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570431-33bk Semele US 13/5/08 15:51 Page 12 Barockorchester Frankfurt The Barockorchester Frankfurt was established in 1986 by Joachim Martini and fellow musicians, in conjunction, in particular, with the work of the Junge Kantorei, with whom it has joined in performances throughout Germany and abroad, notably in Paris, London, Oxford and Amsterdam. At the heart of the repertoire are the oratorios of Handel, although the orchestra also extends its activities to the classical and early romantic periods, in its special attention to the principles of early music performance practice. Violin I Cello Bassoon Timpani Judith Freise Bas van Hengel Jennifer Harris Eckhard Leue HANDEL Christoph Hesse Daniela Wartenberg Hans-Joachim Berg Horn I Lute Seija Teeuwen Viola da gamba Roland Callmar Andrea Baur Freek Borstlap Violin II Horn II Cembalo Franc Polman Double Bass Krisztiàn Kovats Ludger Rémy Semele Malina Mantcheva Jacques van der Meer Salma Sadek Trumpet I Cembalo / Organ Bettina Ecken Oboe I Roland Callmar Rien Voskuilen (Secular Oratorio) Simone Stultiens Viola Trumpet II Sabine Dziewior Oboe II Krisztiàn Kovats Dymitr Olszewski Mario Topper Scholl • Schmidt Junge Kantorei Popken • Schwarz The Junge Kantorei was established in 1965 by Joachim Carlos Martini for the Evangelical Church of Hess and Nassau. The choir has since then won a reputation for its many performances of music from the Baroque to the Markert • Schoch contemporary and has enjoyed a happy collaboration with the Frankfurt Baroque Orchestra. The choir schedule has brought regular participation in festivals of major regional importance, notably the Whit celebrations at Kloster Mertens Eberbach im Rheingau and in the church of St Peter in Heidelberg. For its work the choir has depended on the support of friends, patrons and sponsors and the present recording is the result of the support of the Lafarge Braas GmbH in Oberursel, to which the Junge Kantorei wishes to express its gratitude. Joachim Carlos Martini Junge Kantorei Joachim Carlos Martini was born in Valdivia, in Chile, to German parents, and in 1968, with the youth pastor of the Evangelical Church in Hess and Nassau, Fritz Eitel, set up the Junge Kantorei, to the direction of which he has Frankfurt Baroque for some years chiefly devoted himself. At the same time he conducts the Frankfurt Baroque Orchestra, established together with friends, an ensemble that specialises in historical performance practice, bringing together for this purpose musicians from all over Europe. Both organizations have concentrated attention on the oratorios of Handel, Orchestra with comprehensive performances of this repertoire. Joachim Martini has also, through the establishment of a Frankfurt Archive on musical life under National Socialism, conducted research into Jewish musicians in the Third Joachim Carlos Martini Reich with publications that include Music in Auschwitz and Music as a Form of Spiritual Resistance, Jewish Musicians from 1933 to 1945. For information on the recordings of the Junge Kantorei see www.junge-kantorei.de 3 CDs 8.570431-33 12 570431-33bk Semele US 13/5/08 15:51 Page 2 George Frideric Knut Schoch The German tenor Knut Schoch studied singing in Hamburg with Wilfried Jochens and Alan Speer, completing his studies by attending a series of master-classes. With a repertory that HANDEL ranges from the medieval to the contemporary and includes oratorio, chamber music, Lieder and (1685-1759) Baroque and Classical opera, he specialises particularly in the historical performance practice of music written before 1800, notably the oratorios of Handel and Bach’s Passions. He is much in demand as a soloist both at home and abroad and regularly appears at leading festivals including Semele the Fête d’Automne in Paris, the Göttingen Handel Festival and the Schwetzingen, Schleswig- Holstein and Vienna Festivals. Radio and television recordings as well as CDs reflect the Secular Oratorio in Three Acts breadth of his activities. He has worked with many well-known ensembles, including the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, Musica Fiata of Cologne, the Dutch Bach Society and the Libretto by William Congreve and Newburgh Hamilton Drottningholm Baroque Ensemble, and has appeared with conductors of the highest distinction. Among the awards that Knut Schoch has received are the 1995 Masefield Grant from the F.V.S. Society and first prize at the 1999 International Musica Antiqua Competition in Bruges. In 1993 he was appointed visiting professor of Semele, daughter of Cadmus . Elisabeth Scholl, Soprano historical performance practice at the Hamburg Conservatory, and in 1999 became professor at the Hamburg Iris, attendant of Juno / Cupid . Julla Schmidt, Soprano Musikhochschule. Athamas, Prince of Boeotia . Ralf Popken, Countertenor Klaus Mertens Ino, sister to Semele . Britta Schwarz, Alto The bass baritone Klaus Mertens was born in Kleve/Niederrhein and completed his vocal training with Else Bischof-Bornes and Jakob Stämpfli (Lied/Concert/Oratorio) and with Peter Juno . Annette Markert, Alto Massmann (Opera), embarking thereafter on a busy concert career at home and abroad. He has Jupiter / Apollo, God of Prophecy . Knut Schoch, Tenor worked with many leading specialists in early music, including Ton Koopman, Frans Brüggen, Cadmus, King of Thebes / Somnus, God of Sleep / Philippe Herreweghe, René Jacobs, Sigiswald Kuijken, Gustav Leonhardt and Nikolaus Harnoncourt, as well as with important conductors of classical repertoire, including Herbert Chief Priest of Juno . Klaus Mertens, Bass Blomstedt, Sir Roger Norrington, Peter Schreier, Kent Nagano, Edo de Waart and Ivan Fischer. He has won success in appearances with renowned orchestras, including the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, the great Berlin orchestras, Chorus of Nymphs and Swains Leipzig Gewandhausorchester, Dresden Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra. He has been a regular guest at major festivals in Europe, the United States and Japan. Klaus Mertens is a sought-after interpreter of baroque oratorio repertoire, and in Junge Kantorei October 2003 concluded the complete recording of Bach Cantatas with the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra under Ton Koopman. His wide repertoire ranges from Monteverdi to contemporary composers, some of whom have dedicated Frankfurt Baroque Orchestra works to him. His recordings include over 140 CDs and DVDs, in addition to his many broadcasts and television appearances. Joachim Carlos Martini 8.570431-33 2 11 8.570431-33 570431-33bk Semele US 13/5/08 15:51 Page 10 the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, the Utrecht Festival for Early Music, the Dresden Musikfestspiele and the Blyth CD 1 60:14 Valley Chamber Music Festival in England. Her interest in baroque music has brought invitations from leading baroque ensembles, including the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, Cantus Cölln, Musica Antiqua Köln and the Berlin Akademie ACT I für Alte Musik, as well as a fruitful association with musicians such as Reinhard Göbel, Marcus Creed, Gustav Leonhardt and Ludger Rémy. Her multifaceted musical career is reflected in a number of broadcasts and recordings. 1 Ouvertura 5:11 # Recitativo: Thy aid, pronubial Juno 0:19 (Athamas, Semele) Annette Markert 2 Gavotte 2:23 Annette Markert was born at Kaltensundheim in der Rhön. After vocal study in Leipzig she $ Chorus of Priests and Augurs: 0:40 spent several years at the opera houses of Halle and Leipzig. Among title rôles she sang 3 Accompagnato: Behold! Auspicious 1:26 Cease your vows Floridante, Rinaldo and Oreste in operas by Handel, a number of Mozart rôles, as well as Rosina flashes rise (Chief Priest) in Il barbiere di Siviglia and Olga in Eugene Onegin. Since 1996 she has worked free-lance with % Recitativo: O Athamas, what torture 0:30 important conductors, choirs and orchestras. She sang in Mendelssohn’s Elijah under Philippe 4 Chorus of Priests and Augurs: 3:37 hast thou borne! (Athamas) Herreweghe at the opening concert of the Salzburg Festival, in Bach’s St Matthew Passion with Lucky omens bless our rites the New York Philharmonic and the Leipzig Thomanerchor under Kurt Masur, and in the Mass ^ Aria: Turn, hopeless lover (Ino) 8:42 in B minor under Roger Norrington at the London Promenade Concerts, to mark the 250th 5 Recitativo ed Arioso: Daughter, obey 1:04 anniversary of Bach’s death. Other performances include the rôle of Medea in Georg Katzer’s (Cadmus, Athamas) & Recitativo: She weeps! (Athamas) 0:27 Medea in Corinth, and Handel’s Giulio Cesare and Lotario. She has appeared in leading festivals, collaborating, among others, with Peter Schreier, Enoch zu Guttenberg, Ton Koopman 6 Accompagnato ed Aria: 2:54 * Aria: Your tuneful voice (Athamas) 3:53 and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, as well as with Kent Nagano and the Deutsches Sinfonie Orchester Berlin. Her Ah me! What refuge now is left me? many recordings include Bach’s Christmas Oratorio and St John Passion, Mozart’s Requiem and Mendelssohn’s (Semele) ( Recitativo: Too well I see (Ino, Athamas) 0:57 St Paul. 7 Aria: The morning lark (Semele) 6:28 ) Duetto: You’ve undone me (Ino, Athamas) 2:21 Ralf Popken Ralf Popkens enjoys a varied career. After study at the Hanover Hochschule für Musik und 8 Aria: See, she blushing turns her eyes (Ino) 3:56 ¡ Recitativo ed Accompagnato: 2:32 Theater he has won a reputation as an internationally known countertenor, active as a soloist, Ah, wretched prince conductor and teacher. He has made guest appearances in numerous opera houses,