Veni creator spiritus - Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks (EP) Bavarian Radio Chorus & Michael Hofstetter

• Orlando di Lasso (1532 - 1594): Veni creator spiritus:
• 1 Lasso: Veni creator spiritus: 1. Prima pars 04:10
• 2 Lasso: Veni creator spiritus: 2. Secunda pars 02:52
• 3 Lasso: Veni creator spiritus: 3. Tertia pars 03:34
• Michael Praetorius (1571 - 1621): Nun bitten wir den Heiligen Geist:
• 4 Praetorius: Nun bitten wir den Heiligen Geist 05:50
• Giovanni Gabrieli (1554/57 - 1612): Hodie completi sunt:
• 5 Gabrieli: Hodie completi sunt 04:55
• Richard van Schoor (b. 1961): The World is Wept:
• 6 Schoor: The World is Wept 07:18
• Total Runtime 28:39

Info for Veni creator spiritus - Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks (EP)

‘Come down, Holy Spirit’ - the words of the Christian Pentecost hymn refer to traditions of cultural and linguistic diversity. Polyphony also prevails in the multi-choral works on the programme, staged multi-dimensionally in the space by conductor Michael Hofstetter.

The South African composer Richard van Schoor has taken the theme of the ‘Holy Spirit’ further into our time in his new motet The World Is Wept, set to verses by Bishop Desmond Tutu. They emphasise that ‘a healing spirit is at work through mutual forgiveness’. In addition, musical connections are created between the choral works by Lasso, Gabrieli, Schütz and Praetorius, which span the arc to a closing quotation from Nelson Mandela.

For the first time with the BR Choir: conductor Michael Hofstetter, who has made a name for himself with numerous recordings and productions in historical performance practice.

Sven Schwannberger, lute
Michael Dücker, lute
Sören Leupold, theorbo
Susanne Herre, theorbo
Robert Schröter, harpsichord
Eva Maria Pollerus, harpsichord
Thomas Leininger, harpsichord
Max Hanft, organ, choir rehearsals
Günter Holzhausen, violone
Bavarian Radio Choir
Michael Hofstetter, conductor

Michael Hofstetter
has been conducting at many renowned opera houses, orchestras and festivals for over 30 years. ​

These include the Bavarian, Hamburg and Stuttgart State Opera, the Theater Basel, the Theater an der Wien, the Royal Opera Copenhagen, the Welsh National Opera, the English National Opera, the Houston Grand Opera, the Canadian Opera Company Toronto, the Handel Festival Karlsruhe and the Handel Festival Halle, the Salzburg Festival, the Orchestre National d'Île de France and many others. ​

The Munich native began his career at the theaters in Passau and Wiesbaden and was also a professor of orchestral conducting and early music at the University of Mainz. ​

As General Music Director/Chief Conductor, he shaped the Gießen City Theater (1998-2000 and 2012-2019), the Ludwigsburg Castle Festival (2005-2012), the Geneva Chamber Orchestra (2000-2006) and the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra (2006-2013), the recreation Große Orchester Graz and the styriarte Festival Orchestra Graz, which he co-founded (2010-2016).

Since January 2020, Michael Hofstetter has been artistic director and managing director of the International Gluck Festival Nuremberg, and since the 2021/22 season he has been principal guest conductor of the Tölzer Knabenchor. ​

In the specialist magazine »Opernwelt«, Michael Hofstetter has been nominated several times as 'Conductor of the Year' in the annual critics' survey; among others in 2011 for his production of Hasse's "Didone Abbandonata" at the Prinzregententheater Munich and in 2013 for his achievements as General Music Director in Giessen. He received the Robert Stolz Medal for his commitment to operetta, and his work at the Ludwigsburg Palace Festival was recognized with the Horst Stein Prize. ​

Michael Hofstetter has released numerous recordings on OehmsClassics and on the labels cpo, Orfeo, Deutsche Grammophon, SONY and Virgin Records. The CD "Rossini: Arias and Ouvertures" received the "Orphée du meilleur interprète" from the Académie du Disque Lyrique France in 2008, and the CD "Hasse reloaded" was included in the German record critics' list of the best in 2012.

Booklet for Veni creator spiritus - Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks (EP)