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Motets
Johann Sebastian Bach

La Petite Bande

Motets

Price: € 19.95
Format: SACD
Label: Challenge Classics
UPC: 0608917216028
Catnr: SACC 72160
Release date: 31 July 2006
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Label
Challenge Classics
UPC
0608917216028
Catalogue number
SACC 72160
Release date
31 July 2006

"One of the most positive aspects of this interpretation is the attention given to the text and the very precise and sharp articulation. On the whole I am very impressed by the way the text is communicated, with clear dynamic differences in line with the characteristics of the German language. The tempi are mostly rather fast, and the rhythms are delivered with great flair. "

Music Web International, 29-4-2024
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Artist(s)
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About the album

J.S. Bach's motets are the indisputable summit of his output. Traditionally the motets have been placed at the centre of his choral universe.Choirs can show off their technical brilliance, and moreover these scores are a joy to perform regardless of one's style of interpretation. However, for the last 25 years musicians and musicologists have subjected the importance of Bach's choirs to a fundamental review. The current research points out that Bach himself almost never had more than eight singers at his disposal (even for double-choir pieces). This is far away from the usual more or less large choirs for the great choral works. This research has been the source of inspiration for this production of the Bach motets to use only one singer per part. The result delivers an unusual transparency and clarity of the musical lines. (The 4-part Motet Lobet den Herren, alle Heiden has not been included in this recording because of serious doubts about authorship.)

Belgian violinist, violist, and conductor Sigiswald Kuijken (born 1944, near Brussels) studied music at the Bruges and Brussels Conservatories, where he received a premier prix for the violin in 1964. He was seven when he first came into contact with the Renaissance instruments. Like his brother Wieland, he is self-taught on the viola da gamba.. In 1969 he began to re-establish the old technique of violin playing, without using a chin or a shoulder rest and without holding the instrument with the chin at all. This technique has been adopted by many other players since then and was taught by Sigiswald Kuijken at The Hague Conservatory between 1971 and 1996. He has undertaken regular tours of Europe, the USA, Australia and Japan. He has also given countless solo recitals and has recorded most of Bach's chamber works and pieces for solo violin as well as music by Corelli, Vivaldi and Muffat. In 1972 he formed the Baroque Ensemble La Petite Bande with whom he has recorded music by Lully, Rameau, Bach, Händel, Gluck, Haydn, Mozart and many others. He also appears as guest conductor with many other Baroque and modern ensembles and made countless recordings.
Bach zoals Bach het heeft bedoeld
Dit album bevat opnames van de motetten van Bach, uitgevoerd door het Belgische ensemble La Petite Bande.

De motetten van Johann Sebastian Bach worden gezien als het hoogtepunt van zijn werk. Ze worden gewoonlijk in het middelpunt van de koorwerken van Bach geplaatst. De motetten zijn leuk om uit te voeren, en worden veel door koren gezongen om hun technische virtuositeit te tonen.

Recent onderzoek heeft uitgewezen dat Bach een kleine bezetting gebruikte voor deze werken (niet meer dan acht zangers). Daarom heeft La Petite Bande besloten om slechts een zanger per partij te gebruiken. Hierdoor klinken de partijen helder en transparant.

In 1972 richtte Sigiswald Kuijken La Petite Bande op, met wie hij werken van onder andere Lully, Bach, Rameau, Handel, Gluck, Hadyn en Mozart heeft uitgevoerd. Sigiswald was pas zeven jaar toen hij in contact kwam met muziekinstrumenten uit de Renaissance. Hij heeft zichzelf het spelen op de viola da gamba aangeleerd. In 1969 begon Kuijken met het herstellen van de oude manier van spelen op dit instrument, die door vele andere muzikanten is overgenomen. Naast dirigent was hij tussen 1971 en 1996 ook docent aan het Conservatorium van Den Haag, waar hij zijn studenten leerde om de oude technieken voor het bespelen van de viola da gamba te gebruiken.

Artist(s)

La Petite Bande

La Petite Bande (Belgium) was founded in 1972 by Sigiswald Kuijken at the request of the record company Harmonia Mundi (Germany) in order to record Lully's Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, under the direction of Gustav Leonhardt. The orchestra takes its name and constitution from Lully's own orchestra at the court of Louis XIV. All its members are internationally renowned specialists in the early music field. Although originally La Petite Bande was not meant to become a permanent orchestra, the success of the recordings was such that they began to give concerts regularly. Having initially concentrated mainly on French music, the orchestra's repertoire has expanded over the years to include music by the Italian masters and that of Bach, Handel, Gluck, Haydn, Mozart...
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La Petite Bande (Belgium) was founded in 1972 by Sigiswald Kuijken at the request of the record company Harmonia Mundi (Germany) in order to record Lully's Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, under the direction of Gustav Leonhardt. The orchestra takes its name and constitution from Lully's own orchestra at the court of Louis XIV. All its members are internationally renowned specialists in the early music field.

Although originally La Petite Bande was not meant to become a permanent orchestra, the success of the recordings was such that they began to give concerts regularly. Having initially concentrated mainly on French music, the orchestra's repertoire has expanded over the years to include music by the Italian masters and that of Bach, Handel, Gluck, Haydn, Mozart and others.

The 18-part CD series 'Cantatas of J.S. Bach' (ACCENT) is complete since February 2014. Sigiswald Kuijken

applies the latest findings in Bach research: no choir, but rather a vocal quartet together with a minimal instrumental scoring. In this way, the fine musical texture of these cantatas can be much better (and more naturally) revealed.

La Petite Bande has recorded instrumental as well as vocal music, including operas and oratorios from the Baroque and Classical periods. La Petite Bande currently makes recordings for Accent, Challenge, Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, Denon, Seon/Virgin and Hyperion.

La Petite Bande has performed in a multitude of international festivals and concert series, in Europe, Japan, Australia, South America and China.

From 1997 to 2018, La Petite Bande was resident in the city of Leuven.


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Sigiswald Kuijken

Sigiswald Kuijken was born in 1944 close to Brussels. He studied violin at the conservatories of Bruges and Brussels, completing his studies at the latter institution with Maurice Raskin in 1964. He came into contact with early music at a very young age, together with his brother Wieland. Studying on his own, he gained a thorough knowledge of specific 17th- and 18th-century performance techniques and conventions of interpretation on violin and viola da gamba. This led to the introduction, in 1969, of a more authentic way of playing the violin, whereby the instrument was no longer held under the chin, but lay freely on the shoulder;  this was to have a crucial influence on the approach to the violin repertoire...
more
Sigiswald Kuijken was born in 1944 close to Brussels. He studied violin at the conservatories of Bruges and Brussels, completing his studies at the latter institution with Maurice Raskin in 1964. He came into contact with early music at a very young age, together with his brother Wieland. Studying on his own, he gained a thorough knowledge of specific 17th- and 18th-century performance techniques and conventions of interpretation on violin and viola da gamba. This led to the introduction, in 1969, of a more authentic way of playing the violin, whereby the instrument was no longer held under the chin, but lay freely on the shoulder; this was to have a crucial influence on the approach to the violin repertoire and was consequently adopted by many players starting in the early 1970s.
From 1964 to 1972, Sigiswald Kuijken was a member of the Brussels-based Alarius Ensemble (with Wieland Kuijken, Robert Kohnen and Janine Rubinlicht), which performed throughout Europe and in the United States. He subsequently undertook individual chamber music projects with a number of Baroque music specialists, chief among which were his brothers Wieland and Barthold and Robert Kohnen, as well as Gustav Leonhardt, Frans Brüggen, Anner Bylsma and René Jacobs.
In 1972, with the encouragement of Deutsche Harmonia Mundi and Gustav Leonhardt, he founded the Baroque orchestra La Petite Bande, which since then has given innumerable concerts throughout Europe, Australia, South America, China and Japan, and has made many recordings for a number of labels (including Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, Seon, Virgin, Accent, Denon, Hyperion and Challenge.
In 1986 he founded the Kuijken String Quartet (with François Fernandez, Marleen Thiers and Wieland Kuijken), which specialises in the quartets and quintets of the Classical period. Recordings of quartets and quintets by Mozart and Haydn have appeared on Denon and Challenge.
Since 1998 Sigiswald Kuijken occasionally brings together two generations Kuijken (his daughters Veronica and Sara and his brother Wieland) to perform string quartets of later periods (Debussy, Schumann, Beethoven, Schubert) often combined with Lieder by Marie Kuijken, soprano and also daughter of Sigiswald, and Veronica Kuijken, piano. Recordings of the two generations have been made for Arcana and Challenge Records.
In 2004 Sigiswald Kuijken reintroduced in practical performance the violoncello da spalla (shoulder cello) very probably the instrument Bach had in mind when writing his six suites for violoncello solo.
From 1971 to 1996, Sigiswald Kuijken taught Baroque violin at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in The Hague and from 1993 to 2009 at the Koninklijk Muziekconservatorium in Brussels.
For many years he was a guest teacher at institutions such as the Royal College of Music in London, Salamanca University, the Accademia Chigiana in Siena, the Conservatoire of Geneva and the Musikhochschule of Leipzig. Since 1998, Sigiswald Kuijken occasionally conducts “modern” symphonic orchestras in romantic programs ( Beethoven, Schumann, Brahms, Mendelssohn).

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Marie Kuijken

Marie Kuijken studied Piano, Chamber Music and Keyboard Accompaniment at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels. In this same period she studied voice with Louis Devos, Margreet Honig (Amsterdam) and with Lena Lootens. As a soprano, Marie Kuijken works often together with La Petite Bande,  in productions such as the Passions of J.S.Bach, Vesperi della beata Vergine Maria  of Monteverdi and some intermezzi buffi in which she sings de female part. As pianist she specializes in the Mozart repertoire on pianoforte  (copy of Stein). In the Lied repertoire she is accompanied by her sister  Veronica; recently they performed Schumanns 'Frauenliebe und Leben'. In Italy, where she lives, Marie Kuijken is part of the baroque ensemble Il Fabbro Armonioso. She...
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Marie Kuijken studied Piano, Chamber Music and Keyboard Accompaniment at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels. In this same period she studied voice with Louis Devos, Margreet Honig (Amsterdam) and with Lena Lootens. As a soprano, Marie Kuijken works often together with La Petite Bande, in productions such as the Passions of J.S.Bach, Vesperi della beata Vergine Maria of Monteverdi and some intermezzi buffi in which she sings de female part. As pianist she specializes in the Mozart repertoire on pianoforte (copy of Stein). In the Lied repertoire she is accompanied by her sister Veronica; recently they performed Schumanns "Frauenliebe und Leben". In Italy, where she lives, Marie Kuijken is part of the baroque ensemble Il Fabbro Armonioso. She also continues the vocal study with L.Napoli. She was a guest of the Festival Barocco di Viterbo and the Festival 900 in Pescara. With cembalo player G.Catalucci she frequently performs in Amelia. She has been assigned to the Conservatory of Salerno as teacher in diction of foreign languages.

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Petra Noskaiová

The Slovak mezzo-soprano, Petra Noskaiová, studied Music at the Bratislava Conservatory from 1988 to 1994 and vocal music with Ruena Illenbergova. Since her main fields of interest were the Baroque and the Renaissance liturgical music, she further studied with Marius van Altena, Harry van der Kamp and Sigiswald Kuijken. Later, she participated in master-classes under the baton of Sigiswald Kuijken. Petra Noskaiová has worked regularly with numerous musical ensembles such as Musica Aeterna Bratislava, Capella Regia Musicalis, Musica Florea, Ensemble Inegal, Teatro Lirico, La Petite Bande, and acompanied also Andrew Parrott, Stephen Stubbs, Sigiswald Kuijken, Harry van der Kamp, Suzie LeBlanc, Howard Crook, Barbara Schlick and Paul Elliott. Her recent projects are J.M. Leclair's Scylla and Glaucus with the Collegium Marianum under the baton of Simon Standage in Prague, and W.A. Mozart's Requiem and Haydn's Sieben letzte Worte with the La Petite Bande under the baton of Sigiswald Kuijken. Petra Noskaiová regularly performs...
more
The Slovak mezzo-soprano, Petra Noskaiová, studied Music at the Bratislava Conservatory from 1988 to 1994 and vocal music with Ruena Illenbergova. Since her main fields of interest were the Baroque and the Renaissance liturgical music, she further studied with Marius van Altena, Harry van der Kamp and Sigiswald Kuijken. Later, she participated in master-classes under the baton of Sigiswald Kuijken.
Petra Noskaiová has worked regularly with numerous musical ensembles such as Musica Aeterna Bratislava, Capella Regia Musicalis, Musica Florea, Ensemble Inegal, Teatro Lirico, La Petite Bande, and acompanied also Andrew Parrott, Stephen Stubbs, Sigiswald Kuijken, Harry van der Kamp, Suzie LeBlanc, Howard Crook, Barbara Schlick and Paul Elliott. Her recent projects are J.M. Leclair's Scylla and Glaucus with the Collegium Marianum under the baton of Simon Standage in Prague, and W.A. Mozart's Requiem and Haydn's Sieben letzte Worte with the La Petite Bande under the baton of Sigiswald Kuijken.
Petra Noskaiová regularly performs for the Slovak Radio and produces recordings for Slovart, Dynamic and Matou. In addirion, she paricipates oftenly at prestigious international festivals such as the Festival Oude Muziek in Utrecht, Days of Early Music in Bratislava and the Festival of Ambronay.

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Jan Van der Crabben

The Belgian baritone, Jan van der Crabben, studied first piano with Aquiles delle Vigne at the Etterbeek Academy, and then transferred to the Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels, where his teachers included Louis Devos. He completed his studies there in 1989, graduating with a first prize and the highest distinction. In 1990 he continued his studies privately with Vera Rosza in London. Also that year he won prizes for the best Interpretation of a French Song and for Contemporary Music at the Concours International d'Oratorio et de Lied in Clermont-Ferrand. Jan van der Crabben is active as a soloist both in Belgium and abroad and among the conductors with whom he has worked are Andrew Lawrence-King, Patrick Peire, Alexander Rahbari and Pierre Bartholomée....
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The Belgian baritone, Jan van der Crabben, studied first piano with Aquiles delle Vigne at the Etterbeek Academy, and then transferred to the Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels, where his teachers included Louis Devos. He completed his studies there in 1989, graduating with a first prize and the highest distinction. In 1990 he continued his studies privately with Vera Rosza in London. Also that year he won prizes for the best Interpretation of a French Song and for Contemporary Music at the Concours International d'Oratorio et de Lied in Clermont-Ferrand.
Jan van der Crabben is active as a soloist both in Belgium and abroad and among the conductors with whom he has worked are Andrew Lawrence-King, Patrick Peire, Alexander Rahbari and Pierre Bartholomée. He has also appeared at numerous festivals, including the Festival de Chambord and the Flanders Festival, and has taken part in master-classes with Elio Battaglia, Bernhard Kruysen and Margaret Honig. In 1991 he created the title role in the world première of Lucien Posman’s opera Hercules Hoché. But his chief interests remain the oratorio and the German Lied. He has made several recordings of works by W.A. Mozart, J.S. Bach, George Frideric Handel, Fiocco, De Fesch, Schubert and Heinrich von Herzogenberg. In 1996 he was a semi-finalist in the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels.

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Marleen Thiers

Marleen Thiers (1945) studied with Arthur Grumiaux and Maurice Raskin at the Conservatory of Brussels. Just like her husband, Sigiswald Kuijken, she immediately showed a special penchant for period instruments and performance practice. She plays first viola in La Petite Bande and is a cofounder and viola player with the Two Generations Kuijken.
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Marleen Thiers (1945) studied with Arthur Grumiaux and Maurice Raskin at the Conservatory of Brussels. Just like her husband, Sigiswald Kuijken, she immediately showed a special penchant for period instruments and performance practice. She plays first viola in La Petite Bande and is a cofounder and viola player with the Two Generations Kuijken.

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Sara Kuijken

Sara Kuijken (1968) studied viola at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels, where she obtained a 1st prize in 1989 and in 1992 the Higher Certificate magna cum laude. At the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam she obtained a degree as a performing musician in 1995. Together with seven other musicians, she founded the Oxalys chamber music ensemble, in which she played viola and served as artistic director until 1998. This ensemble released two CDs, with impressionist and with contemporary Russian chamber music. Her father Sigiswald Kuijken gave her some baroque violin instruction in 1994. She is a regular participant in La Petite Bande. Since the academic year 2005-06 she has been assistant instructor of baroque violin at the Royal...
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Sara Kuijken (1968) studied viola at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels, where she obtained a 1st prize in 1989 and in 1992 the Higher Certificate magna cum laude. At the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam she obtained a degree as a performing musician in 1995. Together with seven other musicians, she founded the Oxalys chamber music ensemble, in which she played viola and served as artistic director until 1998. This ensemble released two CDs, with impressionist and with contemporary Russian chamber music. Her father Sigiswald Kuijken gave her some baroque violin instruction in 1994. She is a regular participant in La Petite Bande. Since the academic year 2005-06 she has been assistant instructor of baroque violin at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels.

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Frank Agsteribbe (conductor)

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.  
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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.


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Press

One of the most positive aspects of this interpretation is the attention given to the text and the very precise and sharp articulation. On the whole I am very impressed by the way the text is communicated, with clear dynamic differences in line with the characteristics of the German language. The tempi are mostly rather fast, and the rhythms are delivered with great flair. 
Music Web International, 29-4-2024

Play album Play album
01.
'Komm, Jesu, Komm, BWV 229': Komm, Jesu, Komm
03:20
(Johann Sebastian Bach ) La Petite Bande
02.
'Komm, Jesu, Komm, BWV 229': Du bist der rechte Weg
04:00
(Johann Sebastian Bach ) La Petite Bande
03.
'Komm, Jesu, Komm, BWV 229': Drum schließ ich mich in deine hände (aria)
01:28
(Johann Sebastian Bach ) La Petite Bande
04.
'Jesu, Meine Freude, BWV 227': Jesu, meine Freude (Choral)
01:16
(Johann Sebastian Bach ) La Petite Bande
05.
'Jesu, Meine Freude, BWV 227': Es ist nun nichts Verdammliches
02:35
(Johann Sebastian Bach ) La Petite Bande
06.
'Jesu, Meine Freude, BWV 227': Unter deinen Schirme (Choral)
01:12
(Johann Sebastian Bach ) La Petite Bande
07.
'Jesu, Meine Freude, BWV 227': Denn das Gesetz des Geistes
00:58
(Johann Sebastian Bach ) La Petite Bande
08.
'Jesu, Meine Freude, BWV 227': Trotz dem alten Drachen
02:10
(Johann Sebastian Bach ) La Petite Bande
09.
'Jesu, Meine Freude, BWV 227': Ihr aber seid nicht fleischlich
02:27
(Johann Sebastian Bach ) La Petite Bande
10.
'Jesu, Meine Freude, BWV 227': Weg mit allen Schätzen (Choral)
01:06
(Johann Sebastian Bach ) La Petite Bande
11.
'Jesu, Meine Freude, BWV 227': So aber Christus in euch ist (Andante)
02:05
(Johann Sebastian Bach ) La Petite Bande
12.
'Jesu, Meine Freude, BWV 227': Gute Nacht, o Wesen
04:00
(Johann Sebastian Bach ) La Petite Bande
13.
'Jesu, Meine Freude, BWV 227': So nun der Geist
01:20
(Johann Sebastian Bach ) La Petite Bande
14.
'Jesu, Meine Freude, BWV 227': Weicht, ihr Trauerfeister (Choral)
01:22
(Johann Sebastian Bach ) La Petite Bande
15.
'Der Geist hilf unser Schwachheit auf, BWV 226': Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf
02:18
(Johann Sebastian Bach ) La Petite Bande
16.
'Der Geist hilf unser Schwachheit auf, BWV 226': Sondern der Geist selbst vertritt uns
01:00
(Johann Sebastian Bach ) La Petite Bande
17.
'Der Geist hilf unser Schwachheit auf, BWV 226': Der aber die Herzen forschet
02:08
(Johann Sebastian Bach ) La Petite Bande
18.
'Der Geist hilf unser Schwachheit auf, BWV 226': Du heilige Brunst, süßer Trost (Choral)
01:44
(Johann Sebastian Bach ) La Petite Bande
19.
'Fürchte dich nicht, ich bin bei dir, BWV 228': Fürchte dich nicht, ich bin bei dir
04:16
(Johann Sebastian Bach ) La Petite Bande
20.
'Fürchte dich nicht, ich bin bei dir, BWV 228': Denn ich habe dich bei deinem Namen gerufen
03:20
(Johann Sebastian Bach ) La Petite Bande
21.
'Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied, BWV 225': Singet dem Herrn
04:44
(Johann Sebastian Bach ) La Petite Bande
22.
'Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied, BWV 225': Wie sich ein Vater erbarmet / Gott, nimm dich ferner unser an (Choral / Aria)
04:30
(Johann Sebastian Bach ) La Petite Bande
23.
'Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied, BWV 225': Lobet den Herrn in seinen Taten
01:26
(Johann Sebastian Bach ) La Petite Bande
24.
'Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied, BWV 225': Alles, was Odem hat
02:01
(Johann Sebastian Bach ) La Petite Bande
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