RIAS Kammerchor

Founded in 1948, the RIAS-Kammerchor played an important role in the revival of the musical life of Berlin in the aftermath of the Second World War, notably in partnership with the Berlin Philharmonic and RIAS-Symphonie-Orchester (Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra). Conductors like Ferenc Fricsay, Karl B?hm, Herbert von Karajan and Lorin Maazel were closely associated with the Choir at that period, and in more recent years special mention may be made of its collaboration with Claudio Abbado, James Levine and Daniel Barenboim. Right from its foundation, the RIAS-Kammerchor has consciously placed contemporary music at the centre of its preoccupations, with the result that such major composers as Hindemith, Blacher, Kagel, Krenek, Boulez, Henze and Reimann have written for the ensemble or chosen it to premiere their works. As its name indicates, the RIAS-Kammerchor has developed essentially as a chamber choir. At the beginning of the 1970s, thanks to the impetus given by its artistic director of the time Uwe Gronostay, the choir affirmed its position as one of the finest on the international scene, going from strength to strength under his successor, Marcus Creed. In 2003 the latter was in turn succeeded by Daniel Reuss; under his leadership the choir continues to broaden its repertory to include performances of early and Baroque music. Among guest conductors of the RIAS-Kammerchor in recent years have been Philippe Herreweghe, Ren? Jacobs, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Frans Br?ggen, and John Eliot Gardiner. The two mainstays of its repertory are Òauthentic performance practiceÓ and Òselected works of the 20th and 21st centuriesÓ. The RIAS Kammerchor has derived its specific profile from its independent status as a chamber ensemble. Based on a cappella work, it provides the singers with such a level of flexibility that they are able to perform with a sure sense of style in any combination as soloists, in small groups or all together.

Chorus - Masterworks of Choral Music

CD One: 18th Century Christmas Oratorio (Bach) Famous Opera Choirs (Telemann, Graun, Gluck) The Seasons (Haydn) CD Two: 19th Century Choral Lieder (Schubert) Motet (Mendelssohn) Choral Works (Rossini / Schumann) Motette, Vier Gesange, Zigeunerlieder (Brahms) CD Three: 20th Century Shakespeare Songs (Vaughan Williams) Motets Pour Le Temps de Noel (Poulenc) Choral Works (Martin / Messiaen) Sacred And Profane (Britten)

Between the late Baroque and the twentieth century, musical literature was enriched by a great variety of choral forms. From the simplest (the Lutheran chorale as practised by Bach, or the chorus a cappella) to the most complex (double choruses, combinations with soloists and orchestra), they are all here in this exhaustive survey drawing on the finest recordings of one of the world’s most highly acclaimed choirs, the RIAS-Kammerchor of Berlin.

Mendelssohn

Psalm 100: "Jauchzet dem Herrn alle Welt" Psalm 2 op. 78 Nr. 1: "Warum toben die Heiden" Psalm 43 op. 78 Nr. 2: "Richte mich, Gott" Psalm 22 op. 78 Nr. 3: "Mein Gott, warum hast du mich verlassen?" Choralmotette op. 23 Nr. 3: "Mitten wir im Leben sind" Motette op. 69 Nr. 1: "Herr, nun lassest du deinen Diener in Frieden fahren" Motette op. 69 Nr. 2: "Jachzet dem Herm alle Welt" Motette op. 69 Nr. 3: "Mein Herz erhebet Gott, den Herrn" Missa breve Zum Abendsegen: "Herr, sei gnadig unserm Flehn"

"It is an art to conceal art" : Mendelssohn had never presented a more perfect illustration of this maxim than in his Motets, Op.69. Composed in the year of his death, they are probably the finest works of religious music by this composer whom Berlioz had accused of being "a little too fond of the dead". But the most romantic of Bach's votaries had more than one trick up his sleeve and it would be a mistake to underestimate these extraodinary psalms and motets that Mendelssohn went on producing throughout his life, in spite of his rather strained relationship with the eccelsiastic authorities. Tradition and inventiveness are the leading principles of an artistic credo based on the skilful and beguiling mixture of counterpoint and melody, of harmony and brilliant orchestration. After having devoted three universally acclaimed recordings to the choral music of Brahms, the RIAS-Kammerchor is here on familiar ground

7013 CD $15.98

Schumann - Pilgrimage of the Rose

Die Frühlingslüfte bringen Johannis war gekommen Elfenreigen: Wir tanzen, wir tanzen Und wie sie sangen So sangen sie Bin ein armes Waisenkind Es war der Rose erster Schmerz! Wie Blätter am Baum Die letzte Scholl' hinunterrollt Gebet: Dank, Herr, dir dort im Sternenland Ins Haus des Totengräbers Zwischen grünen Bäumen Von dem Greis geleitet Bald hat das neue Töchterlein Bist du im Wald gewandelt Im Wald, gelehnt am Stamme Der Abendschlummer O sel'ge Zeit Wer kommt am Sonntagsmorgen Ei Mühle, liebe Mühle Was klingen denn die Hörner Im Hause des Müllers Und wie ein Jahr verronnen ist Röslein!

Considered by W. Siegmund-Schultze as ‘formally the most perfect of Schumann’s choral compositions’, The Pilgrimage of the Rose was composed in 1851, a few months after the composer had received a manuscript from the poet Moritz Horn with a subject he found fascinating. This fairy tale, deeply impregnated by the spirit of the Biedermeier period, tells the story of a little rose that aspires to the human condition – and thus, to love. In a few weeks Schumann composed this huge fresco for chorus, soloists and piano, orchestrating it in 1851-52 with the aim of reaching a larger audience. But it is undoubtedly in its original form that the work is most pertinent, because it is entirely in the glorious tradition of the Romantic Lied.

Drei Gesange op 42 Three Songs for six-parts mixed choir: Abendstandchen Vineta Darthulas Grabesgesang Vier Gesange op. 17 Four Songs for women's choir, two horns and harp: Es tont ein voller Harfenklang Lied von Shakespeare Der Gartner Gesang aus Fingal Sieben Lieder op. 62

Seven Songs for mixed choir: Rosmarin Von alten Liebesliedern Waldensnacht Dein Herzlein mild All meine Herzgedanken Es geht ein Wehen Vergangen ist mir Gluck und Heil Funf Gesange op. 104 Five songs for mixed choir Nachtwache I Nachtwache II Letztes Gluck Verlorene Jugend Im Herbst In stiller Nacht

Creed and his thirty-five choristers have an especially sensitive feeling for the pacing, phrasing, color, and texture of these richly Romantic miniatures. The blend of voices is impeccable and the tone-quality perfectly lovely. They are sensitive to word and phrase, responding all as one to their conductor's shading and shaping.

7016 CD $15.98

Sacred and Profane op. 91: -St Godric's Hymn -I mon waxe wod -Lenten is come -The long night -Yif ic of luve can -Carol -Ye that pasen by -A death Hymn to St. Cecilia Part-Songs (Edward Elgar): -Go, song of mine, op. 57 -There is sweet music, op. 57 -Love's Tempest, op. 73 Three Shakespeare Songs (Ralph Vaughan Williams): -Full Fathom Five -The Cloud-Capp'd Towers -Over Hill, Over Dale Two Unaccompanied Part Songs (Frederick Delius): -I. Slow but not dragging -II. Gaily but not quick The Blue Bird (Charles Villiers Stanford)

From Elgar's Part Songs (1904) to one of Britten's very last works, Sacred and Profane (1975), here are some of the most beautiful and best-loved pieces in the English a capella repertory, many of them rarely recorded. All the composers here show the instinctive response to poetry, be it Shakespeare, Tennyson or Auden, so characteristic of the English tradition.

7014 CD $15.98

Messe pour double choeur: -Kyrie -Gloria -Credo -Sanctus -Agnus Dei Songs of Ariel -Molto tranquillo -Tres calme -Allegro molto -Allegro -Allegretto graizoso Cinq Rechants -Modere -Bien modere -Lent, caressant -Tres vif -Vif O sacrum convivium -Lent et expressif

Berlin's acclaimed RIAS-Kammerchor brings us works by a pair of composers, Frank Martin (1890-1974) and Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992), who have few musical features in common, but their faith makes them two of the most important Christian composers of the 20^th century. Martin's Mass for unaccompanied double choir is the profound profession of faith of a fervent Christian of our time. The "Cinq Rechants," Messiaen's last a cappella work, was thought of by him as "one of (his) best works." Included here are the 5 parts of Martin's "Mess pour double choeur a cappella" and the 5 movements of his "Song of Ariel;" and the 5 "Cinq Rechants" and "O sacrum convivium" by Messaien. This is deeply spiritual music, alternately lovely, surprising, difficult and eclectic, wonderfully performed by RIAS-Kammerchor.

Quatre motets pour un temps de penitence: -Timor et tremor -Vinea mea electa -Tenebrae factae sunt -Tristis est anima mea Exultate Deo Salve Regina Quatre motets pour le temps de Noel: -O magnum mysterium -Quem vidistis pastores dicite -Videntes stellam -Hodie Christus natus est Mess en Sol majeur/G Major/G-dur: -Kyrie -Gloria -Sanctus -Benedictus -Agnus Dei

At first listen, French composer Francis Poulenc would seem to have written his ethereal, polyphonic a cappella sacred music during the 15^th century instead of the 20^th. Polyphony came naturally to him. RIAS-Kammerchor, founded in 1948, helped the revival of the musical life in Berlin in partnership with the Berlin Radio Symphony and Berlin Philharmonic. Under director Marcus Creed the Choir has achieved elite status among German professional choirs. Included here are Poulenc's 4 motets, "Quatre motets pour un temps de penitence" (1938-39), "Exultate Deo" (1941), "Salve Regina" (1941), 4 Christmas motets, "Quatre motets pour le temps de Noel," and the 4-part "Messe en Sol majeur." Sometimes moody, sometimes soaring angelically, there can be no doubt of Poulenc's musical genius, perfectly expressed in the clear, effortless harmonies of RIAS-Kammerchor. Extensive, multilingual liner notes.

Poulenc: Figure humaine

Sept chansons Un soir de neige, chamber cantata for 6 voices or chorus Figure humaine, cantata for 12 voices Quatre petites prières de Saint François d'Assise, for men's chorus Chanson à boire, for male chorus

Poulenc’s choral works constitute a high point in the choral art of the twentieth century. Figure humaine is probably Poulenc’s most original choral score. Written in the middle of World War II, this cantata set to Éluard’s texts includes the famous Liberté, a poem that the RAF dropped in the form of leaflets over France. Quatre petites prières de saint François d’Assise was composed in 1948 at the request of the composer’s nephew, Brother Jérôme Poulenc. These four short prayers to texts by Saint Francis of Assisi are dedicated to the Friars Minor of Champfleury. Poulenc’s Sept chansons for mixed chorus bring together poems by Apollinaire and Éluard. Influenced by Monteverdi, they belong to the tradition of Debussy’s Trois chansons de Charles d’Orléans. Since its foundation after the Second World War, the RIAS-Kammerchor has played an important role in the musical life of Berlin. Contemporary music has always been at the heart of its repertoire and these performances, led by Daniel Reuss are presented with innate understanding and deep reverence.

Nachtgesang im Walde, D.913 Grab und Mond, D.893 Der Gondelfahrer, D.809 Gott ist mein Hirt, D.706 Im Gegenwartigen Vergangenes, D.710 Coronach, D.836 Nachthelle, D.892 Die Nacht, D.983 Standchen, D.920 Gesang der Geister uber den Wassern, D.714 Gott im Ungewitter, D.985

Born in Sussex, UK, and schooled at Cambridge, London and Oxford, Marcus Creed became chorusmaster at Deutsche Oper in Berlin, and was appointed artistic director of the elite RIAS-Kammerchor in 1987. "Nachtgesang" (Night Songs) is a collection of works by Franz Schubert (1797-1828), composer of an abundant body of choral music. In these 11 pieces with the common romantic theme of the night, Schubert is in his element, but surprisingly little importance is given to these masterly pieces. Monumental pieces like "Gesang der Geister uber den Wassern" will be juxtaposed with more descriptive pieces like "Der Gondelfahrer" and sweet, soaring arias like "Im Gegenwartigen Vergangenes." Some light accompaniment. Schubert is one of the greatest of all time, as is the RIAS-Kammerchor, and each of these songs, whether its focus be romantic or spiritual love, is a choral gem! Extensive, multilingual liner notes.

Tristet mein Volk Macht hoch die Tur - Lasset uns frohlocken Unser lieben Frauen Traum Es kommt ein Schiff geladen Das Volk, das im Finstern wandelt Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her Ehre sei Gott in der Hohe Kommt und laBt uns Christum ehren Un dulci jubilo - O freudenreicher Tag LaBt uns das Kindelein wiegen Mein Herz will ich dir schenken Schlaf, mein Kindelein Das Wort ward Fleisch Kommet, ihr Hirten - Auf, auf, ihr Hirten Herbei, o ihr Glaub'gen Kindelein zart - O Jesulein suB Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht Frohlocket, ihr Volker auf Erden - O du frohliche

Christmas has always been a feast of particular importance in German tradition. A large number of works have been written specially for the occasion, right up to the twentieth century. This anthology offers a specific choice of Romantic and post-Romantic pieces for a cappella choir.

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