Mdr Leipzig Radio Choir Ahmann - Motets - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Willemark Knutsson Öberg - Alla Drommars Sang [COMPACT DISCS] date 04/30/2013

The MDR Leipzig Radio Choir and it's artistic director Philipp Ahmann present a collection of Felix Mendelssohn's choral music, which arguably represents the pinnacle of German nineteenth-century religious music. Ranging across psalm settings, motets, Latin verses, the Deutsche Liturgie as well as the ethereal chorus Denn er hat seinen Engeln befohlen, which was later adapted and incorporated into his oratorio Elijah, the album highlights the unique stylistic range and expressive power of Mendelssohn's choral output. A unique addition to the programme is the world premiere recording of Heilig, MWV 47. The music on this album seamlessly integrates stylistic traits of Palestrina and Bach, remnants of Jewish cantor practices, as well as the Romanticism of Mendelssohn's time. Generally considered one of the best choirs in the German-speaking world, the singers of the MDR Leipzig Radio Choir are proficient in this repertoire, written by a local musical giant whose music is deeply ingrained into the cultural soil of their city. The MDR Leipzig Radio Choir and it's aristic director Philipp Ahmann return to Pentatone with this a cappella album following their acclaimed recording of motets by Anton Bruckner and Michael Haydn (2021). The choir has also taken part in a Pentatone of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis (2017), as well as numerous opera recordings released by the tag. A San Francisco Classical Recording Company production in association with MDR Klassik

Hermann Max and the Rheinische Kantorei set out on new paths toward the interpretation of Bach's motet cosmos. The present CD also includes the Motets BWV Anh. 159 because Bach scholarship has come to regard these works, long ascribed to Johann Christian Bach, as compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach as they clearly bear his musical signature.