Athanasius Kircher - Weihnacht der Spielleyt (2019)

The ensemble Spielleyt - Early Music Freiburg presents on this album a series of Christmas songs from the song collection of the Strasbourg Hymnbook of 1697. The preface to the hymnbook states that the song selection consists of ‘außerlesenen, uhralten und ... new songs’. ‘Uhralt’ here means that the melodies of some songs can date back to the Middle Ages. The ensemble has restored the songs in question from the Strasbourg hymnal to a medieval sound.

The ensemble Spielleyt was formed in Freiburg in 1990. The name is taking from Spielleute, the German word for medieval players. Group members were drawn from students at the University of Freiburg and the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis.