Tobias Michael: Musicalische Seelenlust Ensemble Polyharmonique & Alexander Schneider

• Tobias Michael (1592-1657)
• 1 Unser Trübsal, die zeitlich und leichte ist 03:04
• 2 Herr, erzeige uns deine Gnade 05:48
• 3 Die Erlöseten des Herren 03:16
• 4 Herzlich lieb 02:56
• 5 Fürchte dich nicht 02:58
• 6 Es stehe Gott auf 02:40
• 7 Neige deine Ohren 03:55
• 8 Sei getrost bis in den Tod 03:31
• 9 Gott, es setzen sich die Stolzen 02:45
• 10 Siehe, ich stehe für der Tür 02:18
• 11 Ach, dass ich Wasser genug hätte 02:44
• 12 Gott, wer ist dir gleich 03:23
• 13 Der Herr ist mein Hirte 03:32
• 14 Tröste uns Gott, unser Heiland 03:14
• 15 Ich danke dir, Herr 02:35
• 16 Höre mein Gebet 03:34
• 17 Kommt, wir wollen wieder zum Herren 02:33
• 18 Ich liege und schlafe 03:23
• Total Runtime 58:09

Info for Tobias Michael: Musicalische Seelenlust

After the death of J. H. Schein in Leipzig, Tobias Michael applied for the position of Thomaskantor in 1630 and apparently had such an outstanding musical reputation that he was elected unanimously by the town council.

During his tenure, the choral music blossomed, and the Dresden court composer Heinrich Schütz was so enthralled by the “famous choir” that he dedicated his Geistliche Chormusik to the choir of St. Thomas’s.

Practically only one work by Tobias Michael has been preserved, the Musicalische Seelenlust, which countered the horrors of the Thirty Years’ War with sumptuous harmonies. Elaborate sacred madrigals alternate with small-scale, virtuosically embellished sacred concertos. In his work, Tobias Michael succeeds in combining text and harmony into a Baroque tonal language of great expressivity, which is to be heard for the first time on this inspired recording by the ensemble polyharmonique.

Ensemble Polyharmonique
Alexander Schneider, direction

The ensemble polyharmonique
is a group of singers and musicians from Germany, Belgium and Europe, directed by the internationally acclaimed counter tenor Alexander Schneider.

In the field of historical performance practice the ensemble deals especially with music of the Renaissance and Baroque. The musicians attach great importance to associative lyrics, sound culture and emotional aspects of their interpretations.

All of the artists are not only ensemble singers, but established their own reputation as soloists in the international music scene. They bring together their rich experience from cooperation with leading performers of early music and are invited to festivals in Germany, Belgium,Austria,Czech and Slovakia. Especially successful is the ensemble's co-operation with baroque orchestra Solamente Naturali Bratislava and artists such as David Van Bouwel, Klaus Eichhorn, Juliane Laake et al.

In 2015 their first CD comes out, published by Raumklang Records.It contains the first recording of "Musicalische Seelenlust", a collection of sacred madrigals by the cantor at St. Thomas Leipzig Tobias Michael (1592-1657).

Booklet for Tobias Michael: Musicalische Seelenlust