Spohr, L.: Sonatas for Flute and Harp Music

Featuring

Elisabeth Möst
Ieuan Jones
Louis Spohr

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Compositional Technique

Spohr's Sonata op. 114 includes a potpourri of themes from Mozart's opera 'The Magic Flute', including the 'Fire and Water Ordeal' chorus, which reflects Spohr's own Freemasonry.

Composer Biography

Louis Spohr was a child prodigy, joining the Braunschweig Court Orchestra at age 15 and debuting at the Leipzig Gewandhaus at 20, earning him a reputation as Germany's best violinist and an interesting composer.

Composition History

Louis Spohr's wife, Dorette Scheidler, a talented harpist and pianist, inspired 15 works for and with harp between 1805 and 1819, including the chamber music on this album.

Compositional Technique

The Sonata in C minor, WoO 23, from Spohr's early Gotha period, shows a formal resemblance to the Baroque 'Sonata da chiesa' with its slow-fast-slow-fast movement structure.

Recording & Production

This album features a world premiere recording of Louis Spohr's Sonata in B-flat major, Op. 16.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Louis Spohr, a brilliant violinist, based his compositional aesthetic on the human voice, which he considered the ideal sound.

Composer Biography

Louis Spohr was one of the first 'modern interpreters' in music history, playing works by other composers rather than just his own, and advocating for 'service to the composer'.