Today the biggest pop stars in the world are women. Beyoncé, of course, and above all Taylor Swift, Adele, Rihanna, Miley Cyrus and, in Germany, Shirin David and Helene Fischer. They don’t just inspire the masses musically with their songs; they also influence politics and society. Why is it so different in the world of classical music and so-called high culture?
The origin of the myth surrounding the mass dates back to 1607, when the musician and theorist Agostino Agazzari, in his treatise on the basso continuo, directly relates the composition of the Papae Marcelli to the issue of the intelligibility of the text in polyphonic works. Although it was then taken up even more decisively by Adriano Banchieri and Ludovico Cresolli, this cause-and-effect relationship has, however, no historical foundation, except for the temporal coincidence between its composition and the events relating to the Council of Trent.
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.”
A work of timeless beauty: We interviewed editor Andreas Gies, who introduces us to the world of Mascagni’s Messa di Gloria and reveals why it deserves our full attention.
Our editor Barbara Großmann gives an overview of Lortzing’s life and work.
Mozart’s “Requiem”: Carus chief editor Uwe Wolf spoke to Howard Arman about his approach to completing the fragment.
Julia Schwartz composes in practically all genres, and several of her compositions have already been published by Carus. She answers six questions in the Carus interview.
Karin Rehnqvist is one of Sweden’s best known and most widely performed composers, Carus has published her composition “Universe”. We have asked her some questions.
Elisabeth Fußeder has published her choral cycle “waldeslust” with Carus. She answered our questions in this interview.
A conversation with Gabriella Biagi Ravenni and Virgilio Bernardoni about the “Edizione Nazionale delle Opere di Giacomo Puccini” – on challenges, achievements and their very personal view of the composer.
