Assisi Christmas Cantatas

World Prèmiere Recordings
ASSISI CHRISTMAS CANTATAS
Weihnachtskantaten aus Assisi

FRANCESCO MARIA BENEDETTI (1683 - 1746)
Cantata Morale per il Santissimo Natale · Salve Regina
P. ZUCARI (ca. 1600): Salve Regina
G.B.PO DEL FINALE: "Oh quam jubilat" Motetto per il Santissimo Natale
NICOLA ANTONIO PORPORA (1686 - 1766):
"Stelle lucide" Kantate für Sopran und Streicher,Bc.

RUTH ZIESAK, soprano · REINHOLD FRIEDRICH, trumpet
L'ARTE DEL MONDO · WERNER EHRHARDT

Christmas Treasures from the library of the SACRO CONVENTO in ASSISI
Music researcher and conductor WERNER EHRHARDT has already attracted a lot of interest this year with his CD recordings of Mozart contemporary Joseph Martin Kraus: Amphitryon (Phoenix Edition CD 111) and "La Primavera", Solo Cantatas with Simone Kermes (Phoenix Edition SACD 101).
Another sensation in music history has been provided for as well because Werner Ehrhardt achieved something with the CHRISTMAS CANTATAS from ASSISI he recorded on here that most researchers had been denied for the most part up to this point: access to the extensive music library of the SACRO CONVENTO in Assisi.
The library contains a variety of works from the last 700 years that had been unknown until now, including quite a few unique copies of the "Maestri di Capella" residing there. Partially they were students or colleagues of famous Padre Martini, who did not only compose but had also been a Franciscan priest.

This production is not only particularly recommendable because of its repertoire but also against the background of the importance of the place where this music was performed, which has remained famous to this day and has an almost mystical appearance to it. This CD program puts us in the tradition and musical culture of Assisi during the 18th century. The music comes very close to the Neapolitan tradition; most musicians of Assisi came from Naples at the time or were strongly influenced from there.
The works itself captivate through their simplicity, yet with their chamber music setting for the most part, they do not fall short of their impact. The ostentatious or pompous was unknown in Assisi. The number of musicians was limited, which was not only due to the limited amount of financial resources. It seems as if the simplicity and the contemplative character of the compositions have always been program precepts. Christmas means contemplation, stillness, and self-communion - words that have increasingly become estranged in our time of age.

Being committed to the music history tradition and performance practice, WERNER EHRHARDT and his L'ARTE DEL MONDO ensemble have revived the Christmas cantatas that had been forgotten for a number of centuries. Also performing are RUTH ZIESAK (soprano) and REINHOLD FRIEDRICH (trumpet) - a dream cast for these world premieres of Italian Christmas music.