Otto Nicolai: Messe D-Dur und A-cappella-Werke
The name Otto Nicolai is most closely associated with his opera The Merry Wives of Windsor. Less well known, on the other hand, is his extensive output of sacred music, which inlcudes a cappella works and choral works with orchestra. As Mendelssohn's successor as artistic director of the Berlin Cathedral, with the Mass in D major Nicolai composed a sacred work well worth discovering. It is an important contribution to church music of the 19th century. In addition to this festive mass with orchestral accompaniment, the chamber choir CONSONO under Harald Jers also presents several other choral works which with their varied scorings, some a cappella, some withinstrumental accompaniment, show the diversity of Nicolai's sacred compositions.
