Felix Mendelssohn - The 8 Chorale Cantatas for choir and orchestra

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O Haupt Voll Blut und Wunden, chorale cantata for voice, chorus & orchestra in C minor

1. O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden

2. Du, dessen Todeswunden

3. Ich will hier bei dir stehen

4 Verleih' uns Frieden, prayer for chorus & orchestra in E flat major

Vom Himmel Hoch, chorale cantata for soloists, chorus & orchestra in C major 5 1. Coro 6 2. Aria

7 3. Choral

8 4. Aria

9 5. Arioso

10 6. Schlusschor Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten, chorale cantata for soloist, chorus & strings in A minor 11 1. Choral 12 2. Choral

13 3. Arie

14 4. Choral

Wir glauben all' an einen Gott, chorale cantata for chorus & orchestra in D minor 15 1. Wir glauben all an einen Gott

16 2. Wir glauben auch an Jesum Christ

17 3. Wir glauben an den Heilgen Geist

18 Herr Gott, dich loben wir, for soloists, double chorus, 4 trombones, strings & organ

Cont.

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Cont.

Of all the nearly forgotten music by Mendelssohn, the most nearly completely forgotten is his music for chorus. Only his songs come close to being as almost entirely ignored, but because a few of them have earned a place in the recital hall, even they have a more prominent place in the repertoire. This 10-disc Brilliant set of Mendelssohn's complete choral works featuring the Chamber Choir of Europe under Nicol Matt addresses this problem even though it may not solve it. The performances are uniformly excellent. The Choir has a smooth tone and superb diction and Matt elicits from them polished balanced and ardent interpretations. Despite the dearth of comparisons, these performances with their clean textures, light tempos, and devout tone are surely as close to definitive as is possible to imagine. For some listeners, of course, this may not be enough to redeem Mendelssohn's heartfelt yet stolid music from obscurity. For others with more open minds, however, this set may serve to introduce a body of sacred works that certainly exceeds any other similar body of works from the same period in terms of skill and sincerity. Though a bit recessed, Brilliant's digital sound is cool and clear.

Lydia Allert Soprano (Vocal)

Amadeus-Chor Choir/Chorus

Anja Bittner Soprano (Vocal)

Manfred Bittner Bass (Vocal)

Chamber Choir of Europe Choir/Chorus

Alice Duskova Organ

Christof Fischesser Bass (Vocal)

Reinhard Geller Engineer, Producer

Heike Heilmann Soprano (Vocal)

Gerhard Hölzle Tenor (Vocal)

Nathalie Karl Soprano (Vocal)

Annemarie Kremer Soprano (Vocal)

Petra Labitzke Soprano (Vocal)

Alena Leja Soprano (Vocal)

Nicol Matt Conductor, Primary Artist

Birgit Meyer Alto (Vocals)

Eibe Möhlmann Alto (Vocals)

Róbert Morvai Tenor (Vocal)

Isabelle Müller-Kant Soprano (Vocal)

Gerhard Nennemann Tenor (Vocal)

Philip Niederberger Bass (Vocal)

Daniel Sans Tenor (Vocal)

Wilhelm Schwinghammer Bass (Vocal)

Raimonds Spogis Baritone (Vocal)

Stephen Taylor Liner Note Translation

Birgit Wegemann Soprano (Vocal)

Barbara Werner Alto (Vocals)

Christian Wildhagen Liner Notes

Gabriele Wunderer Alto (Vocals)

Wurttembergische Philharmonie Orchestra Reutlingen

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