To achieve a varied sound on this recording, the performers instrumented each of Hertel's three oboe-organ sonatas differently, adding harpsichord or lute to the organ and oboe.
Composer Biography
Johann Wilhelm Hertel, the composer, received early music instruction from Johann Heinrich Heil, a student of J.S. Bach.
Compositional Technique
Hertel's oboe-organ sonatas are unique because the organ's right hand plays an equal, obbligato part to the oboe, making the oboe function like an "external organ stop."
Composer Biography
Hertel's career involved several court appointments, including concertmaster and later court composer in Schwerin, and a period as music director in Stralsund.
Recording & Production
The recording includes a Choral Prelude by Adolph Heinrich Sponholz, which is the only other known work for oboe and obbligato organ from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern besides Hertel's.
Performer Biography
CONCERT ROYAL Köln, the ensemble on this recording, was founded in 1987 by oboist and harpsichordist Karla Schröter and specializes in historical performance.
Instruments
The recording uses a König organ from around 1770 in Schleiden, which has characteristic individual stops and an abundance of mixture-capable solo stops.
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