BENDA, Jiří Antonín (1722-1795) - Gott steigt herab (c.1770)

Jiří Antonín Benda (1722-1795) - Gott steigt herab (c.1770)

Performers: Stefanie Dаsch (sopran); Agnieszka Monаsterskа (alt); Julio Fernández (tenor); Simon Berg (bass); Kantorei Santa Barbara; L'Estate Armonico; WiesIаw DeIimаt (conductor)

Painting: Jacques Dumont (1704-1781) - Allégorie en l’honneur de la publication de la paix d’Aix-la-Chapelle,

le 13 février 1749 (1761)

Further info: Jiří Antonín Benda (1722-1795) - Cantata 'Eilet, eilet das Gesetz zu horen' (1761)

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Jiří (Johann Georg) Antonín Benda

(Staré Benátky, bap. 30 June 1722 - Köstritz, 6 November 1795)

Bohemian composer and violinist. Son of Jan Jiří Benda (1686-1757) and brother of Franz Benda (1709-1786), Johann Georg Benda (1713-1752) and of the soprano Anna Franziska Benda (1728-1781), he trained initially by his father. He later was sent to a local school in Kosmonosy in 1735, and in 1739 he attended the Jesuit Gymnasium in Jičín in music. In 1742 he joined family members in Berlin, where he functioned for a few years as a violinist. In 1750 he was offered the position of Kapellmeister at the court of Saxe-Gotha by Duke Friedrich III, where he composed mainly church music. A journey to Italy in 1765 brought him into contact with leading opera composers of the day, who influenced his compositional style. In 1770 he was named kapelldirector, a largely symbolic post, but his regular duties for Friedrich’s successor, Duke Ernst II, included writing a new style of work that fused spoken drama with music, called the duodrama. The first work, Ariadne auf Naxos, was performed in 1774 and soon began to be imitated throughout Germany. At the same time, Benda gained a reputation as a composer of Singspiel, becoming the most popular composer of the genre of the time. A dispute with rival Anton Schweitzer led him to resign his post and leave Gotha for a year of travel to Hamburg and Vienna. Increasing fame brought about by his duodramas subsequently allowed him to tour various musical centers, such as Paris in 1781 and Mannheim in 1787, although he was formally retired. His last work, ironically, is a cantata titled Bendas Klagen from 1792. As a composer, Benda was one of the most celebrated people of the latter 18th century, known mainly for his sacred music and innovations in theatre music. In his duodramas in particular, one can note a carefully delineated harmonic and melodic sensitivity that underscores the text. His Singspiels are noted for their more complex musical settings and serious tone that is often far more progressive than in similar works by Johann Adam Hiller. His instrumental music, however, still maintains elements of the galant style, with sequenced themes and short rhythmic motives. His works include 13 operas (including incidental music and duodramas), 166 cantatas (mainly Lutheran), two Masses, an oratorio, six secular cantatas, about 25 Lieder, 30 symphonies, 23 concertos (mostly violin and harpsichord), 54 keyboard sonatas, and several other sonatas for violin and flute, as well as a large number of keyboard works. His son Friedrich Ludwig Benda (1752-1792) was also a composer and violinist.

BIRCK, Wenzel Raimund (1718-1763) - Concerto ex C per il Clavicembalo

Wenzel Raimund Birck (1718-1763) - Concerto Ex C. | Per Il Clavicembalo. | Violinis 2bus | Con | Basso

Performers: Milko Bizjak (cembalo); Gertraud Gamerith (violin); Aninka Harms (violin); Alojz Mordej (violoncello)

Drawing: Kaiserlich Franziskische Akademie (18th Century) - Gezicht op het Stadtpalais Liechtenstein

aan een plein te Wenen

Further info: Wenzel Raimund Birck (1718-1763)

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Wenzel Raimund (Johann) Birck [Birk, Birckh, Pirck, Pirckh, Pürk, Pürck]

(Leopoldstadt, bap. 27 June 1718 - Leopoldstadt, 17 July 1763)

Austrian composer, organist and teacher active in Vienna. From 1726 to 1739 he was a Hofscholar and studied music with Matteo Palotta. On 6 February 1739 he succeeded Georg Reutter as court organist in a post he held until his death. He remained in Vienna his whole life also working as a teacher and composer. Among his pupils, several archdukes and Christoph Sonnleithner. As a composer, he left 25 sinfonias, 16 string quartets, several partias and concertos as well as 12 sonatas and a Trattenimenti per clavicembalo (1757).

GARGALLO, José Ramón (1744-1794) - Lauda Jerusalem

José Ramón Gargallo (1744-1794) - Lauda Jerusalem

Performers: Capilla Clásica de León; Camerata de Madrid; Luis Remartínez (conductor)

Painting: South American School (17th Century) - The Annunciation

Further info: Maestros de Capilla de la Catedral de León

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José (Joseph) Ramón Gargallo

(Cantavieja, 1744 - León, 1794)

Spanish composer. Almost nothing is known about his early years. He probably received music lessons at the church of Asunción de Nuestra Señora. In 1771 he applied for the chapelmaster post at the Calahorra Cathedral but the post was finally awarded to the composer Diego Pérez Camino. Years later, when he had already obtained the same position at the León Cathedral in 1776, he remained still pleading against the decision of the Calagurritan chapter, which had harmed him visibly. Although he lived and worked in the Leonese capital until 1794, he still tried to compete to the choirmaster at the Salamanca Cathedral in 1789. As a composer, he was mainly focused on sacred music, the most common genre in Spain despite living and working during the second half of the 18th Century. His output was over than 60 works and most of them were characterized by the use of false polychoralism. His best works were praised by the refined use of the contrapuntal style, such as the 'Misa y Oficio de difuntos a ocho voces'. He was not related to another Gargallo music members active during the 18th Century, such as Joseph Gargallo (1702-c.1734), chapelmaster in Valencia and Albarracín, and Francisco Gargallo, chapelmaster in Morella.

TESSARINI, Carlo (c.1690-1766) - Overtura a quattro Stromenti

Carlo Tessarini (c.1690-1766) - Overtura III da Orchestra a quattro Stromenti due Violini Viola, e Basso

Performers: Tessarini Chamber Orchestra; Mirko Krebs (conductor)

Drawing: William Pether (1738-1821) - Carlo Tessarini

Further info: Carlo Tessarini (1690-1766) - Introducioni a 4, Op.11

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Carlo Tessarini [Thessaurini, Thessarini di Rimini]

(Rimini, c.1690 - Amsterdam, after 15 December 1766)

Italian violinist and composer. He was a follower, if not actually a pupil, of Arcangello Corelli. By 1720 he was a violinist at San Marco in Venice, and from 1729 was concertmaster of the concerts of the Conservatory S. Giovanni e Paolo. He also was active at the chapel of Urbino Cathedral (from c. 1733). After a sojourn at the court of Cardinal Wolfgang Schrattenbach in Brunn (c.1735-38), he was again active at Urbino Cathedral until 1744. He also made tours as a concert artist in 1739 and appeared in the Netherlands in 1747. He was once more active at Urbino Cathedral (1750-57) although he continued to pursue his concert career; subsequently settled in Holland. The last information on Tessarini is a reference to a concert he gave at the Collegium musicum in Arnheim on 15 December 1766; after this all trace of him disappears. As a composer, his violin sonatas, generally in 3 movements, contributed to the establishment of a three-movement sonata as a norm. He published many trio sonatas, duets, concertinos, overtures and concerti grossi, as well as the interesting treatise, 'Gramatica di musica: insegna il modo facile e breve perbene imparare di sanae il violino su la parte' (1741).

LEONI, Leone (c.1560-1627) - Missa super: 'Ab austro veniet'

Leone Leoni (c.1560-1627) - Missa super: "Ab austro veniet". 12 voc.

Performers: La Stagione Armonica; Sergio Balestracci (conductor)

Painting: Leonello Spada (1576-1622) - Concerto (c.1620)

Further info: Splendori del Barocco Veneziano Sacro

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Leone (Leo) Leoni [Leonini]

(Verona, c.1560 - Vicenza, 24 June 1627)

Italian composer. He initially trained as a priest, probably at the Scuola degli Accoliti, Verona. He later studied at the "academy" maintained by Count Mario Bevilacqua in Verona, then was maestro di cappella in Vicenza from 4 October 1588, in a post he held until his death. In Bella Clori (1591) he described himself as a member of the Accademia Olimpica. In 1593 he became a member of the confraternity of Divine Love. In 1610 he was elected maestro della musica of the newly formed Pia Opera dell’Incoronata. He was a disciple of the Venetian school, and his works are characteristic for their application of chromatic devices in harmony and antiphonal choral usages. He wrote about 130 madrigals (41 not extant) and around 185 motets (about 40 not extant). 

BINI, Pasquale (1716-1770) - Concerto grosso con Violino Principale

Pasquale Bini (1716-1770) - Concerto grosso | Con Violino Principale, a quattro di |

Accompagnamento, è Basso | di Ripieno

Performers: Giacomo Scarponi (violin); Frequenze Diverse ensemble

Painting: Paolo Monaldi (1710-1779) - Scena campestre

Further info: Pasquale Bini (1716-1770)

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Pasquale (Pasqualino) Bini [Detto il Pesarese]

(Pesaro, 21 June 1716 - Pesaro, April 1770)

Italian violinist and composer. By an early age, for when he was 15 years old, Cardinal Olivieri sent him to Padua to study with Giuseppe Tartini. He remained there for more than three years and then went to Rome, where he played so well that rumour credited his success with causing the death from embarrassment of the violinist Antonio Montanari. Hearing that Tartini had changed his style of playing, he returned to Padua and placed himself for another year under his old master. His admiration for Tartini was returned by the teacher, who spoke of no other pupil except Nardini in such complimentary terms. On Bini’s return to Rome a year later, Tartini wrote recommending him to an English patron: ‘He plays better than I do, and I am proud of it, for he is an angel in morals and religion’. In 1738 he returned to Rome, the year of Cardinal Olivieri's death, and remained there until 1747. Then he moved back to Pesaro where he was playing at the Teatro del Sole until 1754, when he entered the service of the Duke of Württemberg in a post he held until 1759. His last years he retired in Pesaro. As a composer, he left a handful of compositions, none of which was published.

KRAUS, Joseph Martin (1756-1792) - Sinfonie ur Es Dur

Joseph Martin Kraus (1756-1792) - Sinfonie ur Es Dur, VB 144

Performers: Svenska Kammarorkestern; Petter Sundkvist (conductor)

Painting: Johann Georg Schütz (1755-1813) - Portrait of a Musician (Joseph Martin Kraus) (1782)

Further info: Joseph Martin Kraus (1756-1792) - Symphonies

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Joseph (Josef, Giuseppe) Martin Kraus [Crauss, Kraous, Krause]

(Miltenberg am Main, 20 June 1756 - Stockholm, 15 December 1792)

German composer. Born in the Electorate of Mainz to a local assessor, he exhibited precocious talent for both literature and music at an early age. Trained at the local school in Buchen, he was sent to the Jesuit Gymnasium und Musikschule in Mannheim, where he received education in music from members of the Mannheim Kapelle and literature under Pater Anton Klein. In 1773 he published a volume of poetry under Versuch von Schäfersgedichte while in attendance at Mainz University. The following year he moved to Erfurt to continue his studies in law, receiving further musical training from Georg Peter Weimar and Johann Christian Kittel. The indictment of his father on charges of bribery forced him to return home, where he published a tragedy, Tolon, and devoted his energies toward writing music for the Buchen church, including oratorios Die Geburt Jesu and Der Tod Jesu. Resuming his study of law at Göttingen University in 1776, he was persuaded to seek his fortune in Sweden at the court of Gustav III by a fellow student. He also published an aesthetical treatise, Etwas von und über Musik fürs Jahr 1776, which applies the emotional philosophy of the literary Sturm und Drang to music. After several years of trying to obtain a position, he was finally appointed assistant kapellmästare in 1781 after the successful trial performance of his opera Proserpin. From 1782 to 1786 he undertook a grand tour of Germany, Austria, Italy, England, and France to observe the latest musical and theatrical trends. Upon his return to Stockholm, he was appointed as the educational director of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music and in 1788 as full kapellmästare. An active participant in all aspects of music, he helped to form Gustavian cultural policy. He died of tuberculosis shortly after the assassination of his patron in 1792. As a composer he was lauded by Joseh Haydn and Christoph Willibald von Gluck as one of the most original geniuses of the period, a sentiment that was echoed by Johann Baptist Cramer (who ranked him among the five most important composers of the age) and Johann Friedrich Reichardt. His compositions include five operas (including a titanic six-act work, Aeneas i Cartago), three ballets, 18 symphonies, five violin sonatas, at least eight concertos (violin, viola, flute, and cello), two piano sonatas, and over 100 songs and piano cantatas. His music has been cataloged by VB (van Boer) numbers.

WENDLING, Johann Baptist (1723-1797) - Concerto à 5 Stromenti (c.1755)

Johann Baptist Wendling (1723-1797) - Concerto (C-Dur) à 5 Strom[enti] | Flauto Traverso Principale | Violino Primo | Violino Secundo | Viola | et | Basso (c.1755)

Performers: Joachim Schmіtz (flute); Kurpfälzisches Kammerorchester; Hans Oskar Kοch (conductor)

Painting: Bernardo Bellotto (1721-1780) - Ansicht von München (c.1761)

Further info: Johann Baptist Wendling (1723-1797) - Flotenmusik der Mannheimer Schule

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Johann (Jean, Giovan) Baptist (Battista, Batist) Wendling [Vindling, Wandling, Wentling]

(Rappoltsweiler [now Ribeauvillé], bap. 17 June 1723 - Munich, 27 November 1797)

German flautist and composer. His forebears originated from a region of Alsace with a strong musical tradition of fife playing and both his father and grandfather were musicians. Little is known of his training, but in 1745 he obtained a post as a flute teacher of Duke Christian IV of Zweibrücken. By 1749 he undertook tours to Berlin and Paris, where he made a successful debut at the Concerts spirituels. On 9 January 1752 he married the soprano Dorothea Spurni and few months later he was appointed as flute teacher to the Electoral court in Mannheim. From April 1771 to May 1772 he was in London, not only performing as a soloist but also collaborating with J.C. Bach in chamber music concerts and in the presentation of Bach's serenata Endimione. He accompanied the Mannheim court in its removal to Munich in 1778 and was first flautist at least until 1790. In his latter years he revisited Mannheim to perform at the Concerts de Mrs les Amateurs. Johann Baptist Wendling is best known for his friendship with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, but he also contributed much toward the development of music for his instrument. His style reflects second-generation Mannheim composers. His works include 14 concertos, three flute quartets, 30 trios, 39 duos, and 12 sonatas for the flute. He was one of the most celebrated flautists of his day. His daughter Elisabeth Augusta [Gustl] Wendling (1752-1794) was a singer and his brother Franz Anton Wendling (1733-1786), according to his contemporaries, was universally admired as a violinist.

COLONNA, Giovanni Paolo (1637-1695) - Beatus Vir a quattro voci (1694)

Giovanni Paolo Colonna (1637-1695) - Beatus Vir a quattro voci, 'Psalmi ad vesperas' Opera XII (1694)

Performers: Hοustοn Chamber Choir & Orchestra; Robert Simpsοn (conductor)

Painting: Eustache Le Sueur (1617-1655) - The Muses Melpomene, Erato and Polyhymnia (c.1653)

Further info: Giovanni Paolo Colonna (1637-1695) - Triumphate Fideles

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Giovanni (Pietro) Paolo Colonna [Colomna]

(Bologna, 16 June 1637 - Bologna, 28 November 1695) 

Italian composer, teacher, organist and organ builder. He was the son of a well-known organ builder from Brescia, Antonio Colonna (alias Dal Corno) and Francesca Dinarelli, and himself became an active authority on organ construction. As a young man he took organ lessons in Bologna with Agostino Filipucci and then went to Rome to study composition with Abbatini, Benevoli and Carissimi. He served as organist in San Apollinare there before pursuing his career in Bologna. In 1659 he was made second organist and in 1661 organist at San Petronio, and then served as its maestro di cappella from 1674 until his death. He also was maestro di cappella at the church of the Madonna della Galliera (1673-88) and at San Giovanni in Monte (1689-90). In 1666 he was one of the founder-members of the Bolognese Accademia dei Filarmonici and was elected principal in 1672 and re-elected in 1674, 1685 and 1691. As a composer, he was a distinguished composer of oratorios, six of which are extant. Among his other fine works were two volums of motets (Bologna, 1681), the Messe e salmi concertati (Bologna, 1691) and Psalmi ad vesperas (Bologna, 1694). He was widely recognized in his lifetime and in the 18th century as one of the most distinguished Italian church musicians. 

EBERL, Anton (1765-1807) - Sinfonia in d-moll (1804)

Anton Eberl (1765-1807) - Sinfonia in d-moll, Op.34 (1804), IAE 17

Performers: WDR Sinfonieorchester; Reinhard Goebel (conductor)

Drawing: Carl Schütz (1745-1800) - Der Neumarkt

Further info: Anton Eberl (1765-1807) - Piano Concerto, Op. 32

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Anton (Franz de Paula Josef Vincenz Ferrerius) Eberl

(Vienna, 13 June 1765 - Vienna, 11 March 1807)

Austrian pianist and composer. He displayed great musical talent at an early age and gave private piano recitals in Vienna at the age of eight. Early composition and keyboard lessons were taken with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Although Eberl intended to study law at the University of Vienna, family bankruptcy in 1785 forced him to teach piano. In 1795 he accompanied both Mozart’s widow and sister-in-law Aloysia Lange on a concert tour to Germany, from which he accepted a post at St. Petersburg the following year. He returned to Vienna in 1803 at the height of his popularity as a composer of Singspiels but died of blood poisoning shortly thereafter. The Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung remarked that the early death of an artist had seldom been so generally regretted as his was. Although Eberl was highly regarded as a theatre composer most of his stage works are lost. His music reflects the late Viennese style of his teacher and other composers such as Antonio Salieri, being well crafted and tuneful. Works include eight Singspiels (all lost), two cantatas, a chamber serenata, five symphonies, four fortepiano concertos, a sextet, two quintets, five quartets, nine trios, seven violin sonatas, two duos, nine keyboard sonatas, and numerous smaller pieces for the fortepiano.

SEIXAS, Carlos (1704-1742) - Dixit Dominus

Carlos Seixas (1704-1742) - Dixit Dominus em Ré maior

Performers: Ana Ferraz (soprano); Luís Madureira (tenor); Manuel Braz da Costa (alto);

Coro de Câmara de Lisboa; Norsk Barokkorkester; Ketil Haugsand (conductor)

Painting: Mariano Rossi (1731-1807) - Bozzetto raffigurante l'Allegoria del Trionfo della Chiesa

Further info: SEIXAS - Sonatas

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(José António) Carlos Seixas [De Seixas, Seyxas, Sexas]

(Coimbra, 11 June 1704 - Lisboa, 25 August 1742)

Portuguese composer and organist. He was the son of Francisco Vaz and Marcelina Nunes. On the death of his father, early in 1718, he was appointed his successor as organist at the Coimbra Cathedral and within a month was, at the age of fourteen, earning his father’s old salary. Two years later he moved to Lisbon ‘with the intention of becoming a churchman’ where he secured the post of organist at a church then known as the Santa Igreja Patriarcal, a position he remained in until the end of his life. There is some doubt as to whether this was the royal chapel, at that time located in the Ribeira Palace, or the Basilica de Santa Maria Maior, near which Seixas lived. We do know, through the few documents available, such as his papers for entry to the Ordem de Cristo (The Order of Christ), and a biographical note, published in 1759 by Diogo Barbosa Machado in his Bibliotheca Lusitana, that Seixas taught the harpsichord at the Court in Lisbon and that ‘taken by a sincere affection’ he married Joana Maria da Silva in December 1731, having two sons and three daughters by her. We also know that on 21 May 1738 he acquired the job of paymaster of the Ordem de Santiago. In June 1733 he also joined the Royal Palace Guards, under the command of Viscount Barbacena, rising from second lieutenant to captain. He finally became a Knight of the Order of Christ by royal despatch in November 1738, after taking nine years to qualify. Carlos Seixas died in Lisbon at his home behind the Church of Sant’ Anténio da Sé, and was buried in the graveyard of the Brotherhood of the Santissimo Sacramento attached to that church. According to Barbosa Machado Seixas was suffering from fever and ‘prepared himself to take the last rites of the Catholic church, and so, receiving the Sacraments and reciting the Litany of Our Lady, he expired on 25 August 1742, at the age of 38 years, two months and fourteen days’. Carlos Seixas was the leading figure in Portuguese 18th-century music and his importance as a composer rests mainly on his keyboard sonatas, 88 of them currently extant.

Unknown composer (18th Century) - Concertino a due Organi

Unknown composer (18th Century) - Concertino (G-Dur) a due Organi

Performers: Annerös Hulliger (organ); Philip Swanton (organ)

Painting: Swiss school (18th century) - Bildnis einer Organistin

Further info: Festliche Musik für zwei Orgeln

SALES, Pietro Pompeo (1729-1797) - Missa Solennis ex D (c.1775)

Pietro Pompeo Sales (1729-1797) - Missa Solennis ex D (c.1775)

Performers: Suzanne Cаlаbra (soprano); Elke Burkеrt (alto); Axel Reichardt (tenor);

Tobias Schаrfеnbеrgеr (bass); Trierer Kammerchor; SWR-Rundfunk-Orchester Kaiserslautern;

Manfred Mаy (conductor)

Painting: Carlo Innocenzo Carloni (1686-1775) - The Triumph of Faith

Further info: Pietro Pompeo Sales (1729-1797) - Sinfonia D-Dur

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Pietro Pompeo Sales [de Sala]

(Brescia, 1729 - Hanau, 21 November 1797)

Italian composer. After the early death of his parents in an earthquake he went to Innsbruck, entered the service of Baron Pircher and studied at Innsbruck University. In 1752 he composed a school drama for the Jesuits. Two years later he became conductor of an Italian opera troupe, with which he visited Cologne, Brussels, Lille and other cities. In 1756 he took charge of the court chapel of Prince-Bishop Joseph, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, in Augsburg and Dillingen an der Donau. He travelled widely as a performer and composer, becoming a member of the Bologna Accademia Filarmonica (1758) and composing an oratorio for Mannheim (1762) and operas for Munich (1765) and Padua (1767). After the landgrave’s death in 1768, Sales, taking with him some of the Augsburg musicians, moved to the court of the Trier Elector Clemens Wenzeslaus (who had succeeded to the title of Prince-Bishop of Augsburg) at Ehrenbreitstein am Rhein. There he headed the court chapel, one of the largest in Germany, although he was not appointed court Kapellmeister until 1787, after the death of Konrad Starck. He maintained his connection with the Munich court by composing the carnival operas in 1769 and 1774. In 1774 he married the court singer Franziska Blümer. In 1776 he appeared in London as a viol player (according to Choron and Fayolle: Dictionnaire historique des musiciens, Paris, 1810–11/R, this was his second visit), and in 1777 he performed a Passion in Frankfurt. In 1786 he moved with the elector’s court to the newly built castle at Koblenz, which the court had to abandon twice (in 1792 and 1794) during the wars of the French Revolution. In 1797 he again had to flee the French and died before he could return. Sales was a versatile composer in the current Italian style, but the care with which he wrote also reflects developments in Germany. He was well regarded as a composer in his lifetime, but a promise he had made to the elector not to publish prevented any wider distribution of his work. Schubart thought highly of Sales, although he expressed some reservations about his work in the Ideen zu einer Ästhetik der Tonkunst. It must be assumed that many of his compositions are lost. His most important surviving works are his oratorios, particularly Betulia liberata.

SCHUMANN, Robert (1810-1856) - Concert für das Piano Forte (c.1843)

Robert Schumann (1810-1856) - Concert (a-moll) für das Piano Forte mit Begleitung des Orchesters (c.1843)

Performers: Claire Chеvalliеr (fortepiano); Anima Etеrna Bruggе; Jos van Immеrsееl (conductor)

Painting: Unknown Artist (19th Century) - Portrait of Robert Schumann

Further info: Robert Schumann (1810-1856) - Konzertstück, Op. 86 (1849)

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Robert Schumann [Schuman, Suman]

(Zwickau, 8 June 1810 - Endenich, 29 July 1856)

German composer and music critic. He was the fifth and youngest child of August Schumann (1773-1826), a Saxon bookseller who encouraged his musical inclinations, and Johanna Christiana Schnabel (1767-1836). At about the age of 7, he began taking piano lessons from Johann Gottfried Kuntzsch, organist at the Zwickau Marienkirche. In 1828 he enrolled at the University of Leipzig as studiosus juris. In Leipzig he became a piano student of Friedrich Wieck, his future father-in-law. In 1829 he went to Heidelberg, where he applied himself seriously to music. In 1830 he returned to Leipzig and lodged in Wieck's home. He also took a course in composition with Heinrich Dorn. His family life was unhappy; his father died at the age of 53, and his sister Emily at the age of 19, most likely a suicide. Of his 3 brothers, only one reached late middle age. Schumann became absorbed in the Romantic malaise of Weltschmerz; his idols included the writers and poets Jean Paul, Novalis, Heinrich von Kleist and Lord Byron. Schumann wrote plays and poems in the Romantic tradition and at the same time practiced his piano playing in the hope of becoming a virtuoso pianist. He never succeeded in this ambition; ironically, it was to be his beloved bride, Clara Schumann (1819-1896), who would become a famous concert pianist, with Schumann himself often introduced to the public at large as merely her husband. Schumann had a handsome appearance; he liked the company of young women, and enjoyed beer, wine, and strong cigars; this was in sharp contrast with his inner disquiet. As a youth, he confided to his diary a fear of madness. He had auditory hallucinations which caused insomnia, and he also suffered from acrophobia. When he was 23 years old, he noted sudden onsets of inexpressible angst, momentary loss of consciousness, and difficulty in breathing. He called his sickness a pervasive melancholy, a popular malaise of the time. 

What maintained his spirits then was his great love for Clara, 9 years his junior; he did not hesitate to confess his psychological perturbations to her. Her father must have surmised the unstable character of Schumann, and resisted any thought of allowing Clara to become engaged to him; the young couple had to go to court to overcome Wieck's objections, and were finally married on 12 September 1840. Whatever inner torment disturbed Schumann's mind, it did not affect the flowering of his genius as a composer. One of the most fanciful inventions of Schumann was the formation of an intimate company of friends, which he named Davidsbundler to describe the sodality of David, dedicated to the mortal struggle against Philistines in art and to the passionate support of all that was new and imaginative. In 1843 he was asked by Mendelssohn to join him as a teacher of piano, composition, and score reading at the newly founded Conservatory in Leipzig. In 1844 he and Clara undertook a concert tour to Russia. In the autumn of 1844 they moved to Dresden, remaining there until 1850. In 1850 he became municipal music director in Düsseldorf, but his disturbed condition manifested itself in such alarming ways that he had to resign the post in 1853. His condition continued to deteriorate. On 27 February 1854, he threw himself into the Rhine, but was rescued. On 4 March 1854, he was placed, at his own request, in a sanatorium at Endenich, near Bonn, remaining there until the end of his life. While best remembered for his piano music and songs, and some of his symphonic and chamber works, Schumann made significant contributions to all the musical genres of his day and cultivated a number of new ones as well. His dual interest in music and literature led him to develop a historically informed music criticism and a compositional style deeply indebted to literary models. A leading exponent of musical Romanticism, he had a powerful impact on succeeding generations of European composers.

ESCORIGUELA, Joseph (1674-1743) - Al ver que María (1721)

Joseph Escoriguela (1674-1743) - Al ver que María, a 7 (1721)

Performers: Harmonia del Pаrnàs; Marian Rosa Montаgut (conductor)

Painting: Anonimo (17th Century) - El triunfo de la Prudencia

Further info: Villancicos A La Verge De La Cinta

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Joseph (Josep, José) (Agustí Norberto) Escoriguela [Escorihuela]

(Morella, bap. 6 June 1674 - Tortosa, 26 August 1743)

Spanish composer. Son of Pere Joan Escoriguela and Anna Segura, and nephew of the composer Isidro Escoriguela (?-1723), he received music lessons from his uncle and Josep Vives. In 1695 he succeded his uncle as a 'maestro de capilla' at the cathedral of Tarragona, in a post he held until 1708. On 10 March 1708 he was appointed 'maestro de capilla' at the cathedral of Tortosa in a post he held the rest of his life. As a composer, he wrote over than 150 works, all of them sacred and mainly preserved in manuscript. During his life he enjoyed a considerable reputation, and his works, in manuscript, are widely distributed among various cathedrals in eastern Spain. 

HONAUER, Leontzi (1737-1790) - Sonate pour le clavecin (1761)

Leontzi Honauer (1737-1790) - Sonate (III, Fa majeur) pour le clavecin ... Livre premier (1761)

Performers: Szilvia Elek (pianoforte)

Drawing: Jakob Rousseau (18th Century) - Silhouette Portrait of the Family of Burchard Johann von Deneken von Nienlande and Jeanne Esther du Peyrou (1784)

Further info: Keyboard Sonatas with Violin Accompaniment

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Leontzi (Léontzi, Leonzi) Honauer [Hannavre, Honajier]

(Strasbourg, 2 June 1737 - Strasbourg, c.1790)

French composer, teacher and keyboardist. Son of Léontzi Honauer (1686-1775), a musician at the Strasbourg cathedral, and Anne-Marie Zimmermann, he was trained by his father and brother François Xavier Léontzi Honauer (1731-1788). By 1761 he was a member of the court of Prince Louis de Rohan in Paris, in whose service he attained a considerable reputation as a teacher. His pupils included Peter von Hagen II. In 1771 he visited Vienna, returning to Paris after three years. By 1788 he had returned to Strasbourg with a pension, which was paid until 1790, the presumed year of his death. As a teacher, he was noted for his skill and ability to impart knowledge to his students. His three books of keyboard sonatas, published between 1761 and 1764, demonstrate a penchant for lyrical style and thematic contrast. Apart from the 18 sonatas in these books, he also published a set of four keyboard quartets and other smaller keyboard works; a pair of suites remain in manuscript.

WANSKI, Jan (1756-1830) - Litania de Sanctissimi Nominis Jesus

Jan Wański (1756-1830) - Litania de Sanctissimi Nominis Jesus

Performers: Marzena Michаłowski (soprano); Agnieszka Rеhlis (mezzosoprano); Rafał Bаtmiński (tenor);

Maciej Strаburzyński (bass); Chór Katolickiego Uniwersytetu Lubеlskiego Jana Pаwła II;

Orkiestra Akademii Beethovenowskiej; Marcin Nаłęcz Niеsiołowski (conductor)

Painting: Bernardo Bellotto (1721-1780) - Carmelite Church in Warsaw

Further info: Jan Wański (1756-1830) - Symfonia D-Dur (c.1790)

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Jan Wański

(Wielkopolska, 2 June 1756 - Poznań, c.1830)

Polish violinist and composer. Almost nothing is known about his early years. He was professionally active for 30 years, first in Poznań and later in other places in Wielkopolska, such as Sarnowa (near Rawicz), Święciechowa, Wschowa and Gostyń. As a composer, he wrote operas, among them, 'Pasterz nad Wisłą' and 'Kmiotek', sacred music, symphonies and other instrumental and secular works. His works, based on elementary forms and in a Classical style, were enriched by elements of Polish folk music, which are present even in his Latin masses. His brother Roch Wański (?-1808) was a cellist, his son Jan Nepomucen Wański (c.1800-1888) was a violinist and composer and his granddaughter Anna Wański was a pianist and teacher. His nephew was the famous polish composer Karol Kurpiński (1785-1857).