La Rue / Anderson / Schola Antiqua Of Chicago - Missa Conceptio Tua - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Stanford / Adams / Gould Pno Trio - Pno Trio 2 & Pno QRT 1 [COMPACT DISCS] date 01/13/2015

Notker Balbulus, also known as Notker of St Gall or Notker the Stammerer, was a renowned Benedictine monk at the Abbey of St Gall in Switzerland who made substantial contributions to both the music and literature of his time. These include the Liber ymnorum, which forms an important collection of early musical sequences that celebrate special moments in the liturgical calendar. As the 'very long melodies' of the liturgical sequences were a formidable challenge to memorise, Notker created these texts as an aid to holding the melodies within the mind and memory. They are performed here by the acclaimed and insightful Schola Antiqua of Chicago.

Maria Callas is credited with changing the history of opera. Known as La Divina, she continues to fascinate as a supreme artist, but also as a woman and an icon of style. Her interpretations were as compelling for their dramatic truth as for their musical integrity. Her voice, with it's extraordinary range, was as distinctive as her infallible sense for a phrase. A magnetic presence, she brought operatic heroines to vivid life, magically shaping and colouring her tone, and making insightful use of the text of the libretto.