Mertz: Barden-Klange / Graziano Salvoni / Composer: Johann Kaspar Mertz / Performer: Graziano Salvoni / Number of Discs: 2 / Length: 1 Hours 32 Mins. In his day Caspar Joseph Mertz (b. 1806) was one of the most sought-after musicians in Europe, the court guitarist of Empress Carolina Augusta whose performances (together with his wife Josephine Plantin on piano) became famous throughout Austria, Hungary and Germany. Recorded: February & March 2013, Recording Me. To. Studio, Asti, Italy. The first half of the 19th century was a Golden Age for the guitar, seeing it's emancipation as a serious and mature classical instrument. Caspar Joseph Mertz (born in 1806) was one of the leading guitarists of his day, court musician of the Empress Carolina Augusta, and composer of a substantial oeuvre for his instrument. Mertz's guitar legacy consists of a series of short cycles called "Barden-Kl�nge" (Bardic sounds), evoking the romantic image of a travelling artist (bard) singing his tales, poems and legends about knights, courtly love, nature and fairies. They are romantic genre pieces, Charakterst�cke, with evocative titles like Unruhe, Elfenreigen and Fingall's H�hle. These are first recordings (2013), beautifully played by Graziano Salvoni, with the right touch of sentiment. He plays on an exquisite historical "Stauffer" instrument.