Christoph Graupner served as Hofkapellmeister at the Darmstadt court for over fifty years, a position that required him to compose a new church cantata every one to two weeks.
Album & Artwork
This album features world premiere recordings of works by Christoph Graupner, a composer whose extensive oeuvre is less known than that of Telemann or Vivaldi.
Composer Biography
Christoph Graupner, a student at St. Thomas's Church in Leipzig, may have met Telemann, who directed the Collegium Musicum he founded there until around 1705.
Instruments
The viola d'amore, known for its mellow tone, is constructed like a viola da gamba and can have varying numbers of playing and resonance strings, with its body size between a small violin and a large viola.
Compositional Technique
The compositions on this album skillfully use three equally important concertante instruments whose vocal ranges are very close to one another.
Instruments
The transverse flute, a novelty in Europe at the beginning of the 18th century, was revived by the Hotteterre family of instrument-makers and musicians after 1680 and quickly became popular across Europe.
Composition History
Telemann and Graupner supported each other, with Graupner copying many of Telemann's works for performances in Darmstadt, including the Concerto in E major (TWV 53:E1) featured on this album.
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Telemann: Don Quixote Suite, Viola Concerto, Concerto for Two Oboes and Two Violins
