Isfried Kayser is one of the leading baroque composers of the south-west German cultural area; his works were widely distributed in prints and copies. From his rich church music oeuvre, we present an exceptional mass that has not been reprinted since its first printing: While many pastoral masses up to the 20th century contained "pastoral" elements only in selected places, these are found in exemplary fashion in the present "Missa pastoritia" in all five Ordinary movements, for example the stylish use of thirds and sixths. In addition to the solidly crafted movement and the formal unity, the Mass convinces with a distinctive sound direction appropriate for Christmas. The modest instrumentation and the ease of performance (the composer announced the Mass as "worked out in a light and modern way") recommend the Mass to today's choirs who would like to crown the Christmas season with a rediscoverable Baroque work of unused sonority and freshness.
With Credo
[Duration: approx. 25:30 min.]
