Never short of ideas when it comes to offering concert programs imbued with authenticity and refinement, Luc Beauséjour is an exceptional harpsichordist and organist. “The naturalness of his harpsichord playing, the remarkable attention he gives to proportions and to a singing quality have made him a one-of-a-kind artist.” (Le Devoir)

A printed version of the Motets for 2 or 3 voices Op. 4 was published in Bologna in 1715. Although Caldara was at this time still in the services of Marquis Ruspoli, he dedicated this collection to Cardinal Ottoboni who had gained a wide-ranging reputation as a patron of music during the previous decades. Caldara was appointed as imperial assistant music director in Vienna in 1716. As the favourite composer of Charles VI, Caldara was entrusted with the regular production of music for representative events at the imperial court for the remainder of his life.

Death and Devotion Cantatas by Tunder, Weckmann, Buxtehude, and Ritter It is a remarkable fact that the most expressive and original vocal church music composed in Northern Germany during the latter half of the seventeenth century was the work not of cantors, but of organists. Some of this is due to the exceptional status which had been achieved by organists in cities like Hamburg and Lbeck in the course of the century; they had become both virtuosi par excellence, and at the same time learned composers.

Mit dieser CD gelangen Reinhard Goebel und seinem Ensemble Musica Antiqua Köln 1986 eine der besten Aufnahmen Alter Musik überhaupt: Eine herausragende Mischung aus höchster musikalischer Intensität und Perfektion mit einem bis dahin quasi unbekannten Repertoire und einer Emotionalität, die fast physisch greifbar zu sein scheint.

Matthias Weckmann is doubtless the most fascinating Hamburg composer of the mid-17th century. A disciple of Schütz, nurtured on Italian music and, in particular, that of Claudio Monteverdi, he shone in all genres, achieving an impressive blending of these two worlds. His concerts spirituels are characterised by the important role they give to the instruments, veritable accomplices of the singers. His sonatas espouse the Venetian models with their original instrumentation uniting violin, cornett, trombone and bassoon. His organ music constitutes the veritable transition between the generations of Sweelinck and Buxtehude. And in his harpsichord pieces, he also tries his hand at the French suite style. Over the years, Ricercar has recorded his complete works, and the year of the 400th anniversary of his birth imposed itself for bringing together the first complete release of these recordings.

The disc includes one of Weckmann's finest works, the Magnificat Secundi, a score in four verses that becomes increasingly complex in the number of organ voices used. That he could also devise many 'new' sounds comes in the intriguing descending passage in the second verse of Nun freut euch Liebe. Equally fascinating is the jaunty theme that the composer puts through many twists and turns in the charming Canzon. The disc ends with the sixth verse of O Lux Reata Trinitas, one of the most imposing pieces written at that time.

Among many fine works this first volume contains two particular treasures, the first being a fabulous two-verse rendition of the chorale "Gott sey gelobet und gebenedeiet"; and the second is Weckmann's extraordinary masterpiece, the monumental extended chorale fantasy on "Es ist das Heyl uns kommen her". Each one of the seven variations is a fine piece, but by the time you get to the initially understated opening of the sixth variation you have the feeling that you are in for something special, and indeed the majestic Lutheran chorale theme is soon blossoming into the most beautiful and elaborate variations you can imagine, which you begin to wish would never cease. The work is then rounded off by a majestic statement of the original hymn tune, and so the disc ends.

The music of the 17th century is deeply influenced by fearless innovation and bubbling creativity, characterized by experimentation with form that only with the subsequent generation of composers develops into fixed conventions and a higher degree of conformity. Here, a glimpse of the richness represented by the music from the Baltic region in the latter half of the 17th century is presented by bass-baritone Jakob Bloch Jespersen and Concerto Copenhagen under the direction of Lars Ulrik Mortensen.