Heinichen: Te Deum

“This charming disc has been lovingly researched and produced: the liturgical model is the Christmas Eve service used at the Dresden Court during the mid-18th century. All the composers were closely associated with Dresden, and the choir, orchestra and conductor are all from that city too.
Peter Kopp is a stylish director, and his youthful choir and orchestra are magnificent. The soloists are capable, although the soprano and alto don't always blend convincingly in Schürer's Christus natus est. Heinichen's Te Deum is replete with brilliant horns, exhilarating choruses and moments of pastoral tenderness. Giovanni Alberto Ristori, a Bolognese musician who settled in Dresden, composed his Messa peril Santissimo Natale in 1744. It's full of glorious and lyrical moments evoking shepherds and the Nativity. The elegant performance of Ristori's O admirabile mysterium goes to show what we lost when most of his church music was destroyed during World War II. Almost all the works here are receiving their first recordings; Carus deserves credit for its illuminating exploration of the rich Dresden school of Baroque sacred music.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010