Paul Ignaz Liechtenauer: 4 Masses op. 2

Featuring

Elvira Bill
Georg Poplutz
Johannes Hill
Maria Ladurner
Michael Alexander Willens
Kölner Akademie

Paul Ignaz Liechtenauer

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Compositional Technique

Liechtenauer's Masses include coloraturas, or elaborate vocal ornamentation, to highlight significant words like 'Father' or 'Amen,' and to musically represent concepts like 'praise' or 'descent from the heavens.'

Composition History

Liechtenauer's Masses Op. 2 were published in 1741 by Johann Jakob Lotter in Augsburg, the same year J.S. Bach was completing his Mass in B minor.

Composition History

Unlike Bach's Mass in B minor, which was too long for liturgical use, Liechtenauer's Masses were designed with moderate duration and modest musical forces, making them suitable for church services.

Composer Biography

Paul Ignaz Liechtenauer (1673/74-1756) was born over a decade before J.S. Bach and died in the year of Mozart's birth, making him a contemporary of Bach and Handel.

Critical Reception

Paul Ignaz Liechtenauer was largely forgotten after the early 20th century, despite being present in music encyclopedias until then; this CD aims to bring his music back into contemporary musical consciousness.

Composer Biography

Liechtenauer served as Kapellmeister and organist at Osnabrück Cathedral for over 40 years, from 1715 to 1756.

Compositional Technique

Similar to Handel's Messiah, Liechtenauer uses an 'a cappella' effect in his Masses, where the orchestra falls silent during the 'Crucifixus' section to emphasize the solemnity of death.