Contents
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Composer
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
| 1756-1791As the son of the deputy Kapellmeister to the Salzburg Prince-Archbishop, Mozart was constantly surrounded by church music in his youth. On his travels Mozart became familiar with Italian church music, and later in Vienna he studied the works of Bach and Handel. After moving to Vienna he was faced with the new challenges of composing opera and piano concertos, and significantly the “C Minor Mass” KV 427, the greatest sacred work of the first Vienna years, remained unfinished. The last period of his life again shows a change of direction to church music: Mozart successfully applied to succeed the terminally ill Leopold Hoffmann as Kapellmeister at St Stephen's Cathedral, but he was unable to take up the position as he died before Hoffmann. A gem such as the “Ave verum” KV 618 and the incomplete Requiem KV 626 give us an idea of what Mozart might have achieved as a composer of sacred music if he had taken up this important position. Personal details
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Arranger
Uwe Wolf
| 1961Uwe Wolf studied musicology, history, and historical ancillary science at Tübingen and Göttingen. After receiving his doctorate in 1991 he was a research assistant at the Johann-Sebastian-Bach-Institut in Göttingen. From 2004 he worked at the Bach-Archiv Leipzig. There he directed a both research departments, was substantially responsible for the redisigning of the Bach Museum, and he developed the digital Online-Projekt Bach. Since October 2011 he has been the Chief Editor at Carus-Verlag, Stuttgart. He has taught at various universities and also belongs to the editorial boards of several complete editions. Personal details
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Arranger
Frieder Bernius
| 1947Frieder Bernius’s work has earned great worldwide recognition. He is in demand internationally as a conductor and as a teacher. His principal artistic collaborators are the ensembles he founded himself, the Kammerchor Stuttgart, the Barockorchester Stuttgart, the Hofkapelle Stuttgart and the Klassische Philharmonie Stuttgart. As a guest conductor, he has collaborated repeatedly with, for example, the SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, the Stuttgarter Kammerorchester and the Streicherakademie Bozen. Great stylistic versatility is Frieder Bernius’s hallmark. Whether he conducts vocal works by Monteverdi, Bach, Händel, Mozart, Beethoven, Fauré and Ligeti, stage music by Mendelssohn or symphonies by Haydn, Burgmüller and Schubert, his work always aims for a sound that is at once unmistakably personal and at the same time oriented towards the original period sound ideal. He devotes himself equally to the rediscovery of 18th century operas and to first performances of contemporary compositions. He is particularly interested in the musical history of southwestern Germany. Carus-Verlag has awarded Frieder Bernius a Golden CD for his complete recording of the sacred music of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. The award was presented to him during the German Choir Festival in Stuttgart 2016. The sale of over 250,000 recordings, which has been acclaimed with a number of awards, has made a not insignificant contribution to what today is the obvious presence of Mendelssohn's complete œuvre in the concert repertoire. Personal details
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Preface writer
Uwe Wolf
| 1961Uwe Wolf studied musicology, history, and historical ancillary science at Tübingen and Göttingen. After receiving his doctorate in 1991 he was a research assistant at the Johann-Sebastian-Bach-Institut in Göttingen. From 2004 he worked at the Bach-Archiv Leipzig. There he directed a both research departments, was substantially responsible for the redisigning of the Bach Museum, and he developed the digital Online-Projekt Bach. Since October 2011 he has been the Chief Editor at Carus-Verlag, Stuttgart. He has taught at various universities and also belongs to the editorial boards of several complete editions. Personal details
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Preface writer
Frieder Bernius
| 1947Frieder Bernius’s work has earned great worldwide recognition. He is in demand internationally as a conductor and as a teacher. His principal artistic collaborators are the ensembles he founded himself, the Kammerchor Stuttgart, the Barockorchester Stuttgart, the Hofkapelle Stuttgart and the Klassische Philharmonie Stuttgart. As a guest conductor, he has collaborated repeatedly with, for example, the SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, the Stuttgarter Kammerorchester and the Streicherakademie Bozen. Great stylistic versatility is Frieder Bernius’s hallmark. Whether he conducts vocal works by Monteverdi, Bach, Händel, Mozart, Beethoven, Fauré and Ligeti, stage music by Mendelssohn or symphonies by Haydn, Burgmüller and Schubert, his work always aims for a sound that is at once unmistakably personal and at the same time oriented towards the original period sound ideal. He devotes himself equally to the rediscovery of 18th century operas and to first performances of contemporary compositions. He is particularly interested in the musical history of southwestern Germany. Carus-Verlag has awarded Frieder Bernius a Golden CD for his complete recording of the sacred music of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. The award was presented to him during the German Choir Festival in Stuttgart 2016. The sale of over 250,000 recordings, which has been acclaimed with a number of awards, has made a not insignificant contribution to what today is the obvious presence of Mendelssohn's complete œuvre in the concert repertoire. Personal details
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Choir
Kammerchor Stuttgart
The Kammerchor Stuttgart is regarded as one of the best ensembles of its kind. Over its fifty-year existence, Frieder Bernius has developed the choir into an exceptional ensemble acclaimed by audiences and press alike. This has led to invitations for the choir to perform at all the important European festivals. In Germany the chamber choir performs at festivals and in concert halls in repertoire ranging from the 17th to the 21st century. Frieder Bernius and his ensemble have received numerous accolades for their contribution to new music. The Kammerchor Stuttgart has made over 80 CDs and LPs, numerous of which have been awarded international recording prizes (including the Edison award, Diapason d’or, Gramophone Choice, Classical Internet Award, International Classical Music Award, and German Record Critics’ Award prizes). The International Federation for Choral Music has invited the ensemble to sing at the 1st, 4th and 10th World Symposia on Choral Music in Vienna, Sydney and Seoul. Regular tours of North America and Asia since 1988 and a South America tour reflect the Kammerchor Stuttgart’s international reputation. Since 1984 the top ensemble has also been invited to Israel biennially. Personal details
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Ensemble
Hofkapelle Stuttgart
The Hofkapelle Stuttgart, founded in 2006 by Frieder Bernius to complement the Barockorchester Stuttgart, concentrates on repertoire from the 19th century performed on authentic instruments. One of its main focusses is the rediscovery of music-historical treasures, particularly works from the south-west German region (by composers such as Kalliwoda, Knecht and Holzbauer). The Hofkapelle and Barockorchester Stuttgart regularly perform at international festivals (Rome, Salzburg, Göttingen, Dresden, etc.). CDs made by both groups have received many awards: the Missa Dei Patris by Jan Dismas Zelenka was nominated for the Cannes Classical Award, and the Incidental Music to Shakespeare’s Ein Sommernachtstraum [A Midsummer Night’s Dream] by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy was featured by Rondo magazine and awarded the Star of the Month prize by Fono Forum magazine. Mozart’s Requiem received the Diapason d’or de l’année 2003, Johann Gottlieb Naumann’s opera Aci e Galatea was named opera recording of the year in Opernwelt magazine and Bach’s Easter Oratorio included in the Quarterly Critics’ Choice of the German Record Critics’ Award. The group’s recording of Bach’s B Minor Mass was Editor’s Choice in Gramophone magazine. Personal details
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Conductor
Frieder Bernius
| 1947Frieder Bernius’s work has earned great worldwide recognition. He is in demand internationally as a conductor and as a teacher. His principal artistic collaborators are the ensembles he founded himself, the Kammerchor Stuttgart, the Barockorchester Stuttgart, the Hofkapelle Stuttgart and the Klassische Philharmonie Stuttgart. As a guest conductor, he has collaborated repeatedly with, for example, the SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, the Stuttgarter Kammerorchester and the Streicherakademie Bozen. Great stylistic versatility is Frieder Bernius’s hallmark. Whether he conducts vocal works by Monteverdi, Bach, Händel, Mozart, Beethoven, Fauré and Ligeti, stage music by Mendelssohn or symphonies by Haydn, Burgmüller and Schubert, his work always aims for a sound that is at once unmistakably personal and at the same time oriented towards the original period sound ideal. He devotes himself equally to the rediscovery of 18th century operas and to first performances of contemporary compositions. He is particularly interested in the musical history of southwestern Germany. Carus-Verlag has awarded Frieder Bernius a Golden CD for his complete recording of the sacred music of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. The award was presented to him during the German Choir Festival in Stuttgart 2016. The sale of over 250,000 recordings, which has been acclaimed with a number of awards, has made a not insignificant contribution to what today is the obvious presence of Mendelssohn's complete œuvre in the concert repertoire. Personal details
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Soloist - soprano
Sarah Wegener
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Soloist - mezzo-soprano
Sophie Harmsen
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Soloist - tenor
Colin Balzer
Canadian born Colin Balzer studied singing with David Meek in Canada and Edith Wiens in Germany. He has participated in master classes given by Helmut Deutsch, Robert Tear, Elly Ameling, Brigitte Fassbaender and Christoph Prégardien. Colin Balzer has won a range of international prizes, and has embarked on a busy international concert schedule with a repertoire ranging from Monteverdi to Penderecki. He has been heard at Festivals in Baden-Baden, Aix-en-Provence and at the Early Music Festivals in Boston and Vancouver, and he regularly performs with various Canadian orchestras. He has also enjoyed considerable success as a lieder singer. He recorded his first CD, Hugo Wolf’s Italienisches Liederbuch, with Hartmut Höll. Personal details
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Soloist - bass
Felix Rathgeber
Reviews
In addition to the choral perfection on this recording, the vocal soloists are to be celebrated with equal aplomb ... It is this reviewer’s hope that Carus-Verlag continues its project of joining respected musicologists with renowned musicians in off ering new perspectives on enigmatic scores and other stalwarts of the choral canon. The present Wolf/Bernius collaboration ... presents Mozart’s significant liturgical work in an engaging edition without losing the stylistic heart of his genius.
C. Michael Porter, CHORAL JOURNAL, August 2018
I do not wish to dismiss Bernius’s performance ... and it is difficult to imagine anyone regretting having it in a music collection.
Richard Kraus, MusicWeb International, Oktober 2017
Mais la forme, l’accent, l’élan touchent à la perfection.
Ivan A. Alexandre, Diapason, April 2017
Die Mitwirkenden ... agieren sämtlich auf jenem hohen Niveau, das die Aufnahmen unter der Leitung von Frieder Bernius schon gewohntermaßen auszeichnet.
Gustav Danzinger, Chor aktuell, Juni 2017
Insgesamt überzeugt die Aufnahme durch warmen Klang und ruhigen Atem, die grossartige, nie steife Präzision und Klangbalance des Stuttgarter Kammerchors.
St. Galler Tagblatt, 15.03.2017
Mozarts Komposition ist meisterhaft - meisterhaft ist auch die Interpretation durch Frieder Bernius mit dem Kammerchor Stuttgart.
KNV
...die Interpretation ist, wie immer bei Bernius, unbestechlich: nah dran an einem Originalklang-Ideal, jedoch so, dass sich die Musik entwickeln, dass sie atmen kann.
Die Rheinpfalz, 25.02.2017
Unter der Leitung von Frieder Bernius musizieren Kammerchor und Hofkapelle Stuttgart in gewohnt hervorragender Qualität: mit moderaten, weder zu breiten noch forcierten Tempi, mit klarer Phrasierung sowie einem transparenten und zugleich warmen Klang. Ein Klangbild, in das sich das Solistenquartett organisch einfügt. Sowohl im Hinblick auf die Art der Vervollständigung als auch auf die Interpretation setzt diese c-Moll-Messe neue Maßstäbe.
Friedegard Hürter, Chorzeit, März 2017
Der Kammerchor Stuttgart singt mit vollendeter Perfektion, aber auch mit großer Wärme und mit Textbezug. Die Hofkapelle Stuttgart begleitet auf dem Instrumentarium der Mozart-Zeit ebenso präzise.
Bernhard Schrammek, RBB24, 23.01.2017
Darüber hinaus überzeugt die Aufnahme auch als Ganzes, legt sie doch die existenzielle Dringlichkeit dieser Musik frei, ohne sie ins Opernhafte zu steigern.
Augsburger Allgemeine, 27.01.2017
Mit seinen wie immer herausragenden guten Ensembles, dem Kammerchor und der Hofkapelle Stuttgart, gelingt Frieder Bernius eine flüssig musizierte, reliefreiche und pulsierende Interpretation.
Remy Franck, Pizzicato, 07.01.2017
Diese Balance zeichnet ... die Aufnahme aus, die Frieder Bernius mit Kammerchor und Hofkapelle Stuttgart ... eingespielt hat. Diese c-Moll-Messe setzt einen neuen Standard.
Detlef Krenge, BR Klassik, 25.01.2017
Bernius‘ flüssige und schlanke Interpretation ... überzeugt auf ganzer Linie und entfaltet sehr suggestiv das hohe dramatische Potenzial und die melodische Schönheit eines ... Meisterwerks...
Attila Csampai, Crescendo, Februar/März 2017
Neben der makellosen musikalischen Qualität der Aufnahme überzeugt auch die besonders edle Ausstattung des Hardcoverbüchleins.
Christian Albrecht, Musik & Liturgie, Februar 2017
Das klingende Ergebnis ist hinreißend – nicht nur wegen der Art der Vervollständigung, sondern auch wegen der Einheit von Edition und Interpretation. ... Ein kleines Chorwunder.
Susanne Benda, Stuttgarter Zeitung, 26.01.2017
Eine CD, bei der Frieder Bernius den altbekannten Spagat zwischen Emotionalität und Perfektion mit für ihn neuen Vorzeichen angeht.
Dorothea Bossert, SWR2 Cluster, 03.01.2017
Der Chor und die Hofkapelle Stuttgart sind optimal aufeinander eingestellt ... Bei Bernius spürt man: So kling Erfahrung. ... Das Resultat: äußerst erhebend.
Johnnes Adam, Badische Zeitung, 14.01.2016