Catalogue | Organ

This SACD presents a selection of both vibrant and meditative organ music for Christmas, stretching from small and modest miniatures to more formal, classical compositions. Apart from their festive-pastoral character, the works on this disc share the same period and region of origin: they were written between the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries and stem from an area encompassing southern Germany, Austria, Bohemia and Croatia. All composers represented here are firmly rooted in the Catholic church music tradition of these regions.

The historical sound of the main organ of the Abbey Church of Muri renders these gems for the organ particularly rich in colour. The historical organ in this famous Abbey in the Swiss Canton of Aargau is an important musical monument, enjoying great international esteem, and is visited each year by experts and enthusiasts from all over the world.

Johannes Strobl has performed as a soloist and ensemble musician in many European countries and in Israel, Japan, the USA, Brazil and Argentina. In 1998 he was a prizewinner at the Paul Hofhaimer Competition in Innsbruck, and in 2000 together with “Les Cornets Noirs” – an ensemble specialized in 17th-century music – at the “concours musica antiqua” in Bruges. Johannes Strobl also appears with increasing frequency as conductor of Cappella Murensis, a professional vocal ensemble which found its home in the Abbey Church at Muri in 2002. He and his ensemble achieved outstanding success with the release of the rediscovered “Mass of Muri” by Johann Valentin Rathgeber (aud.92.559). Since 2001 Johannes Strobl has been organist at the Abbey Church at Muri. In addition to his ecclesiastical duties he is the artistic director of the concert series “Music in the Abbey Church at Muri”.

• Audiophile Audition | Peter Joelson | January 31, 2010

  The organ at the Abbey Church of Muri makes another welcome appearance on this superb recording of Preludes for Holy Christmastide. Not a disc for...

• Bayern 4 Klassik - CD-Tipp | Matthias Keller | November 30, 2009

  Kein kirchliches Hochfest wurzelt so sehr in volkstümlichem Ambiente wie Weihnachten. Insofern liefert dieses Fest seine „Folklore“ praktisch...

• Das Opernglas | Michael Lehnert | January 12, 2009

  CD-Special
  Hörtipps zum Fest
  Wie in jedem Dezember stürzt auch 2009 wieder eine Flut an Weihnachts-CDs...

• Der neue Merker | Michael Karrass | November 25, 2009

  Die vorliegende Einspielung präsentiert eine Auswahl lebendiger und meditativer Orgelwerke zur Weihnachtszeit. Sie reicht von kleinen, bescheidenen...

• Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung | Christiane Tewinkel | December 23, 2009

  Singe, wem Gesang gegeben
  Natürlich muss heute Abend gesungen werden. Nichts bietet schöneren...

• Glaube + Heimat - Mitteldeutsche Kirchenzeitung | Michael Klein | November 29, 2009

  Präludien: Weihnachtliche Orgelmusik entwickelte sich im katholischen Süddeutschland, insbesondere in den als Kulturzentren wirkenden Abteien, in...

• Organ | Axel Wilberg | January 10, 2010

  Zu Weihnachten hat – ausnahmsweise – noch immer sakrale Musik, und...

• ouverture Das Klassik-Blog | reagenz | February 12, 2009

  Wenn die Orgel Bordunbässe fröhlich dröhnen lässt, wenn die Melodien in Terzen laufen und in Siciliano-Rhythmen daherhüpfen, wenn die Flöten...

• www.musicweb-international.com | Dan Morgan | January 11, 2009

  One of the attractions of this Christmas collection is that the music is unfamiliar. I’ve certainly grown a little weary of the same old festive...