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557600-01bk Haydn US 8/11/05 2:04 pm Page 12 Morten Schuldt-Jensen 2 CDs Born in 1958, Morten Schuldt-Jensen graduated from the Royal Danish Academy of Music with conducting, singing HAYDN and vocal training as his main subjects. He holds an MA in musicology from the University of Copenhagen, and undertook post-graduate courses with, among others, Sergiù Celibidache and Eric Ericson. He has won several prizes and Die Jahreszeiten awards. For a number of years he taught as an Associate Professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Music and at the University of Copenhagen, and is now employed at the (The Seasons) Gewandhaus in Leipzig, and teaches at the Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Hochschule für Musik und Theater. Morten Schuldt-Jensen has appeared with a number of Rubens • Karasiak • MacLeod professional orchestras, among others the Gewandhausorchester, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, GewandhausKammerchor Batzdorfer Hofkapelle, Neues Bachisches Collegium Musicum (Germany), the Copenhagen Philharmonic Leipziger Kammerorchester • Morten Schuldt-Jensen Orchestra, the Danish Radio Sinfonietta, the Aalborg and Odense (Denmark), Lodz Radio (Poland) and Helsingborg (Sweden) Symphony orchestras, and several special Scandinavian baroque orchestras. In 2000 he was appointed principal conductor and artistic director of the Leipziger Kammerorchester. An extraordinarily broad repertoire, combined with an acute sense of style, characterises this successful partnership, which has already been documented in several recordings and broadcasts. Morten Schuldt-Jensen has conducted at some of the best known European music venues and festivals, including the Gewandhaus and Thomaskirche in Leipzig, Philharmonie Berlin, the music festivals in Rheingau, Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, MDR-Musiksommer, Bachfest and Mendelssohn-Festtage in Leipzig, and also at the Seoul International Music Festival, Korea, at the Kioi Hall in Tokyo, combined with extensive touring throughout Germany, in Scandinavia, Italy, Spain and Japan, with a number of concerts televised and broadcast nation-wide. Owing to his experience as a trained singer, a former member of The Danish National Radio Choir, Morten Schuldt-Jensen has also successfully worked within the choral field. He is the leader and founder of the internationally acclaimed chamber choir Sokkelund Sangkor and the symphonic Tivoli Concert Choir (Denmark), with which he has won several international contests and numerous prizes. In 1995 and 1997 he was appointed Representative Conductor for Denmark (Nordic-Baltic Choral Festival). Since 1996 he has regularly guest conducted and recorded with the RIAS Kammerchor, Berlin, the NDR-Chor, Hamburg, the MDR Rundfunk-Chor, Leipzig, and the Danish National Radio Choir. He is also the founder and director of the internationally highly acclaimed professional Leipzig GewandhausKammerchor. As a chorus-master he has worked with such distinguished conductors as Sir Simon Rattle, Sir John Elliot Gardiner, Herbert Blomstedt, Riccardo Chailly, Philippe Herreweghe, René Jacobs, Marcello Viotti, Jífií Bûlohlávek, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Serge Baudo, Hartmut Haenchen, Peter Schreier, Walter Weller, Lothar Zagrosek and many others. 8.557600-01 12 557600-01bk Haydn US 8/11/05 2:04 pm Page 2 Franz Josef GewandhausKammerchor The GewandhausKammerchor (Gewandhaus Chamber Choir) was formed in 2001 to provide an artistic level equal HAYDN to that of the world famous Gewandhaus Orchestra. The choir is a professional group, whose members are recruited (1732-1809) from among the best choral singers in Germany, the Netherlands and Southern Scandinavia. The choir’s projects are organised as highly concentrated rehearsal sessions and concert activity, and the number and type of singers are adjusted in accordance with the current project. Allied with the high technical vocal quality and flexibility of the Die Jahreszeiten individual singers, this concept allows the GewandhausKammerchor to sing very different programmes, ranging from Renaissance madrigals through the baroque, romantic and contemporary repertoire with or without orchestra, (The Seasons) including world premières of Central European and Scandinavian music. Not least, composers related to Leipzig and Saxony such as Schütz, Bach, Mendelssohn, Brahms and Reger are given special attention. The Oratorio for three solo voices, choir and orchestra GewandhausKammerchor has sung at high profile venues in Germany, including the Rheingau Festival, the MDR- Musiksommer, the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, the Bach-Fest and Mendelssohn-Festtage Leipzig. The choir Words by Baron Gottfried van Swieten, after James Thomson also performs under the name of „Immortal-Bach-Ensemble“ and the responsibility for the artistic profile and quality lies with Gewandhauschordirektor Morten Schuldt-Jensen. Hanne . Sibylla Rubens, Soprano Leipziger Kammerorchester The Leipziger Kammerorchester (Leipzig Chamber Orchestra) was founded in 1971 by members of the Lukas . Andreas Karasiak, Tenor Gewandhausorchester who were – besides playing large-scale symphonic and operatic repertoire – eager to work with performance practice on a more individual level. Morten Schuldt-Jensen, principal conductor and artistic Simon . Stephan MacLeod, Bass director since 2000, has developed the orchestra into being a flexible ensemble with a very personal style. With him the Leipziger Kammerorchester has toured in Denmark, Spain, Korea and Japan, appeared at the Rheingau and Schleswig-Holstein Music Festivals and made a number of recordings. Orchestra and conductor aim to perform compositions on modern instruments with extra attention to articulation, phrasing and the changing colours of sound. The technical possibilities of modern instruments are combined with the newest insights into performance practice from baroque to contemporary music, thus allowing every stylistic period and every piece to be experienced according to its inner musical structure. GewandhausKammerchor Leipziger Kammerorchester Morten Schuldt-Jensen 8.557600-01 2 11 8.557600-01 557600-01bk Haydn US 8/11/05 2:04 pm Page 10 Stephan MacLeod CD1 66:25 The bass-baritone Stephan MacLeod was born in Geneva. After ten years of studying violin and piano at the Conservatoire de Musique de Genève, he started DER FRÜHLING / SPRING 28:48 singing lessons with Michèle Moser and later with Ursula Buckel. He was a 1 No. 1: Einleitung / Introduction: Die Einleitung stellt den Übergang vom Winter zum Sommer dar / 5:44 member of the singing class of Kurt Moll at the Hochschule für Musik in Cologne, The Overture paints the passage of the Winter to the Spring where he also studied musicology. He graduated at the Conservatoire Lausanne in Recitative: Seht, wie der strenge Winter flieht / See, how sad, gloomy winter fly’s (Simon, Lukas, Hanne) the singing class of Gary Magby. Stephan MacLeod has appeared as a soloist under 2 No. 2 – Chorus: Komm, holder Lenz! / Come, gentle spring! 3:26 the direction of many of the most distinguished conductors in nearly all European 3 No. 3 – Recitative: Vom Widder strahlet jetzt / Now in his course the sun (Simon) 0:31 4 countries, in addition to Israel, Japan, China, South America, Canada and the No. 4 – Aria: Schon eilet froh der Ackersmann / With eagerness the husbandman (Simon) 3:15 5 United States. He has performed with leading orchestras, and has a repertoire that No. 5 – Recitative: Der Landmann hat sein Werk vollbracht / The countryman has done his due 0:30 includes renaissance and baroque music, the romantic Lied and oratorio as well as (Lukas) 6 No. 6 – Soloists and Chorus: Bittgesang / Prayer 4:54 contemporary works. His career has brought operatic engagements and he has Sei nun gnädig, milder Himmel / Be now gracious, O kind heaven (Lukas, Simon, Hanne, Chorus) made numerous recordings and broadcasts. He is the founder and leader of the 7 No. 7 – Recitative: Erhört ist unser Flehn / Our humble pray’rs are heard (Hanne) 0:54 ensemble Gli Angeli Genève. 8 No. 8 – Trio and Chorus: Freudenlied, mit abwechseldem Chor der Jugend / Song of joy, with an alternating chorus of girls and lads O wie lieblich ist der Anblick / O what num’rous charms unfolding 4:53 (Hanne, Lukas, Simon, Chorus) 9 No. 9 – Soloists and Chorus: Ewiger, mächtiger / Endless God, mighty God, merciful God 4:42 (Hanne, Lukas, Simon, Chorus) DER SOMMER / SUMMER 37:37 Die Einleitung stellt die Morgendämmerung vor / The overture paints the dawn of day 0 No. 10 – Recitative: In grauem Schleier rückt heran / Her face in dewy veil conceal’d (Lukas, Simon) 4:31 ! No. 11 – Aria: Der muntre Hirt versammelt nun / The ready swain is gath’ring now (Simon) 3:06 Recitative: Die Morgenröte bricht hervor / With rosy steps young day pours in (Hanne) @ No. 12 – Soloists and Chorus: Sie steigt herauf, die Sonne / The sun ascends, he mounts 4:39 (Hanne, Lukas, Simon, Chorus) # No. 13 – Recitative: Nun regt und bewegt sich alles umher / Now comes in swarms the rustic youth 0:37 (Simon) $ No. 14 – Recitative: Die Mittagssonne brennet jetzt / ’Tis noon, and vertical the sun (Simon) 1:28 % No. 15 – Cavatina: Dem Druck’ erlieget die Natur / Distressfull nature fainting sinks (Lukas) 4:27 ^ No. 16 – Recitative: Willkommen jetzt, o dunkler Hain / O welcome now, ye shady groves (Hanne) 3:58 & No. 17 – Aria: Welche Labung für die Sinne / O what comfort to the senses (Hanne) 4:28 * No. 18 – Recitative: O seht, es steiget in der schwülen Luft / Behold! On yonder edge 2:34 of mountains high (Simon, Lukas, Hanne) ( No. 19 – Chorus: Ach! Das Ungewitter