Antonio Lotti; Jan Dismas Zelenka; Johann Sebastian Bach

"The dictates of fashion were a powerful factor in music, too, over the centuries, exercising a substantial influence on the complex interaction between composers, their patrons and their public. Music went out of date in the space of a few decades - sometimes in the space of a few years. And this meant that many works that delighted the ear when they were first heard were soon forgotten again. Changing fashions consigned them to the recesses of musical archives, with only a handful of scholars and devoted librarians still aware of their existence.

"One exception to this rule was sacred music. Since the Reformation at the latest, with the processes of denominational rethinking that it triggered, the Church tended increasingly to preserve what it deemed to be worthwhile, and to keep these values present in people's minds. Thus the strict counterpoint with its deliberate outward plainness that was developed in the 17th century from the legacy of Palestrina and other Late Renaissance masters, and was elevated to the ideal of a time-honoured stile antico, remained the central point of reference for many composers of religious music in the 18th century. These composers studied and made use of the 'old style' in some cases in its pure form, in others by adapting it sensitively to suit the taste of their own time.

"Jan Dismas Zelenka, Johann Sebastian Bach and Antonio Lotti - all three composers had a good command of the traditional church style and its adaption for which they were admired by contemporaries. And although they never actually met, their biographies are connected through Zelenka.

"Lotti was born in 1667 in Venice and spent most of his life in his native city, where - like so many successful composers of his time - he worked both as a church musician (he was organist at St. Mark's) and as an opera composer. In 1717 he was given leave from his duties in Venice to spend two years at the Dresden court, where he enjoyed huge success. He returned to La Serenissima in 1719, remaining there until his death in 1740. He wrote five operas for Dresden, and also worked in the Hofkirche church together with the Italian musicians who had accompanied him to the city known as 'Florence on the Elbe'. A substantial number of sacred works by Lotti bear witness to this: some of them he wrote especially for Dresden, others he brought with him from Italy.

"When Lotti took up his position, Zelenka had already been playing the double bass in the Dresden court orchestra for a few years. But while Lotti was in Dresden, Zelenka spent most of his time in Vienna in the retinue of Friedrich August II, the heir to the Saxon throne. And in the city on the Danube, he took the opportunity to study with the kapellmeister at the Imperial court, Johann Joseph Fux, who was one of the most respected teachers of classical counterpoint. Zelenka also accumulated a collection of manuscript scores of the works of old masters while in Vienna, which he later made use of for his own compositions.

"After his return to Dresden, Zelenka was mainly responsible for the Catholic church music at court. In addition to composing works of his own - masses, music for vespers, litanies and compositions for Easter week -, his duties also included obtaining and arranging other composers' works. Among the music that Zelenka arranged for performance in the Dresden church there are also compositions by the erstwhile court kapellmeisters Antonio Lotti, including a mass in G minor/G major that consists only of a Kyrie and a Gloria; to distinguish this from other masses, Zelenka gave this one the name 'Missa Sapientiae'. [...]

"According to Bach's song Carl Philipp Emanuel, Zelenka was one of the composers who Johann Sebastian Bach knew personally and held in high regard. No documents have come to light so far providing any indication of how the two composers communicated, but Bach obviously had access to Zelenka's collection of scores, as there was a copy of the latter's arrangement of Lotti's 'Missa Sapientiae' in his own music library.

"For Easter week 1738, Zelenka made a setting of the penitential psalm 'Miserere mei, Deus' as a sequence of strongly contrasting movements. The complete text of the psalm itself appears in the second of the five movements; it is followed by the doxology 'Gloria Patri', which is spread over two movements. The two outer movements are choruses featuring only the agitated rhythms, first the orchestral parts penetrate one another with much dissonance, then the choir comes in and unfolds a lament of colossal intensity. Unlike many of his fellow composers, such as Lotti or Leonardo Leo, who a vividly discriptive text inspired to a rich variety of emotions and intonation, Zelenka opted for an approach that is nothing short of archaic. From his collection of music of the old masters - copies of scores that he had accumulated in Vienna - Zelenka picked out a recercar by Girolamo Frescobaldi and took the latter's strictly contrapuntal, four-part setting as the basis for his own vocal writing, which adheres pretty closely to the 100-year-old model. Under these circumstances, it is impossible for the music to reflect specific expressive nuances in the text - and indeed, this was clearly not Zelenka's intention. The dignity of the Old Testament text is emphasised by the venerable character of Frescobaldi's austere style. However, the core message of the psalm, a plaintive emotional outcry, does not simply recur like a motto in the contrapuntal writing, but also forms the unusually radical framework of the piece, and this not only regards the almost shocking extremes in the dynamics. Even in the context of Zelenka's many highly unconvential compositions, 'Miserere mei, Deus' is in a class of its own.

"Johann Sebastian Bach likewise had frequent recourse to both his own works and those of other composers, not least because, as cantor of St. Thomas's, Leipzig, he had an enormous workload to cope with. He originally wrote the cantata 'Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen', BWV 12, in Weimar back in 1714, and he performed it again ten years later in Leipzig. On this occasion, he changed the original score, transposing it up by a tone. What's more, Bach later used the main part of the opening chorus, a chaconne that develops over a chromatically-led lament in the bass line, in his B minor Mass, where it appears, transposed, structurally enlarged and fitted with a new text, as the 'Crucifixus' in the Credo.

"The combination of chromatic writing and motet style is something that Bach's cantata shares with several settings of the 'Crucifixus' by Lotti, which with their radicalisation of classic counterpoint are among his most impressive works. But in some of his complete mass movements, too, Lotti also achieves moments of compelling expressiveness with similar means. Large parts of the 'Missa a tre cori', which he wrote in and for Venice, but also performed in Dresden, are laid out so that a constant alternation of intensely expressive, dense counterpoint with more loosely-woven passages ensures variety. As for the text itself, which is musically reinterpreted time after time as no other text had been since the Middle Ages: Lotti elicits entirely new facets from it. Thus the dance-like blithe spirits of the 'Gloria in excelsis Deo' is followed by an abrupt change of mood for the '...et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis', a thought-provoking motet with obbligato orchestra. Contrasts like this occur throughout the work, but Lotti's mastery of his art - recognised by both Zelenka and Bach - is evident not least in the fact that he always manages the balancing act between different styles and expressive worlds." (Thomas Seedorf, tr. Clive Williams. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Balthasar-Neumann-Ensemble. Balthasar-Neumann-Chor, Thomas Hengelbrock

1. Jan Dismas Zelenka - Miserere In C Minor, ZWV 57: Miserere I

2. Jan Dismas Zelenka - Miserere In C Minor, ZWV 57: Miserere II

3. Jan Dismas Zelenka - Miserere In C Minor, ZWV 57: Gloria Patri I

4. Jan Dismas Zelenka - Miserere In C Minor, ZWV 57: Gloria Patri II

5. Jan Dismas Zelenka - Miserere In C Minor, ZWV 57: Sicut Erat

6. Jan Dismas Zelenka - Miserere In C Minor, ZWV 57: Miserere III

7. Johann Sebastian Bach - Cantata 'Weinen, Klagen, Zittern, Zagen', BWV 12: Sinfonia

8. Johann Sebastian Bach - Cantata 'Weinen, Klagen, Zittern, Zagen', BWV 12: 'Weinen, Klagen, Zittern, Zagen'

9. Johann Sebastian Bach - Cantata 'Weinen, Klagen, Zittern, Zagen', BWV 12: 'Wir Müssen Durch Viel Trübsal'

10. Johann Sebastian Bach - Cantata 'Weinen, Klagen, Zittern, Zagen', BWV 12: 'Kreuz Und Kronen Sind Verbunden'

11. Johann Sebastian Bach - Cantata 'Weinen, Klagen, Zittern, Zagen', BWV 12: 'Ich Folge Christum Nach'

12. Johann Sebastian Bach - Cantata 'Weinen, Klagen, Zittern, Zagen', BWV 12: 'Sei Getrost'

13. Johann Sebastian Bach - Cantata 'Weinen, Klagen, Zittern, Zagen', BWV 12: 'Was Gott Tut, Das Ist Wohlgetan'

14. Antonio Lotti - Missa A Tre Cori: Kyrie Eleison

15. Antonio Lotti - Missa A Tre Cori: Christe Eleison

16. Antonio Lotti - Missa A Tre Cori: Kyrie Eleison

17. Antonio Lotti - Missa A Tre Cori: Gloria In Excelsis

18. Antonio Lotti - Missa A Tre Cori: Et In Terra Pax

19. Antonio Lotti - Missa A Tre Cori: Laudamus Te

20. Antonio Lotti - Missa A Tre Cori: Gratias Agimus Tibi

21. Antonio Lotti - Missa A Tre Cori: Domine Deus

22. Antonio Lotti - Missa A Tre Cori: Domine Filii

23. Antonio Lotti - Missa A Tre Cori: Domine Deus, Agnus Dei

24. Antonio Lotti - Missa A Tre Cori: Qui Tollis

25. Antonio Lotti - Missa A Tre Cori: Qui Sedes

26. Antonio Lotti - Missa A Tre Cori: Quoniam Tu Solus

27. Antonio Lotti - Missa A Tre Cori: Cum Sanctu Spiritu

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Alexander Scriabin; Leoš Janáček - Sonatas & Poems

"Alexander Scriabin was born into a wealthy Russian family; he was of delicate build and health and full of mystical self-importance. Leoš Janáček was the son of a schoolmaster in Moravia, then part of the Austrian Empire, and financial constraints hindered his musical education. The closest he came to self-delusion was his long-term infatuation with a woman thirty-eight years his junior - which hardly compares with Scriabin's messianic pretensions. Scriabin published ten piano sonatas; Janáček one. Yet it would be difficult to find a more apt pairing of composers so surefooted in handling a style of their own forging.

"Scriabin's Piano Sonata No. 5 is intimately linked wit his twenty-minute orchestra score 'Le poème de l'extase'. The two pieces share adjoining opus number (Opp. 53 and 54 respectively), and Scriabin attached to the sonata part of the rather embarrassing literary poem he wrote to accompany the orchestral work. Despite the opus numbers, the sonata was written down after 'La poème de l'extase' had been composed and revised. However, parts of it had been sketched two years earlier, and Scriabin's wife, Tatyana, wrote in a letter that the composer could play the sonata through before he came to put it on paper in December 1907. In the same letter she wrote: 'I cannot believe my ears. It is extraordinary! That sonata pour out of him like a fountain. Everything you have heard so far is as nothing. You cannot even tell it is a sonata.'

"The most obvious way in which No. 5 differs from Scriabin's previous sonatas is in its one-movement form - a pattern that the composer maintained for his subsequent five sonatas. Whether or not one can tell 'tell it is a sonata' might depends on whether one attempts to analyse it aurally or through study of the score. There is a slow introduction, an exposition, a development section and recapitulation. Opposing key centres (principally F-sharp and B-flat) are utilized. Bookending this structure is an upward-rushing figure heard first and last in the work. But so fragmentary are the melodies, and so frequent the changes of time and key signature (along with specified rubato), that the architecture remains a background presence. What registers instead is the omnipresent tingle of dissonance, the twelve minute approach to a cadence that never happens, the sensually ecstatic delay of a full climax. The return of the opening gesture brings the work to a close that is quite unexpected but immediately convincing; instead of crashing out a few major chords, Scriabin snatches the music away from our hearing and into another realm.

"To attempt an alternative description of that ending, the music takes flight and disappears into the skies. The idea of flying preoccupied Scriabin - he and Tatyana reportedly undertook experiments in self-levitation, though the closest he seems to have come to achieving it is curiously light-footed way of walking. The second and final movement of his Piano Sonata No. 4 (1903) is marked 'Prestissimo volando' ('Flying as fast as possible'), so in a sense the upward rush with which the fifth sonata begins and ends is a logical progression from this. However, hearing No. 4 after No. 5 emphasizes how right Tatyana was to coo over the originality of the later work. The fourt sonata fits comfortably into one's picture of a Russian composer-pianist who favoured repertoire comprised Schumann, Chopin and Liszt. Well, perhaps not so comfortably. Once again an accompanying poems makes clear that this is intended to be music of eroticism, transfiguration and ecstasy.

"This time, though, the structure is a foreground presence. Although the fourth sonata is in two movement it is of shorter duration than the fifth, and is in fact the briefest of all Scriabin's sonatas. Concision is achieved partly through the dominance of a single theme. This is heard awaking from a dream at the beginning of the opening movement and is ruminated on until the second movement takes flight without a break. The composer really meant his 'Prestissimo' instruction: 'It must fly at the speed of light right at the sun, straight into the sun!', he exhorted one performer. The movement achieves its solar impact with a clangourous reprise of the first theme.

"The 'Deux poèmes', Op. 32, were written in 1903, the same year as the Sonata No. 4. The first shares the key of F-sharp major with the fourth and fifth sonatas - a favourite key signature for Scriabin, if for a few other composers. It is a work of grace and liquid lyricism; the composer frequently included it in his recitals. 'Vers la flamme' ('Towards the flame') is a late work, written in 1914. It was apparently intended to be an eleventh piano sonata, but was published as a 'poème'. It has been suggested that Scriabin was short of income and did not have time to work it into finished form, but it is hard to think of it in these terms. Rather, it is Scriabin's - and piano music's - 'Rite of spring'. One again we are taken on a journey to conflagration, but the process is altogether more shattering than in the fourth sonata. Melody is reduced to its primitive minimum. There is no key signature because there is no key. In a crescendo from glowing quietude to vibrating violence, all we take for granted about pianism reaches meltdown.

"Compare any photographs of Scriabin and Janáček and you immediately know these are contrasting characters. Scriabin, with his haughty manner and waxed moustache, looks like a stage magician - or, more accurately, he was exactly the kind of eccentric aristocrat on which a conjuror might base his stage persona. Janáček, solid and buff, with unruly hair and a scrubbing brush moustache, looks more like the proprietor of a successful brewery, with a seat on the local council. Yet his music, too, could have visionary qualities. His piano music in particular is haunted by tragic recollections and anxious foreboding.

"Whereas the piano was a central focus for Scriabin throughout his career, Janáček's solo piano compositions were largely confined to the period 1900-1912. These years were a turning point for the composer personally and professionally. His 1904 opera 'Jenůfa' was successfully premiered in Brno, but for the time being rejected by Prague. The bitterness Janáček felt about this was intensified by the identification in his mind between the opera and the death of his beloved daughter Olga, aged twenty-one, in 1903. He had already lost a song thirteen years earlier. This second blow contributed to the breakdown of his previously happy marriage. Though he and his wife Zdenka stayed together, the bond between them was gone.

"The cycle 'On the overgrown path' cannot be separated from these circumstances. The picturesque titles were added late in the day at the request of a friendly critic; despite their gnomic quality there are keys to the heartache within the music. The origin of the work lies in contributions to anthologies of harmonium music: three of the pieces appeared in this form in 1901, already with the 'Overgrown path' title, which is a Moravian equivalent of 'down memory lane'. By 1911 the cycle has become a ten-movement piano work and was published as such. Without cataloguing the precise sequence in which the individual pieces were composed, it is worth noting that the first and last pieces - 'Our evenings' and 'The barn owl has not flown away!' - were written before Olga contracted typhoid fever. Therefore the anguish that disturbs the recollection of summer evening walks, and the ill omens associated with the appearance of the owl in folklore, were premonitions before they became memories.

"Only one title needs further explanation. Frýdek was the home town of the composer's grandfather, where the Basilica of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary was a place of pilgrimage, hence the hymn tune in 'The Frýdek Madonna'. Other than that, one detail might be taken as emblematic of the chilling presence that dominates the cycle. In 'The barn owl has not flown away!' the harbinger of death, with its flapping wings and two-note cry, first appears separately from a calmer, consoling chordal theme. Within this tranquil second subject is a curious single-crotchet bar of silence. In subsequent reprises even this silent beat is invaded by the owl's music.

"We owe it to the pianist Ludmila Tučková that we can hear Janáček's Piano Sonata '1.X.1905, From the street' today. She gave its first performance, in Brno on 27 January 1906. When rehearsals began the sonata had three movements. But, racked with self-doubt, the composer ripped out the third movement, a funeral march, and burnt those pages. The premiere did nothing to assuage his depression, and after it he flung the remaining movements, torn to pieces, into the Vltava river. Regret at his own actions afflicted him even while his eyes retained the impression of the pages 'floating like swans'.

"However, Tučková had secretly copied the first two movements, fearing the worst after the destruction of the third. It was not until 1924, the year of Janáček's seventieth birthday, that she had the courage to tell the composer. Fortunately he sanctioned publication and performance as a two-movement work. Its violent history befits an inspiration: on the date the work commemorates, a Moravian carpenter, František Pavlík, was bayoneted to death by the forces of the ruling Austrians for supporting the foundation of a Czech-speaking university.

"The first movement ('Presentiment') opens with a plaintive treble melody that tries to rise free as rumblings in the bass threaten to engulf it. Bass and treble are briefly locked together in a panic-stricken trill that resolves into the chordal second subject, which becomes more emotionally disturbed than first impressions suggest. After an exposition repeat the development proceeds in eruptive fashion, its energies troubling the recapitulation's opening. The final chord is a solemn bell toll.

"The second movement ('Death') broods over a single melodic phrase. Though context and expression change, the sad truth it contains will not go way. In the central section, which grows to a tragic climax, this phrase develops into a coherent melody, jangling with the rhythms of Czech speech; musical characteristics of both these section combine in the closing stanza. Finally, another eerie bell-chord brings the darkness." (Brain David. From the liner notes.)

Performer: Stephen Hough

1. Alexander Scriabin - Piano Sonata No. 5, Op. 53: Allegro. Impetuoso. Con Stravaganza – Languido – Presto Con Allegrezza

2. Leoš Janáček - On The Overgrown Path, Book 1: Our Evenings

3. Leoš Janáček - On The Overgrown Path, Book 1: A Blown-away Leaf

4. Leoš Janáček - On The Overgrown Path, Book 1: Come With Us!

5. Leoš Janáček - On The Overgrown Path, Book 1: The Frýdek Madonna

6. Leoš Janáček - On The Overgrown Path, Book 1: They Chattered Like Swallows

7. Leoš Janáček - On The Overgrown Path, Book 1: Words Fail!

8. Leoš Janáček - On The Overgrown Path, Book 1: Good Night!

9. Leoš Janáček - On The Overgrown Path, Book 1: Unutterable Anguish

10. Leoš Janáček - On The Overgrown Path, Book 1: In Tears

11. Leoš Janáček - On The Overgrown Path, Book 1: The Barn Owl Has Not Flown Away!

12. Alexander Scriabin - Poème In F-Sharp Major, Op. 32 No. 1: Andante Cantabile

13. Alexander Scriabin - Poème 'Vers La Flamme', Op. 72

14. Leoš Janáček - Piano Sonata '1.X.1905, From The Street': I. Presentiment. Con Moto

15. Leoš Janáček - Piano Sonata '1.X.1905, From The Street': II. Death. Adagio

16. Alexander Scriabin - Piano Sonata No. 4 In F-Sharp Major, Op. 30: I. Andante

17. Alexander Scriabin - Piano Sonata No. 4 In F-Sharp Major, Op. 30: II. Prestissimo Volando

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Johann Nepomuk Hummel / Jan Ladislav Dussek / George Onslow - Piano Quintets

"In 1788 the ten-year old Hummel and his father embarked on an extensive concert tour of Europe. The little Johann Nepomuk had already received two years of music lessons from Mozart and had just made his debut as a concert pianist. Three years earlier the family had moved from Presburg (Bratislava, now the capital of Slovakia) to Vienna when the father accepted the position of conductor at the Theater auf der Wieden. At just seven years of age Johann had gone to live with Mozart and had made rapid progress, becoming very competent on the violin and piano. Master Mozart was frequently absent because of his tours to Prague and he eventually advised his pupil's father to take the boy on tour himself. While on tour Johann performed the works of his teacher. Via Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Scotland, the father and son arrived in London in 1792. Hummel's first performance there took place on the 5th of May and the 13 -year-old was received with great acclaim from an enthusiastic audience.

"This was probably the only period during which the three composers represented on this CD found themselves in the same place: Dussek, already famous as a pianist and composer; Hummel as a child prodigy; and Onslow, then only eight years old, who was taking music lessons from the composer Hüllmandel. 

"In the year 1792 London was a bustling international city. The trade of exotic products from the colonies had led to prosperity that was reflected in the rise of the middle class. Along with new-found wealth, this group also assimilated the culture that had previously been the exclusive realm of the upper class. When the Revolution broke out in France, many musicians and artists sought refuge across the English Channel. Johann Ladislav Dussek was one of these. 

"[...] The premiere of Dussek's 'Quintet in F minor' took place at the King's Theatre in 1799. Dussek himself played the piano, father and son Cramer played the violin and viola, a Mr. White played the cello, and the legendary bassist Dragonetti performed on the contrabass. 

"After his marriage to Sophia Corri in 1792, Dussek became a partner in her father's publishing house. Neither father nor son-in-law had a great deal of business acumen and the company was declared bankrupt in 1800. Dussek had already fled London at the end of 1799 to escape his creditors. He left his wife and daughter behind there and would never return. 

"The two remaining composers represented on this CD spent only a brief time in London. Johann Nepomuk Hummel returned to Vienna in 1793 and continued his musical studies with Albrechtsberger and Salieri. George Onslow returned to his parents in France in the same year. It is probable that he was only sent to his uncle in London to receive his early education. [...]

"[...] In 1802 Hummel had already been back in Vienna for ten years. He was no longer a child prodigy and as a man in his early twenties had yet to begin his career. He played in salons, gave lessons and slowly built up his connections. At that time he composed little, his opus consisted of only a few pieces for piano solo and some chamber music, not yet extending beyond opus 9. 

"According to the article on Hummel in 'The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians', the 'Piano Quintet in E-flat minor, op.87' was written in 1802. This date is problematic because pianos at that time lacked the range necessary to perform this piece. The Viennese piano around 1800 had a range of 5½ octaves, while the quintet requires 6½. The problem of the range of the piano could be explained by proposing that Hummel composed the piece for an earlier instrument and revised it in 1822, when it was finally published, adapting it for the larger instruments then available. There remains yet another mystery: the title page reads 'Quintet in E-flat major' while the piece is actually composed in the minor mode. This could be the result of a copyists' misreading of the German key designations Es (E-flat major) and es (E-flat minor), or perhaps publishers thought that E-flat minor, with its six flats, would seem too difficult for prospective buyers. We will probably never know the real reason. 

"At the time of the quintet's publication, Hummel was Kapellmeister at the court of Weimar. Between these periods in Vienna and Weimar, he followed Haydn for a short time as Kapellmeister at the court of Esterházy, but apparently disliked the position. 

"He travelled frequently to the capital in 1814-15 to enjoy the festivities associated with the Congress of Vienna. It was here that Hummel achieved fame as the 'waltz composer'.

"In a group portrait painted by Antoine Maurin in 1844 entitled 'Galerie des compositeurs dramatiques modernes', we see George Onslow together with leading musicians Halevy, Meyerbeer, Spontini, Rossini, Berlioz, Donizetti, Berton, Mendelssohn, and Auber. A few years earlier Onslow had been granted membership to the prestigious Academie des Beaux-Arts, where he succeeded Cherubini in 1842. 

"It had been around 40 years earlier that Onslow had travelled to London to take lessons from Johann Baptist Cramer. These early music lessons, first with Hilllmandel, then Dussek in Hamburg and later Cramer were not intended to prepare Onslow for a career as a professional musician but were simply part of an aristocratic education. George's grandfather was the first Earl of Onslow. Onslow's father had been forced to leave England after a family scandal and had continued his life as a nobleman in France. George was born there and grew up in the magnificent castle of Chalendrat in Clermont-Ferrand, where he followed his father as lord of the manor. At the age of 22 he discovered the operas of Méhul and decided then that music was his vocation. Onslow combined this double life of composer and chatelain in Auvergne but in the winter season he appeared frequently in Parisian musical circles. In the 1830s and 40s opera comique was the favorite musical genre in the French capital. Composers such as Meyerbeer, Rossini, and Donizetti were popular, alongside the salons where Liszt and Chopin presented their romantic bravura piano music. Although Onslow was included in Maurin's portrait beside the fashionable composers of the day, his musical style was very different from that of his colleagues. With his strict classical style, Onslow was unique in Paris. As a composer he concentrated on instrumental works, primarily chamber music: his opus includes 36 string quartets, 34 quintets and 3 piano quintets. Schumann described Onslow's quartets as worthy successors to those by Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. Onslow was accepted as a member of countless prestigious musical societies and was invited to renowned festivals. 

"The 'Piano Quintet op. 76', written in 1846, is an arrangement of his 4th Symphony. An interesting feature of this work is the nickname of the Finale, 'Le Coup de Vent'. Although not mentioned by Onslow himself, this movement is suggestive of the Aeolian harp, an instrument popular in the 19th century. When placed by an open window, this instrument, consisting of strings in a box, would vibrate in the wind, producing an ethereal sound. Onslow might have been imitating this effect in the Finale with his use of rapid chromatic scales and a glass-like tinkling that can only be achieved with a special pedal effect available on some instruments of that period." (Riko Fukuda, tr. Felicity Goodwin. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Nepomuk Fortepiano Quintet

1. Johann Nepomuk Hummel - Piano Quintet In E-Flat Minor, Op. 87: I. Allegro E Risoluto Assai

2. Johann Nepomuk Hummel - Piano Quintet In E-Flat Minor, Op. 87: II. Menuetto-Allegro Con Fuoco

3. Johann Nepomuk Hummel - Piano Quintet In E-Flat Minor, Op. 87: III. Largo

4. Johann Nepomuk Hummel - Piano Quintet In E-Flat Minor, Op. 87: IV. Allegro Agitato

5. Jan Ladislav Dussek - Piano Quintet In F Minor, Op. 41: I. Allegro Non Troppo

6. Jan Ladislav Dussek - Piano Quintet In F Minor, Op. 41: II. Adagio Espressivo Non Troppo

7. Jan Ladislav Dussek - Piano Quintet In F Minor, Op. 41: III. Allegretto Ma Espressivo

8. George Onslow - Piano Quintet In G Major, Op. 76: I. Largo - Allegro

9. George Onslow - Piano Quintet In G Major, Op. 76: II. Scherzo: Allegro Vivace

10. George Onslow - Piano Quintet In G Major, Op. 76: III. Romanza: Andantino Molto Cantabile

11. George Onslow - Piano Quintet In G Major, Op. 76: IV. Finale 'Le Coup De Vent'

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Jan Ladislav Dussek - Works for Piano Four Hands

"Dussek was born four years after Mozart, and lived three years beyond Haydn, yet his life-works still can't be placed alongside those of the Classical Masters. In many respects, he can be looked upon as a forerunner to Romanticism, without him ever actually having a conscious aim to establish any new style. 

"The earliest dating work featured in this recording is the Op. 32 in C major, also known as the 'Grande Ouverture', which was written in 1796. It was in that year that Dussek's 'piano study hook' was published, in London in English (and then in Leipzig in 1802 in German). Also in that year, he and lgnaz Joseph Pleyel were preparing to put out a work far publication in Paris in the following year — the 'Nouvelle Methode de Pianoforte, contenant les principes du doigte'. The monumental opening movement of the 'Grand Ouverture', (with a slow opening in sonata form) is lengthier than the following too, and superior even in it's refinement. (Therefore, truly justifying it's title of 'Grand Ouverture'). The solemn and stately nature of the 'Largo' calls to mind the French-type ouverture. In the fast main section, the first subject is followed by a lengthy transition section (in which the bridge function of the section is barely noticeable, because of the abundance of thematic material). It is soon noticeable, that the secondary theme, which begins as conventional and steady, is in actuality, flexible. The start of the development section is flighty in character, and the many chains of sequences can cause the listener to lose direction. It is the feature of the recapitulation, that after many modulations, the listener is once again thrown into uncertainty; the theme appearing in the subdominant, (almost as if the real recapitulation were actually only a false one). The F-major 'Larghetto' is the simple binary form — an 'Haven of Peace' within the work. 

"In the closing 'Rondo', the characteristic circle dance is apparent, and in it's form, the structure is relatively free. The rondo theme is like an endlessly lengthy section in itself. As a result of this characteristic, any musical material can he introduced, distorting it's proportions, contrary to the expectations of the listener. Chronologically, his next work — also in C major — is the Op. 48, written in 1801, and is the first piece featured on this disc. The proportions of the movements are more even, though again it is the first movement that is the most significant. In the exposition section of the 'Allegro', transitions and modulations make the second subject area particularly lengthy. For the most part, it is from this pliable material that the heavily modulating development section is built. Surprisingly, in the following recapitulation, the opening of the first subject theme is not re-introduced. This 'surprise' element is emphasised further by the fact that it doesn't stay continuously within the tonic key. 

"The middle movement a 'Larghetto' in A-flat major, almost reaches I Beethovenian heights and depths. It suggests a sense or intimacy, and at the same time, shows Dussek's sensitivity to key-symbolism. 

"The C minor intermezzo leads with attacca into the following 'Rondo', in which the sections are dynamic and asymmetric, thus holding the attention. The theme on this occasion is also characterised by the fact that it can appear at anytime, almost imperceptibly, for as long as the previous material is able to blend with it. It's defining feature, is the lack of melodical particularity, and it is precisely because of that, that almost on the initial hearing, a sense of familiarity is awakened. The three fugues dating from 1808, are in D major, G minor and F major. In all three movements, the importance of the interlude sections appears almost negligible, as the movements are almost entirely structured around the thematic material. 

"However, it would be futile to look for any characteristics of the art of the Baroque fugue, since the movements fulfil only mono-thematic expectations. 

"Dussck's sensitivity towards the tonalities he chooses can be traced back to the start of his career. He was particularly drawn to the key of G minor, which he would always use to achieve a specific atmospheric effect. 

"His late 'Piano sonata in B major' (1811), with the slow movement — a heart-rending funeral march in G minor — is a fine examples of this. As if self-conscious in openly displaying his emotions, he diverts attention towards a light-hearted minuet-finale." (Katalin Eider, tr. Catherine Offord. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Adrienne Soós, Ivo Haag

1. Sonata In C Major, Op. 48 (C. 186): I. Allegro
2. Sonata In C Major, Op. 48 (C. 186): II. Larghetto Affetuoso E Non Troppo Lento
3. Sonata In C Major, Op. 48 (C. 186): III. Intermezzo. Allegretto Moderato Ma Energico - Rondo. Allegro Moderato
4. Grande Sonate In B-Flat Major, Op. 74 (C. 234): I. Allegro Con Fuoco
5. Grande Sonate In B-Flat Major, Op. 74 (C. 234): II. Marche Funebre. Andante Moderato
6. Grande Sonate In B-Flat Major, Op. 74 (C. 234): III. Menuetto. Tempo Di Ballo - Quasi Andante
7. Three Fugues, Op. 64: Fuga I (C. 227). Tempo Molto Moderato
8. Three Fugues, Op. 64: Fuga II (C. 228). Andante Moderato
9. Three Fugues, Op. 64: Fuga III (C. 229). Tempo Ad Libitum Ma Non Presto
10. Sonata In C Major, Op. 32 (C. 144): I. Largo - Allegro Moderato
11. Sonata In C Major, Op. 32 (C. 144): II. Larghetto Non Tanto
12. Sonata In C Major, Op. 32 (C. 144): III. Rondo. Allegretto

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Jan Ladislav Dussek - Sonatas; Fantasia and Fugue

"Dussek settled in two places in turn, both capital cities and major cultural centres: Paris and London. He arrived in Paris in 1786 and remained there till 1789, when he left in the midst of the turmoil produced by the Revolution, his departure motivated by a justified fear that his close contact with Marie Antoinette could have fatal consequences. Like so many fugitives from the political upheaval in France, he headed for London - but returned to Paris again for the last five years of his life. Dussek spent a full ten years in London, making it the longest period he stayed in any one place. And it didn't take him long to become established as one of the city's most prominent musical personalities. It was here that the four piano sonatas on this disc were written. Dussek's op. 31 consisting of a single sonata framed by two piano trios - appeared in 1795 while op. 35 was published in 1797. 

"If Dussek's biography seems to belong more in the 19th century than the 18th, the same is true of his music in many respects. Permeated as they are by heroism and triumphant antitheses, don't the first movements of the C minor and G major sonatas recall the music of Beethoven's middle period? Yet Beethoven had only just published his earliest piano sonatas, op. 2, in 1796, so Dussek can scarcely have been familiar with them. And isn't the first movement of the B-flat sonata reminiscent of Schubert in its rhapsodic approach to sonata form and its fondness for colourful modulations instead of thematic development? Yet 1797 was the year of Schubert's birth! Other features of Dussek's music point even farther into the future: a specific 'salon tone' especially evident in the last movements of op. 31/2, op. 35/1 and op. 34/2 with their hint of Bohemian folk music, takes us into the world of John Field and Chopin, both of whom were to delight Parisian high society with their Polish mazurkas some decades hence. Incidentally, one cannot help but wonder at this stage whether the Paris correspondent of the Leipzig 'Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung,' whose obituary on Dussek is quoted at the beginning of this text, was right to claim Dussek as a German composer without elaborating. For the fact is that the above-mentioned 'salon tone' actually originated in Paris or London rather than in Vienna; and moreover, surprising as it may seem, Vienna was the only major European music centre that the widely traveled virtuoso never visited. We also find a certain casualness about Dussek's compositions which is by no means typically German: consecutive fifths that could easily have been avoided are left as they are, and thematic recapitulations are often robbed of some of their clarity by minor inconsistencies that one can assume to be accidental. I have taken the liberty of doing a little retouching here and there, as I am obviously more pedantic about such matters than the composer... I am also to blame for another alteration to the original: the two movements of the B-flat sonata seem to me to have such a similar rhythm that I have been so bold as to add a brief improvised introduction before the second movement for the sake of variety. Dussek's piano writing is creative in the extreme. In comparison with the clear transparency of pre-1800 Viennese Piano music, Dussek seems altogether modern in the expansive virtuosity and full-voiced character of his writing. We have here a good example of the mutual influence of instrument and perform-er/composer on one another: the pianos of English manufacture that Dussek expressly preferred do indeed allow a much more 'modern' and expansive manner of playing than their Viennese counterparts. Both Dussek's and Clementi's music show clearly the deliberate exploitation of the potential of English pianos. Thus I was particularly fortunate to have the chance to use Jérôme Hantaï's wonderful Broadwood grand for this recording. I should like to offer special thanks to him and also to Christopher Clarke, who restored the instrument and looked after tuning etc. during the recording sessions. I very much hope that the attractive sound of the historic piano will more than compensate the listener for one or two mechanical noises that can be heard in the background. 

"Dussek left London in a hurry in 1800, as much to flee his creditors as to abandon his conjugal obligations. He made a provisional home in Hamburg, from where he undertook several concert tours to enable him to live in the extravagant style to which he was accustomed. But he was no longer a youngster, and longed for a regular, comfortable position. In 1804 he got to know Louis Ferdinand, Prince of Prussia, who engaged him both as music teacher and as musical director. The two of them evidently got on famously, with colleague Louis Spohr shaking his head over nightly bacchanalian 'orgies' (sic!)... This indulgent idyll came to an abrupt end, however, when the Prince fell in the Battle of Saalfeld in 1806. Dussek gave him a moving memorial in his 'Élegie Harmonique', the first notes of which quote the 'Consummatum est' from Haydn's 'Seven Last Words.' - Once again compelled to look elsewhere, Dussek eventually made his way to Paris, in the service of Talleyrand. He knew the city well, having spent several years there when younger, although he had moved to London ahead of the Revolution. That explains 'Le Retour À Paris' - though there is another title too. Joseph Woelfl had written a 'Ne Plus Ultra' sonata, which he saw as the last word in technical difficulty. Dussek accepted the challenge and came back with a twinkle in his eye and 'Plus Ultra.' True enough, I had to do quite a bit of practising on the outer movements... But the work has high musical ambitions too: it must be one of the earliest examples of the great romantic sonata. To end at the beginning: recitals began at that time with free prelude playing. Written down after the event, the result is something like the 'Fantasia and Fugue' in F minor, dedicated to his friend J. B. Cramer. The Fugue should be perceived more as an improvisational essay in free-ranging modulation (like most of his contemporaries' piano fugues) rather than polyphonic exaltation. Father Bach would have been amused by it at best..." (Andreas Staier, tr. Clive R. Williams; J. & M. Berridge. From the liner notes.)

Performer: Andreas Staier

1.1. Piano Sonata In B-Flat Major, Op. 35 No. 1: I. Allegro Moderato E Maestoso

1.2. Piano Sonata In B-Flat Major, Op. 35 No. 1: II. Introduzione

1.3. Piano Sonata In B-Flat Major, Op. 35 No. 1: III. Finale. Allegro Non Troppo Con Spirito

1.4. Piano Sonata In G Major, Op. 35 No. 2: I. Allegro

1.5. Piano Sonata In G Major, Op. 35 No. 2: II. Rondo. Molto Allegro Con Espressione

1.6. Piano Sonata In C Minor, Op. 35 No. 3: I. Allegro Agitato Assai

1.7. Piano Sonata In C Minor, Op. 35 No. 3: II. Adagio Patetico Ed Espressivo

1.8. Piano Sonata In C Minor, Op. 35 No. 3: III. Intermezzo. Presto

1.9. Piano Sonata In C Minor, Op. 35 No. 3: IV. Finale. Allegro Molto

1.10. Piano Sonata In D Major, Op. 31 No. 2: I. Allegro Non Tanto

1.11. Piano Sonata In D Major, Op. 31 No. 2: II. Adagio Con Espressione

1.12. Piano Sonata In D Major, Op. 31 No. 2: III. Pastorale. Allegro Non Troppo

2.1. Fantasia & Fugue, Op. 55: Fantasia

2.2. Fantasia & Fugue, Op. 55: Fugue

2.3. Piano Sonata, Op. 64 'Le Retour À Paris': Allegro Non Troppo Ed Espressivo

2.4. Piano Sonata, Op. 64 'Le Retour À Paris': Molto Adagio Con Anima Ed Espressione

2.5. Piano Sonata, Op. 64 'Le Retour À Paris': Tempo Di Minuetto - Scherzo Quasi Allegro - Trio

2.6. Piano Sonata, Op. 64 'Le Retour À Paris': Finale - Scherzo (Allegro Con Spirito)

2.7. Piano Sonata In F-Sharp Minor, Op. 61 'Elégie Harmonique': Lento Patetico - Tempo Agitato

2.8. Piano Sonata In F-Sharp Minor, Op. 61 'Elégie Harmonique': Tempo Vivace E Con Fuoco Quasi Presto

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Franz Krommer - Three Partitas; Six Marches

"Franz Vincenz Krommer was born (as František Vincenč Kramář) at Kamenice u Trebíče in Moravia on 27 November 1759 (not quite four years after Mozart); he was the son of an innkeeper, Jiří Kramář, who later became Mayor of Kamenice. Between 1773 and 1776 he studied the violin and the organ with his uncle, Antonín Matthias Kramář, in Turán (near Brno), and became organist there in about 1777. In 1785 he went to Vienna, and a year later joined the orchestra of the Duke of Styrum at Simontornya in western Hungary, as a violinist. At about this time he was also musical director and composer for Count Károly’s regimental bands. In 1790 he was appointed Kapellmeister of the cathedral at Pécs, also in western Hungary, and two or three years later entered the musical establishment of Prince Anton Grassalkovich de Gyarak. Krommer returned to Vienna in 1795 and became Kapellmeister to Duke Ignaz Fuchs in 1798. In 1808 he applied, unsuccessfully, for a position as a violinist in the Hofkapelle, but in 1810 he was appointed Ballettkapellmeister at the Hoftheater. In 1815 he was given the post of Kammertürhüter (Chamberlain) to Emperor Franz I, and in this capacity accompanied him to Paris, Milan, Verona, Padua and Venice. Three years later he succeeded his compatriot Leopold Kozeluch as the last official director of chamber music and court composer to the Habsburg emperors, and retained the position until his death in Vienna on 8 January 1831.

"Krommer was one of the most successful and influential of the many Czech composers active in Vienna at the turn of the nineteenth century. The extent of his reputation is indicated by the rapid spread of his published compositions in reprints and arrangements by German, French, Italian, Danish and even American publishers, and by his honorary membership of musical institutions in Vienna, Innsbruck, Paris, Milan, Venice and Ljubljana. His three-hundred-odd works include at least nine symphonies, a score of concertos for various instruments, over seventy string quartets and a similar number of pieces for other chamber music combinations. He also left an impressive body of Harmoniemusik – music for wind band. The bulk of these are Partiten for pairs of oboes, clarinets, horns and bassoons, often with (as in this recording) ad libitum parts for a contrabassoon to strengthen the bass-line, and for a trumpet to impart a dash of martial colour to the music (and to bring the ten-part ensemble up to the standard complement of Austrian military bands – a shrewd piece of salesmanship). The most important of these Partiten are thirteen works issued as Krommer’s Opp. 45, 57, 67, 69, 71, 73, 76, 77, 78, 79 and 83, first published between 1803 and 1810, and in many cases subsequently reissued, often by different publishers. They were preceded by a number of similar works ascribed (not always with absolute certainty) to Krommer, some of which may date from his days with Count Károly’s bands. The title is misleading. A partita is a suite of dance movements (like Bach’s) or a set of variations; Krommer’s Partiten (or Harmonien, as he and his publishers also called them) are symphonies for wind instruments, in four movements, only one of which (the second or the third) is in dance-form: a minuet." (Robin Golding. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields Wind Ensemble, Bastiaan Blomhert

1. March, Op. 31 No. 1
2. Partita In B-Flat Major, Op. 45 No. 1: I. Allegro Vivace
3. Partita In B-Flat Major, Op. 45 No. 1: II. Andante
4. Partita In B-Flat Major, Op. 45 No. 1: III. Menuetto: Allegro - Trio
5. Partita In B-Flat Major, Op. 45 No. 1: IV. Rondo
6. March, Op. 31 No. 6
7. March, Op. 31 No. 5
8. Partita In E-Flat Major, Op. 45 No. 2: I. Allegro
9. Partita In E-Flat Major, Op. 45 No. 2: II. Romance: Allegretto
10. Partita In E-Flat Major, Op. 45 No. 2: III. Menuetto - Trio
11. Partita In E-Flat Major, Op. 45 No. 2: IV. Rondo
12. March, Op. 31 No. 3
13. March, Op. 31 No. 4
14. Partita In B-Flat Major, Op. 45 No. 3: I. Allegro
15. Partita In B-Flat Major, Op. 45 No. 3: II. Adagio
16. Partita In B-Flat Major, Op. 45 No. 3: III. Menuetto - Trio
17. Partita In B-Flat Major, Op. 45 No. 3: IV. Rondo
18. March, Op. 31 No. 2

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Jan Ladislav Dussek - Duos for Harp & Piano Forte

"Dussek was a compositional pioneer, but also (like all the great composers) was willing and able to cater for all audiences and provide brilliant lighter music when necessary. His music for Harp and Piano reflects this extremely clearly. On this CD we have 4 works by Dussek: 2 larger scale works (Op. 72 Duo in E-flat, and Op. 73 Duo Concertant in F) clearly written to be played during his last years in France with his great harpist colleague François Naderman (who also published the music), an earlier F major Duo Op. 26 from 1794 'As Performed at Mr. Salomon's Concert in Hanover Square' in London, and a lovely 2-movement Duettino in C clearly written with the amateur market in mind. All of this music is superbly crafted. His understanding of the relationship between these two instruments gained through his immense experience is perfect. 

"It must be said here that the incredible sound mix between the harp and piano in this musk can only be truly appreciated by its delivery on excellent instruments from Dussek's time. The qualities of both the Broadwood piano and the Naderman harp are unbelievably complimentary and stunningly attuned to each other. It is sometimes difficult to determine who is playing what. The Broadwood piano in particular has the ability to play with a gossamer-light sound which allows the harp through without a fight. It can however thunder when needed, a characteristic of these new and exciting pianos from England which appealed so strongly to Haydn and Beethoven.

"The musical scores are full of expression marks. Rinforzando, smorzando, calando, espressivo, mezza/sottovoce, ppp and ff markings are plastered throughout Dussek's music - and not just the later works. Scores from the late 1780s and 90s also show a huge variety of performance directions. This demands that the players provide a great deal of flexibility and attention to sound, rhythm and tempo modification, and also encourages great openness of expression. The music is throbbing with emotion, sometimes extravagantly so. Perhaps this partially explains why this music is so 'out-of-fashion' these days.

"So gentle reader - A personal plea - Open your-self to this music. Dussek is truly important to the piano world, both as a composer-performer and a historical figure. I for one intend to use this year as a platform to refashion a place for Dussek and his music. The piano sonatas, violin sonatas and masses of other chamber music deserve to be heard much more often. With over 250 compositions to explore we have a real cause for a Dussek revival. I hope this small taste of what Dussek can create and a glimpse into his world will inspire you to join us in this crusade against the Creatures of Fashion in all their hideous forms."  (Richard Egarr. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Masumi Nagasawa, Richard Egarr

1. Duo Concertant In F Major, Op. 73: I. Allegro Moderato
2. Duo Concertant In F Major, Op. 73: II. Larghetto Espressivo
3. Duo Concertant In F Major, Op. 73: III. Rondo. Allegretto Ma Moderato
4. Duettino In C Major, C. 189: I. Allegretto Moderato
5. Duettino In C Major, C. 189: II. Rondo. Allegretto
6. Duetto In F Major, Op. 26: I. Allegro
7. Duetto In F Major, Op. 26: II. Larghetto
8. Duetto In F Major, Op. 26: III. Rondo. Allegretto
9. Duo Concertant In E-Flat Major, Op. 72: I. Allegro Maestoso
10. Duo Concertant In E-Flat Major, Op. 72: II. Les Souvenirs. Larghetto Affettuoso
11. Duo Concertant In E-Flat Major, Op. 72: III. Rondo. Allegro Con Brio
12. Sophia Giustina Dussek-Corri - Introduction & Waltz

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Johann Baptist Vanhal - Missa Pastoralis; Missa Solemnis

"One of the most curious aspects of Vanhal's large musical output is the surprising number of sacred works given that at no stage in his long career was he employed first and foremost as a church musician. Among these works are around fifty settings of the Ordinary of the Mass, a substantial body of work by contemporary standards. Haydn, for example, who like Vanhal cannot be considered a 'professional' church musician, composed a dozen Masses, half of them late in life and for very specific occasions. Leopold Hofmann, Vienna's leading church musician for much of his life, wrote over forty Masses although the exact number remains uncertain. We know that Vanhal enjoyed close associations with a number of monastic foundations and it is possible that they commissioned works from him from time to time. Nonetheless. it cannot be discounted entirely that he wrote many of these works front inner conviction. There was certainly little financial gain to be had in composing church music in comparison with other genres and Vanhal, the most important and successful freelance composer in Vienna. would have been only too well aware of this.

"[...] In stylistic terms there is a strong kinship between [the Missa Solemnis] and the Missa Pastoralis that goes far deeper than instrumentation. Both works display a similar complexity of internal musical organization, one which takes precedence over the structure of the text, notably in the long Gloria and Credo movements. Vanhal takes care to set the text intelligibly but, like all composers. he devotes special care to sections like the Qui tollis, Et incarnates and Agnes Dei. The two Masses also include some thrilling contrapuntal writing for the chorus. the high point being the brilliant concluding Dona nobis fugue of the C major Mass.

"Long after his death and when his multitude of symphonies, quartets and concertos lay forgotten, Vanhal's Masses and motets continued to be performed in cathedrals and churches throughout Austria, Bohemia and the South of Germany. Their survival into the age of Brahms and Wagner was not due solely to the forces of conservatism at work in the church but rather a testament to the enduring artistic worth of the music." (Dr. Allan Badley. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Tower Voices New Zealand, Aradia Ensemble, Uwe Grodd

1. Missa Pastoralis In G Major, Weinmann XIX:G4: Kyrie
2. Missa Pastoralis In G Major, Weinmann XIX:G4: Gloria
3. Missa Pastoralis In G Major, Weinmann XIX:G4: Credo
4. Missa Pastoralis In G Major, Weinmann XIX:G4: Sanctus
5. Missa Pastoralis In G Major, Weinmann XIX:G4: Benedictus
6. Missa Pastoralis In G Major, Weinmann XIX:G4: Agnus Dei
7. Missa Solemnis In C Major, Weinmann XIX:C7: Kyrie
8. Missa Solemnis In C Major, Weinmann XIX:C7: Gloria
9. Missa Solemnis In C Major, Weinmann XIX:C7: Credo
10. Missa Solemnis In C Major, Weinmann XIX:C7: Sanctus
11. Missa Solemnis In C Major, Weinmann XIX:C7: Benedictus
12. Missa Solemnis In C Major, Weinmann XIX:C7: Agnus Dei

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Johann Baptist Vanhal - Two Symphonies; Cello Concerto

"Johann Baptist Vanhal [...] numbers among the most productive composers of the eighteenth century. According to the current count, he composed at least seventy-seven symphonies, some sixty solo concertos, several hundred works for chamber ensembles and just as many works for piano, and in the category of liturgical music fifty-one masses and many more than a hundred shorter sacred vocal works. According to the Vanhal scholar Paul Bryan's tentative estimate, the total number of his works is to be reckoned at 1,377. If one can believe what early witnesses stated about the extent of his overall oeuvre, then some works exceeding this number must have been lost. The lexicographer Gottfried Johann Dlabacẑ (who knew Vanhal personally), for example, spoke of the existence of a hundred symphonies in his 'Künstler-Lexikon für Bömen' published in 1815. But Vanhal quite early made a name for himself not only with the overwhelming quantity of his works but also with their quality. Already in 1772, when Vanhal was thirty-three years old, the English music historian Charles Burney noted in his travel journal during his trip throughout Europe that he would not hesitate to name Vanhal's symphonies 'among the most complete and perfect compositions, for many instruments, which the art of music can boast.'" (Bert Hagels, tr. Susan Marie Praeder. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Camerata Schweiz, Howard Griffiths, István Várdai

1. Symphony In C Major: I. Allegro
2. Symphony In C Major: II. Cantabile
3. Symphony In C Major: III. Allegro Molto
4. Cello Concerto In C Major: I. Allegro Moderato
5. Cello Concerto In C Major: II. Adagio
6. Cello Concerto In C Major: III. Finale. Allegro
7. Symphony In E Minor: I. Allegro Moderato
8. Symphony In E Minor: II. Cantabile
9. Symphony In E Minor: III. Menuetto Ma Un Poco Allegretto
10. Symphony In E Minor: IV. Allegro

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Ignaz Joseph Pleyel - The Cello Concertos

"The date of genesis of the five cello concertos on the present CD falls into Pleyel's most mature Strasbourg and early Paris years as a composer. The earliest ones - Ben. 101 (1782-84), Ben. 104 (1788-89), and Ben. 105 (1790) - may have been composed and can have to do with the composer's concert organizing activities in Strasbourg; some of them were perhaps performed during his concert tours in London, too. The later ones - Ben. 106 (1797) and Ben. 108 (n.d.) - reflect commissions by music publishers or concert invitations in the first years of his stay in Paris.

"The tone of the works reminds of the elegant, sentimental and spectacularly virtuoso atmosphere of Boccherini's, Haydn's and his classical-early romantic contemporaries' concertos. They have a traditional structure in three movements: the large-scale sonata-like opening movement and the cantabile slow movement are followed by a sparklingly witty virtuoso closing rondo or sonata rondo. It is interesting to note that almost each piece was published and survives in several settings - and soloistic versions, respectively. A good example is the concerto in C major (Ben. 104) 1788-89 known in no less than nine contemporary printed versions for cello. Besides, its viola concerto form (one edition), fortepiano version (eight editions), a clarinet concerto variant (two editions), flute, oboe and bassoon versions (one edition each), string and wind combinations as double concertos (twelve editions) as well as a chamber version for violin and piano are known. As exceptions, only the earliest concerto in C major composed in 1782-84 and the manuscript concerto in C major (Ben. 108) of latest date (without date) on it occur only in a version for a single instrument. 

"Although several contemporary editions survive, the present CD offers the 'critical' versions of the concertos revised on the basis of autograph manuscripts. The Urtext editions and the cadenzas to the individual movements are by Péter Szabó."

Performers: Erdódy Chamber Orchestra, Zsolt Szefcsik, Péter Szabó

1.1. Cello Concerto In C Major, Ben. 104: I. Allegro Vivace
1.2. Cello Concerto In C Major, Ben. 104: II. Adagio
1.3. Cello Concerto In C Major, Ben. 104: III. Rondo. Allegro
1.4. Cello Concerto In C Major, Ben. 106: I. Allegro
1.5. Cello Concerto In C Major, Ben. 106: II. Adagio
1.6. Cello Concerto In C Major, Ben. 106: III. Rondo. Allegro Molto
1.7. Cello Concerto In C Major, Ben. 108: I. Allegro
1.8. Cello Concerto In C Major, Ben. 108: II. Adagio
1.9. Cello Concerto In C Major, Ben. 108: III. Allegro Molto

2.1. Cello Concerto In C Major, Ben. 101: I. Allegro
2.2. Cello Concerto In C Major, Ben. 101: II. Adagio
2.3. Cello Concerto In C Major, Ben. 101: III. Rondo
2.4. Cello Concerto In D Major, Ben. 105: I. Allegro Moderato
2.5. Cello Concerto In D Major, Ben. 105: II. Adagio Poco Andante
2.6. Cello Concerto In D Major, Ben. 105: III. Rondo. Allegro

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Jan Ladislav Dussek - String Quartets

"Dussek is right to consider his quartets to be in his very own style. Perhaps Dussek is the only contemporary of Beethoven who was able to preserve his own style without suffering under the immense influence of the great classicist. Rather, Dussek can be seen as the first the Romantic composer (along with Prince Louis Ferdinand). After all, Schubert's very first, and still very much classical compositions overlap into the final months of Dussek's life, while the string quartets Op. 60 were written at a time which would hardly be called Romanticism in music history. Yet Dussek cannot be assigned to Classicism, neither in his character nor in his music, as the string quartets clearly document. [...]

"Perhaps the quartets later also suffered a certain déjà vu - they occasionally seem to remind us of better known, but always much later works. Easily they could be mistaken for music from the 1820s or 1830s. Their date of 1806 makes them all the more revolutionary, unprecedented and modern.

"The three quartets of Op. 60 are conceived as a cycle. The first quartet in G Major is in a lighter character, with only three movements, the middle of which is in the style of an Intermezzo with a virtuoso alla Polacca finale. The second quartet appears the most classical of the three. A certain closeness to Beethoven seems to be intended as the movement title Adagio pathetico reveals. The second subject is a direct quote from Haydn's op. 103. The third quartet points far into the future, with all elements of Romantic music already present. The slow movement is perhaps the most ingenious of the whole opus, as it appears to he almost late Romantic. Also notable is the tonality of the scherzo, which begins in C-sharp Minor yet settles in the home key of E flat, while the Trio is set in B major." (Johannes Gebauer. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Camesina Quartet

1. Three String Quartets, Op. 60 No. 1 In G Major: I. Allegro Grazioso
2. Three String Quartets, Op. 60 No. 1 In G Major: II. Larghetto Non Troppo Lento
3. Three String Quartets, Op. 60 No. 1 In G Major: III. Rondo. Tempo Di Polacca Quasi Andante
4. Three String Quartets, Op. 60 No. 2 In B-Flat Major: I. Allegretto
5. Three String Quartets, Op. 60 No. 2 In B-Flat Major: II. Adagio Pathetico
6. Three String Quartets, Op. 60 No. 2 In B-Flat Major: III. Menuetto. Non Presto E Semplice
7. Three String Quartets, Op. 60 No. 2 In B-Flat Major: IV. Finale. Allegro Non Troppo
8. Three String Quartets, Op. 60 No. 3 In E-Flat Major: I. Allegro Espressivo
9. Three String Quartets, Op. 60 No. 3 In E-Flat Major: II. Adagio Non Tanto
10. Three String Quartets, Op. 60 No. 3 In E-Flat Major: III. Menuetto. Scherzo. Con Moto Assai
11. Three String Quartets, Op. 60 No. 3 In E-Flat Major: IV. Finale. Allegro Moderato

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Jan Ladislav Dussek - Piano Sonatas Op. 44 & Op. 77

"The Sonata Op.44 is not only a dedication to and a farewell with Dussek’s friend and musical contemporary Muzio Clementi. It is also a journey through all the musical styles and époques to which Dussek bore witness. The polyphony and the canonic imitations in the development of the 1st movement represent the heritage of the Baroque era. The clear lines of the rhetorical formulae in the 1st movement belong to the classical style of Haydn and Mozart. The exquisite coquetry of the dance in the Trio of the Menuet relate to the salon of the pre-Chopin times. And the last bars of the Sonata are blown away in an extraordinary gesture of farewell.

"The Sonata Op.77 (L’Invocation) deserves its reputation as one of the most outstanding of Dussek’s works. It is not free of the weaker traits of the earlier pieces: the clichés in form, the trivial appoggiaturas and sighs, the use of diminished 7th chords to express passion and tragedy, and the tonal monotony (especially in the 1st movement and the Menuet). Nevertheless, the emotional candor, the romantic impulse, the depressive melancholy in the presentiment of his coming death make up for the lack of invention in manipulating the musical material. Both in the 1st and the final movements, the music achieves dramatic heights only to break down and fall deep into resignation and despair. Dussek surpasses Beethoven and Schubert in the expression of subjective feeling. In this Sonata, he reaches out to the Romanticism of Chopin (3rd mvt.), Schumann (episodes of the Finale) and Brahms (Trio). Again and again, the listener is impressed by the fusion of baroque archaism, classical sonata forms, the novelty and expression of the melodic contour, the richness of the piano writing and the boldness in the use of all possible resources of the instrument. (Alexei Lubimov, tr. Liza Miller. From the liner notes.)

Performer: Alexei Lubimov

1. Piano Sonata No. 18 In E-Flat Major, Op. 44, Craw 178: I. Introduzione. Grave - Allegro Moderato
2. Piano Sonata No. 18 In E-Flat Major, Op. 44, Craw 178: II. Molto Adagio E Sostenuto
3. Piano Sonata No. 18 In E-Flat Major, Op. 44, Craw 178: III. Tempo Di Menuetto Piuttosto Allegro
4. Piano Sonata No. 18 In E-Flat Major, Op. 44, Craw 178: IV. Rondo. Allegro Moderato Ed Espressivo
5. Piano Sonata No. 28 In F Minor, Op. 77, Craw 259: I. Allegro Moderato, Ma Energico
6. Piano Sonata No. 28 In F Minor, Op. 77, Craw 259: II. Tempo Di Menuetto. Con Moto
7. Piano Sonata No. 28 In F Minor, Op. 77, Craw 259: III. Adagio Non Troppo, Ma Solenne
8. Piano Sonata No. 28 In F Minor, Op. 77, Craw 259: IV. Rondo. Allegro Moderato

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Johann Baptist Vanhal - 3 Late String Quartets

"The 'Hoffmeister-Quartets', written a little later than Opus 33, are perhaps closer to Mozart in style. The middle movement of the quartet in E flat is particularly reminiscent of Arias in Mozart's great operas. Mozart's Figaro, composed in the same year, was possibly inspirational here, and the plainer development sections of Mozart's quartets also show their influence. The use of the instruments seems closer to Mozart's as well: parallel motion in thirds and octaves and the thinning out into three parts as a means of contrast are also characteristics of Mozart's quartets.

"As performers we needed to adjust to Vanhal's musical and technical peculiarities, as, like every composer, Vanhal has his idiosyncrasies, and calls for us as performers to engage with his music and to learn to satisfy individual technical demands. The first violin part in Opus 33 is especially demanding, it repeatedly reaches up into the highest position right up to the end of the finger board — was Vanhal perhaps trying to 'tickle' his quartet partner Haydn in a friendly manner? We became very fond of the three quartets on this CD whilst working on them — they show an inner perfection which we quite often miss in works of other contemporary composers. We hope to do Vanhal some service with this CD by making these first-class string quartets available to rediscovery. We can well imagine Haydn and Mozart at quartet parties, playing Vanhal's quartets with great pleasure and appreciating their inherent ingenuity." (Members of the Camesina Quartet. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Camesina Quartet

1. String Quartet In E-Flat Major 'Hoffmeister' No. 2: I. Allegro Con Fuoco
2. String Quartet In E-Flat Major 'Hoffmeister' No. 2: II. Adagio
3. String Quartet In E-Flat Major 'Hoffmeister' No. 2: III. Allegro
4. String Quartet In F Major Op. 33 No. 3: I. Allegro Moderato
5. String Quartet In F Major Op. 33 No. 3: II. Arietta I - Arietta II. Tempo Moderato
6. String Quartet In F Major Op. 33 No. 3: III. Adagio
7. String Quartet In F Major Op. 33 No. 3: IV. Allegro Con Fuoco
8. String Quartet In A Major Op. 33 No. 2: I. Allegro Moderato
9. String Quartet In A Major Op. 33 No. 2: II. Arietta I - Arietta II
10. String Quartet In A Major Op. 33 No. 2: III. Adagio Sostenuto
11. String Quartet In A Major Op. 33 No. 2: IV. Rondo. Allegro Molto

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Antonín Dvořák / Leoš Janáček / George Enescu - Serenade; Mládí; Dixtuor

"The Wind Serenade dates from 1878, just two years before his sunny Sixth Symphony with which it shares many of its qualities. The work opens with a march suggesting all the pomp of the local village bands that Dvořák knew so well. This is followed by a Minuetto, a title that betrays the homage to the rococo wind serenade and to Mozart, although the piece owes as much to a triple time Bohemian folk-dance as it does to the classical court dance A flowing Andante makes up the third movement before the Allegro molto finale rounds off the work with a return to the opening theme. [...]

"If Dvořák's Serenade reflects the elegance of the rococo genre, then it is easy to see the influence of Bach in Enescu's Dixtuor. The three movements are scored for ten wind instruments as is the Dvořák but there is a more international feeling about the music despite a nod to the pipes of the composer's native Romania in the final part. The Dixtuor received its first performance in Paris in 1906. [...]

"One of the products of [Janáček's] genuinely new-found youth was the wind sextet Mládí (Youth) written for his own seventieth birthday in July 1924, only four years before his death, The piece is consciously based on the composer's own youth when he was a chorister in Brno and pupil of Pavel Křížkovský and in the third movement, Vivace, it quotes from his March of the Blue Boys. The Moravian folk melodies of the work's four movements come from the area of Janáček's birth and have a melodic quality not found in all of the composer's music. Beginning with an Allegro in Rondo form, there follows a slow movement theme and variations in D flat. Then comes the Blue Boys March with its echoes of the composer's own youth and finally the Allegro animato returns to the opening themes of the work." (David Doughty. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Oslo Philharmonic Wind Soloists

1. Antonín Dvořák - Serenade, Op. 44: Moderato, Quasi Marcia
2. Antonín Dvořák - Serenade, Op. 44: Minuetto
3. Antonín Dvořák - Serenade, Op. 44: Andante Con Moto
4. Antonín Dvořák - Serenade, Op. 44: Allegro Molto
5. George Enescu - Dixtuor, Op. 14: Doncement Mouvementé
6. George Enescu - Dixtuor, Op. 14: Modérément
7. George Enescu - Dixtuor, Op. 14: Allègrement, Mais Pas Trop Vif
8. Leoš Janáček - Mládí: Allegro
9. Leoš Janáček - Mládí: Andante Sostenuto
10. Leoš Janáček - Mládí: Vivace
11. Leoš Janáček - Mládí: Allegro Animato

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