Bardic Song

Franke, Jens

Jens Franke presents a portrait album of solo guitar works by Johann Kaspar Mertz (1806-56), the last of the grand Biedermeier guitarists. From polka to paraphrase, scherzo to song transcription, Mertz was Vienna’s voice of pearly nostalgia. His guitar music, contrary to the guitar music of his contemporaries, utilized the pianistic models of Chopin, Schubert, Schumann, and Mendelssohn rather than the classical models of Haydn and Mozart. The Bardic songs presented here are potentially his most popular contributions to the repertoire, and are a series of character pieces in the model of Schumann.

Price: $25.98