This CD brings together some particularly attractive compositions written for Karlsruhe by the court conductors and musicians of the margraves of Baden. The pieces convey an impression of the rich and lively musical life in Karlsruhe from the early 18th to the early 19th century, which in no way needs to shy away from comparison with south-west German musical metropolises such as Mannheim or Stuttgart.

Molter: Oratorio "Hochst schmerzensvoller Tag"

Classical Music

Classical Music

Konzerte für Trompete und Corno da Caccia

How and why Johann Melchior Molter came to Karlsruhe is one of the secrets of his otherwise well-documented life. Molter was a "perfect capellmeister" in the sense of the eponymous famous treatise of the Hamburg music scholar Johann Mattheson. In his early years, Molter became familiar with the style of French music of his time; in Italy, where he drew it a second time during his time in Eisenach, he became acquainted with the current Italian style. Stylistic versatility was the craftsmanship with which Molter moved in all major genres. Although large parts of his vocal works are lost or were destroyed during the Second World War, the surviving cantatas and other works for vocal Molter as a composer, who knew exactly how the human voice comes to it's best advantage. In contrast, the manuscripts of many of Molter's instrumental works have been handed down in large numbers. In addition to about 170 symphonies, solo concertos for various instruments are the largest group of works within Molter's instrumental works. Most of these concerts may have been written for virtuoso court musicians in Karlsruhe and Eisenach and have been performed within the framework of court music practice. All concerts are documents of a Kapellmeister, who mastered the compositional standards of his time on a very high level. That Molter occupies an important place in the history of the instrumental concert, he owes the fact that he was one of the first composers who composed concertos for the clarinet. This instrument was invented at the beginning of the 18th century by Johann Christoph Denner, but it did not prevail until the end of the 18th century in the orchestras. This production commemorates (for the 300th birthday of Karlsruhe) the most important composer of the fan city.

Trumpet Recital: Guttler, Ludwig - TELEMANN, G.P. / FASCH, J

Johann Melchior Molter is a composer well-known among enthusiasts of music for winds, but generally his output is performed on modern instruments. Extensive research in the field of historically informed performance practice theoretically allows for the faithful reconstruction of the original sound of this music, but there exist only very few trumpetists today who are able to play on the required natural, valveless instruments. Jean-Francois Madeuf is one of these, extracting a warm, noble sound that makes these concertos a very pleasurable listening experience. Active for many years in numerous Baroque ensembles in France, Europe or on other continents, both in concerts and recordings, Jean-Francois Madeuf is at the moment still one of the rare musicians who plays natural trumpet and horn in the most historically informed way, without the aid of vent holes invented for compromise instruments. In 2009 Madeuf received the Christopher Monk Award by the Histoic Brass Society “for his significant contribution as a performer and teacher and his dedication to historically informed performance practice” and is now conducting research leading to a doctorate at the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel and Vrije Universiteit Brussel on the subject of natural trumpet playing.

Thuringia-born Johann Melchior Molter (1696-1765) is at best known to some as the composer who wrote some of the earliest concertos for the clarinet, which had just been invented at the time. Otherwise, the practical exploration of the oeuvre of the long-time Karlsruhe court kapellmeister is still in its early stages. In the highly acclaimed series 'Forgotten Treasures' at ARS PRODUKTION, Michael Alexander Willens and his Kolner Akademie present some of the concertos and orchestral works in first recordings, which once again make us take notice because of their above-average quality and remarkable inventiveness.

"To explorers of the byways of 18th-century music, Guy Touvron’s recording of trumpet concertos by Johann Melchior Molter can be thoroughly recommended."

-- BBC Music Magazine, Deborah Calland

Johann Molter was a prodigious composer of trumpet concertos in the first half of the eighteenth century. He spent his musical life moving between his base, Karlsruhe, and Italy, where he obviously absorbed the baroque influences of the time. He was an inventive and capable composer, and although these concertos are very much alike they are each enjoyable if taken singly. The allegros have vitality and slow movements are agreeable, sometimes serene, sometimes moving on at a gentle, walking gait. The Andantes of the double concertos are for strings alone, to give their highly stressed soloists a chance for a breather before returning to the fray in the finales. MWVIV.10 is the exception, offering instead a charming interlude, scored for woodwind, to make a foil for the florid trumpet writing in the outer movements. And make no mistake about it, Molter knows just how to make his paired trumpets sound brilliantly ear-tickling. The solo concertos all bring solo participation in central movements, exploiting the high clarino range lyrically—most of the writing throughout is stratospheric. The playing here is superbly secure and stylish.

Jorg Faerber and his Wurttembergers provide alertly sympathetic accompaniments and they make the Andantes sing gracefully, within a wholly sympathetic acoustic. Of course, modern trumpets are used, and so there is none of that throttled effect which too often afflicts trumpeters using older instruments.

-- Ivan March, Gramophone [5/1993]