Arcadia Publisihng

The Italian Steffani spent most of his fabulous career as a composer, spy, and diplomat in Germany, in München and Hanover, with a prolonged visit to Paris to the court of Louis XIV. In terms of the prevalent national styles of music in the late 17th C, Steffani was "all over the place" – his overtures are thoroughly French, his arias sparklingly Italian, and his mastery of counterpoint profoundly German. Does that stylistic Duke's Mixture ring any bells? A certain pair of Germans born in 1685, one revered for his cantatas and the other for his operas, were both indebted to Steffani for his synthesis of Italian, French, and German fashions.

The Arcadia Quartet’s acclaimed survey of Weinberg’s String Quartets continues with this fourth volume containing Quartets Nos 6, 13, and 15. Quartet No. 6 was composed in 1946 in Bïkovo, a town some twenty miles from the south-eastern perimeter of Moscow. Weinberg dedicated it to his friend Georgiy Sviridov, whom he had met in Shostakovich’s circle. The Quartet is a summit of his early achievements, and its musical language is strikingly advanced in relation to traditional Soviet works in the genre. It was banned by the authorities, and as a result, Weinberg wrote no more quartets until after the death of his mentor Shostakovich, in 1975.

The Arcadia Quartet’s acclaimed survey of Weinberg’s String Quartets continues with this fourth volume containing Quartets Nos 6, 13, and 15. Quartet No. 6 was composed in 1946 in Bïkovo, a town some twenty miles from the south-eastern perimeter of Moscow. Weinberg dedicated it to his friend Georgiy Sviridov, whom he had met in Shostakovich’s circle. The Quartet is a summit of his early achievements, and its musical language is strikingly advanced in relation to traditional Soviet works in the genre. It was banned by the authorities, and as a result, Weinberg wrote no more quartets until after the death of his mentor Shostakovich, in 1975.

At the centre of these world premiere recordings is what is believed to be the only surviving work of Franz Xaver Hassl (1708-1757), a composer barely known to us these days, Hassl wrote the trio sonatas whilst director of music at the Prince-Bishop's court in Pruntrut/Porrentruy where they were most likely performed within an ecclesiastical setting. The sonatas are framed by three sacred arias found in a song collection by Zurich's town trumpeter, Johann Ludwig Steiner (1688-1761) and a selection of canzonettas by Johan Freidrich Agricola (1722-1774) illustrating the secular side of this charming 'galant' music.

At the centre of these world premiere recordings is what is believed to be the only surviving work of Franz Xaver Hassl (1708-1757), a composer barely known to us these days, Hassl wrote the trio sonatas whilst director of music at the Prince-Bishop's court in Pruntrut/Porrentruy where they were most likely performed within an ecclesiastical setting. The sonatas are framed by three sacred arias found in a song collection by Zurich's town trumpeter, Johann Ludwig Steiner (1688-1761) and a selection of canzonettas by Johan Freidrich Agricola (1722-1774) illustrating the secular side of this charming 'galant' music.