Gongs and Bamboo
The first release outside Japan of music by one of the most original and underappreciated composers in contemporary music brings José Maceda's remarkable catalog to international attention. Born in 1900 in the Philippines, Maceda created extraordinary compositions, often for large ensembles of the same instrument, across five decades of creative output. This CD brings together three very different pieces from his enormous catalog, showcasing the breadth and originality of his compositional visio…
Der Klang Der Offenbarung Des Göttlichen
Double 10" of Kjartan Sveinsson's four-part opera after Halldór Laxness's World Light, staged by Ragnar Kjartansson in Berlin in 2014, with the Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg and Filmchor Berlin.
Lab.Oratorium
First recording of Philippe Manoury's Lab.Oratorium (2019) for actors, soprano, mezzo-soprano, choirs, live electronics and orchestra, on the deaths of refugees in the Mediterranean, with the Gürzenich Orchestra conducted by François-Xavier Roth, directed by Nicolas Stemann.
Hij
Mark Andre's hij 1 for orchestra (WDR Sinfonieorchester, Mariano Chiacchiarini, 2015) and hij 2 for 24 voices and live electronics (SWR Vokalensemble, Marcus Creed, SWR Experimentalstudio, live 2013). First recordings.
Minnesang für zwölf Stimmen / Musivus für Orchester
Emmanuel Nunes's Minnesang for twelve voices a cappella on texts by Jakob Böhme (SWR Vokalensemble, prepared by Marcus Creed) and Musivus for orchestra in four groups (WDR Sinfonieorchester), conducted by Emilio Pomàrico.
Dialog mit Haydn / Issei no Kyo / Nanzen no Kyo
Three works by Hans Zender: Dialog mit Haydn (Kretzschmar, Wiget, Bundesjugendorchester, Zender), Issei no kyō (Claron McFadden, WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, Johannes Kalitzke) and Nanzen no kyō with the WDR Rundfunkchor. MDR/WDR productions, 2017.
Adónde? Wohin?
Hans Zender's four Canciones on St John of the Cross (2008-14), with Angelika Luz, Ernst Kovacic, Klangforum Wien, the Bavarian Radio Choir and Symphony Orchestra, the SWR Vokalensemble and SWR Sinfonieorchester; four conductors.
Choral Utopia
Choral works by Heinz Holliger: Shir Shavur on David Rokeah, Psalm, hölle himmel and Rosa Loui on Kurt Marti, and Utopie Chorklang; SWR Vokalensemble under Marcus Creed and Holliger, recorded 2006-2015, mostly first recordings.
Poema de Balcones
Martin Smolka's choral works Poema de balcones (Lorca), Walden, the Distiller of Celestial Dews (Thoreau, with percussion) and Słone i smutne (Różewicz), sung by the SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart under Marcus Creed.
Visionen
Five works by Dimitri Terzakis (1988-2009): Legetos, the Sappho-Zyklus, À une Madone, Visionen and Sonate infernale, with Brigitte Fassbaender, Tatjana Masurenko, the Thomanerchor Leipzig, the Münchner Rundfunkorchester and others.
Beckett Material
Morton Feldman's 1976 trilogy Orchestra, Elemental Procedures (soprano, choir, orchestra; Beckett text) and Routine Investigations, with Claudia Barainsky, WDR Rundfunkchor and WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln under Peter Rundel; recorded 2010 and 2013.
Aus dem Leopardi-Zyklus
Three works from Klaus Ospald's Leopardi cycle: Così, dell'uomo ignara ..., Sovente in queste rive ... and Sopra un basso rilievo antico sepolcrale ..., with Collegium Novum Zürich, the WDR Sinfonieorchester and WDR Rundfunkchor Köln, Schlagquartett Köln and Hans Nickel.
Logos-Fragmente (Canto IX)
First complete recording of Hans Zender's Logos-Fragmente (Canto IX) for 32 voices and four orchestral groups, on early Christian and Gnostic texts, with the SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart and SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg under Emilio Pomàrico.
Sinfonia N. 9
Hans Werner Henze's Sinfonia N. 9 for chorus and orchestra, text by Hans-Ulrich Treichel after Anna Seghers's The Seventh Cross, with Rundfunkchor Berlin and Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin under Marek Janowski, recorded November 2008.
Aristaeus / Orpheus Behind the Wire
Hans Werner Henze's two Orpheus works: Orpheus behind the Wire for a cappella choir on Edward Bond, and the first recording of Aristaeus for speaker and orchestra, recorded live in Berlin on 1 February 2004 with Rundfunkchor Berlin and Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin under Marek Janowski.
Seven Gates of Jerusalem
First recording of the original version of Penderecki's Symphony No. 7 Seven Gates of Jerusalem, live at the Vienna Musikverein on 16 November 1999 with the Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir under Kazimierz Kord.
Magnificat / Sphragis / Nachklänge / Hypostasis / Zeichen am Weg
Choral works by Heinrich Poos: Magnificat, Sphragis, Nachklänge after Eichendorff, Hypostasis vel Somnium Jacob and Zeichen am Weg, sung by Schola Cantorum Gedanensis and the SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart.
Six Chansons / Fünfstimmige Madrigale / Five Songs on old Texts / Kanons a cappella
A cappella choral works by Paul Hindemith: Six Chansons after Rilke (1939), the Zwölf Madrigale on Weinheber texts (1958), Five Songs on Old Texts (1937) and nine canons, sung by the Rundfunkchor Berlin under Stefan Parkman, recorded 1996.
Pietà
Portrait of the Swedish composer Lisa Streich with five works from 2012-2017, from Pietà for motorised cello and ensemble to Stabat for four choirs, with the Lucerne Festival Academy Orchestra, hand werk, ensemble recherche and two choirs.
Missa Moguntina
Volker David Kirchner's Missa Moguntina for soloists, choir and orchestra, recorded at its premiere in Mainz Cathedral on 21 November 1993 with the Mainz Cathedral choirs and orchestra under Mathias Breitschaft.