WOODCOCK, Robert (1690-1728) - Concerto ex De a.5 (1727)

Robert Woodcock (1690-1728) - Concerto ex De | a.5. | Hautbois Concerto | Violino Primo |

Violino Secundo | Viola | et | Cembalo

[previously attributed to Georg Friedrich Händel (1685-1759) and Jacques Loeillet (1685-1748)]

Performers: Les Solistes de Liege; Géry Lemaire (1926-2013, conductor)

Painting: Thomas Whitcombe (1763-1834) - The Thames at Chelsea (1784)

Further info: Trésors De La Musique Belge

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Robert Woodcock

(Chelsea, London, bap. 9 October 1690 - Chelsea, 10 April 1728)

English painter, composer and woodwind player. Son of Robert Woodcock (1642-1710) and Deborah Littleton, he grew up in Shrewsbury House, Chelsea, London, where his parents ran a girls school. In 1714, he married Ayliffe Stoaks, by whom he had several children. According to a contemporaneous biographical account, he worked as a civil servant, holding a 'place or clerkship in the Government.' He resigned his government post around 1723 to devote himself to marine painting, and that he was ‘very skillful in music, had judgement and performed on the hautboy in a masterly manner’. John Hawkins called Woodcock ‘a famous performer on the flute’, but he was more likely an enthusiastic amateur on the oboe, recorder and flute. As a composer, his only surviving compositions are a set of XII Concertos in Eight Parts (1727). They are of historical importance as the first flute concertos ever published and the first oboe concertos published by an English composer.

SELOSSE, Antoine (1621-1687) - Variations on La Folia (c.1685)

Antoine Selosse (1621-1687) - Variations (d-moll) on La Folia (c.1685)

Performers: Terence Chаrlstοn (harpsichord)

Painting: Follower of Gerrit Dou - A woman playing a clavichord

Further info: Keyboard Manuscript Of Antoine Selosse

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(Padre) Antoine Selosse

(Tourcoing, 1621 - Saint Omers?, 1687)

Flemish teacher, organist, and composer. While he originated from Flanders, he spent the first part of his life in England. Much of his early life remains a mystery, though he was a Jesuit, which significantly shaped his career. He is believed to have worked as an organist in Liège between 1651 and 1657. During this time, he likely composed the majority of his keyboard works. In 1658, he entered the novitiate of the English Jesuit Province at Watten, near Saint-Omer. After his novitiate, he became a music professor at the English Jesuit College in Saint-Omer, a position he held from around 1658 until his death in 1687. This college was a vital institution for English Catholics who couldn't study in England. It's believed he died in Saint-Omer. While not widely known, his work has recently gained attention due to the discovery of a 17th-century manuscript containing music attributed to him. This manuscript, found in a London bookshop, has offered new insights into the keyboard music of the period and his compositions.

HOFFMANN, Melchior (c.1679-1715) - Meine Seele rühmt und preist

Melchior Hoffmann (c.1679-1715) - Meine Seele rühmt und preist

(previously attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach as BWV 189)

Performers: Raphаël Höhn (tenor); Nеumеyer Consort; Felix Kοch (conductor)

Painting: Godfried Schalcken (1643-1706) - Diana and Her Nymphs in a Clearing

Further info: Meine Seele rühmt und preist

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Melchior Hoffmann [Hofmann, Hofman]

(Bärenstein, c.1679 - Leipzig, 6 October 1715)

German composer and organist. He received his musical training from Johann Christoph Schmidt when he was choirboy in the Dresden Hofkapelle. In 1702, he settled in Leipzig and enrolled at the university to study law. He also joined the student collegium musicum founded by Georg Philipp Telemann. When Telemann left Leipzig in June 1705, he succeeded him as organist and music director of the Neukirche, and took over as director of Telemann’s collegium musicum. He was also conductor of the Leipzig civic opera for which he wrote a number of works. In 1709 he met the violinist and composer Johann Georg Pisendel, who became leader of the orchestra of Hoffmann’s collegium. At this time the ensemble consisted of 50 to 60 musicians and had won fame and recognition beyond the Leipzig area. He seems to have visited England between 1709 and 1710, but no details are known. In 1713 he applied, along with Johann Sebastian Bach and three other candidates, to succeed Friedrich Wilhelm Zachow as organist at the Liebfrauenkirche in Halle. When Bach eventually declined the appointment on 19 March 1714 the Halle consistory offered it to Hoffmann, but although he officially accepted the post he never took up his duties there. On 9 September 1714 he married Margaretha Elisabeth Philipp and in the same month became one of the few Leipzig musicians of the time to be granted citizenship. He had been suffering from a serious illness since 1713 and died on the evening of 6 October 1715, aged only 36. As a composer, he was highly regarded during his life and Charles Burney stated as 'one of the finest composers of the first half of the 18th century'.

DE RUYSSCHER, Kris (b. 1971) - String Quintet 'At Mr Haydn's Request'

Kris De Ruysscher (b. 1971) - String Quintet 'At Mr Haydn's Request' (2025)

Performers: Kateryna Mytrofanova & Oleksiy Zavgorodniy (violins); Anastasia Boyko (viola);

Jana Malentzova & Oleh Mytrofanov (cello)

Recorded in the Ukraine by the OM Quintet. Mixed and mastered by Mauricio Serna at io Recording in Medellín.

Drawing: Anoniem (18th Century) - A quartet of musicians tuning up; two violinists point to their scores with their bows

Further info: String Quintet Nr.1: "At Mr. Haydn's Request"

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Kris De Ruysscher (1971)

He is a contemporary Belgian composer known for blending modern classical, cinematic, ambient, and post-minimalist music. His compositions create rich sonic landscapes that evoke both intellectual and emotional responses. His music features in documentaries, films, installations, and dance performances, valued for its cinematic atmosphere and emotional depth. Using delicate harmonies, polyrhythms, polytonality, and layered soundscapes, he often conveys a subtle melancholy. As a finalist in international competitions, he also teaches composition and guitar. Currently, he is Composer-in-Residence at Brussels Muzieque, curating performances and collaborating with international artists. His works are published by Groovy Scarab Music Publishing and ASCAP.

DOMMING, Johann Martin (1703-c.1760) - Concerto à 4

Johann Martin Dömming (1703-c.1760) - Concerto (F-Dur). 2 cornu de chasse, 2 hautbois, viola & basso.

Performers: Concerto Royal Köln

Painting: Pieter Leermans (1653-1704) - A Hunter

Further info: Ich Senke Mich en Deine Liebe

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Johann Martin Dömming [Doemming]

(Milz, Römhild, 30 September 1703 - c.1760)

German composer. His early life and musical education remain unknown. The earliest known record of his career stated on 24 November 1731 he was appointed 'Director Musices' of the court chapel of Bentheim-Tecklenburg under Count Moritz Kasimir I in a post he likely held the rest of his life. Count Moritz Kasimir was a devoted patron of the arts and a skilled amateur musician, proficient in the violin, flute, and cello. He amassed a significant music collection that served as the primary repertoire for the court chapel. Among the works in this collection, 91 compositions are attributed to Dömming. Of these, only 32 have survived, including concertos, trios, three suites, an overture, and a single symphony, along with a few vocal works. The cantata 'Die Jagd' (1755) is his last known composition, as all biographical traces of Dömming are lost after this date. According to the original music sources, Dömming's works were composed at the two princely residences: Hohenlimburg and Rheda.