Fourth Sundays Livestream:
Fantasticus!
Sunday, March 27, 2022
Come join us to hear the whimsical, varied and fantastic instrumental music from the courts of what is now Germany and Austria! The Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I, himself a musician and composer, brought several prominent Italian musicians, including violin virtuoso Antonio Bertali, across the Alps to his court in Vienna. There he gave them good salaries, and plenty of opportunities to perform and compose, as well as teach the new generation of German musicians the Stylus Fantasticus, the current Italian style of purely instrumental fantasies made popular by Italian composers such as Girolamo Frescobaldi. Bertali’s student Johann Heinrich Schmelzer continued and adapted the style, and helped spread it throughout what is now Germany. Several prominent composers emerged, including Andreas Oswald, Nathanael Schnittelbach and Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber. Each left their mark on the emerging German style of music, that would soon lead to famous composers such as J.S. Bach.
Many of the pieces we are playing come from the great Partiturbuch Ludwig, a hand-copied manuscript of over 100 popular instrumental chamber works gathered in 1662 by musician Jakob Ludwig for his patron, Duke August II of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel. Several composers featured in this collection are otherwise almost unknown to the present day, but all were significant to the time, and their works were considered worthy of inclusion. From our program, all pieces except the Frescobaldi Canzona, the Schmelzer Sonata and the Biber Sonata come from this collection. Some of these have never been recorded… come hear their (21st century) premiere!
Sunday, February 27th at 4pm PST/7pm EST, join us on YouTube for our livestream concert.
Suggested donation $20/household, or pay-what-you-can.
Donations above $20 gratefully accepted and go a long way in the musicians’ lives!
Patreon supporters get free access—join or log in here: https://patreon.com/gutsbaroque
The access link will be emailed to you on the day of the livestream, 90 minutes before concert time.
Program:
Girolamo Frescobaldi: Canzon Prima a canto solo, F 8.01c
Antonio Bertali: Violin Sonata 2 in d minor from Partiturbuch Ludwig
Johann Heinrich Schmelzer: Sonata Unarum Fidium 1
Andreas Oswald: Violin Sonata in e minor from Partiturbuch Ludwig
Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber: Sonata 2 from 8 Sonatas (1681)
Nathanael Schnittelbach: Violin Sonata in A Major from Partiturbuch Ludwig
The Program is available! Available as a full booklet or 1-page PDF:
Guts Baroque Duo 