Archiv Produktion is a
classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...
record label
"Big Three" music labels
A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...
of German origin. It originated in 1948 as a classical label for the
Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft (DGG), and in 1958 Archiv was established as a
subsidiary
A subsidiary, subsidiary company, or daughter company is a company (law), company completely or partially owned or controlled by another company, called the parent company or holding company, which has legal and financial control over the subsidia ...
of DGG, specialising in recordings of
Early and
Baroque music
Baroque music ( or ) refers to the period or dominant style of Classical music, Western classical music composed from about 1600 to 1750. The Baroque style followed the Renaissance music, Renaissance period, and was followed in turn by the Class ...
. It has since developed a particular focus on "
historically informed performance
Historically informed performance (also referred to as period performance, authentic performance, or HIP) is an approach to the performance of Western classical music, classical music which aims to be faithful to the approach, manner and style of ...
" and the work of artists of the
Early music revival movement of the 20th and 21st centuries.
The first head of Archiv Produktion, serving in the position from 1948 to 1957, was Fred Hamel, a
musicologist
Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, f ...
who set out the early Archiv Produktion releases according to 12 research periods, from
Gregorian Chant to Mannheim and Vienna. Hamel's successor 1958-1968
Hans Hickmann was a professor at the
University of Hamburg
The University of Hamburg (, also referred to as UHH) is a public university, public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('':de:Allgemeines Vorlesungswesen, ...
who focused on Bach and Handel. The next director was
Andreas Holschneider (1931–2019) from 1970-1991. In December 1991 Holschneider gave an interview to ''Gramophone'' where he defended the entry of Archiv Produktion and "authentic instrument" specialists such as
John Eliot Gardiner into Romantic territory of Schumann and Berlioz. The label's next head was Peter Czornyj (b. 1956) from 1992.
[Martin Elste ''Meilensteine der Bach-Interpretation 1750 - 2000'']
In parallel, the
Decca Records
Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...
also acquired the rights to the recording catalogue of the French-Australian music publishers
Éditions de l'Oiseau-Lyre in 1970 and began to issue early music recordings using the l'Oiseau-Lyre brand.
Key artists and recordings
1940s
* Archiv Produktion's first recording was of
Helmut Walcha playing Bach, 1947, released in 1948. Walcha went on to make two complete series of Bach's organ output (excepting a few minor pieces), one in mono recorded in 1947-52, one in stereo in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Both sets were released by Archiv to wide acclaim and have later been reissued on cd.
*
Fine Krakamp making solo harpsichord recordings in 1948 of Buxtehude & Krieger.
1950s
*
Ralph Kirkpatrick (harpsichord, many recordings of Bach and Handel)
* Schola Cantorum Basiliensis under August Wenzinger
1960s
*
Cappella Coloniensis
* Berlin Hugo Distler Chor,
Klaus Fischer-Dieskau
*
Josef Ulsamer
*
Münchener Bach-Chor & Münchener Bach-Orchester,
Karl Richter
*
Colin Tilney,
Jörg Demus,
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
* Schola Cantorum "Francesco Coradini" - Fosco Corti
*
Pierre Fournier (cello and
viola da gamba)
1970s
*
Monteverdi-Chor Hamburg,
Jürgen Jürgens
*
Pro Cantione Antiqua (medieval/renaissance vocal music, including a long series of albums of 15th/16th century polyphony)
*
Charles Mackerras
*
Camerata Bern,
Heinz Holliger
1980s
*
Musica Antiqua Köln,
Reinhard Goebel
*
The English Concert,
Trevor Pinnock.
*
Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra,
John Eliot Gardiner
* harpsichordist
Kenneth Gilbert
1990s
* Musiciens du Louvre,
Marc Minkowski - first recording for Archiv was Rameau's ''
Hippolyte et Aricie'' 1994.
*
Orlando Consort
*
Pomerium (ensemble)
*
Piffaro, The Renaissance Band
2000s
* Gabrieli Consort & Players,
Paul McCreesh
Paul McCreesh (born 24 May 1960) is an English conductor.
Paul McCreesh is the founder and artistic director of the Gabrieli Consort & Players. With them he has performed in major concert halls and festivals across the world. He has been the ...
* Il Complesso Barocco,
Alan Curtis
2010s
* Venice Baroque Orchestra,
Andrea Marcon,
Giuliano Carmignola
*
Pablo Heras-Casado
*
Mahan Esfahani
References
External links
Official Archiv Produktion Website
{{Authority control
Classical music record labels
Early music record labels
German record labels
Labels distributed by Universal Music Group
Record labels established in 1949
1949 establishments in Germany