SKU: A0.1137849

This album contains 5 of Johann Sebastian Bach's most famous and versatile pieces for clarinet quartet, all very well suited for the beginners who want to get to know the baroque repertoire. They are also suitable for performances at events such as: weddings, Christian and church ceremonies, Easter, and academic recitals or concerts. They can be used in music institutions and by teachers as repertoire material and study methods, either for performance or instrumental technique. This collection includes a totally free bonus for you to enjoy: Martin Luther's A Mighty Fortress is Our God, a Renaissance sacred song for choir, which has been adapted for this set. 1: Air on the G String - The original piece is part of Johann Sebastian Bach's Suite No. 3 for orchestra, in D Major, BWV 1068, written for Prince Leopold of Anhalt. The so-called Air on the G String dates from one of these latter employments. In the service of the Prince of Cöthen, Bach composed not only the famous Brandenburg Concertos, but also several orchestral suites, from the third of which comes the Air on the G String. This curious title derives from a later arrangement of this piece for violin solo, in which the melody is played entirely on the lower, higher string of the instrument. 2: Arioso - The Cantata 156 (BWV 156) was written for the third Sunday after Epiphany in 1729, and was first performed on January 23 of that year. The text is by Picander, one of Bach's favorite librettists. Of the four cantatas written by Bach for the feast, it was the last and only one scored for solo voice. This is a choral cantata, employing a choral melody in several movements. Cantata 156, in fact, employs two different choral melodies and texts in the second and sixth movements. A cantata is a sung symphony consisting of several parts, one of which is the Arioso, which is the initial instrumental part. 3: Jesu, joy of man's desiring - This is one of Bach's most beautiful cantatas, made famous by the Jesus the Joy of Men chorus. It was originally composed for Advent 1716 in Weimar. Years later, already in Leipzig, Advent was tempus clausum, there was no music in the churches. Bach then reworked it for the Feast of Mary's Visitation. It is the final chorale of the cantata Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben. Although it is the 32nd cantata composed by Bach, of those that have survived, it was given BWV 147 in the complete catalog of his works. 4: O Jesulein süss, o Jesulein mild - The Jesulein süß, the Jesulein mild is an original traditional German choral melody for voice and continuous bass arranged by Johann Sebastian Bach around 1735. With lyrics by Valentin Thilo, O Jesulein süss is a sacred melody adapted and catalogued as BWV 493. The first translation is by Dirk van Hogendorp, who made it more of a song for the time of suffering. 5: Minuet in G major - This famous piece has traditionally been attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach, as it appears in the Notebook for Anna Magdalena , a notebook that Bach gave to his wife Anna Magdalena in 1725 and which was to be filled with the favorite selections of Bach family members. However, recent research has concluded that this minuet, sometimes referred to as BWV Anhang 114. was probably composed by Christian Petzold, a German composer and organist contemporary with Bach. Bonus: A Mighty Fortress is Our God, by Martin Luther - Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott is a hymn written by Martin Luther probably before 1529. The melody was also considered his work for a long time, but it was created at least with the collaboration of Johann Walter. The song is of great symbolic power for Protestantism, where it is also known as Deus noster refugium et virtus. Considered one of the most important hymns in the history of Christianity, it was considered by the Christian poet Johann Heirich Heine (1797-1856) to be the Marseillaise of the Reformation, in an allusion to the French national anthem.

SKU: A0.1260025

INSTRUMENTATION: 2 Clarinets in Bb, 1 Alto Calrinet, 1 Bass Clarinet
1. Kyrie
2. Gloria
3. Credo
4. Sanctus
5. Agnus dei
6. Ite missa est

Guillaume de Machaut composed the Messe de Nostre Dame, also known as the Mass of Our Lady, in the early 1360s. He wrote the mass for the Cathedral at Reims, where he served as a canon, a permanent clergy member. According to a rubric found at the Cathedral, it would have likely been performed for the Saturday Lady Mass. 

Guillaume de Machaut's Messe de Nostre Dame is significant in the history of music for several reasons:

1. It is the first complete setting of the Ordinary of the Mass by a single composer that has survived.
2. It is a unified mass, meaning that the composer selected relevant chants for each section as the borrowed tenor.
3. It was composed in four voices, which was unusual at the time.
4. The texts of both Gloria and Credo are quite lengthy, and therefore Machaut set these movements in a style reminiscent of the earlier discant style, having short phrases, similar rhythmic motion in all parts, and a low ratio of notes per syllable of text, both ending with long, rhapsodic sections for the final word, Amen.

Machaut's Messe de Nostre Dame is a landmark in musical history, but it is far from being avant-garde merely for the sake of uniqueness. It is considered to be a culmination of the musical style of the Ars Nova period, which was characterized by complex polyphonic textures and rhythmic innovations. The mass is also significant because it was composed during a time of great political and social upheaval in Europe, and it reflects the changing attitudes towards religion and music during this period. Overall, Machaut's Messe de Nostre Dame is a significant work that represents a culmination of the musical style of the Ars Nova period and reflects the changing attitudes towards religion and music during the 14th century. 

The mass consists of five movements: Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei, followed by the dismissal Ite, missa est. The tenor of the Kyrie is based on Vatican Kyrie IV, the Sanctus, and Agnus correspond to Vatican Mass XVII, and the Ite is on Sanctus VIII. The Gloria and Credo have no apparent chant basis, although they are stylistically related to one another. The mass is a unified mass, meaning that the composer selected relevant chants for each section as the borrowed tenor. The Messe de Nostre Dame is significant in the history of music because it is the first complete setting of the Ordinary of the Mass by a single composer that has survived. It is also significant because it was composed during a time of great political and social upheaval in Europe, and it reflects the changing attitudes towards religion and music during this period. 

Overall, the Messe de Nostre Dame was an important part of the liturgical practices of the time, and it is still regarded as a masterpiece of medieval music and of all religious music.

SKU: A0.1259372

INSTRUMENTATION: 2 Clarinets in Bb, 1 Alto Clarinet, 1 Bass Clarinet
1. Kyrie
2. Gloria
3. Credo
4. Sanctus
5. Agnus dei
6. Ite missa est

Guillaume de Machaut composed the Messe de Nostre Dame, also known as the Mass of Our Lady, in the early 1360s. He wrote the mass for the Cathedral at Reims, where he served as a canon, a permanent clergy member. According to a rubric found at the Cathedral, it would have likely been performed for the Saturday Lady Mass. 

Guillaume de Machaut's Messe de Nostre Dame is significant in the history of music for several reasons:

1. It is the first complete setting of the Ordinary of the Mass by a single composer that has survived.
2. It is a unified mass, meaning that the composer selected relevant chants for each section as the borrowed tenor.
3. It was composed in four voices, which was unusual at the time.
4. The texts of both Gloria and Credo are quite lengthy, and therefore Machaut set these movements in a style reminiscent of the earlier discant style, having short phrases, similar rhythmic motion in all parts, and a low ratio of notes per syllable of text, both ending with long, rhapsodic sections for the final word, Amen.

Machaut's Messe de Nostre Dame is a landmark in musical history, but it is far from being avant-garde merely for the sake of uniqueness. It is considered to be a culmination of the musical style of the Ars Nova period, which was characterized by complex polyphonic textures and rhythmic innovations. The mass is also significant because it was composed during a time of great political and social upheaval in Europe, and it reflects the changing attitudes towards religion and music during this period. Overall, Machaut's Messe de Nostre Dame is a significant work that represents a culmination of the musical style of the Ars Nova period and reflects the changing attitudes towards religion and music during the 14th century. 

The mass consists of five movements: Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei, followed by the dismissal Ite, missa est. The tenor of the Kyrie is based on Vatican Kyrie IV, the Sanctus, and Agnus correspond to Vatican Mass XVII, and the Ite is on Sanctus VIII. The Gloria and Credo have no apparent chant basis, although they are stylistically related to one another. The mass is a unified mass, meaning that the composer selected relevant chants for each section as the borrowed tenor. The Messe de Nostre Dame is significant in the history of music because it is the first complete setting of the Ordinary of the Mass by a single composer that has survived. It is also significant because it was composed during a time of great political and social upheaval in Europe, and it reflects the changing attitudes towards religion and music during this period. 

Overall, the Messe de Nostre Dame was an important part of the liturgical practices of the time, and it is still regarded as a masterpiece of medieval music and of all religious music.