Bernhard: Sacred Concertos

Parthenia Vocal; Parthenia Baroque; Christian Brembeck, direction

Christoph Bernhard (1628-1692)
Geistliche Harmonien (1665)
Sacred Concertos

Christoph Bernhard (1627-1692) is first and foremost known as a pupil of the most famous German composer of the 17th century, Heinrich Schütz. He wrote some treatises, which found a wide circulation throughout Germany, and these are generally considered reflective of the views of his teacher. He started his career as an alto singer in Dresden, worked for some time in Copenhagen and later in Hamburg, and in 1681 he was appointed Kapellmeister in Dresden. He may also have studied with Carissimi during one of two visits to Rome.
Only one of his sacred works, the "Geistliche Harmonien", was published in 1665. It includes twenty concertos with German text for one to four voices and basso continuo, and for many the addition of two violins. Although generally similar to the "Kleine geistliche Konzerte" and the "Symphoniae sacrae" by Heinrich Schütz, they have an individuality of melodic style. Bernhard's "Sacred Concertos" testify to his melodic gifts, which are often demanding for the voice with long melismatic passages of musical-rhetorical emphasis and aria-like sections in the 17th-century operatic style. He employs numerous examples of various musical figures to underscore the affective emphases of his texts.

Price: $27.98

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