In 1937, a Viennese antiquarian sells a comprehensive lute tablature, which then ends up in Lviv in today's Ukraine. For decades, the tablature is out of reach and subject to wild speculation. Today, it once again reveals European Renaissance masterpieces, presented here on this album. Bernhard Hofstötter's lute playing has been described as "adeptly combining technical ease with a masterful sense of phrasing" (Lute Society of America) and demonstrating "a refined rhythmic sensibility and understanding" (International Record Review). His recordings of the music of the 18th century lute virtuoso Silvius Leopold Weiss have been hailed as containing "some of the most sympathetic and beautiful Weiss-playing yet committed to disc" (Gramophone). To date, Hofstötter has published four solo albums which shine an imaginative and colorful light on the lesser known musical landscapes of the 17th and 18th centuries. His recordings have been met with international critical acclaim.

Joseph Haas' Christmas Liederspiel, Christnacht, combines Bavarian and Tyrol folk tunes into an oratorio. His Marian Hymns based primarily on texts from the 13th to the 18th centuries. The composers of the other various carols on this release are either pupils or contemporaries of Haas.

The main organ of the St. Gallen Cathedral (Switzerland) was built in 1968 and has since delighted numerous concertgoers and churchgoers. The exquisitely selected program of this recording bears witness to it's outstanding tonal qualities. The following composition merits special attention: "Fantaisie-Orage" by Swiss cathedral organist Jacques Vogt. The version recorded here was reconstructed by Paul Haas based on handwritten fragments. In this fantasy, already the beginning captures the listener with it's beautiful echo passages. After the presentation of several popular Swiss folk songs, a gloomy storm starts brewing, culminating in a passage reminiscent of Beethoven. According to the performance instructions, the organ is to be played with the entire palm of the hand and the elbow in order to imitate the storm and the lightning strikes as closely as possible. After the storm, the rural population gratefully joins in with the hymn "Holy God, We Praise Thy Name". International reviews attested cathedral organist Willibald Guggenmos "fantastic technique and dazzling musicianship" (Bernhard Holland - New York Times). His enormous repertoire includes the complete works of Bach, Franck, Liszt, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Boollmann, Stehle, Durufle and the great works of Max Reger.

J.S. Bach's 6 English Suites (BWV 806-811) were written around 1715 during Bach's time at the court in Weimar (1708-1717). In spite of their title, most of the English suites begin with a large-scale polyphonic Prelude in the style of the Italian concerto grosso, whereas most of the dance movements are written in the French manner. The Prelude of the sixth suite (BWV 811) featured on this album is preceded by a slow introduction, which gives the piece some extra length and weightiness. The Gigue of this suite is particularly challenging because of its frequent organ points that are sustained by long trills, to be played against other voices in the same hand. Technically, this texture can be seen as a precursor of the so-called "Beethoven trill". The Prelude, Fugue and Allegro in E-flat major (BWV 998), written about twenty years after the English Suites, were conceived for "lute or harpsichord". Written in the soothing key of E-flat major, these pieces evoke a pastoral mood. The final selection on this recording (Suite) is Gustav Leonhardt 's (1928-2012) G minor arrangement of the second Violin Partita in D minor (BWV 1004). This transposed version makes exquisite use of the harpsichord's sonoraus potential. The famous Ciaccona, well known from a number of famous transcriptions for piano, concludes this suite. The harpsichord played on this recording was made in 1976 by Martin Skowroneck (1926-2014) after an original two-manual harpsichord from 1728 by Christian Zell. The instrument's plectra are made of bird's quill.

“Nicht Bach, sondern Meer sollte er heißen!” (Ludwig van Beethoven) The “Musical Offering” collection of pieces, dedicated to the Prussian King, Frederick II, is a contrapuntal masterpiece, in which Johann Sebastian Bach seems to draw every conceivable facet from a single theme (Thema Regium – royal theme). It is a musical testament of the old master, full of freshness, creativity and original quality – like an endless sea. With this recording, Ensemble Barockin’ presents a musically careful and genuinely new interpretation. Ensemble Barockin’ is an international ensemble with musicians from Russia, France, Germany and Japan who are committed to performing early music in the original sound. The album artwork was created by artist, photographer and graphic designer Marc Köschinger. The cover shows a long time-exposure of the ocean. The picture was exposed at night over a longer period of time, so that it defines neither space nor time, something the musicians of Ensemble Barockin’ particularly liked for this very special recording of this work by Bach. Music without space and time like a reverberation of the universe – for this, it was added a Morse code to the text on the cover that makes the composer’s name sound through space like an echo: JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH

The “Tango Sentimentale” ensemble – Maximilian Spenger , Susanne Gargerle (First Violin), Isolde Lehrmann (Second Violin), David Ott , Silvia Cempiny (Violoncello), Thomas Jauch , Manuel Lopez , Hermann Weindorf (Piano & Percussion) – succeeds in fusing classical and modern music in one project. Tango … play between passion and melancholy dance of seduction, devotion and distance lure of fascination and eroticism Moments in the style of traditional tangos by Astor Piazzolla and Sebastian Piana meet modern compositions of the present. In such encounters of a very special kind, familiar elements of a bygone era combine with the forever enduring wishes, dreams and desires in the here and now. Played with abandon with accordion and string quintet, “Tango Sentimentale” takes us into a world of sound full of emotions and fantasy.

Josefa Schmidt presents the very interesting piano programme Dream Images, a musical combination with the composers Debussy, Scriabin, Crumb, Ravel and Schmidt. Josefa Schmidt (*1998 in Stuttgart, Germany) is prize winner of several competitions such as the International Euregio Piano Award, the Lions Club Competition, the international SIMW Award, the International Chamber Music Campus Weikersheim, the Carl Bechstein Competition Berlin and was a finalist of the International Piano Competition Concours Merci, Maestro in Brussels. In 2019 Josefa received the TONALi Prize of Creativity at TONALi Piano Competition. She is a scholarship holder of the foundations Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben, Yamaha Foundation, Foundation Yehudi Menuhin Live Music Now Hannover, Harald Genzmer Foundation and the Jeunesses Musicales. She performed at reknowed festivals such as the Rheingau Musikfestival, the Klangbruckenfestival and the Festival Momentum Stolberg as well as in France (Paris), Austria, Italy and numerous cities in Germany. Concerts were broadcast on the radio.

On this new album the Duo Hervé Joulain (Horn) and Ariane Jacob (Piano) present 17 very interesting Original Horn Themes — with works by Sinigaglia, Glière, Strauss, Büsser, Saint-Saëns, Ravel, Chabrier, Skrjabin, Freiherr von Krufft, Glasunow, Cherubini, d’Indy, Damase, Bernstein and Couson. Hervé Joulain (Horn) has appeared as soloist with 120 orchestras, performing Telemann, Mozart, Haydn, Schumann, Weber, Saint-Saëns, Strauss, and Britten, in France, Canada, the United States, Russia, Romania, Finland, Sweden, Japan, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland, Georgia, Germany, Ukraine, and Spain. Ariane Jacob (Piano) has been performing in large French and internationals concert halls for more than twenty years. She plays with such musicians as Philippe Bernold, Hervé Joulain, Barbara Hendricks, Laurent Korcia or the actor Didier Sandre.

What happens with valuable works by composers that have not yet been properly acknowledged? This is what Mexican pianist Claudia Corona asked herself when she came across Rolon's work and realized that his music is still widely unknown. Mexican composer Jose Rolon (1876-1945), born in the countryside surrounding Guadalajara, had the good fortune to study in Paris with such greats as Moritz Moszkowski, Paul Dukas and Nadia Boulanger and to let the tremendous musical wealth of that era influence his work. Fascinated by the aesthetics of this music, Claudia Corona pays tribute in this recording to her fellow countryman, who is mentioned as one of the most prestigious Mexican composers of the 20th century, yet whose work, among other reasons due to the difficult access to his sheet music archive, has rarely been performed, making him almost fall into oblivion.

"Joining the Trios of Johannes Brahms and Frank Bridge on one album may appear on first glance as an odd choice. The two composers offer few points of overlap, whether one chooses to observe them from a historical biographical perspective or in a more direct comparison of their musical styles and characters. Yet this choice is anything but random. All too often, recordings of music by secondary composers" are preserved in a somewhat academic/systematic manner: for example, as complete recordings of one's oeuvre or in conjunction with compositions of that composer's countrymen. The established masterworks on the other hand are presented in highly diverse arrangements and combinations, thus underlying the inherent interest of a particular interpretation of that work. As the title of this album suggests, our intention is to position Bridge's second piano trio among the established masterpieces of the genre and to propel the composition unto the consciousness of music Lovers and performers alike. For that reason, we chose to link the Bridge trio with Brahms' op. 8-one of the most beloved and cherished compositions in the piano trio genre and one which we hold very dear to our hearts." (Namirovsky-Lark-Pae Trio)

Norbert Duchtel plays a wonderful program of organ works for Christmas on the new Mathis Organ (2010) at the Church of the Assumption of Mary in Rieden/South Bavaria (Germany). The music is from the Baroque and Romantic eras and allows US to experience the full tonal variety of the instrument in sophisticated and sensitive interpretations, and includes a world premiere recording of Paul Geist's Weilhnachts.

Brahms and Bruckner - two of the "greats" in the history of music. They were contemporaries, yet lived in completely different worlds. However, there was one essential interest the two of them shared at the close of the 19th century: they both cultivated the old art of counterpoint. With his complete recording of the organ works by Johannes Brahms, performed on the Bruckner Organ of St. Florian Monastery (Upper Austria) Andreas Etlinger brings all the beauty of this art to life.

Two giant works: the lesser played 1913 version of Op. 36, Piano Sonata No. 2, an epic piece in the truest sense of the word and Op. 23, 10 Preludes, an intimate cycle, both challenge the physical and psychological limits of the player and the listener. With the help of the Bösendorfer Concert Grand 280VC – Vienna Concert this recording dives deep into the rich, orchestral sound world, as well as the dark nature of these works, loaded with fine details, technical and emotional extremities, candid moments and explosivity. Emre Yavuz was born in 1990 in Izmir, Turkey. His talent for learning at a rapid pace was evident at an early age, eventually leading to a musical education. He started his education in music in 1998 under the “Educational Act for Prodigy Children”, studying with Kamuran Gündemir in Ankara. He continued his studies with Fazil Say and Sanem Berkalp at the Bilkent University, where he also studied composition. Later studying with Roland Batik in Vienna, Karl-Heinz Kämmerling in Hannover, and with Arie Vardi in Hannover and Tel Aviv. Starting at an early age Yavuz played with major orchestras performing concertos of Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Saint-Saëns, Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff. With his interpretations of Chopin he won prizes in Sicily in 2007, and in Vienna in 2010. He became the first piano student of the Vienna Conservatory to graduate with full grades upon his final recital, performing works by Beethoven, Saygun and Rachmaninoff. In 2013 he performed Beethoven’s Concerto No. 3 under the conduction of Zubin Mehta. Emre has competed in a number of competitions, winning prizes internationally.

This new recording is about polyphonic references between the great counterpoint artists Byrd; Gibbons; Bach and the contemporary composers John Tavener; Oliver Knussen; John Adams; Markus Horn and Xiaoyong Chen. The two Bach Ricercari from the Musical Offering form the bracket. The exciting connection of the individual; different works to each other is created by the polyphonic structures; the modal church keys or by religious; spiritual references. 429 years lie between the work of Byrd and the work of Xiaoyong Chen composed for the LP. With Bach; Byrd; Gibbons and Contemporary Music; the listener can expect a recording that is wonderfully audible; in a positive sense unexhausting. You have to get involved with the depth; the space and sometimes the silence; but it is worth it; because the music changes your own self and focuses attention on you. "I'm interested in the connections between different epochs and their polyphonic structures. So obviously there was no way that I could ignore Johann Sebastian Bach. However; I considered what to combine with his Ricercares a 3 and a 6 from The Musical Offering. First I thought of William Byrd; as I knew that polyphony and contrapuntal style were important to him; despite the fact that he was almost 150 years older than Bach. I began with vocal polyphony and arrived at Orlando Gibbons and virginal music; which I wanted to combine with contemporary music. And then the search began..." (Alexandra Sostmann)

On this CD Argentinean pianist Carmen Piazzini presents Brahms' late pianistic works with a luminescence and poetic sensibility of tone that give the works new lyricism and radiance. Piazzini is one of today's most important pianists, with a sound reputation founded not only on her sensational recordings but on her compelling musicianship.

Finnish jazz guitarist Kalle Kalima and jazz trombonist Conny Bauer met in 2022 at a birthday concert for Nils Wogram, where they were playing at a jam session. They quickly developed new compositions together and worked on new ideas, for example based on a musical system developed by Conny in which certain intervallic movements can take place at certain times. They recorded their current album in Berlin in 2023. The music is strictly collective with the intention of escaping the usual categories.

L'Appel du Cor / The Call of the Horn (Works for Horn and Piano) - Beyond Stereotypes. The stereotype of the French is well known, it is a man with a beret on his head and a baguette under his arm. The stereotypical image of the horn is the hunting horn, the only vision that the general public has of an instrument that they hear nearly every day but that they know so little. So why does horn player Herve Joulain title his new CD "L'Appel du Cor" (The Call of the Horn), why go into the field of cliche? First of all, the hunting horn is part of the history of the horn and it does not deny it. Then composers made this past, these origins, a source of musical inspiration. Whether rustic, thunderous, or poetic, they have made the softened, the 'tayaute', also the 'debuche de la plaine' and the famous 'halali' the material of their musical writing for the modern horn. Some of the pieces performed by Herve Joulain could be wrongly described as minor works, specific to the 'conservatory end-of-year competitions'. Here the horn player's playing shows us that they are far from it and deserve to be played and listened to. Thus, from Busser to Bozza, from Pugno to Planel, Herve Joulain's horn takes us on a journey among dreams and lullabies, legends and whims, right up to the feminine vision that composer Elsa Barraine has for the horn in her brass band. The horn player Herve Joulain and the pianist Fanny Azzuro interpret these works - some of which can be heard as premiere recordings - in a wonderfully musical way. - - - L'Appel du Cor (Werke fur Horn und Klavier) - Jenseits von Stereotypen. Das Klischee uber die Franzosen ist allseits bekannt - ein Mann mit Baskenmutze auf dem Kopf und einem Baguette unter dem Arm. Das stereotype Bild des Horns ist das des Jagdhorns - die einzige Vorstellung, die die breite offentlichkeit von einem Instrument hat welches sie beinahe taglich hort, das sie aber doch so wenig kennt. Warum also betitelt der Hornist Herve Joulain seine neue CD "L'Appel du Cor" (Der Ruf des Horns), warum begibt er sich ins Feld der Klischees? Zunachst einmal ist das Jagdhorn Teil der Geschichte der Horner ansich, und dies soll auch keinsfalls verleugnet werden. Dann gestalteten die Komponisten genau diese Vergangenheit, diese Ursprunge zu einer neuen Quelle musikalischer Inspiration. Ob rustikal, donnernd oder poetisch, sie haben das Weiche, das "Tayaute", auch das "Debuche de la plaine" und das beruhmte "Halali" zum Material ihrer musikalischen Komposition fur das moderne Horn gemacht. Einige der von Herve Joulain aufgefuhrten Stucke konnten falschlicherweise als "kleinere" Werke bezeichnet werden, die spezifisch fur Vorspielabende an Musikschulen zum Jahresende sind. Hier zeigt uns das Spiel des Hornisten, dass diese Musik weit davon entfernt ist und es verdient, gespielt und gehort zu werden. So nimmt uns das Horn mit den Komponisten von Busser bis Bozza, von Pugno bis Planel mit auf eine Reise zwischen Traumen und Schlafliedern, Legenden und Launen, bis hin zu der "weiblichen Vision", die die Komponistin Elsa Barraine fur das Horn in ihrer Blaskapelle hat. Der Hornist Herve Joulain und die Pianistin Fanny Azzuro interpretieren diese - teils als Ersteinspielungen zu horenden Werke - in wunderbar musikalischer Art und Weise.

The Finnish guitarist Kalle Kalima met the double bassist Oliver Potratz and the drummer Oliver Steidle in Berlin in the year 2000. The three musicians became companions on a journey that has now lasted for 25 years. They have defined their own sound and consistently push the boundaries of what is musically possible in a trio formation. The musical combination of influences from Finland and Berlin results in an original, wild and creative jazz music. Klima Kalima uses elements from rock, blues and folk to give their modern jazz sound a quirky and unique touch. The album 'Finn Noir' was released in 2013 (Enja Records), followed by the live album 'Live' (Planet Berlin 2022). These, along with their earlier albums 'Loru', 'Chasing Yellow' and 'Helsinki on My Mind', received excellent international reviews. They won the New German Jazz Award in 2008 and have performed concerts across Europe. Their new album 'Voyager Blues' will be released in fall 2025 on TYXart records. This project revolves around the twin spacecraft Voyager 1 and 2, which are located in the boundary zone of the solar system. One by one, the instruments on board are being shut down, in the hope that enough energy remains for the remaining devices to function until 2030. The musical project 'Voyager Blues' centers on these dying probes, with the band Klima Kalima providing the soundtrack to an imaginary film about the increasingly lonely and fading spacecraft. This theme also resonates with the lifestyle of the three musicians, who seem destined to be on the road for life. Over 25 years of hard work - through endless cycles of composing, rehearsing, performing live, and recording - the trio has developed it's own language. The magazine 'Jazzthetik' wrote of their last album: "Monk-ish in a cheerfully stubborn spirit, but not in repertoire, the three developed a richly packed program of distortions, exaggerations, and intensifications." In this project, the group returns to it's musical roots. This freer musical language is essential in 'Voyager Blues' to reflect the endless loneliness of the probes and allows even more space for ideas and dialogue among the musicians. Musically, this time the focus is on a narrative, melodic language. The basic concept is the blues - it's simplicity and clarity echo the solitary nature of dying. Alongside are melodies and polyrhythmic layers, interpreted in rock-inspired, constant dialogues between the musicians.

Horn Universe - Works for Horn, Tenor and Orchestra by Telemann, Mozart, Britten and Kikta Although nameless, the Suite in F Major TWV 44:7/55: F4 by Telemann is extremely pictorial: In the early 18th century, the horn is still somewhat new as an ensemble music instrument, and it serves to evoke the rural. This piece takes us outdoors. Like any French-style suite, it begins with a slow and majestic Overture, almost celestial [...] This recording allows us to discover a new completion of Mozart's Concerto in D, with a reworked second movement (Andante) by horn player Marco Elia Righi in 2020. Not only did he bring the Rondo with Mozart's original melodies back to life, he also added a second movement, Andante: Written in consideration of the natural horn's technique, this new movement is quite reminiscent of the style of the slow movements of the other concertos, while perfectly ?tting into the continuity of the Allegro. Marco shows real Mozartian taste, and brings a little freshness into this familiar music. What a pleasure to rediscover Mozart! The Serenade by Britten begins and ends with calls, not of a bugle as evoked in the Nocturne, but of a horn. In this period of con?ict when many deaths were to be deplored, one cannot ignore the thought of a death knell, recalled by the two horn solos which frame the Serenade. These calls, played without the valves, let the tone of F and it's natural harmonics sound the way the bugle without valves can produce them. On the other hand, not only does Britten's choice highlight the beauty of the horn and the talent of it's interpreter, but these sounds add a plaintive and painful idea that announces everything that the tenor declares. [...] As a great admirer of all the works in this album, hornist Herve Joulain cannot hide his excitement at presenting the Concerto for Horn and Strings by Valery Kikta. The composer is of Ukrainian origin but has been living and teaching in Moscow for decades. It was pure chance that led Joulain to discover the recording by Valery Zhavoronkov, while looking for educational information for the completion of his horn book. He immediately fell in love with the piece, Kikta having mastered the art of playing with half a dozen major thematic elements, which he reuses very happily, not to say brilliantly. These elements are sometimes declamatory, sometimes rhythmic, sometimes melodic, sometimes obstinate, o?ering the instrument a palette of unexpected colors to play with. [...] A great new recording, interpreted by Herve Joulain (Horn), Karlis Rerihs (Horn: Telemann), Kaelig Boche (Tenor: Britten), Sinfonietta Riga Chamber Orchestra and Kaspars Adamsons.

Music for piano solo (2017-2019) by Caspar Rene Hirschfeld (*1965) was premiered by Joshua Rupley in 2023 and deals with transience or the emergence, change and decay of all phenomena. In addition to a virtuoso technique, the work also requires a highly developed sense of sound in the quietest registers and the courage to remain completely calm in the quiet passages.

During the last years, Kalle and I had the opportunity to work on original duo music without much pressure from outside and finally recorded this program in September 2022. I have always enjoyed listening to and exploring ensemble music that uses multiple instruments being capable of providing harmonic information. This certainly requires deep listening on various levels - pitch-wise, chord-wise, register-wise, rhythmically and texturally. The duo combination of piano and acoustic guitar puts these possibilities and challenges under a magnifying glass. The analogy of a "meta-instrument" seems especially fitting for this combination which showcases two instruments with very different properties that still make a lot of textural overlaps possible. Ideally their sounds blend into each other, one seems like an extension of the other. The pieces that I chose for this duo are song-inspired but also largely reflect some modernist compositional tendencies. It's as though Joni Mitchell, Henry Threadgill and Elliott Carter had decided to move to the same neighborhood, at least for a short sojourn, to work on an interactive project. Achim Kaufmann This is our first duo recording and it took almost two years to develop the music, yet we were not in a hurry and we let the music grow organically. Our decision to use acoustic guitar made the project unique for me. This project took me back to teenager years when I was overwhelmed by the acoustic work of Ralph Towner, Jimmy Page and Julian Bream. Finally I found a chance to integrate this in my music with Achim. For this project I had to tame the acoustic guitar again. The music is a collective meditation on influences from Miles Davis over Morton Feldman to Robert Johnson but all original compositions by Achim and me. I think this music shows new sides of our musical journey. Kalle Kalima

The Turkish pianist Emre Yavuz studied in Ankara and Vienna. After his final recital, he was the first piano student at the Vienna Conservatory to graduate with top marks. After a Rachmaninoff album, the multi-award-winning artist's latest recording for TYXart is dedicated to piano works by Maurice Ravel, whose 150th birthday the music world will be celebrating in 2025.

Programme music as chamber music? There is an obvious common denominator between Greek mythology and Paul Celan's poetry: mysticism. Whether consciously or unconsciously, this element seems to give my personal cultural roots the appropriate musical expression. If one asks what exactly is meant to be expressed here and whether the titles and subtitles of the two chamber music works should be understood as program music, then a very specific artistic credo will be revealed. Greek mythology and philosophy form the foundation of my world view and at the same time my intellectual background. These myths and legends are not simple stories, but rather a code that needs to be deciphered - just like Japanese haikus, over which one can meditate for years - in order to achieve a deeper understanding of the world and human nature. In this respect, this music can be understood programmatic, but not in the sense of an approximate retelling of stories in mere tones; but rather as music aiming to reveal a deeper level of understanding in giving birth to the meaning of the underlying myth and bringing it emotionally closer to the listener. In this sense, the virtuoso piano work is entitled "The Lost Nereid". The Nereids were beautiful sea nymphs who beguiled people with their songs and could make the sea storm or pacify. In the Greek Kabbalah, the element of water represents the "feeling". How would one of those Nereids sing today, if she had lost herself from that archaic time to the present day? How would her song sound like in the turbulent world of ours, in which aesthetic values - if they exist at all - are entirely subjective? What feeling would it evoke and what lost beauty would it want to remind us of? he sonata for bassoon and piano, entitled "The Horae" deals with one of the three Horae in each individual movement: "Eunomia", "Diki" and "Eirini". "Horae" translates to "hours". These three goddesses were the constant companions of Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty. Their names thus display qualities that are directly linked to beauty or reveal that divine beauty to us humans, when we fill every "hour" of our lives with them - namely with "Good Law", "Justice" and finally with "Peace". Each of the three movements has it's own musical and formal character and uses the entire range of expression of both instruments as well as their technical possibilities.

Even though the arias have been 'stripped' of their text (using the historical techniques of transcription, of course, which were very fashionable at the time), they showcase Farinelli's artistry and evoke the noble sound and his open-throated messa di voce that inspired composers such as his brother Riccardo Broschi to write such charming arias as "Ombra fedele" or "Son qual nave". And the arias that Hasse and Porpora wrote for Farinelli also bring us very close to his seductive supernaturalism.

There are several sets of pieces that Bach collated (also) with his lessons in mind, amongst them the 'Orgelbuchlein', the 'Little Organ Book', which he started whilst working in Weimar in 1708, and the so-called 'Inventions and Sinfonias', composed in the 1720s in Cothen for his son Wilhelm Friedemann and for "lovers of the clavier, and particularly those who desire to learn". He worked on the 'Orgelbuchlein' over many years, adding to it and making changes, presumably adapting to his student's needs. His inscription on the title page proclaims in a rhyming couplet that his compositions were "in praise for the Almighty's will, and for my neighbour's greater skill". In the context of this programme two choral preludes and two 'Sinfonias' are used as "warm-ups", or preludes for five imagined lessons, functioning as the binding of the student's portfolio.