During this visit, these young ladies were so obliging as to sing me a salve regina, lately set by their father, in duo. It is an exquisite composition, full of grace, taste and propriety.” So wrote the english traveller charles burney in 1772. The “father” was Johann Adolf Hasse, one of the 18th century’s most famous composers – and here he is in “a delightful programme, thoughtfully put together and very well executed.

Following our collection of German baroque virtuosic recorder concertos two years ago, Michael Schneider now turns to baroque Italy. Schneider shows just what wonderful recorder discoveries can be made in Italy in addition to Vivaldi's works, which he has also presented on cpo.

Many Baroque music afficionados may remember Scheibe as the author of an infamously vicious diatribe against the music of J. S. Bach ( e.g.: "If only his writing were not so turgid, so convoluted!"). Scheibe's own talents, though obviously nowhere near as stellar as his target, are nonetheless considerable. The two flute concerti on this wonderful recording are seductively and sensitively rendered by artists Maria Bania and Irene Spranger. The musical lines of the inner slow movements are gorgeous and the outer movements are captivatingly playful.

These recordings were produced in the 1980s by the Radio of the German Democratic Republic from performances given in the historic Catholic Court Church in Dresden.

Following the appearance of the first CD recording of the new organ in the reconstructed Dresden Frauenkirche (with organist Samuel Kummer, Carus 83.188) at last, the first live concert performance has just been released on the Carus label. The G minor Mass is the “Opus ultimum” of the 84-year-old Johann Adolf Hasse, who for almost three decades dominated musical life at the Saxon Court of Dresden and who was regarded as the musical idol of his era. The centerpiece of the work of a type known as a “Missa solemnis” is a seven-movement Gloria, with brilliant, extended trumpet parts.

One can easily appreciate this early William Christie recording with Capella Coloniensis, a group originally formed in 1954 (!) to perform baroque works in historically informed performances. Christie masters this orchestra well, and the playing is impeccable. The casting is excellent, including some of the great singers of the time: Emma Kirkby, in her prime, Agnes Mellon, Dominique Visse and David Cordier, among others. There is even a male soprano, Randall K. Wong, a rare type of singer indeed.

The two Johann Adolf Hasse compositions recorded here are proof of the both high quality of his music and the broad range of styles which he had at his disposal. Once again Hans-Christoph Rademann offers an exemplary interpretation of music from the Court of Dresden, to which he has often dedicated his musical efforts.

Charles Burney described Johann Adolf Hasse, his contemporary, as ‘the most natural, elegant and judicious composer of vocal music, as well as the most voluminous now alive…’ His output includes 63 operas, but only two are currently recorded, yet inexplicably this is the second Piramo, albeit markedly livelier and with the bonus of its two ballet suites. Schneider’s perceptive booklet note comments that too readily we find such composers immature – ‘almost like Mozart’, rather than excitingly expressive and individual. Here even the subtitle Intermezzo tragico is novel, implying a fusion of two traditions, comic and serious. The music is equally unconventional. Recitatives slip seamlessly into and out of arias, creating a strong sense of dramatic continuity.

The musical world of the eighteenth-century court at Dresden is characterised by its diversity: Vivaldi, Hasse, Ristori and Wilhelm Friedemann Bach were all highly esteemed. The Zürcher Barockorchester perform selections from this demanding repertoire and successfully transport listeners to Dresden’s vibrant Augustan era.

Das Laudate pueri ist zwischen 1735 und 1749 für das Ospedale degl’Incurabili in Venedig entstanden. Da es sich dabei um eine musikalische Ausbildungsstätte für begabte Mädchen und junge Frauen handelt, waren die Vokalstimmen ursprünglich nur mit Frauenstimmen besetzt.

While Hasse’s early fame rested above all on his operas, in more recent times it is especially his sacred compositions that have enjoyed immense esteem. This CD features his Te Deum and other sacred works.

Philippe Jaroussky brings his musical and dramatic powers to a programme of music from Italian oratorios of the baroque era, including five arias in world premiere recordings. La vanità del mondo, takes it's name from an oratorio by Pietro Torri and among the other composers are Händel, Scarlatti, Vivaldi, Hasse, Fago and Caldara. "I think composers of this period often give of their best when setting the great stories of the Old Testament," says Jaroussky. "And if oratorio stories are more static than opera, they allow for deeper reflection on the place of mankind in the universe. I think that resonates with particular intensity in 2020, a year of pandemic."

The Enea Baroque Orchestra, founded by the mezzo-soprano Francesca Ascioti in 2018, is currently regarded as the best Roman Baroque authority because of the high quality of its musicians. On this album the ensemble turns to Johann Adolf Hasses masterpiece, the Neapolitan Baroque opera Enea in Caonia (Aeneas in Chaonia), a genuine gem within the genre of the serenata. The libretto was inspired by Book III of Vergils Aeneid, the most famous epic poem in Latin literature. It was very fortunate that Hasse and Aeneas crossed paths in Italy, for both of them a new adoptive home, and breathed new life into this work.

La Tempestad se ha presentado al público en Festivales como los de Aranjuez, Cádiz, Sevilla, Marbella, Murcia, Santillana del Mar, Valladolid, Almería, Daroca, Zaragoza, etc. Sus miembros, formados en importantes conservatorios europeos (Toulouse, Viena, Amsterdam, La Haya), han formado parte de Al Ayre Español, La Real Cámara, El Concierto Español, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, Orchestra of the XVIII Century, European Union Baroque Orchestra, La Stravaganza, Orquesta Barroca de Sevilla, etc., con quienes han actuado por España, Europa, Israel y China.

In Venice in the 18th century, Christmas was celebrated as only Venetians know how to celebrate: according to one account, more wax was burnt to light up the three storeys of the Procuratie on Christmas Eve, than in all the rest of Italy in an entire year. At the same time, rather than being an independent feast – and as such, the most singularly important one of the year – the Venetian Christmas was also part of the city's famous Carnevale, which at this time lasted for almost six months. This lent a rather special character to the celebrations, compared with for instance the more clerically inclined Rome.