For many years, Johann Pachelbel (1653–1706) was beset by the same malady as Tomaso Albinoni, i.e., that of being recognized primarily for a single work. In Albinoni’s case it was the Adagio (composed by Remo Giazotto, using only a bass line from his countryman); with Pachelbel it was the all-pervading Canon in D which has been recorded so many times that one loses count and in an almost infinite variety of versions, ranging from the composer’s original for three violins and continuo to tuba quartet! However, some have chosen to venture further into the musical legacy left by Pachelbel and therefore uncovered a number of compositions whose quality—while variable and occasionally mundane—is overshadowed by their importance in the development of specific genre, including the sacred cantata.

Franz von Suppé (1819-1895) had to put in a lot of effort to finally be able to start a music study. Law and medicine were studies that fit better with the environment that Franz came from. The music eventually won. Franz Pokorny, theater director, saw the talent and offered him the opportunity to further qualify as a conductor. He more or less became the patron of Franz von Suppé. It is not without reason that Franz composed a "Requiem" for his benefactor when he died in 1855. The work does not have such a large orchestral line-up (including four horns, two trumpets, percussion and strings) and has subtle dramatic accents. The work thus deviates from other, often grandiose, romantic settings of a requiem.

Clérambault was born in 1676 in Paris in a musical family whose members had served the kings of France since the 15th century. His father Dominique was a violinist and a member of the 24 violons du roi. Louis-Nicolas probably received his first music lessons from him. His organ teacher was André Raison to whom he dedicated his Livre d'orgue. His oeuvre is not very sizeable, but of consistently high quality. He was a major contributor to the genre of the chamber cantata which became popular in the early decades of the 18th century under the influence of the Italian style. Five books of such cantatas were published between 1710 and 1726.

Lamentations or tenebrae were composed for the Matins services of Thursday, Friday and Saturday in Holy Week but were sung on the preceding evening. Each service consisted of three nocturnes and each nocturne was divided into three lessons. The Lamentations of Jeremiah were always sung during the three lessons of the first nocturne of each service. That makes nine tenebrae in all. Scarlatti however, set to music only six of them, all of which are sung on this new release. Five of the Lamentations are for soprano and the remaining one for tenor.

Denmark-born Nicolaus Bruhns (1665-1697) studied under Buxtehude, and eventually became his favorite and most-skilled student. After his studies, Bruhns became composer at the Danish Royal Court. Unfortunately, after his early death ended a blossoming career, many of Bruhns’ works have been lost. J. S. Bach held a deep admiration for Bruhns’ vocal works, and their influence is evident in Bach’s earliest works. This release includes Bruhns’ complete cantatas. Their “Stylus Phantasticus” shows freedom of form and expression. The four vocal soloists featured on this release are fantastic, and are joined by Harmonices Mundi and conductor Claudio Astronio, who has already released several recordings for Brilliant Classics to critical acclaim.

Donna, che in ciel di tanta luce splendi is a full-length cantata and the masterpiece in this recital. The introductory Sinfonia captures attention imperatively with its grandeur and turbulence. Then the succession of recitatives and arias, unfailingly alive with dramatic imagination, provides superb opportunities for the singer, all of which are taken here with well-grounded eagerness.

From the earliest planning stages for this recording, Andreas Scholl had only one orchestra in mind: the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra. It's no surprise that Decca was skittish about the idea–there are, after all, many good baroque-instrument bands much closer to London–yet the star countertenor insisted that his rapport with this group was special and that it would be well worth the trouble to make the record in Sydney. Well, from the very first notes, it's clear that Scholl was right: conductor Paul Dyer and the ABO launch into the opening of Nisi Dominus with an energetic gusto that you'd sooner expect from Rinaldo Alessandrini's Concerto Italiano than from an Anglo-Saxon band. Scholl responds in kind: his vocalism is as smooth, clear, and assured as ever, but he goes beyond that–his innumerable subtle inflections of tone and timing are more reminiscent of a good orator than an opera singer.

L'auge del període barroc, a principis del segle XVIII, va ser un moment de guerres i aixecaments a Catalunya, però també de la creació d'una cort reial a Barcelona després de tres segles sense tenir-ne. Per això, els músics i compositors de Catalunya es van posar en contacte amb els estils i tècniques més avançats de Nàpols, París i Viena. Tomàs Milans (1672-1742) és un dels principals compositors d'aquest període, contemporani amb Fux, Delalande, Caldara, Scarlatti i Albinoni, tot i que va compondre només música religiosa per la seva obra com a mestre de capella a Barcelona i Girona.

Known in his lifetime as 'El cantor de Maria', Guerrero was second only to Victoria in Spanish renaissance music. His Marian motets are celebrated as some of the most beautiful compositions of the period: we include five of the best, including Ave virgo sanctissima, one of the most loved and imitated pieces of polyphony from any country.

The Missa Corona spinea is a kind of treble concerto, packed with mind-blowing sonorities. If ever there was music to exemplify Shakespeare's 'Music of the Spheres', it is here, and especially in the two ecstatic treble gimells. The first performance, probably in front of Henry VIII and Cardinal Wolsey, must have been an astonishing occasion.

Francesco Cavalli’s musical production is dominated by his forty or so operas (some of which are still of doubtful authenticity). Cavalli’s apparent nonchalance no doubt helped to foster the legend of a person who seemed to be constantly hesitating between the security of a post at St Mark’s and the attraction of melodrama. Moreover, his functions as singer and organist in Venice did not stipulate that he was to compose religious music; his priveleged position at the basilica, which was synonymous with social success, nevertheless encouraged him to leave his mark. When he was appointed maestro di cappella on Rovetta’s death, he devoted himself to enriching a corpus of new music destined for the repertory of St Mark’s.

Hungarian conductor Pál Németh seems to be starting a series of larger-sacred works by Viennese composer Antonio Caldara. Coming on the heels of his Paschal work La passion di Gesù Cristo , likewise on Hungaroton, this particular oratorio features something that should resonate in Budapest, since it focuses on King Stephen, the country’s patron saint. Regardless of the subject matter, however, the work conforms to the typical Italian oratorio of the early 18th century, that is to say, a sacred mirror of the opera seria consisting of a series of da capo arias following recitatives.

A well-regarded composer in his own right, Leopold I transformed the Viennese court into a centre of European culture. The beautiful settings he wrote for the burials of his first two wives, as well as his music for the Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary, are testament to the Emperor’s musical talent.

“Brilliant singer … a lean, straightforward voice animated by a subtle flatée … real ‘vocal artistry’,” raved German early music expert Bernhard Morbach of Kulturradio Berlin Brandenburg about Amaryllis Dieltiens’ debut on AEOLUS in 2011. With her own ensemble Capriola Di Gioia, Dieltiens now presents a deeply touching Stabat mater in Boccherini’s original version from 1781.

Georg Muffat’s “Missa in labore requies” alongside church sonatas of his contemporaries make up audite’s latest offering in the series of polychoral baroque music recorded by renowned Early Music performers.
With its octagonal layout and four galleries, the Abbey Church at Muri provides an ideal acoustic for performing polychoral music. The galleries surround the main body of the church, placing the audience in the midst of the musical event. This sound experience is unique, both in concert and in recordings. The considerable distance between the galleries creates challenges in the musical interaction of the different groups.