Philippe Herreweghe - Beethoven: Christus Am Olberge - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

The name says it all, because two ensembles could hardly be further apart. On one side there is a Big Band, sixteen musicians whose core skills do not necessarily include playing softly, and on the other there are six female singers, whose greatest strength lies in their control of the finest nuances. There are, however, unifying elements - the search for new shores, for sounds and structures that have never been heard before, and the joy of experimenting. These elements form the common thread that runs through Jan Schreiner's compositions. Album Tracks 1. So Nah Und Doch So Fern 2. Snooze Until You Loose 3. Shining Bright 4. Nur So WÄCHST Das Herz 5. You Ain't As Smart As You Think You Are 6. Bei Gipfel Und Tal 7. Falling in Place

Monteverdi's Fourth Book of Madrigals, published in 1603 after an eleven-year gestation, bears witness to the metamorphosis of the madrigal and the rapid evolution of music at the turn of the two centuries. It is also a model of the genre and may be regarded as one of the most innovative and emblematic of it's composer's style. This bold, complex book is the culmination of the application of the precepts of the seconda pratica on the cusp of the seventeenth century. The dedication tells us that some of it's madrigals had been intended for presentation to Duke Alfonso II d'Este (who died in 1597), thus revealing the key influence on this collection of the court of Ferrara, then one of the most sophisticated in Europe and a crucible of musical innovation. Following the of the Vespers, Philippe Herreweghe, a great lover of Italy and it's repertory, accompanied as ever by Collegium Vocale Gent, signs his second recording devoted to Monteverdi on the Phi tag with this Fourth Book of Madrigals. Album Tracks 1. Ah Dolente Partita, SV 75 2. Cor Mio, Mentre VI Miro, SV 76 3. Cor Mio, Non Mori?, SV 77 4. Sfogava Con Le Stelle Un Infermo D'amore, SV 78 5. Volgea L'anima Mia Soavemente, SV 79 6. Anima Mea, Perdona a Chi TÈ Cruda, SV 80A 7. Che Se Tu Se'il Cor Mio, SV 80B 8. Luci Serene E Chiare Voi Mincendete, SV 81 9. La Piaga C'ho Nel Core Donna Onde Lieta Sei, SV 82 10. Voi Pur Da Me Partite, Anima Dura, SV 83 11. A Un Giro Sol De' Bell' Occhi Lucenti, SV 84 12. Ohimè, Se Tanto Amate, SV 85 13. Io Mi Son Giovinetta, SV 86 14. Quell'augellin Che Canta SÌ Dolcemente, SV 87 15. Non Più Guerra, Pietate, SV 88 16. SÌ Ch'io Vorrei Morire Hora Ch'io Bacio Amore, SV 89

Alessandro Scarlatti's St John Passion was the first Passion setting written in seventeenth-century Italy. Scarlatti treats the role of the Evangelist (composed in the mezzo-soprano register) in highly unusual fashion, giving his narrative numerous emotional passages. The Voice of Christ (bass) is invariably haloed by a string accompaniment. The version presented by Leonardo García Alarcón inserts meditations assigned to the chorus; these are taken from Scarlatti's Responsories for Holy Week, polyphonic settings that reveal a little-known genre practiced by this composer. Album Tracks 1. Plange Quasi Virgo 2. Passio Domini Nostri Jesu Christi 3. Plange Quasi Virgo 4. In Illo Tempore Egressus Est 5. Ecce Vidimus Eum 6. Sequebatur Autem Jesum Simon Petrus 7. Omnes Amici Mei 8. Adducunt Ergo Jesum a Caipha 9. Vinea Mea Electa 10. Hunc Ergo Titulum Multi Judaeorum 11. O Vos Omnes 12. Judaei Ergo, Quoniam Parasceve Erat 13. Aestimatus Sum