Gabrieli, G: Jubilate Deo 8vv with continuo

A wonderful collection of meditative choral music, spearheaded by Allegri's ubiquitous Miserere and including works by other Renaissance composers, including the magnificent Spem in Alium by Thomas Tallis, performed by two of the foremost British choirs under the direction of two of Britain's leading choral conductors - David Willcocks and Stephen Cleobury.

Detailing many an inspiring performance, this release celebrates the rich musical heritage of St Mark’s Basilica through a selection of liturgical works – all of which were written by composers employed at the cathedral during the 16th and 17th centuries.

The release takes as its starting point Giovanni Croce, a Venetian who became maestro di cappella in 1603 and who was highly influenced by the other composers on the set – including Giovanni Bassano and Giovanni Gabrieli. Featuring items from the Divine Office, such as Andrea Gabrieli’s motet ‘Angelus ad pastores’ (which would have followed the reading of a psalm) and Willaert’s ‘O magnum mysterium’ (a responsory to be sung during Matins at Christmas), the compilation also documents excerpts from the Mass – including Giovanni Gabrieli’s ‘Jubilate Deo’. By far the largest work, however, is Croce’s Missa sopra la battaglia (Mass on the Battle), composed in 1596 to honour the day of victory against the Ottoman Turks in 1571.

Using several choruses as well as a rich instrumental consort, Croce’s Mass shows how richly developed was the music at St Mark’s by the end of the 16th century. Its glorious traditions continue, as we can hear from the current choir and instrumentalists of St Mark’s, Cappella Marciana.

Spectacular Venetian polychoral music.

Several works otherwise unavailable on record.

Renaissance choral music has for many years been marketed as stress-busting music to calm down the weary modern-day man or woman in a world full of uncertainty and danger. Ironically, this music was born in a period of great stress and indeed danger as the Catholic Church and emergent Protestant faith wrestled for authority over nations.

The Catholic Church rose to the challenge with some truly spectacular music, including Allegri’s famous Miserere included on this CD. Written for use exclusively by the papal choir, this music owes its popularity to the young Mozart, who having heard it once, copied the work from memory, bringing it to the outside world.

Radical thought, as so often in history, was a punishable offence in the 16th century. Those who called for church reform were often dealt with brutally, paying with their lives for exposing the machinations and wrongdoings of Popes, bishops, priests and clerics.

It was in such a climate that Palestrina, Monteverdi, Victoria and others produced their greatest religious music. This CD makes a soundtrack to the great theatre that was Roman worship in the 16th and 17th centuries, while also providing nearly 50 minutes of uplifting and spiritual music.

Booklet note, sung texts and translations.

Recording made in 1982.

Trombone Attraction is a new and dynamic trombone quartet. In 2008 they won the International Competition for Brass in Passau. “ A truly refreshing way of playing music with the greatest of ease which is breathtaking!” Walter Voglmayr, principal trombone Vienna Symphonics. This diverse collection includes pieces by Paul McCartney, Debussy, Webern and Gabrieli.

Easter 2009 sees the release of a major new disc on Collegium from John Rutter, the Cambridge Singers and La Nuova Musica, featuring a collection of outstanding motets from the canon of European sacred choral repertoire.

Focusing on the extraordinary body of choral music produced for liturgical use during the Renaissance and Baroque periods, The Sacred Flame explores the rich and varied ways in which European composers responded to sacred texts. Delving into a treasure-trove of music from cultural centres as diverse as Amsterdam, Antwerp, Leipzig, Milan, Rome, and Venice, this collection features familiar classics by Gabrieli,Monteverdi, Palestrina and Schütz, as well as less widely-known masterpieces by Bach, Buxtehude, Hassler and Sweelinck. All are performed in stunning new recordings by the Cambridge Singers at their sensuous and virtuosic best, joined here for the first time on disc by the instrumentalists of La Nuova Musica, rapidly establishing areputation as one of the UK’s most exciting early music ensembles.

All repertoire featured on The Sacred Flame is drawn from the enormously popular European Sacred Music collection edited by John Rutter for the Oxford University Press Oxford Choral Classics series. Recorded in the unparalleled acoustic of the Great Hall at University College School in London, and produced and engineered by award winning producer Simon Eadon, the performances of these much loved works heard on this disc are set to become definitive.

“These singers of John Rutter's choir are so expert, so very good at everything they do… They shade and shape the phrases beautifully” Gramophone

A celebration of the pioneering early music label Archiv, offering 55CDs ranged across the label’s entire 66-year history. Beautiful presentation, original jacket sleeves and documentation to the customary high standards of the label.

In more ways than one, 2013 will be an Archiv Produktion year. The beloved Silver Label – the “Early Music Studio of Deutsche Grammophon”, as it was called for many years – is being revived in a big way, both in frontline and catalogue. In early April 2013 an event in Berlin is being held to mark this relaunch. New albums from choral group Tenebrae, Anna Prohaska and Giuliano Carmignola are being released in the first quarter to coincide with this occasion.

Simple, striking and strong: in gleaming silver with the large blue Archiv Logo embossed on all sides. A large onsert on the top and back of the box details contents and is illustrated with a packshot showing contents.

Original Jackets: starting with the austere yellow covers of the 1940s and 1950s gradually giving way to the great historical illustrations and images that featured up to the 1990s, when artists at last began to make an appearance (there were no artist photos in the 1950s!)

The 180-page full-colour book has articles by journalist Nicholas Anderson, and “memoirs” by former directors of Archiv, Prof. Andreas Holschneider and Dr. Peter Czornyj, and Executive Producer, Marita Prohmann.

The book features many rare photos from Archiv recording sessions, as well as other memorabilia.