Ein stille Nacht Österreich

This is a live recording of the 2023 Christmas concert in Leuven (it's an annual event). These concerts present Austrian music (Leuven lies between Vienna and Salzburg) composed between the 16th and 19th centuries. The six singers and six instrumentalists present music by Haydn, Fux, and many others - a nice change from a procession of carols.

Here's the very atmospheric official explanation of the foundation of teh Leuven Christmas concerts:

Austria, somewhere between Salzburg and Vienna.
A thick layer of snow covers the ground.
A shepherd yodels quietly and looks for a place where he and his sheep can shelter in the mountains. In the middle of the night.
Peace and tranquillity rule the surrounding land.
The church’s organ is broken. But there is a guitar.

These were the circumstances in which Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht was first heard exactly 205 years ago, at midnight on 25 December 1818.

Currende recreated this atmosphere during its four Christmas concerts “Wintertime in Leuven”

The discoveries here are huge.

It all begins with a Fugue in G by Georg - not Gottlieb, of this post - Muffat. The scoring feels remarkable: two Baroque violins, two viole da gamba, recorder and organ. each line seems to have its own colour and yet the whole makes perfect sense:

Muffat studied with Lully and was remarkably cosmopolitan in his travels and outlook. The Archbishop of Salzburg sent him to Rome, and there he was exposed tooth works of Arcangelo Corelli - which reminds me to bring in a recording of Muffat's Armonico Tributo by Ensemble X and Petri Tapio Mattson on the Alba label, a phenomenal set of performances of what are effective Concerti Grossi (but labelled here as "Sonatas). The influence of Muffat's teacher, Lully, can be heard, but there is a really independent signature here, too. try the final Menuet form the Suite No. 1 in D-Major:

Later, we hear Moffat's “Dulce somnium” published in the 1701 Exquisitioris harmoniae instrumentalis gravi-jucundae. It is, I am sure you will agree, exquisite:

From that fugue emerges the vocal (with instruments) seven-part motet Stella Quan Videunt Magi by Philippe d Monte (1521-1603), a composer still not adequately recognised today (and exceptionally well regarded in his time):

To hear more da Monte, try a disc of his chansons and motets on Roméo Records.

Another revelation is the five-part motet Puer Natus Est by Jako Jacques) regnant, a Netherlander active around German courts who died around 1600 and who had particular success with his Lied compositions. His Puer Natus Est unfolds gloriously, full-tctured (it feels more so than de Monte's six-part piece!) and superbly performed here.

Interesting to have an Overure in G K 455) by Johann Joseph Fux, K 355, performed here like a Medieaval processional. Although thy don't say so, Correte only perform the first movement. The allegro, whe it comes, its deliciously light and clearly linked to that earlier feel of the opening.while the organ's solo is beautifully music-boxy (and lads sight into the following Michael Haydn!). Contrast this with a more traditional reading, here Neue Hofkapelle Graz on the cpo label:

Heiligste Nacht by Johann Michael Haydn (Franz Joseph's brother) has a beautiful purity about it, the choir subtly underpinned by organ:

It's evidently a favourite with the Vienna Boys' Choir, who have recorded it at least twice. The Decca one seems the most focused, but they offer in both instances a rather quicker traversal and sound a bit like the Three Boy's from Magic Flute - one awaits, without success, Taminos' voice.; Currende's outing is more in keeping with the reflective nature of Ein Stille Nacht Österreich. Currende also act as a reminder often importance of Michael Haydn's music ....

And so to Mozart, the Minuet from Eine Kline in an arrangement for these forces. He opts to insert the Minuet, and it feels just right, bright and breezy. Erik can Nevel's arrangement of an atmospheric Adventlied follows; later, we hear his beautiful arrangement of a folksong from Salzkammergut, Die Heiland its geborn. Van Nevel offers his take on Stille Nacht (given here as “Weihnachtslied ams Salzbrurg”);the famous melody itself emerges naturally from a preamble (“Leise reiselt der Schnee”):

A piece by Johann Kaspar Kerll (1627-93) means he makes his first appearance on Classical Explorer, the lovely “Gloria in excelsis” from the Missa Non Sine Quare. This is a lovely work, beautifully buoyant, and he performance here is very stylish, with a vey buoyant “Amen”; if you want the whole work. If you want a full recording of thee work (recommended!) try a coupling with Kerll's Missa Renovationis on Cantate by the Hinrich Schütz Conservatorium, Dresden.

Interesting to contrast this with some galant Haydn (a “Pastorelle” for Advent, “Hör Nachbar, ach sag mir”) with its very effective use of drone ...

We had some Fux earlier;' now comes a reminder of his stature as a musical theoretician. He penned a significant study ointment counterpoint, Gradus ad Paranassum (published 1725). We certainly get a reminder of his in the Canon â 2 for two viole da gamba and continuo, a celebration of the act of counterpoint itself:

The programming ensues we don't stay glum for long: singers and players unite together, joyfully, in the five part Resonet in Laudibus, a Christmas song (“Weihnachtslied”) by the late Renaissance composer Jacobus Gallus (1550-92):

From the year 1775, a surprise. More Mozart (that's not particularly the surprise): his Misericodias dominum, K 222 / 205a in D-Minor, written when the composer was 19. Why the surprise? It contains a massive pre-echo of the “Ode to Joy” setting from Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. Did Beethpven know it? There's an article here if you want to read further ... in the meantime here is the magnificent piece. As the counterpoint flowers, one gets a feel for Mozart's transcendent ability in this area:

Next a name unknown to many: František Ignác Antonín Tuma. Born near Prague, Tuma studied composition with Fux. We hear his motet, “Per il festo di Natalie Del Signor Nostro,” O magnum mysterium. His music straddled the Baroque and Classical periods: a cpo disc Festive Sonatas from Imperial Vienna (Musica Insrtumentalis Imperialis) furnishes more music, but here's the present ensemble; the 'dancing' later section is lovely, and features bass Arnout Malfliet (whose own story, to singer via harpsichordist and monk, is fascinating in itself):

Finally, some Caldara. the Alleluia from his motet Lauda Amima Mea. Antonio Ca;daa's state has yet to be fully appreciaed: try his magnificent Maddalena al piedi di Cristo on Alpha, Le Banquet céleste and Damien Guillon.

As Christmas discs go, this is a departure from the norm, for sure; refreshing and powerful.

The disc is available at Amazon here. Spotify below: