
Biber, Schmelzer: Sonatas / Freiburger Barockorchester
The glowing incandescence of Austrian mid-baroque instrumental music could hardly be more effectively demonstrated than in the choice of repertoire and the performances on this disc. The harmonically sumptuous and tonally exotic programme is shared between the Vienna court musician, Schmelzer, and his younger Bohemian contemporary, Biber. . . . The menu has been thoughtfully chosen, capitalizing upon the vivid contrasts that exist at the two extremes, between the scintillating trumpet-dominated pieces by Biber, on the one hand, and Schmelzer’s affecting Sonata sopra la morte Ferdinand III on the other. Emperor Ferdinand was Schmelzer’s musically gifted employer, and his death in 1657 prompted . . . this outstandingly beautiful piece . . . the most touching of Schmelzer’s three elegiac pieces assembled here, all of which however are harmonically distinctive and of sustained interest. . . . The Freiburg musicians seem to revel in the wonderfully varied sonorities inherent in Biber’s consort textures, responding sympathetically to the composer’s colourfully imaginative tonal palette. The sonatas with trumpet are likely to make instant appeal but it is the more sorrowful utterances of Schmelzer which make a deeper impression on my senses. A fine release. -- Nicholas Anderson, Gramophone
Product Description:
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Catalog Number: DHM77348
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UPC: 054727734823
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Label: Deutsche Harmonia Mundi
Composer: Heinrich Ignaz Biber, Johann Heinrich Schmelzer
Orchestra/Ensemble: Freiburg Baroque Orchestra Consort
Works:
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Sonata in B minor
Composer: Johann Heinrich Schmelzer
Ensemble: Freiburg Baroque Orchestra Consort
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Sonata in A minor
Composer: Johann Heinrich Schmelzer
Ensemble: Freiburg Baroque Orchestra Consort
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Sonata in D minor
Composer: Johann Heinrich Schmelzer
Ensemble: Freiburg Baroque Orchestra Consort
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Lamento sopra la morte Ferdinandi III
Composer: Johann Heinrich Schmelzer
Ensemble: Freiburg Baroque Orchestra Consort
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Lamento in B flat major
Composer: Johann Heinrich Schmelzer
Ensemble: Freiburg Baroque Orchestra Consort
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Harmonia in B flat major
Composer: Johann Heinrich Schmelzer
Ensemble: Freiburg Baroque Orchestra Consort
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Sonatae tam aris, quam aulis servientes: no 1 in D major
Composer: Heinrich Ignaz Biber
Ensemble: Freiburg Baroque Orchestra Consort
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Sonatae tam aris, quam aulis servientes: no 4 in C major
Composer: Heinrich Ignaz Biber
Ensemble: Freiburg Baroque Orchestra Consort
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Sonatae tam aris, quam aulis servientes: no 6 in F major
Composer: Heinrich Ignaz Biber
Ensemble: Freiburg Baroque Orchestra Consort
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Sonatae tam aris, quam aulis servientes: no 7 in C major
Composer: Heinrich Ignaz Biber
Ensemble: Freiburg Baroque Orchestra Consort
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Sonatae tam aris, quam aulis servientes: no 8 in G major
Composer: Heinrich Ignaz Biber
Ensemble: Freiburg Baroque Orchestra Consort
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Sonatae tam aris, quam aulis servientes: no 10 in G minor
Composer: Heinrich Ignaz Biber
Ensemble: Freiburg Baroque Orchestra Consort
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Sonatae tam aris, quam aulis servientes: no 12
Composer: Heinrich Ignaz Biber
Ensemble: Freiburg Baroque Orchestra Consort