ELSNER, Józef (1769-1854) - Te Deum (1815)

Józef Elsner (1769-1854) - Te Deum, Op.11 (1815)

Performers: Agnieszkа Tοmаszewska (soprano); Joаnna Dοbrаkοwska (alto); Kаrοl Kοzłοwski (tenor); Adаm Pаlkа (bass); Capella Clаrοmontаna; Cаntores Minores Wrаtislаvienses; Jаrοsłаw Jаsiurа (conductor)

Painting: Armand-Charles Caraffe (1762-1822) - Metellus Raising the Siege

Further info: Józef Elsner (1769-1854) - Requiem in c (1826)

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Józef Antoni Franciszek Elsner

(Grodków, 1 June 1769 - Warsaw, 18 April 1854)

Polish composer and teacher of German origin. As a schoolboy he sang in the church choir of Grodków. His interest in music developed while he was a pupil at the Dominican school, then at the Jesuit Gymnasium in Breslau (now Wrocław) (1781-88), where he sang the solo soprano part in Graun’s Der Tod Jesu. He also sang in the opera chorus, played the violin in chamber music and began to compose, chiefly religious music (now lost). At the University of Breslau he read theology and medicine; in 1789 he went to Vienna to study medicine, but gave it up for music. In 1791-92 he was violinist and conductor of the opera orchestra in Brno and from 1792 to 1799 in Lemberg (now L'viv), where he conducted the theatre orchestra, composed symphonies and chamber music and began to work on operas; at first he used German librettos, but after 1796 turned to Polish texts, especially in collaboration with Wojciech Bogusławski, organizer of the Polish National Theatre. He also arranged weekly concerts for a musical society. In 1799 Elsner settled permanently in Warsaw, where for 25 years he was in charge of the Opera, enriching its repertory with his own works and training many eminent singers. All his life he was very active as a teacher; he founded and organized several music schools on different levels and was the author of a number of works and textbooks. From 1817 to 1821 he taught at the School of Elementary Music and Art, from 1821 to 1826 at the Conservatory and from 1826 to 1831 at the Main School of Music, where he was professor of composition and rector. He taught many composers, above all Chopin. From 1802 until 1806 Elsner ran a music engraving shop in Warsaw, from which he issued several publications, notably 24 numbers of the periodical Wybór pięknych dzieł muzycznych i pieśni polskich (‘Selected beauties of music and Polish songs’). In 1805 he was nominated a member of the Warsaw Society of Friends of Science and in 1805-06, together with E.T.A. Hoffmann, he ran the music club, where Beethoven’s symphonies were among the works performed. He also founded the Society of the Friends of Religious and National Music (1814). From 1811 to 1819 he was correspondent of the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung, and from 1802 to 1825 contributed many reviews and articles to the Polish press. He was an honorary member of the music society of the Leipzig University Paulinerkirche as well as of many music societies in Poland, and was also a freemason. For his services to music he was awarded the Order of St Stanisław in 1823, and three commemorative medals were struck in his honour. Elsner was twice married, the second time to one of his pupils, Karolina Drozdowska (1784-1852), a leading soprano at the Warsaw Opera.

JACKSON, William (1730-1803) - Sonata for Harpsichord with accompaniment (c.1773)

William Jackson of Exeter (1730-1803) - Sonata (IV) for Harpsichord with accompaniment (c.1773)

Performers: Ars Musicae, Mallorca 

Drawing: John Downman (1750-1824) - Portrait of William Jackson, of Exeter, the composer (1781)

Further info: Songs, Canzonets, and Sonata

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William Jackson [of Exeter]

(Exeter, 29 May 1730 - Exeter, 5 July 1803)

English composer, essayist, organist and painter. The son of a grocer, he was given a liberal private education and studied with musicians at Exeter Cathedral and other visiting musicians in the city. After receiving some musical instruction from John Silvester, organist of Exeter Cathedral, Jackson was sent in 1748 to London, to become a pupil of John Travers, organist to the Chapel Royal. In 1767 Jackson wrote the music for an adaptation of Milton's Lycidas, which was produced at Covent Garden on 4 November of the same year, on the occasion of the death of Prince Edward, Duke of York and Albany, brother to George III. While in London, he was a visitor at the meetings of the Madrigal Society. On his return to Exeter Jackson devoted himself to teaching music until Michaelmas 1777, when he was appointed subchanter, organist, lay vicar, and master of choristers to the cathedral, in succession to Richard Langdon. Jackson's pupils included George Baker, William Bennet and John Davy. He was survived by his wife (née Bartlett), two sons and a daughter; the sons pursued successful careers in diplomatic service. A monument was erected to him in the vestry of St Stephen’s, Exeter, where he is buried. Throughout his life Jackson was active as a composer in a variety of media, though the largest proportion of work published in his lifetime was secular vocal music. 

TSCHORTSCH, Johann Georg (c.1680-1737) - Requiem Concertantibus

Johann Georg Tschortsch (c.1680-1737) - Requiem (c-moll) Concertantibus 4. Vocibus (1731)

Performers: Jörg Wаschinski (soprano); William Purеfoy (alto); Bernhard Schnеidеr (tenor); Rаlf Ernst (bass);

Kammerchor Des Fеrdinаndеums; Aurа Musicаle Budаpеst; Josеf Wеtzingеr (conductor)

Painting: Francois de Nome (c.1593-c.1644) - The triumphant entry of Death into a city with classical ruins

Further info: Tiroler Tage Für Kirchenmusik 1999

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Johann Georg Tschortsch

(Schwaz, c.1680 - Schwaz, 26 March 1737)

Austrian composer. Almost nothing is known about his early years and his extant music is the most valuable source about his outstanding skills. He came from a family of musicians who held the office of parish organist in the Tyrolean town of Schwaz for several generations. He probably received early music lessons as a choirboy in Innsbruck. Also there he probably attended the Jesuit high school where his name is mentioned in the school performances. In 1704 he was ordained a priest and he spent the following years with his family in Schwaz and as chaplain to Count Fieger at Friedberg Castle near his hometown. In 1729 he was finally awarded the Fugger benefit at the Schwaz parish church, a post he held until his death on March 26, 1737. As a composer, he wrote at least three collections of church music printed in Augsburg. His extensive compositional skills are first and foremost based on his unusual talent; his great knowledge and the sovereignty of its use is of course also deduced from his musical ambience. His work as a choirboy in the Innsbruck court orchestra must have given him fundamental experience, where he not only got to know the variety of church music genres and forms, but also received continuous music lessons and thus experienced practice and theory in an ideal way and at a high level. As an example of his mastery, his music can be currently found in archives and libraries in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia, England and the USA.

TRICKLIR, Jean-Balthasar (1750-1813) - Concerto pour le violoncel (1783)

Jean-Balthasar Tricklir (1750-1813) - Concerto pour le violoncel, Oeuvre Premier (1783)

Performers: Alexаnder Rudіn (cello); Musicа Vivа

Painting: English School (mid-19th century) - A portrait of a gentleman in an interior holding a cello

Further info: Tricklir - Cello concertos

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Jean Balthasar Tricklir [Trickler, Triklir]

(Dijon, 1750 - Dresden, 29 November 1813)

French cellist and composer of German descent. Although as a child he was destined for the priesthood, he decided on a career in music, being sent to Mannheim in 1765, where he continued his musical studies until about 1768. In 1776 he made his debut at the Concerts spirituels in Paris, following which he toured Italy. In 1782 he was made chamber composer to the Elector of Mainz, but he left a year later for a position at the Saxon court in Dresden, where he remained most of his life. He was well regarded by his contemporaries as a music theorist and composer; he was praised in Correspondance des amateurs musiciens (19 November 1803) and J.-B.S. Bréval’s Traité du violoncelle (Paris, 1804). His works were published in Germany and France and his fourth concerto was performed in Paris at the Concert Spirituel by J.-L. Duport, who later published his own edited version of the work. In his unpublished treatise, Le microcosme musical (1785), he described a device for preventing the effects of atmospheric changes on the tuning of string instruments; discussion of the device appeared in Cramer’s Magazin der Musik. Tricklir also taught the cello, and his pupils included Dominique Bideau. Tricklir’s compositions display an interesting combination of French and German performing practices. His French training is revealed in his carefully crafted bowings and use of natural harmonics, the latter being explored particularly in the ‘nouveau’ concertos. His music consists of 16 cello concertos, three violin and six cello sonatas, a sinfonia concertante, and several quartets.

SCHNABEL, Joseph Ignaz (1767-1831) - Quintetto concertante in C-Dur

Joseph Ignaz Schnabel (1767-1831) - Quintetto concertante in C-Dur, IJS 1

Performers: Siegfried Behrend (1933-1990, guitar); Zagreb String Quartet

Painting: American school - The music master (c.1835)

Further info: Joseph Ignaz Schnabel (1767-1831) - Messe A-Dur 'Belagerungsmesse' (1806)

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Joseph Ignaz Schnabel

(Naumburg am Queiss, 24 May 1767 - Breslau [now Wrocław], 16 June 1831)

German church musician and composer. The son of a Kantor, he attended the Gymnasium in Breslau and sang in the Vincentiuskirche, then training as a teacher. He later attracted attention for the musical attainments of his pupils as a rural schoolmaster in Paritz where he taught from 1790. In 1797 he was appointed organist of St Clara in Breslau and during the same period violinist in the orchestra of the Vincentius kirche and the theatre orchestra, which he also often conducted. His later appointments included Kapellmeister of the cathedral (1805), director of the Richter winter concerts (1806) and the Montags- und Freitagsgesellschaft (1810), director of music at the university (1812), teacher at the Catholic seminary and director of the Royal Institute of Church Music, which he helped to found. At a time when sacred music was at a low ebb in south Germany, before the impact of the Cecilian Movement, Schnabel did much to rejuvenate and improve it through his many compositions and performances. In the secular arena, where he was equally active as a composer, he made an outstanding contribution to Breslau’s musical life, introducing not only earlier Classical symphonies and choral works (including Haydn’s Creation in 1800) but those of contemporaries such as Spohr and Romberg. His achievements were widely known, for example by Beethoven, whose ‘Exaudi Domine’ Schnabel had copied for cathedral performance. Schnabel’s significance for the musical life of Breslau, the music of the Catholic cathedral and musical education of Schlesia is detailed by Hoffmann. His own music includes eight masses, six vespers and litanies, 22 graduals, offertories, hymns and stations, as well as many songs and sacred and secular partsongs and choruses, some for male quartet, military marches and pieces for wind, a clarinet concerto and a quintet for guitar and string quartet. Still performed is his ‘Transeamus usque Bethlehem’ for choir and orchestra. A large amount remains in manuscript (see Guckel for complete listing). Other musically active members of Schnabel’s family include his brother Michael Schnabel (1775-1842), a piano manufacturer whose instruments were valued by virtuosos such as Liszt and Hummel, and whose sons Julius and Carl (later a composer) continued his business; and his sons Joseph (1791/4-?), an organist and composer, and August (1795-1863), a conductor and music educator who succeeded his father at the Catholic seminary in Breslau.

FESCA, Alexander Ernst (1820-1849) - Premier grand septuor (1842)

Alexander Ernst Fesca (1820-1849) - Premier grand septuor c-moll, Op.26 (1842), IAF 13

Performers: Collegium con basso

Painting: Unknown master - A Group Portrait of the Bookseller Ernst Wilhelm Ziemssen with his Family

Further info: Hummel - Fesca / Collegium Con Basso

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Alexander Ernst Fesca

(Karlsruhe, 22 May 1820 - Brunswick, 22 February 1849)

German pianist and composer, son of Friedrich Fesca (1789-1826) and Charlotte Dingelstedt, daughter of the horn player Johann Heinrich Dingelstedt. He received his first lessons from his father and made his debut at the age of 11 as a pianist in Karlsruhe. When he was 14 he went to Berlin, where he entered the Royal Academy of the Arts, and studied composition and harmony with Karl Rungenhagen and August Wilhelm Bach, instrumentation with Schneider and the piano with Wilhelm Taubert. In 1838 he returned to Karlsruhe, where his first opera, Mariette, was performed. He began his first concert tour as a piano virtuoso in autumn 1839. His second opera was performed at Karlsruhe in 1841, and in the same year he became chamber virtuoso to Prince Carl Egon von Fürstenburg. Through his concert tours Fesca gained a reputation as a talented pianist. He was a prolific composer of songs, chamber and piano music which often lack originality. His best works include the Piano Sextet op.8, though he is remembered chiefly for his songs. His operatic style was influenced by Albert Lortzing and Heinrich Marschner. On 22 February 1849, aged 28, died of lung disease in Braunschweig.

PETRITZ, Basilius (1647-1715) - Die Herrlichkeit des Herrn (1695)

Basilius Petritz (1647-1715) - Die Herrlichkeit des Herrn (1695)

Performers: Birtе Kulаwik (soprano); David Erlеr (alto); Hans Jörg Mаmmеl (tenor); Matthiаs Lutzе (bass);

Sаxon Vocal Ensemble; Bаtzdorfеr Hofkapеllе; Mаtthiаs Jung (conductor)

Painting: Denis Calvart (1540-1619) - Adoration of the shepherds

Further info: Machet Die Tore Weit

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Basilius Petritz

(Großenhain, 20 May 1647 - Dresden, 6 September 1715)

German composer and Kreuzkantor. From 1661 to 1671 he studied music at the Thomas School in Leipzig and later at the University of Leipzig. In 1677 he succeeded Johann Schelle, cantor at the Nikolaikirche in Eilenburg. There he received the influence of Friedrich Wilhelm Zachow and he held this post until he was promoted to Dresden Kreuzkantor in 1694. Since then, no further news were reported of Petritz's tenure. Apparently he was ailing in the last years of his life since his future successor, Johann Zacharias Grundig, was increasingly tooking over his duties. As a composer, he probably wrote several works but only one is currently extant; the christmas cantata 'Die Herrlichkeit des Herrn' (1695). One of Petritz sons was Kantor in St.-Annen-Kirche of Dresden.

Unknown master (18th Century) - Concierto para violin en Sol mayor

Unknown master (18th Century) - Concierto para violin en Sol mayor

Performers: Benito Lauret (1929-2005, violin); Orquesta de la Capilla Polifónica de Oviedo

Painting: French School (18th Century) - Lady and Gentleman on a Balcony, Musicians Nearby

Further info: Conciertos para Violín

RICCI, Francesco Pasquale (1732-1817) - Sinfonia Diss Dur a piu Instrumenti

Francesco Pasquale Ricci (1732-1817) - Sinfonia Diss Dur a piu Instrumenti, Op.2 No.5 (c.1767)

Performers: Nеthеrlands Radio Chamber Orchestra; Jan Willеm de Vriеnd (conductor)

Painting: Charles-François Grenier de Lacroix, dit Lacroix de Marseille (c.1700-1782) - Marine au Soleil Levant

Further info: Francesco Pasquale Ricci (1732-1817) - Lezione terza per il Mercoledi Santo

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Francesco Pasquale Ricci

(Como, 17 May 1732 - Loveno di Menaggio, Como, 7 November 1817)

Italian composer. Born of a middle-class family, he received a liberal education, then concentrated on music with Vignate at Milan. He joined the Franciscan Order of the Friars Minor and used the title Abbate. Appointed maestro di cappella at Como Cathedral in 1759, he was nevertheless able to travel extensively and was absent from his duties during much or all of the time between early 1768 and December 1777. He visited Paris, London, and, most importantly, The Hague, where he appeared in concerts (1766-1780) and dedicated works to the prince and others attached to the court. In the 1760s and 70s a number of works, including symphonies, string trios, quartets and accompanied keyboard sonatas, were published there or in Amsterdam. Many of these appeared also in Paris and London, generally in the same edition with altered title-page. Several symphonies from the sets were also issued singly in periodical series. According to Brook, a work by Ricci (c.1767) was probably the first to be published as a ‘symphonie concertante’. However, despite this title, the piece was probably an ordinary symphony, perhaps a reprint of a piece from the sets published in The Hague (c.1765) and Amsterdam (op.2, c.1767). His fame was spread by the impact of the first performance of his Dies irae, which was published and widely distributed. According to Fayolle, the audience was struck with a ‘saint effroi’ by the introduction at the ‘Tuba mirum’ of a trumpet sounding from the cupola (the printed score calls for horns). Ricci was not the first to attempt this effect, however. Ricci's name appears with that of J.C. Bach in the Méthode … pour le forte-piano (Paris, c1788), devised for one of the conservatories at Naples. The nature of the collaboration is uncertain, but it is likely that the two musicians had become acquainted at Milan through Count Litta, a patron of both, and had continued their friendship in London. Ricci may merely have arranged and edited the work in memory of his deceased friend; the ascription to Bach may in any case be false.

LE ROUX, Gaspard (1660-1707) - Suite I en ré mineur (1705)

Gaspard Le Roux (1660-1707) - Suite I en ré mineur (1705)

Performers: Jan Devlieger & Guy Penson (cembalo)

Painting: Isaac de Moucheron (1667-1744) - Palace Garden with Water Features

Further info: A Due Cembali Obligati

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Gaspard Le Roux

(Paris, 1660 - Paris, 17 June 1707)

French harpsichordist and composer. Little is known of his life. The earliest mention of him is in March 1690, when the Mercure de France published the opening of a translation of the hymn Veni creator, referring to a figured bass supplied by Le Roux. He was cited merely as a music teacher, but when it was mentioned six years later, he was elevated to ‘famous music teacher’. He was indeed listed with other prominent Parisian organists and harpsichordists in Blegny du Pradel’s Livre commode, contenant les adresses de la ville de Paris (Paris, 1692), and he was in the highest tax bracket for such musicians in 1695. He took a privilege for a book of harpsichord pieces ‘and other music of his composition’, and his Pièces de clavessin appeared the same year (Paris, 1705/R). The inventory of his belongings at the time of his death is cited in a notary’s index for 17 June 1707, but the document itself is lost, and it is not known how long before that date he died (Hardouin).

LECHLEITNER, Wilhelm (1779-1827) - Erwachet ihr Hirten (c.1820)

Wilhelm Lechleitner (1779-1827) - Erwachet ihr Hirten (c.1820)

Performers: Clara Sаttlеr (soprano); Martha Sеnn (alto); Johannes Puchlеitner (tenor); Rаlf Ernst (bass);

Chor und orchester des Akadеmischen Musikvеrеins für Tirol; Josеf Wеtzingеr (conductor)

Painting: Attributed to Caroline von Moro (1815-1885) - View of the church of Stein bei Viktring and lake Wörthersee

Further info: Wilhelm Lechleitner (1779-1827) - Weihnachtmesse C-Dur (1817)

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Wilhelm (Johann Nepomuk) Lechleitner

(Stanzach, 15 May 1779 - Neustift bei Brixen, 6 November 1827)

Austrian composer, Regens chori and teacher. In 1797 he joined the Augustinian canons in Neustift where he was ordained priest in 1802 and where he professed as a pastor since 1807. In 1808 he worked as a music prefect at the boarding school "Cassianeum" in Brixen. In 1809 he was chaplain in Uttenheim and from 1811 until 1816 he was music teacher at the Innsbruck grammar school. Then he returned to Neustift to resume his work as a Regens chori. He was also there organist and teacher at the Boys' Institute. As a composer, he mainly wrote church music highlighting by 5 Requiem, 2 Te Deum, several Masses and Stabat Mater and for his Musik zum Schauspiel Das große Opfer auf Golgotha (1812).

VIOTTI, Giovanni Battista (1755-1824) - Concerto de Clavecin avec Violon Obligé (c.1787)

Giovanni Battista Viotti (1755-1824) - Concerto de Clavecin avec Violon Obligé (c.1787)

Performers: Eugene List (1918-1985, piano); Carroll Glenn (1918-1983, violin);

The Biedermeier Orchestra; Kurt List (1913-1970, conductor)

Painting: Louis Léopold Boilly (1761-1845) - A Game of Billiards

Further info: Giovanni Battista Viotti (1755-1824) - Piano Concerto in g (1794)

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Giovanni Battista Viotti

(Fontanetto da Po, 12 May 1755 - London, 3 March 1824)

Italian violinist and composer. His father, a blacksmith, was an amateur musician who taught his son music and also bought a small violin for him to practice on. At the age of 11, Viotti was sent to Turin, where he gained the favor of Alfonso del Pozzo, Prince della Cisterna, who oversaw his education. After lessons with Antonio Celoniat, Viotti became a pupil of Pugnani in 1770. In 1775 he became a member of the last desk of 1st violins in the orchestra of the Royal Chapel in Naples. In 1780 he and Pugnani launched a major concert tour, performing in Switzerland, Dresden, Berlin, Warsaw, and St. Petersburg. By 1782 Viotti was in Paris on his own, where he first appeared at the Concert Spirituel (March 17). He immediately established himself as the premier violin virtuoso of the day, and gave regular concerts there until 1783. In 1784 he entered the service of Marie Antoinette in Versailles; he also acted as concertmaster of the orchestra of Prince Rohan-Guemenee. Thanks to the patronage of the Court of Provence, he opened the Theatre de Monsieur in Paris in 1788, which became the Theatre Feydeau in 1791. During his tenure there, he staged major works from the Italian and French repertories, including those of his close friend Cherubini. In 1792 he fled the revolution-wracked city of Paris for London, where he made his debut at Salomon's Hanover Square Concert on Feb. 7, 1793. He was the featured violinist of Salomon's concerts until 1795, and also acting manager of the Italian opera at the King's Theatre (1794-95). He became music director of the new Opera Concerts in 1795 and, in 1797, concertmaster and director of the orch. at the King's Theatre. In 1798 he was ordered by the British government to leave England on suspicion of Jacobin sympathies. After living in Schenfeldt, near Hamburg (1798-99), he was back in London by 1801, where he was engaged mainly in a wine business, although he later helped to found the Phil. Society and appeared in some of its chamber-music programs. 

In 1818 his wine business failed, and he returned to Paris, where he became director of the Opera in 1819. He resigned in 1821, serving as its nominal director until 1822, but then abandoned music altogether and returned to London in 1823 to be with his closest friends, Mr and Mrs William Chinnery. He died in their home in Portman Square. Viotti's role in the history of instrumental music, in both performance and composition, was very important. He elevated performing standards from mere entertainment to artistic presentation, and he may be regarded as one of the chief creators of modern violin playing. He was the first to write violin concertos in a consciously formulated sonata form, with the solo part and the orch. accompaniment utilizing the full resources of instrumental sonority more abundantly than ever before in violin concertos. He publ. 29 violin concertos (of which No. 22, in A minor, is a great favorite), 10 piano concertos (some of which are transcriptions of violin concertos), 2 symphonies concertantes for 2 Violins, Strings, Oboes, and Horns, 21 string quartets, 21 string trios, various duos for 2 Violins, 6 serenades for 2 Violins, several duos for 2 Cellos, 3 divertissements for Violin Unaccompanied, 12 sonatas for Violin and Piano, etc. His song known as "La polacca de Viotti" (used in Paisiello's La Serva padrona, 1794) acquired great popularity. For the rectification of Viotti's birth date (heretofore given as May 23, 1753), see Stampa di Torino of Sept. 29, 1935, which published for the first time the text of his birth certificate; an infant brother of Viotti was born in 1753; their Christian names were identical (the brother having died before the birth of the future musician), which led to confusion. The bicentennial of Viotti was widely celebrated in the wrong year (1953). 

BUXTEHUDE, Dietrich (1637-1707) - Herzlich lieb hab ich dich, o Herr

Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707) - Herzlich lieb hab ich dich, o Herr, BuxWV 41

Performers: The Heinrich Schuetz choir of Heilbronn; The Southwest Radio orchestra of Baden-Baden; 

Fritz Werner (1898-1977, conductor)

Painting: Circle of Andrea Schiavone (1510-1563) - Allégorie de la Musique

Further info: Buxtehude – Deux Cantates

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Dietrich (Diderik Hansen) Buxtehude

(Helsingborg, 1637 - Lübeck, 9 May 1707)

German organist and composer. His father, Johannes Buxtehude, was appointed organist at the Olaikirche in Elsinore, Denmark, in 1641, where Dietrich attended the Latin school and probably began his musical education with his father. In 1660, he became organist at the Marienkirche in Elsinore. On 5 November 1667, Franz Tunder, organist at the Marienkirche in Lübeck, one of the most important musical posts in north Germany, died, and on 11 April 1668, Buxtehude was chosen out of a field of several applicants to replace him. With this appointment, Buxtehude became, in effect, the director of all musical activities in the city save the opera. He became a citizen of Lübeck on 23 July 1668 and on 3 August married Tunder’s daughter Anna Margarethe. It is possible that the marriage was a condition of employment, a customary practice that would apply to Buxtehude’s own successor. They had seven daughters together. At the Marienkirche, he played a large organ of 52 stops, and he composed into his own organ works a range of divisional contrasts, including demanding parts for the pedal division, which alone had 15 stops, more than any of the three manual divisions. The preludes for which he is best known alternate improvisatory passages (the stylus phantasticus) with strict imitative passages very often developed into full-blown fugues. The keyboard suites follow the “classic” French pattern of allemande- courante-sarabande-gigue, with an occasional double, the opening three dances often based on the same thematic material. For his sacred vocal works, Buxtehude draws prose texts from either the Lutheran German Bible or the Latin Vulgate, setting them as sacred concertos, or spiritual poetry.

If the poetry is associated with a chorale melody, that melody may be set in a variety of ways ranging from a traditional cantus firmus to a contemporary aria form. In 1678, Buxtehude expanded the tradition of Abendmusik organ recitals at the Marienkirche to include sacred concertos and oratorios on spiritual themes presented on five specific Sundays of the liturgical year. These concerts featured vocal soloists and extensive instrumental accompaniment. On 16 May 1707, Buxtehude was buried in the Marienkirche. Regarded since the 18th century chiefly as the most influential organist in the generation before Johann Sebastian Bach, recently the recovery and recording of Buxtehude’s vocal and ensemble music have broadened his reputation. The young Bach’s famous pilgrimage from Arnstadt to Lübeck in 1705 to visit Buxtehude is well known, but Buxtehude also entertained George Frideric Handel and Johann Mattheson in 1703 and was the dedicatee of Johann Pachelbel’s 1699 publication Hexachordum Apollinis. For organ, he composed 3 self-standing fugues, 3 well-known ostinatos (1 passacaglia, 2 chaconnes), 8 canzonas, 5 toccatas, and 22 “preludia,” which almost always contain extended fugues along with improvisatory music. He also left 47 chorale preludes and chorale fantasias for organ and at least 113 sacred vocal works on Latin and German texts, most in the form of chorale settings and sacred concertos. Three librettos for oratorios survive, but the music is lost. His secular music includes 17 keyboard suites (including, perhaps, the 7 suites composed on the character of the planets, mentioned by Mattheson), 5 variation sets, and at least 23 sonatas, most requiring violin and viola da gamba.

STAMITZ, Johann (1717-1757) - Sinfonia in Dis à 8

Johann Stamitz (1717-1757) - Sinfonia in Dis à 8

Performers: Cаmerаtа Romаnа

Engraving: Georg Balthasar Probst (1732-1801) - Der Parade-Platz zu Mannheim

Further info: Carl Stamitz (1745-1801) - Klarinettenkonzert F Dur, Nr. 1 (c.1777)

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Jan (Johann) Václav Antonin (Wenzel Anton) Stamic [Stamitz]

(Německý Brod [now Havlíčkův Brod], bap. 19 June 1717 - Mannheim, ?27 March, bur. 30 March 1757)

Composer, violinist and teacher. He ranks among the most important early Classical symphonists and was influential in making the court of the Elector Palatine at Mannheim a leading centre of orchestral performance and composition. He received his early schooling in Německý Brod, though his first musical instruction doubtless came from his father. From 1728 to 1734 he attended the Jesuit Gymnasium in Jihlava; the Jesuits of Bohemia, whose pupils included the foremost musicians in Europe, maintained high standards of musical education during this period. Stamitz is known to have spent the following academic year, 1734-35, at Prague University. His activities during the next six years, however, remain a mystery. It seems logical to assume that his decision to leave the university was prompted by a desire to establish himself as a violin virtuoso, a goal that could be pursued in Prague, Vienna or countless other centres. The precise circumstances surrounding Stamitz’s engagement by the Mannheim court are unclear. The date of his appointment was probably 1741, for he remarked in a letter of 29 February 1748 to Baron von Wallbrunn in Stuttgart that he was in his eighth year of service to the elector. The most likely hypothesis is perhaps that Stamitz’s engagement resulted from contacts made late in 1741 during the Bohemian campaign and coronation in Prague of the Bavarian Elector Carl Albert (later Carl VII), one of whose closest allies was the Elector Palatine. In January 1742 Stamitz no doubt performed at Mannheim as part of the festivities surrounding the marriage of Carl Theodor. At Mannheim Stamitz advanced rapidly: in 1743, when he was first violinist at the court, he was granted an increase in salary of 200 gulden; in payment lists from 1744 and 1745 his salary is given as 900 gulden, the highest of any instrumentalist at Mannheim; in 1745 or early 1746 he was awarded the title of Konzertmeister; and in 1750 he was appointed to the newly created post of director of instrumental music. 

The latter promotion came almost two years after the offer of a position at the court of Duke Carl Eugen in Stuttgart with an annual salary of 1500 gulden, an offer that the Elector Palatine probably saw fit to match, as Stamitz remained in Mannheim. In court almanacs for 1751 and 1752 Stamitz is also listed as one of the two Kapellmeisters, but after the arrival of Ignaz Holzbauer in 1753 he appears as director of instrumental music alone. Stamitz’s principal responsibilities at court were the composition and performance of orchestral and chamber music, although he seems also to have composed some sacred music for the court chapel. As leader of the band and conductor Stamitz developed the Mannheim orchestra into the most renowned ensemble of the time, famous for its precision and its ability to render novel dynamic effects. Stamitz was also influential as a teacher; in addition to his sons Carl and Anton, he taught such outstanding violinists and composers as Christian Cannabich, the Toeschi brothers, Ignaz Fränzl and Wilhelm Cramer. In 1744 Stamitz married Maria Antonia Lüneborn. They had five children: the composers Carl and Anton, a daughter Maria Francisca (1746-1799) and two children who died in infancy. In 1749 Stamitz and his wife journeyed to Německý Brod to attend the installation of Stamitz’s younger brother Antonín Tadeáš as dean of the Dean’s church. In February 1750, while the family was still in Bohemia, Stamitz’s brother Václav Jan or Wenzel Johann (1724-after 1771), also a musician, was in Mannheim. Johann Stamitz returned to Mannheim in March 1750, but his wife remained temporarily in Německý Brod, where Anton Stamitz was born on 27 November 1750. Probably in late summer 1754 Stamitz undertook a year-long journey to Paris, appearing there for the first time at the Concert Spirituel on 8 September 1754. He presumably returned to Mannheim in autumn 1755, dying there less than two years later at the age of 39.

HARANT, Kryštof (1564-1621) - Missa quinis vocibus super Dolorosi martir

Kryštof Harant (1564-1621) - Missa quinis vocibus super Dolorosi martir (1602)

Performers: Duodena Cantitans; Capella Rudolphina; Michael Consort; Petr Danek (conductor)

Engraving: Jakob von Sandrart (1606-1688) - Christoph Harant von Polschitz und Weseritz

Further info: Harant - Missa Quinis Vocibus Super Dolorosi Martir

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Kryštof (Christof, Krystof) Harant z Polžic a Bezdružic

(Klenové Castle, nr Klatovy, 1564 - Prague, 21 June 1621)

Bohemian composer and writer. From 1576 he studied singing and counterpoint as a member of a local court band at Innsbruck, at the court of Archduke Ferdinand II, learning 7 languages, discovering his talent for music and the other arts and his interest in history, geography and political science. He returned to Bohemia in 1584 in a vain attempt to get a post at the court of Rudolf II, and so enlisted as a soldier, participating in the 1593 and 1597 campaign against the Turks. In 1589 he married Eva Czernin von Chudenitz – they had two children before she died in 1597. Kryštof married two more times. Leaving his relation Lidmila Markvartová z Hrádku to raise the children, in 1598 and 1599 he went to the Holy Land as a pilgrim, wishing to visit the Holy Sepulchre with Eva's brother Hermann. He wrote about his experiences in a book entitled Journey from Bohemia to the Holy Land, by way of Venice and the Sea which was published in Prague in 1608. After his return, in 1599, he was given a post in the emperor's court and simultaneously raised to the peerage, though both his children died that year. In 1601 he was made an advisor to the court of Rudolf and his successor Matthias and part of the imperial chambers. When the imperial court moved to Vienna, Harant was granted the Pecka Castle and dedicated himself for some years to music, becoming the foremost Bohemian composer. In 1615 he was unexpectedly released from his court duties and he went to live in seclusion at Pecka Castle, where, on the evidence of an inventory, he kept a musical establishment. Although he had been brought up from childhood as a Catholic, he was converted, by 1618 at the latest, to neo-Utraquism. On 25 July 1620 a mass by him was performed with great show in the Catholic church of St Jakub, Prague. He did not take part in the Battle of the White Mountain in 1620, but in spite of his plea for mercy to the emperor for his part in the uprising he was arrested in his castle at the beginning of March 1621 and taken to Prague, where he was condemned to death and to the sequestration of his property. On 21 June he was beheaded in the Old Town square with the other 26 leaders of the uprising. According to his contemporaries he was a good singer and instrumentalist and his compositions were performed not only at the emperor’s court but also at those of German noblemen. The seven pieces that survive are predominantly contrapuntal and conservative, with only occasional up-to-date touches where melodic writing takes precedence over polyphony. 

WÜRFEL, Wenzel Wilhelm (1790-1832) - Grand Rondeau Brillant pour le Piano Forte (c.1826)

Wenzel Wilhelm Würfel (1790-1832) - Grand Rondeau Brillant pour le Piano Forte, Op.30 (c.1826)

Performers: Martin Vojtísek (piano)

Painting: Joaquín Espalter (1809-1880) - The family of Jorge Flaquer

Further info: Würfel - Works for Piano

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Václav Vilém (Werfel, Wenzel Wilhelm) Würfel

(Plaňány, nr Kolín, 6 May 1790 - Vienna, 23 March 1832)

Bohemian pianist and composer. He came from a musical family and was pushed towards a career in music. His father was a schoolteacher. He studied piano with his mother. In 1807 he went to Prague where he studied with Václav Jan Tomášek the style of whom modelled some of his own works. In 1815 he settled in Warsaw where he was appointed a professor at the Warsaw Conservatory and where he soon became a favourite artist in the salon and the concert hall. He toured as a pianist in Poland, Bohemia, Germany and Russia. In 1824 he left Warsaw and returned to Prague where his first opera, Rübezahl, was presented at the Estates Theatre on 7 October. From 1826 he held a post of conductor at the Kärntnertortheater in Vienna. He met Beethoven just before his death in 1827. As a teacher, his most famous pupil is said to be the Polish-French composer Frédéric Chopin. After a lung ailment, he died poor and alone, in 1832.

MARTIN Y SOLER, Vicente (1754-1806) - La dora festeggiata (1783)

Vicente Martín y Soler (1754-1806) - La dora festeggiata (1783)

Performers: Sunhае Im (soprano); Raffaella Milаnеsi (soprano); Mаgnus Stаvеland (tenor);

Reiаl Compаnyia Opera de Cаmbra; Juan Bаutistа Otеro (conductor)

Drawing: Anoniem - Musicians and a couple dancing (c.1820)

Further info: La Dora Festeggiante

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(Atanasio Martín Ignacio) Vicente (Tadeo Francisco Pellegrin) Martín y Soler

[Martini, Vincenzo, lo Spagnuolo (il Valenziano); Martini, Ignaz]

(Valencia, 2 May 1754 - St Petersburg, 30 January 1806)

Spanish-Italian composer. He was sent to Bologna to study under the famous Padre Giovanni Battista Martini, achieving his first success with an opera, Il tutore burlato, in 1775 (also adapted as a zarzuela). Thereafter followed numerous commissions from opera houses throughout Italy, and in 1775 he finally settled in Naples, where he composed works for the Teatro San Carlo, as well as becoming involved in the development of the ballet d’action with Charles le Picq. In 1785 he moved to Vienna, where an association with librettist Lorenzo da Ponte resulted in three successful operas, Una cosa rara, Il buerbo di buon cuore, and L’arbore di Diana. In 1788 he was appointed by Catherine II as director of the theatre in St. Petersburg, although he spent much of his time writing Russian opera, including Gore bogatyr Kosometovich, a thinly veiled satire of Swedish king Gustav III. In 1793 he traveled to London, remaining there for three years, before returning to St. Petersburg. By early 1796 Martín was back in St Petersburg. He wrote his last opera for Paul I, who had succeeded Catherine, and thereafter Martín supported himself with teaching and administrative work until his death. Primarily known as a composer of opera (with his ballets still needing study), Martín wrote clear and flowing lyrical themes. Like his colleagues Giovanni Paisiello, Giuseppe Sarti, and Domenico Cimarosa, he can be considered one of the major figures of opera buffa of the Classical period. His music includes 22 operas, numerous insertion pieces to the works of others, 18 ballets, five cantatas, an oratorio, a violin concerto, and numerous smaller vocal works.

CORRI, Sophia Giustina (1775-1847) - Sonata (III) for the harp (1797)

Sophia Giustina Corri (1775-1847) - Sonata (III, c) for the harp, Op.2 (1797)
Performers: Masumi Nagasawa (harp)

Painting: Felix Maria Diogg (1762-1834) - Magdalena Esslinger-Escher im Hard, mit ihren Töchtern Regina, Magdalena, Esther und Anna Maria, 1793.

Further info: Duos pour harpe et pianoforte

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Sophia (Giustina) Corri [later Dussek; later Moralt]
(Edinburgh, 1 May 1775 - London, 1847)

English singer and composer of Italian descent, wife of Jan Ladislav Dussek (1760-1812). She was taught the piano by her father, the composer, music publisher and teacher Domenico Corri (1746-1825), and performed in public at an early age. In 1788 the family moved from Edinburgh to London, where she studied singing with Luigi Marchesi, Giuseppe Viganoni and Giambattista Cimador. She made a successful début as a singer at the Salomon concerts in 1791, with Haydn directing from the harpsichord, and thereafter sang regularly in the series, taking part in the first performance of Haydn’s The Storm (24 February 1792). She also played a significant part in the introduction of Mozart’s music to London; she was a soloist in the London première of the Requiem, given at John Ashley’s Lenten Oratorios, Covent Garden, on 20 February 1801. In 1792 she married Dussek, with whom she performed, singing and playing the piano and harp. Their daughter, Olivia Dussek (c.1789-c.1841), was also a pianist, harpist and composer. After Jan Ladislav’s death in 1812 Sophia married the viola player John Alvis Moralt; they lived in Paddington, where she established a music school. She published sonatas, rondos, variations and numerous arrangements for the piano or harp. The popular C minor harp sonata from op.2 appears to have been incorrectly attributed to Jan Ladislav. The 1797 Pleyel edition lists only the composer’s surname, probably deliberately, as the name of Sophia’s famous husband would be expected to generate more sales. However, the title-page of the British edition published at some time between 1796 and 1801 by the family firm, Corri, Dussek & Co., clearly states ‘By Madame Dussek’ and this is unlikely to be incorrect. Sophia’s great-niece, Ghita Auber Corri (c.1869-1937), composed songs and sang in the Carl Rosa Opera Company; she married the playwright Richard Neville Lynn in 1899.