In the spirit of the times

When we look back at music history, we like to summarize past eras with a handful of composers who were active in the respective period. However, it is easy to forget that in addition to the ubiquitous, famous names, there were many other artists who were sometimes even more successful during their lifetime than the masters we remember and revere today. It is our task as the Kölner Akademie to also dedicate ourselves to the supposed side characters of music history. With our latest CD, you can once again experience the results of this project and, together with us, discover four masses by Paul Ignaz Liechtenauer.

Born around 1674, presumably in Vienna, his path almost led him to us in Cologne when he unsuccessfully applied for the position of court conductor in 1714. Instead, the composer worked as organist and Kapellmeister in Osnabrück from 1715 until the end of his life in 1756. Most of Liechtenauer’s compositions probably fell victim to the complete destruction of the cathedral there during the Second World War. Only his 24 Offertories Op. 1 and his Six Masses Op. 2 have survived, of which we are now proud to present numbers two, three, five and six.

The masses were composed around 1741. At the same time, George Frideric Handel published his monumental Messiah and Johann Sebastian Bach was working on his great Mass in B minor, which are now regarded as some of the most important works in the history of music. However, Bach did not live to see its premiere and subsequent world fame; the work was not performed until a good 80 years later. Meanwhile, Liechtenauer enjoyed immediate success with his sacred works. Soon after their publication, his offertories and masses were bought and performed by monasteries and churches, particularly in the Catholic south of Germany and Europe. The reason for this lies quite simply in the practical nature of his works. While Bach’s opus magnum required exceptional circumstances in every respect, not only in its scoring size and performance duration, but also in its musical and technical complexity, Liechtenauer’s masses were perfectly suited to be integrated into church services due to their more compact size.

Liechtenauer may not have been a visionary on the scale of Bach or Handel, but his compositions were clearly in tune with the spirit of the times. His masses are an exciting historical testimony to the sacred music of the late Baroque period, which we are delighted to be able to share with you!