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Das Alte Werk

Das Alte Werk

Das Alte Werk was inaugurated in 1958 with the release of 7” discs of Gregorian chant and music by Machaut, and quickly gained a reputation for historically informed, high-quality recordings. There soon followed LPs of harpsichord sonatas by Scarlatti, Concerti grossi by Handel and Partitas for unaccompanied violin by Bach.

The signing up of Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Gustav Leonhardt, Frans Brüggen and Jaap Schröder ushered in a new era: the rediscovery of the authentic sound of period instruments, scholarly research into original sources and the obvious delight the label’s young artists had in their music-making combined to offer the listener new and fascinating musical experiences.

As the field of early music spread wider and wider and new paths were constantly broken, Das Alte Werk rapidly became the touchstone by which other labels were judged, not least for its epoch-making complete recording of Bach’s sacred cantatas. In 2008, Das Alte Werk celebrated its fiftieth anniversary by reissuing some of its finest recordings.

Showing 1 - 10 of 37 results
Showing 1 - 10 of 37 results
  • Kurt Equiluz, Max van Egmond, Jacques Villisech, Bert van t'Hoff & Siegfried Schneeweis

    Wiener Sängerknaben, Chorus Viennensis & Concentus Musicus Wien, Nikolaus Harnoncourt

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    2 CDs

    $11.50

    1 in stock

    Usually despatched within 1 working day

    No digital booklet included

  • Concentus musicus Wien, Nikolaus Harnoncourt

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    2 CDs

    $11.50

    10+ available

    Usually despatched in 4 - 6 working days

    No digital booklet included

  • Barbara Bonney, Sylvia McNair, Elisabeth von Magnus & Michael Chance

    Concentus musicus Wien & Arnold Schoenberg Chor, Nikolaus Harnoncourt

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    No digital booklet included

  • Purchase product

    2 CDs

    $11.50

    10+ available

    Usually despatched in 4 - 6 working days

  • Herbert Tachezi (organ)

    Released as part of Das Alte Werk's 50th anniversary 'pat on the back' to itself, Herbert Tachezi's Art of Fugue harnesses a pungent Ahrend & Brunzema organ to lend clarity to a reading which...BBC Music Magazine, February 2008, 3 out of 5 starsMore…

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    No digital booklet included

  • Agnes Giebel, Sheila Armstrong, Rotraus Hansmann (sopranos), Julia Falk, Helen Watts (altos), Bert van t’Hoff, Kurt Equiluz (tenors) & Jacques Villisech, Max van Egmond (basses)

    Monteverdi Choir Hamburg, Jürgen Jürgens

    Patches of engaging music-making here, though giving more insight into 1960s Hamburg than 1720s Leipzig. Choruses are often woolly, soloists vary from off-the-voice big voices to insecure,...BBC Music Magazine, March 2009, 3 out of 5 starsMore…

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    No digital booklet included

  • Il Giardino Armonico

    The playing is infectiously high-spirited and extremely well recorded… the performances are full of fun and caprice and, as I say, superbly polished. Recommended, above all for esprit and freedom...Gramophone MagazineMore…

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    No digital booklet included

  • Concentus musicus Wien, Nikolaus Harnoncourt

    A very musical and appealing performance… altogether a disc with much polished and sensitive playing.Gramophone MagazineMore…

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    No digital booklet included

  • Gustav Leonhardt (harpsichord)

    As a performance the present version commands respect for its clarity of thought and its control.Gramophone MagazineMore…

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    No digital booklet included

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    No digital booklet included

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