Tobias Michael: Musicalische Seelenlust Ensemble Polyharmonique & Alexander Schneider

• Tobias Michael (1592-1657)
• 1Unser Trübsal, die zeitlich und leichte ist03:04
• 2Herr, erzeige uns deine Gnade05:48
• 3Die Erlöseten des Herren03:16
• 4Herzlich lieb02:56
• 5Fürchte dich nicht02:58
• 6Es stehe Gott auf02:40
• 7Neige deine Ohren03:55
• 8Sei getrost bis in den Tod03:31
• 9Gott, es setzen sich die Stolzen02:45
• 10Siehe, ich stehe für der Tür02:18
• 11Ach, dass ich Wasser genug hätte02:44
• 12Gott, wer ist dir gleich03:23
• 13Der Herr ist mein Hirte03:32
• 14Tröste uns Gott, unser Heiland03:14
• 15Ich danke dir, Herr02:35
• 16Höre mein Gebet03:34
• 17Kommt, wir wollen wieder zum Herren02:33
• 18Ich liege und schlafe03:23
• Total Runtime58:09

Info for Tobias Michael: Musicalische Seelenlust

After the death of J. H. Schein in Leipzig, Tobias Michael applied for the position of Thomaskantor in 1630 and apparently had such an outstanding musical reputation that he was elected unanimously by the town council.

During his tenure, the choral music blossomed, and the Dresden court composer Heinrich Schütz was so enthralled by the “famous choir” that he dedicated his Geistliche Chormusik to the choir of St. Thomas’s.

Practically only one work by Tobias Michael has been preserved, the Musicalische Seelenlust, which countered the horrors of the Thirty Years’ War with sumptuous harmonies. Elaborate sacred madrigals alternate with small-scale, virtuosically embellished sacred concertos. In his work, Tobias Michael succeeds in combining text and harmony into a Baroque tonal language of great expressivity, which is to be heard for the first time on this inspired recording by the ensemble polyharmonique.

Ensemble Polyharmonique
Alexander Schneider, direction

The ensemble polyharmonique
is a group of singers and musicians from Germany, Belgium and Europe, directed by the internationally acclaimed counter tenor Alexander Schneider.

In the field of historical performance practice the ensemble deals especially with music of the Renaissance and Baroque. The musicians attach great importance to associative lyrics, sound culture and emotional aspects of their interpretations.

All of the artists are not only ensemble singers, but established their own reputation as soloists in the international music scene. They bring together their rich experience from cooperation with leading performers of early music and are invited to festivals in Germany, Belgium,Austria,Czech and Slovakia. Especially successful is the ensemble's co-operation with baroque orchestra Solamente Naturali Bratislava and artists such as David Van Bouwel, Klaus Eichhorn, Juliane Laake et al.

In 2015 their first CD comes out, published by Raumklang Records.It contains the first recording of "Musicalische Seelenlust", a collection of sacred madrigals by the cantor at St. Thomas Leipzig Tobias Michael (1592-1657).

Booklet for Tobias Michael: Musicalische Seelenlust