Stephan Katte - Horn Concertos - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

The close-knit nature of the Bach musical family is documented in many sources. They met regularly for family celebrations, exchanged experiences and, of course, always had an eye on where there was a vacant position. In baroque Central Germany, the name InchBachInch was practically synonymous with the job title InchmusicianInch. For the Ensemble Polyharmonique and Teatro del Mondo with it's director Andreas Küppers, too, the InchOld Bach ArchiveInch is the most important starting point for the musical representation of Bach's InchFamily AffairsInch. Six compositions from this valuable collection were selected for the present recording. These pieces are complemented by further works from various Bach generations up to the late 18th century. A clearly audible connection is revealed not only by the consistent instrumentation of four to six vocal parts and basso continuo, but also by a kind of Inchfamily soundInch. Even when Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach composes a motet in the style of Empfindsamkeit, it may be assumed that he also had the works of his ancestors in mind, which were composed more than 100 years earlier. The InchFamily AffairsInch with 15 works from four generations thus provide an impressive testimony to this unique musical dynasty.

It is difficult to ascertain how many horn concertos Joseph Haydn and his younger brother Michael actually wrote. Certain works are lost; others are erroneously ascribed, or their authenticity at least doubtful. One of the concertos has even been ascribed by different musicologists to Joseph and to Michael Haydn, but it may have been written by another person entirely. The two brothers wrote most of their concertos for the widest variety of solo instruments, but usually in the same type of situation i.e. once they had assumed important posts at the head of renowned court orchestras. Joseph Haydn became Kapellmeister for the Esterhazy princes in 1761, and Michael became concertmaster of the Salzburg archdiocese court orchestra in 1763. The court musicians in both orchestras were virtuosos in their own right, and one of the tasks of a Kapellmeister consisted in composing new works that permitted them to display their outstanding abilities in the presence of their sovereigns.

Nury Guarnaschelli - Horn Concertos [COMPACT DISCS] date 10/28/2008