Credits:

Jonathan Sells

Description:

The early music vocal and instrumental ensemble Solomons Knot was founded in London in 2008 by co-artistic directors Jonathan Sells and James Holiday. With the aim of directly conveying the power of music composed before 1800 to modern audiences, the ensemble performs without a conductor and takes a flexible approach to each work. They explore a wide-ranging repertoire, from small-scale madrigal works to Bachs Masses, which require 10 singers and 20 instrumentalists, with each performer focusing on creating the most refined and organic music. They have received high acclaimnotably from John Eliot Gardinerand have been a regular feature at the Leipzig Bach Festival every year since 2016.This album features works by the cantors of St. Thomas Church in Leipzig. Schelle was the composer who established the prototype for early church cantatas and chorale cantatas; this Open Wide the Gates is a joy