Bartholomäus Gesius
Bartholomäus Gesius wrote choral Passions in German and Latin and hymn settings for the Lutheran church. His melody for the Easter hymn Heut triumphieret Gottes Sohn was later taken up by Buxtehude and Bach, and his name also stands on arrangements of In dulci jubilo.
The music is practical sacred work from the decades around 1600: Passions for chorus, hymn melodies and part-settings meant for liturgy and feast days. His lines sit in the late Renaissance and early Baroque church tradition, the kind of seasonal repertory choirs still reach for when they want familiar texts without the usual Victorian gloss.
Compositions by Bartholomäus Gesius appear on
Merry Christmas
Elizabeth Anderson and friends put a fresh twist on Christmas carols: eight tracks packaged as a Christmas card, with a vibrant cover and space for a personal inscription.
A Baroque Christmas
The music on this CD is a historical Christmas “pick of the pops”, from the late 1400s to the end of the Baroque period. Directed by Douglas Lawrence, the Australian Chamber Choir offers a programme recorded live in concert during their 2019 European tour. The 17 tracks are drawn from lesser-known seasonal works, championing a sublime repertoire that is all too often neglected.