Sacred spring nymphs

Baroque sacred music from the Swabian Benedictine monastery of Zwiefalten
Vocal ensemble Voces suaves
Ensemble vita & anima
In the Baroque period, abbots held court in their monasteries like secular princes; the resulting need for representation found eloquent expression in the lavish patronage of the arts. Monastic musical cultivation reached a level that is still astonishing today. One of the most important southern German Baroque monastery composers was Leopold von Plawenn, who came from an old Tyrolean noble family and probably received his musical training in his native city of Innsbruck, probably with the then court conductor Johann Stadlmayr or his successor Ambrosius Reiner. Plawenn entered the Swabian Benedictine monastery in Zwiefalten. His music spread throughout southern Germany and Austria. The sacred motets from Plawenn's Opus 4 are prime examples of the Italian-influenced style of high baroque church music, rich in affect and contrast. Like the first three operas, the collection bears the flowery title Sacrae Nymphae duplicium aquarum. The holy spring nymph, who, like Zwiefalten, sits at the confluence of two streams, is the Mother of God Mary, whose image of grace is particularly venerated in the monastery church. In this concert project dedicated to Leopold von Plawenn, the internationally successful vocal ensemble Voces suaves, which emerged from the renowned Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Basel, is collaborating for the first time with the Tyrolean early music ensemble vita & anima under the direction of Peter Waldner.
A cooperation project with the Initiative Musik & Kirche Brixen, the Festival of Sacred Music Trentino/South Tyrol, the Tiroler Landesmuseen & the CD series musikmuseum