Frankfurt Main

Hertel was born as son of Johann Christian Hertel, a well-respected violinist and composer. He received his first music lessons from a pupil of Johann Sebastian Bach, and he accompanied his father already at the age of 12. In 1744 he became violinist and harpsichordist at the court in Strelitz, which was dissolved in 1752. Two years later he was employed at the court in Schwerin, where he stayed until his death, although the court chapel moved to Ludwigslust in 1767. He remained at the service of the court, and concentrated on composition, organising concerts at the court and musical education.

World-premiere recording: Pietro Gnocchi was not only cathedral chapel master in the northern Italian city of Brescia, and indeed for over a half a century until his death at the advanced age of eighty-six, but also a priest, archeologist, geographer, and fluent in many languages. Apart from sacred vocal music, this impressive polymath also left behind several instrumental works: surprisingly, the present concertos for stringed instruments and basso continuo are heavily contrapuntal, much is inspired by the stilo antico.

Carl Friedrich Abel also composed orchestral works for the London concert series of Bach-Abel Concerts, organized jointly with J. C. Bach, including 46 symphonies, 40 of which appeared in print during his lifetime. The six remaining works, five late symphonies and one Sinfonia Concertante, have survived in manuscript in the Royal Court Library in Berlin. On the occasion of the 300th anniversary of his birth, the Main Baroque Orchestra under Martin Jopp presents four of these symphonies as world premiere recordings as well as the Sinfonia Concertante on this recording.