John Eliot Gardiner & Monteverdi Choir & English Baroque Soloists
Bach Cantatas & Other Vocal Works
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Monteverdi Choir & English Baroque Soloists - Bach Cantatas News (March 10, 2005)

Thank you so much to the many of you who wrote such wonderful messages after the release of the first two Bach Cantatas albums. We were so pleased you enjoyed them, and I am pleased to inform you that the next double album (containing the concerts which took place in Altenburg and Warwick) will be available from our website from mid-April. More details will be on the website in the next couple of weeks, www.monteverdiproductions.co.uk

We are also looking at adding features and information to our website, including an automatic ordering system for those wishing to automatically receive each new release and, following requests from those who do not like reading white text on black, we shall post the sleeve notes on the website so it will be easy to print them out black on white.

We are also trying to improve the packaging of the cantatas and make it more user-friendly: one of the subjects being discussed is whether we should put the BWV numbers on the spine of the albums or not. The advantage is that obviously it would make it easier to find a particular cantata at a glance, without having to pull out CDs to read the back cover. The disadvantage is that with so many cantatas in each album and a very thin spine the numbers will not be that clear and...it does not look great either! If you have a moment to email me on isagardiner@monteverdiproductions.co.uk with your thoughts on this particular question, it would be a great help in making a decision.

Again, thank you for your encouragement and support: I hope you will continue to enjoy the BCP recordings.

Best wishes,

Isabella Gardiner
SDG

Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra News 5 May 2005

EW BACH CANTATA VOLUME IS NOW AVAILABLE!

First of all I would like to thank the many of you who replied to my previous email with comments, suggestions, and compliments (and criticism too): although I could not reply to everybody individually, your input has been most helpful!

On the issue of the numbers on the spine, the overwhelming majority did not think it was important – thus making the designers very happy! - so we shall not put the BWV numbers on the spine, but we WILL make sure that an index of all cantatas and the volume number in which they are contained will be available on the website as soon as possible. We will also try to incorporate a search engine devised by one of our list members, which will allow searches for individual movements as well as complete cantatas.

A couple of issues were raised in a few emails, which I thought might be useful to address:

1- Many asked what is the logic behind the numbering of each volume: as JSB started his Leipzig cycles with the first Sunday after Trinity, we have started the numbering from the CD containing the cantatas for that Sunday. However for the sake of variety (and for practical reasons to do with exclusivities with DGG etc.) we decided not to release the volumes in numerical order, hence the first two albums to be released were volumes 1 and 8, and the next one is no. 24.

2- Some reported difficulties extracting the CDs from the wallets: I have to say that in none of the ones we have handled (and they have been quite a few!) there was a problem getting the CD out of the wallet. Pushing from the bottom and slightly tilting the packaging may help though. As for the safety of the wallets, the CD coating will not be affected by normal sliding it in and out of the wallet – but it will scratch if rubbed against sharp objects!

The black on white texts, which some felt would be useful, will be on the website in the next few days.

I hope this answers the main issues raised in your emails, but please do keep in touch: Riitta and I shall be happy to answer any further queries.

And now for the NEWS: The new BCP release is ready and can be ordered as of today from our website. Mailing list subscribers can benefit from a 20% discount until 30th June by entering the code WMP505 in the appropriate box when ordering the product.

NEW FEATURES are also now in place:

- Automatic order facility is now available: if you subscribe, an order will be automatically placed for you every time a Bach Cantata recording is issued, at the reduced price of £15 per double CD and £9.99 for a single CD (there will be 3 single CDs in the series, but still in the same packaging).
NB your credit card will only be charged once the individual orders are processed.

- Delivery Address facility now available: from now on you will be able to order CDs and have them delivered to an address different from your credit card billing address – useful for ordering presents for all your friends!

We do hope you will continue to support our new label: it has been really exciting so far, and we were all (John Eliot first of all) overwhelmed by the positive and encouraging feedback we received for the first two releases. We will do our outmost to make sure we continue to make really special recordings. Thanks to a seed sponsorship from the Junta de Castilla y Leon in Spain we shall be recording a new CD next week, a follow up on the popular Santiago a Cappella with more Spanish polyphony from the 12th to the 17th century, which we hope to release next Spring.

In the meantime I hope you enjoy the new CD!

With best wishes,

Isabella Gardiner

Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra News 16 August 2005

NEWS: A NEW BACH CANTATA VOLUME AND OTHER RELEASES

I am pleased to inform you that SDG 110 (Cantatas for the 19th Sunday after Trinity, recorded in Potsdam, and for the Feast of Reformation, recorded in Wittenberg) is now ready and available to mailing list members from our website.

It contains two of Bach’s best known cantatas, BWV 56, the “Kreutzstab” cantata, sung by Peter Harvey, and “Ein Feste Burg is unser Gott”, but I hope that the other cantatas – probably some of the least known! - will become new favourites.

Subscribers to the whole series will not need to place an order for this CD: it will be automatically sent to you first and you should receive by next week.

Other mailing list members can order SDG 110 volume 10, from tomorrow through our website - as usual and will receive 15% discount by entering the code WMP809. This special offer is valid until Saturday 15th October, 05.

Just to remind those who are not yet subscribers to the whole series; You can obtain all Bach Cantata Pilgrimage releases at a special 25 % discount and as soon as they become available - visit our website for further details.

NEW BACH WORK RELEASED SOON

There are more Bach treats in store from SDG this autumn: first and foremost the world premiere recording of Alles mit Gott, a birthday offering by JS Bach to Prince Wilhelm Ernst of Saxony which was discovered in Weimar last May. It is a lovely piece which has not been heard for almost 300 years, for soprano (sung by Elin Manahan Thomas) and continuo, with a string ritornello performed by members of the English Baroque Soloists.

It was only by complete coincidence, that the manuscript survived the fire which destroyed a large part of the Anna Amalia library in Weimar last year, as Michael Maul, who discovered the piece, tells in the liner notes. We were thrilled and honoured when the Director of Bach Archive in Leipzig emailed us asking if John Eliot would consider making the first recording of this piece, and extremely lucky to find a sponsor (die Viscount St. Davids Stiftung in conjunction with the AuBACH group of companies) who allowed us to plan and produce this recording in …record time!

The rest of the CD contains a selection of some of the most beautiful arias and choruses from as yet unreleased volumes of the Cantata Pilgrimage. It is packaged in a digipack with a beautiful landscape by Steve McCurry on the cover.

Please note that this CD is not part of the series, so it will not be automatically sent to BCP subscribers on release: you need order it separately. The price is £12.99 but all mailing list members can use the same discount code, WMP809, to obtain a 15% reduction. The CD will be available from early September on our website.

All our CD prices include postage worldwide.


NEXT BACH CANTATA VOLUME

Finally there will be one more volume of the BCP before the end of the year, our first single CD containing wonderful Christmas cantatas: it will be released in October, which will hopefully help our list members solve a few Christmas present problems! More about this CD will follow next month, as well as a competition to win tickets for the Monteverdi’s Bach tour in December (tour dates below) which will feature Seasonal cantatas as well as Alles mit Gott!

Thank you for your continuing support: we hope you enjoy the new CDs!

Best wishes

Isabella Gardiner


Forthcoming Bach Cantata performances include:

Rome - Teatro Olimpico 8 Dec 2005
Bach Cantatas
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Verona - Sant' Anastasia 9 Dec 2005
Bach Cantatas
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Amsterdam - Concertgebouw 13 Dec 2005
Bach Cantatas
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Berlin - Konzerthaus 14 Dec 2005
Bach Cantatas
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Braunschweig - Dom 15 Dec 2005
Bach Cantatas
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London - Cadogan Hall 18 Dec 2005
Bach cantatas
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Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra News 1 September 2005

Lots of good news for this September month.

I am extremely proud to announce that SDG 101 was today announced to be the winner of the Baroque Vocal category at the Gramophone Awards!

It also reached the finalist for Record of the Year 2005 list and now you can also vote for it on the Gramophone website: http://www.gramophone.co.uk – please vote for us!

The Awards ceremony will take place on 29^th September, so watch this space – you will be the first to know!

The world premiere recording of Alles mit Gott BWV 1127, the newly discovered Aria by Bach, has arrived! SDG 114 contains the new piece, a charming birthday tribute by J S Bach to his then employer, Prince Wilhelm Ernst of Saxony, is given a lovely first performance by soprano Elin Manahan Thomas accompanied by the principals of the English Baroque Soloists.

Alles mit Gott lasts just over 12 minutes, and the rest of the CD contains a selection of arias and choruses from some of our forthcoming releases. You will find further details on the website.

SDG 114 will officially go on sale on Monday 5 September, but list members can order it NOW at the special discount of 15 % including postage by entering the code WMP809.

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT ‘ALLES MIT GOTT’ IS NOT PART OF BACH CANTATA SERIES SUBSCRIPTION, SO IF YOU WANT TO RECEIVE IT YOU NEED TO ORDER IT SEPARATELY FROM THE WEBSITE!

Finally, we have one of our list members to thank for setting up a search engine specific to the SDG series and all existing Bach recordings by John Eliot Gardiner. You can access it from our website through this link:

http://www.cantatafinder.com/cantatafinder.php

It will not only tell you which volume you will find which cantatas in, but it offers full-text search, occasion, instrumentation, genre (e. g. chorale cantata, solo cantata/ choral cantata, Weimar cantata, secular cantata etc.), place and date of composition plus a selection of special features such as "sinfonia", or references to parodies, and re-use of hymns (the latter still incomplete). Alexander informs me that it is not quite complete yet, but there is certainly enough information there to make it a fantastic tool.

Many, many thanks to him, and to all our mailing list members for your continuing support!

Best wishes

Isabella Gardiner

Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra News 5 October 2005

am extremely pleased to announce that the 2005 Gramophone Awards produced a double whammy for SDG. As well as winning the Baroque Vocal category, SDG 101 was named Record of the Year! The awards ceremony, held at the Dorchester Hotel in London, was a sweet agony for the SDG team: we had no idea who would be the winner, and the editor of Gramophone, James Jolly, gave nothing away all through the ceremony until he unwrapped a blow-up of the winner’s cover, (facing away from the audience…) and finally revealed the now familiar bearded Afghan man on the cover of SDG 101!

The award was presented to Sir John Eliot Gardiner by Terry Waite, who made a touching and very personal speech about how he could draw on the music of Bach, which had always been a favourite, to help him through his long solitary confinement.

The public vote was instrumental in securing this award, so THANK YOU to all who voted and to all who wrote to congratulate us on the award: it will be difficult to top this achievement but…we’ll try!

The second announcement is that the next volume of Bach Cantatas is released today. SDG 113 is the first of our Christmas single CDs: recorded in New York on Christmas Day 2000. It contains cantatas for Christmas Day and for the Second day of Christmas, including the splendid BWV 110 Unser Mund sei voll Lachens, which Monteverdi will be performing in the forthcoming Bach tour in December - for dates and programme information click here.

Despite the blizzard which hit New York at the time of the concerts, these are truly heart-warming cantatas: we hope that this CD will be playing on your hi-fi on Christmas day. At the special price of £13.25 - available to subscribers at 25% discount.

Mailing list members can order SDG 113 at 15% discount for a limited period only until 30th November using discount code WMP809 through the Monteverdi Productions online shop: www.monteverdiproductions.co.uk/shop

We hope that this CD will appear under many Christmas trees (yes, it is -almost- that time of year again!!!).

That’s it now for this year: the next releases will appear in February 2006. Our new competition will be on the website next week: the prizes include a pair of tickets for the concert in London on 18th December and the very first edition of the facsimile score of Alles mit Gott BWV 1127.

Finally, you can download our latest newsletter - click here - it's packed full of exciting news about Monteverdi forthcoming performances in Europe and USA; all our new CDs; and includes an exclusive interview with the soprano Elin Manahan Thomas about making the first ever recording of Alles mit Gott.

With best wishes,
Isabella Gardiner

www.monteverdi.co.uk
www.monteverdiproductions.co.uk

ALLES MIT GOTT HAS ARRIVED!
The world premiere recording of Alles mit Gott BWV 1127, the newly discovered Aria by Bach, has arrived!
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MONTEVERDI WINS TWO GRAMOPHONE AWARDS!
SDG101, has today in London won a Gramophone Award in the Baroque Vocal category...
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MONTEVERDI WINS GRAMOPHONE RECORD OF THE YEAR 2005!
SDG101 wins Gramophone Record of the Year
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MONTEVERDI NEWSLETTER AUTUMN 2005
Packed full of exciting news about Monteverdi forthcoming performances and CDs...
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Rotterdam - de Doelen (Concertgebouw) 22 Oct 2005
Mendelssohn
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Castellon de la Plana - Auditorio de Castellon 29 Oct 2005
Mendelssohn
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Barcelona - Palau de la Música Catalana 31 Oct 2005
Mendelssohn
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Pamplona - Auditorio y Palacio de Congresos de Navarra 1 Nov 2005
Mendelssohn
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Madrid - Auditorio Nacional de España 2 Nov 2005
Mendelssohn
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Murcia - Auditorio Victor Villegas 3 Nov 2005
Mendelssohn
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Porto - Casa da Música 5 Nov 2005
Mendelssohn
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Rome - Teatro Olimpico 8 Dec 2005
Bach Cantatas
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Verona - Sant' Anastasia 9 Dec 2005
Bach Cantatas
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Amsterdam - Concertgebouw 13 Dec 2005
Bach Cantatas
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Berlin - Konzerthaus 14 Dec 2005
Bach Cantatas
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Braunschweig - Dom 15 Dec 2005
Bach Cantatas
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London - Cadogan Hall 18 Dec 2005
Bach cantatas
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