk elements throughout his works, particularly the Suite which is a genuine Swedish piece and more folkloristic than the Sonata.

The second volume in Adam Fischer’s complete survey of Mozart’s symphonies with the Danish National Chamber Orchestra. This volume contains five of Mozart’s earlier and shorter symphonies composed c. 1767-1768.