Schmittbaur: Symphonien Op.2 Nr.1-3 (1776)

L'Arte del mondo, Werner Erhardt

Inexhaustible for any kind of music, with special peculiar beauty, dignity, and truth," is how enthusiastically Carl Ludwig Juncker expressed himself in 1776 about the music of Joseph Aloys Schmittbaur (1718-1809). That this unjustly forgotten composer wrote great music is proven by the new recording by Werner Erhardt and his ensemble L'arte del mondo with selected symphonies by Schmittbaur, all but one of which were written in Cologne. Schmittbaur, who was born in Bamberg, received his training from the court organ builder Johann Seuffert in Würzburg, and was also a pupil of Niccolo Jacomelli in Bologna. In 1754 he received a position in the Rastatt court chapel, and in 1766 he became its Kapellmeister. After the dissolution of the Rastatt chapel, he was concertmaster in the Karlsruhe court chapel. From January 1775 Schmittbaur was appointed Cathedral Kapellmeister in Cologne, where he had a lasting influence on musical life through the concerts of the "Musical Academies". in 1777, he became court kapellmeister in Karlsruhe, where he helped the chapel there achieve a high reputation. After Schmittbaur's death, his music was long forgotten. But unjustly, as this recording by l'arte del mondo under the direction of conductor Werner Ehrhardt shows. Three symphonies op. 2 (1776) are heard, which date from Schmittbaur's time in Cologne as Cathedral Kapellmeister and are cheerful throughout, sometimes even humorous in character. The fourth symphony is entitled "bey Gelegenheit der Höchsten Vermählung" and was composed by Schmittbaur in 1797 for the wedding of the daughter of the hereditary prince of Baden, Carl Ludwig. This late work also proves to be a colorfully orchestrated piece rich in contrast. Werner Erhardt is enthusiastic about these discoveries, which are being released as a first recording on the German harmonia mundi label: "Schmittbaur possessed unbroken creative power and great ingenuity up to a ripe old age. In the symphonies, one can see very well how very individually he developed his very own formal concepts, composing in an immensely creative, witty, surprising and humorous way. Rarely have my musicians been in such a good mood as when recording his music. The people of Cologne would say: 'Von nix kütt nix', and that is, so to speak, the greatest praise!"

Price: $29.98