Reinhard Goebel on the cover of his new album
Some readers may recall that, for quite some time, I have been able to draw upon the resources of Naxos of America to discover both album labels and performers previously unknown to me. My latest discovery this week has been that of Reinhard Goebel, who, at the end of last year, released an album for hänssler CLASSIC of the eight sinfonias composed by Johann Kirnberger. This composer was born on April 23, 1721, and died on July 27, 1783, meaning that he lived through the transition from the “baroque” period to the “classical.”
Johann Sebastian Bach was an early influence on Kirnberger, the former having given lessons in composition to the latter between 1739 and 1741. Those lessons included Bach’s chorale settings, and Kirnberger published 24 of them (BWV 690–713). Nevertheless, his own efforts owe more to that composer’s sons, particularly Carl Philipp Emanuel, than to their father.
The conductor on this new release is Reinhard Goebel, who founded the Musica Antiqua Köln in 1973. On this album he conducts the Berlin Baroque Soloists, which he has been leading since 2018. The ensemble consists primarily of strings, but six of the sinfonias include parts for two horns. In addition, two flutes contribute to the last of the eight sinfonias. This allows for at least a modest diversity in sonorities well-balanced by both composer Kirnberger and conductor Goebel.
The entire album is slightly more than an hour in duration and is likely to make for an engaging journey of discovery for most listeners.
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