Spiritual songs of the
German and French romanticism
Entitled »Ave Maria«, this CD brings together sacred songs in the French and German Romantic styles. It includes less familiar settings of the Adoration of the Virgin Mary, some of which are receiving their first recording. The works are recorded by the renowned and versatile Iris-Anna Deckert (soprano) and Markus Utz (organ) in reverent performances. In all, an attractive and valuable addition to our growing library of church music.
Iris-Anna Deckert, soprano
Markus Utz, organ
Josef Gabriel Rheinberger (1839–1901):
Ave Maria, Missa puerorum
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809–1847):
Andante D-Dur
Max Reger (1873–1916):
Maria am Rosenstrauch, Ich sehe dich in tausend Bildern, Mariä Wiegenlied, Benedictus
César Franck (1822–1890):
Ave Maria
Jehan Alain (1911–1940):
Ave Maria, Litanies
Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924):
Ave Maria, Salve Regina
Louis Vierne (1870–1937):
Berceuse, Carillon de Westminster, Les Angelus
Total recording time: 73.22 | Format: Audio-CD
Recording: Sept. 2005, Cathedral of Our Beloved Lady, Konstanz
Re-Mastering: 2008
English booklet enclosed / German booklet enclosed (28 pages)
Ord.-No. SRL4-08018 | (p) & (c) 2008 SPEKTRAL | Series SPEKTRAL CLASSICS
Iris-Anna Deckert was born in Straubing. While still young, she received her first voice lessons under Julia Bauer and Ingrid Kessler at the Academy of Church Music in Regensburg. She continued her studies at the Leopold Mozart Conservatory in Augsburg under Dorothea Chryst and graduated there with a degree in Vocal Performance. Further studies followed with Prof. Edith Urbanzcyk at the Hochschule der Künste in Berlin. Private lessons with Jessica Cash in London as well as participation in various masterclasses completed her musical training. In 1993, Iris-Anna Deckert received a scholarship from the Association of German Theatres. She began working professionally while still a student, singing in various choirs such as the Radio Chamber Choir of Berlin, the Bavarian Radio Choir, and the Stuttgart Chamber Choir. She has been a free-lance performer since 1996 and is in demand internationally for early music as well as new music. She regularly performs at important European festivals and has many CDs and radio recordings to her credit.
Markus Utz Markus Utz was born in 1972 in Kempton/Allgäu and is currently professor of Choral Conducting at the Zurich Academy of Music. From 2001 to 2008, he was active as district organist and choir director at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption in Constance.
He studied church music, organ and conducting at the State Academy of Music in Detmold. Thanks to a DAAD scholarship, he was able to study in the renowned conducting class of Prof. Anders Eby at the King’s Music Academy in Stockholm, which influenced him strongly and gave him considerable stimulus. Teaching jobs in conducting followed at the University of Uppsala, the Freiburg Music Academy, and Academy of Pedagogy in Thurgau.
Utz has been the recipient of prizes in various organ competitions and in 2003 received a scholarship from the Scandinavian Bach Academy (Andrew Parrot). In October, 2003, he was the only German finalist in the “Eric Ericson Award”, which is an international conducting competition in Stockholm.
The “Heiligkreuzer Konzerte Kempten” has given Markus Utz a great deal of opportunity as a choral and orchestral conductor to learn a broad repertoire ranging from the Rennaissance to the 21st Century. He is one of the promising young German conductors and is Artistic Director of the “ensemble cantissimo” which he founded while still a student. With this ensemble, he has made an outstanding name for himself both inside and outside of Germany with his unusual programming, idea of sound, and in the areas of old and new a capella music. He appears as organist and guest conductor for various radio choirs throughout Europe.
