Credits:

Bach, J.S. / Sarecchia / Kuijken

Description:

Leopold I, the 10th Holy Roman Emperor. Although he inherited a territory decimated by the Thirty Years' War, he used his political power to expand the territory and establish a foothold for the restoration of the Habsburg dynasty. Highly educated and a gifted composer, the emperor wrote numerous works during his lifetime, including more than 150 arias in Italian, 80 pieces of church music, and 17 pieces of ballet music. The requiem was written when his first wife, Margarita Teresa de España (German name Margarete Theresa von Spaniene), died on March 12, 1673, leaving the then 33-year-old monarch in great grief. To soothe his grief with music, he composed the "Missa pro defunctis" (Mass for the Dead), a large-scale work in the key of G minor, which has been considered to express "bitter and sad feelings" since the 16th century, for a five-voice chorus and an instrumental ensemble with three trombones and a bass continuo. The fact that the emperor's works continued to be performed well into the late 18th century is no doubt due not only to the respect paid to the monarch, but also to their high degree of perfection. The Bremen Weser-Renaissance, conducted by Manfred Cordes, who specializes in works from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Naxos Japan