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Sacri Concentus - Antiphone (1681)
Rupert Ignaz Mayr

Sacri Concentus - Antiphone (1681)

Ars Antiqua Austria / Gunar Letzbor

Label: Challenge Classics
Format: SACD
Barcode: 0608917282825
barcode
Catalog number: CC 72828
Releasedate: 06-09-19
- Second volume devoted to the precious, but little known, sacred works by Rupert Mayr
- After the psalms, it is now the turn of Antiphones, one of the oldest parts of liturgical service
- Once again Gunar Letzbor and his group let us discover hidden gems of the Baroque
- Musicweb on volume 1 (CC 72759): “...extraordinarily beautiful music”
 
Following on from the highly expressive psalm settings, we now present the glorious antiphons of the master from Schärding am Inn: exquisite church music which Emperor Leopold I himself proclaimed as being definitive for the Catholic lands.

Originally, the antiphon denoted a Gregorian chant that was sung by two parties opposite each other. Often a single performer was answered by a group of singers. The antiphon would later disengage from the psalm on which it was commenting. The antiphons set by Mayr represent a special form of the genre, so-called Marian antiphons, almost all of which are addressed to the Mother of God. Only In terras descendam is intended for Christmas. The antiphonal practice is still apparent in all antiphons in the alternation between singers and instrumentalists.