Andreas Hammerschmidt: Motets for Passiontide and Easter; Johann Rosenmuller: Dixit Dominus / Gli Scarlattisti

Recommendation

This is the second program to come from Carus performed by the vocal ensemble Gli Scarlattisti featuring the music of these two baroque masters, Andreas Hammerschmidt (1611/12-1675) and Johann Rosenmüller (1619-1684). Formed in 1995 by Jochen Arnold, who also directs these performances, Gil Scarlattisti is comprised of professional singers from Germany and Switzerland who specialize in baroque repertoire.

There are two works on the CD. The first is one of Hammerschmidt's most celebrated works, the six part motet Also hat Gott die Welt geliebet of 1671, based on biblical psalms. The second is Rosenmüller's psalm cantata Dixit Dominus. Taking up over two-thirds of the time on the CD, the Hammerschmidt is the major work here, both in terms of length and the performing forces called for. There are about the same number of singers involved in the performance as there are instrumentalists, just over a dozen of each. I think I was initially drawn to this music because of the particular, unique sound Hammerschmidt achieves scoring the instrumental parts. Among a few other instruments, two violins, organ, cello and lute are joined by three trombones, providing a rich and shaded, thickset timbre which contrasts the vocal lines beautifully; and it works especially well in the largely homophonic texture of the music. You can hear an example of how this works in the opening of the sample track provided.

The second work, Rosenmüller's Dixit Dominus, celebrates Christ's ascension into heaven. Interesting metric themes and metric transitions (from triple to duple meter for example), shifting instrumental colors and a vivid musical rendition of the text characterize this festive cantata. Hammerschmidt and Rosenmüller are two great composers who certainly deserve a place in any serious baroque music collection; if they are missing from yours, this excellent Carus CD would be a splendid addition.

Album Overview

Though little known today, Andreas Hammerschmidt was one of the most important masters of the early German Baroque and ranked among the greatest Protestant-Lutheran church music composers of his time. This CD with the stellar ensemble Gli Scarlattisti presents his vocal works for Passiontide and Easter as well as a "Dixit Dominus" by contemporary Johann Rosenmüller.

Source: HBDirect.com

Andreas Hammerschmidt	Andreas Hammerschmidt, composer Andreas Hammerschmidt (1612 – 1675), the “Orpheus of Zittau,” was a German Bohemian composer and organist of the early to middle Baroque era. He was one of the most significant and popular composers of sacred music in Germany in the middle 17th century. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andreas_Hammerschmidt
Johann Rosenmüller	Johann Rosenmüller, composer Johann Rosenmüller received his early musical training at the Lateinschule at Oelsnitz and matriculated in the theological faculty of the University of Leipzig in 1640. There he most likely continued his musical studies with Tobias Michael, Kantor of the Thomasschule, and he is listed as an assistant there in 1642, teaching music in the lower classes. In 1651 he was also appointed organist of the Nicolaikirche. www.bach-cantatas.com/Lib/Rosenmuller.htm
Gli Scarlattisti	Gli Scarlattisti The ensemble Gli Scarlattisti was founded by Jochen M. Arnold in 1995 and consists of professional singers who have either studied music at a conservatory or have completed extensive vocal training in private instruction. The Scarlattisti are usually accompanied by a four-piece continuo group or the Barockorchester Capella Principale. www.carus-verlag.com
	Jochen Arnold The German choral conductor, Jochen M. Arnold, studied protestant theology and church music in Tübingen, Rome and Stuttgart. As documented on numerous CD and radio recordings, his repertoire encompasses the most important choral and orchestral works of the 16th through 20th centuries. www.bach-cantatas.com/Bio/Arnold-Jochen.htm

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