Gottfried Finger Ensemble Tourbillon

The excellently named Gottfried Finger was a gambist and composer active chiefly in London and then Mannheim from around 1680-1730. He was plainly a very accomplished player and a more-than-competent composer; the sonatas here which make up his Op.1 are skilfully done, melodious and have plenty of harmonic interest.

If we speak about the late works of Jan Dismas Zelenka (1679-1745) we usually refer to his masses, oratorios or litanies, which have today finally acquired the attention and acclaim they fully deserve. But among these works we also find secular vocal compositions such as the serenata 'Il Diamante and a collection of Italian arias.

There are few composers who have vanished from music history to the extent of Johann Abraham Schmierer. We know very little about this composer’s origins, education, career and life journey. Some listeners, during or after hearing this recording, may well wonder why this music – despite its undeniable qualities and relatively early publication (already in 1902 in the tenth volume of Denkmäler Deutscher Tonkunst) – has not been recorded earlier. One reason is surely the fragmentary character of the collection, for six suites are obviously missing.

The young Czech soprano Hana Blažíkóva is one of the most exciting voices in the baroque scene. Conductors such as Philippe Herreweghe, Masaaki Suzuki and Vaclav Luks frequently invite her for CD recordings, concerts and tours. She regularly appears at renowned festivals including Prague Spring, Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht, Resonances in Vienna and the Early Music Days in Regensburg.

The Moravian-born multi-instrumentalist and composer Gottfried Finger is often found in the footnotes in modern music histories, yet during his lifetime few other composers could boast of the number of firsts and career milestones. In a varied and active career spanning more than half a century, he crossed paths with some of the leading composers of his day (Biber, Purcell, Telemann, Silvius Leopold Weiss and perhaps François Couperin, to name just a few). Finger could switch with great ease between faithful versions of the dominant French and Italian styles, but thanks to his experiences across such wide geographies, variety of musical styles, languages and cultures, his primary style is a truly pan-European phenomenon. Although Italian music was his main inspiration, it is difficult to assign Finger consistently to any kind of national style or regional school. This CD presents premieres of 12 pieces from the second half of his career show-casing some of the breathtaking scope and scale of his output and his particular strength in deft handling of ear-tickling instrumental sonorities and virtuosity.

Dorothee Oberlinger is one of the most amazing discoveries of recent years, an expressive virtuoso who has received numerous awards. Today she is seen as one of the best recorder-players in the world. Her concerts have been received with enthusiasm by critics and audiences alike, earning her unanimous acclaim. Her CDs are regularly fêted as the best new issues on the market.

When Bach was in the service of Prince Leopold in Coethen, he had his own orchestra and was contracted to compose a great deal of instrumental music. This gave him an opportunity to try new techniques and to develop his own instrumental style. The six Brandenburg Concertos belongs to these masterpieces for a small ensemble. This joyously infectious performance of these famous landmarks in the history of music by the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra demonstrates both the musical satisfaction and the high professional standard that can be reached with period instruments.

In the 18th century, Leufsta Bruk – some 140 kilometres northwest of Stockholm – was the centre of a major industry producing iron both for Swedish needs and for export. It was a little principality in the middle of the forest governed by the descendants of Louis De Geer, the Belgian financier who had developed the ironworks. Highly cultured and musical, the family gathered together a remarkable collection of musical scores, a collection which mirrors the development of music and music publishing on the Continent, as well as the musical activities at a flourishing Swedish manor of the period.