OEHLSCHLAGEL, Jan Lohelius (1724-1788) - Missa Pastoralis Solemnis (1761)

Jan Lohelius Oehlschlägel (1724-1788) - Missa Pastoralis Solemnis ex D (1761)

Performers: Ivana Kvasnickova (soprano); Virginie Walterová (alto); Richard Sporka (tenor); Marc Niubo (bass); Ceskeho Rozhlasu Orchestra; Cantores Pragenses; Josef Hercl (1928-2005, conductor)

Painting: Januarius Zick (1730-1797) - The Adoration of the Shepherds (c.1765)

Further info: Weihnachten An St. Jakob

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Jan (Joannes) (Franz Joseph) Lohelius Oehlschlägel [Oehlschlegel, Oelschlegel]

(Lahošť, 31 December 1724 - Strahov, 22 February 1788)

Bohemian composer, choirmaster, organist and organ builder. He was a pupil of Jana Jiřího Weidiga, the choirmaster of Duchcov, and later in Prague he studied with Josef Anton Sehling. In 1737 he received financial support by Emanuel Filibert von Waldstein of Duchov and he was addmited to the Jesuit monastery of Bohosudov where he was appointed as organist in a time he was finishing his studies of philosophy and theology. In August 1747 he entered the Premonstratensian Order and definitively took his monastic name of Jan Lohelius, under which most of his music was written. He was appointed as choirmaster of the monastic churches at Milevsko (1749-50) and at Strahov (1756). He also spent 15 years rebuilding the Strahov church organ, making it one of the best and largest in Bohemia at the time (Mozart tested and admired it in 1787). As a composer, he mainly wrote sacred music in a pre-Classical and early Classical style close to his fellows Antonio Boroni and F.X. Brixi. He died in Prague in February 1788.

CANNABICH, Christian (1731-1798) - Simphonia a 14. Stromenti (1778)

Christian Cannabich (1731-1798) - Simphonia (C-Dur) a 14. Stromenti (1778)

Performers: Freiburger orchester; Gottfried von der Goltz (conductor)

Drawing: Dirk Langendijk (1748-1805) - De inneming van een stad door Franse troepen

Further info: Christian Cannabich (1731-1798) - Sinfonia concertante F-Dur

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(Johann) Christian (Innocenz Bonaventura) Cannabich

(Mannheim, bap. 28 December 1731 - Frankfurt, 20 January 1798)

German composer, violinist, and Kapellmeister. Son of Matthias Franciscus Cannabich (c.1690-1773), the private music tutor for the Elector of the Palatinate, he began his formal study of violin under Johann Stamitz and at the Jesuit Gymnasium and Music Seminar in Mannheim. At the age of 12 he was appointed as a scholar with the Mannheim orchestra, receiving full employment in the violin section in 1746. In 1750 Elector Carl Theodor sent Cannabich to Rome to study under Niccolò Jommelli, after which he followed his teacher to Stuttgart as a violinist. In 1756 he returned to Italy, this time to Milan, where he took lessons from Giovanni Battista Sammartini. Upon the death of Stamitz, Cannabich returned to Mannheim where he was appointed first violin, later becoming Konzertmeister. He became a friend of the Duke of Zweibrücken, who introduced him to Parisian musical circles in 1764; Cannabich returned to Paris several times over the next years, both to perform at the Concerts spirituels and to publish his music. In 1778 he followed the Electoral court to Munich, where he spent the remainder of his life and career. Cannabich was one of the most important composers of the second generation in Mannheim. He composed prolifically, in particular for ballets that were created by choreographer Étienne Lauchery during the 1760s. He was admired internationally, particularly by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with whom he was a close friend. His musical style has clear-cut themes, harmonic progressions, and formal structures that are all hallmarks of the Classical style of the period. His ballets are particularly adept for dancing, while his duodramas such as Elektra of 1777 show a dramatic flair in his music. He wrote well over 200 works, including at least 75 symphonies (and perhaps as many as 90), 40 ballets, two operas, two duodramas, 18 duets (flute/violin or violin/viola), 30 violin sonatas, 16 concertos or sinfonia concertantes, 12 string quartets, six piano trios, six flute quartets, and a number of works for the keyboard.

ROSIER, Natalis Carolus (1640-1725) - Sonata für trompete

Natalis Carolus Rosier (1640-1725) - Sonata für trompete in C-Dur

Performers: Helmut Hunger (1929-2011, trumpet); The Angelicum Orchestra; Alberto Zedda (1928-2017, conductor)

Painting: Philips Wouwerman (1619-1668) - Riding School

Further info: Art of the Trumpet

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Natalis Carolus (Noël-Charles, Carl) Rosier [Rosiers, de Rosier]

(Liège, 26 December 1640 - Cologne, 1725)

Flemish composer and violinist. His first years are unknown. From about 1664 he was a violinist at the court of the Elector Maximilian Heinrich in Bonn and later became vice-Kapellmeister there. From 1675 he lived principally in Cologne, but from about 1683 to 1699 he also worked in the Netherlands, where he was highly regarded as a violinist and numbered Carolus Hacquart among his colleagues. On a title-page of 1691 he is described as vice-Kapellmeister at the court at Cologne. In 1697 he participated in a collegium musicum in Amsterdam together with Nicolas Desrosier, Hendrik Anders and others. In 1699 he was Kapellmeister of Cologne Cathedral and in 1701 was appointed to a similar post by the city council; he kept both posts until his death in 1725. As a composer, he mainly published sacred works, among them, 'Motetta, sive cantiones sacrae' (1668) and at least 12 masses and 18 motets (c.1705-1713). He was also praised as a composer of instrumental music, mainly by his collection of '14 sonate' for several instruments (1697). His daughter Maria Anna married the composer Willem de Fesch.

BOLOGNE DE SAINT-GEORGE, Joseph (1744-1799) - Sinfonia à plusieurs instruments (1779)

Joseph Bologne de Saint-George (1744-1799) - Sinfonia (en ré majeur) à plusieurs instruments ... oeuvre XI (1779)

Performers: Orchestre de Chambre de Versailles; Bernard Wahl (1922-1994, conductor)

Drawing: Mather Brown (1761-1831) - Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges

Further info: Joseph Bologne (1745-1799) - Sonatas pour clavecin

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Joseph Bologne [Boulogne] 'Chevalier de Saint-Georges'

(Baillif, 25 December 1745 - Paris, 9 June 1799)

Caribbean composer, violinist, swordsman, equestrian and military commander. Son of a manumitted African mother and French plantation owner (his last name was apparently taken from one of the plantations his father owned), he grew up in the vicinity of Basse-Terre. His family went to France in 1747 to escape difficulties with the law but returned to Guadeloupe a few years later. In 1753 they moved permanently, first to Bordeaux then to Paris, where he underwent his earliest musical education, probably under Antonio Lolli and a few years later François-Joseph Gossec. In 1769 he became a violinist in the Concerts des amateurs, later becoming its director. During this time, beginning with his debut as a soloist in 1772, he became famous for his technical proficiency on his instruments, earning the epithet as the finest violinist of the age. A proposal to make him musical director of the Opéra in 1776 was blocked by four singers who refused to work with a “mulatto.” In 1781 he founded the Loge Olympique orchestra sponsored by one of Paris’s largest masonic lodges; he conducted the premieres of Haydn’s so-called Paris symphonies, which he had helped commission. In 1787 he traveled to London, where his prowess as a violinist and swordsman were thought legendary. A supporter of the Revolution, he was given command of troops from France’s colonial domains in 1792, but a year later he was denounced and spent 18 months in prison. Disillusioned, he sailed to Hispanola to participate in the newly independent Haiti of Toussant l’Ouverture. There the corruption and poor living standards further eroded his health and state of mind. He returned to Paris to conduct the Cercle d’harmonie orchestra, but was unable to escape poverty. During his lifetime, Saint-Georges was a remarkable bon vivant who freely interacted in the upper circles of Parisian society. His music was known for its tunefulness and technical brilliance, using devices such as bariolage that were extremely uncommon. His 1778 opera 'Le partie du chasse' was well received. In all he wrote six operas, 13 violin concertos, 10 sinfonia concertantes, a bassoon concerto, two symphonies, nine violin sonatas, 18 string quartets, and several other smaller pieces. His multifaceted personality has been the subject of both literature (six novels) and a motion picture. He is reckoned as one of the greatest Afro-Caribbean musicians of the period.

COMPERE, Loyset (c.1445-1518) - Missa in Nativitate

Loyset Compère (c.1445-1518) - Missa in Nativitate Deus Noster Jesu Christe

Performers: Orlаndo Consort

Painting: Antwerp, early 16th century - Adoration of the Magi

Further info: Loyset Compère, Orlando Consort

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Loyset Compère

(Hainaut, c.1445 - St Quentin, 16 August 1518)

French composer. According to the poet Jean Molinet, Compère belonged to a family from St Omer, in the county of Artois; a Milanese document of 1476, moreover, describes him as a cleric of Arras, also in Artois. During the mid-1470s Compère belonged to the cappella of Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan. Later he was a singer in the service of Charles VIII of France until at least 1498. After serving as dean of the church of St. Gery in Cambrai (1498-1500), he was provost of the collegiate church of St. Pierre in Douai until about 1504. From 1491 he also held a canonry at the collegiate church in St. Quentin. His extant works include Masses, mass sections, motetti, missales, a Magnificat, motets, motet-chansons, and frottolas. L. Finscher ed. his works in the Corpus Mensurabilis Musicae series (1958-72). He was one of the leading chanson and motet composers of the late 15th and early 16th centuries.

Unknown composer (18th Century) - Symphonia de Nativitate (1759)

Unknown composer (18th Century) - Symphonia de Nativitate (1759)

Performers: Warsaw Chamber Opera Orchestra; Mieczyslaw Nowakowski (1934-2017, conductor)

Painting: Jacques Guillaume van Blarenberghe (1691-1742) - Rural scene with figures

Further info: Symphonia de Nativitate (1759)

PALSCHAU, Johann Gottfried Wilhelm (1741-1815) - Sonata per Cembalo

Johann Gottfried Wilhelm Palschau (1741-1815) - Sonata (V, D-Dur) per Cembalo (c.1760), IJP 4

(World Premiere Recording)

Performers: Pau NG on Sibelius with samples of a German harpsichord (18th Century)

Painting: Johan Christian Claussen Dahl (1788-1857) - Copenhagen Harbor by Moonlight (1846)

Further info: Johann Gottfried Wilhelm Palschau (1741-1815)

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Johann Gottfried Wilhelm Palschau

(Copenhagen?, 21 December 1741 - St Petersburg, 5 July 1815)

Danish harpsichordist and composer. He was the son of the violinist Peter Jacob Palschau (c.1708-1793), who settled in Copenhagen around 1747, probably from Holstein. As a member of the Royal Opera orchestra in Copenhagen, he encouraged the musical career for his five sons. Johann Gottfried Wilhelm Palschau received music lessons from his father before touring Europe from an early age. He was performing in London (1754) and Hamburg (1761), and about 1771 he studied with Johann Gottfried Müthel in Riga. In 1777 he settled in St Petersburg, where he quickly found favour at court and pursued a highly successful career as a concert artist with the violinist L.P. Yershov. The last documented appearance took place there in 1800 where he accompanied the German singer H. Chr. Wunder. As a composer, only few works are extant, mainly for harpsichord; 2 harpsichord concertos (c.1771), several sonatas and a keyboard 'Aria Francois avec Variations'. His two daughters were singers and they took part on the Johann Adolph Scheibe's funeral music at Frederik V funeral in 1766.

CIMAROSA, Domenico (1749-1801) - Symphonie concertante (1793)

Domenico Cimarosa (1749-1801) - Symphonie concertante (en Sol majeur) pour Deux Flutes (1793)

Performers: Robert Dohn (1936-2015, flute); Helmut Steinkraus (flute);

Württembergisches Kammerorchester; Jörg Faerber (1929-2022, conductor)

Painting: Francesco Saverio Candido (1768-1807) - Domenico Cimarosa

Further info: Domenico Cimarosa (1749-1801) - Magnificat

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Domenico Cimarosa

(Aversa, 17 December 1749 - Venice, 11 January 1801)

Italian composer. Born into poverty, his family sent him to Naples to be educated. There his musical talent was recognized by a priest, Padre Polcano, who arranged for him to attend the Conservatorio di Santa Maria de Loreto, where his teachers included Niccolò Piccinni and Antonio Sacchini. In 1772 he had his first success at the Teatro Fiorentini with a pair of operas, Le stravaganze de conte and Le magie de Merlina e Zoroastro. Thereafter, he became one of the most popular and successful composers of opera buffa, working in virtually all of the major cities in Italy, beginning with Rome. In 1779 he was appointed as organist at the Cappella Reale in Naples. His fame grew internationally, so that in 1788 Russian empress Catherine II called him to St. Petersburg to write opera for the court. In 1792, however, economic circumstances forced her to reduce her theatre personnel, and Cimarosa left to accept an invitation of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II to write for Vienna. Traveling to the Imperial capital, he sojourned in Warsaw, where he composed three operas, before continuing on to Vienna, where his opera Il matrimonio segreto was a stunning success. Upon his return to Naples, he joined with the opposition to the French occupation, eventually in 1799 being imprisoned and condemned to death. The sentence was commuted to banishment, and an intended return to St. Petersburg was thwarted by his death in Venice on his journey. It was suspected that he had been poisoned by rivals, but an inquest revealed no hint of foul play. Cimarosa was once of the most prolific composers of the Classical period in terms of opera buffa. He wrote almost 100 operas (mostly buffa but also including the late intermezzo), six oratorios, 17 Masses, 16 miscellaneous sacred works, 10 solo motets, two Requiems, 10 secular cantatas, eight duets, seven patriotic hymns, 88 keyboard sonatas, six string quartets, two symphonies, two concertos (one for harpsichord, one for two flutes), two sextets (including one with lyra organizzata), and several partimenti. His style is fluid and facile, with a special focus on lyricism. Cimarosa solidified the potpourri opera buffa overture as a sequence of non-sequitur material in a single movement. He was a central figure in opera of the late 18th century.

BACH, Johann Christoph (1642-1703) - Es ist nun aus mit meinem Leben

Johann Christoph Bach (1642-1703) - Es ist nun aus mit meinem Leben

Performers: English Baroque Soloists; John Eliot Gаrdіner (conductor)

Painting: Anoniem (18th Century) - Christ Handing a Nail to a Nun

Further info: Johann Christoph Bach - Welt, Gute Nacht 

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Johann Christoph Bach

(Arnstadt, bap. 18 December 1642 - Eisenach, bur. 2 April 1703)

German composer and organist, son of Heinrich Bach (1615-1692), organist and composer of the highest distinction among the earlier Bachs. He received early lessons from his father, and on 20 November 1663 was appointed organist of the Arnstadt castle chapel. Two years later he was invited by the Eisenach town council to apply for the post of organist at St Georg, and after an audition on 10 December 1665, he was appointed to that position and also to the post of harpsichordist in the court Kapelle of the Duke of Eisenach. He retained both positions until his death. In 1667, he married Maria Elisabeth Wiedemann and they had seven children, including four sons who became musicians: Johann Nicolaus Bach (1669-1753), Johann Christoph Bach Jr. (1676-1738), Johann Friedrich Bach (1682-1730), and Johann Michael Bach (1685-?). As a composer, C.P.E. Bach described him as a "great and expressive composer". He was probably the most important member of the family before Johann Sebastian Bach.

DELALANDE, Michel Richard (1657-1726) - Caprice des Simphonies pour le Souper du Roy (1703)

Michel Richard Delalande (1657-1726) - Caprice des Simphonies pour le Souper du Roy (1703) Performers: Orchestre de chambre Paul Kuentz; Paul Kuentz (conductor)

Painting: Adam-François van der Meulen (1632-1690) - L'entrée solennelle de Louis XIV et de Marie-Thérèse à Douai

Further info: Michel Richard Delalande (1657-1726) - Te Deum

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Michel-Richard Delalande [La Lande, De Lalande]

(Paris, 15 December 1657 - Versailles, 18 June 1726)

French composer, harpsichordist and organist. He was the leading composer of the high Baroque grand motet at the French court. He was the 15th child of Michel Lalande, a Parisian master tailor, and Claude Dumoutiers. He joined the choir of the royal church of St.Germain-l'Auxerrois about 1666 and sang there until his voice broke at age 15. He became a distinguished organist and harpsichordist, giving instruction on the latter to two of the daughters of Louis XIV by his mistress Mme. de Montespan. He was also active as a church organist in Paris. In 1683 he became one of the four sous-maitres of the Royal Chapel; he was in sole charge from 1714 until 1723, when Louis XV restored the other three positions. He then was joined by Campra, Bernier and Gervais. In 1685 he was named 'compositeur de la musique de la chambre', a title he solely held from 1709 to 1718. He also was 'surintendant de la musique de la chambre' from 1689 to 1719. He was made a Chevalier of the Order of St. Michel by Louis XV in 1722. Delalande's grand motets are outstanding, being notable for their mastery of the Versailles style. He is also distinguished by his music for the stage. He deftly used music from his ballets and divertissements in his 'Simphonies pour les soupers du Roi', which were played at the dinners of Louis XIV and Louis XV. According to the ‘Discours’, he died of pneumonia. He was buried in the church of Notre Dame de Versailles, not far from the château where he had served for 43 years.

DE CASTILLON, Alexis (1838-1873) - Quintette avec piano (1864)

Alexis de Castillon (1838-1873) - Quintette avec piano, Op.1 (1864)

Performers: Laurent Martin (piano); Satie Quartet

Painting: Servais Joseph Detilleux (1870-1940) - Familieportret (1904)

Further info: Alexis de Castillon (1838-1873) - Piano Concerto Op. 12 (1872)

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Marie-Alexis de Castillon [de Saint-Victor]

(Chartres, 13 December 1838 - Paris, 5 March 1873)

French composer. He was born into an old aristocratic family from Languedoc. He received piano lessons with Charles Delioux in a years he also met and befriended a young Camile Saint-Saëns. In 1856 his family sent him to the military academy of Saint Cyr where he remained until 1861, the year he decided to dedicate himself to music. Shortly after, he continued his training with Victor Massé. His first public appearance as a composer was in Pau where he befriended the Marquis d'Angosse. At the end of 1869 he met César Franck in an event that would become pivotal in his career. Later, he served during the Franco-Prussian War. After the war ended, he founded the Société Nationale de Musique with Saint-Saëns at a time he composed his Piano Concerto, Op.12 (1872) although its first performance went unnoticed. In 1872 he began the composition of Paraphrase du psaume lxxxiv, Op.17 considered his most outstanding work. However, his health was fastly decaying and on his return to Paris he died in March 1873. 

ZELTER, Carl Friedrich (1758-1832) - Concerto per il Viola di Braccia (1779)

Carl Friedrich Zelter (1758-1832) - Concerto per il Viola di Braccia, 2 Violini, 2 Viole, 2 Corni e Basso (1779)

Performers: Georg Schmid (1907-1984, viola); Kammerorchester Des Saarländischen Rundfunks, Saarbrücken;

Karl Ristenpart (1900-1967, conductor)

Painting: Thomas Hudson (1701-1779) - The Radcliffe Family (c.1742)

Further info: Carl Friedrich Zelter (1758-1832) - Lieder

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Carl (Karl) Friedrich Zelter

(Berlin, 11 December 1758 - Berlin, 15 May 1832)

German composer, conductor and teacher remembered primarily as a composer of lieder. The son of the mason George Zelter, he was brought up in the same trade, but his musical inclinations soon asserted themselves. He began training in piano and violin at 17, and from 1779 he was a part-time violinist in the Doebbelin Theater orchestra in Berlin. Also there he was a pupil of C.F.C. Fasch (1784-86). In 1786 he brought out a funeral cantata on the death of Frederick the Great. In 1791 he joined the Singverein (later Singakademie) conducted by Fasch, often acting as his deputy, and succeeding him in 1800. He was elected associate ("Assessor") of the Royal Academy of the Arts in Berlin in 1806, becoming a teacher in 1809. In 1807 he organized a Ripienschule for orchestra practice, and in 1809 he founded in Berlin the Liedertafel, a pioneer men's choral society that became famous; similar organizations were subsequently formed throughout Germany, and later in America. Zelter composed about 100 men's choruses for the Liedertafel. In 1822 he founded the Royal Institute for Church Music in Berlin, of which he was director until his death (the Institute was later reorganized as the Akademie fur Kirchen- und Schulmusik). His students, among others, included Mendelssohn, Meyerbeer, Loewe and Nicolai. Goethe greatly admired Zelter's musical settings of his poems, preferring them to Schubert's and Beethoven's; this predilection led to their friendship, which was reflected in a voluminous correspondence, 'Briefwechsel zwischen Goethe und Zelter' (ed. in 6 vols. by F.W. Riemer, Berlin, 1833-34; ed. in 3 vols. by L. Geiger, Leipzig, 1906; ed. in 4 vols. by M. Hecker, Leipzig, 1913; Eng. tr. by AD. Coleridge, London, 1887). His songs are historically important, since they form a link between old ballad types and the new art of the lied, which found its flowering in Schubert and Schumann. Zelter's settings of Goethe's 'König von Thule' and of 'Es ist ein Schuss gefallen' became extremely popular. He published a biography of C.F.C. Fasch (Berlin, 1801). Zelter's autobiography was first published under the title 'C.F. Zelter. Eine Lebensbeschreibung nach autobiographischen Manuscripten', ed. by W. Rintel, then as 'C.F. Zelter. Darstellungen seines Lebens' (Weimar, 1931).

GUGLIELMI, Pietro Alessandro (1728-1804) - Dixit a 8 concertato (c.1797)

Pietro Alessandro Guglielmi (1728-1804) - Dixit a 8 concertato (c.1797)

Performers: Der Domchor Münster; Santini Kammerorchester; Heinz-Gert Freimuth (1939-2009, conductor)

Painting: Pietro Francesco Garoli (1638-1716) - A view of the Piazza del Campidoglio, Rome

Further info: Pietro Alessandro Guglielmi (1728-1804) - Quartetto in sol maggiore, Op.1 (c.1768)

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Pietro Alessandro Guglielmi

(Massa, 9 December 1728 - Rome, 19 November 1804)

Italian composer. Son of Jacopo Guglielmi, his earliest studies were with Francesco Durante at the Conservatorio di Santa Maria di Loreto in Naples, from which he emerged in 1753 as an opera composer with his first major success in Turin two years later. During the next decade, he wrote no fewer than 25 operas; these included such popular works as Il ratto della sposa (1765) and La Sposa fedele (1767), which, along with L'impresa d'opera (1769), were performed throughout Europe with notable success. By 1762 he had been called to Dresden to direct opera (though not as Kapellmeister), and in 1768 he moved to London before returning to Italy in 1772. There he received commissions for his works from around the country. He made a home in Naples in 1777, but in 1793 he was appointed as maestro di cappella at St. Peter’s in Rome. In 1797 he also assumed the post of maestro di cappella at S. Lorenzo Lucina. Considered one of the most popular composers principally of opera buffa during his lifetime, he was known for good lyrical melodies and a progressive sense of harmony. His works have been little studied, and what research exists focuses mainly upon his operas (about 100). In addition, he composed nine oratorios, a Requiem, and nine celebratory cantatas, as well as a considerable amount of instrumental music. 

DUSSEK, František Xaver (1731-1799) - Sinfonia in C (c.1767)

František Xaver Dušek (1731-1799) - Sinfonia in C (c.1767)

Performers: Czech Chamber Philharmonic; Vοjtěch Spurný (conductor)

Engraving: Martin Tyroff (1704-1759) und Johann Andreas Pfeffel (1674-1748) - Zwei Prager

Ansichten Prospect des Platzes bei dem Neustädter Rathaus

Further info: Franz Xaver Dussek (1731-1799) - Piano Concertos

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František (Franz) Xaver Dušek [Duschek, Duscheck, Dussek]

(Chotěborky, bap. 8 December 1731 - Prague, 12 February 1799)

Bohemian composer, pianist and music teacher. The son of a peasant, he was enabled by his patron, Count Johann Karl Sporck, to attend the Jesuit Gymnasium at Hradec Králové. Later he was sent to Prague to study under Franz Habermann and subsequently Vienna under Georg Christoph Wagenseil. In 1770 he returned to Prague where he was associated with the musical establishments of Counts Pachta and Clam- Gallas, in addition to making a living teaching and composing. The most outstanding of his pupils were Leopold Kozeluch, Jan Vitásek and Vincenc Mašek. On 21 October 1776 he was married to Josefa Hambacher (1754-1824), a mezzo-soprano highly appreciated for the sonority, range and flexibility of her voice, for her musicianship, and superb execution of both bravura arias and recitatives. As a composer, Dušek was known for its elaborate structures and short development sections. His works include 37 symphonies, five serenades, nine concertos (almost all for fortepiano), four sinfonia concertantes, 37 parthies, 21 trios, 14 keyboard sonatas for four hands, eight keyboard sonatas, and five songs. Other works, particularly those for the voice and church, have issues of attribution.

DE MAJO, Giuseppe (1697-1771) - Concerto per Flauto Traverso

Giuseppe de Majo (1697-1771) - Concerto (in sol maggiore) per Flauto Traverso con 2. violini violetta et Basso

Performers: Carlo Ipаtа (flute); Ausеr Musici

Painting: Pittore Napoletano del XVIII Secolo - Musici

Further info: Neapolitan Flute Concertos

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Giuseppe de Majo [Maio]

(Naples, 5 December 1697 - Naples, 18 November 1771)

Italian composer and organist, father of Gian Francesco de Majo (1732-1770). Following study at the Conservatorio della Pietà dei Turchini under Nicola Fago and Andrea Basso, he became associated with the Teatro Fiorentini beginning in 1725 as a composer of operas. His first stage work, the opera buffa 'Lo finto laccheo', was premiered there in 1725. By 1736, however, he was appointed as 'organista soprannumerario' at the Cappella Reale, promoted to provicemaestro in August 1737 and to vicemaestro in 1744. After the death of the primo maestro Leonardo Leo in 1744, he competed for the post the following year, against Porpora, Fago and Durante, and on 9 September 1745 he became primo maestro in a post he held until his death. As a composer, his works reflect Baroque stylistic idioms, particularly his sacred music. His output includes 10 operas, an oratorio, six cantatas, and four sacred works, though many others remain undiscovered. 

SOLER Y RAMOS, Antonio (1729-1783) - Concierto VI en re mayor (c.1770)

Antonio Soler y Ramos (1729-1783) - Concierto VI en re mayor (c.1770)

Performers: Joseph Payne (1937-2008, clavecin); Anthony Newman (clavecin)

Engraving: Georg Braun (1541-1622) & Franz Hogenberg (1539-1590) - Scenographia totius fabricae S. Laurentii in Escoriali (1575)

Further info: Antonio Soler (1729-1783) - Magnificat Secundi Toni

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[Padre] Antonio (Francisco Javier José) Soler y Ramos

(Olot, bap. 3 December 1729 - El Escorial, 20 December 1783)

Spanish composer and organist. At the age of six, after instruction from his father, Marcos Mateo Pedro Soler (a band musician in the regiment of Numancia), he entered the famous music school Escolanía in the monastery of Montserrat where he studied under Benito Esteve, Andrés Jaumeandreu and Benito Valls. By 1744 he had taken Holy Orders and obtained the post of organist at the cathedral of La Seu d’Urgell, later functioning as director in Lleida and finally at El Escorial in Madrid, in a post he held the rest of his life. There he taught the royal family, as well as living a simple life in the Heironymite monastery of San Lorenzo. In 1762 he published a treatise on harmony, 'Llave de la modulación'. Soler can be considered one of the major composers of the middle of the 18th century in Spain, whose reputation especially for his keyboard sonatas achieved international recognition. He composed some 200 of these, as well as 132 villancicos, 60 Psalms, 25 hymns, 13 Magnificats, nine Masses, six quintets for organ and strings, six concertos for solo organ, five Requiems, and five motets, as well as some miscellaneous pieces, over 500 compositions in total. His musical style shows the development of the sonata principle in his sonatas, and the organ concertos are still performed regularly today as exemplars of a florid church style. His brother Mateu Soler y Ramos (c.1720-1799) was a bassoon player and composer.

GIGLI, Innocenzo (1708-1772) - Vesperae solemnes in festo Pentecostis

Innocenzo Gigli (1708-1772) - Vesperae solemnes in festo Pentecostis

Performers: Ayse Sеnеr (soprano); Elöise Cеnаc-Mοrthé (mezzosoprano); David Bеuchеr (tenor);

Felipe Olivеira (baritono); Cantores Sancti Joseph; Ensemble da camera da “La Grande Orchestra” di Faenza;

Daniele Bοnοncini (conductor)

Painting: Antonio Joli (1700-1777) - View of the flooded Piazza Navona, Rome

Further info: Innocenzo Gigli (1708-1772)

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Innocenzo Gigli

(Finale Emilia, 3 December 1708 - Modena, 1 August 1772)

Italian composer. Son of Francesco Antonio Gigli and Francesca Paola Castellacci, the earliest news of him comes from the sacred orders certificates preserved in the Modena Archbishop's Archives. It is documented he attended the Schola Doctrinae Christianae from 1716 to 1731. In 1729 he was ordained subdeacon, then deacon (1730) and finally priest on December 1731. About his musical career it is deduced he received music lessons by local masters based in Modena, such as Francesco Buoni and Antonio Toselli. The main composer active there was Antonio Maria Pacchioni, maestro di cappella at Modena Cathedral and with whom he probably studied. About 1734 he was appointed chaplain and music teacher at the Modena's brotherhood of the SS. Rosary. Later, in touch with Padre Martini, he was elected as a member of Philharmonic Academy of Bologna. After the death of Antonio Maria Pacchioni, he was promoted to maestro di cappella at Modena Cathedral a post he held until his death in 1772.

LOEWE, Johann Carl (1796-1869) - Grosse Sonate für das Pianoforte (1829)

Johann Carl Loewe (1796-1869) - Grosse Sonate (E-Dur) für das Pianoforte, Op.16 (1829)

Performers: Tobias Kοch (pianoforte); Gesine Adlеr (soprano)

Painting: Gustave Léonard de Jonghe (1829-1893) - Practicing

Further info: Carl Loewe (1796-1869) - Piano Concerto in A major

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Johann Carl (Gottfried) Loewe

(Löbejün, 30 November 1796 - Kiel, 20 April 1869)

German composer and singer. He was the twelfth and youngest child of the Kantor and schoolmaster Adam Loewe (?-1826), from whom he received his first musical education. When he was 12 he was sent to the Francke Institute in Halle, where his attractive manner, excellent high voice, and early ability to improvise brought him to the attention of Jerome Bonaparte, who granted him stipend of 300 thalers annually until 1813. His teacher was Daniel Gottlob Türk, the head of the Francke Institute; after Turk's death in 1813, Loewe joined the Singakademie founded by Johann Friedrich Naue. He also studied theology at the University of Halle, but soon devoted himself entirely to music. He had begun to compose as a boy; under the influence of Zelter, he wrote German ballades, and developed an individual style of great dramatic force and lyrical inspiration; he perfected the genre, and was regarded by many musicians as the greatest song composer after Schubert and before Brahms. In 1820 he became a schoolmaster at Stettin, and in 1821 music director there and organist at St. Jacobus Cathedral. He lived in Stettin, except for frequent travels, until 1866, when he settled in Kiel. He visited Vienna (1844), London (1847), Sweden and Norway (1851), and Paris (1857), among other places. During his long career in Stettin, he established a reputation across Europe both as a composer and a singer. Much respected at the Prussian court, where he was a favourite of both Friedrich Wilhelm III and Friedrich Wilhelm IV, he was elected a member of the Berlin Academy in 1837. Loewe was also active as a music teacher. His most famous student, whom he taught composition from 1841 to 1847, was Emilie Mayer. As a composer, he wrote 6 operas, hundreds of songs and ballades, several cantatas, 2 symphonies, 2 piano concertos, 4 string quartets, a Piano Trio and piano sonatas.