Puer Nobis Nascitur by Ton Koopman

Various composers

Ton Koopman

Puer Nobis Nascitur

Price: € 18.95
Format: CD
Label: Challenge Classics
UPC: 0608917223422
Catnr: CC 72234
Release date: 06 November 2006
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Label
Challenge Classics

UPC
0608917223422

Catalogue number
CC 72234

Release date
06 November 2006

Album

Artist(s)

Composer(s)

About the album

If we had to characterise Christmas with one word, this word would be 'lyrical'. This quality constantly recurs in the polyphonic music that composers and church musicians of great fame and reputation have written for Christmas over the centuries. This is true above all in the Christmas music written for organ - the church music instrument par excellence. The selection here presented covers a period of two and a half centuries, from Sweelinck (1562-1621) and John Bull (1563-1626) to Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) and perfectly fits the instrument.

The Van Peteghem Organ in Haringe (Flanders) was built in 1778 and has, uniquely, been preserved intact as a rococo instrument. It is the climax of organ-building artistry of the Van Peteghem family, who enriched the Flemish organ scene with the best instruments of their kind and era. The Haringe organ is undoubtedly the best-preserved instrument from that period. It has never been rebuilt and its registers were never modernised in accordance with the prevailing tastes of intervening periods. Moreover, it has a wide- ranging and extremely varied disposition. The combination of all these elements makes this organ unique among Flemish historical organs, a fact that is recognised and appreciated by organists and organ lovers throughout the world. Between 1993 and 1994 the organ was restored by J.P. Draps and G. Potvlieghe under the supervision of the Belgian Department for Conservation. Ton Koopman (1944) studied organ (Simon C. Jansen), harpsichord (Gustav Leonhardt) and musicology in Amsterdam and was awarded the Prix d'Excellence for both instruments. As an organist he has performed on the most prestigious historical instruments of Europe, and as a harpsichord player and conductor of his Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra (founded 1979) & Choir (1993) he has been a regular guest at venues which include the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Theatre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, the Philharmonie in Munich, the Alte Oper in Frankfurt, the Lincoln Center in New York, and leading concert halls in Vienna, London, Berlin, Brussels, Sydney, Melbourne, Madrid, Rome, Salzburg, Tokyo and Osaka.

Ton Koopman edited the complete Handel Organ Concertos for Breitkopf & Härtel and will edit a number of Buxtehude works for Carus Verlag. He is president of the International Dieterich Buxtehude Society.

He recorded a.o. for Erato, Teldec, Sony, Philips and DGG. In 2003 he created Antoine Marchand, his own sub-label of Challenge Records. Here he publishes the Complete Bach Cantatas, as well as his other recent and future recordings, including a Complete Buxtehude project.

Lyrische Kerstliederen op wereldniveau door Ton Koopman
Vergis u niet. De titel van Ton Koopmans 'Puer Nobis Nascitur', doet anders vermoeden, maar dit is geen album met doorsnee kerstliedjes. Toch zijn het 'lyrische' kerstliederen. Kerstliederen uit de Barokperiode, geschreven voor orgel. Dit album omvat twee en een halve eeuw kerstmuziek. Van Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562-1621), de totaal onbekende Pablo Bruna (1611-1679) tot Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750).
Ton Koopman speelt voor deze opname op het Van Peteghem orgel (1778) van de St. Martinuskerk in Haringe, België. Een kleurrijk en uniek historisch orgel. De muziek is niet moeilijk en verrassend charmant. De liederen zijn simpel en een welkome afleiding tussen alle andere kerstdeuntjes door. Koopman speelt virtuoos en met gevoel voor show. Het resultaat is betoverend, de klanken zijn vol en galmend.

Koopman studeerde orgel, klavecimbel en muziekwetenschap in Amsterdam. Vanuit onder andere zijn fascinatie voor historische instrumenten concentreerde Koopman zich tijdens zijn studies op Barokmuziek, met speciale aandacht voor Johann Sebastian Bach. Hij is een leidende persoonlijkheid binnen de oude-muziek-beweging.

Artist(s)

Ton Koopman

Ton Koopman is a leading figure in Early Music and historically informed performance practice. As organist and harpsichordist Ton Koopman has performed all over the world and played the most beautiful historical instruments of Europe. His Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir has gained worldwide fame as one of the best ensembles on period instruments. Between 1994 and 2004 Ton Koopman and ABO&C have recorded all sacred and secular cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach, an extraordinary project that earned international acclaim. After that Koopman recorded the complete works by Bach’s predecessor, Dieterich Buxtehude. Besides performing as a soloist and with his ABO&C, Ton Koopman is very active as a guest conductor for modern orchestras and also devotes part of his time...

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Composer(s)

Johann Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period. He enriched established German styles through his skill in counterpoint, harmonic and motivic organisation, and the adaptation of rhythms, forms, and textures from abroad, particularly from Italy and France. Bach's compositions include the Brandenburg Concertos, the Goldberg Variations, the Mass in B minor, two Passions, and hundreds of cantatas. His music is revered for its technical command, artistic beauty, and intellectual depth. Bach's abilities as an organist were highly respected during his lifetime, although he was not widely recognised as a great composer until a revival of interest in and performances of his music in the first half of the 19th century. He is now generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time.

Bach's abilities as an organist were highly respected during his lifetime, although he was not widely recognised as a great composer until a revival of interest in and performances of his music in the first half of the 19th century. He is now generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time.

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Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck

If it were up to Calvinism, all the organs would have been destroyed during the Beeldenstorm, the outbreaks of destruction of religious images that occurred in Europe in the 16th century. Thanks to city governments, the organs were saved. Strictly speaking, Sweelinck was a servant for the city government as well as the city organist of Amsterdam. His organ and harpsichord music was also used during international negotiations, making his music arguably quite influential. Sweelinck's music should not be listened to with the same ears as one listens to Bach, Beethoven or Brahms. His instrumental works have its own completely unique expression, including temporal modulations, instead of tonal ones. His toccatas, variations and fantasies often start modestly, and gradually increase in movement. Especially his fantasies are masterpieces in this regard. Take for instance his Chromatic Fantasy. The first part uses the chromaticism by alternating whole and half steps. In the second section, the theme is enlarged to a complete cantus firmus, while the embellishments increase in speed. In the third section, the chromatic theme is increased in speed as well, after which the whole work is finished with a graceful bow.

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Jean-François Dandrieu

Dieterich Buxtehude

Among the general public, Dieterich Buxtehude is mostly known due to the admiration Johann Sebastian Bach had for his organ and composing skills, for which Bach traveled to the North German city of Lübeck to stay with him for four months, no less. This says quite something about the quality of Buxtehude's performance, but even more so about the influence it had on Bach and all composers after him. Yet, nowadays Buxtehude's music does not need Bach to survive, as a matter of fact it is extraordinarily beautiful just by itself! Buxtehude was originally Danish, but he spent most of him life in Lübeck. His so-called 'Abendmusik', which was a series of evening concerts outside of the liturgy, grew famous. In the works he wrote for these occasions, his enormous fantasy and creative freedom truly shows. As an organ player, Buxtehude was widely famous. If you would listen to his Organ Preludes, you would quickly know why. Buxtehude manages to combine an unprecedented virtuosity with a large variety of styles and techniques. No wonder Bach traveled all that way to see him!

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