The arrangements on this album generally use moderate tempi to ensure clear articulation of the cantabile quality of the originals and the expression of Weltschmerz.
Compositional Technique
Johann Kaspar Mertz, a composer active in Vienna, played 8- and 10-string guitars, and the arrangements on this album pay tribute to his 10-string guitar by using additional bass strings.
Performer Biography
Anders Miolin, the performer on this album, is a professor at the Zürich University of the Arts, where he teaches a large international class.
Instruments
Anders Miolin developed the 12-string DODEKA guitar in 2017, built by Ermanno Chiavi, and is the only musician in the world who plays it.
Compositional Technique
The 12-string DODEKA guitar, developed by Anders Miolin, has a range of four octaves and a fourth, enabling a novel soundscape on the guitar.
Historical Context
In 19th-century Vienna, Franz Schubert's Lieder were published with guitar accompaniment because the middle-class often had guitars instead of pianos, and sheet music was in high demand.
Composition History
Mertz's Bardenklänge Op. 13 was composed between 1847 and 1852, inspired by the Romantic wave of 'Bardic Sounds' and ancient texts by Ossian, a medieval Celtic bard.
