The Book of Madrigals

The secular repertory of the Renaissance seems made to order for the five singers of amarcord. In the incomparable setting of the Villa Godi in northern Italy, the group recorded some of the best-known and most beautiful madrigals of the 16th century, creating a bridge to the present day. Fiery declarations of love and the deep pain of parting, erotic innuendoes and bawdy humor -- in the interpretations of this prizewinning ensemble, the texts always seem contemporary and relevant. The members of amarcord are accompanied by the exceptional instrumentalists Hille Perl (viola da gamba) and Lee Santana (theorbo), as well as the virtuoso percussionist Michael Metzler.

This CD begins with the performance of the penitential psalm "Gott, sei mir gnadig nach deiner Gute (anon)". This astonishing work has never before been recorded on CD. The only known date which survives in a manuscript score is 1711. Amacord, one of the world's leading vocal ensembles performs works by Schutz, Schein and Praetorius. Capella Sagittariana Dresden also performs on some tracks.

Songlist: Sonata, Gott, sei, Wasche mic, An der all, Siehe, ich, Siehe, du, Lass mich, Verbirge d, Schaffe in, Denn ich w, Errette mi, Herr, tue, Denn du ha, Die Opfer,, Tue wohl a, Der Mensch vom Weibe geboren, Welt ade, ich bin dein mude, Mit dem Amphion, Threnus, funeral motet for 6 voices, Musikalische Exequien (Funeral Music), Herzlich lieb hab ich dich, o Herr, Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin, Musikalische Exequien

After three extremely successful CDs with vocal music of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, amarcord turns this time to the wonderful French vocal music of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The exquisite singers from Leipzig once again demonstrate their amazing versatility. Starting in the second half of the 19th century, amarcord present some less well-known facets of the works of Rossini and Saint-Saens. Meanwhile the 1920s with their pioneering spirit are represented by compositions by Cras, Milhaud, and the young Poulenc, whose entire works for male voices recorded here stretch into the post-war period. But one thing that all the items in this album have in common is their deep rootedness in France and the French: in for instance tradition, dialects, dances, incidents, feelings and savoir vivre. In a nutshell, this album is 'tres francais'!

Songlist: Salut, Dame Sainte, Tout Puissant, Seigneur, je vous en prie, O mes tres chers freres, Choeur/Quelques Mesures de Chant Funebre, Priere, Psaume 121 op. 72, O jesu, O proles, Laus Regi, Si quaeris, L'appel de la cloche, la route, un jeune sapin se balance, Soir, Nuit, Serenade d'hiver, La belle si nous etions, Clic, clac, dansez sabots, Chanson a boire, Saltarelle op. 74

Former choristers from Bach's own church make up this German version of The King's Singers. This contemporary a cappella program ranges from Billy Joel to Supertramp to a Cuban love song, and a superb cover of Sinead O'Connor's "In This Heart". These are great male choral interpretations of popular songs that are sure to delight.

Songlist: The Longest Time, New York, New York, Breakfast In America, Blackbird, Juramento, In This Heart, Somebody To Love, Only You (And You Alone), Hit The Road Jack, Rain In May, Since You Went Away, Can't Buy Me Love, Strangers In The Night, Good Vibrations, That Lonesome Road, And So It Goes

A musical journey to sixteenth-century Europe with secular vocal music of the Renaissance! The vocal ensemble amarcord brilliantly interprets the music of this epoch in its newest production "The Book of Madrigals" (RK ap 10106). With this CD, the young ensemble presents Renaissance music and madrigals by European composers such as John Dowland, Thomas Morley, Ludwig Senfl, Adriano Banchieri, Orlando de Lasso, and Josquin des Prez. Cipriano de Rore's "Anchor che col partire" - one of the most popular madrigals of its time, and in arrangements and adaptations still an "evergreen" over a century later - is also masterfully sung here. With the release of "The Book of Madrigals," amarcord has added another impressive CD to its discography.

Songlist: Now Is The Month Of Maying, Bonjour Et Puis Quelles Nouvells?, Bonjour Mon Coeur, Come Away Come Sweet Love, Anchor Che Col Partire, Ach Elslein, Liebes Elselein, Remember Me My Dear, Since Robin Hood, Strike It Up, Tabor, Vecchie Letrose, Innsbruck, ich Muss Dich Lassen, I Love, Alas I Love Thee, Il Est Bel Et Bon, Come Again Sweet Love Doth Now Invite, Mein Gmuth Ist Mir Verwirret, Weep, O Mine Eyes, Pastyme With Good Companye, Contrappunto Bestiale Alla Mente

Ensemble Amarcord is one of the most acclaimed male vocal ensembles performing today and this Christmas release shows why. Impeccable blend and enticing arrangements makes this a recording that will be a favorite every holiday season. It combines 15 Amarcord classics, taking you from Finland to Nigeria, from Trinidad & Tobago to Poland - sometimes jazzy, sometimes reflective and moving, but always guided by the longing for coming home for Christmas.

Songlist: Juokse, Porosein!, So Viel Heimlichkeit, Winter Wonderland, Nu Taendas Tusen Juleljus, Noel Nouvelet, Betelehemu, Jezus Malusienki, Stille Nacht, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, Fum, Fum, Fum, Il Est Ne Le Divin Enfant, White Christmas, Summer Sleeps (Greta's Song), I Wonder As I Wander, Parang Christmas Chutney, So Viel Heimlichkeit (Zuckerbaecker-remix)

"Hear the Voices" is not just the line of a prayer appearing several times on this CD, but also an appeal to the listeners - to listen between the lines, to hear the centuries between the lives of the various composers, between them and us, to hear the links between their styles of composition, the subtle nuances with which certain words are interpreted by sounds. This all calls for more careful attention than simple "listening". The musical journey starts in France, before taking us back half a millennium to the Flemish region with Luther as our guide. Then there's a little detour to the Iberian Peninsula, a trip to the British Isles, before we finally return to amarcord's native skies in present-day Germany.

Songlist: If Ye Love Me, Quatre Petites De St. Francois d'Assise, Herr, Lehre Doch Mich - Mauersberger, Magnus es Tu Domine - Des Prez, Psaume 121 - Milhaud, Ave Verum Corpus - Byrd, Sunt Lacrimae Rerum, O salutaris hostia, Ach Wie Nichtig Ach Wie Fluchtig -, De Profundis -, Hear The Voice And Prayer -, Tenebrae -

Christmas has been celebrated for many centuries in all corners of the world, and this tradition has brought forth what are probably some of the most beautiful and enduring folk songs. The present CD is as diverse as the cultures. It goes from the well-known 'Es ist ein Ros entspungen' by way of Sicily ('O sanctissima') to Trinidad, and from Gregorian chant through the Renaissance to a Christmas motet by Thomaskantor Erhard Mauersberger (1903-1982). 'In adventu Domini' contains Advent and Christmas pieces from a period of over a half a millennium, including real gems that are gems not just because they are not to be found on any other Christmas CD. And of course the Leipzig vocal ensemble Amarcord once again arouses enthusiasm with its incomparable sound.

Songlist: Hosianna Dem Sohne Davids, Hymnus - In Adventu Domini, Ante Luciferum Genitus, O Heiland Reiss Die Himmel Auf, Angelus ad Virginem, Maria Durch Ein Dornwald Ging, Ther Is No Rose Of Swych Vertu, Es Ist Ein Ros Entsprungen, O Sanctissma, The Virgin Mary Had A Baby Boy, In Dulci Jubilo, O Regem Coeli, Weinacht, Schlaf, Mein Kindlein, Riu Riu Chiu, Rise Up Shepard And Follow, La Baylere, O Jesulein Suss, Ich Steh An Deiner Krippen Hier, Ding Dong Ding, Stille Nacht

"INCESSAMENT" - hidden behind this mysterious title is an exciting CD program at whose center stands the world premiere recording of the Missa Incessament by Pierre de la Rue (c. 1452-1518). Gregorian chant from the Moosburg Gradual supplements the Mass. Two of de la Rue's compositions with close connections to the Mass frame the program: the French chanson Incessament, on which the Missa Incessament is based, and its incarnation as a Latin motet - Sic deus dilexit - for Protestant Germany. The program was planned in collaboration with J. Evan Kreider, the leading de la Rue researcher, and Gregorian-chant expert Godehard Joppich. This CD was recorded in the marvelous basilica of the Benedictine Monastery at Wechselburg, Saxony, providing the music with an appropriate atmosphere.

Songlist: Sic Deus Dilexit, Introitus, Kyrie Incessament, Graduale, Alleluia, Credo, Offertorium, Sanctus, Agnus Dei Incessament, Communio, Incessament Mon Povre Ceur Lamente

With its tenth recording Ensemble Amarcord takes a stroll through the musical Leipzig of the nineteenth century. Simultaneously, this anniversary release is a reverence to the hometown of the five world-class vocalists. They obviously feel very much at home in this repertoire, and the listener is accorded many a musical discovery in Restless Love. Besides widely known songs from which they elicit new nuances by means of their just as fresh as knowledgeable creative will, eight of the titles appear for the first time on this CD, including a piece for male choir by Mendelssohn! The Weihgesang (Consecration Song) for Goethe's funeral service was rediscovered by the Leipzig Mendelssohn researcher Ralf Wehner. Yet, besides the music of the then Gewandhaus music director Felix Mendelssohn and his friend Robert Schumann, it is exactly the today hardly known composers that make this CD so remarkable. This is music by Adolf Eduard Marschner, a relative of the crazy, brilliant Heinrich Marschner, who was also active in Leipzig or the musical jewels by Carl Steinacker, August Muhling, and Carl Friedrich Zollner, whose works have long been forgotten by the history of musical reception. Unjustly, for the songs of love and pain that amaracord has bundled together in Restless Love are without exception musical treasures.

Songlist: Rastlose Liebe, Die Minnesanger, Die Lotosblume, Fruhlingsglocken, An den Mond, Die Hoffnung, Sehnsucht, Turkisches Schenkenlied, Der Jager Abschied, Sommerlied, Wasserfahrt, Liebe und Wein, Wanderlied, Gesellschaftslied, An's Liebchen, Abendlied, Weihgesang, Die Rose sand im Thau, Zurne nicht, In Meeres Mitten, Der Speisezettel, Testament, Liebeserklarund eines, Schneidergesellen, Standchen, Zigeunerlied, Im Suden, Standchen

The secular repertory of the Renaissance seems made to order for the five singers of amarcord. In the incomparable setting of the Villa Godi in northern Italy, the group recorded some of the bestknown and most beautiful madrigals of the 16th century, creating a bridge to the present day. Fiery declarations of love and the deep pain of parting, erotic innuendoes and bawdy humor in the interpretations of this prizewinning ensemble, the texts always seem contemporary and relevant. The members of amarcord are accompanied by the exceptional instrumentalists Hille Perl (viola da gamba) and Lee Santana (theorbo), as well as the virtuoso percussionist Michael Metzler.

Songlist: Come away, come, sweet love, Chi la gagliarda, Rallegratevi meco, Ben qui si mostra il ciel, Vagh' amorosi, Cucu, cucu, cucucu, Tarantella del Gargani, Toutes les nuitz, Io tacero - In van dunque, Quand je bois du vin clairet, Lucia, celu, La tricotea, Oh ecco il Capitano, Anchor ch'al parturire, Une puce j'ay dedans l'oreille, Cosi morir debb'io, Come again, sweet love doth now invite, Vecchie letrose, Triste depart, Dura legge d'amor - E so come in un puntor, Im Mayen hort man die Hanan krayen, Scaramella va alla guerra