It was not until the beginning of 1944 that he managed to find words, if not yet sounds, for the “et in terra pax”. It was Kaminski’s fervent wish to complete the mass: He wanted “to be able to finish these two works [Die Messe deutsch, Das Spiel vom König Aphelius]; then, as far as a human being can say, I will wave a confident farewell to this world when the hour comes.”
In honor of the 300th anniversary, Carus editor-in-chief Dr. Uwe Wolf looks at Bach’s chorale cantata year-cycle from 1724/1725.
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.
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.
Carus editor Guido Johannes Joerg sheds light on an impressive church music tradition: Italian church music of the 19th century.
Carus editor Barbara Mohn explores Carissimi’s and Handel’s musical settings of the Old Testament story of Jephthah and his daughter.
Renowned Bach expert Prof. Christoph Wolff explains why 1723 was a turning point in J.S. Bach’s creative and compositional career.
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!
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!
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.
(c) Sven Cichowicz
© Sven Cichowicz