Laudes Organi - Missa Brevis

• Choruses make up the bulk of Zoltan Kodaly's oeuvre; almost no other 20th-century composer has shown a greater knowledge of the genre or a greater devotion to it. Two of his major choral works are united on this CD, both for mixed chorus with organ, of which the Missa Brevis is the composer's last completed work. In both works the organ is not merely accompanying, but the equal of the choral part. Laudes Organi is a hymn to the organ on a text from a 12th century manuscript and the Missa Brevis has an extended Introitus for organ solo.

• The recording was made in the last year completely restored Berlin Cathedral (Berlilter Dom), with Edgar Krapp playing the world-famous organ, built by Wilhelm Sauer in 1905, one of the largest instruments in the world.

• All our CDs with the Netherlands Chamber Choir have met with unanimous international acclaim, and we are sure that the present one (recorded in October 1993) will be even more triumphant!

 

The Netherlands Chamber Choir was founded in 1937 by the now legendary conductor and pianist Felix de Nobel. Such composers as Francis Poulenc, Hendrik Andriessen, Henk Badings and Rudolf Escher wrote works for the Netherlands Chamber Choir. In 1965 the Dutch government decided to undertake to bear the payment of the singers completely. This enabled the Netherlands Chamber Choir to occupy a unique place among the professional choirs in Europe without any firm bond to an opera house or a broadcasting corporation.

The Netherlands Chamber Choir applies itself fitrst of all to the repertory for a cappella chorus. The repertory of the Netherlands Chamber Choir spans almost the whole of Western music, ranging from the early Middle Ages to contemporary music. Uwe Gronostay bas been the artistic director and principal conductor since March 1, 1988. 

Edgar Krapp was born in Bamberg in 1947; he studied organ with Franz Lehrndorfer in Munich and with Marie-Claire Alain in Paris. On winning first prize in the Munich ARD-Wettbewerb, he quickly profiled himself, while playing in Europe, America and Japan, as a musician who combines virtuosity with a decided feeling for style and musical individuality. His repertoire spans music from the early Baroque to the present day. He has co-operated in many recordings for CDs, radio and television; for three of them he received the Deutsche Schallplattenpreis and the Grand Prix du Disque. Edgar Krapp has been leader of the organ class at the Frank- furter Musikhochschule since 1974, as successor to Helmut Walcha.