CD 8

Tyrolean Musical Treasures 7

In   1724   Benedikt  Anton Aufschnaiter  (1665-1742) wrote  to  his  new  lord  the prince-bishop   of   Passau, Joseph  (I)  Count  Lamberg, scion of a noble family from Kitzbühel, that the whole world knew that no director of music had ever produced „as many compositions,  especially  in the ecclesiastical style,“ as he had. He was, in fact, one of the leading representatives of church music in the fi rst half of the 18th century. Basically Aufschnaiter is entirely a child of  his  time,  i.e.  a  Baroque composer   who   remained attached to the ideals of this style all his life. He aimed to  give  the  grand  visual impression  of  the  majestic sacred space an appropriate musical equivalent in equally splendid sound. The staging of something festive and the display of masterly composition were  what  mattered.  The musical form did not follow a self-contained compositional model but developed in the succession   of   individual sections. Their structure was based on the textual scenario and contrasts in harmonic and instrumentation techniques. All of Aufschnaiter’s major works    were    published, including the great mass and the two offertories presented here. The wonderful requiem dating  from Aufschnaiter’s last years has been preserved in manuscript in the Passau cathedral archive. Music by Benedikt Anton Aufschnaiter alone is also featured on CDs 4 and 89.

Track 9, 1:38
Offertorium
from Requiem in C-major (Passau about 1738)
Benedikt Anton Aufschnaiter
(1665-1742)

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