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Notes
This album marks the recording premiere of four cantatas by Gottfried August Homilius for Advent and Christmas. Homilius was the number-one composer of Protestant church music during the second half of the eighteenth century and during his lifetime was regarded as »perhaps today’s very best church composer. “After his death the lexicographer Ernst Ludwig Gerber expressed the view that he was »without contradiction our greatest church composer.” Homilius’ music already displays elements of early Classicism and the sensibility of the empfindsamer Stil, his cantata choruses are frequently homophonic and songlike in design, and polyphonic sections are rather rare. His cantatas composed around 1776 prove to be works of individual design and conception and attest to his mastery as a composer. Arias of great tonal beauty, the naturalness of their expression, and the dramatic suspense of the various numbers continue to fascinate listening audiences even today!
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Reviews
“… The performance by the venerable Kölner Akademie under the capable hands of Michael Willens is excellent. It brings what was the everyday work of the Dresden church to life, with fine tempos and a good sense of interpretive phrasing and balance. The instrumentalists of the ensemble play with energy and when needed delicacy. Hanna Herfurtner’s soprano is light but well suited for this style of music, as is the flexible alto of Franziska Gottwald. Mauro Borgioni’s bass, more of a baritone in terms of this repertory, has the necessary fluidity for the often-exacting coloratura… this disc is one of those will hopefully bring the Lutheran church cantata of the 18th century out from the stifling mantle of Sebastian Bach so that these pieces can be heard in context. A fine disc.”
Bertil van Boer – Fanfare – September/October 2020
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