Ortiz / Morley / Ericson / La Fleur - Viola Da Gamba & Lute - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

The Hamburger Ratsmusik - an ensemble looking back on a five-hundred-year history - teams up with the young countertenor Benno Schachtner on this recording of Georg Philipp Telemann's Six Moral Cantatas. During the decades between 1720 and 1750 the middle class of the early Enlightenment sought moral education and ethical improvement deriving from human nature and reason as part of it's never-ending quest for earthly happiness. It was with wit and charm that in his Moral Cantatas of 1735 Telemann set to music a poetic document conveying the spirit of this Enlightenment period. His only recently rediscovered Fantasies for Solo Viola da Gamba, published at the same time, are presented here in alternation with his Moral Cantatas, the title with which they were announced in a catalogue dating from August 1735. These two collections first performed together during a concert of the Hamburger Ratsmusik at the last Telemann Festival are now being presented here for the first time. These two works by Telemann were intended for professional and amateur musicians alike, and they seem to have met with special resonance among those interested parties who wanted to perform at home in smaller ensembles.

The Sonorous Lyre - a reference to the harp-like instrument of Classical Antiquity - takes the shape of the very resonant double-headed lute, a popular instrument frequently depicted by 17th-century Dutch and English painters. It is an instrument that is seldom heard today, sadly neglected in the lute renaissance of the 20th century. Swedish lutenist Anders Ericson has, for this recording, uncovered exciting original music, here presented for the first time to a modern audience. Born in Karlsborg, Sweden in 1976, Anders Ericson started playing electric and classical guitar at the age of eight. By the time he had reached eighteen he was playing the baroque lute and theorbo, and went to study at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm and the College of Music in Malmo graduating in 2002. Active as a continuo player and soloist, Anders has performed in major concert halls and opera houses in 25 countries all over the world, including the Wigmore Hall, Théatre des Champs-Élysées and Tokyo International Forum. Anders is a member of the Drottningholm Baroque Ensemble and Goteborg Baroque.

Norbert D chtel - Musical Highlights for Soprano Trumpet & Organ [COMPACT DISCS] date 01/28/2014