Rosenmüller: In te Domine speravi

Featuring

Manfred Cordes
Weser-Renaissance Bremen
Johann Rosenmüller

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Composer Biography

Johann Rosenmüller, the composer, was imprisoned in Leipzig in 1655 on accusations of "grievous excesses" and fled to Venice to avoid trial.

Interpretation

The WESER-RENAISSANCE Ensemble of Bremen, which performs on this album, uses a variable lineup of internationally sought-after vocal soloists and specialized instrumentalists on original period instruments to achieve a vibrant and musicologically flawless performance.

Performer Biography

Manfred Cordes, the conductor of Weser-Renaissance, is a specialist in 16th and 17th-century music who views himself as an intermediary between musicology and performance.

Compositional Technique

Rosenmüller's vocal music is notable for its imaginative text treatment, playing with contrasts between homophony and polyphony, solos and tuttis, and polychoral spatial effects.

Composer Biography

After fleeing Leipzig, Rosenmüller settled in Venice, where he became a trombonist at St. Mark's Basilica and a 'maestro di coro' at the Ospedale della Pietà, an institution later associated with Antonio Vivaldi.

Composition History

The seven settings of Psalm 31 by Johann Rosenmüller on this album use only the first six verses of the psalm, which include the words 'Into thy hands I commit my spirit' – Christ's last words on the cross.

Cultural Impact

Johann Rosenmüller's compositional techniques, including his treatment of instruments, part-writing, and major-minor tonality, helped form the musical 'grammar' for the generation of Bach and Telemann.