Accent

19/12/2023

Bernhard Schrammek und Matthias Käther stellen ihre persönlichen CDs des Jahres auf dem rbbKultur vor. Wir freuen uns sehr, dass sie hierfür Margret Köll und ihre herausragende Einspielung "Wondrous Machine" ausgesucht haben! Vielen Dank, dass wir Teil dieser wundervollen Produktion und so auch dieser wundebaren Sendung sein durften. Ein gelungener Jahresrückblick!

Wondrous Machine
Interpret: Margret Koell; Michele Pasotti; Slawomir Zubrzycki; Ensemble between the Strings
Komponist: Georg Friedrich Händel; James Oswald; Christof Dienz
Bestellnummer: ACC24398
EAN: 4015023243989
https://lnk.to/iWzlwCUp

Zur Sendung: https://www.ardaudiothek.de/episode/meine-musik/mit-bernhard-schrammek-und-matthias-kaether/rbbkultur/13006253/

Listen to Woundrous Machine by Margret Koell.

11/12/2023

What do Pepusch and Handel have in common? Or better not? Find out more in this wonderful twenty-minute review by Deutschlandfunk / Deutschlandfunk Kultur.

Johann Christoph Pepusch: Chandos Anthems
with Hendrick; Potter; Cutting; Mulroy; Todd, Rozynko; Grint; Rawson; The Harmonious Society of Tickle-Fiddle Gentlemen
ACC24397
UPC: 4015023243972

https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/chandos-anthems-von-johann-christoph-pepusch-dlf-a8111f80-100.html
(only in German language)

11/11/2023

"Chandos Anthems" is usually associated with Handel's name - a collection of cantatas that Handel wrote as "house composer" for James Brydges, later Duke of Chandos and the richest man in England.
From 1719 - Handel was concentrating on opera again - Johann Christoph Pepusch took over this task. The Duke was a great lover of the baroque riches of Italy and was able at his private chapel to circumvent the strict purist guidelines of the Anglican Church for church music, where no instruments were allowed in church music apart from the organ, and certainly no women.
Pepusch, too, was a great friend of Venetian splendour; he came from Berlin and quickly made a career for himself in London from 1704 onwards; his "Beggar's Opera" achieved great fame. While the possibilities Handel had with the Duke of Chandos were still limited, Pepusch was able to draw from the full range. The ensemble grew beyond the chamber music group and a handful of singers to a small orchestra with multiple strings, organ/harpsichord, trumpet, bassoon, oboe and recorders. In addition, there was a choir of at least seven adult singers plus a number of trebles, which Pepusch knew how to use to good effect.
Robert Rawson, a pronounced specialist in Pepusch's music, presents three large and colourful Pepusch anthems in a first recording with his Harmonious Society of Tickle-Fiddle Gentlemen. The seven solo singers are beautifully supported by the Girl Choristers of Canterbury Cathedral.”

Johann Christoph Pepusch: Chandos Anthems
Ciara Hendrick; Alex Potter; Hugh Cutting; Nicholas Mulroy; Nicholas Todd, Vitali Rozynko; Edward Grint; Robert Rawson; The Harmonious Society of Tickle-Fiddle Gentlemen
ACC24397
UPC: 4015023243972

09/11/2023

REVIEW

"Their performance also leaves nothing to be desired musically.
The very first bars show that every detail has been worked on. The strings enter with lively vigour, the trio of soloists interacts lightly and eloquently. This has a Vivaldi-sunny, gentle swing and at the same time has the precious effect of lace-making. The addition of the recorders in the singing second movement is also very beautiful. The "Concerto for Harp and Lute" based on HWV 306, which Margret Koell arranged herself on the basis of the underlying organ concerto, is of comparable grace. Although the lyrichord only plays an accompanying role here, it adds attractive accents in some passages."

https://www.musikansich.de/review.php?id=24523

06/11/2023

"Thanks to the great joy of playing and technical perfection of all those involved, this album by the "wondrous machine(s)" is an absolute listen - not only for fans of extraordinary baroque instruments." Bernhard Schrammek, rbbKultur

Wondrous Machine
Margret Koell; Michele Pasotti; Slawomir Zubrzycki; Ensemble between the Strings
with works by Georg Friedrich Händel; James Oswald; Christof Dienz
ACC24398
UPC: 4015023243989

https://www.rbb-online.de/rbbkultur/themen/musik/rezensionen/cd/2023/10/margret-koell-wondrous-machine.html

Note 1 Music

Eine Kritik von Bernhard Schrammek

23/10/2023

NOW ONLINE! Listen now to Margret Köll's latest release on your favourite streaming plattform or buy the physical CD!

Get easy access here:

Listen to Woundrous Machine by Margret Koell.

23/10/2023

And once again Margret Köll makes it onto Spotify's "Classical New Releases" playlist with her fantastic album "Wondrous Machine"! The album is now available everywhere!

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DWV0gynK7G6pD?si=d4dec7c2dcb046f4

18/10/2023

Behind the scenes
Recording "Jauchzet Gott - Sacred Music for soprano and trumpet"

OUT NOW!
Magdalene Harer, Hannes Rux, Harmonie Universelle, Florian Deuter
Jauchzet Gott - Sacred Music for soprano and trumpet
ACC24396
UPC: 4015023243965

13/10/2023

STREAM NOW!

First single of Margret Köll's new recording 'Wondrous Machine' is now officially released on Spotify and been chosen for their weekly 'Classical New Releases' Playlist!

Enjoy! We can not wait until the release of the Album next friday.

https://open.spotify.com/intl-de/album/1I8TuUSX7MrpZpoxjuPVQQ?si=nc14dS1ETUGFhccTSfseGA

11/10/2023

It was literally "highly virtuosic" when the great composers of the 18th century brought together solo soprano and clarinet trumpet in glorious praise of God. Johann Sebastian Bach's cantata "Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen" is a prominent example of this. That his courtly colleagues Jan Dismas Zelenka in Dresden and Christoph Graupner in Darmstadt were just as imaginative and effective when composing for their best interpreters is demonstrated by the ensemble Harmonie Universelle with Magdalene Harer (soprano) and Hannes Rux (trumpet) in the breathtaking solo parts.

08/10/2023

Wondrous Machine - this is the title of an air from Purcell's Odes for St. Cecilia's Day, a hymn of praise to the music of which Cecilia is considered the patron saint, and to the instruments from the flute to the organ, of which she is considered the inventor. Not as an inventor, but as an innovative rediscoverer and ambassador of an equally "wondrous" instrument, namely the historical harp and its "entourage", is Margret Koell. She programmatically places the title "Wondrous Machine" above a project that present the mutability of the triple harp.
The programme focuses on George Frideric Handel: the Concerto Op. 7 No. 1 for harp, lute and orchestra is Koell's arrangement of the original concerto for organ and orchestra. The Concerto Op. 4 No. 6 is presented here for the first time in the extremely rarely heard version from 1736 for harp and lyrichord (viola organista) - the latter, a bowed keyboard instrument, is based on sketches by Leonardo da Vinci. With his sketch for another "wondrous machine", the flying machine "Ornithopter", da Vinci was once again the inspiration: for the new composition by Christof Dienz, which catapults the triple harp and lyrichord into the present. The programme is rounded off by interspersed Scottish tunes by the composer James Oswald.

09/09/2023

Carl Friedrich Abel (1723-1787) has his place in music history above all as the last great virtuoso of the time-honoured viola da gamba and as the organiser of the so-called Bach-Abel concerts in London, which marked the beginning of modern public subscription concerts. What is less well known is that Abel not only performed there as a soloist, but also enriched the concerts with a large number of his own orchestral works. A total of 46 symphonies by him have survived, 40 of which appeared in print during his lifetime. Six - five "real" symphonies and one Sinfonia Concertante for oboe, violin and violoncello - were not printed during his lifetime; they have been preserved in manuscript in the Royal Court Library in Berlin. Abel had them in his luggage on his last visit to Germany in 1782 and apparently presented them in Berlin to the Prussian heir to the throne, Friedrich Wilhelm. On the occasion of Abel's 300th birthday, the Main Baroque Orchestra, conducted by Martin Jopp, presents four of these symphonies (WKO 37, 38, 39, 41) as world premiere recordings as well as the Sinfonia Concertante on this recording.

Main-Barockorchester Frankfurt, Martin Jopp
ACC24394
4015023243941

10/07/2023

Johann Michael Haydn (1737-1806) : Kaiser Constantin I. Feldzug und Sieg. Emőke Baráth, Klára Kolonits, Theodora Raftis, Chantal Santon Jeffery, Katali

15/06/2023

Johann Joachim Quantz (1697-1773) nahm als Flötenlehrer Friedrichs des Großen eine herausragende und privilegierte Stellung im musikalischen Leben am preußischen Hof ein. Viele seiner Werke ebenso wie viele der von ihm gebauten Flöten entstanden ab 1741 exklusiv für den Monarchen. Frank Theuns spielt hier auf einer originalgetreuen Kopie einer Quantz- Flöte einige dieser "Privat-Konzerte". Theuns und Les Buffardins verwenden dabei den tiefen französischen Stimmton (a' = 392 Hz), der am Hof üblich war, und lassen so die besondere Klangästhetik in Sanssouci wiedererstehen.

Johann Joachim Quantz: Flötenkonzerte QV 5:86; QV 5:173; QV 5:196 und QV 5:236
Interpret: Frank Theuns; Les Buffardins
Bestellnummer: ACC24395
EAN: 4015023243958

30/05/2023

https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/neue-dlf-produktion-harmonie-universelle-spielt-werke-von-johann-wilhelm-wilms-dlf-6df75930-100.html

14/04/2023

Only slowly is the German-Dutch composer and virtuoso Johann Wilhelm Wilms coming back into the public consciousness and his chamber music as well as symphonic works are being played again. Born in the Bergisches Land (near Cologne), he must have been a great musical talent, for he received instruction only in the village environment, then moved to Amsterdam at the age of 19, where he quickly made a name for himself as a flutist and piano virtuoso. His works were printed and he achieved great renown even beyond the Netherlands. But just as he had begun to shine, his star also sank again. After several strokes of fate, he withdrew from musical life in 1820 and composed very little.
Harmonie Universelle presents Willms' Clarinet Concerto (composed around 1815) and two concertante symphonies from 1814 as first recordings. Willms knew and revered the works of Haydn, Mozart and early Beethoven, which clearly influenced his style. His compositions are excellently crafted and definitely reveal his own spirit and great musicality. Harmonie Universelle has thus succeeded in taking an important step towards bringing this wonderful music back into the public eye.

21/03/2023

ACCENT präsentiert in einer 4-CD-Box die Gesamteinspielung aller Werke Beethovens für Klavier und Violine, in den Jahren 2008/09 von Hiro Kurosaki und Linda Nicholson auf historischen Instrumenten eingespielt. Die Reihenfolge 'Klavier und Violine' mag überraschen: Auch wenn Beethovens zehn Violinsonaten den endgültigen Wendepunkt hin zu einer Gleichberechtigung der beiden Instrumente markieren, hat sie der Komponist noch ausdrücklich als 'Sonaten für Klavier und Violine' bezeichnet. Das Besondere an dieser Gesamteinspielung: Linda Nicholson und Hiro Kurosaki verwendeten nicht etwa bloß Instrumente historischer Bauart, sondern für die Sonaten jeweils das passende historische Wiener Instrumentarium aus der Zeit Beethovens. Durch diese sorgfältige Auswahl der Instrumente nähern sich die beiden Musiker Beethovens Klangvorstellungen so nah wie möglich an. Ein weiterer Pluspunkt des Projekts ist die Berücksichtigung der sonst vernachlässigten Frühwerke für diese Besetzung, die so auch mit einigen hörenswerten Raritäten aus der Feder des Komponisten bekanntmachen.

Ludwig van Beethoven: Die Violinsonaten
Hiro Kurosaki; Linda Nicholson
4 CD
ACC24389
EAN: 4015023243897

20/02/2023

"Luks gelingt eine packende und präzise Interpretation, mit herrlich warmen Bläserfarben und traumhafter Durchsichtigkeit." Fono Forum

https://www.stereo.de/fonoforum/rezensionen/rezension/collegium-1704-smetana-mein-vaterland/back/12033

Collegium 1704 Note 1 Music

Bedřich Smetana hat mit seiner sinfonischen Dichtung „Die Moldau“ einen Hit gelandet. Meist wird ausgeblendet – von tschechischen Klassikkennern vermutlich nicht –, dass das Stück Teil eines Zyklus von sechs sinfonischen Dichtungen mit dem Titel „Mein Vaterland“ ist. Böhmische Landsch...

18/02/2023

All three oboes in this recording were built by Maestro Alfredo Bernardini. They are copies (in 430 Hz) after an original from 1795 from the famous oboe maker‘s workshop Grundmann & Floth in Dresden.

All info on the release as well as access to onlineshops and streaming: https://bio.to/63n2JK

11/02/2023

Xenia Löffler spricht über den Fund der Oboenliteratur am Hof von Thurn und Taxis, über die Besoderheiten und die Weltersteinspielungen, die sich auf ihrem neusten Album 'Oboe concertos at the Court of Thurn und Taxis' befinden.

Xenia Löffler Batzdorfer Hofkapelle BR-KLASSIK

Thanks to the postal monopoly, the Princes of *Thurn und Taxis* had more than sufficient means to develop their court in Regensburg into one of the most impo...

08/02/2023

"Stimmig - Mit ihrem neuen Album zeigt Xenia Löffler, dass in der Musikbibliothek der Thurn und Taxis noch so manche Schätze schlummern. Die Solistin spielt ausdrucksstark und stilsicher, jederzeit aufmerksam unterstützt von der fast zwanzig Personen starken Batzdorfer Hofkapelle. Bei der Organisation des Projekts war Konzertmeister Daniel Deuter eine große Hilfe, und die Aufnahme selbst wurde zu einer "beglückenden" Erfahrung. Aber schließlich ist der Geiger ja auch Xenia Löfflers Ehegatte."
rbbKultur

https://www.rbb-online.de/rbbkultur/themen/musik/album_der_woche/xenia-loeffler-oboenkonzerte-am-hof-von-thurn-und-taxis.html

Xenia Löffler Batzdorfer Hofkapelle BR-KLASSIK Note 1 Music

Bei einer Recherche stieß die Berliner Oboistin Xenia Löffler auf die Archivalien der Fürsten von Thurn und Taxis. Als sie herausfand, dass dort einhundert Oboenkonzerte lagern, war die Idee für ein neues Soloprojekt geboren. Vier dieser Werke hat sie nun mit der Batzdorfer Hofkapelle herausgebr...

07/02/2023

'Silent Dance' by Margret Köll has just entered the German classical charts at number 8! We are delighted beyond measure and congratulate on this success!

DER SPIEGEL Offizielle Deutsche Charts Note 1 Music

Deutschlands führende Nachrichtenseite. Alles Wichtige aus Politik, Wirtschaft, Sport, Kultur, Wissenschaft, Technik und mehr.

07/02/2023

On Friday, the first single from Xenia Löffler's new album with oboe rarities from the Thurn und Taxis court was released. Spotify celebrates the release by adding it to the Classical New Releases playlist. We are very happy!

To the playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DWV0gynK7G6pD

The direct way to the single: https://open.spotify.com/track/71yZujV7S1KjQsHRSbNM8Z

More info on the release: https://bio.to/63n2JK?fbclid=IwAR0N0Ok2Dn3RBHHcYV3nX71aWMntrrb7jIlyiKrBBP9OutELj9I4_LoxTmk

04/02/2023

Dank des Postmonopols verfügten die Fürsten von Thurn und Taxis über mehr als ausreichend Mittel, ihren Hof in Regensburg während des 18. Jahrhunderts zu einem der bedeutendsten Musikzentren im deutschsprachigen Raum auszubauen. Bei ihrer Suche nach bisher vernachlässigten Werken für Oboe stieß Xenia Löffler in der Hofbibliothek der Fürsten Thurn und Taxis auf einen überraschend großen Fundus an reizvollen und teils extrem virtuosen konzertanten Werken für Oboe. Eine Auswahl - darunter eine Sinfonia concertante für drei Oboen - wird hier in Ersteinspielungen vorgestellt.

Xenia Löffler Batzdorfer Hofkapelle BR-KLASSIK

Go to Virtuose Fundstücke.

27/01/2023

BEHIND THE SCENES of "Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber: Sonatae tam aris, quam aulis servientes (Salzburg 1676)"

As in the earlier recording of Biber’s Fidicinium Sacro-Profanum (Accent 24357), a collection of sonatas also intended for performance in the church and the banqueting hall, Harmonie Universelle’s baroque string instruments can be heard in the Sonatae tam aris, quam aulis servientes together with the historic König organ in the former monastery church of Niederehe, Rheinland-Palatinate. Using such a large organ as a continuo instrument was common practice in the 17th and 18th centuries. In Salzburg Cathedral, in addition to the main organ on the west wall, smaller instruments can be found in the music galleries on each pillar of the transept which could also have been used. As well as harpsichords, organs were also occasionally used as keyboard continuo instruments in secular settings.
The instrument in Niederehe is probably Balthasar König’s earliest work. He received his initial training in his family’s organ workshop in Ingolstadt and moved from southern Germany to the Rhineland at the beginning of the 18th century. In 1711 he founded his own workshop in Münstereifel, which he later moved to Cologne. In 1714 he was commissioned by the Premonstratensian order in Niederehe to build this instrument with nine manual stops and pedal pull-downs. After a number of alterations over the centuries, the organ today has been largely restored to its original condition.

26/01/2023

„Besser war's nie. Wird's nicht mehr." WELT

Bedrich Smetana: Ma Vlast
Interpret: Vaclav Luks; Collegium 1704
ACC24378
EAN: 4015023243781

Where to buy or stream?

Listen to Smetana: Má vlast, JB 1.112 (Live) by Bedřich Smetana, Collegium 1704, Vaclav Luks.

23/01/2023

Where to find Florian Deuter and Harmonie Universelle's latest release 'Sonatae tam auris'? We do have a solution for you. Check out the link for streaming, downloads or physical CD:

Listen to Biber: Sonatae tam aris quam aulis servientes by Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber, Monica Waisman, Harmonie Universelle, Florian Deuter.

20/01/2023

Florian Deuter is one of the leading baroque violinists of his generation. Since Reinhard Goebel invited him in 1986 to join Musica Antiqua Köln, he has risen to positions of leadership by means of his formidable talent and unquenchable energy. By 1994, he was concertmaster of Goebel's ensemble; since then, he has led the Gabrieli Consort, the Chapelle Royale, the Collegium Vocale Gent, the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, Les Musiciens du Louvre and Concerto Köln among other ensembles.