Fischer & Kerll: Arp-Schnitger Organ of the Monastery of Moreira de Maia

Fischer was likely Bohemian, specifically from Schönfeld, Carlsbad (now Krásno, Karlovy Vary in the far west of historical Bohemia), and was a very influential musician and composer in his day. Little is known of his career until the 1690s, when he was named capellmeister to Ludwig Wihelm of Baden, where he remained until his death at Rastatt. His largest and perhaps most significant work is the Musicalischer Parnassus of 1738, a collection of a great number of keyboard pieces organized into nine suites. In it, Fischer combines the French orchestral style with the German style.

Each of the suites is named for one of the nine Muses. This recording features movements from the Urania and Euterpe suites, along with a Prelude and Chaconne from his remaining oeuvre. This repertoire is usually associated with the harpsichord and rarely performed on the organ, yet there are similarities with the "variations" style so often employed by Buxtehude and Bach in organ works.

Kerll, the son of an organist and organ maker from Adorf in the south-west Saxon part of historic Vogtland, showed musical promise from a very early age. He travelled to Vienna to study under Valentini, then capellmeister at the Viennese Imperial Court, and he converted to Catholicism, which later led him to Rome where he likely had contact with Carissimi and Frescobaldi. He was named principal musical director to Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria, in 1656 and became one of the most acclaimed composers of his day. His influence on Handel and J.S. Bach is notable. His works display a mastery of the Italian concertante style and highly developed contrapuntal technique.