Johann Wilhelm Ritter

Here is another of Gustav Leonhardt's mixed programmes but this one, unlike the earlier European grand tour ((CD) 426 352-2PH, 4/90), is confined to German repertory and is played not on the harpsichord but on the clavichord. The earliest music is by Christian Ritter, who was born in the mid seventeenth century and who was based mainly in Halle where he was employed as an organist. His Suite in F sharp minor is an appealing work somewhat in the manner of Froberger; the opening Allemande is beautifully written and well sustained and the poignant Sarabande an affecting piece built on a descending octave pattern which gives it the character of a lament.

To celebrate Ricercar’s fortieth anniversary, with the symbolic total running time of forty hours of music, this box set assembles a vast anthology of seventeenth-century German music, an area that clearly emerges here as the label’s main focus. The anthology ends with a selection of the very first compositions of Johann Sebastian Bach, in which the link with the music of previous generations is still very perceptible. Some of the finest artists and ensembles ever featured on the label are included here, such as Andrea Buccarella, Brice Sailly, Yoanna Moulin, Capella Sancti Michaelis, Ex Tempore, Musica Aurea, and many more.

To celebrate Ricercar’s fortieth anniversary, with the symbolic total running time of forty hours of music, this box set assembles a vast anthology of seventeenth-century German music, an area that clearly emerges here as the label’s main focus. The anthology ends with a selection of the very first compositions of Johann Sebastian Bach, in which the link with the music of previous generations is still very perceptible. Some of the finest artists and ensembles ever featured on the label are included here, such as Andrea Buccarella, Brice Sailly, Yoanna Moulin, Capella Sancti Michaelis, Ex Tempore, Musica Aurea, and many more.