Muffat: Suites for Harpsichord

Featuring

Naoko Akutagawa
Gottlieb Muffat

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Compositional Technique

Gottlieb Muffat included a table of ornamentation in each of his printed works, which was rare in German keyboard music and exacting even by French standards.

Historical Context

The Berlin Sing-Akademie archive, which contains many of Muffat's works, was evacuated from Berlin during WWII and rediscovered in Kiev in 1999, before being returned to Berlin in 2001.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Gottlieb Muffat's works show a cosmopolitan blend of French, German, and Italian musical influences, reflecting his father's style and his teacher Fux's grounding in the Palestrina tradition.

Composer Biography

Gottlieb Muffat served as an organist at the Viennese Imperial Court and taught members of the imperial family, including the future Empress Maria Theresia.

Recording & Production

This album includes world première recordings of the Parthie in D minor and the Parthie Parisien in A minor by Gottlieb Muffat.

Composer Biography

Gottlieb Muffat, son of the composer Georg Muffat, was considered a child prodigy on the harpsichord, with the Emperor hearing him play at around ten years old.

Compositional Technique

Muffat's transcriptions of other composers' works, such as Handel's Suites de Pièces, were primarily pedagogical, intended to help younger players achieve appropriate gracefulness.