Senfl: Ach Elslein, liebes Elselein

It is appropriate that Heinrich Isaac and Ludwig feature prominently on this CD, as Isaac taught Senfl composition. In these songs, the tenor line is often based on a popular folk tune and the accompanying parts are rhythmically very tricky. The Dutch tenor Marcel Beekman performs baroque, classical, contemporary and operatic works.

The ensemble Stimmwerck presents songs from every walk of German Renaissance life on this CD. The title is taken from a cheeky “goose song” for the feast of St. Martin.

Combining perennial favourites with wonderful new discoveries, these immediately appealing pieces reflect the much-loved repertoire at the heart of a King's Singers programme, performed with the skill and flair that distinguishes the group as one of the world's most popular a cappella ensembles. Signum Records latest venture with The King's Singers, Romance du Soir, follows hot on the heels of a Live DVD and CD release of their 2008 performance at the BBC Proms in the Royal Albert Hall (SIGDVD005 and SIGCD150), and the 2008 Grammy-nominated album Simple Gifts (SIGCD121).

At the beginning of the 16th century Nuremberg (“The spider in the web”) was a northern European centre in which many threads of international music life came together. Early on Nuremberg had established itself as a centre of book printing. The first printing-offices that occupied themselves seriously with the printing of music, however, were those of Hieronymus Formschneider and Johannes Petreius. Most of the pieces on this recording are taken from these collections of three-part music. They contain international repertoire, including old masterworks such as Caecox and Tandernaken by Alexander Agricola, but also arrangements of German folk songs and ballads, as well as French compositions and more recent Italian forms.

This is a recording of folk and classical music transcribed for folk instruments. The connection between folk and classical is sometimes direct, as in Brahms's arrangements of existing folk tunes, or in the folk-based chorale tune of Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring; but more often the connection is one of mood, as in the folk dance-like character of My Lady Carrie's Dompe or the two bourées from Bach's English Suite. In trying to decide what to put on this recording we relied primarily on instinct, a feel for a piece, and whether it would work in transcription for folk instruments; but beyond any intellectual justification was the overriding sense of playing music we love. While the common theme is lullabies and dances, we did get sidetracked occasionally, when we simply wanted to play a particular piece.