This CD uses early and late songs, three excerpts from the successful opera Astorga, a piano arrangement of the best known orchestral work 'Columbus', the only two organ pieces and excerpts from his String Quartet, op.25, to create a comprehensive panorama of Johann Joseph Abert's (1832-1915) multifaceted oeuvre from the Prague years to 1879.

Johann Joseph Abert was a German composer born in Kochowitz near Gastorf, Bohemia, now Kochovice, Hoštka in the Czech Republic where he is also known as Jan Josef Abert. Little of Abert's oeuvre has so far been recorded. However, there are recordings available of the String Quartet in A (together with a collection of songs), the opera Ekkehard, the Fourth Symphony ('Columbus'), and the concertante works for double bass and orchestra.

Featuring soloists Thomas Pfeiffer (baritone), Martin Nagy (tenor), Larissa Wäspy (soprano), Roswitha Sicca (mezzo soprano), Joachim Drahein on piano and Jürgen Rieger as the organist, this new recording is a welcome addition to the catalogue.