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Music : Praetorius: Mass (Lutheran Mass for Christmas Morning) /Gabrieli Consort & Players · McCreesh
Rating: 
- Not just for Christmas
I must confess that this recording is not entirely to my personal taste, but it would be churlish to deny it a five star rating. As an atheist, I still get intense pleasure listening to the mass as an art form rather than as an act of worship. The Gabrieli Consort, here, offer a recreation of how a Lutheran mass might have sounded in the early-17th century. I have no doubts about the authenticity or quality of their production, it's just that the piece, itself, is not entirely to my taste.
Born in Kreuzberg, Michael Schultheiss (1571-1621) was the son of a Lutheran pastor, a man, indeed who had been a student of Luther himself - he took the name Praetorius as a Latinisation of his surname (it means 'mayor'). Praetorius began his career as an organist in Frankfurt, but would later acquire the patronage of the ecclesiastical hierarchy and aristocracy, enabling him to travel around German and devote much of his attention to composition. His career encompasses a period of musical transition, particularly in the realm of church music - moving away from the High Church tradition which had dominated before the emergence of the Protestant churches, and celebrating the emergence of the baroque.
The Gabrieli Consort & Players have an established reputation for their pursuit of authentic rediscoveries of period pieces - those who enjoy this disc may care to turn their attention to the ensemble's "A Venetian Christmas". Their Praetorius Mass recaptures that sense of movement away from High Church grandeur towards a more simple, one might say humanistic act of worship. Certainly, this is a plainer, more sparse mass than had gone before, but also a more joyous one. At times it echoes those boring church services which used to be played on Radio 4 of a Sunday ... hence my conclusion that the piece is not entirely to my taste: but it is a superbly produced and performed work which will be enjoyed by those with a appreciation of sacred music and those who enjoy the baroque.
Rating: - If it's Christmas, you NEED this recording!
Quite simply, if it's approaching Christmas, you have to have this CD. It's a recreation of a Lutheran Christmas Day Mass as it might have been around 1620. Try this: on Christmas Eve when it's dark and the kids have gone to bed, you've finished putting presents in sacks and you're finally sitting down for a rest, turn your Christmas tree lights on, light some candles, light the fire (if you have one) and put the beginning of this Mass on. It's magical! I guarantee you'll suddenly feel strangely nostalgic and emotional!
On Christmas Day, you have to put the closing arrangement of In Dulci Jubilo on LOUD! You've never heard anything quite like this. Goosebumps are inevitable! Buy it.
Rating: - Brilliant!
This is a synthesis of bits and pieces, to show what a Lutheran mass may have sounded like on Christmas morning. Paul McCreesh employs his own singers and players, plus the choir of Roskilde Cathedral, plus every amateur choir and choral society in the district to sing the part of the congregation. The results are spectacular, with a capital S; marvellous singing and playing. And when that big choir and all the instrumentalists and the fanfare trumpeters and drummers light up in the final great rendition of "In dulci jubilo" (Good Christian men, rejoice), you get goosebumps on your goosebumps - and then you have to dive behind the sofa to avoid being hit by the speaker cones as they come flying across the room.
Rating: - Seventeenth Century Lutherans had all the best tunes!
This CD is a stunning recreation of a Lutheran Mass as it might have been celebrated in 1620. However this is no dry academic recreation.
This is a very enjoyable recording, that uplifts the listener.
The music itself is very tuneful. Most of the tunes are still well known today.
The performances are full of enthusiasm and enjoyment. There is a real sense of being at a service on Christmas Day. The sounds made by the instruments are beautiful and at other times loud and thrilling.
The recording was made in a Danish Carhedral. The various choirs and instrumental groups were placed around the building. The engineers have sucessfully recreated the impression of being in the middle of a large church surrounded by musicians and a congregation.
This is probably the best recreation of a service by Paul McCreesh on record. It is certainly the most enjoyable.
If you play this CD to friends, they will ask you for the catalogue number, leave you house humming the tunes and go straight out buy a copy!
- Not just for ChristmasI must confess that this recording is not entirely to my personal taste, but it would be churlish to deny it a five star rating. As an atheist, I still get intense pleasure listening to the mass as an art form rather than as an act of worship. The Gabrieli Consort, here, offer a recreation of how a Lutheran mass might have sounded in the early-17th century. I have no doubts about the authenticity or quality of their production, it's just that the piece, itself, is not entirely to my taste.
Born in Kreuzberg, Michael Schultheiss (1571-1621) was the son of a Lutheran pastor, a man, indeed who had been a student of Luther himself - he took the name Praetorius as a Latinisation of his surname (it means 'mayor'). Praetorius began his career as an organist in Frankfurt, but would later acquire the patronage of the ecclesiastical hierarchy and aristocracy, enabling him to travel around German and devote much of his attention to composition. His career encompasses a period of musical transition, particularly in the realm of church music - moving away from the High Church tradition which had dominated before the emergence of the Protestant churches, and celebrating the emergence of the baroque.
The Gabrieli Consort & Players have an established reputation for their pursuit of authentic rediscoveries of period pieces - those who enjoy this disc may care to turn their attention to the ensemble's "A Venetian Christmas". Their Praetorius Mass recaptures that sense of movement away from High Church grandeur towards a more simple, one might say humanistic act of worship. Certainly, this is a plainer, more sparse mass than had gone before, but also a more joyous one. At times it echoes those boring church services which used to be played on Radio 4 of a Sunday ... hence my conclusion that the piece is not entirely to my taste: but it is a superbly produced and performed work which will be enjoyed by those with a appreciation of sacred music and those who enjoy the baroque.
Rating:
- If it's Christmas, you NEED this recording!Quite simply, if it's approaching Christmas, you have to have this CD. It's a recreation of a Lutheran Christmas Day Mass as it might have been around 1620. Try this: on Christmas Eve when it's dark and the kids have gone to bed, you've finished putting presents in sacks and you're finally sitting down for a rest, turn your Christmas tree lights on, light some candles, light the fire (if you have one) and put the beginning of this Mass on. It's magical! I guarantee you'll suddenly feel strangely nostalgic and emotional!
On Christmas Day, you have to put the closing arrangement of In Dulci Jubilo on LOUD! You've never heard anything quite like this. Goosebumps are inevitable! Buy it.
Rating:
- Brilliant!This is a synthesis of bits and pieces, to show what a Lutheran mass may have sounded like on Christmas morning. Paul McCreesh employs his own singers and players, plus the choir of Roskilde Cathedral, plus every amateur choir and choral society in the district to sing the part of the congregation. The results are spectacular, with a capital S; marvellous singing and playing. And when that big choir and all the instrumentalists and the fanfare trumpeters and drummers light up in the final great rendition of "In dulci jubilo" (Good Christian men, rejoice), you get goosebumps on your goosebumps - and then you have to dive behind the sofa to avoid being hit by the speaker cones as they come flying across the room.
Rating:
- Seventeenth Century Lutherans had all the best tunes!This CD is a stunning recreation of a Lutheran Mass as it might have been celebrated in 1620. However this is no dry academic recreation.
This is a very enjoyable recording, that uplifts the listener.
The music itself is very tuneful. Most of the tunes are still well known today.
The performances are full of enthusiasm and enjoyment. There is a real sense of being at a service on Christmas Day. The sounds made by the instruments are beautiful and at other times loud and thrilling.
The recording was made in a Danish Carhedral. The various choirs and instrumental groups were placed around the building. The engineers have sucessfully recreated the impression of being in the middle of a large church surrounded by musicians and a congregation.
This is probably the best recreation of a service by Paul McCreesh on record. It is certainly the most enjoyable.
If you play this CD to friends, they will ask you for the catalogue number, leave you house humming the tunes and go straight out buy a copy!