Francesco Cavalli: Transitions Capella de la Torre & Katharina Bäuml

• Francesco Cavalli (1602 - 1676): Gli amori d'Apollo e di Dafne:
• 1 Cavalli: Gli amori d'Apollo e di Dafne: Sinfonia II 03:06
• Missa pro defunctis, Introitus:
• 2 Cavalli: Missa pro defunctis, Introitus: Requiem aeternam 04:32
• 3 Cavalli: Missa pro defunctis, Introitus: Kyrie - Christe - Kyrie 02:58
• 4 Cavalli: Missa pro defunctis, Introitus: Sequentia. Dies irae 11:31
• Francesco Manelli (1594 - 1667): Acceso mio cuore (Ciaconna):
• 5 Manelli: Acceso mio cuore (Ciaconna) 02:42
• Francesco Cavalli: Missa pro defunctis, Offertorium:
• 6 Cavalli: Missa pro defunctis, Offertorium: Domine Jesu Christe 03:59
• Gli amori d'Apollo e di Dafne:
• 7 Cavalli: Gli amori d'Apollo e di Dafne: Sinfonia I 02:20
• Missa pro defunctis, Sanctus:
• 8 Cavalli: Missa pro defunctis, Sanctus: Sanctus Dominus - Benedictus 02:56
• 9 Cavalli: Missa pro defunctis, Sanctus: Agnus Dei 03:05
• O bone Jesu (Arr. for Renaissance ensemble & Choir by Capella de la Torre):
• 10 Cavalli: O bone Jesu (Arr. for Renaissance ensemble & Choir by Capella de la Torre) 04:56
• Missa pro defunctis, Libera me:
• 11 Cavalli: Missa pro defunctis, Libera me 05:14
• In convertendo:
• 12 Cavalli: In convertendo 05:51
• Orlando Di Lasso (1532 - 1594): Miserere mei Domine (Arr. for Organ by Capella de la Torre):
• 13 Lasso: Miserere mei Domine (Arr. for Organ by Capella de la Torre) 01:57
• Giovanni Bassano (1558 - 1617): Dic nobis Maria:
• 14 Bassano: Dic nobis Maria 03:31
• Maurizio Cazzati (1616 - 1678): Trattenimenti per camera, Op. 22, No. 13:
• 15 Cazzati: Trattenimenti per camera, Op. 22, No. 13: Passacaglio (Arr. for Renaissance ensemble by Capella de la Torre) 03:54
• Anonymous: Victimae Paschali laudes:
• 16 Anonymous: Victimae Paschali laudes 02:27
• Total Runtime 01:04:59

Info for Francesco Cavalli: Transitions

In 1675, the Italian Francesco Cavalli was at the height of his fame. It was impossible to imagine Venice without his 40 or so operas. And the French Sun King had danced to Cavalli's music. But in that year 1675, the former student of Monteverdi felt that he would probably not have much longer to live. So he composed his own "Mass for the Dead", which was to be performed twice a year in his memory. This "Requiem" was first heard in 1676, the year of Cavalli's death, and this "Missa pro defunctis" was still admired in the 19th century. In terms of its spiritual power, this sacred opus magnum was even placed on a par with Mozart's Requiem.

This masterpiece of sacred baroque music is now the focus of the new album "TRANSITIONS" by Capella de la Torre. Under the direction of ensemble founder Katharina Bäuml, the multi-award-winning early music ensemble presents Cavalli's Requiem in a special version, because Katharina Bäuml expanded the ensemble to include significantly more instruments in order to create a balanced mixture of singing voices and instruments, especially wind instruments.

Even though Francesco Cavalli did not include any obligatory instruments in his Requiem and the instrumental accompaniment is limited to the basso continuo according to the score, one may assume that string and wind instruments were also involved in the first performances of the work. The instruments either amplified certain vocal sections or replaced them entirely. In the present recording, the Capella de la Torre takes up this practice, with the instruments of the town pipers (the piffari) playing an essential role with shawm, pommer and trombones. The fusion of human and instrumental voices in Cavalli's "Opus ultimum" results in a distinctive and deeply emotional sound impression.

This is the first time Cavalli's music has been heard in this combination on this recording. And on the album, the individual parts of the Requiem are heard in delightful combination with further vocal and instrumental works by Cavalli's contemporaries, works by Maurizio Cazzati, Giovanni Bassano and others, composers from the Venetian environment, whom Katharina Bäuml has virtually incorporated into the Requiem.

Capella de la Torre
Katharina Bäuml, aroque oboe, musical direction

Capella de la Torre
is proud to be one of the leading ensembles for early wind music worldwide. The group was founded in 2005 by the oboist and shawm specialist Katharina Bäuml, and since then has newly inspired its audiences over and over again in over one thousand concerts, 20 CDs to date, and numerous live recordings. Through these experiences, the ensemble has garnered extensive experience in the music of the fourteenth though seventeenth centuries. In 2016 Capella was awarded the "Ensemble of the Year" ECHO Klassik prize. 2017 the ensemble was again awarded the ECHO Klassik prize for the CD "Da Pacem - Echoes of the Reformation".

2018 Capella de la Torre is one of the first OPUS Klassik winners - the ensemble was awarded for the CD "Serata Venexiana".

In order to make the music of past centuries sound fresh for modern ears, current historical and musicological research plays a vital role in Capella de la Torre's programs. Especially important is the work with original sources and texts. In addition to concerts, another focus of the ensemble is its work with young audiences though numerous outreach and education projects.

The name "Capella de la Torre" can be understood two ways: in the beginning of the sixteenth century, the Spaniard Francisco de la Torre composed perhaps the most famous piece for a wind ensemble, his "Danza Alta." In addition to this homage to the composer, the name can be understood literally. "De la torre" means "from the top of the tower." Wind ensembles of the time often played from the top of towers and on balconies.

Katharina Bäuml
A native of Munich, Katharina Bäuml studied modern oboe, and baroque oboe and historical reed instruments, finishing both degrees with honors. Since then she has specialized in myriad areas of early music, but her particular interest has been in wind music of the fifteenth through seventeenth centuries. This interest led her, in 2005, to found the ensemble "Capella de la Torre," which has become the most important German ensemble for Renaissance music. The group has produced twenty CDs, and since 2013 has recorded exclusively for Sony. In 2016 Katharine Bäuml won the ECHO Klassik award with Capella de la Torre for their CD "Water Music". In addition to early music, her interests include contemporary music played on historical instruments, leading to numerous commissions for her ensemble "Duo Mixtura," which have been performed at such prestigious festivals as the Berlin "Ultraschall" festival, among others. As the artistic director of several festivals and concert series, Ms. Bäuml continues to initiate projects which connect jazz and the music of the early modern period. Most recently she has assumed the artistic direction of the series "Musica Ahuse" in the Romanesque Cloister Auhausen, where renowned leading early music ensembles perform each year. Ms. Bäuml teaches in Berlin and regularly gives master classes in Genf (Switzerland), Hanover, and Lübeck.

Booklet for Francesco Cavalli: Transitions