Spearhead № 16

On September 15th, Dependence 2017, the new label compilation of the German premiere industrial label Dependent is being released. As always the compilation is full with exclusive tracks and mixes of the Dependent label repertoire, but hardly ever could we assemble and deliver so many strong and so diverse songs on one single disc: The atmospheric electronic composition of the soundtrack VOLT by Alec Empire sets a moody intro to be sharply contrasted by Dependent spearhead acts like Covenant & MESH.

What the largely unknown name of Georg Muffat may lack in dissemination and reputation, he makes up for in incredible variety, virtuosic power, and influence, especially on the development of instrumental music. The treasure trove of Muffat, which comes to light in particular in his sonata collection Armonico tributo, is what the early music ensemble Concerto Copenhagen and its director Lars Ulrik Mortensen are taking to the discographic spearhead of their 30th anniversary in 2022.

From a musical perspective, the Seventies didn’t really begin until 1972, when the sudden appearance of pioneering art-rock adventurers Roxy Music saw them spearhead a new generation of bands making the first genuinely post-Sixties music.

The 19th-century reclamation of Bach’s music, spearhead by Mendelssohn and then Schumann, was later to be further developed most famously by Ferruccio Busoni. However, another key figure was composer and organist Joseph Rheinberger, whose arrangement for two pianos of the Goldberg Variations was made in the spring of 1883. Noting that the work had been ‘the object more of theoretical appreciation than musical performance’ Rheinberger sought to clarify its imitative polyphony and where he felt it necessary, added new parts of his own writing to the original score, to create a viable Bach-Rheinberger composition.