Un portal on escoltar i gaudir de l'art musical dels segles XVI, XVII, XVIII i XIX. Compartir la bellesa de la música és l'objectiu d'aquest espai i fer-ho donant a conèixer obres de compositors molt o poc coneguts és el mètode.
Brazilian composer, instrumentalist, and conductor in the Captaincy of
Minas Gerais. A bassoonist and timpanist for the Regiment of Dragoons,
he also served as a contralto singer and eventually succeeded José
Joaquim Emerico Lobo de Mesquita as music director at the Matriz do
Pilar in 1800. In addition to his musical professional career, he held
administrative roles, including treasurer and clerk, within several
religious brotherhoods. While historical estimates suggest a prolific
output of approximately 200 compositions, only a small number of
manuscripts have been preserved. His extant catalog is defined by sacred
works for voices and chamber orchestra, most notably the Novena de
Nossa Senhora do Pilar (1789) and the Matins Spiritus Domini (1795).
German composer. He was the ninth child of Carl Wagner, a clerk in the
Leipzig police service. Richard’s father died six months after his
birth. Soon after, Richard’s mother started living with her late
husband’s friend named Ludwig Geyer. After a while, she and her family
moved to Geyer’s residence in Dresden. Richard lived here until he
turned 14. Geyer loved theater and this interest was shared by Richard
who took part in his performances. In 1820, Richard was enrolled at
Pastor Wetzel’s school near Dresden. Here, he received piano instruction
from a Latin teacher. After Geyer’s death in 1821, Richard was sent to a
boarding school of Dresdner Kreuzchor, which was paid for by Geyer’s
brother. When Richard turned nine, he was impressed by the Gothic
elements of Carl Weber’s opera Der Freischutz. During this time, Richard
entertained ambitions as a playwright. By 1827, the family went back to
Leipzig. His first lessons in harmony were taken between 1828 and 1831.
In January of 1828, he heard Beethoven’s 7th Symphony and later in
March, the same composer’s 9th Symphony. In 1831, Richard joined Leipzig
University. He became a member of the Saxon student fraternity. Richard
also took composition lessons from Thomaskantor Weinlig. In 1833,
Richard’s brother managed to get a position for him as a choir master at
a theatre in Wurzburg. When he turned 20 that same year, Richard
composed his first complete opera entitled Die Feen, which means The
Fairies. In 1834, he went back to Leipzig where he held a short
appointment as a musical director at the Magdeburg opera house. During
this time, he wrote Das Liebesverbot, or The Ban on Love. This
composition was based on Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure. In 1840,
Richard completed Rienzi. With a lot of support from Giacomo Meyerbeer,
this was accepted for performance by the Dresden Court Theatre in 1842.
Richard lived in Dresden for the next six years.
During his time here, he was appointed the Royal Saxon Court-Conductor.
However, his involvement with left-wing politics terminated his stay in
Dresden. After leaving Dresden, Richard was unable to enter Germany for
the next 11 years due to great political instability. During this time,
he wrote Opera and Drama and then started developing his popular Ring
Cycle. This work combined literature, music, and visual elements in a
way that would anticipate the future of film. In 1843, Wagner completed
The Flying Dutchman, which was considered one of the greatest works of
the time. In 1845, Richard produced Tannhauser and then started working
on Lohengrin. In 1862, Richard returned to Germany. He was invited by
the king to settle in Bavaria. In 1869 and 1870, Richard’s first two
operas were presented in Munich. Richard died of a heart attack on
February 13, 1883. He was 69 years old and died while on vacation in
Venice. His body was shipped back to Bayreuth where he was buried. Until
his final years, Richard’s life was characterized by political exile,
poverty, turbulent love affairs and repeated flight from creditors. His
controversial music, drama and politics have attracted extensive comment
in the recent decade. The effect of his ideas can actually be traced in
many arts throughout 20th century. Their influence spread beyond
composition to philosophy, visual arts, theatre and literature. During
his lifetime, his work was deeply loved by many and influenced other
composers. He was able to revolutionize opera through his concept of
Gesamtkunstwerk, which translates to “total work of art.” His
compositions, and especially those of later years, are notable for their
complex textures, orchestration, rich harmonies and elaborate use of
leitmotifs. His musical language composed of extreme use of chromaticism
and shifting tonal centers greatly influenced the development of
classical music.
French composer. Born into a family of woodwind instrument makers,
instrumentalists and composers, he was son of Martin Hotteterre
(c.1635-1712). He served in the hautbois et musettes de Poitou. On his
father's death in 1712 he succeeded to the business, continuing the
workshop on the rue de Harlay until his death. His only extant
collection of 'Pièces pour la muzette qui peuvent aussi se jouer sur la
flûte, sur le haubois etc... oeuvre posthume' was published by his
brother Jacques Hotteterre (1673-1763) in 1722. During the 17th century
various members of the family moved to Paris, where they gained fame as
instrument makers and players, serving royal music-making. They are
credited with developing early prototypes of the Baroque oboe, bassoon,
musette and flute. Their talents in instrument making, playing,
composition and pedagogy converged to form the foundation of the French
school of woodwind playing.
Italian violinist and composer. He was probably trained in the city of
Milan, by 1758 was named solo violinist to the court of the Duke of
Wurttemberg in Stuttgart. He also commenced touring as a virtuoso,
appearing with great success in Vienna (c.1760) and at the Concert
Spirituel in Paris (1764, 1766). As a result of incurring debts, the
Stuttgart court allowed him to tour extensively in order to recoup his
losses. His tours took him to Frankfurt am Main and Utrecht (1769),
Italy (1771), and northern Germany (1773). Lolli's Stuttgart contract
was abrogated due to his debts in 1774. He then went to St. Petersburg,
where he was a favorite of Catherine II in the capacity of chamber
virtuoso (1774-83). He also found favor with Grigori Potemkin. Lolli
continued to tour, and absented himself from the court between 1777 and
1780. Having dissipated 10,000 florins he had accumulated from gambling,
he returned to St. Petersburg in 1780 and succeeded in regaining his
social and artistic position. He appeared in concerts at Potemkin's
palace there, and also in Moscow. Despite his frequent derelictions of
duty, he was retained at the court until his contract was terminated in
1783. In 1784 he gave his last public concerts in Russia. He then
appeared in Stockholm, Hamburg, and Copenhagen (1784), London (1785),
and Italy. After visits to Copenhagen, Hamburg, and Stettin (1791),
Palermo (1793), and Vienna (1794). In 1794 he was engaged as maestro di
cappella to the court of Naples. After retirement, he settled in
Palermo, where he spent his last years in poverty. As a performer, he
was greatly admired for his commanding technique as a virtuoso and he
was even known as 'the Shakespeare among violinists', but as a composer
critics such as Charles Burney found his music bizarre. Lolli had little
if any formal training in composition, nor did he ever realize his
intentions of studying counterpoint with Padre Martini. Such study might
not have made him a better composer, but identification as a Martini
pupil might have mitigated contemporary criticism of his works. His
music consists of 12 violin concertos, 28 violin sonatas, six duos, and
36 solo violin capriccios. His main claim to fame is a treatise,
'L’école du violon en quatuor' (1784).
French composer and organist. On 14 June 1621, Henry Du Mont and his
brother Lambert entered the choir school of Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk in
Maastricht and continued through the Jesuit college. Henry became
organist of the church there in 1629. In Paris, on 4 April 1643, he
signed a contract to be organist at the church of St. Paul. He took
French nationality in 1647. In 1652, he published his first volume of
motets and became the harpsichordist to the Duke of Anjou, brother of
King Louis XIV. In July 1660, he was appointed organist to the queen,
then as sous-maître of the Chapelle Royale in July 1664, for one quarter
of the year under the court system, then for half the year in 1668.
Thereafter, he continued to acquire appointments and benefices, all the
while continuing at St. Paul and making frequent trips to Maastricht. He
retired in Paris in 1683. The dominant figure in sacred music in
mid-17th-century Paris, he published 114 petits motets between 1652 and
1681 and also composed 26 grands motets, as well as 37 French psalm
settings. His most remarkable and often performed sacred music is the
collection of five original plainchant masses, an early effort at
restoring what was considered a corrupt tradition. His secular music
includes 21 songs, 5 symphonies, and a few dance movements for ensemble.
As a professional organist, he must have composed or improvised a
significant body of organ music, but very little survives.
German composer and sculptor. She was born the third of five children
and eldest daughter of wealthy pharmacist, Johann August Friedrich
Mayer, and wife Henrietta Carolina. Her mother died when she was two
years old. When she was five, she received a grand piano and was given
music lessons but, seemingly destined for a domestic life, at the age of
28 her circumstances changed when her father committed suicide, leaving
Mayer with a large inheritance. In 1841, she moved to the regional
capital city of Stettin (now Szczecin, Poland) and sought to study
composition with Carl Loewe, a central figure in the musical life of the
city. In 1847, after the premiere of her first two symphonies by the
Stettin Instrumental Society, and with the urging of her tutor, she
moved to Berlin to continue her compositional studies. Once in Berlin,
she studied fugue and double counterpoint with Adolph Bernhard Marx, and
instrumentation with Wilhelm Wieprecht. She began publishing her works
and performing in private concerts. Then, on 21 April 1850, Wieprecht
led his 'Euterpe' orchestra in a concert at the Royal Theatre
exclusively presenting compositions by Mayer, including a concert
overture, string quartet, a setting of Psalm 118 for chorus and
orchestra, two symphonies and some piano solos. Shortly after this, she
was awarded the gold medal of art from the Queen of Prussia, Elisabeth
Ludovika of Bavaria. With critical and popular acclaim, she continued
composing works for public performance. She traveled to attend
performances of her works, including concerts in Cologne, Munich, Lyon,
Brussels and Vienna. As Mayer’s instrumental works were being
increasingly performed and her fame grew, she was appointed co-director
of the Berlin Opera. Even so, she was often forced to meet the costs
involved herself. While her male counterparts would often receive an
honorarium from their publishers, Mayer still had to pay for publication
of her works. In 1876, she returned to Berlin where her music was still
frequently performed. Mayer’s new Faust Overture became a hit and she
re-established herself as a significant figure in the city’s cultural
circles. As a composer, her output includes the singspiel 'Die
Fischerin', several sinfonias and overtures, choral settings and lieder.
Among her instrumental works are 9 sonatas for violin and 13 for cello,
11 piano trios and 7 string quartets. She was initially influenced by
the Vienna classic style, whilst her later works were more Romantic.
Mayer’s harmonies are characterized by sudden shifts in tonality and the
frequent use of seventh chords, with the diminished seventh allowing
Mayer to reach a variety of resolutions. Her rhythms are often very
complex, with several layers interacting at once. Besides composing, she
worked as a sculptor, and some of her works were retained in royal
collections.
German composer and music publisher. He attended the University of
Vienna in law beginning in 1768, but shortly thereafter he decided to
pursue a career in music. In 1783 he began to publish his own music, and
by 1785 he had established a firm in Vienna to compete with Artaria.
Well educated, erudite, and congenial, he was a welcomed guest in
intellectual circles in the Austrian capital for the next several
decades, while his publishing business thrived with a branch in Linz and
collaborations with others such as Bösseler in Speyer. After 1790 he
began to devote himself more to his music, and in 1799 he undertook a
concert tour as a keyboardist to Germany and France. In Leipzig he
formed a partnership with Ambrosius Kühnel, which became one of the
early progenitors of the firm of C. F. Peters. The international success
of particularly his Singspiel Der Königssohn aus Ithaka made it
possible for him to divest himself from his businesses by 1805. As a
composer, he concentrated mostly upon instrumental works, since these
were the most publishable and salable music. He was extraordinarily
prolific and many of his Viennese works were also popular in foreign
cities: by 1803 his most successful opera, 'Der Königssohn aus Ithaka'
(Vienna, 1795), had been performed in Budapest, Hamburg, Prague,
Temesvár (now Timişoara), Warsaw and Weimar; his numerous chamber works
were published in Amsterdam, London, Paris and Venice, as well as
throughout German-speaking regions. Although his symphonies were admired
for their flowing melodies and his pedagogical works for being both
pleasant and instructive, his style is generally lacking in originality
and depth. His works include nine Singspiels, two cantatas/oratorios, an
offertory, 66 symphonies, 11 serenades, 54 sets of dances, 59 concertos
(25 for fortepiano, 14 for flute, and 20 for other instruments,
including five sinfonia concertantes), 30 quintets (string, flute, and
other), 57 string quartets, 46 flute quartets, nine piano quartets, 18
string trios, 12 flute trios, 76 string duets, 130 flute duets, 50
violin sonatas, five flute and viola sonatas, 26 piano sonatas, and
numerous other pieces for winds and keyboard.
Bohemian composer, pianist and organist. He was the youngest son of
Václav František Voříšek (1749-1815) who taught him the piano and
singing. He later studied the organ and the violin and began to compose.
As a child prodigy, he started to perform publicly in Bohemian towns at
the age of nine. After settled in Prague, he studied at a grammar
school and later he went on at the Prague University. At the same time,
he took piano and composition lessons from Václav Tomášek. In 1813 he
moved to Vienna to study law at the university as well as music under
Johann Nepomuk Hummel. In Vienna he personally met Ludwig van Beethoven
(1814) and many other important personalities of European musical life;
among others Franz Schubert, with whom they became good friends. He
finished his law studies only in 1821 and for a short time made his
living as a clerk; at the same time he composed, conducted and taught
piano. In 1824 he was appointed the first court organist in Vienna. At
that time, however, he suffered from tuberculosis; his treatment in Graz
did not help and he died in his age of 34. As a composer, he mainly
wrote piano works; he started in the classical style but soon romantic
elements predominated. He also composed, among others, a Symphony
(1821), several chamber works and a Solemn Mass. Although he was born in
Bohemia, Voříšek's music bears hardly a trace of what was later
considered to be Czech national style. Well versed in Viennese
classicism, he was among the last of the many Bohemian émigrés of his
time to compose in the internationalized late-Classical style associated
with Vienna. Voříšek's music provides a remarkably accurate picture of
the musical trends prevalent in Biedermeier Vienna, especially during
the decade 1815-1825. His brother František Voříšek (1785-1843), a
priest, was also a musician, and the two daughters, Eleonora Voříšek and
Anna Voříšek, were pianists.
Bohemian composer. He studied law at the University of Prague, and took
private lessons in piano with Benedikt Zavora and in composition with
Václav Jan Tomášek. He was employed at first by the Czech financial
procurators in Prague, but in 1836, after a concert of his compositions,
he devoted himself to music. His 'Jagdsinjonie' was premiered by Ludwig
Spohr (1839), and subsequently performed widely in Germany. In 1843 he
succeeded Bedřich Diviš Weber as director of the Prague Conservatory.
Soon after the successful première of his fourth symphony (1858),
written to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Prague
Conservatory, his health and energy declined. This, together with
financial embarrassments, forced him to resign from the conservatory at
the end of 1865. His last years were spent in exile. As a composer, he
wrote at least four operas, two masses, several choral works, and songs,
as well as four symphonies, three overtures and chamber music. Jan
Bedřich Kittl should be considered as one of the first bohemian
Romantics.
Johann David Hermann (c.1760-1846)
- Deuxieme Concerto pour la Harpe avec accompagnement de deux Violons, Alto, Basse, Bassons, Cors et Hautbois (ad Libitum)
German composer and teacher. Nothing is known about his youth. In 1785,
he settled in Paris where he published his 'Trois sonates pour le piano
forte et accompagnement de violon ad libitum' (1785) and performed as
keyboardist at the 'Concert Spirituel' with great success. After that,
he was appointed the Queen Marie Antoinette private teacher. Since then
he was devoting himself as a keyboard teacher the rest of his life. That
years in Paris he was highly praised as keyboardist, being comparable
to Daniel Steibelt with whom competed at the Paris salons. As a
composer, he wrote at least five piano concertos, two harp concertos,
chamber and keyboard pieces. After a long career as a musician, he died
in Paris in 1846.
Walloon flautist and composer. Born into a family of musicians, he
probably studied with his father, a flautist, before entering the
service of the Bishop of Strickland in London at the age of 15. By 1737
he had returned to Namur, but two years later he moved to Amsterdam,
where he performed frequently and toured Germany. On 20 July 1751 he
obtained a privilege permitting him to publish his own works. He visited
Dresden, Augsburg and Paris as well as returning regularly to Namur.
His acquaintance with the flautist Pierre-Gabriel Buffardin in Dresden
resulted in the dedication of six trio sonatas and possibly two
concertos. About 1760 he settled in Paris. He probably returned to his
hometown to retire. As a composer, his music consists of 31 flute
concertos, 20 symphonies, 26 trios, 29 flute sonatas, and around 50
Lieder, mostly in Dutch. Mahaut's compositions were published
extensively during his lifetime. He also wrote one of the first
treatises on flute performance in Dutch. It marked a considerable
advance on the methods of Jacques Hotteterre, Michel Corrette and Johann
Quantz, particularly with regard to technique; it was the only work of
its time to distinguish between the French and Italian ways of executing
the trill and appoggiatura.
Moravian composer. He attended the schools in Opava and Freiberg where
was considered a proficient student, but the origins of his musical
education remain unknown. He arrived in Częstochowa after graduating. On
21 September 1814 he entered as a 'novititate' and one year later he
took his monastic vows and assumed the name Cyril. As a monk he attended
the lectures of philosophy and theology in the General School of the
Polish province in Jasna Góra and in the monastery of Warsaw. After two
years he was ordained and he assumed the cantor post of the order in
Jasna Góra. In 1817 he was transferred to the St. Sigismund monastery in
Częstochowa and later to the church in Konopiska. From there he came
back to Jasna Góra where he resumed his musical activity until 1819.
Since 1820 he assumed a post of preacher and confessor of the Francis
Xavier German Brotherhood in Warsaw. There he translated his surname to
Gieczyński. In 1823 he left the order and assumed a priest post in
Niegów, where he remained the rest of his life. As a composer he mainly
wrote sacred music when he was active at Jasna Góra. His extant output
comprises 2 masses as well as other minor religious works.
German composer. Son of Johann Jacob Bach (1655-1718), nothing is known
of his musical training, but he probably received some early instruction
from his father before attending the Gotha Gymnasium in 1688-1693. At
the age of 22 he moved to Meiningen eventually being appointed cantor
there, and later Kapellmeister. He wrote a large amount of music and
regularly oversaw performances, both at Meiningen and neighbouring
courts. He was a third cousin of Johann Sebastian Bach, who made copies
of several of his cantatas and performed them at Leipzig. The cantata
'Denn du wirst meine Seele nicht in der Hölle lassen', BWV 15, once
thought to be by Johann Sebastian, and listed as BWV 15 in Wolfgang
Schmieder's catalogue of his works, is now thought to be by Johann
Ludwig.
Czech composer, harpsichordist, oboist, organist, musicologist and
pedagogue. After graduating from the Prague Conservatory majoring in
organ studies, he went on to study oboe at the Janáček Academy of Music
and Performing Arts. He had worked as an oboist for the Prague Radio
Symphony Orchestra and Prague Chamber Orchestra. He was known for his
tenure as a professor of the Prague Conservatory where he had taught a
number of notable Czech oboe players (among them, his son Jan Thuri and
the soloist Vilém Veverka), who constitute the main corpus of current
soloists in Czech orchestras and solo oboe performers. In the Czech
Republic he was often called 'the last baroque composer', having written
an extensive number of works in baroque and early classicism style.
German lutenist. He was the son of Johann Christian Falckenhagen, a
schoolmaster. When he was ten he went to live for eight years with his
uncle Johann Gottlob Erlmann, a pastor in Knauthain near Leipzig. There
he underwent training ‘in literis et musicis’, particularly the
harpsichord and, later, the lute. He then perfected his lute playing
with Johann Jacob Graf in Merseburg, where in 1715 he is mentioned as a
footman and musician in the service of the young Count Carl Heinrich von
Dieskau. In the winter term of 1719 he entered Leipzig University; a
year later he went to Weissenfels, where he remained for seven years as a
lute teacher. From about 1724 he was also employed as a chamber
musician and lutenist at the court of Duke Christian, where his presence
is documented for 1726, together with that of his wife, the singer
Johanna Aemilia. During this time he undertook various tours and enjoyed
several months’ instruction from the famous lutenist Silvius Leopold
Weiss in Dresden. After two years in Jena, he was in the service of Duke
Ernst August of Saxony-Weimar from May 1729 to 15 August 1732. By 1734
he was employed at the Bayreuth court. In 1736 Margrave Friedrich
appointed him ‘Virtuosissimo on the Lute and Chamber Musician Second to
the Kapellmeister Johann Pfeiffer’. About 1746 he referred to himself as
‘Cammer-Secretarius Registrator’ of Brandenburg-Culmbach. Falckenhagen
was one of the last important lute composers. Although some of his works
are rooted in the Baroque tradition like those of his teacher, Weiss,
they show a progressive tendency towards the galant style.
German composer. Son of Johann Elias Mohrheim, Kantor in Neumark, he
enrolled at the Thomasschule in Leipzig on 18 April 1733. There he
studied with J.S. Bach from 1733 to 1736, and, like other J.S. Bach's
pupils, acted as copyist for him during this period, identified in the
manuscripts. He continued his studies at Universität Jena from 1738
(enrollment on February 4, 1738); and at Universität Halle from 1739
(enrollment on June 9, 1739). After his studied, he was appointed
substitute of Johann Balthasar Christian Freißlich from 1750 and
Kapellmeister from 1764 at St. Marien in Danzig, where he died. As a
composer, his output consists primarily of sacred music, though he also
wrote several concertos and organ works.
Bohemian composer and double bass player. The precise date and location
of his birth remain uncertain. When he died in 1792, the death register
in Ludwigslust recorded his age as 42, placing his birth in the year
1750. He is believed to have received early musical training from the
Jesuits in Prague. In 1773 he left his native country and found
employment in the Hofkapelle of Prince Kraft Ernst of
Oettingen-Wallerstein whom he served for sixteen years, becoming
Kapellmeister in 1785. While there, he orchestrated two piano concerti
by Anna von Schaden. In July 1789 Rosetti left Wallerstein to accept the
post of Kapellmeister to the Duke Friedrich Franz I of
Mecklenburg-Schwerin in Ludwigslust where he died in service of the duke
on 30 June 1792 at the age of 42 years. In 1777, he married Rosina
Neher, with whom he had three daughters. In late 1781 he was granted
leave to spend 5 months in Paris. Many of the finest ensembles in the
city performed his works. Rosetti arranged for his music to be
published, including a set of six symphonies published in 1782. He
returned to his post, assured of recognition as an accomplished
composer. As a composer, he wrote over 400 compositions, primarily
instrumental music including many symphonies and concertos which were
widely published. Rosetti also composed a significant number of vocal
and choral works, particularly in the last few years of his life. Among
these are German oratorios including Der sterbende Jesu and Jesus in
Gethsemane (1790) and a German Hallelujah. The English music historian
Charles Burney included Rosetti among the most popular composers of the
period in his work A General History of Music. Rosetti is perhaps best
known today for his horn concertos, which Mozart scholar H. C. Robbins
Landon suggests (in The Mozart Companion) may have been a model for
Mozart's four horn concertos. Rosetti is also known for writing a
Requiem (1776) which was performed at a memorial for Mozart in December
1791. Attributing some music to Rosetti is difficult because several
other composers with similar names worked at the same time, including
Franciscus Xaverius Antonius Rössler.
Lambert Chaumont (c.1630-1712)
- Suite du 4e ton des 'Pièces d'orgue sur les 8 tons avec leurs
variété, leurs agrémens, leurs mouvemens et le mélange de jeux propres à
chaque espèce de verset' (1695)
Flemish composer. The earliest mention of his name dates from January
1649, when he is listed as a lay brother at the Carmelite monastery at
Liège. An entry for 8 May 1659 in the monastery accounts records that he
was one of nine brothers from there who had completed their novitiates
at the monastery at Reims. In any religious context he henceforth called
himself ‘Frère Lambert de St Théodore’. This important document leads
one to suppose that he was born about 1630 and proves that he was a
native of the diocese of Liège. He is not heard of again until 10
February 1674, when he was nominated rector of the small parish of St
Martin at Huy. On 7 September 1688 he became priest of the neighbouring
parish of St Germain and at the same time pater of the Carmelites at
Huy. He held both positions until his death. As a composer, his only
extant work is the collection 'Pièces d'orgue sur les 8 tons avec leurs
variété, leurs agrémens, leurs mouvemens et le mélange de jeux propres à
chaque espèce de verset' (1695). These pieces are in the finest
traditions of the French organists of the 17th century, grouping his
pieces in eight suites of 12 to 15 numbers following the order of the
eight church tones.
Georg Abraham Schneider (1770-1839)
- Concerto (D-Dur) | pour le | Violon et Alto | avec |
accompagnement | de | deux Violons, Alto et Basso, deux Fluts, deux
Obois | deux Cors et Fagotts, Op.19 (c.1820)
Performers: Hans Maile (violin); Stefano Passaggio (viola); RSO Berlin;
Lucas Vis (conductor)
German horn player, oboist and composer. He studied with Johann Wilhelm
Magnold in Darmstadt, where he became a member of the court chapel in
1787. He later took courses in theory and composition with Johann
Gottlieb Portmann. In 1795 he joined the Rheinsberg Court Orchestra,
then settled in Berlin and became a member of the royal chapel in 1803.
He founded a series of subscription concerts in 1807 and the
'Musikalische Ubungsakademie zur Bildung der Liebhaber' in 1818. He also
was conductor of the Reval theater (1813-16). He was made music
director of Berlin's royal theater in 1820 and then its Kapellmeister in
1825. He taught at the music school of the royal theater and at the
Prussian Academy of Arts, retiring in 1838. As a composer, his style was
entrusted to all the conventions of the late 18th Century. His daughter
Maschinka Schneider (1815-1882) was a soprano married with the composer
Franz Schubert (1808-1878). His son Louis Schneider (1805-1878) was a
writer and actor, and privy councillor and tutor to Friedrich Wilhelm
IV.
Spanish organist and composer. He was the son of the church sacristan of
Brihuega, Sebastián Durón (1626-1668), and his second wife Margarita
Picazo (1634-c.1685). After studying under Andrés de Sola in Zaragoza,
he served as second organist at Seville Cathedral from 1680 to 1685,
where he began composing liturgical music and took minor orders. Seeking
better financial compensation, he subsequently held positions as first
organist at the cathedrals of Burgo de Osma (1685) and Palencia
(1686-1691). On 23 September 1691 he was appointed organist at the royal
chapel in Madrid, under the principal organist José de Torres. In 1702
he became royal maestro de capilla and director of the royal choir
school. His professional tenure in Madrid concluded in 1706 following
his exile to France for political alignment with the Archduke of Austria
during the War of the Spanish Succession. As a composer, his extensive
output encompasses conservative Latin liturgical works, modern motets
with orchestral accompaniment, and vernacular villancicos that
integrated traditional Spanish Baroque elements with contemporary
theatrical techniques. His legacy is defined by this stylistic synthesis
and his role in advancing the expressive capabilities of Spanish vocal
and instrumental music during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth
centuries. The composer Diego Durón de Ortega (1653-1731) was his
half-brother.
Bohemian composer and teacher. The thirteenth child in the family of a
weaver and burgher, Jakub Tomášek, he acquired the rudiments of music
(in violin and singing) under the local choirmaster in Chrudim. At the
age of twelve he became a vocalist at the Minorite monastery in Jihlava,
where he also studied music theory and organ. In 1790 he left for
Prague, where he completed gymnasium and went on to earn a degree in
law. At university he also studied mathematics, history, and aesthetics.
While still at gymnasium he conscientiously studied music on his own.
Obtaining both new and old books on piano and composition, he continued
to work diligently at his music, so that by 1796 he was already famous
in Prague as a virtuoso of the piano. In 1806, with a number of
successful compositions behind him, he was taken on as a music teacher
and composer by Count Georg Franz Buquoy. Tomášek was thus financially
secure for the next sixteen years, and was able to concentrate on his
music. The position, on the other hand, also had its disadvantages, for
had he been forced to make a living as a touring virtuoso, say, he would
undoubtedly have met with a number of inspirations. In 1824, he founded
his own conservatory in Prague, and successfully competed in piano and
composition instruction with the established Prague conservatories and
organ schools. Among his important pupils were Jan Václav Hugo Voříšek,
Josef Dessauer, and Alexander Dreyschock. As a composer, he wrote in all
forms, from song to chamber and orchestral works, choral music,
cantata, opera, and church music. He started from the Viennese
Classicism, but was influenced by early Romanticism as well. This is
most evident in his songs and in particular his piano compositions. He
was the dominant musical figure in Prague during the first half of the
19th century. His influence was spread throughout Europe by his many
students and through his many widely distributed songs and his piano
music.
Bohemian organist and composer. He emerged from a family steeped in
musical tradition. In 1799 he married Veronika Hájková, with whom he had
six children, in Mirotice, a city where he worked briefly as regens
chori. In 1801 he was appointed as choir director at St. Nicholas
Cathedral in České Budějovice in a post he held the rest of his life. He
nurtured local musical talent by forming an amateur ensemble that would
eventually become the city's premier musical group. This ensemble
played a vital role in civic life, performing at important ceremonies,
including those in the historic Good City. On 17 April 1819 he married
for a second time Jana Nepomucena Laubová, with whom he had three
children, and on 29 August 1837 he married for a third time Rosalia
Zátková. As a composer, his huge output of over 1900 works, primarily
sacred, includes twenty-four masses, numerous arias, litanies, and
graduals, showcasing his mastery of liturgical music in the tradition of
classical style. He also composed dance music.
English composer. His father, Robert Bennett (1788-1819), an organist,
and his mother, Elizabeth Donn (1791-1818), died when he was a child,
and he was then placed in the care of his grandfather, John Bennett
(1754-1837), who was also a musician. At the age of eight he was
admitted to the choir of King's College Chapel, Cambridge, and at ten he
became a pupil at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he
studied theory with Charles Lucas and piano with William Henry Holmes,
and played violin in the academy orchestra under Cipriani Potter. He
later studied music theory there with William Crotch. Soon he began to
compose; he was 16 years old when he was the soloist in the first
performance of his Piano Concerto No.1 in Cambridge on 28 November 1832.
In 1836 he made an extensive visit to Leipzig, where he became a close
friend of Felix Mendelssohn and Robert Schumann; also appeared as a
pianist and conductor of his own works with the Gewandhaus Orchestra
there. He continued to compose industriously, and played his Piano
Concerto No.4 with the Gewandhaus Orchestra in Leipzig on 17 January
1839. He visited Germany again in 1841-42. From 1843 to 1856 he gave a
series of chamber music concerts in London; in 1849 he founded the Bach
Society. From 1856 to 1866 he conducted the Philharmonic Society of
London; concurrently he held the post of professor of music at the
University of Cambridge; in 1866 he assumed the position of principal of
the Royal Academy of Music. His reputation as a composer grew. He
amassed honors: in 1856 he received the honorary degree of D.Mus. from
the University of Cambridge, which also conferred on him the degree of
M.A. in 1867; he received the degree of D.C.L. from the University of
Oxford in 1870; in a culmination of these honors, he was knighted by
Queen Victoria in 1871. The final honor was his burial in Westminster
Abbey. He ranks as the most distinguished English composer of the
Romantic school.
Franz Ignaz Danzi (1763-1826)
- Lateinische | Vesper=Psalmen | für | Sopran, Alt, Tenor und Bass
|
II Violinen, Viola und Orgel | II Trompetten u. Paucken ad Lib.
Performers: Erika Rüggeberg (1940-2018, soprano); Julia Falk (alto);
Albert Gassner (tenor); Carlo Schmid (bass); Chor der Herz-Jesukirche
München; Convivium Musicum München; Josef Schmidhuber (1924-1990,
conductor)
German composer and cellist. Son of Mannheim orchestra cellist Innocenz
Danzi (c.1730-1798), he received his earliest musical education in
Mannheim from members of the Kapelle, as well as Abbé Georg Joseph
Vogler. At the age of 15 he was appointed to the orchestra, but a few
years later he remained behind in Mannheim when the majority moved to
Munich. His earliest successes as a composer of works for the stage
occurred there, but in 1784 he was named his father’s successor as
principal cellist in Munich. In 1791 he undertook tours throughout
Germany as a conductor, including with the Guardasoni troupe. The death
of Carl Theodor in 1799 had a greater impact on Danzi’s career: the new
elector, Maximilian IV Joseph, was less sympathetic to German opera and
imposed financial restrictions on the theatres. Further, Danzi faced
opposition from rivals, including the new intendant Joseph Marius Babo
and the Kapellmeister Peter Winter. When his serious German opera
'Iphigenie in Aulis' was finally given in 1807, it was poorly prepared
and had only two performances; bitter and disappointed, Danzi left
Munich for Stuttgart. In October 1807, the King of Württemberg offered
Danzi the position of Kapellmeister at Stuttgart, where Zumsteeg had
been active. There Danzi met Carl Maria von Weber and encouraged the
younger composer as he completed his Singspiel 'Silvana'. Here he formed
a fast friendship with Carl Maria von Weber. In 1812 he moved to
Karlsruhe, where he spent the remainder of his life. An active composer,
he wrote 16 operas; incidental music to 25 plays; eight Masses; 87
chamber works, among which several dozen woodwind quintets were popular
throughout Europe; five symphonies; six sinfonia concertantes; concertos
for the bassoon, horn, flute, and violoncello; as well as a large
number of other sacred works, songs, and smaller instrumental pieces. He
was also active as a librettist. His style, though conservative, is
characterized by inventive use of orchestral color, particularly with
respect to the wind and brass instruments.
French organist, teacher, and composer. Son of Gaspard Corrette
(1671-1732), he probably received music lessons from his father. Though
little is known of his early life. He was married on 8 January 1733 to
Marie-Catherine Morize. They had a daughter Marie-Anne Corrette
(1734-c.1822) and a son Pierre-Michel Corrette (1744-1801), who became
an organist. Michel Corrette first established his reputation by
becoming musical director of the Foire St Germain and the Foire St
Laurent, where he arranged and composed vaudevilles and divertissements
for the opéras comiques (1732-39). From 1737 until its closure in 1790
he was organist at Ste Marie within the temple of the grand prieur of
France, thus serving the Chevalier d’Orléans, then the Prince de Conti
(1749), and finally the Duke d’Angoulême (1776). About a year after
beginning at the temple, he became organist at the Jesuit College in the
rue St-Antoine, a position he retained until the Jesuits were expelled
in 1762. In 1734 he was styled Grand maître des Chevaliers du Pivois,
from 1750 Chevalier de l’Ordre de Christ. He was a prolific composer,
producing concertos for harpsichord, organ, flute, and hurdy-gurdy,
sonatas, organ works, and a large output of sacred music. He also
prepared 17 methods on performing practice, 6 of which are lost.
Italian composer, violinist, teacher and theorist. Son of Giovanni
Antonio Tartini and Caterina Zangrando, his parents desired that he
enter the church, but while a law student at the University of Padua, he
married Elisabetta Premazore on 29 July 1710. Compelled to leave Padua,
he took refuge for three years in the convent of San Francesco
d’Assisi, where he studied the violin without a teacher. By 1714, he was
a violinist in the Ancona opera and spent the next years playing at
various theaters in northeastern Italy. On 16 April 1721, he was
appointed 'primo violino e capo di concerto' at San Antonio of Padua.
From 1723 to 1726, he was in Prague, in service to the Kinsky family,
where he met Johann Joseph Fux, Antonio Caldara, and Sylvius Weiss,
among other luminaries. Then he returned to Padua, started his school,
and about 1730, brought out his first published volume of violin works.
About 1740, he suffered a stroke that adversely affected his playing,
and he devoted more and more time to music theory in his last years. In
an age when composing for the church or the theater was the sure path to
success, he refused to do either and embarked upon an idiosyncratic
career establishing an international reputation as violinist and
philosopher of music, writing five treatises contesting the ideas of
Giovanni Battista Martini, Jean-Philippe Rameau, and Jean-Jacques
Rousseau, among others, and leaving an oeuvre concentrated on the
violin: about 135 solo violin concertos, about 135 violin sonatas with
continuo, 30 unaccompanied sonatas, and about 40 trio sonatas. He also
composed 2 flute concertos, 2 concertos for viola da gamba, 4 motets,
and 20 Italian sacred songs. Most of his living was made as a freelance
violinist. In the late 1720s, he founded his own school of violin
playing, the first of its type, known as 'school of the nations' because
it attracted students from all over Europe.
French composer. Son of Etienne Cardinal, Seigneur des Touches et de
Guilleville and a wealthy Parisian merchant, did not take the patronym
Destouches until his father's death in 1694. From 1681 to 1686 he was
schooled by the Jesuits of the rue St-Jacques. He later went as a boy to
Siam (now Thailand) with his teacher, the missionary Gui Tachard
(1686). He returned to France in 1688. He served in the Royal Musketeers
(1692-94), and later took lessons from Andre Campra, contributing 3
airs to André Campra's opera-ballet 'L'Europe galante' (1697). After
this initiation, he produced his first independent work, 'Isse, a heroic
pastorale' in 3 acts (1697); its popularity was parodied in several
productions of a similar pastoral nature ('Les Amours de Vincennes' by
P.F. Dominique, 1719; 'Les Oracles' by Jean-Antoine Romagnesi, 1741).
Among his other operas, the following were produced in Paris: 'Amadis de
Grece' (1699), 'Omphale' (1701), and 'Callirhoé' (1712). With
Michel-Richard de Lalande, he wrote the ballet 'Les Elements', which was
produced at the Tuileries Palace in Paris on 22 December 1721. In 1713
Louis XIV appointed him 'Inspector general' of the Academic Royale de
Musique. In 1728 he became its director, retiring in 1730. For
'maintaining order and discipline' he received a 4000 livre pension. A
revival of 'Omphale' in 1752 evoked Baron Grimm's famous 'Lettre sur
Omphale', inaugurating the so-called 'Guerre des Bouffons' between the
proponents of the French school, as exemplified by Destouches, and
Italian opera buffa. André Cardinal Destouches remained active musically
even in his last years. At 70, he conducted the orchestra for a masked
ball given by the daughters of Louis XV, and he kept control of the
queen's concerts until 1745. He died in his elegant home (today, 4 rue
Saint-Roch next to the church of Saint Roch), and was buried in the
crypt of the Chapel of the Virgin in that church.
