Klaus Mertens
Encyclopedia
Klaus Mertens is a German
bass
and bass-baritone
singer
who is known especially for his interpretation of the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach
.
(Song, Concert, Oratorio) and with Peter Massmann (Opera). After graduating with distinction he worked first as a school teacher.
In the field of historically informed performance
Klaus Mertens has worked with Frans Brüggen
, Philippe Herreweghe
, René Jacobs, Sigiswald Kuijken
, Gustav Leonhardt
and Nikolaus Harnoncourt
. With various conductors he recorded the works of Bach, not only the Passions
and oratorios, but also – very notably – the cantata
s, which number around 200. Mertens took bass solo work in all parts of the project to make the first CD recording of the complete vocal works of J. S. Bach, with the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
conducted by Ton Koopman
. This project, begun in 1994, took ten years to complete with various soloists in the other vocal parts, and included concert tours in Europe, America and Japan. "In a remarkable display of stamina and consistency, Klaus Mertens sang in every piece that required a bass soloist, 190 in all." He is also involved in the project Dieterich Buxtehude – Opera Omnia
of the same ensemble to record the complete works of Dieterich Buxtehude
, begun in 2005.
As a singer of Lied
er he has interpreted songs of Claudio Monteverdi
, Antonio Caldara
, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
and Franz Schubert
among others. He has performed the title roles of the romantic oratorio
s Elijah
and St. Paul
by Mendelssohn
and, as music of the 20th century, Paul Hindemith
's Requiem
and Igor Stravinsky
's Oedipus rex
. In the classical repertory he has performed with such conductors as Herbert Blomstedt
, Roger Norrington
, Peter Schreier
, Hans Vonk, Christian Zacharias
, Edo de Waart
and Iván Fischer
; and with orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra
, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
, Dresden Philharmonic, Tonhalle Orchester Zürich
, Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra
and Chicago Symphony Orchestra
.
A performance of Gustav Mahler
's Kindertotenlieder
with the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra
under Gary Bertini
in 2002 was recorded. In 2005 he performed in the Berliner Philharmonie
the Mass in F minor
of Anton Bruckner
conducted by Kent Nagano
. With the Thomanerchor
he appeared in the Christmas Oratorio
of Bach who had conducted the group in its first performance in 1734. Thomaskantor
Georg Christoph Biller
directed a recording of Bach's Mass in B minor in 2006. Mertens has also collaborated with the Windsbach Boys Choir
and the Dresdner Kreuzchor
performing in the Kreuzkirche
as well as in the Frauenkirche. In 2009 he sang the bass part in the St Matthew Passion in St. Martin, Idstein
, with Ulrich Cordes
as the Evangelist
and Andreas Pruys
. He performed Bach's cantata Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen, BWV 56, in Wiesbaden and in the Alte Oper
Frankfurt, programmed in contrast to Shostakovich's Symphony Babij Jar
, conducted by Enoch zu Guttenberg
. He performed the Vox Christi
, the words of Jesus, and the bass arias in Bach's Johannespassion in a concert on 27 February 2010 in Munich with Mark Padmore
(Evangelist and arias), Johannette Zomer
, Andreas Scholl
, Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
, Ton Koopman conducting. He performed the part of Valens in Handel's oratorio Theodora
in Eberbach Abbey in 2010. He was bass soloist for two concerts of the Bachchor Mainz
reviving church cantatas of Wilhelm Friedemann Bach
in June 2010, remembering the composers birth in 1710.
Mertens has regularly appeared at international music festivals such as the Prague Spring International Music Festival, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
, Festival d'Aix-en-Provence
and the Salzburg Festival
. In 2006 he sang the bass part of Bach's St Matthew Passion, conducted by Enoch zu Guttenberg, at the Rheingau Musik Festival
. With the same ensemble he appeared in 2009 at the 12th Beijing Music Festival in major works of Joseph Haydn
, The Creation, the Nelson Mass
and The Seasons
.
Selected recordings of unusual repertoire:
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
bass
Bass (voice type)
A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C...
and bass-baritone
Bass-baritone
A bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing three Wagnerian roles: the Dutchman in Der fliegende...
singer
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
who is known especially for his interpretation of the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
.
Professional career
Klaus Mertens took singing lessons while attending school. He studied music and pedagogics, and had his vocal training with Else Bischof-Bornes and Jakob StämpfliJakob Stämpfli (bass)
Jakob Stämpfli is a Swiss bass concert singer and an influential academic teacher and director of the conservatory in Bern, also a teacher in Saarbrücken.-Biography:...
(Song, Concert, Oratorio) and with Peter Massmann (Opera). After graduating with distinction he worked first as a school teacher.
In the field of historically informed performance
Historically informed performance
Historically informed performance is an approach in the performance of music and theater. Within this approach, the performance adheres to state-of-the-art knowledge of the aesthetic criteria of the period in which the music or theatre work was conceived...
Klaus Mertens has worked with Frans Brüggen
Frans Brüggen
Frans Brüggen is a well-known Dutch conductor, recorder player and baroque flautist.-Biography:Brüggen studied recorder and flute at the Amsterdam Muzieklyceum. He also studied musicology at the University of Amsterdam. In 1955, at the age of 21, he was appointed professor at the Royal...
, Philippe Herreweghe
Philippe Herreweghe
Philippe Herreweghe is a Flemish conductor.In his school years at the University of Ghent, Herreweghe combined studies in medical science and psychiatry with a musical education at the Ghent Conservatory, where Marcel Gazelle, Yehudi Menuhin's accompanist, was his piano teacher...
, René Jacobs, Sigiswald Kuijken
Sigiswald Kuijken
Sigiswald Kuijken is a Belgian violinist, violist, and conductor known for playing on authentic instruments.-Biography:Kuijken was born in Dilbeek, near Brussels. He was a member of the Alarius Ensemble of Brussels between 1964 and 1972 and formed La Petite Bande in 1972...
, Gustav Leonhardt
Gustav Leonhardt
Gustav Leonhardt is a highly renowned Dutch keyboard player, conductor, musicologist, teacher and editor. Leonhardt has been a leading figure in the movement to perform music on period instruments...
and Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Nikolaus Harnoncourt is an Austrian conductor, particularly known for his historically informed performances of music from the Classical era and earlier. Starting out as a classical cellist, he founded his own period instrument ensemble in the 1950s, and became a pioneer of the Early Music movement...
. With various conductors he recorded the works of Bach, not only the Passions
Passions (Bach)
According to his obituary, Johann Sebastian Bach wrote "five passions, of which one is for double chorus". Two works have survived: the St John Passion and the St Matthew Passion , this last using double chorus...
and oratorios, but also – very notably – the cantata
Bach cantata
Bach cantata became a term for a cantata of the German Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach who was a prolific writer of the genre. Although many of his works are lost, around 200 cantatas survived....
s, which number around 200. Mertens took bass solo work in all parts of the project to make the first CD recording of the complete vocal works of J. S. Bach, with the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir is a Dutch early-music group based in Amsterdam.The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir was created in two stages by the conductor, organist and harpsichordist Ton Koopman. He founded the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra in 1979 and the Amsterdam Baroque Choir in...
conducted by Ton Koopman
Ton Koopman
Ton Koopman is a conductor, organist and harpsichordist.Koopman had a "classical education" and then studied the organ , harpsichord and musicology in Amsterdam...
. This project, begun in 1994, took ten years to complete with various soloists in the other vocal parts, and included concert tours in Europe, America and Japan. "In a remarkable display of stamina and consistency, Klaus Mertens sang in every piece that required a bass soloist, 190 in all." He is also involved in the project Dieterich Buxtehude – Opera Omnia
Dieterich Buxtehude – Opera Omnia
Dieterich Buxtehude - Opera Omnia is a project to record the complete works of the German Baroque composer Dieterich Buxtehude.- History :...
of the same ensemble to record the complete works of Dieterich Buxtehude
Dieterich Buxtehude
Dieterich Buxtehude was a German-Danish organist and composer of the Baroque period. His organ works represent a central part of the standard organ repertoire and are frequently performed at recitals and in church services...
, begun in 2005.
As a singer of Lied
Lied
is a German word literally meaning "song", usually used to describe romantic songs setting German poems of reasonably high literary aspirations, especially during the nineteenth century, beginning with Carl Loewe, Heinrich Marschner, and Franz Schubert and culminating with Hugo Wolf...
er he has interpreted songs of Claudio Monteverdi
Claudio Monteverdi
Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, gambist, and singer.Monteverdi's work, often regarded as revolutionary, marked the transition from the Renaissance style of music to that of the Baroque period. He developed two individual styles of composition – the...
, Antonio Caldara
Antonio Caldara
Antonio Caldara was an Italian Baroque composer.Caldara was born in Venice , the son of a violinist. He became a chorister at St Mark's in Venice, where he learned several instruments, probably under the instruction of Giovanni Legrenzi...
, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
and Franz Schubert
Franz Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music...
among others. He has performed the title roles of the romantic oratorio
Oratorio
An oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...
s Elijah
Elijah (oratorio)
Elijah, in German: Elias, is an oratorio written by Felix Mendelssohn in 1846 for the Birmingham Festival. It depicts various events in the life of the Biblical prophet Elijah, taken from the books 1 Kings and 2 Kings in the Old Testament....
and St. Paul
St. Paul (oratorio)
St. Paul , Op. 36, is an oratorio by Felix Mendelssohn.The libretto was begun in 1832 by the composer with Pastor Julius Schubring, a childhood friend, pulling together passages from the New Testament and Old Testament...
by Mendelssohn
Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text...
and, as music of the 20th century, Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith was a German composer, violist, violinist, teacher, music theorist and conductor.- Biography :Born in Hanau, near Frankfurt, Hindemith was taught the violin as a child...
's Requiem
When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd (Hindemith)
When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd: A Requiem for those we love is a 1946 composition by composer Paul Hindemith, based on the poem of the same name by Walt Whitman. Conductor Robert Shaw commissioned the work after the 1945 death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt...
and Igor Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
's Oedipus rex
Oedipus rex (opera)
Oedipus rex is an "Opera-oratorio after Sophocles" by Igor Stravinsky, scored for orchestra, speaker, soloists, and male chorus. The libretto, based on Sophocles's tragedy, was written by Jean Cocteau in French and then translated by Abbé Jean Daniélou into Latin...
. In the classical repertory he has performed with such conductors as Herbert Blomstedt
Herbert Blomstedt
Herbert Blomstedt is a Swedish conductor.Herbert Blomstedt was born in Springfield, Massachusetts and two years after his birth, his Swedish parents moved the family back to their country of origin...
, Roger Norrington
Roger Norrington
Sir Roger Arthur Carver Norrington, CBE is a British conductor. He is the son of Sir Arthur Norrington and his brother is Humphrey Thomas Norrington....
, Peter Schreier
Peter Schreier
Peter Schreier is a German tenor and conductor.-Early life:Schreier was born in Meissen, Saxony, and spent his first years in the small village of Gauernitz, near Meissen, where his father was a teacher, cantor and organist...
, Hans Vonk, Christian Zacharias
Christian Zacharias
-Music career:Zacharias studied piano with Irene Slavin and Vlado Perlemuter in Paris. He won the Geneva Competition in 1969 and the Van Cliburn Competition in 1973. After winning the Ravel Competition in Paris in 1975, he launched an international career...
, Edo de Waart
Edo de Waart
Edo de Waart is a Dutch conductor, and the Music Director of both the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra....
and Iván Fischer
Iván Fischer
Iván Fischer is a Hungarian conductor and composer. Born in Budapest into a Jewish musical family, Fischer initially studied piano, violin, cello and composition in Budapest...
; and with orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra is a symphony orchestra of the Netherlands, based at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. In 1988, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands conferred the "Royal" title upon the orchestra...
, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra
Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra
The Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra is a Dutch symphony orchestra based in Rotterdam. Its primary venue is the concert hall De Doelen. The RPhO is considered one of the Netherlands' two principal orchestras of international standing, second to the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam...
, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra is one of the the oldest symphony orchestras in the world...
, Dresden Philharmonic, Tonhalle Orchester Zürich
Tonhalle Orchester Zurich
Tonhalle Orchester Zürich is a symphony orchestra founded in 1868 in Zürich Switzerland, where it established its residence in the neue Tonhalle in 1895....
, Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra
Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra
The Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra based in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1880 by Joseph Otten as the St. Louis Choral Society, the SLSO is the second-oldest symphony orchestra in the United States as it is preceded by the New York Philharmonic.-History:The St...
and Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1891, the Symphony makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival...
.
A performance of Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic...
's Kindertotenlieder
Kindertotenlieder
Kindertotenlieder is a song cycle for voice and orchestra by Gustav Mahler...
with the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra
Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra
The , also known as Tokyō , is one of the representative symphony orchestras of Japan. The Orchestra was founded in 1965 by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, to commemorate the Tokyo Olympics ....
under Gary Bertini
Gary Bertini
Gary Bertini was an Israeli conductor.-Biography:Gary Bertini was born Shloyme Golergant in Bricheva, Bessarabia, then in Romania, now in Donduşeni District, Moldova. His father, K. A. Bertini , was a poet and translator of the Russian and Yiddish Gary Bertini (Hebrew: גארי ברתיני) (born 1 May...
in 2002 was recorded. In 2005 he performed in the Berliner Philharmonie
Berliner Philharmonie
The Berliner Philharmonie is a concert hall in Berlin, Germany. Home to the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, the building is acclaimed for both its acoustics and its architecture....
the Mass in F minor
Mass No. 3 (Bruckner)
The Mass No. 3 in F minor WAB 28 by Anton Bruckner is a setting of the mass ordinary for vocal soloists, chorus, orchestra and organ. After the 1867 success of Bruckner's Mass No...
of Anton Bruckner
Anton Bruckner
Anton Bruckner was an Austrian composer known for his symphonies, masses, and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-German Romanticism because of their rich harmonic language, complex polyphony, and considerable length...
conducted by Kent Nagano
Kent Nagano
__FORCETOC__Kent George Nagano is an American conductor and opera administrator. He is currently the music director of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal and the Bavarian State Opera.-Biography:...
. With the Thomanerchor
Thomanerchor
The Thomanerchor is a boys' choir in Leipzig, Germany. The choir was founded in 1212. At present, the choir consists of 92 boys from 9 to 18 years of age...
he appeared in the Christmas Oratorio
Christmas Oratorio
The Christmas Oratorio BWV 248, is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach intended for performance in church during the Christmas season. It was written for the Christmas season of 1734 incorporating music from earlier compositions, including three secular cantatas written during 1733 and 1734 and a...
of Bach who had conducted the group in its first performance in 1734. Thomaskantor
Thomaskantor
The Thomaskantor is the musical director of the Thomanerchor in Leipzig, founded in 1212. He is appointed by Leipzig's city council and his duties are to lead the weekly services called Motette, Sunday services and other services in the Thomaskirche, also to conduct recordings and tours.Johann...
Georg Christoph Biller
Georg Christoph Biller
Georg Christoph Biller is a German choral conductor, conducting the Thomanerchor since 1992 as the sixteenth Thomaskantor since Johann Sebastian Bach...
directed a recording of Bach's Mass in B minor in 2006. Mertens has also collaborated with the Windsbach Boys Choir
Windsbach Boys Choir
The Windsbach Boys Choir is a German choir of boys and young men in Windsbach, Germany.-History:Founded in 1946 by Hans Thamm und since 1978 under the direction of Karl-Friedrich Beringer, the choir is one of the most renowned boys choirs of the world...
and the Dresdner Kreuzchor
Dresdner Kreuzchor
The Dresdner Kreuzchor is the boys' choir of the Kreuzkirche in Dresden. It has a seven century history. Today the choir has about 150 members from the age of 9-19 from Dresden and the surrounding region. Most of the boys live in a boarding school. The Choir Boys are also called "Kruzianer". The...
performing in the Kreuzkirche
Kreuzkirche
The Church of the Cross in Dresden is the largest church in Saxony, and home to the Dresdner Kreuzchor boy choir. Known since the early 12th century, it was officially dedicated on 10 June 1388 to the Holy Cross. Since 1491, it has burned down five times...
as well as in the Frauenkirche. In 2009 he sang the bass part in the St Matthew Passion in St. Martin, Idstein
St. Martin, Idstein
St. Martin in Idstein, Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis, is the church of the local Roman Catholic parish. The official name is Katholische Pfarrkirche St. Martin. The parish is part of the Diocese of Limburg...
, with Ulrich Cordes
Ulrich Cordes
Ulrich Cordes is a German tenor.-Professional career:Ulrich Cordes first studied sacred music at the Hochschule für Musik Köln with Winfried Bönig and Margaretha Hürholz, among others. He continued studying voice. In 2005 he was able to study at the CNSMDP in Paris with Pierre Mervant as a...
as the Evangelist
Evangelist (Bach)
The Evangelist in the music of Johann Sebastian Bach is the tenor part in his oratorios and Passions who narrates the exact words of the Bible, translated by Martin Luther, in recitative, namely in the works St John Passion, St Matthew Passion, and the Christmas Oratorio, also in the St Mark...
and Andreas Pruys
Andreas Pruys
- Professional career :Andreas Pruys studied singing and church music at the Folkwanghochschule in Essen. He worked as a church musician for several years, also as director of the music school in Emmerich. He has been a member of the choir NDR Chor since 2001....
. He performed Bach's cantata Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen, BWV 56, in Wiesbaden and in the Alte Oper
Alte Oper
The Alte Oper is a major concert hall and former opera house in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The building was inaugurated in 1880. Many important works have been premiered at the Alte Oper, including Carl Orff's Carmina Burana in 1937....
Frankfurt, programmed in contrast to Shostakovich's Symphony Babij Jar
Symphony No. 13 (Shostakovich)
The Symphony No. 13 in B flat minor by Dmitri Shostakovich was first performed in Moscow on 18 December, 1962 by the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra and the basses of the Republican State and Gnessin Institute Choirs, under Kirill Kondrashin . The soloist was Vitali Gromadsky...
, conducted by Enoch zu Guttenberg
Enoch zu Guttenberg
Georg Enoch Robert Prosper Philipp Franz Karl Theodor Maria Heinrich Johannes Luitpold Hartmann Gundeloh Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg , known as Enoch zu Guttenberg, is a German conductor...
. He performed the Vox Christi
Vox Christi
Vox Christi, Latin for Voice of Christ, is a term for the bass voice representing Jesus in the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and others. This part appears prominently in Bach's Passions...
, the words of Jesus, and the bass arias in Bach's Johannespassion in a concert on 27 February 2010 in Munich with Mark Padmore
Mark Padmore
Mark Padmore is a British tenor appearing in concerts, recitals, and opera.Born in London 8 March 1961, and raised in Canterbury, Kent in England. Padmore studied clarinet and piano prior to his gaining a choral scholarship to King's College, Cambridge...
(Evangelist and arias), Johannette Zomer
Johannette Zomer
- Biography :Johannette Zomer studied voice at the Sweelinck Conservatory Amsterdam in Amsterdam with Charles van Tassel and received her Performance Diploma in 1997....
, Andreas Scholl
Andreas Scholl
Andreas Scholl is a German countertenor, a male classical singer in the alto vocal range. He is noted as a specialist in Baroque music.-Childhood:...
, Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
The Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, in German Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks is the internationally renowned orchestra of the Bayerischer Rundfunk , based in Munich, Germany. It is one of the three principal orchestras in the city of Munich, along with the Munich Philharmonic...
, Ton Koopman conducting. He performed the part of Valens in Handel's oratorio Theodora
Theodora (Handel)
Theodora is an oratorio in three acts by George Frideric Handel, set to an English libretto by Thomas Morell. The oratorio concerns the Christian martyr Theodora and her Christian-converted Roman lover, Didymus....
in Eberbach Abbey in 2010. He was bass soloist for two concerts of the Bachchor Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
reviving church cantatas of Wilhelm Friedemann Bach
Wilhelm Friedemann Bach
Wilhelm Friedemann Bach , the second child and eldest son of Johann Sebastian Bach and Maria Barbara Bach, was a German composer and performer...
in June 2010, remembering the composers birth in 1710.
Mertens has regularly appeared at international music festivals such as the Prague Spring International Music Festival, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
Maggio Musicale Fiorentino is an annual opera festival which was founded in April 1933 by conductor Vittorio Gui with the aim of presenting contemporary and forgotten operas in visually dramatic productions. It was the first music festival in Italy. The first opera presented was Verdi's early...
, Festival d'Aix-en-Provence
Aix-en-Provence Festival
The festival international d'art lyrique is an annual international music festival which takes place each summer in Aix-en-Provence, principally in the month of July. Devoted mainly to opera, it also includes concerts of orchestral, chamber, vocal and solo instrumental music.-Establishment:The...
and the Salzburg Festival
Salzburg Festival
The Salzburg Festival is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer within the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart...
. In 2006 he sang the bass part of Bach's St Matthew Passion, conducted by Enoch zu Guttenberg, at the Rheingau Musik Festival
Rheingau Musik Festival
The Rheingau Musik Festival is an international summer music festival in Germany, founded in 1987. It is mostly for classical music, but includes other genres...
. With the same ensemble he appeared in 2009 at the 12th Beijing Music Festival in major works of Joseph Haydn
Joseph Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...
, The Creation, the Nelson Mass
Missa in angustiis
The Missa in Angustiis or "Nelson Mass" , is one of fourteen masses written by Joseph Haydn. It is one of the six masses written near the end of his life which are now seen as a culmination of Haydn's liturgical composition.- Background :Haydn's chief biographer, H. C...
and The Seasons
The Seasons (Haydn)
The Seasons is an oratorio by Joseph Haydn .-Composition, premiere, and reception:Haydn was led to write The Seasons by the great success of his previous oratorio The Creation , which had become very popular and was in the course of being performed all over Europe...
.
Recordings
, the discography of Klaus Mertens contains more than 140 CDs and DVDs.Selected recordings of unusual repertoire:
- Othmar SchoeckOthmar SchoeckOthmar Schoeck was a Swiss composer and conductor.He was known mainly for his considerable output of art songs and song cycles, though he also wrote a number of operas and instrumental compositions including two string quartets and...
: Elegie op. 36, with Mutare Ensemble, Gerhard Müller-Hornbach, NCA, 1993/2008http://www.ncamusic.com/produkte-details.php?lang=de&id=60186 - Max RegerMax RegerJohann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger was a German composer, conductor, pianist, organist, and academic teacher.-Life:...
: 24 Geistliche Lieder (including 12 Spiritual Songs op. 137), with Martin HaselböckMartin HaselböckMartin Haselböck is the musical director of Musica Angelica in Santa Monica, California, and the musical director and founder of the Orchester Wiener Akademie. He is also a professor at the University of Vienna, where he teaches organ.-External links:...
(organ), 2000, NCAhttp://www.amazon.de/Max-Reger-Geistliche-Lieder-Gesang/dp/B00005B3H4 - Christoph GraupnerChristoph GraupnerChristoph Graupner was a German harpsichordist and composer of high Baroque music who lived and worked at the same time as Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Philipp Telemann and George Frideric Handel.-Graupner's life:Born in Hartmannsdorf near Kirchberg in Saxony, Graupner received his first musical...
: 3 Bass-Kantaten with Accademia Daniel, 2002, hr-musikhttp://www.hr-online.de/website/derhr/home/index.jsp?rubrik=4162&key=standard_document_854296 (in German) - Georg Philipp TelemannGeorg Philipp TelemannGeorg Philipp Telemann was a German Baroque composer and multi-instrumentalist. Almost completely self-taught in music, he became a composer against his family's wishes. After studying in Magdeburg, Zellerfeld, and Hildesheim, Telemann entered the University of Leipzig to study law, but eventually...
: 47 Generalbass-Lieder, with Ludger RémyLudger RémyLudger Rémy is a German harpsichordist, conductor and musicologist.- Biography :Ludger Rémy studied the harpsichord in Freiburg im Breisgau and continued his studies with Kenneth Gilbert in Paris. He was a teacher at several German academies including the Folkwang Hochschule and the Hochschule für...
(harpsichord), 2004, jpc http://www.jpc-mediothek.de/Telemann,Georg+Philipp/47+Generalbass-Lieder+%281735%29/d/984/3493663/show.html - Schubert: WinterreiseWinterreiseWinterreise is a song cycle for voice and piano by Franz Schubert , a setting of 24 poems by Wilhelm Müller. It is the second of Schubert's two great song cycles on Müller's poems, the earlier being Die schöne Müllerin...
, with Tini Mathot (fortepianoFortepianoFortepiano designates the early version of the piano, from its invention by the Italian instrument maker Bartolomeo Cristofori around 1700 up to the early 19th century. It was the instrument for which Haydn, Mozart, and the early Beethoven wrote their piano music...
) 2005, Antoine Marchand CC 72152, review Göran Forsling 2006 - Telemann: Cantatas For Bass Voice, with Il Gardellino Ensemble, 2007, ArkivMusic review Brian Robins in "Fanfare"
- Johann PachelbelJohann PachelbelJohann Pachelbel was a German Baroque composer, organist and teacher, who brought the south German organ tradition to its peak. He composed a large body of sacred and secular music, and his contributions to the development of the chorale prelude and fugue have earned him a place among the most...
: Arien & Concerti, with Emma KirkbyEmma KirkbyDame Carolyn Emma Kirkby, DBE is an English soprano singer and one of the world's most renowned early music specialists. She attended Sherborne School For Girls in Dorset and was a classics student at Somerville College, Oxford, and an English teacher before developing a career as a soloist...
, Kai WesselKai WesselKai Wessel is a German countertenor and a teacher at the Hochschule für Musik Köln.- Professional career :Kai Wessel started singing in school choirs and as a boy soprano at the Christus-Kirche of Hamburg-Wandsbek and received lessons on piano, organ and oboe...
, Jan KobowJan KobowJan Kobow is a German classical tenor in concert, Lied and Baroque opera.-Professional career:Jan Kobow was born and raised in Berlin. He was a singer and soloist of the Staats- und Domchor, Berlin with Christian Grube. He studied the organ at the Schola Cantorum in Paris and graduated in church...
, London Baroque, 2007, Cavalli Records CCD 332 review Steven Plank in "Opera Today" - Gustav Mahler: Lieder Cycles arranged for Chamber Ensemble, with Mutare Ensemble, Gerhard Müller-Hornbach, NCAhttp://www.ncamusic.com/produkte-details.php?lang=de&id=60166
External links
- Klaus Mertens on the website of Internationale Händel-Festspiele Göttingen 2010 (Handel Festival, Göttingen)
- [ Klaus Mertens] on All Music Guide
- CDUniverse recordings
- Klaus Mertens on New Classical Adventures (in German)
- Klaus Mertens on the website of Bach-Verein Köln (The Cologne Bach Association) (in German)
- Entries for recordings by Klaus Mertens on WorldCatWorldCatWorldCat is a union catalog which itemizes the collections of 72,000 libraries in 170 countries and territories which participate in the Online Computer Library Center global cooperative...