SKU: CA.4068700

ISBN 9790007239701. Key: C minor. Latin.

A mass setting by Robert Schumann? This is still likely to cause surprise among audiences â?? after all, Schumann is not generally viewed as a sacred composer. Indeed, his little-known late work, the Missa sacra, Op. 147, is a discovery not just for listeners but often for the performers themselves. The mass combines an acute fascination with sacred liturgy typical of Schumannâ??s time with the pragmatism of its intended use by a local choral society. The composer employs his considerable skills to create a captivating and varied score that is almost ethereal in the Kyrie, leading to passages of an intimate and lyrical piano that alternate with fortissimo for words of praise, while always displaying the utmost sensitivity and a delight in dissonance. The composer declared his setting to be â??fashioned with great loveâ?. The demanding orchestral mass can be realized with limited means. The solo parts can be filled from the choir. The work, which the composer himself did not have published, is here reissued on the basis of Schumannâ??s partial autograph score. Carus has also produced an arrangement of the work for choir and organ, enabling performances without orchestra in smaller venues (Carus 40.687/45).

SKU: CA.3116412

ISBN 9790007209032. Text language: German/English.

This six-movement cantata was performed for the first time on 26 August 1725 in Leipzig. The text was written by Bach's Weimar cantata poet Salomon Franck and had been published earlier in 1715 in his collection Evangelisches Andachts-Opffer. Here, Bach bases his work around the form of the Weimar cantatas which take their texts from Franck's printed collection (BWV 132, 152, 161-163, 165): movements 1-5 are performed by vocal soloists, whilst only the final chorus is given to the chorus. The key concepts of the text are Barmherzigkeit [compassion], Erbarmen [mercy] and wahre Christenliebe [true Christian love]; the chamber music arrangement of the cantata corresponds with this. The two arias for tenor and alto, and the duet for soprano and bass do not contain da capo sections, but repeat the entire text in a condensed form. The instruments do not contrast as a rule, but are treated as a string group (movements 1, 4), duetting (movement 3), and as full unison (movement 5). What is remarkable in all three movements is the thematic linking of the instrumental ritornello parts with the vocal parts through which Bach achieves a kind of unity of form. Score and part available separately - see item CA.3116400.

SKU: CA.3116411

ISBN 9790007209025. Text language: German/English.

This six-movement cantata was performed for the first time on 26 August 1725 in Leipzig. The text was written by Bach's Weimar cantata poet Salomon Franck and had been published earlier in 1715 in his collection Evangelisches Andachts-Opffer. Here, Bach bases his work around the form of the Weimar cantatas which take their texts from Franck's printed collection (BWV 132, 152, 161-163, 165): movements 1-5 are performed by vocal soloists, whilst only the final chorus is given to the chorus. The key concepts of the text are Barmherzigkeit [compassion], Erbarmen [mercy] and wahre Christenliebe [true Christian love]; the chamber music arrangement of the cantata corresponds with this. The two arias for tenor and alto, and the duet for soprano and bass do not contain da capo sections, but repeat the entire text in a condensed form. The instruments do not contrast as a rule, but are treated as a string group (movements 1, 4), duetting (movement 3), and as full unison (movement 5). What is remarkable in all three movements is the thematic linking of the instrumental ritornello parts with the vocal parts through which Bach achieves a kind of unity of form. Score and part available separately - see item CA.3116400.

SKU: CA.9100909

ISBN 9790007230036. Key: C major. Language: Latin.

The Gabriel Mass, greatly loved during Johann Michael Haydn's lifetime, exists in two versions, in the original the Gloria and Credo are very short, then is the second version these two movements were enlarged by Haydn himself. This edition contains both versions. Therefore this Mass can be performed as a Missa Brevis with a small orchestra, or as a full-length Mass with a larger orchestra. Score and parts available separately - see item CA.9100900.