Cantus Cölln & Concerto Palatino olv. Konrad Junghänel

Undeservedly forgotten masters or under-appreciated masterpieces regularly emerge. Once you have heard how Johann Caspar Kerll allows the - normally jubilant - 'Amen' of the 'Gloria' or the 'Credo' to gently sink into chromatic excess, you will never forget it. "Please avoid all harmonies", the composer advised the continuo. 'Missa in fletu' certainly has its fair share of colourful inventiveness. The work was intended to offer comfort to the suffering Viennese during the Ottoman siege of 1683. And this music can still provide comfort in times of sadness. On the other side of Austria, in Salzburg, Biber was also at work. Today, he is almost exclusively known for his violin music, although he also wrote a great deal of church music. These were often beautiful works, created to utilise Salzburg cathedral to the full. Did the composer of the 'Rosary Sonatas' have an unhealthy Virgin Mary fixation? Even if this was the case, we can only be glad of it today. His apparent devotion has provided us with some beautiful Virgin Mary vespers. Thanks to Cantus Cölln and Concerto Palatino, you will be able to hear both of the musical pearls in this concert programme shine forth in their full glory.