Classical and Modern Music
Format: Dvojni CD
Code: 112126
EAN: 3838898112126
Foreign platforms:
The RTV Slovenia Chamber Choir
Conductors:
Sebastjan Vrhovnik
Holger Speck
Domen Marinčič
violone
Tomaž Sevšek
pozitiv
Les Favorites
When Iacobus Gallus died in Prague in 1591, his friends issued the following death notice: IN TVMVLVM IACOBI HANDELII CARNIOLI INSIGNIS MVSICAE PRACTICAE ARTIFICIS QVI PRAGAE IIII. (POST) IDVS IVLII PIE IN CHRISTO OBDORMIVIT ANNO M. D. XC. I. In English translation: “To the grave of Jacob Handl Carniolus, fa- mous artist of practical music, who pi- ously passed away in Christ in Prague on
the fourth day after the Ides of July in the year 1591.” The death notice also comprised a portrait of the composer in woodcut technique. The inscription around the picture reads: IACOBVS HANDL : GALLVS DICTVS: CARNIOLVS : AETATIS SVAE XL : ANNO MDXC. Thus, the composer’s name was Jacob and his family name was Handl or Hàndl or Hándl or Händl. He had another name, a pseudonym or – better – an artistic name of Gallus, which means “rooster”. He was Carniolus i.e. born in the Duchy of Carniola.
The expression “Carniolus” tells us about his country of origin, but it does not say anything about his ethnicity. It can, however, be assumed that he was a Slovenian because the majority population in Carniola was Slovenian. In 1590 he was fourty years old, which means that he was born in 1550.
Organist at Zabrdovice. Of all the superiors he served during his short life, Gallus held the abbot of Zabrdovice, Caspar Schönauer, in the highest esteem since he mentioned him several times in the prefaces to his works. He remembered the abbot when he died on 1 January 1589 and composed Epicedion harmonicum, wherefrom several data about the abbot’s life can be learnt. The following sentence says much about the abbot’s
relationship with the composer: “Without vanity I would like to say: like the sunflower and some other flowers un- der their duty always turn towards the sun, he as the superior usually turned towards my Muses and prepared a safe roof and shelter for them.” Open remains the question how long Gallus stayed at Zabrdovice with the ab- bot Schönhauer. Very likely he arrived in the middle of the 1570s and left for Olomouc at the turn of the decade.
Kapellmeister at Olomouc. The first printed Gallus’ composition is Undique flammatis in the honour of the bishop of Olomouc, Stanislaus Paw- lowsky. It is not clear whether Gallus was already in the service of the bish- op when he wrote this composition or he received the position because he had written the composition. Gallus dedicated to bishop Pawlowsky the first and the second books of Selectiores quaedam
missae. It is interesting that the prefaces do not say much about the life of the bishop. Evidently, Gallus did not have such a personal relationship with bishop Pawlowsky as he had enjoyed with abbot Schön- hauer. Yet he evidently went into the bishop’s service because the position was a more distinguished and respected one. He remained there until 26 July 1585 when bishop Pawlowsky signed his discharge papers i.e. “Certificate of Faithful Service”. We learn therefrom that in Olomouc Gallus
was admitted by the bishop “to the number of our associates and appointed the master of our church choir”. He was leaving this position “partly because he wished to change the climate that did not really agree with him and partly also for other justified and sufficient reasons”. Some scholars believe that “other sufficient reasons” consisted in his wish to personally control the print- ing of his works in Prague.
Already in 1580 when he was in the service of bishop Pawlowsky, he published a collection of masses in four books, the first one bearing the title: SELECTIORES QVAEDAM MISSAE, PRO ECCLESIA DEI NON INVTIles, nunc primum in luce datae ac correctae ab Authore Iacobo Handl. TENOR. PRAGAE Ex Officina Typoghraphica Georgii Nigrini. Anno M. D. LXXX. In translation: “Some selected masses, which are not useless for God’s Church, for the first time published and corrected by the author Jacob Handl.
Tenor. In Prague. From the printing house of George Nigrinus. In the year 1580.” It is quite typical how Gallus divided the volumes according to the voices.Thus, the first volume comprises eight-voice masses, the second volume six-voice ones, the thirds volume five-voice ones and the fourth volume four-voice ones. In the same manner the fourth volume of Opus musicum is organized and the madrigals in the collection Harmoniaue morales or Moralia are partially divided like this as well. It is
interesting that the composer considered it necessary to mention that the masses were published for the first time and that they were corrected by the author.
Cantor in Prague. After Olomouc Gallus settled in Prague where he remained until his death. This can be learnt from the record of the estate assets, which also informs about the position Gallus held in Prague. He was “cantor at the church of St. Jan na Brzehu”. The date of his arrival can be seen from the preface to Harmoniae morales: “The church has been steadily employing me for three years.” Since the preface is
dated 29 January 1589, it can be concluded that Gallus took this position on 29 January 1586 at the latest. It can be rightly presumed that Gallus went from Olomouc directly to Prague.
Soon after his arrival at Prague, Gallus published his second collection, Opus musicum. The first three books followed each other rather quickly, whereas the fourth one took some years to issue. The first book bears the title: TOMVS PRIMVS MVSICI OPERIS, HARMONIARVM QVATVOR, QVINQVE, SEX, OCTO ET PLVRIVM VOCUM, QVAE EX SANCTO CATHOLICAE ECCLESIAE VSV ITA SVNT DISPOSITAE, VT omni tempore inseruire queant. Ad Dei Opt: Max: laudem, & Ecclesiae sanctae decus. Incipit pars Hiemalis. AVTHORE
Iacobo Hándl. TENOR. PRAGAE, TYPIS GEORGII NIGRINI. Anno M. D. LXXXVI. In translation: “First volume of the musical work of four-, five-, six-, eight- and more-voice harmonies, which are, according to the use of the Holy Catholic Church, disposed in such a manner that they can be used at any time. For the greater praise of God, the Best and the Highest, and for the glory of the Holy Church. Beginning by the winter part. Author Jacobus Handl. Tenor. In Prague, in the printing house of George
Nigrinus. In the year 1586.” The composer first announces that this is the first book. The others have essentially the same title, only the number of the book changes. Each book is divided into volumes with single titles. Each composition is intended for at least four voices and then for five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, twelve, sixteen and twenty-four ones. Up to eight voices, the composition is for one choir, eight voices are already divided into two choirs, twelve voice are divided into
three choirs and sixteen voices may be divided into four choirs though not in all cases.
A year before his death Gallus published his third collection comprising secular compositions or madrigals, entitled Harmoniae morales: “I am giving it the title Moralia and I wish that it be called so in future.” Neverthless, he himself gave the title Harmoniae morales to the collection. His brother and heir George was more consistent when he gave the posthumous edition the title Moralia. The composer included 53 compositions into the Harmoniae morales and his brother included 47
compositions into Moralia. Thus, there exist 100 madrigals, 374 motets and 16 masses, 490 compositions altogether.
Life and work of Iacobus Gallus: dr. Edo Škulj/ Translated by Vera Lamut
The RTV Slovenija Chamber Choir is one of the oldest European radio ensembles (1937). The choir is familiar with both old and new musical forms – often the music is so young that the choir even gets the honour of introducing the works, which may never have been heard before. In their efforts to re-create the compositions, the choir often joins forces with the RTV Slovenija Symphonic Orchestra or other instrumental
ensembles, which means that the singers can hone also other singing skills and techniques beside a capella.
The choir has a rich list of achievements: Orpheus Badge, the Society of Slovene Composers Award, the Yugoslav Order of Golden Wreath, the recognition award at the Let the Peoples Sing competition...
The choir performed under the baton of the following conductors: Franc Kimovec and Drago M. Šijanec before WW2; and Ciril Cvetko, France Marolt and Milko Škoberne after the war. In 1962, the leadership of the choir was entrusted into the hands of Lojze Lebič, who moulded it into the top Slovene choir. His work was continued by the conductor Marko Munih, with appearances at numerous prestigious European festivals from Brussels and Florence to Dubrovnik. The line of conductors was continued by
Jože Fürst, Mirko Cuderman, Tomaž Faganel, Matevž Fabijan, Matjaž Šček, Urša Lah and Stojan Kuret.
In recent years, the ensemble works on a project basis and hosts various
guest conductors, amongst them Stefan Parkman, Günther Theuring (the renowned EuroRadio Gallus Project by Radio Slovenija 2001 and 2002 and 2003, in collaboration with SEVIOQC Brežice Festival), Sebastjan Vrhovnik (Gallus Project 2007 and 2008), Martina Batič (the renowned EuroRadio project When Poetry Becomes Music, 2007), Dani Juris and Holger Speck (Project Gallus 2010).
Sebastjan Vrhovnik. After graduating from the Secondary School of Music and Ballet in Ljubljana (general theoretical course, 1997; singing, 2003), Sebastjan Vrhovik in 2004 enrolled at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana. He graduated in musical education with honours at Docent Marko Vatovec and is now finishing his masters in choir conducting at the Faculty of Music and the Performing Arts in Graz (Austria) in Johannes
Prinz’s class. Since 2006, Vrhovnik has been an assistant in choir conducting at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana and has been lecturing at various workshops for choirs at home and also abroad. He is currently the conductor of the mixed choir of the Academy of Music, the conductor of Obala Koper Chamber Choir and from the autumn of 2009 onwards he is also the conductor of Tone Tomšič Academic Choir. As a visiting conductor, he collaborates with the RTV Slovenija Chamber Choir and the ČarniCe
Female Vocal Group, with whom he made the CD entitled »Jagodni izbor za ženski zbor«.
Up until 2006, he was the conductor of the Cantemus Mixed Choir from Kamnik, with whom he achieved numerous successes, at domestic and also international competitions (Our Song 2001 and 2003, Spittal, Austria; Maribor, Slovenia, 2006; Mernes, Germany, 2006). Together, they made their CD entitled »Most«. Between 2003 and 2009, Vrhovnik was conducting the Emil Adamič Teachers’ Choir. Again, they won awards at various competitions (regional competition of Slovene choirs, 2004: Ostrów
Wielkpolski, Poland, 2006; Bad Ischl, Austria, 2007). In 2007/2008, he was conducting the Glasbena Matica Ljubljana Mixed Choir.
Holger Speck is a conductor and the artistic leader of the Rastatt Vocal Ensemble & Les Favorites Orchestra. He is known as a charismatic musician with an abundance of experiences in all kinds of period performance practices. Speck is a master of sound and aesthetic details and is known for his skill of making them come to life. His recordings for the Carus Label received high appraisal (Grammophone, American Record Guide, Fanfare, L’Orfeo, Pizzicatto, Diapason,
Classicstoday, etc.). His musicality and education (as a singer as well) are a guarantee for the sublime quality of his ensemble music. Speck has performed in Baden-Baden, at festivals in Schwetzingen and Stuttgart, and on productions by SWR, Deutschlandsradio Kultur Berlin and Deutschlandfunk Köln. He is a guest conductor, lecturer and expert for interpretation and period performance practices in numerous European countries, amongst them Slovenia. Holger Speck is a lecturer at the
University of Music Karlsruhe.
Baroque Orchestra Les Favorites (2003) is an orchestra comprising experts of baroque music. Its musicallanguage is therefore transparent, the style well-founded and the performance excitingly arranged. They perform by themselves or accompany the Vocal Ensemble Rastatt, named after the manor Favorite near Rastatt which was built by the margravine Sybille von Baden. Her dreams were fulfilled by Ludwig Rohrer and his emotional architecture serves as an inspiration to the Baroque
Orchestra Les Favorites. The orchestra (together with the vocal ensemble) boasts an extensive repertoire of predominantly baroque works and has received excellent reviews and praises from both domestic music experts and the foreign media for their recordings on the Carus Label.
The members of the Baroque Orchestra Les Favorites:
Torsten Übelhör, organ frame, Sabine Kreutzberger, viola da gamba, Franziska Finckh, viola da gamba, Johannes Gontarski, theorbo, Dennis Götte, theorbo.
Domen Marinčič first took a degree in viola da gamba with Hartwig Groth in Nuremberg before finishing his studies with Philippe Pierlot at the Hochschule für Musik Trossingen. At the same time he studied the harpsichord with Carsten Lohff and subsequently finished post-graduate studies in thorough bass with Alberto Rinaldi. He received the highest award at the First International Viola da Gamba Competition Bach-Abel in
Cöthen in 1997. He regularly plays harpsichord continuo with various Slovenian orchestras and has performed at important festivals throughout Europe with ensembles such as the Ricercar Consort and Ensemble Phoenix Munich. He has recorded for labels such as Aeolus, Harmonia Mundi France, Oehms Classics and Ricercar..
Tomaž Sevšek graduated from Musikhochschule Freiburg, Germany, studying the organ with Zsigmond Szathmáry and the harpsichord with Robert Hill. He later enrolled at the Eastman School of Music, Rochester NY, where he studied the organ with David Higgs and the harpsichord with Arthur Haas. He gives recitals in Slovenia, Austria, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the USA. His interest lies in a broad spectrum of music, from the late Renaissance to the 21st-century musical avantgarde.
He regularly performs as a soloist at home an abroad and plays harpsichord continuo with the Chamber Orchestra of the Slovenian Philharmonic. He co-founded the ensemble Musica Cubicularis and the institute for early music performance and education Harmonia Antiqua Labacensis.
CD 1
Missa super Iam non dicam vos servos (R 2):
1. Kyrie
2. Gloria (listen!)
3. Iubilate Deo omnis terra (OM 3/48)
4. Adoramus te Iesu Christe (OM 2/6)
5. Adoramus te Iesu Christe (OM 2/28)
6. Repleatur os meum laude tua (OM 1/94)
7. Cantabo Domino Deo meo (OM 3/55)
8. Sancta Trinitas, unus Deus (OM 3/6)
9. O homo, si scires (HM 28)
10. Si tibi gratia (HM 16)
11. Quid sis, quid fueris (HM 41)
12. Qui capit uxorem (M 22)
13. Cum moritur dives (M 44)
14. Gallus amat Venerem (HM 6)
15. Quam gallina suum parit ovum (HM 7)
16. Dulcis amica veni (HM 21)
17. Linquo coax ranis (HM 46)
18. Anseris est giga (HM 47)
CD 2
1. In Domino speravit cor meum (OM 1/83)
2. Duo seraphim clamabant (OM 3/1)
3. Gloria tibi Trinitas (OM 3/2)
4. Benedicamus Patre et Filium (OM 3/5)
5. Sancta et immaculata Virginis (OM 4/37)
6. Nativitatem beatae Mariae Virginis (OM 4/34)
7. Ave Maria (OM 1/70)
8. Ave Maria (OM 4/39)
9. Elisabeth impletum est tempus (OM 4/20)
10. Si prolixa facit (HM 24)
11. Archipoeta facit versus (HM 36)
12. O mors, quam dura (HM 42)
13. En ego campana (HM 43)
14. Tempore felici (M 2)
15. Qui bene succedit (M 13)
16. Qui sunt multa bona (M 16)
17. Quam bene (M 42)
18. Musica Musarum germana (M 29)
Missa ad imitationem Pater noster (SQM Liber I):
19. Kyrie
20. Gloria
21. Credo
22. Sanctus
23. Agnus Dei
