Machaut: David Hoquetus/double hoquet

In June 1993 the three founding members of Sour Cream, the avant-garde recorder trio created originally in 1972, got together again in order to make a new recording: the ensuing double album became the stuff of legend. Frans Brüggen, Kees Boeke and Walter van Hauwe, joined by Isabel Álvarez (voice) and Toyohiko Satoh (lutes), went into the studio with a programme called 'The Passion of Reason' which made a journey through music with a scientific slant to it, influenced by the concept of the mediaeval quadrivium or the convergence of music, arithmetic, astronomy and geometry. With pieces by composers ranging across five centuries, from Guillaume de Machaut to JS Bach, by way of Solage, William Cornysh and Heinrich Isaac, together with the mysterious repertory from the Baldwin manuscript, the members of Sour Cream raised a fascinating and hypnotic edifice in sound, taking the listener back to the speculative world of Hermetic philosophy and alchemy. Initially released on the Attacca label by Sieuwert Verster (the co-founder of the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century and inseparable colleague of Frans Brüggen), 'The Passion of Reason' was reissued by Glossa in 1997. After several years of the album being out of stock, we are pleased now to be able to bring this recording, timeless like so few others, back into our catalogue.

"The work of Guillaume de Machaut dominates the French 14th Century. It was bequeathed to us thanks to 6 illuminated manuscripts kept in the French National Library in Paris.Those manuscripts assemble the full poetical and musical works of the composer, structured as a very precisely organised entity.The musical part is composed of motets, virelais, ballads, lais, rondeaux and the famous Messe de Notre Dame. Thanks to the research of 20th century musicologists, we can now assess the full importance of this work enabling performers to read his music directly from manuscript sources and make us more and more familiar with this ancient media.This proximity with Guillaume de Machaut is an essential component of our work as a polyphonic ensemble. In this new recording devoted to the canon of Reims, we invite you to follow our poet-musician in the fantastic and experimental world of his ballads." Lucien Kandel

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.