Mauricio Kagel - Music for Renaissance Instruments and "1898"

Mauricio Kagel's death six weeks ago was a vast blow for contemporary music. Kagel's heritage is a commentary on the ideals and ideologies of music history as well as a self-conscious contribution to the canon - but that is exactly why he should be essential listening for anybody interested in new music.
On this CD, first piece called "1898". It was written in 1973 as a commission for DGG's 75 anniversary. The second piece, Music for Renaissance Instruments, is the original recording from 1967 (written 1965/66) that was released on vinyl by DGG in 1969.

Mauricio Kagel about “Music for Renaissance Instruments”:
“This work contains neither prediction, pointers to the future, nor a comforting return to the past: the use of Renaissance instruments here has no programmatic purpose in any general sense. The only decisive fact is that these instruments correspond to my tonal concept better than any present-day stringed and wind instruments could. … Each instrumental part of this work was composed like a solo line. However, the parts were put together as a full score, written in more or less normal notation. Other versions of the work are also possible, using any number of players from two to twenty-two, in every combination of instruments drawn from the original scoring. These reduced versions are entitled "Chamber Music for Renaissance Instruments". The concept of an ad hoc orchestra made up of whatever instruments are available–in accordance with the performing practice of the Renaissance period–is here taken literally, so that a degree of variation is possible which cannot be foreseen by the composer.”