Despite its relatively short length, Mozart’s Missa brevis in D is a work which makes a lasting musical impression, not least because of its heightened tendency towards minor keys in sections such as the “Quoniam” and “Et in Spiritum Sanctum”, where major keys are usually used. The filigree character of the choral parts is also special, particularly in the stirring and sensitive Kyrie. The amount of contrapuntal writing in the composition is manageable, and has contributed to the work’s popularity with smaller choirs.
The Carus Choir Coach offers choir singers the unique opportunity to study and learn their own, individual choral parts within the context of the sound of the entire choir and orchestra. For every vocal range a download containing each choir part is available. The Carus Choir Coach is based on recorded interpretations by renowned artists who have performed the work from carefully prepared Carus Urtext editions. Each choir part is presented in three different versions:
- Original recording
- Coach: each part is accompanied by the piano, with the original recording sounding in the background
- Coach in slow mode: the tempo of the coach slows down to 70% of the original version – through this reduction passages can be learned more effectively.
Performers: Maria Zedelius (soprano), Hilke Helling (alto), Klaus Schneider (tenore), Klaus Mertens (basso) – Kölner Kammerchor, Collegium classicum Köln – Peter Neumann
Contents
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Composer
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
| 1756-1791As the son of the deputy Kapellmeister to the Salzburg Prince-Archbishop, Mozart was constantly surrounded by church music in his youth. On his travels Mozart became familiar with Italian church music, and later in Vienna he studied the works of Bach and Handel. After moving to Vienna he was faced with the new challenges of composing opera and piano concertos, and significantly the “C Minor Mass” KV 427, the greatest sacred work of the first Vienna years, remained unfinished. The last period of his life again shows a change of direction to church music: Mozart successfully applied to succeed the terminally ill Leopold Hoffmann as Kapellmeister at St Stephen's Cathedral, but he was unable to take up the position as he died before Hoffmann. A gem such as the “Ave verum” KV 618 and the incomplete Requiem KV 626 give us an idea of what Mozart might have achieved as a composer of sacred music if he had taken up this important position. Personal details
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Vocal score arranger
Paul Horn
| 1922-2016Paul Horn war ein deutscher Kirchenmusiker, Organist, Komponist und Musikwissenschaftler. Er studierte Kirchenmusik und Orgel an der Evangelischen Kirchenmusikschule Esslingen am Neckar bei Hans-Arnold Metzger und Musikwissenschaft, Theologie und Geschichte an der Universität Tübingen. Seine berufliche Laufbahn begann als Kantor an der Evangelischen Michaelskirche in Stuttgart-Degerloch. 1954 wurde er Kantor an der Evangelischen Stadtkirche Ravensburg, eine Position, die er bis zu seiner Pensionierung innehatte. Als Musikwissenschaftler arbeitete Horn bis ins hohe Alter eng mit Carus zusammen. So stammen zahlreiche Carus-Klavierauszüge aus seiner Feder. Personal details
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Choir
Kölner Kammerchor
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Ensemble
Collegium Classicum Köln
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Conductor
Peter Neumann
| 1940In recent years Peter Neumann, born in Karlsruhe, has made a name for himself particularly as a conductor of Handel’s music. This is demonstrated both by the concert series “250 Years Handel Oratorios” which he initiated – performing nine music dramas in accordance with Handel’s concert schedule of 1749–1752 – and by his numerous CD recordings. He has performed masterworks from vocal and orchestral music in the European musical capitals and at many renowned festivals, ranging from Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo and Vespers for the Blessed Virgin (Palais Garnier, Paris) through J. S. Bach’s passions (last in Moscow, Oslo and Versailles) and Mass in B minor (BBC Proms) to Debussy’s Le Martyre de Saint Sébastien at the MusikTriennale in Cologne. 2010, Peter Neumann and his ensembles Kolner Kammerchor and Collegium Cartusianum were guests at the Rheingau Music Festival with Schumann’s Das Paradies und die Peri and at the Schumann Festival in Dusseldorf as well as the Leipzig Bach Festival in 2011. In June 2012 he made his highly acclaimed debut at the Cologne Opera with Handel’s Alcina. As a guest conductor, Neumann has collaborated with, among others, ChorWerkRuhr, the Netherlands Chamber Choir, the SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart, the NDR Choir, the Schola Cantorum Tokyo, the Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie and Concerto Koln. Highlights of his extensive discography include the complete recording of Mozart’s masses (Gramophone “Crown of Crowns”), Schutz’s Musical Vesper, Schumann’s Missa sacra (Diapason d’Or) and recordings of Bach’s St. John Passion and Handel’s Alexander’s Feast and Brockes Passion (Carus). Personal details
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Soloist - soprano
Maria Zedelius
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Soloist - alto
Hilke Helling
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Soloist - tenor
Klaus Schneider
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Soloist - bass
Klaus Mertens