JOSEPH BALTHASAR HOCHREITHER (1669-1731): Requiem, Missa Jubilus sacer.

Description: The notes make the point that these masses are quintessentially Catholic in the music's reliance on the impact of the sound rather than the pointing of the texts. This is especially true in the Requiem (1712/17) with its muted trumpets, muffled drums and chorus-supporting low trombones which impart an almost ghastly sombreness to the proceedings. The late mass, from the year of the composer's death, is its polar opposite, a bright, brilliant blast of sunshine with four trumpets providing several spine-thrilling moments. Amazing that a composer of this quality spent almost his entire career at the abbey of Lambach. St. Florian Boys' Choir, Ars Antiqua Austria; Gunar Letzbor.