Kellner: Phantasia

Featuring

José Miguel Moreno
David Kellner

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Cultural Impact

Kellner's thoroughbass method, Treulicher Unterricht im General-Bass, was a success, especially for amateurs, and was published in Dutch, Russian, Swedish, and German editions, even being used by Joseph Haydn.

Compositional Technique

One piece in the collection, 'Campanella,' pays tribute to Kellner's own instrument, the carillon, by featuring the simultaneous ringing of many notes within a simple harmonic frame.

Instruments

Kellner introduced the cembal d'amour, a type of clavichord with extra-long strings invented by Gottfried Silbermann, into Sweden via his stepdaughter, Regina Gertrud Schwartz.

Interpretation

For this recording, performer José Miguel Moreno constructed an 11-course Baroque lute based on historical instruments and chose a pitch of a1 = 390 Hz, common for lutes and wind instruments in Kellner's time.

Composition History

The XVI Auserlesene Lauten-Stücke, comprising seventeen pieces, were published in Hamburg by Christian Wilhelm Brandt in 1747, the year before Kellner's death.

Historical Context

Kellner's adult life was significantly shaped by the Great Northern War (1700-1721), a conflict where Russian Tsar Peter the Great led a coalition against the Swedish Empire.

Composer Biography

David Kellner, the composer, spent the best years of his youth at war, serving as an officer, being injured, and becoming a prisoner of war during the Great Northern War (1700-1721).