Briegel: Zwölff madrigalische Trost-Gesänge & Fugen durch die 8 Kirchentöne

Featuring

Klaus Eichhorn
Ensemble Polyharmonique
Wolfgang Carl Briegel

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Composer Biography

Wolfgang Carl Briegel (1626-1712) received his initial musical training in Nuremberg under Johann Andreas Herbst (1588-1666) and was exposed to the latest Italian compositional styles.

Compositional Technique

Briegel's "Trost-Gesänge" collection includes various approaches to text setting, from "Spruchmotetten" where each phrase gets unique musical treatment, to hybrid styles combining motet and homophonic chorale settings.

Composition History

Wolfgang Carl Briegel (1626-1712) published his "Zwölff madrigalische Trost-Gesänge" in 1671 as a solemn farewell to his sovereign, Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha, after over two decades of service.

Instruments

The Ehrlich organ in Markt Nordheim, built in 1786, was restored to its original state (2017-2019) and has a higher tuning (A=473 Hz), requiring some pieces to be transposed downward for this recording.

Composer Biography

Wolfgang Carl Briegel (1626-1712) was responsible for the musical education of Duke Ernst I's children, but tragically, three of his young pupils died during a smallpox outbreak in 1657.

Interpretation

Ensemble Polyharmonique has arranged Briegel's "Trost-Gesänge" to reflect a baroque proportion, with the first half mirrored in the second, centered around the Latin-texted "Si bona suscepimus."

Historical Context

Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha (1605-75), also known as 'the Pious,' was a devout Lutheran and reformer who offered refuge to Lutherans fleeing persecution and implemented a progressive School Ordinance in 1642.