Who is TACET?

The word TACET comes from Latin and means "to be silent". You see it in the score when a musician has nothing to play for a whole piece. In such situations, the score has "TACET". A paradoxical name, then, for a record firm?

The producer of the label, Andreas Spreer, loves the paradox. The Diplom-Tonmeister founded the music company TACET in April 1989 in Stuttgart, Germany. Since then TACET has produced music for the most demanding listeners in various formats (CD, LP, SACD, DVD-Audio and Blu-Ray). From the very beginning the recordings received excellent reviews and the highest accolades (amongst them, several Jahrespreise der deutschen Schallplattenkritik, Cannes Classical Award, Echo, Diapason d'Or, a Grammy nomination and many more. Have a rummage around the reviews on our product page). More importantly, they enjoy enormous popularity with the public. There is still no end in sight to this: the number of TACET fans is still growing. So what is the key to this enduring success?

Maybe it lies in the fact that TACET consistently works on the synthesis of two levels often regarded as being very different, even contradictory: the musical content and the technical quality of the recording.

A term that embraces both the musical and technical recording priorities is the "sound" (Klang). The sound originates in an instrument and the musician draws it out, but whether he likes it or not, the apparatus and people that succeed him also influence the sound. When all those involved, musicians, instruments, recording space, recording equipment and sound editor are well-suited to each other, or work well together, then something new develops midway between them that comes very close in nature to a composition. This is what our slogan, "Der TACET-Klang - sinnlich und subtil" [The TACET sound - sensual and subtle], is all about.

"This is one of the best sounding records you'll ever hear" wrote the US magazine "Fanfare" of the TACET-LP L207 "oreloB". ". Gjörgy Ligeti said of the Art of Fugue "… if I can only take one work to a desert island then I'd choose Koroliov's Bach, because all alone, dying from hunger and thirst, I would listen to this over and over until my last breath". "The decisive aspect, though, is the commonality of spirit. The members of the Auryn Quartet share the same artistic vision…" (Rheinische Post). Rummage around a little in the review and product pages, or better still, listen to some TACET recordings and see what the critics are writing.

For us music should touch on and express everything that makes up our lives. It allows the listener to experience emotions without becoming sentimental. It can be funny and make you laugh. It can be "romantic" in a sincere way, without dragging the listener into the feel-good atmosphere of a stuffy department store. It can be intellectually stimulating in an endless variety of ways. It can stimulate thought and understanding without requiring any musical training. It can be effective and mind-blowing when it reflects the true nature of the work. It can trigger a revolution in your mind without using a single word. It can contradict and correct. Music can arouse despair but it can also comfort. And so on and so on. A complete list would be endless.

TACET's owner and founder Andreas Spreer has, amongst other honours, received the "Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik" certificate for outstanding performance.