The Five Keyboard Concertos
$60.00
Low Stock
add to cart
JOHANN GOTTFRIED MUTHEL
The Five Keyboard Concertos
Marcin Świątkiewicz (harpsichord) / Arte dei Suonatori
[ BIS SACD / 2 Hybrid SACD ]
Release Date: Monday 25 May 2015
Should this item be out of stock at the time of your order, we would expect to be able to supply it to you within 4 - 7 business days.
Johann Forkel, the biographer of J.S. Bach, numbered Müthel among the most remarkable of Bach's pupils. Another of the great chroniclers of 18th century music, Charles Burney, described Müthel's works as 'so full of novelty, taste, grace, and contrivance, that I should not hesitate to rank them among the greatest productions of the present age.' In Müthel's five concertos for keyboard and strings we nevertheless meet a distinctly individual composer, displaying sophisticated rhythms and harmonic playfulness. Presenting them on this set of two CDs, the young Polish harpsichordist Marcin Świątkiewicz makes his début on BIS. He is supported by his compatriots in the acclaimed period band Arte dei Suonatori, who clearly relish the often intricate and always eventful orchestral parts.
"Nicely balanced and with good tone and rich bass from the strings, the harpsichord is just forward enough to give it clarity as a solo instrument while also allowing it to blend with the rest of the ensemble - a tricky 'balancing act' indeed. The instrument used is a 2008 copy of a Ruckers harpsichord from 1624 and it sounds gorgeous. There are qualities about Müthel's music which are easier to describe than they are to define. The open quality of his melodies often gives the music a kind of blue-sky positivity, and while he can give way to operatic drama there are few if any moments when you imagine vocal lyricism. These are emphatically instrumental works and perfectly written for this combination, not generic pieces which are essentially interchangeable with other genres. If you like C.P.E. Bach or just harpsichord concertos in general then this is something with which you truly need to become acquainted. I wasn't expecting to be bowled over by this music and these performances in this way, but I am now a zealous convert and am likely to make this the soundtrack to my summer." (MusicWeb May 2015)
Tracks:
Keyboard Concerto No. 1 in C minor
Concerto in D minor for harpsichord, 2 bassoons, strings & b.c.
Concerto III in G major
Keyboard Concerto No. 4 in D major
Piano Concerto in B flat major
