Archiv Produktion is a

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

of German origin. It originated in 1949 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 owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a s ...

of DGG, specialising in recordings of

Early Early may refer to: History * The beginning or oldest part of a defined historical period, as opposed to middle or late periods, e.g.: ** Early Christianity ** Early modern Europe Places in the United States * Early, Iowa * Early, Texas * Early ...

and

Baroque music Baroque music ( or ) refers to the period or dominant style of Western classical music composed from about 1600 to 1750. The Baroque style followed the Renaissance period, and was followed in turn by the Classical period after a short transiti ...

. 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 :''See Historically informed performance for a more detailed explanation of this topic.'' The general discussion of how to perform music from ancient or earlier times did not become an important subject of interest until the 19th century, when E ...

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 who set out the early Archiv Produktion releases according to 12 research periods, from

Gregorian Chant Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin (and occasionally Greek) of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed mainly in western and central Europe durin ...

to Mannheim and Vienna. Hamel's successor 1958-1968

Hans Hickmann Hans Robert Hermann Hickmann (b. Roßlau, Germany, May 19, 1908; d. Blandford Forum, England, September 4, 1968) was an eminent German Musicology, musicologist. He lived in Egypt and specialized in the music and organology of Ancient Egypt, and sur ...

was a professor at the

University of Hamburg The University of Hamburg (german: link=no, Universität Hamburg, also referred to as UHH) is a public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('' Allgemeines Vor ...

who focused on Bach and Handel. The next director was

Andreas Holschneider Andreas Holschneider (6 April 1931 – 24 September 2019) was a German music historian and writer. Life Holschneider was born in 1931 in Freiburg im Breisgau as the oldest of four sons of the chemist Friedrich Wilhelm Holschneider and Olga Holsc ...

(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. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

also acquired the rights to the recording catalogue of the French-Australian music publishers

Éditions de l'Oiseau-Lyre Éditions de l'Oiseau-Lyre (commonly referred to as L'Oiseau-Lyre) is a French music publishing company and a classical music record label that specialises in Early and Baroque music. It was founded in 1932 as a publisher of scholarly editions ...

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 Arthur Emil Helmut Walcha (27 October 1907 – 11 August 1991) was a German organist, harpsichordist, music teacher and composer who specialized in the works of the Dutch and German baroque masters. Blind since his teenage years, he is known f ...

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 Ralph Leonard Kirkpatrick (; June 10, 1911April 13, 1984) was an American harpsichordist and musicologist, widely known for his chronological catalog of Domenico Scarlatti's keyboard sonatas as well as for his performances and recordings. Life ...

(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 The Monteverdi-Chor Hamburg is a mixed choir in Hamburg, the chamber choir of the University of Hamburg since 1961. Founded in 1955 by Jürgen Jürgens and directed by him until 1994, it is one of Germany's most famous concert choirs. The choir is ...

Jürgen Jürgens Jürgen Jürgens (5 October 1925 – 4 August 1994) was a German choral conductor and academic teacher. He founded and directed the Monteverdi-Chor Hamburg, a pioneering ensemble for Monteverdi's music. Biography Born in Frankfurt am Main, Jür ...

Pro Cantione Antiqua Pro Cantione Antiqua of London (PCA) is a British choral group which was founded in 1968 by tenor James Griffett, counter-tenor Paul Esswood, and conductor and producer Mark Brown. Their first concert was at St Bartholomew's, Smithfield with Bria ...

(medieval/renaissance vocal music, including a long series of albums of 15th/16th century polyphony) * Charles Mackerras *

Camerata Bern Located in Bern, Switzerland, the Camerata Bern was founded in 1963 as a conductorless, flexible chamber orchestra. The Camerata Bern performs early Baroque to contemporary classical music. The group tours extensively worldwide and is releasing ...

Heinz Holliger Heinz Robert Holliger (born 21 May 1939) is a Swiss virtuoso oboist, composer and conductor. Celebrated for his versatility and technique, Holliger is among the most prominent oboists of his generation. His repertoire includes Baroque and Classic ...

1980s

Musica Antiqua Köln Musica Antiqua Köln was an early music group that was founded in 1973 by Reinhard Goebel and fellow students from the Conservatory of Music in Cologne. Musica Antiqua Köln devoted itself largely to the performance of the music of the 17th and 18th ...

Reinhard Goebel Reinhard Goebel (; born 31 July 1952 in Siegen, West Germany) is a German Conducting, conductor and baroque violin, violinist specialising in early music on Historically informed performance, authentic instruments and professor for historical perf ...

The English Concert The English Concert is a baroque orchestra playing on period instruments based in London. Founded in 1972 and directed from the harpsichord by Trevor Pinnock for 30 years, it is now directed by harpsichordist Harry Bicket. Nadja Zwiener has be ...

, Trevor Pinnock. * Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra, John Eliot Gardiner * harpsichordist Kenneth Gilbert

1990s

* Musiciens du Louvre,

Marc Minkowski Marc Minkowski (born 4 October 1962) is a French conductor of classical music, especially known for his interpretations of French Baroque works, and is the current general director of Opéra national de Bordeaux. His mother, Mary Anne (Wade), i ...

- first recording for Archiv was Rameau's ''

Hippolyte et Aricie ('' Hippolytus and Aricia'') was the first opera by Jean-Philippe Rameau. It was premiered to great controversy by the Académie Royale de Musique at its theatre in the Palais-Royal in Paris on October 1, 1733. The French libretto, by Abbé Sim ...

'' 1994. *

Orlando Consort The Orlando Consort is a British vocal consort which is best known for performing Renaissance choral music one voice to a part. The Consort was founded in 1988 as part of the activities of the Early Music Network of Great Britain, a forerunner of th ...

* Pomerium (ensemble) * Piffaro, The Renaissance Band

2000s

* Gabrieli Consort & Players, Paul McCreesh * Il Complesso Barocco, Alan Curtis

2010s

* Venice Baroque Orchestra, Andrea Marcon,

Giuliano Carmignola Giuliano Carmignola (born 7 July 1951, in Treviso) is an Italian violinist. Born in Treviso, he studied with his father, then with Luigi Ferro at the Venice Conservatory and afterwards with Nathan Milstein and Franco Gulli at the Accademia Chigia ...

* Pablo Heras-Casado *

Mahan Esfahani Mahan Esfahani ( fa, ماهان اصفهانی) (born 1984 in Tehran) is an Iranian-American harpsichordist. Education Esfahani received his first guidance on the piano from his father before exploring an interest in the harpsichord as a teenag ...

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