4 Times Baroque was founded in 2013 by Jan Nigges (recorder), Jonas Zschenderlein (violin), Karl Simko (cello), and Alexander von Heißen (harpsichord), and is based in Frankfurt am Main.
Recording & Production
This album is 4 Times Baroque's debut release for the deutsche harmonia mundi/Sony label.
Composer's Artistic Vision
During the Baroque period, music's central purpose shifted from praising God to expressing human emotions, with music, rhetoric, and poetry battling the passions that threatened to unbalance people.
Compositional Technique
Baroque music often used a 'basso ostinato' – a constantly repeated harmonic framework – to represent a miniature musical drama, with the top line's variations portraying life's highs and lows.
Critical Reception
The ensemble 4 Times Baroque has been praised by critics, with the FAZ describing their performance as 'fresh, energetic and thrilling,' and the Schwäbische Post calling them 'popstars' and 'four young shooting stars.'
Historical Context
The Baroque era, spanning the 17th and 18th centuries, was a period of extreme contradictions, marked by both devastation, like the Thirty Years' War, and the rise of magnificent palaces and monuments.
Album & Artwork
The album title, 'Caught in Italian Virtuosity', reflects the motto under which the young ensemble 4 Times Baroque is releasing its debut album.
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Caught in Italian Virtuosity
Purcell: Music For A While, If Love's A Sweet Passion, Fairest Isle; Handel: Silete Venti
Gentleman for a Day
Corelli / Veracini / Sammartini: Baroque Music for Recorder
Mr. Corelli in London: Recorder Concertos, La Follia, after Corelli's op.5
Handel: Music For The Royal Fireworks, HWV 351; Concerto a due cori No.2, HWV 333; Concerto a due cori No.3, HWV 334
Handel: 6 Concerti grossi, Op. 3
Quentin & Guillemain: Conversations
L'Ornamento
Chameleon
J.S. Bach: 6 Trio Sonatas (Arr. R. Stone for Chamber Ensemble)
