Zwölf Kirchenmusiken Vom 7. Bis Zum 18. Sonntag Nach Trinitatis Und Michaelis. Par TELEMANN GEORG PHILIPP. Following the principles of the edition, the volume contains a segment of 12 contiguous pieces of church music from a single cycle. They are excerpted from the so-called 'Sicilian Cycle” and consist of the compositions for the 7th - 18th Sundays after Trinity (except the 11th Sunday), the music for which is no longer extant) plus the feast of Michaelmas. The pieces in the cycle reveal elements attributed to the music of southern Italy, which occur in at least one movement of each work. Among these elements are pastoral instrumentation, with oboes and occasionally recorders, and the melodious writing of the arias, all embedded in a translucent texture. The cycle was written for the ducal court in Eisenach, where Telemann was titular chapel-master. It cannot be precisely dated, but the period of composition can be narrowed down between 1717 and 1721. The underlying words, printed as an annual cycle in 1720, stem from the singer, instrumentalist and later Eisenach court secretary Johann Friedrich Helbig. A Foreword and Critical Commentary provide information on the genesis, sources and reception of this very widely disseminated cycle. Also included are facsimiles from the musical and textual sources and an edition of the underlying texts./ Répertoire / Orchestre

Par OFFENBACH JACQUES. This is the last of nearly 100 operettas created by French composer Jacques Offenbach, a native of Germany whose works were most prominent in the latter half of the nineteenth century. His three-act drama Les Contes d'Hoffmann (The Tales of Hoffmann), which includes a prologue and epilogue, recounts dramatic stories of passion, murder, and revenge. Left incomplete at the composer's death, the operetta debuted in 1881 and remains popular to this day for its many memorable melodies. A masterpiece of French Romanticism, Les Contes d'Hoffmann embodies Offenbach's wish to transcend the limitations of his popular operettas and achieve success among the lofty heights of grand opera. This imaginative score presents an artful blend of fantasy, emotion, and the supernatural as well as elements of satire and the grotesque. Hoffmann, the narrator and protagonist, relates three stories to his drinking companions. The tales concern Olympia, who is revealed as a mechanical doll- Antonia, a gifted vocalist in danger of singing herself to death- and Giulietta, a Venetian courtesan who uses a magic mirror to purloin others' reflections. Reproduced from an authoritative score, this edition offers musicians and music lovers a modestly priced edition of Offenbach's enduring work./ Répertoire / Orchestre

This authoritative edition presents full-score reproductions of three of Liszt?s best-known symphonic poems. Les Preludes (Symphonic Poem No.3) grew out of the composer?s unpublished choral setting of Joseph Autran?s poem ?The Four Elements?, blending stirring martial music and lovely pastoral themes to make this work the most popular of the symphonic poems. Mazeppa (Symphonic Poem No.6) evokes Victor Hugo?s portrayal of the Cossack leader and the symbolic triumph that comes only after defeat: ?He runs, he flies, he falls, and he stands up king!? Heroide Funebre (Symphonic Poem No.8) is the last vestige of the monumental Revolutionary Symphony, planned but never completed, suggesting universal brotherhood: a fine, heroic, dignified funeral march. In these richly sonorous works, Liszt explored the concept of the one-movement ?transformation of themes,? an approach to composition that Wagner would carry forward in his development of the leitmotif. Liszt?s expanding chromaticism would be no less influential, anticipating the twentieth century?s embrace of atonality. Frequently performed favourites of audiences around the world, these three works are reprinted from the original Breitkopf & Härtel edition.