Utter dedication to Giacomo Puccini
A scholarly-critical edition of the works of Giacomo Puccini has been published by Carus since 2012. The Edizione Nazionale is published by the international research institute Centro Studi Giacomo Puccini.
Music stories
Did you know where Handel lived and worked in London? Or why Mozart composed his C Minor Mass? In this section you will find fascinating articles on interesting connections between choral works and composers.
© Sven Cichowicz
Good Friday 2024 – 300 years of Johann Sebastian Bach’s St. John Passion
How do we get as close as possible to the 1724 version of the St. John Passion in 2024? What performance material is needed? Here you will find some practical performance thoughts, also on the 1725 version, from chief editor Dr. Uwe Wolf.
Gaetano Donizetti’s Messa di Requiem and Italian sacred music in the 19th century
Carus editor Guido Johannes Joerg sheds light on an impressive church music tradition: Italian church music of the 19th century.
Carissimi, Handel and a fateful vow
Carus editor Barbara Mohn explores Carissimi’s and Handel’s musical settings of the Old Testament story of Jephthah and his daughter.
Bach 300: The year 1723 and its repercussions
Renowned Bach expert Prof. Christoph Wolff explains why 1723 was a turning point in J.S. Bach’s creative and compositional career.
George Frideric Handel: well connected in Great Britain
Although George Frideric Handel was born in 1685 in Halle an der Saale, he is now admired above all as an English composer. But he was a cosmopolitan. He travelled with enthusiasm throughout Europe and lived in several different cities. In 1710, he moved to London. Here he devoted himself first and foremost to studying the English language, music, and culture – but he also composed constantly and very successfully. But read for yourself!
Josef Gabriel Rheinberger’s Musica Sacra
Church music was particularly dear to the Liechtenstein composer Josef Gabriel Rheinberger. But he was not a follower of the prevalent Cecilianism movement of his time. He strove instead for emotional warmth and sensuality in his musical language, rather than serene austerity. In his works he found his own individual sound, combining traditional structures with tension-laden harmonic writing in equal measure. Read more!
Beethoven’s instrumental works with text settings
The “Moonlight Sonata” sung as a “Kyrie”, the slow movement from Beethoven’s 7th Symphony as a “Persian Nocturne” for choir – these vocal interpretations of Beethoven’s instrumental works may surprise you, but they will also convince. A tradition of arranging, incidentally, which was already well-established in Beethoven’s time. And every now and then, these arrangements for choir also reveal aspects of the compositions which were previously hidden.
In Handel’s footsteps through London
When George Frideric Handel crossed the English Channel the first time in 1710, London was enjoying a huge economic upturn. The building boom altered the cityscape of the second largest city in Europe, with almost 630,000 inhabitants, the financial market grew and experienced the first stockmarket crash, the social contrasts were stark, but a simple musician such as Handel could die a rich man. In the midst of the hustle and bustle of today’s metropolis, we can still set out on a walk in the footsteps of Handel.
Psalm settings as a cry for help and comfort
At a time of great changes in which the uncertain, the unpredictable, indeed, even the unsettling can become the new normal, it is the psalms in particular which can offer comfort, confidence, and hope – not only for believers, but also for people who have little or no faith.
