diumenge, 31 de maig del 2026

ROFFELD, Amand (1699-1780) - Missa in a-moll

Johann Michael Rottmayr (1656-1730) - Triumf lasky


Amand Roffeld (1699-1780) - Missa in a-moll
Performers: Capella Regia Praha; Robert Hugo (conductor)

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Augustinian friar, keyboardist, and composer. Few details of his life are known. Associated with the Augustinian Monastery in Prague’s Lesser Town (Malá Strana), he gained recognition as harpsichordist whose works, characterized by a progressive style featuring virtuosic flourishes, were preserved in contemporary manuscript copies alongside those of notable figures like Antonín Reichenauer. Between approximately 1734 and 1737, he served the noble Morzin family, likely as a domestic tutor for either Václav Morzin or his son Karl Josef. His tenure at the Morzin court concluded around the time of Václav’s death in 1737.

divendres, 29 de maig del 2026

STEINBACHER, Johann Michael (c.1710-1741) - Concerto con Cembalo

Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684-1721) - Fête champêtre (c.1720)


Johann Michael Steinbacher (c.1710-1741) - Concerto (C-Dur) | Cembalo obligato |
cum violino Primo | violino Secundo | et violone obligato
Performers: Milko Bіzjаk (cembalo); Gertraud Gаmеrith (violin); Aninka Hаrms (violin); Alojz Mordеj (violoncello)
Further info: Concertos–C major

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Austrian organist and composer. Primarily active in Graz, where he served as the city parish organist (Stadtpfarrorganist) starting in 1740. Although his exact dates of birth and death remain unconfirmed, records of his family life suggest he was born before 1710, and his professional trail fades after 1741, though he may have later joined the court of Count Joseph Bernhard Attems at Schloss Dornau. As a composer, he is historically significant for his five harpsichord concertos, early Austrian examples of the genre that adhere to the Vivaldian formal model, and a collection of six partitas. The modest range of the solo parts in his concertos suggests they may have been originally conceived for the organ, marking an important stylistic link in the development of keyboard literature within the regional Baroque tradition.

dimecres, 27 de maig del 2026

REJCHA, Antonín (1770-1836) - Sinfonia in Es-Dur (c.1799)

Unknown artist (19th Century) - Entry of Pius VII and Napoleon into Paris


Antonín Rejcha (1770-1836) - Sinfonia in Es-Dur, Op.41 (c.1799)
Performers: Die Prager Virtuosen; Oldrich Vlcek (conductor)
Further info: Die Prager Virtuosen

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Bohemian composer. Nephew and pupil of Joseph Rejcha (1752-1795), in 1785 the family moved to Bonn, where he became a member of the Hofkapelle of Max Franz, Elector of Cologne, playing violin and second flute in the court orchestra under his uncle's direction. The young Beethoven entered the Hofkapelle as violist and organist in 1789 and he befriended him. From about 1785 he studied composition secretly, against his uncle's wishes, composing and conducting his first symphony in 1787 and entering the University of Bonn in 1789, where he studied and performed until 1794, when Bonn was attacked and captured by the French. He managed to escape to Hamburg. In 1799 he moved to Paris, hoping to achieve success as an opera composer but in 1801 he moved on to Vienna. Once there, he studied with Antonio Salieri and Johann Georg Albrechtsberger. Reicha's life and career in Vienna were interrupted by Napoleon's November 1805 occupation of the city by French troops. Then Reicha decided to move back to Paris. He was soon teaching composition privately, future prolific composer George Onslow being one of his pupils by 1808. This time three of his many operas were produced, but they all failed; yet his fame as theorist and teacher increased steadily, and by 1817 most of his pupils became professors at the Conservatoire de Paris. The following year, Reicha himself was appointed professor of counterpoint and fugue at the Conservatoire with the support of Louis XVIII. In 1818 he married Virginie Enaust, who bore him two daughters. Reicha stayed in Paris for the rest of his life. He became a naturalized citizen of his adopted country in 1829 and Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur in 1835. That same year, he succeeded François-Adrien Boieldieu at the Académie française. Though a prolific composer, he was of particular importance as a theorist and teacher in early 19th-century Paris.

dilluns, 25 de maig del 2026

HARST, Coelestin (1698-1776) - Suite de pièces pour le clavecin (1745)

Johann Christoph Frisch (1738-1815) - Elisabeth Mara


Coelestin Harst (1698-1776) - Suite (Fa majeur) de pièces pour le clavecin ... Ier livre (1745)
Performers: Marc Schаеffеr (harpsichord)

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Alsatian priest and composer. After preliminary studies in Sélestat he entered the Benedictine convent of Ebersmünster, where he became master of the novices, teacher, and in 1745 prior, at the same time acquiring sufficient reputation as a harpsichordist to play before Louis XV during the king's visit to Strasbourg in 1744. His knowledge of the organ led to invitations to examine new instruments. As a superior he insisted upon strict adherence to the rule of his order, but he could also be amusing and entertaining. At his death he was provost of the convent of St Marx near Gerberschweier. Harst's only known work is his 'Recueil de différentes pièces de clavecin' (1745). He was one of the very few composers to use François Couperin's term ordre for a group of pieces in the same key, and his style is an amalgam of Couperin, Jean-Philippe Rameau and Jean-François Dandrieu.

diumenge, 24 de maig del 2026

GOMES DA ROCHA, Francisco (1745-1808) - Novena De Nossa Senhora Do Pilar (1789)

Johann Jacob Steinmann (1800-1844) - Largo do Paço (1839)


Francisco Gomes da Rocha (1745-1808) - Novena De Nossa Senhora Do Pilar (1789)
Performers: Orquestra e Coro Vox Brasiliensis; Ricardo Kanji (1948-2025, conductor)

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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).