Ars Antiqua Austria & Gunar Letzbor

The historical-instrument ensemble Ars Antiqua Austria under violinist/conductor Gunar Letzbor has specialized in neglected repertory of the eighteenth century, and few composers fit their aims better than Antonio Caldara, a Venetian trained in the grand tradition at St. Mark's cathedral. He had a distinguished career that took him to Mantua, (perhaps) to the then-Austrian court at Barcelona, to Rome, and finally to Vienna itself, where he became vice-kapellmeister under emperor Charles VI. As with other composers in this milieu, most of his production was vocal.

In the year 1688, when the 52-year-old Georg Daniel Speer, son of a reputed peltmonger family of Breslau, had his 'Musicalisch-Türckischer Eulen-Spiegel' published in Ulm, he was an organist and assistant teacher in South Germany and already had an eventful life behind him. At the age of 18, he had set off through the Carpathian Mountains to Spisz (located in the north-east of present-day Slovakia). Throughout the following years, he worked as a mercenary for various armies, once as an army drummer, then as a bugler in the war of Hungary against the Turks. Finally, he reached Constantinople in the company of a 'high-born lord'.

Admittedly, the name Benedikt Anton Aufschnaiter initially sounds like that of an Austrian minor master – this composer has remained virtually unknown until now, even in specialist circles. But such is far from the case with Aufschnaiter: Gunar Letzbor, who has released an entire series of impressive excavations of Austrian sacred music during recent years with his ensemble Ars Austria Antiqua, even refers to him as the 'Catholic Bach'! Both composers – Bach and Aufschnaiter – cultivate a compositional style of masterly polyphony that must have been almost ananachronim in their day but their mastery was unsurpassed. The fact that each composer arrived at completely different results may have something to do with the difference between Catholic and Protestant culture.

In the year 1688, when the 52-year-old Georg Daniel Speer, son of a reputed peltmonger family of Breslau, had his 'Musicalisch-Türckischer Eulen-Spiegel' published in Ulm, he was an organist and assistant teacher in South Germany and already had an eventful life behind him. At the age of 18, he had set off through the Carpathian Mountains to Spisz (located in the north-east of present-day Slovakia). Throughout the following years, he worked as a mercenary for various armies, once as an army drummer, then as a bugler in the war of Hungary against the Turks. Finally, he reached Constantinople in the company of a 'high-born lord'.

Admittedly, the name Benedikt Anton Aufschnaiter initially sounds like that of an Austrian minor master – this composer has remained virtually unknown until now, even in specialist circles. But such is far from the case with Aufschnaiter: Gunar Letzbor, who has released an entire series of impressive excavations of Austrian sacred music during recent years with his ensemble Ars Austria Antiqua, even refers to him as the 'Catholic Bach'! Both composers – Bach and Aufschnaiter – cultivate a compositional style of masterly polyphony that must have been almost ananachronim in their day but their mastery was unsurpassed. The fact that each composer arrived at completely different results may have something to do with the difference between Catholic and Protestant culture.

The Habsburg Imperial Court was a melting pot of many different cultures in which the zest for living of southerners, the Slav melancholy, French formalism, Spanish courtliness and the original German-speaking Alpine cultural region intermingled. Together with his Ars Antiqua Austria ensemble, Gunar Letzbor occupied himself over a ten year period to produce this 10CD "Klang der Kulturen" box, a musical tour of the individual countries that formed the roots of and influences on the music of baroque Vienna, documenting them in live recordings, with each CD representing one country.

Benedikt Anton Aufschnaiter (1665-1742) - Dulcis Fidium Harmonia Op. IV
Ars Antiqua Austria - Gunar Letzbor
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 380 MB | Full Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Arcana # A313 | Country/Year: Germany 2003, 2009
Genre: Classical | Style: Baroque

…Letzbor enthusiastically writes: 'As I first heard the music of this composer, i was at once filled with… Passion, joy, fear, despair, love, piety, tenderness, exuberance, insouciance.' Such emotions are evident in tills recording, and I am eager to hear some of Aufschnaiter's vast corpus of sacred vocal music.

A ubiquitous Viennese figure in the early 1700s, Francesco Conti was one of several gifted Italian Baroque composers who settled in foreign lands. If Caldara remains the most durable Italian figure in Vienna, Conti's star — on this evidence — deserves to be dusted down and given a second chance. These four cantatas from eight Cantate am istromenti probably date from the first decade of the century and feature the most delectable plethora of obbligato instruments imaginable.

The Viennese Court Kapellmeister Johann Joseph Fux (1660-1741) is regarded in music history as the forefather of modern counterpoint, and his instructional work ""Gradus ad parnassum"" continues to influence education in this subject to the present day. But the many compositions Fux wrote for the Viennese court are largely forgotten. If at all, one still knows of sacred compositions in which Fux followed this strict, academic style. On the other hand, the composer was able to free himself from this in his opera and in his ""Componimenti sacri"", which are operatic oratorios for Holy Week (during which no operas were allowed to be performed).