Gyorgy Vashegyi; Purcell Choir; Orfeo Orchestra; Emoke Bara¡th; Klara Kolonits; Theodora Raftis;
Description
This new CD presents the world premiere recording of Michael Haydn's oratorio "Emperor Constantine I Campaign and Victory", performed here by Gyorgy Vashegyi, the Orfeo Orchestra and Purcell Choir.
Michael Haydn was a widely respected composer during his lifetime, but after his death he was almost forgotten in the shadow of the epoch-making art of his elder brother Joseph. Only in recent decades has his great oeuvre been gradually rediscovered.
The score of his oratorio "Emperor Constantine I Campaign and Victory" was long considered lost, but was only recently rediscovered in the Esterházy Music Archive in Budapest and is now being presented as the first time on sound recording.
The work was written as an oratorio for Lent and first performed in Salzburg in 1762. The oratorio tells the story of Emperor Constantine I, who received a heavenly sign at the Battle of the Milvinian Bridge in Rome in 312, thereby achieving victory and converting to the Christian faith. Various allegorical figures such as Faith, Fortitude, Faintheartedness or Theology polemicise about Christian doctrine and faith until Constantine's victory becomes a certain fact. Michael Haydn sets this theological dispute to colourful and lush music, the artistry of which testifies to the high quality of the singers and especially the wind players at the Salzburg court.
CRITICAL ACCLAIM:
"Vashyegi and his forces offer a stylish reading of this attractive score, with impressive wind playing and solo singing that is fully alert to the text." – Choir & Organ (5 STARS)
Tracklisting
Soloists; Les Traversees Baroques; Meyer
Luigi De Donato; Collegium 1704; Vaclav Luks
Ars Antiqua Austria; Gunar Letzbor
Sigiswald Kuijken; La Petite Band
Sigiswald Kuijken
Il Gardellino
Jean-Francois Madeuf; Julian Zimmermann; Barbara Konrad; The Rossetti Players
The Harmonious Society of Tickle-Fiddle Gentlemen
