GRAF, Christian Ernst (1723-1804) - Sinfonia in C-Dur (1776)

Christian Ernst Graf (1723-1804) - Sinfonia (IV) in C-Dur, œuvre XIV (1776)

Performers: HET Residentie Orkest; Ton Koopman (conductor)

Painting: Musizierende Gesellschaft, Nürnberg, c.1775

Further info: Christian Ernst Graf (1723-1804) - Cello Concertos & Sinfonias

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Christian Ernst Friedrich Graf [Graaf]

(Rudolstadt, 30 June 1723 - The Hague, 17 July 1804)

Dutch-German composer and organist, brother of Friedrich Hartmann Graf (1727-1795). Son of the Kapellmeister to the court of the Count of Schwarzburg- Rudolstadt, Johann Graf (1684-1750), he was trained by his father as a violinist and keyboardist, later joining the court orchestra as the former. In 1748 he left for the Netherlands to seek his fortune, finding employment as the director of the collegium musicum in the city of Middelburg in 1750. He elevated the quality of the performances to such an extent that he came to the attention of the Dutch court. During this period he also published his first work, the Sei Sinfonie Op. 1. In 1754 he moved to The Hague, where he was employed by Princess Anna of Hannover, later becoming Kapellmeister to William V. In 1782 he published his treatise Proeve over de Natuur der Harmonie, and in 1790 he retired. Charles Burney noted that he was an educated man who was cheerful and had a gift for teaching. As a composer, he wrote 62 symphonies, 30 string quartets, 19 trio sonatas, 18 flute quintets, 12 flute quartets, six piano sonatas, six violin sonatas, a host of smaller chamber pieces, two oratorios, and around 35 Lieder. His style incorporates Italianate mannerism common to the Mannheim composers, although his late works, particularly his oratorio from 1802 Der Tod Jesu is more akin to Joseph Haydn’s late oratorios in his large-scale setting and unusually dramatic musical language. His Grande Symphonie Hollandaise is a large-scale work that incorporates a chorus, more an oratorio than a symphony. 

BERNIER, Nicolas (1664-1734) - Laudate Dominum quoniam (c.1728)

Nicolas Bernier (1664-1734) - Laudate Dominum quoniam (c.1728)

Performers: Isabelle Poulеnаrd (soprano); Alain Zаеpffеl (contra-tenor); Jеan-Claude Orliаc (tenor); Michel Vеrschaеvе (bariton); Ensemble Vocal de Bourgogne; Ensemble d'Instruments Anciens; Jacquеs Échivаrd (conductor)

Painting: Simon de Vos (1603-1676) - Heimkehr des verlorenen Sohnes (1641)

Further info: Nicolas Bernier (1664-1734) - Motets

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Nicolas Bernier

(Mantes-la-Jolie, 28 June 1665 - Paris, 6 July 1734)

French organist, teacher, music theorist and composer. He probably learnt music in the maîtrise of the collegiate church of Notre Dame, Mantes, and in that of Evreux Cathedral. According to the Etat actuel de la Musique du Roi (1773) he was a student of Caldara in Rome. From 1694 to 1698 he was maitre at Chartes Cathedral before being called to Paris in 1698 as maitre de musique at St. Germain l'Auxerrois. On 5 April 1704 he succeeded Marc-Antoine Charpentier as maître de musique of the Sainte-Chapelle. He held that position at Sainte-Chapelle from 1704 to 1726, and from 1723 he was one of the 3 sous-maitres at the Chapelle Royale. Bernier was the son-in-law of Marin Marais. He was one of the first French composers to cultivate the secular cantata. He published 8 vols. of Cantates françoises, the most notable being 'Les nuits de Sceaux' (Paris, 1715). Among his sacred vocal output were many motets, some of them were sung several times at the Concert Spirituel from 1725 onwards. He was famous as a teacher, wrote a treatise entitled Principes de composition and numbered Louis-Claude Daquin among his pupils.

KOZELUCH, Leopold (1747-1818) - Sinfonia Concertante Es-Dur (1798)

Leopold Koželuch (1747-1818) - Sinfonia Concertante Es-Dur (1798)

Performers: Siegbert Panzer (piano); Helmut Erb (trumpet); Takashi Ochi (1934-2010, mandolin);

Günter Klaus (double-bass); Radio-Sinfonie-Orchester Frankfurt; Eliahu Inbal (conductor)

Engraving: Abraham Hume (1703-1772) - Print of a musical gathering

Further info: Leopold Kozeluch (1747-1818) - Piano concerto B-Dur (c.1786)

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Leopold (Jan Antonín, Ioannes Antonius) Kozeluch [Kotzeluch, Koželuh]

(Velvary, 26 June 1747 - Vienna, 7 May 1818)

Bohemian composer, pianist, music teacher and publisher. He was baptized Jan Antonín, but began (not later than 1773) to use the name Leopold to differentiate himself from his older cousin of that name. He received his basic music education in Velvary and then studied music in Prague with his cousin, who probably gave him a thorough grounding in counterpoint and vocal writing, and with F.X. Dušek, whose piano and composition school prepared him mainly for writing symphonies and piano sonatas. After the success of his first ballets and pantomimes (performed in Prague, 1771-78), Kozeluch abandoned his law studies for a career as a musician. In 1778 he went to Vienna, where he quickly made a reputation as an excellent pianist, teacher and composer. By 1781 he was so well established there that he could refuse an offer to succeed Mozart as court organist to the Archbishop of Salzburg. By 1784 Kozeluch was publishing his own works; the following year he founded a music publishing house, later managed as the Musikalisches Magazin by his brother Antonín Tomáš Kozeluch (1752-1805). His compositions were also published almost simultaneously by a number of other houses in various countries. Kozeluch's business contacts with English publishers, particularly John Bland, Robert Birchall, and Lewis, Houston & Hyde, are well documented by correspondence. In September 1791 he achieved success in high circles with a cantata commissioned by the Bohemian Estates for the Prague coronation of Leopold II as King of Bohemia. After the accession of Emperor Franz II he was appointed (12 June 1792) Kammer Kapellmeister and Hofmusik Compositor. From about 1804 Kozeluch's original work as a composer took second place to his arrangements of Scottish, Irish and Welsh folksongs for the Edinburgh publisher George Thomson, to teaching, and to the activities connected with his court appointment, which he held until his death. His daughter Catharina Cibbini (1785-1858) was a well-known pianist and composer of piano music during the early 19th century in Vienna.

DREYER, Johann Melchior (1747-1824) - Missa in Es (1802)

Johann Melchior Dreyer (1747-1824) - Missa in Es (1802)

Performers: Marianne Rüеggе (soprano); Barbara Hеnsingеr (alto); Rеto Hofstеttеr (tenor); Frеdéric Bοlli (bass); Thurgаuеr Kammerchor; Thurgаuеr Bаrockensemble; Rаimund Rüеggе (conductor)

Drawing: Josef Höger (1801-1877) - Wanderer und Golgothakapelle

Further info: Johann Melchior Dreyer (1747-1824) - Sinfonie in F

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Johann Melchior Dreyer

(Röttingen, bap. 24 June 1747 - Ellwangen (Jagst), 22 March 1824)

German organist and composer. The youngest son of a smith, after study at the Jesuit Gymnasium in Ellwangen, he obtained his only position, the organist and schoolmaster (later choirmaster and Kantor) at the parish church of St Maria, which he retained for over 40 years. After the secularization of the foundation in 1802-03, he remained in his post as organist and Kapellmeister. His music, little studied, is characterized by a studied simplicity and nearby to Michael Haydn on style terms. His works include 24 sonatas for organ, six Requiems, 24 vesper Psalms, six Tantum ergos, 26 Masses (six published as “simple country Masses” as his Op. 2), six symphonies, three Marian antiphons, and six Misereres. He was one of the most successful composers of sacred music of his time. His music was distributed throughout Europe, Russia and North America. His sons, Heinrich Dreyer and Johann Baptiste Dreyer, were also musicians. 

MEHUL, Étienne Nicolas (1763-1817) - Simphonie [g] à grand orchestre (1808)

Étienne Nicolas Méhul (1763-1817) - Simphonie [g] à grand orchestre (1808)

Performers: Kammerorchester Berlin; Matthieu Lange (1905-1992, conductor)

Painting: Antoine-Jean Gros (1771-1835) - Étienne-Henri Méhul (1799)

Further info: Étienne Nicolas Méhul (1763-1817) - Symphony No.2 in D

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Etienne-Nicolas Méhul

(Givet, Ardennes, 22 June 1763 - Paris, 18 October 1817)

French composer. His father apprenticed him to the old blind organist of the Couvent des Recollets in Givet, after which he went to Lavaldieu, where he studied with the German organist Wilhelm Hansen, director of music at the monastery there. In 1778 he went to Paris, where he continued his musical studies with Jean-Frederic Edelmann. His first opera to receive a performance was Euphrosine et Corradin ou le Tyran corrigé (Theatre Favart, Paris, Sept. 4, 1790); another opera, Alonzo et Cora, was staged at the Paris Opera on Feb. 15, 1791. His next opera, Adrien, was in rehearsal by the end of 1791, but the revolutionary turmoil prevented a performance; it finally received its premiere at the Paris Opera on June 4, 1799. His opera Stratonice was given at the Theatre Favart in Paris on May 3, 1792, and was highly successful. Then followed his opera Le Jeune Sage et le vieux fou, which was performed at the same theater on March 28, 1793. In 1793 Mehul became a member of the Institute National de Musique, which had been organized by the National Convention under the revolutionary regime. He composed a number of patriotic works during these turbulent years of French history, including the popular Chant du depart (1st perf. publicly on July 4, 1794). He also continued to compose for the theater, shrewdly selecting subjects for his operas allegoricall suitable to the times. In 1794 he was awarded an annual pension of 1,000 francs by the Comedie-Italienne. In 1795 he became one of the 5 inspectors of the newly established Conservatory. He became a member of the Legion d'honneur in 1804. Between 1795 and 1807 Mehul composed 18 operas, some of which were written in collaboration with other composers. His greatest opera from this period is the biblical Joseph (Opera-Comique, Feb. 17, 1807); its success in Paris led to performances in Germany, Austria, Hungary, Russia, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, England, Italy, and America. Also noteworthy is his Chant national du 14 juillet 1800, an extensive work calling for 2 choirs with an additional group of high voices and orchestral forces. Apart from operas, he composed several symphonies. In spite of poor health, he continued to teach classes at the Paris Conservatory; among his students was Louis Joseph Ferdinand Hérold. His last opera was La Journee aux aventures, which was given at the Opera-Comique on Nov. 16, 1816. Although Mehul's operas practically disappeared from the active repertoire, his contribution to the operatic art remains of considerable historical importance. Beethoven, Weber, and Mendelssohn were cognizant of some of his symphonic works, which included 4 well-crafted symphonies.