A look at the Swiss early music scene

Very few friends of early music will have heard the title of the announced work: Fontana d'Israel - Israelis fountain. The work was written by the Leipzig Thomaskantor Johann Hermann Schein, who had it printed there in 1623. It is a collection of mainly five-part compositions for vocal ensemble and basso continuo. The texts are taken from the Old Testament, mainly from the Psalms, and formulate wisdom on life and death and the relationship between man and God in a language rich in imagery. Stylistically, the cycle moves between the madrigal and motet traditions.

Emotional interpretation
Gli Angeli Genève, under the direction of its founder Stephan MacLeod, blew the dust off the time-honored work. In Zurich's St. Peter's Church, the ensemble performed a brilliant interpretation of the - slightly abridged - cycle. MacLeod, who sang bass himself, formed a very expressive quintet together with the sopranos Dorothee Mields and Monika Mauch and the tenors Robert Getchell and Georg Poplutz, who were accompanied by the harpist Giovanna Pessi, the cellist Hager Hanana and the organist François Guerrier on his chest organ. All five singers are recognized specialists in early music and cultivated a straight but emotionally penetrating sound. The text arrangement was outstanding, capturing both the meaning and the mood of these biblical texts. Those who sow with tears will reap with joy is the third of the 26 pieces. The expressive chromatic lines in the "Tears" and the bouncing rhythms in the "Joys" made this content very clear. Gli Angeli Genève are truly not an anemic ensemble, their heartfelt interpretation, which also likes to operate with strong colors, aroused great enthusiasm among the audience.